reptile, reptilian

any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises turtles snakes lizards alligators crocodiles and extinct forms

• anapsid, anapsid reptile — primitive reptile having no opening in the temporal region of the skull; all extinct except turtles
• diapsid, diapsid reptile — reptile having a pair of openings in the skull behind each eye
• Diapsida, subclass Diapsida — used in former classifications to include all living reptiles except turtles; superseded by the two subclasses Lepidosauria and Archosauria
• synapsid, synapsid reptile — extinct reptile having a single pair of lateral temporal openings in the skull

• vertebrate, craniate — animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium

• Reptilia, class Reptilia — 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