ADAPTIVE RADIATION IN

REPTILES

Adaptive radiation:

Is rapid evolutionaryradiation. It is an increase in

the number and diversity ofspecies. It produces more
new species and those species live in a wider range
ofhabitats.
Adaptive radiation leads to the formation of
different species from a common ancestor by adopting
various modifications for adaptation to different
environment.

 Reptiles displayed an amazing

pattern of adaptive radiation in

Triassic period (250-200 million
years ago) ,co-related with the new
ecological niches due to climatic
and geologic changes .. hot to
cooler temperature mountain
building ,terrain transformation and
varying plant
life
Reptiles have shown the greatest
evolutionary diversity of all
vertebrate groups.

 The stem reptiles Cotylosauria

underwent considerable radiation

During the Mesozoic Era (252 to

66 million years ) life diversified

rapidly and giant reptiles,
dinosaurs and other monstrous
beasts roamed the Earth , this age
is also known as the age of
reptiles or the age of dinosaurs.

 Outstanding among the ancient

reptiles were the Dinosaurs

The first Dinosaurs were small ,
meat-eating animals which evolved
into thousands of different species
Many got adapted to life on land
with two legged gait and huge size
example : Tyrannosaurus (6 meters
height)

 Some Dinosaurs became

herbivorous swamp dwellers and

reverted to four legged gait. The
buoyancy of water allowed them to
grow to enormous size , example :
Brontosaurus ( 25 meters length)

 The smallest fully-grown fossil dinosaur is the

little bird-hipped plant-eater example :

Lesothosaurus
Lesothosaurus was a small, lightly-built
dinosaur. It was an herbivore (plant-eater) and
a fast, agile runner. It was small and lizardlike, about 3 feet (1 m) long. It walked on two
long legs,had short arms, a long pointed tail,
a flexible neck, and a small head. Its head
was short and flat with large eyes. It had
sharp, pointed front teeth and arrow-like
cheek teeth, its lower jaw ended in toothless
bone.

Many Dinosaurs developed protective

devices like bony plates on the body Ex
: Stegosaurus (6 meters long)
or horns on the head
Ex: Triceratops(6 meters long)

Stegosaurus
Triceratops

 Some ancient reptiles like

Pterosaurus got adapted for aerial

life.

Their wings were made of

membrane of skin called patagium

supported by the fore limds and
greatly elongated 4th digit .Their
hind limbs were weak and not
used for walking

MODERN REPTILES

Arboreal Adaptation:
Among living modern reptiles there are
numerous arboreal (tree dwelling) forms like
geckos, calotes and chameleon.
Arboreal adaptations were development of
adhesive pads for climbing ,digit modification (
syndactyly in chameleon )or prehensile limbs
and tail for climbing and clinging to branches

Aerial adaptation : Ancient reptiles like Pterosaurus

got adapted to aerial life.The wings of these forms
consists of a membrane of skin called patagium
supported by the fore limbs and greatly elongated
fourth digit .Hind limbs were weak.
They had attained very large size -wing-size of upto 6
meters
The size of volant or flying reptiles ranged from size of
a sparrow to largest flying forms, but there is no
perfect fossil record of Triassic life
Draco has lateral extension of skin ,the patagium which
helps in passive flight

Aquatic Adaptations
Certain ancient reptiles returned to water.
Marine forms became fully adapted to
aquatic mode of life.
Plesiosaurus developed turtle-like body with
long neck, they propelled through water
with long paddle-shaped limbs Ex:
Elasmosaurus
Ichthyosaurus acquired fish-like body, with
fin-like limbs
Ex: Opthalmosaurus (21meters)

Plesiosaurus,Mesosaurus,Ichthyosaurus (extinct forms) and turtles,

tortoise, crocodiles etc (living
forms) show aquatic adaptations
by developing paddle-like
limbs,laterally compressed
tail,false palate etc
Hydrophis or sea snake has
valvular nostrils and laterally
compressed tail to aid in
swimming

 Fossorial Adaptations
In thereptiles, adaptations for burrowing have also evolved

independently many times. Tuatara and someturtlesmake

burrows for themselves, but worm-like burrowing is seen in
a diversity of forms within the squamates, the group
comprising lizards, snakes and 'worm lizards.
Notable among the burrowing lizards are thesand-dwelling

forms that inhabit arid regions of Africa, America and

Australia. Amazingly they include species from six
independent groups:geckos, iguanids, skinks, agamids
('dragon lizards'), gerrhosaurids ('plated lizards') and
lacertids ('true lizards'). These lizards are capable of 'sanddiving' and move efficiently through sandy substrate with
the help of fringes or spines on their toes, a pointed or
spade-like snout, a cylindrical body and adaptations for
breathing when submerged.

 Among the snakes,. the Southern African burrowing

aspAtractaspis bibronii) have independently evolved adaptations

for burrowing into sandy soils, including smooth scales andfangs
that swing sidewards to inject prey within their tunnels.
Astonishingly annelid-like are the aptly named 'worm lizards' or
amphisbaenians, a lineage distinct from true lizards or snakes in
which limb loss and head and skeleton morphology suited for an
underground existence seem to have evolved several times.
Examples include the limbless shovel-headedRhineura floridana,
the keel-headedAnops kingiiandBipes bioporus, which has tiny
forelimbs. Added to what we know ofamphibians, thesereptiles
make the convergent evolution of worm-like body plans even
more compelling.
As a final note on convergent burrowing mechanisms, the way in
which many animals burrow also follows a specified '
burrowing cycle', which despite widely divergent anatomies
basically relies on the same set of movements.

Credits
Wiki pedia
Google
Map of Life - "Burrowing: from
worms to vertebrates"
http://www.mapoflife.org/topics/topic_
37_Burrowing-from-worms-tovertebrates/
July 17, 2015