Content Outline for Teaching - Potosi School District - Home

18
Section 2
Content Outline
for Teaching
Amphibians and Reptiles
Vertebrate Animals
Underlined words and
phrases are to be filled
in by students on the
Note-taking Worksheet.
A. Amphibians spend part of their lives on land and part in water.
1. Amphibian adaptions
a. Hibernation—inactivity during cold weather
b. Estivation—inactivity during hot, dry weather
2. Characteristics of amphibians
a. Endoskeletons that support body on land
b. Lungs that breathe on land; also exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide through
the skin
c. Hearing and vision adapted to land life
d. Long, sticky tongue captures insects for food
3. Amphibian metamorphosis
a. Hatched from eggs fertilized in water; larval forms live in water and breathe
through gills
b. Land-function structures such as legs and lungs develop for adult life
B. Reptiles—ectothermic animals that generally live their whole lives on land
1. Reptile types—body plans vary
a. Some, such as turtles, use a hard shell for protection.
b. Some, such as alligators or crocodiles, live in or near water.
c. Some, such as lizards and snakes, use their tongues to smell their environment
2. Reptile adaptations
a. Thick, dry skin covered with scales protects and reduces water loss.
b. Breathe through lungs
c. Internal fertilization produces amniotic eggs that nourish and protect the
young until they hatch, fully developed
Discussion Question
How is reptilian reproduction different from amphibian reproduction? Reptiles do not
generally live around water and thus do not need water for fertilization. Reptiles have internal,
rather than external, fertilization. Their eggs are amniotic and protected from drying
out by an outer shell.
Vertebrate Animals 60