Herpetology: Basic Terminology Part I

Front 1

Acrodont

Back 1

Having teeth attached to the edge of the jawbone without sockets

Front 2

Anterior

Back 2

The front or head of animal

Front 3

Apical

Back 3

of, relating to, or situated at an apex

Front 4

Arribada

Back 4

A massive, coordinated arrival of seaturtles, and some freshwater species, at a nesting beach.

Front 5

Aspect ratios

Back 5

Total length divided by body
width.

Front 6

Autotomy

Back 6

Self-amputation of a body part,
typically a tail; used as a defense mechanism.

Front 7

Axillary

Back 7

Of, relating to, or located near the
axilla; the cavity beneath the junction of a forelimb and the body.

Front 8

Barbels

Back 8

Fleshy, tubular extension of skin,
usually on the head or neck.

Front 9

Basal

Back 9

Arising from the base of a stem; of, or
relating to the foundation, base or essence; of or relating to, or being
essential for maintaining the fundamental vital activities of an organism.

Front 10

Carapace

Back 10

The dorsal (upper) shell of a turtle

Front 11

Caudal luring

Back 11

a specific movement of the tail which is meant to attract or lure
prey; an adaption that evolved to help increase the animal’s chance of
getting food and therefore allowing it to survive.

Front 12

Ceratobranchials

Back 12

Principal paired derivatives
from the 3rd though 6th visceral arches found in the hyoid
apparatus (the lateral and posterior paired parts of the hyoid).

Front 13

Chemoreception

Back 13

The sensory reception of
chemical stimuli; capacity to detect and differentiate certain chemicals in
the surrounding environment.

Front 14

Chromosome

Back 14

Thread-like structure consisting
mostly of genetic material (DNA) in the nucleus of cells.

Front 15

Clade

Back 15

An evolutionary lineage of organisms
that includes the most recent common ancestor of all those organisms and all
the descendants of that common ancestor.

Front 16

Cladogram

Back 16

Graphic, tree-like representation
that shows the evolutionary relationships of organisms

Front 17

Concertina

Back 17

a mode of locomotion in snakes,
characterized by sequential extension and contraction of the body from one
anchored and stationary site to the next as the animal moves with
accordion-like appearance in one direction.

Front 18

Congeneric

Back 18

Of or belonging to the same genus.

Front 19

Conspecific

Back 19

Of or belonging to the same
species.

Front 20

Cruciform

Back 20

Forming or arranged in a cross

Front 21

Crypsis

Back 21

Reference to camouflage or matching between
the color, pattern, or shape of an animal and a random sample of the
background it is viewed against, as perceived by another animal.

Front 22

Diapauses

Back 22

A period of physiologically enforced
dormancy between periods of activity.

Front 23

Dimorphism

Back 23

The existence of two different
forms (color, size, sex) of a species in the same population.

Front 24

Distal

Back 24

Toward the tip of a body extremity,
such as a phalange.

Front 25

Dinurnal

Back 25

Active by day.

Front 26

Dorsal .

Back 26

Relating to or situated near or on the
back of an animal

Front 27

Dorsolaterally

Back 27

Relating to, or involving both
the back and the sides.

Front 28

Ecdysis

Back 28

The act of molting or shedding an
outer cuticular or epidermal layer.

Front 29

Ectoderm

Back 29

The outer cellular membrane of a
diploblastic animal (one whose embryo has two germ layers) or the outermost
of the three primary germ layers of an embryo.

Front 30

Ectopterygoid bones

Back 30

Dermal bone in the palate
of most reptiles.

Front 31

Ectotherm

Back 31

An animal whose body temperature is
determined principally by the environment.

Front 32

Emarginated

Back 32

To deprive of a margin; having a
margin notched.

Front 33

Endodtherm

Back 33

The innermost of the germ layers of
an embryo that is the source of the epithelium of the digestive tract and its
derivatives.

Front 34

Endotherm

Back 34

An animal whose body temperature is
determined by internal metabolic heat production.

Front 35

Extant

Back 35

The state of a taxonomic group being
alive in the present; not extinct.

Front 36

External fertilization

Back 36

The joining of sperm
and eggs outside of the female’s body.

Front 37

Extinct

Back 37

The state of a taxonomic group being
lost; no longer in existence.

Front 38

Femoral

Back 38

Of, or relating to the femur or thigh.

Front 39

Fenestra

Back 39

A small anatomical opening.

