REPTILE 



6567 



Reptile (Lat. reptilis, crawling ) 

 Class of back-boned animals (Ver- 

 tebrates) with cold blood, which 

 breathe air by means of lungs and 

 are reproduced by eggs, which are 

 sometimes retained in the body 

 until ready to hatch. The class 

 consists of five existing orders, but 

 fossil reptiles constitute as many 

 more orders. Of existing orders one 

 is represented solely by the iguana- 

 like Tuatera (Sphenodon) of New 

 Zealand, the second by the tortoises 

 and turtles, the third includes the 

 crocodiles and alligators, the 

 fourth the lizards, and the fifth the 

 snakes. Formerly the amphibious 

 animals (Batrachia) were classed 

 as reptiles, as they are still re- 



REPUBUIC 



Repton. Village 

 of Derbyshire, Eng- 

 land. It is 5 m. from 

 Burton - upon - Trent, 

 with a station on the 

 Mid. Rly. Here the 

 kings of Mercia had a 

 palace. The place had 

 I also a famous nun- 

 nery, in which some 

 of the kings were 

 buried. This was de- 

 stroyed in 873 by the 

 Danes. The church 

 of S. Wystan, which 

 was built early in the 

 14th century and re- 

 stored in the 18th and 

 again in the 19th, has a 

 crypt and other remains of 

 an earlier Saxon building. 

 Some buildings of the 

 monastery, which was 

 founded in 1172, now form 

 part of the school, and the 

 hall is the headmaster's 

 residence. Pop. 1,900. 



With the ex- 

 ception of some 

 herbivorou s 

 tortoises, all the 

 reptiles are car- 

 nivorous, their 

 food ranging 

 from mammals 

 to insects and 

 worms. In the 

 turtle and tor- 

 toise the upper 

 and under sides 

 are protected 

 by great shields, 



formed by modifications of the 

 skeleton and covered with thin 

 plates of horn. In the crocodiles 

 ordinary scales are more apparent 

 on the feet ; on other parts there 

 are bony plates formed in the skin. 

 In the lizards and snakes the scales 

 are mostly small, homy, and over- 

 lapping, outgrowths from the skin, 

 with which they are shed from time 

 to time. See Animals, colour plate ; 

 also Chameleon ; Crocodile ; Gecko ; 

 Iguana ; Lizard ; Snake, etc. 



garded in the popu- - 

 lar view ; but the 

 soft glandular skin, 

 devoid of scales or 

 plates, and the fish- 

 like larval stage 

 separate them. The 

 skull is bony, and 

 the jaws furnished 

 with teeth, except 

 in the turtles and 

 tortoises, where 

 they approximate 

 more to a bird's bill. 



Repton, Derbyshire. School buildings, with remains o! 

 priory on left, and Pears School, built in memory of I 

 former headmaster. Top, left, parish church of S. Wystan 



Valtnlint 



Reptile. 1. Viscera of a serpent : A. Month. B. Gullet. 

 C. Trachea. D. Lung. E. Liver. F. Stomach and in- 

 testine. G. Egg. H. Ovary. J. Cloaca. K. Vent. 2. Skeleton 

 and carapace of a logger-headed turtle, from beneath. 3. 

 Skeleton of a snake. 4. Skeleton of common lizard 



Repton School. English public 

 school. It owes its origin to Sir 

 John Port, of Etwall, who left 

 money to found 

 a grammar 

 school, and this 

 was opened at 

 Repton, Derby- 

 shire, in 1557. 

 In the 19th cen- 

 tury it developed 

 into a leading 

 public school, 

 and has now 



about 400 boys. They live hi eight 

 houses, and there are classical and 

 modern sides, as well as an army 

 class, and other kinds of special 

 training. The school has entrance 

 scholarships, and several to assist 

 those leaving the school to enter 

 the universities. 



Republic (Lat. res publica, pub- 

 lic affairs). Form of the state in 

 which the supreme authority is 

 vested in the citizens, or a privi- 

 leged class of citizens. It is thus 

 opposed to a monarchy, the head 

 of which derives his power from 

 hereditary descent. The distinction 

 is not always rigidly maintained, 



Repton School 

 arms 



