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Amphisbaenia 1
Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of usually legless squamates, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As many species have a pink body and scales arranged in rings, they have a superficial resemblance to earthworms. While the genus '' Bipes'' retains forelimbs, all other genera are limbless. Although superficially similar to the snakes and blind lizards, recent phylogenetic studies suggest that they are most closely related to wall lizards of the family Lacertidae. Amphisbaenians are widely distributed, occurring in North America, Europe, Africa, South America, Western Asia and the Caribbean. Most species are less than long. Description 200px, left, Close-up of the head of'' Rhineura'' Despite a superficial resemblance to some primitive snakes, amphisbaenians have many unique features that distinguish them from other reptiles. Internal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period. Climate During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropics became restricted to equatorial regions and northern latitudes experienced markedly more seasonal climatic conditions. Geography Due to plate tectonics, the Americas were gradually moving westward, causing the Atlantic Ocean to expand. The Western Interior Seaway divided North America into eastern and western halves; Appalachia and Laramidia. India maintained a northward course towards Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia and Ant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphisbaenia 1
Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of usually legless squamates, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As many species have a pink body and scales arranged in rings, they have a superficial resemblance to earthworms. While the genus '' Bipes'' retains forelimbs, all other genera are limbless. Although superficially similar to the snakes and blind lizards, recent phylogenetic studies suggest that they are most closely related to wall lizards of the family Lacertidae. Amphisbaenians are widely distributed, occurring in North America, Europe, Africa, South America, Western Asia and the Caribbean. Most species are less than long. Description 200px, left, Close-up of the head of'' Rhineura'' Despite a superficial resemblance to some primitive snakes, amphisbaenians have many unique features that distinguish them from other reptiles. Internal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convergent Evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy. The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight. Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are ''analogous'', whereas '' homologous'' structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions. The opposite of convergence is divergent evolution, where related species evolve different traits. Convergent evolution is similar to parallel evo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenwood Press (publisher)
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Greenwood Press, Inc. and based in Westport, Connecticut, GPG publishes reference works under its Greenwood Press imprint, and scholarly, professional, and general interest books under its related imprint, Praeger Publishers (). Also part of GPG is Libraries Unlimited, which publishes professional works for librarians and teachers. History 1967–1999 The company was founded as Greenwood Press, Inc. in 1967 by Harold Mason, a librarian and antiquarian bookseller, and Harold Schwartz who had a background in trade publishing. Based in Greenwood, New York, the company initially focused on reprinting out-of-print works, particularly titles listed in the American Library Association's first edition of ''Books for College Libraries'' (1967), unde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ross Piper
Ross Piper is a British zoologist, entomologist, and explorer. Biography Piper's fascination by animals began at a young age through early encounters with a violet ground beetle and the caterpillar of an elephant hawk moth. This early interest led to a degree in zoology from Bangor University and a PhD in insect ecology from the University of Leeds. Piper has travelled widely in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Southeast Asia, searching for interesting and elusive beasts. Although his focus is arthropods, the sheer diversity of animal forms and lifestyles is a continual source of fascination. In 2015 he was awarded the Alumnus of the Year award by Bangor University and has since become a member of their alumni advisory board. He is also a student mentor for the University of Leeds and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He is currently a visiting research fellow at the University of Leeds and a visiting fellow at the University of Essex. His current projects include aut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leafcutter Ant
Leafcutter ants, a Genus#Generic name, non-generic name, are any of 47 species of leaf-chewing ants belonging to the two genus, genera ''Atta (genus), Atta'' and ''Acromyrmex''. These species of tropical, fungus-growing ants are all Endemism, endemic to South America, South and Central America, Mexico, and parts of the southern United States.. Leafcutter ants can carry twenty times their body weight and cut and process fresh vegetation (leaves, flowers, and grasses) to serve as the nutritional substrate for their fungal cultivates. ''Acromyrmex'' and ''Atta'' ants have much in common anatomically; however, the two can be identified by their external differences. ''Atta'' ants have three pairs of spines and a smooth exoskeleton on the upper surface of the Thorax (insect anatomy), thorax, while ''Acromyrmex'' ants have four pairs and a rough exoskeleton. The exoskeleton itself is covered in a thin layer of mineral coating, composed of rhombohedral crystals that are generated by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphisbaena Alba
