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Reptilia
Among the lowest reptiles are the lizards; we
have one common little lizard in Colorado
known as a sand swift. Here belong the snakes
which have the peculiarity of being able to
swallow prey of a size greater than the normal
size of its own body, this they can do becuase the
lower jaw is separated from the upper
jaw by a bone, known as the quadratus. As
snakes grow they shed their skin; in the case of
the rattlers the skin on the end of the tail is not cast
off, but remains as a horny remant known as
a rattler. The skin of snakes is frequently shed
in August; as the skin drys it becomes opake
over the eyes so that the snakes vision is obscured
and they are said "to go blind," at this season
they strike at the least provocation.
Another representative of this group is
the turtle, it has two skeletons, an endo skeleton
and an into skeleton. The word tortoise is
commonly applied to land and fresh
water species, while marine forms are
generally called turtles, but by many writers
the words are used synonimously.