| Summary: | One of the greatest feats of evolutionary innovation, the amniotic egg, allowed vertebrate organisms more freedom from the aquatic environment by being able to place their eggs on land. Amniotes became a diverse group occupying a myriad of habitats around the globe. Over time, there have been multiple independent invasions of aquatic systems by terrestrial amniotes from a variety of taxa. Reptiles (the historically recognized group) are a diverse group of organisms with aquatic representative taxa on every continent except Antarctica. Within reptiles, the ophidia (snakes) are found all across the globe and in most aquatic habitats. There have been multiple invasions of both freshwater and marine systems by snakes in several families, and members of the subfamily Natricinae are found in many freshwater systems in North America. Pruett, Jake A. Indiana State University Cunningham Memorial Library
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