''Amphisbaena alba'', also known as the red worm lizard or less commonly as the white or white-bellied worm lizard, is a species of amphisbaenian in the reptilian order Squamata. Despite the large geographic range that this species covers, little is known about its ecology due to its secretive habits. ''A. alba'' has a diverse diet ranging from plant material to small vertebrates (such as mice). Numerically, beetles, ants, and spiders compose the majority of their diet; however, ants, insect larvae, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, and termites are ingested to satisfy a larger volume. The females are somewhat larger than the males, and can reach over 80 cm, which is quite large for an amphisbaenian. They are known to bury themselves in leafcutter ant nests and hide in the ants garbage dump areas to avoid irritating the ants into attacking, and to bury themselves to avoid predation in general. Geographic range It occurs in South America from eastern Venezuela and the island o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viviparity
Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the mother. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous' derive from the Latin ''vivus'' meaning "living" and ''pario'' meaning "give birth to". Reproductive mode Five modes of reproduction have been differentiated in animals based on relations between zygote and parents. The five include two nonviviparous modes: ovuliparity, with external fertilisation, and oviparity, with internal fertilisation. In the latter, the female lays zygotes as eggs with a large vitellus, yolk; this occurs in all birds, most reptiles, and some fishes. These modes are distinguished from viviparity, which covers all the modes that result in live birth: *Histotrophic viviparity: the zygotes develop in the female's oviducts, but find their nutrients b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autotomy
Autotomy (from the Greek language, Greek ''auto-'', "self-" and ''tome'', "severing", wikt:αὐτοτομία, αὐτοτομία) or self-amputation, is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards one or more of its own appendages, usually as a self-preservation, self-defense mechanism to elude a predation, predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. Some animals have the ability to regeneration (biology), regenerate the lost body part later. Autotomy has multiple evolutionary origins and is thought to have evolved at least nine times independently in animalia. The term was coined in 1883 by Léon Fredericq, Leon Fredericq. Vertebrates Reptiles and amphibians Some lizards, salamanders and tuatara when caught by the tail will shed part of it in attempting to escape. In many species the detached tail will continue to wriggle, creating a deceptive sense of continued struggle, and distracting the predator's attention from the fleeing prey animal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blanus Skull By Nick Longrich
''Blanus'' is a genus of amphisbaenians found in the Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa. Like other amphisbaenians, ''Blanus'' species are specialized for a subterranean existence, with long, slender bodies, reduced limbs, and rudimentary eyes. Their skulls are powerfully constructed, allowing them to push through soil to create a burrow. Their jaws are well-developed, with large, recurved teeth and a pair of canine-like teeth in the upper jaw. Five extant species are currently known. The relationships of ''Blanus'' to other worm-lizards are not clear. The genus was formerly included in the Amphisbaenidae. More recent analyses suggest that blanids are more primitive, and are either related to '' Bipes'' or represent an even more ancient lineage. A number of fossils from Europe have been referred either to ''Blanus'' or to the Blanidae. Species The genus contains the following species:Blanus Wikispecies. * '' Blanus alexandri'' Sindaco, Kornilios, Sacchi & Lym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphisbaena
The amphisbaena (, , or , plural: amphisbaenae; grc, ἀμφίσβαινα) is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. The creature is alternatively called the amphisbaina, amphisbene, amphisboena, amphisbona, amphista, amfivena, amphivena, or anphivena (the last two being feminine), and is also known as the "Mother of Ants". Its name comes from the Greek words ', meaning "both ways", and ', meaning "to go". Mythology According to Greek mythology, the amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from the Gorgon Medusa's head as Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with her head in his hand, after which Cato's army then encountered it along with other serpents on the march. Amphisbaena fed on the corpses left behind. The amphisbaena has been referred to by various poets such as Nicander, John Milton, Alexander Pope, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred Tennyson, Aimé Césaire, A. E. Housman and Allen Mandelbaum; as a mythological and legendary creature, it h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anterior Chamber Of Eyeball
The anterior chamber (Optometric Abbreviations#AC, AC) is the aqueous humor-filled space inside the human eye, eye between the iris (anatomy), iris and the cornea's innermost surface, the Corneal endothelium, endothelium. Hyphema, Uveitis, anterior uveitis and glaucoma are three main pathologies in this area. In hyphema, blood fills the anterior chamber as a result of a hemorrhage, most commonly after a blunt eye injury. Anterior uveitis is an inflammatory process affecting the iris (anatomy), iris and ciliary body, with resulting inflammatory signs in the anterior chamber. In glaucoma, blockage of the trabecular meshwork prevents the normal outflow of aqueous humour, resulting in increased intraocular pressure, progressive damage to the optic nerve head, and eventually blindness. The depth of the anterior chamber of the eye varies between 1.5 and 4.0 mm, averaging 3.0 mm. It tends to become shallower at older age and in eyes with Far-sightedness, hypermetropia (far sight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
