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Notes on Marine Reptiles
Marine Reptiles - About 7,000 living species of reptiles exist
- Reptiles are air breathing organisms
- Reptiles have dry scales covering their skin in order to prevent water loss
- Most reptiles lay their eggs on land
- The eggs have a leathery shell that helps prevent drying out.
- Reptiles are ectotherms and poikilotherms
- Ectotherm: these are organisms that lose metabolic heat to its environment without having their body temperature affected.
- Poikilotherm: these are organisms that have a body temperature that will vary with that of the environment.
Sea Turtles - The body is covered by its shell or carapace.
- Sea turtles are unable to retract their heads into its shell
- The leatherback sea turtle is the largest type of sea turtle.
- Sea turtles are oviparous and reproduce on land, and they normally migrate very long distances in order to lay their eggs.
Sea Snakes - Sea snakes are typically found in the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans.
- Sea snakes are ovoviviparous and mate in the ocean
- They are carnivores, feeding mostly on bottom fishes
- Sea snakes are venomous, but they are hardly aggressive
Marine Iguana - Marine iguanas are only found in the Galapagos Islands.
- Galapagos Iguana is the only known species of marine lizard.
Saltwater Crocodile |
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