Front 40

Fertilization

Back 40

The penetration of an egg by
sperm.

Front 41

Fossorial

Back 41

Adapted for or used in burrowing or
digging.

Front 42

Fusiform

Back 42

tapering towards each end.

Front 43

Gravid

Back 43

Female carrying young or eggs.

Front 44

Gular pouch

Back 44

A pouch of bare skin between the
lower mandibles (jaws).

Front 45

Heliothermic

Back 45

Bask in the heat of the sun (or
other overhead bright heat source). Commonly
occurs in many temperate reptiles including spuamates, crocodilians, and semi-aquatic
turtles. Snakes use a combination of
heliothermic and thigmothermic strategies.

Front 46

Hemipene

Back 46

The bi-lobed male reproductive organs
in most reptiles, kept inverted in the tail until needed.

Front 47

Heterospecific

Back 47

Members of different species.

Front 48

Hybrid

Back 48

Individual resulting from mating of
parents that belong to different species.

Front 49

Hyoid bone

Back 49

A bone or complex of bones situated at the base of the
tongue and supporting the tongue and its muscles.

Front 50

Inframarginal

Back 50

Lamina (thin plate or scale)
lying between the marginals of the carapace and the lateral margin of the
normal plastral laminae.

Front 51

Inframarginal

Back 51

Lamina (thin plate or scale)
lying between the marginals of the carapace and the lateral margin of the
normal plastral laminae.

Front 52

Inguinal fat body

Back 52

Body fat relating to, or
situated on the groin or in either of the lowest lateral regions of the
abdomen.

Front 53

Internal fertilization

Back 53

Penetration of eggs by
sperm inside the female’s body

Front 54

Intrascalar

Back 54

Within or underneath the skin

Front 55

Intromission

Back 55

The act of insertion.

Front 56

Jacobson’s organ

Back 56

A convoluted blind sac
opening into the roof of the mouth and lined with sensory structures that
detect odorant particles brought into the mouth on the tongue. This organ is absent in adult crocodilian. Also known as vomeronasal organ.

Front 57

Keeled

Back 57

A scale with a raised ridge running
down its midline.

Front 58

Keratinized

Back 58

Tissue that is hardened with keratin,
such as human fingernails or toenails.

Front 59

Lamella

Back 59

A thin, flat scale, membrane, or
layer.

Front 60

Lateral

Back 60

Related to the side of an animal.

Front 61

Loreal scale

Back 61

The scale between the preocular
and nasal scales.

Front 62

Lotic

Back 62

Of, relating to, or living in actively
moving water.

Front 63

Marginal

Back 63

a lamina in the outer series on the
carapace of a turtle, visible both from above and below and characterized by
a sharp angle marking the edge of the bony part of the carapace.

Front 64

Maxillary

Back 64

Pertaining to a maxilla, or jaw.

Front 65

Monophyletic

Back 65

Developed from a single common
ancestral form or line.

Front 66

Monophyly

Back 66

A single common ancestral form or
line.

Front 67

Morph

Back 67

A unique body form or coloration

Front 68

Morphology

Back 68

The study of an animal’s shape or
form.

Front 69

Necrosis

Back 69

Localized death of living tissue.

Front 70

Nocturnal

Back 70

Active at night

Front 71

Ocelli

Back 71

A minute simple eye or eyespot of an
invertebrate; an eyelike colored spot.

Front 72

Ontogeny

Back 72

The development or course of development
of an individual organism.

Front 73

Oviparous

Back 73

Producing eggs that develop and
hatch outside the maternal body.

Front 74

Ovoviviparous

Back 74

Producing eggs that develop
within the maternal body and hatch within or immediately after extrusion from
the parent.

Front 75

Paramo

Back 75

High-altitude habitat that is cold,
wet, and dominated by grasses and shrubs.

Front 76

Parietal

Back 76

Of or relating to the walls of a part
or cavity; of, relating to, or forming the upper posterior wall of the head.

Front 77

Phalange

Back 77

One of the digits in the hand or
foot.

Front 78

Phylogenetic

Back 78

Relating to the evolutionary
history of an organism or group of organisms.

Front 79

Pit organ

Back 79

Specialized and highly sensitive
infrared receptors that detect rapid changes in infrared radiation. These have evolved independently in biod
and crotaline snakes and provide very precise discrimination of the direction
and distance of an infrared source.
They are located in upper and lower labial scales of boid snakes and
occur as single structures between the eye and nostril on either side of the
head of crotaline snakes.

