Page 99 - Reptiles & Dinosaurs (Britannica Illustrated Science Library)

94 GLOSSARY REPTILES AND DINOSAURS 95

groups. This biological concept should be
Mammals Omnivore Pheromones Reabsorption distinguished from the concept of a species as a Vertebrates
Vertebrate animals whose females have Animal that feeds on animal and plant species Chemical substances secreted by the Process in which substances that are filtered category and as a taxon. Animals with a spinal column that provides a
mammary glands, which secrete substances reproductive glands of certain animals in order or secreted by the kidneys and which are structural axis and develops around the
that serve as food for their young. Opisthoglyph to attract individuals of the opposite sex. necessary for maintaining the organism's Sperm Cell notochord, completely replacing it in most
internal equilibrium are reincorporated into species.
Mass Extinction Group of snakes with fangs located in the back Photoperiod the plasma. Mature male sex cell, which is typically mobile
of the upper jaw and smaller teeth in front. The and smaller than the female sex cell. Viviparous
Brief geological interval in which the extinction fangs can be smooth or have a groove on the Relative length of night and day that enables Reflex
rate is greatly increased, affecting a large surface that enables secretions to flow into the organisms to measure the change of seasons and Spinal Cord Animal species whose females do not lay eggs
number of species and causing a considerable wound they produced. that influences their behavior and physiology. Simple action of the nervous system that and whose young are born live.
reduction of biodiversity. involves a sensory neuron, often one or more Part of the central nervous system of
Order Phylogeny interneurons, and one or more motor neurons. vertebrates, surrounded by the spinal column. Warm-blooded
Metabolism
Taxonomic category below class and above Evolutionary history of any taxonomic group. Sensory Receptors Striated Muscle Organism whose main heat source is internal
The sum of all the physical and chemical suborder and family. For example, snakes and Usually represented as a branching tree. and is produced largely through oxidative
transformations that occur within a cell or saurian reptiles belong to the order Squamata. Cells, tissues, or organs that detect internal or Muscle tissue with a striped appearance that metabolism.
organism. Piscivore external stimuli. shows the arrangement of the contracting
Ovary elements. Includes the voluntary skeletal muscle Zoonosis
Mimicry Organ that produces eggs (female sex cells). Animal that eats only fish. Sexual Reproduction and the cardiac muscle. Illness transmitted by animals to humans.
A superficial similarity in shape, color, or Plastron Reproduction based on the fertilization of a Thalamus
behavior on the part of certain organisms Oviparous female sex cell by a male sex cell, resulting in
(mimetics) to others (models) or to objects in Lower part of the shell of a turtle or tortoise. the production of descendants different from Part of the prosencephalon of vertebrates
the environment for the purpose of hiding, Animal that reproduces by laying eggs. either parent. located behind and below the cerebrum. It is
seeking protection, or some other benefit. Predator the main connection center between the brain
Ovoviviparous Shedding stem and the upper cerebral regions.
Mitosis Animal that reproduces by forming eggs that Animal that captures and eats other animals Sloughing off or change of skin, a process that Thermoregulation
as prey.
Nuclear cell division, in which two daughter are carried, with soft shells, inside the female happens naturally in many reptiles.
nuclei are formed that are identical to the until they hatch. They may hatch inside the Protein Ability of reptiles to change their body
mother and come out as if they had been born
parent nucleus. Smooth Muscle temperature by moving from a warm place to
live or be expelled from the egg pouch, breaking Macromolecule composed of one or more a cooler one or vice versa.
its membrane in order to hatch. chains of amino acids. They define the physical Non-striated muscle that covers the walls of the
Molars characteristics of an organism and, when hollow organs and arteries and is controlled Tissue
Group of teeth that crush food within the Ovum acting as enzymes, regulate chemical reactions. involuntarily.
mouth. Group of identical cells that carry out a common
A female haploid reproductive cell. It contains Proteroglyph function.
half as many chromosomes as the parent cell. Solenoglyph
Molecular Clock System of fangs in cobras, mambas, coral System of long, hollow fangs in some snakes or Trophic Level
Marker used to estimate the evolutionary Parasite snakes, and sea snakes; or the name referring the name of the group that refers to snakes
distance between two species. It is evaluated Organism that lives at the expense of another to the group that contains these types of possessing this characteristic. The fangs are the The position of a species in the food web or
by comparing the gradual accumulation of and typically obtains nutrients that have already snakes. The fangs are located in the front of only teeth in the upper jaw, and they pivot so food chain.
amino acids between the proteins of those been processed by the host. the upper jaw and are hollow or have a surface that they lie flat along the roof of the mouth
species. groove for carrying venom. They are relatively when the mouth is closed. They inject venom Uric Acid
short and are fixed in an extended position. deep into the tissues of prey.
Nucleic Acid Parthenogenesis Protractile Water-insoluble nitrogenated waste product;
the main component of the excrement of
Form of asexual reproduction in certain species, Species
Molecule carrying the genetic information such as the gecko, in which the females produce Describes a type of reptilian tongue that can be reptiles and insects.
of a cell. Biological concept of a group of organisms that
young (all or mostly females) without the voluntarily hurled outward in an extremely can or do interbreed in the wild and are
intervention of a male. rapid, precise movement. reproductively isolated from other similar