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Most reptiles have a terrestrial habitat and are egg-laying animals.
Certain species, however, are capable of giving live birth, as mammals do, and provide a similar initial care for their hatchlings.
Their skin is covered in scales and/or scutes, and certain species such as turtles are characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell that acts as a shield.
Reptiles have a tail and four legs, but serpents and snakes are legless and have to scrawl.
Like amphibians, reptiles breath with lungs and are cold blooded animals, which means that the temperature of their body depends on the temperature of the environment they live in.
This is due to the fact that their heart consists of two atria and one ventricle, which allows that a mixture of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood goes through their blood stream.
The most common reptiles are turtles, crocodiles, snakes and serpents.
And now, this fantastic news: reptiles and birds have a common ancestor, the archaeopteryx, an extinct animal with characteristics of both the birds and the dinosaurs.
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