1. Marine Reptiles

2. Reptiles, Birds, Mammals  Phylum Chordata  Subphylum Vertebrata  3 Classes:  Class Reptilia  Class Aves (birds)  Class Mammalia

3. Reptiles, Birds, Mammals  Evolved from fish-like vertebrates  Moved from the water to the land  Developed 2 pairs of limbs for walking – tetrapods  Developed lungs to breathe  Challenge of land - need to avoid drying out

4. Lungfish – A Missing Link http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/images/lungfish.jpghttp://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/images/8733.jpg  Class Osteichthyes  Subclass Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned)  Breathe air through swim bladder  Pectoral and pelvic fins → “legs” http://bill.srnr.arizona.edu/classes/182/Vertebrates/BonyFishEvol-1.JPG

5. What About Amphibians?  Lungfish – now only freshwater  Amphibians – some tolerate brackish water, none strictly marine  Extinct amphibians - ancestors to the reptiles  Extinct reptiles – ancestors to the birds http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/images/tetrapod_clade.gif

6. Marine Reptiles  Better adapted to life on land than amphibians  Skin covered with scales, prevents water loss  Eggs – leathery shell, lay on land http://www.ecologyasia.com/images-png/olive-sea-snake_5284.jpg http://www.nps.gov/pais/naturescience/images/greencloseup-285.gifhttp://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/03ml5d28gEa1Y/610x.jpg

7. Marine Reptiles  Some reinvaded the oceans, but still breathe air:  Turtles (Order Chelonia)  Snakes (Order Squamata)  Iguanas (Order Squamata)  Crocodiles (Order Crocodilia) NOAA

8. Marine Reptiles  Ectotherms (“cold-blooded”), so mostly in warmer waters, seasonal in temperate waters  Cold stunning –  Turtles too far north when water temperature suddenly drops (<50°F)  Get lethargic, immobile, float to surface, wash up on beach  Fatal if not warmed

9. Marine Reptiles  Cold stunning –  Local sea turtles rehabilitated by Riverhead Foundation http://www.riverheadfoundation.org/mediacenter/detail.asp?briefing_id=35

10. Marine Reptiles  Riverhead Foundation release of 4 green turtles Aug. 20, 2011 at Hampton Bays

11. Sea Turtles  2 families, 7 (or 8) species http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/SeaTurtle/images/species1.gif and...species2.gif

12. http://people.wcsu.edu/pinout/herpetology/dcoriacea/skeleton.gif Sea Turtles  Anatomy:  Dorsal shell = carapace  Ventral shell = plastron  Head does not retract

13. Sea Turtles  Adaptation to salt water – glands near eyes that excrete salt (“tears”)

14. Sea Turtles  Green (and Black)  Global tropical and temperate  Eat seagrass, algae http://www.turtles.org/i2401013.jpg NOAA

15. Sea Turtles  Kemp’s Ridley  Smallest species (2 ft, 100 lbs)  Only Gulf of Mexico and W. Atlantic  Nest only coast of Mexico, Texas  Eat mostly crabs http://www.chelonia.org/LkempiiJFa2.jpghttp://www.neaq.org/images/get_involved/proud_parent2.jpg

16. Sea Turtles  Olive Ridley  Slightly bigger than Kemp’s Ridley  Most abundant species worldwide  Indo-Pacific, S. Atlantic  Mass gatherings to lay eggs (“arribada”)  Omnivorous NOAA

17. Sea Turtles  Hawksbill  Global, most tropical species  Hawk-like beak  Eat mostly sponges http://www.cs.brown.edu/people/twd/fish/PNG/doeppne-081.jpg NOAA

18. Sea Turtles  Loggerhead  Global tropical and temperate  Most abundant species U.S.  Eat benthic invertebrates NOAA

19. Sea Turtles  Flatback  Australia, coastal only  Omnivorous http://www.mcsuk.org/images/turtle/flatback_hatch_kellie_pendo.jpghttp://www.seaturtlenet.com/Images/Flatback/Flatback3.jpg

20. Sea Turtles  Leatherback  Largest species (7 ft, 1200 lbs)  Global, widest distribution  Dive deep (up to 4000 ft)  “Warm-blooded” (counter-current circulation, fat) http://www.boncherry.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/leatherbacks-01-615.jpg

