Marine reptile

Sea turtle.

Marine reptiles are reptiles which have become secondarily adapted for an aquatic or semi-aquatic life in a marine environment.

The earliest marine reptiles arose in the Permian period during the Paleozoic era. During the Mesozoic era, many groups of reptiles became adapted to life in the seas, including such familiar clades as the ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs (these two orders were once thought united in the group "Enaliosauria,"^[1] a classification now cladistically obsolete), mosasaurs, nothosaurs, placodonts, sea turtles, thalattosaurs and thalattosuchians.

After the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period, marine reptiles were less numerous. Extant marine reptiles include marine iguanas, sea snakes, sea turtles and saltwater crocodiles. The Murua gharial was yet another example of a fully marine reptile, that became extinct rather recently.

Some marine reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs and mosasaurs, rarely ventured onto land and gave birth in the water. Others, such as sea turtles and saltwater crocodiles, return to shore to lay their eggs. Some marine reptiles also occasionally rest and bask on land.

The marine iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile.

See also

• List of marine reptiles
• Salt gland

References

Aquatic ecosystems – general and freshwater components General Acoustic ecology Adaptation Agent-based models Algal bloom Anoxic waters Aquatic animals (Insects Mammals) Aquatic plants Aquatic science Benthos Biodiversity research Bioluminescence Biomass Biomonitoring Cascade effect Colored dissolved organic matter Camouflage & Mimicry Dead zone Ecohydrology Ecosystems Eutrophication Fisheries science Food chain Food web GIS and aquatic science Hydrobiology Hypoxia Isotope analysis Microbial ecology Microbial food web Microbial loop Nekton Neuston Particle Pelagic zone Photic zone Phytoplankton Plankton Pleuston Predation Productivity Ramsar Convention Respiration Schooling Sediment trap Siltation Spawning Substrate Thermal pollution Toxicology Trophic level Water column Zooplankton More... Freshwater Biology Biomes Ecosystems freshwater lake river Fish Hyporheic zone Limnology Lake stratification Macrophyte Pond fish pond Rheotaxis Stream bed Stream pool Trophic state index Upland and lowland Water garden Wetland brackish marsh freshwater marsh swamp bog fen Environmental quality More... Ecoregions Freshwater (List) Marine (List) The Everglades Maharashtra The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre The San Francisco Estuary   Aquatic ecosystems – marine components Marine Marine biology Marine chemistry Deep scattering layer Diel vertical migration Ecosystems large marine marine) f-ratio Iron fertilization Marine snow Ocean nourishment Oceanic physical-biological process Ocean turbidity Photophore Thorson's rule Upwelling Whale fall More... Marine life forms Bacteriophages Census Fish coastal coral reef deep sea demersal pelagic Deep sea communities Deep sea creature Deep-water coral Invertebrates Larvae Mammals Paradox of the plankton Reptiles Seabirds Seashore wildlife Vertebrates Wild fisheries Marine habitats Bay mud Black smokers Coastal biogeomorphology Cold seeps Coral reefs Davidson Seamount Estuaries Intertidal ecology Intertidal wetlands Kelp forests Hydrothermal vents Lagoons Mangroves Marine biomes Marine habitats Mudflats Rocky shores Salt marshes Salt pannes and pools Seagrass meadows Sponge reefs Tide pools Issues Ecological values of mangrove Fisheries and climate change HERMIONE Marine conservation Marine conservation activism Marine pollution Marine Protected Area