Origin and diversification of reptiles through geologic time
Further information: Evolutionary history of life
A fossil of Casineria, which may have been the earliest amniote.
Part of a series on
Evolutionary biology
Darwin's finches by John Gould
Index
Introduction
Main
Outline
Glossary
Evidence
History
Processes and outcomes
Population genetics
Variation
Diversity
Mutation
Natural selection
Adaptation
Polymorphism
Genetic drift
Gene flow
Speciation
Adaptive radiation
Co-operation
Coevolution
Coextinction
Divergence
Convergence
Parallel evolution
Extinction
Natural history
Origin of life
Common descent
History of life
Timeline of evolution
Human evolution
Phylogeny
Biodiversity
Biogeography
Classification
Evolutionary taxonomy
Cladistics
Transitional fossil
Extinction event
History of evolutionary theory
Overview
Renaissance
Before Darwin
Darwin
Origin of Species
Before synthesis
Modern synthesis
Molecular evolution
Evo-devo
Current research
History of speciation
History of paleontology (timeline)
Fields and applications
Applications of evolution
Biosocial criminology
Ecological genetics
Evolutionary aesthetics
Evolutionary anthropology
Evolutionary computation
Evolutionary ecology
Evolutionary economics
Evolutionary epistemology
Evolutionary ethics
Evolutionary game theory
Evolutionary linguistics
Evolutionary medicine
Evolutionary neuroscience
Evolutionary physiology
Evolutionary psychology
Experimental evolution
Phylogenetics
Paleontology
Selective breeding
Speciation experiments
Sociobiology
Island biogeography
Systematics
Universal Darwinism
Social implications
Evolution as fact and theory
Social effects
Creation–evolution controversy
Theistic evolution
Objections to evolution
Level of support
Evolutionary biology portal
Category
v
t
e
Reptiles arose about 320 million years ago[1] during the Carboniferous period. Reptiles, in the traditional sense of the term, are defined as animals that have scales or scutes, lay land-based hard-shelled eggs, and possess ectothermic metabolisms. So defined, the group is paraphyletic, excluding endothermic animals like birds that are descended from early traditionally-defined reptiles. A definition in accordance with phylogenetic nomenclature, which rejects paraphyletic groups, includes birds while excluding mammals and their synapsid ancestors. So defined, Reptilia is identical to Sauropsida.
Though few reptiles today are apex predators, many examples of apex reptiles have existed in the past. Reptiles have an extremely diverse evolutionary history that has led to biological successes, such as dinosaurs, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and ichthyosaurs.
^"Reptile Evolution". Biology LibreTexts. LibreTexts. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
and 30 Related for: Evolution of reptiles information
Reptiles arose about 320 million years ago during the Carboniferous period. Reptiles, in the traditional sense of the term, are defined as animals that...
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic ('cold-blooded') metabolism and amniotic development. Living reptiles comprise...
List ofreptiles List of largest reptiles List of largest extant lizards Lists ofreptiles by region List of U.S. state reptiles Marine reptile List of marine...
Marine reptiles are reptiles which have become secondarily adapted for an aquatic or semiaquatic life in a marine environment. Only about 100 of the 12...
the early evolutionofreptiles classified the Ichthyosauromorpha as basal archosauromorphs, forming a clade with the other marine reptile groups Thalattosauria...
relatives are squamates (lizards and snakes). Tuatara are of interest for studying the evolutionofreptiles. Tuatara are greenish brown and grey, and measure...
study of these traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. The following list ofreptiles lists...
been found. It is an example of a nearly perfect evolutionary intermediate between the mammal-like reptiles and extant reptiles. The earliest mammals were...
between the base of the clavicles, although this is not found in living amphibians. The cleithrum disappeared early in the evolutionofreptiles, and is not...
shows the progression ofevolution in fossil fish, and amphibians and reptiles through comparative anatomy, including a list of all the (then) known fossil...
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptilesof the suborder Serpentes (/sɜːrˈpɛntiːz/). Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote...
problems in the ecology, evolution, physiology, behavior, taxonomy, or molecular biology of amphibians and reptiles. Amphibians or reptiles can be used as model...
male reptiles. In all reptiles and mammals the sperm storage region of the epididymis can objectively be identified as that distal extremity of the epididymis...
mammals are known to prey on reptiles, the major predator is other reptiles. Some reptiles eat reptile eggs, for example the diet of the Nile monitor includes...
ancestor and radiation of species Evolutionofreptiles – Origin and diversification ofreptiles through geologic time Evolutionof brachiopods – The origin...
is the largest order ofreptiles, comprising lizards and snakes. With over 11,500 species, it is also the second-largest order of extant (living) vertebrates...
examining the evolutionof reproductive mode in squamate reptiles". Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. 324 (6):...
vertebrates Sauropsids (reptiles and birds, as well as the extinct parareptiles, dinosaurs, pterosaurs and Mesozoic marine reptiles) Synapsids (mammals as...
Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging...
Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes...
mammal-like reptiles or pelycosaurs, but both are now seen as outdated and disfavored paraphyletic terms, since they were not reptiles, nor part ofreptile lineage...
allowing for a movable neck. The cleithrum disappeared early in the evolutionofreptiles, and in amniotes is very small or absent. It has been argued based...
timeline of human evolution outlines the major events in the evolutionary lineage of the modern human species, Homo sapiens, throughout the history of life...
The reptilesof Great Britain include three native snakes and three native lizards. A number of sea turtles visit Great Britain's shores. There are also...
Turtles, or testudines, are reptilesof the order Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided...
extinct stem-group relatives of modern reptiles, as well as birds (which, as theropod dinosaurs, are nested within reptiles as more closely related to crocodilians...
Several species of aquatic animals, and a few amphibians and reptiles have also evolved this gliding flight ability, typically as a means of evading predators...
contribution to the jaw joint. Early in their evolution, diapsid reptiles evolved a lower temporal bar which was composed of the quadratojugal and jugal. The lower...
This list of fossil reptiles described in 2024 is a list of new taxa of fossil reptiles that were described during the year 2024, as well as other significant...
Archosauromorpha (Greek for "ruling lizard forms") is a clade of diapsid reptiles containing all reptiles more closely related to archosaurs (such as crocodilians...
Global Information