21. Sea Turtles  Leatherback  Eat jellyfishes http://museumvictoria.com.au/custom/dialogs/thumbnail.jpg?&i=/pages/26991/web0011548-a-021.jpg&resizewidth=true&w=475&h=317 http://seaturtles.org/img/original/Leatherback%20Eating%20Jellyfish.jpg

22. ©Newsday, 2006 Sea Turtles http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/maps/86312.gif Green Turtle Released 9/30/08  Migrations  Up to 3000 miles from nesting areas

23. Sea Turtles  Internal fertilization at sea  Females return to beach where they were born  Lay eggs on beach (oviparous) at night, cover eggs with sand using rear flippers  Several trips in one season, then not again for years

24. Sea Turtles  Incubation about 60 days  Hatch at night, find water by moonlight  If hatch day – easy to find water, but more predators  Few survive to reproduce http://www.nova.edu/ocean/seaturtles/sign2.jpg

25. Sea Turtles http://www.herpdigest.org/turtles/hatch.jpg http://www.susanscott.net/images/07-15_Green%20turtle%20hatchlings_bySAS.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1239/553140408_fffa55f330.jpg http://seattlesteve.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/20080419-6.jpg

26. Sea Turtles Human impacts:  Food (meat & eggs), shell, leather  Entangled, trapped in fishing nets  Disrupt nests, confusion from lights NOAA

27. Sea Turtles Human impacts:  Eat plastic  All sea turtles threatened or endangered status http://trinidadexp2012.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/579756_298333790261585_1870582904_n.jpg http://www.begreenjournal.com/image.axd?picture=2010%2f11%2f2009-06-21-TurtleEatingPlastic1.jpg

28. Marsh Turtles  Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)  Only brackish turtle species  Northern subspecies: Cape Cod, MA to Cape Hatteras, NC  Almost extinct in early 1900s http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Diamondback_Terrapin.jpgUSDA

29. Marsh Turtles  Hibernate in mud in winter  Females up to 11 in., males up to 5.5 in.  Mate in spring, lay eggs June-July  Airport delays, twitter.com/JFKTurtles http://creative.clemson.edu/clemsonworld/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2013/12/Terrapin-near-Rwy-31.jpg http://cdn-5.itsnature.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/nest-132-terp-9754-10-eggs-001-840.jpg

30. Sea Snakes  Tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans  17 genera, 60+ species  Most 3-4 ft long, flattened body, paddle tail, swim by undulation  Ovoviviparous (eggs w/ yolk, live-born) http://elapidcatcher.com/elapidcatcher.com/images/stories/snakes/yellow%20bellied%20sea%

31. http://image46.webshots.com/46/5/97/6/2275597060057246189LGPcsH_ph.jpg Sea Snakes http://www.arkive.org/media/8C/8C6D68E1-5028-4DA2-B60A-F485855B9E64/Presentation.Large/photo.jpg  Among most venomous snakes  Carnivorous (bottom fish, eggs)  One long lung, dive for up to 2 hours  Salt excreting gland under tongue, also drink freshwater http://www.underwaterplanet.com/Olive%20sea%20snake.jpg

32. Marine Iguanas  Galapagos Islands (Pacific) only  Only 1 species of iguanas in the sea  3-5 ft long, 1-4 lbs  Glands in nose, sneeze out salt http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/800/marine-iguana.jpg http://www.biology-blog.com/images/blogs/12-2006/Marine-iguanas.jpg

33. Marine Iguanas  Time on land – warm up  Time in water – dive up to 15 m, 1 hour, feed on seaweed http://www.biosbcc.net/ocean/marinesci/02ocean/enimg/GA340.jpg http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/dynamic_images/naturelibrary_626/downloads.bbc.co.uk/earth/naturelibrary/assets/m/ma/marine_iguana/marine_iguana_1.jpg

34.  2 marine species:  American crocodile (S. Florida, Caribbean, Mexico to S. America)  Saltwater crocodile (SE Asia, N. Australia) American crocodile Marine Crocodiles Saltwater crocodile http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Crocodylus_acutus_mexico_02-edit1.jpg

35. Marine Crocodiles  Usually coastal in mangrove swamps and estuaries, can venture out to sea  Most aggressive marine animal  Carnivore, ambush predator  SW Croc - largest marine reptile (up to 20 ft, 3000 lbs)