Biology Encyclopedia	Amniota Haeckel, 1866 “”
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Common Names

Amniotes include the extant mammals and birds, as well as all things known traditionally as reptiles.

Latin Synonyms

Reptilia

Linnaean Rank

Series

Ancestral Phylogeny and Taxonomy

Explanation of phylogenetic trees

Lineage

Terrabiota, Cytota, Neomura, Eukaryota, Unikonta, Opisthokonta, Animalia, Metazoa, Eumetazoa, Bilateria, Deuterostomia, Cyrtotreta, Chordata, Notochordata, Vertebrata, Gnathostomata,, Teleostomi, Euteleostomi, Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha, Tetrapoda, Reptilomorpha, Cotylosauria

Descendant Phylogeny and Taxonomy

Explanation of phylogenetic trees

Morphology

Distribution

Ecology

Amniotes are largely and primarily terrestrial, but a few lineages, notably Cetacea and †Ichthyosauria, completely readapted to marine environments.  Amniotes have also evolved powered flight at least three separate times (Aves, Chiroptera, and †Pterosauria).

Ethology

Evolution

The first amniotes, resembling small lizards, probably evolved 340 mya. The fossil Casineria from Scotland is very close to this presumed ancestor of all amniotes, although it may be older than the true common ancestor and thus lie just outside of the Amniota s.s. Amniotic eggs could survive out of the water, allowing amniotes to branch out and colonize drier environments. The eggs could also "breathe" and cope with waste, allowing the eggs and the amniotes themselves to evolve into larger forms. The amniotes spread across the globe and became the dominant land vertebrates.

Development

Ethnobiology

Population

Notes and Comments

References

Literature

Laurin, M. & R. R. Reisz. 1995. A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 113: 165-223.

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