Front 80

Plastron

Back 80

The ventral (underside) part of a
turtle or tortoise shell.

Front 81

Pleurodont

Back 81

Having the teeth attached by their
sides to the inner side of the jaw.

Front 82

Posterior

Back 82

Related to the rear or tail end of
an animal.

Front 83

Postocular

Back 83

That part of the head behind the
eye.

Front 84

Prefrontals

Back 84

1) Either of a air of large scales
directly anterior ot the frontal scales.
2) a dermal bone forming part of the roof of the orbit.

Front 85

Prehensile

Back 85

Adapted for seizing or grasping
especially by wrapping around an item.

Front 86

Preocular

Back 86

The part of the head in front of or
before the eye.

Front 87

Pterygoid

Back 87

Of, relating to, or lying in the
region of the inferior part of the sphenoid bone of the vertebrate skull.

Front 88

Pterygoid

Back 88

Of, relating to, or lying in the
region of the inferior part of the sphenoid bone of the vertebrate skull.

Front 89

Rectilinear locomotion

Back 89

A mode of locomotion used primarily by heavy-bodied snakes that move in a straight line. Alternating sections of the ventral skin are lifted clear of the substrate and are pulled forward by muscles originating on ribs and connecting to the ventral skin.

Front 90

Relict

Back 90

A persistent remnant of an otherwise extinct organsim

Front 91

Rostrals

Back 91

Situated toward the oral or nasal region

Front 92

Sexual dimorphism

Back 92

Difference of physical form or coloration between the sexes; any consistent difference between males and females beyond the basic functional portions of the sex organs.

Front 93

Scute

Back 93

An external bony or horny plate or a large scale.

Front 94

Serpentine

Back 94

Of or relating to snakes; the type of limbless movements used by snakes.

Front 95

Sidewinding

Back 95

A mode of locomotion in which a snake raises its body in loops and rests its weight on two or three points that are the only places where the body contacts the ground. The loops are swung forward through the air while the points of contact are moved smoothly along the body length. This locomotion is characteristic of snakes that live in deserts where sandy substrates have particles that slip and induce sliding during serpentine locomotion.

Front 96

Speciose

Back 96

A taxonomic group with many species

Front 97

Subcaudals

Back 97

Scales on the ventral side of the tail of reptiles, Commonly arranged in either a single series or two series in snakes.

Front 98

Supralabials

Back 98

Enlarged scales on the edge of the lip of the upper jaw

Front 99

Supramarginal

Back 99

Any one of the plates situated between the mid-lateral and marginal plates of the carapace in some species of turtles.

Front 100

Suprapygals

Back 100

Any of the bones (usually two) that lie across the midline of the turtle carapace, just anterior to the hindmost plate of the shell

Front 101

Supraocular

Back 101

Either of a pair of shields that lie dorsal to the eyes of snakes

Front 102

Supranasal

Back 102

Any scale located directly above the nasal scale of squamata reptiles.

Front 103

SVL

Back 103

Abbreviation for snout-vent length. Measures from the tip of the animal's snout to the end of its vent

Front 104

Synamorphy

Back 104

An apomorphy (derived or specialized character) shared by two or more groups which originated in their last common ancestor.

Front 105

Tail autotomy

Back 105

A defense mechanism whereby an organism can drop its tail if it feels threatened or is grabbed by the tail. Tails have also been dropped as a result of stress.

Front 106

Thigmothermic

Back 106

Absorbs hear by contact with warm surfaces, for example, by lying on a warm rock. snakes use this strategy

Front 107

Tubercles

Back 107

A small projection or nodule that grows on a plant or animal. You can tell the difference in gecko species by rubbing your lips on their backs feeling the tubercles.

Front 108

Tuberculate

Back 108

A plant or animal that has nodules or tubercles growing on them.

Front 109

Tympanic membrane

Back 109

Thin membrane that closes externally the cavity of the middle ear and functions in the mechanical reception of sound waves and in their transmission to the site of sensory reception.

Front 110

Undulatory

Back 110

A type of limbless movement in which the body moves through a series of curves while at least three points on the body slides past irregular points of contact where reaction forces are generated to move the body in the forward direction.

Front 111

Ventral

Back 111

Of or relating to the belly or abdomen of an animal

Front 112

Viviparous

Back 112

Giving birth to live young rather than eggs.

Front 113

Warts

Back 113

Any hard or cornified prominence on the skin, sometimes glandular in substructure.