ENWC424 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Lissamphibia, Oviparity, Hyoid Bone

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Entomology and Wildlife Conservation
• Course: ENWC424
• Professor: Nate Nazdrowicz

Document Summary

Liss = smooth: ectothermic, lack true nails or claws, eggs lack protective shell. Laid in moist environment: skin, gradual, permeable to was and gas. Influences distribution: moist habitats, freshwater habitats (few brackish, dry areas (without regular surface water, activity restricted, high humidity, low wind speed. Important role: environmental physiology, defense (secretions and colors, mate selection and courtship behaviors (sexual display and nuptial pads) Locomotion (toe pads and webbing: reproduction, 3 class of lissamphibia, gymnophina (caecilians, ~200 species, least know order. Legless: earthworm like apperence, tail is reduced or absent, fossorial or aquatic, found only in the tropics, caudata (salamanders, ~700 species, elongated trunk, equal-sized legs, 2 evolutionary trends: Internal fertilization: single occipital condyle, 3 chambered heart, no ventricle septum, yet, oxygenated, and deoxygenated blood kept separate. Legless lizards have short trunks and long tails: snakes. Legless: elongated trunk (many vertebrate) with short tails, secretive, rely on scent more than vision.