ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of normal development and developmental anomalies in reptilian taxa. Recent use of several taxa as model species has increased understanding of development in several species of turtles, tuatara, lizards, and snakes, and crocodilians. Reproductive cycles in reptiles can be quite variable and hence knowledge of specific taxa should be sought from those that work with the species of interest in the field or in captivity. Squamates are a diverse clade of Reptilia with a broad geographic distribution. They have the highest diversity of reproductive patterns of any amniote lineage and have evolved a wide range of body sizes and shapes. The embryonic development of vertebrates consists of a highly complex biological process, and due to the delicate synchronization of the developmental events, aberrations or errors may occur during gametogenesis, fertilization, blastogenesis, embryogenesis, or fetogenesis, giving rise to developmental anomalies.
