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Archosauria (lit. 'ruling reptiles') or archosaurs (/ ˈɑːrkəˌsɔːr / [3]) is a clade of diapsid sauropsid tetrapods, with birds and crocodilians being the only extant representatives. Although broadly classified as reptiles, which traditionally exclude birds, the cladistic sense of the term includes all living and extinct relatives of ...
Archaeopteryx was the first fossil to display both clearly traditional reptilian characteristics—teeth, clawed fingers, and a long, lizard-like tail—as well as wings with flight feathers similar to those of modern birds. It is not considered a direct ancestor of birds, though it is possibly closely related to the true ancestor.
Crocodylia distribution on land (green) and at sea (blue) Crocodylia / krɒkəˈdɪliə /) is an order of semiaquatic, predatory reptiles known as crocodilians. They first appeared during the Late Cretaceous and are the closest living relatives of birds. Crocodilians are a type of crocodylomorph pseudosuchian, a subset of archosaurs that ...
Aves (birds) See text for extinct groups. Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic ('cold-blooded') metabolism and amniotic development. Living reptiles comprise four orders: Testudines (turtles), Crocodilia (crocodilians), Squamata (lizards and snakes), and Rhynchocephalia (the tuatara).
The Lepidosauria (/ ˌlɛpɪdoʊˈsɔːriə /, from Greek meaning scaled lizards) is a subclass or superorder of reptiles, containing the orders Squamata and Rhynchocephalia. Squamata includes lizards and snakes. [2] Squamata contains over 9,000 species, making it by far the most species-rich and diverse order of non-avian reptiles in the ...
Sauria (modern reptiles and birds) Diapsids ("two arches") are a clade of sauropsids, distinguished from more primitive eureptiles by the presence of two holes, known as temporal fenestrae, in each side of their skulls. The earliest traditionally identified diapsids, the araeoscelidians, appeared about three hundred million years ago during the ...
Bird anatomy, or the physiological structure of birds ' bodies, shows many unique adaptations, mostly aiding flight. Birds have a light skeletal system and light but powerful musculature which, along with circulatory and respiratory systems capable of very high metabolic rates and oxygen supply, permit the bird to fly.
e. The ZW sex-determination system is a chromosomal system that determines the sex of offspring in birds, some fish and crustaceans such as the giant river prawn, some insects (including butterflies and moths), the schistosome family of flatworms, and some reptiles, e.g. majority of snakes, lacertid lizards and monitors, including Komodo dragons.