Reptiles are vertebrate, or backboned animals constituting the class

Reptilia and are characterized by a combination of features, none of which

alone could separate all reptiles from all other animals.

The characteristics of reptiles are numerous, therefore can not be

explained in great detail in this report. In no special order, the

characteristics of reptiles are: cold-bloodedness; the presence of lungs;

direct development, without larval forms as in amphibians; a dry skin with

scales but not feathers or hair; an amniote egg; internal fertilization; a

three or four-chambered heart; two aortic arches (blood vessels) carrying

blood from the heart to the body, unlike mammals and birds that only have

one; a metanephric kidney; twelve pairs of cranial nerves; and skeletal

features such as limbs with usually five clawed fingers or toes, at least

two spinal bones associated with the pelvis, a single ball-and-socket

connection at the head-neck joint instead of two, as in......

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Title: Reptiles
Approximate Word Count: 1021
Approximate Pages: 5 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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