Tetrapoda
Sign in to saveA tetrapod (; ) is any vertebrate animal of the clade Tetrapoda (). Tetrapods include all extant and extinct amphibians and amniotes, with the latter in turn evolving into two major clades, the sauropsids (reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (extinct "pelycosaurs", therapsids and all extant mammals, including humans).
AI overview
Tetrapods are vertebrate animals that include all amphibians, reptiles (including dinosaurs and birds), and mammals—both living species and extinct ones. They matter because this group encompasses the vast majority of large land animals throughout Earth's history, including humans, and represents one of the most successful and diverse branches of the vertebrate family tree.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Subclass of
- quadruped
- Parent taxon
- Stegocephalia
- Image
- Feuer Salamander 2.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- P105
- superclass
- P910
Article
47 sectionsContents
- Definitions
- Apomorphy-based definitions
- Crown group tetrapods
- Biodiversity
- Classification
- History of classification
- Modern classification
- Evolution
- History
- Palaeozoic
- Devonian stem-tetrapods
- Carboniferous
- Permian
- Mesozoic
- Cenozoic
- Phylogeny
- Stem group
- Crown group
- Origins of modern amphibians
- Temnospondyl hypothesis (TH)
- Lepospondyl hypothesis (LH)
- Polyphyly hypothesis (PH)
- Anatomy and physiology
- Skull
- Neck
- Dentition
- Axial skeleton
- Girdles
- Limbs
- Locomotion
- Feeding
- Respiration
- Gills
- Lungs
- Recoil aspiration
- Cutaneous respiration
- Carbon dioxide metabolism
- Circulation
- Senses
- Olfaction
- Lateral line system
- Vision
- Balance
- Hearing
- See also
- References
- Further reading
A tetrapod (; ) is any vertebrate animal of the clade Tetrapoda (). Tetrapods include all extant and extinct amphibians and amniotes, with the latter in turn evolving into two major clades, the sauropsids (reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (extinct "pelycosaurs", therapsids and all extant mammals, including humans).
Hox gene mutations have resulted in some tetrapods becoming limbless (snakes, legless lizards, and caecilians) or two-limbed (cetaceans, sirenians, some lizards, kiwis, and the extinct moa and elephant birds). Nevertheless, they still qualify as tetrapods through their ancestry, and some retain a pair of vestigial spurs that are remnants of the hindlimbs.