Amniotes
The amniotes are a group of tetrapods (four-limbed animals with backbones or spinal columns) that have an egg equipped with amnios, an adaptation to lay eggs on land rather than in water as anamniotes do. They include synapsids (mammals along with their extinct kin) and sauropsids (reptiles and birds), as well as their fossil ancestors. Amniote embryos, whether laid as eggs or carriedby the female, are protected and aided by several extensive membranes. In eutherian mammals (such as humans), these membranes include the amniotic sac that surrounds the fetus. These embryonic membranes, and the lack of a larval stage, distinguish amniotes from tetrapod amphibians.