[医] 爬行纲

[ noun ]
class of cold-blooded air-breathing vertebrates with completely ossified skeleton and a body usually covered with scales or horny plates; once the dominant land animals
<noun.animal>

Reptilia \Rep*til"i*a\ (r?p-t?l"?-?), n. pl. [NL.] (Zo["o]l.)
A class of air-breathing oviparous vertebrates, usually
covered with scales or bony plates. The heart generally has
two auricles and one ventricle. The development of the young
is the same as that of birds.

Note: It is nearly related in many respects to Aves, or
birds. The principal existing orders are {Testidunata}
or {Chelonia} (turtles), {Crocodilia}, {Lacertilla}
(lizards), {Ophidia} (serpents), and {Rhynchocephala};
the chief extinct orders are {Dinosauria},
{Theremorpha}, {Mosasauria}, {Pterosauria},
{Plesiosauria}, {Ichtyosauria}.