amniotes
Embryo-membrane having animals
Amniotes are vertebrate animals whose embryos develop within a protective membrane called the amnion, which encloses the embryo in fluid.
This evolutionary adaptation allowed animals to reproduce on land without returning to water.
The group includes reptiles, birds, and mammals—essentially all land vertebrates except amphibians.
Amniotes dominated terrestrial ecosystems after their ancestors evolved the amniotic egg.
Fetal enclosing membrane
- tetrapodFour-limbed vertebrate animal
- vertebratesAnimals with internal skeletons
- terrestrialRelating to land
- embryoOrganism before birth
eggshell · yolk · paleontology · fossils · evolution · phylogeny · taxonomy · adaptation
Plates or weighing devices
- ectothermicTemperature set by surroundings
- turtlesShell-backed reptiles
- lizardsSmall scaly reptiles
- snakesElongated limbless reptiles
crocodilians · tuatara · geckos · chameleons · iguanas · squamata · herpetology · oviparous
Fetal nourishment organ
- marsupialsPouch-bearing mammals
- monotremesEgg-producing mammal order
- furAnimal body hair
- mammaryOf milk glands
lactation · warm-blooded · endothermic · viviparous · gestation · thermoregulation · neocortex · diaphragm
amnion
Fetal enclosing membrane
- tetrapodFour-limbed vertebrate animal
- vertebratesAnimals with internal skeletons
- terrestrialRelating to land
embryo · eggshell · yolk · paleontology · fossils · evolution · phylogeny · taxonomy · adaptation · diversification
scales
Plates or weighing devices
- ectothermicTemperature set by surroundings
- turtlesShell-backed reptiles
- lizardsSmall scaly reptiles
snakes · crocodilians · tuatara · geckos · chameleons · iguanas · squamata · herpetology · oviparous · cold-blooded
placenta
Fetal nourishment organ
- marsupialsPouch-bearing mammals
- monotremesEgg-producing mammal order
- furAnimal body hair
mammary · lactation · warm-blooded · endothermic · viviparous · gestation · thermoregulation · neocortex · diaphragm · whiskers
feathers
Bird's lightweight covering
avian · plumage · eggs · nest · ornithology · migrate · songbird · raptor · flock · roost
- Cladesmammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects
- Paleozoic lifetrilobites, brachiopods, jawless fish, lungfish, agnathans
- reptiliomorphs
- vertebratesmammals, mammal, birds, bird, reptiles
- reptileslizard, snake, turtle, crocodile, alligator
amniotesamphibians
Vertebrates with aquatic larvae
fish · salamanders · frogs · bony fish · lungfish
- amniotic sacMembrane enclosing developing fetus
- amniotic fluidLiquid protecting unborn offspring