Reptilia

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Reptilia \Rep*til"i*a\ (r?p-t?l"?-?), n. pl. [NL.] (Zool.)
     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.
     [1913 Webster]


  
     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}.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Reptilia
       n : 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 [syn: {class Reptilia}]