Question

Are reptiles Uricotelic?

Answer 1

Hint:
- Reptiles are tetrapod species that belong to the Reptilia clade. Reptilia is a paraphyletic classification in Linnaean taxonomy that includes all amniotes except synapsis and Aves.
- Animals that excrete nitrogenous waste in the form of uric acid are referred to as uric acid-secreting animals. Birds are examples of uricotelic animals.

Complete answer:
- In reptiles, Two small kidneys are in charge of excretion. Uric acid is the primary nitrogenous waste product in diapsids; turtles, like humans, excrete urea. Reptile kidneys, unlike those of humans and birds, are unable to produce urine that is more concentrated than their body fluid.
- This is due to the absence of a specialized structure known as a Henle loop, which is located in the nephrons of birds and mammals. As a result, many reptiles use the colon to help with water absorption.
- The urinogenital ducts and the anus both drain into a cloaca, which is present in all reptiles. A midventral wall in the cloaca can open into a urinary bladder in some reptiles, but not all.
- The bladders of many turtles, tortoises, and lizards are disproportionately big. Other desert-dwelling reptiles have huge bladders that can hold water for up to many months and help with osmoregulation.

Thus from the above discussion reptiles can be classified as uricotelic almost with most birds.

Note:
- The earliest known proto-reptiles developed from advanced reptiliomorpha tetrapods that became increasingly adapted to life on dry land about 312 million years ago during the Carboniferous period.
- Except for Antarctica, all continents have modern non-bird reptiles.
- Terrestrial arthropods (including insects), lizards, snakes, and birds are all uricotelic creatures.