Herpetology is the study of amphibians (Class Amphibia) and reptiles (Class Reptilia). Amphibians include the tailed amphibians (Order Caudata: salamanders and newts); the anurans (Order Anura: frogs and toads); and caecilians (Order Gymnophiona). All amphibians are poikilothermic, have moist glandular skin without keratinous scales or shells; they produce unshelled eggs, (or retain eggs within the body until the young are ready to hatch); they have a larval phase (free swimming, within the egg or in the female’s body) and change from gill-breathing larvae (tadpoles) to lung-breathing amphibians (metamorphosis). Reptiles include turtles (Order Testudines), crocodilians (Order Crocodylia), lizards (Order Sauria), snakes (Suborder Serpentes), and tuataras (Order Rhynchocephalia). All Reptiles are poikilothermic, have dry skin with few glands that is covered with keratinous scales or shells that help reduce water loss. Further characteristics of reptiles are the production of shelled eggs (or the retention of eggs within the body until the young are ready to hatch), and the complete development of the young within the eggshell; the hatchlings are miniature replicas of their parents; there is no larval stage. |
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