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Ablepharus Rueppellii
''Ablepharus rueppellii'', known commonly as Rüppell's snake-eyed skink, is a species of skink found in the Middle East. It was formerly considered a subspecies of ''Ablepharus kitaibelii'', but has since been distinguished. What is currently recognized as this species is possibly two distinct species. Range It is found throughout north and central Israel, Lebanon, western Jordan, and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It also possibly lives in Syria, though this is also unconfirmed. In the areas where it can be found, it is generally uncommon. It is found in the leaf litter of forested or shrubby areas, and in Egypt, it is usually found near oases. It is highly localized in densely vegetated areas. In Israel, the species is common and can be found in cities. It is one of the few reptiles capable of living in areas afforested with Aleppo pine (these are very widespread in Israel). Possible threats Few threats exist to the species as a whole, though deforestation Defores ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a zoological name. Gray was keeper of zoology at the British Museum in London from 1840 until Christmas 1874, before the natural history holdings were split off to the Natural History Museum. He published several catalogues of the museum collections that included comprehensive discussions of animal groups and descriptions of new species. He improved the zoological collections to make them amongst the best in the world. Biography Gray was born in Walsall, but his family soon moved to London, where Gray studied medicine. He assisted his father in writing ''The Natural Arrangement of British Plants'' (1821). After being blackballed by the Linnean Society of London, Gray shifted his interest from botany to zoology. He began his zoologica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Skinks are characterized by their smaller legs in comparison to typical lizards and are found in different habitats except arctic and subarctic regions. Description Skinks look like lizards of the family Lacertidae (sometimes called ''true lizards''), but most species of skinks have no pronounced neck and relatively small legs. Several genera (e.g., ''Typhlosaurus'') have no limbs at all. This is not true for all skinks, however, as some species such as the red-eyed crocodile skink have a head that is very distinguished from the body. These lizards also have legs that are relatively small proportional to their body size. Skinks' skulls are covered by substantial bony scales, usually matching up in shape and size, while overlapping. Other gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European part of Turkey), Egypt, Iran, the Levant (including Syria (region), Ash-Shām and Cyprus), Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and the Socotra Governorate, Socotra Archipelago (a part of Yemen). The term came into widespread usage as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early 20th century. The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions, and has been viewed by some to be discriminatory or too Eurocentrism, Eurocentric. The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of Western Asia (including Iran), but without the South Caucasus, and additionally includes all of Egypt (not just the Sina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ablepharus Kitaibelii
''Ablepharus kitaibelii'', commonly known as the European copper skink, European snake-eyed skink, juniper skink, or snake-eyed skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia. Geographic range ''A. kitaibelii'' is native to Greece (including the Aegean Islands), Romania, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Albania, Slovakia, the Caucasus, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and possibly Iraq. The subspecies ''A. k. fitzingeri'' is known from Slovakia, Hungary, Greece and the island of Corfu. The subspecies ''A. k. stepaneki'' is known from Bulgaria and Romania. Also Macedonia Description A small, slender lizard, ''A. kitaibelii'' grows up to in total length (including tail). The skin is bronze-coloured, with dark sides. The eyelids are immovable, in contrast to many other skinks. Habitat and behaviour ''A. kitaibelii'' is a shy species, which lives under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no previous tree cover. Many government and non-governmental organizations directly engage in afforestation programs to create forests and increase carbon capture. Afforestation is an increasingly sought-after method to fight climate concerns, as it is known to increase the soil quality and organic carbon levels into the soil, avoiding desertification. Afforestation is mainly done for conservational and commercial purposes. # The rate of net forest loss decreased substantially over the period 1990–2020 due to a reduction in deforestation in some countries, plus increases in forest area in others through afforestation and the natural expansion of forests. A 2019 study of the global potential for tree restoration showed that there is space for at least 9 million km2 of new forests worldwide, which is a 25% increase from current conditions. This forested area could store up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aleppo Pine
''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, tall, with a trunk diameter up to , exceptionally up to . The bark is orange-red, thick, and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown. The leaves ('needles') are very slender, long, distinctly yellowish green, and produced in pairs (rarely a few in threes). The cones are narrow conic, long and broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown when 24 months old. They open slowly over the next few years, a process quickened if they are exposed to heat such as in forest fires. The cones open wide to allow the seeds to disperse. The seeds are long, with a wing, and are wind- dispersed.Nahal, I. (1962). Le Pin d'Alep (''Pinus halepensis'' Miller). Étude taxonomique, phytogéographique, écologique et sylvicole. ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ablepharus Rueppellii (young)
''Ablepharus'' is a genus of skinks that contains the common snake-eyed skinks. Both their scientific and common names refer to the fact that their eyelids have fused to a translucent capsule; as in snakes, they thus are physically incapable of blinking. They are small lizards and prefer to live in the leaf litter of dry fields and hills. Their scales give them a very shiny, bronze appearance with a characteristically dark stripe down the sides of their bodies. They prey on small insects and other small mollusks.Snake-eyed Skink at th Wildlife Archipelago Characteristics Appearance The scales on all ''Ablepharus'' species are shiny and ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, a half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines deforestation as the conversion of forest to other land uses (regardless of whether it is human-induced). "Deforestation" and "forest area net change" are not the same: the latter is the sum of all forest losses (deforestation) and all forest gains (forest expansion) in a gi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ablepharus
''Ablepharus'' is a genus of skinks that contains the common snake-eyed skinks. Both their scientific and common names refer to the fact that their eyelids have fused to a translucent capsule; as in snakes, they thus are physically incapable of blinking. They are small lizards and prefer to live in the leaf litter of dry fields and hills. Their scales give them a very shiny, bronze appearance with a characteristically dark stripe down the sides of their bodies. They prey on small insects and other small mollusks.Snake-eyed Skink at th Wildlife Archipelago Characteristics Appearance The scales on all ''Ablepharus'' species are shiny and ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptiles Described In 1839
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians (tuatara). As of March 2022, the Reptile Database includes about 11,700 species. In the traditional Linnaean classification system, birds are considered a separate class to reptiles. However, crocodilians are more closely related to birds than they are to other living reptiles, and so modern cladistic classification systems include birds within Reptilia, redefining the term as a clade. Other cladistic definitions abandon the term reptile altogether in favor of the clade Sauropsida, which refers to all amniotes more closely related to modern reptiles than to mammals. The study of the traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. The earliest known proto-reptiles originated around 31 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptiles Of Western Asia
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians (tuatara). As of March 2022, the Reptile Database includes about 11,700 species. In the traditional Linnaean classification system, birds are considered a separate class to reptiles. However, crocodilians are more closely related to birds than they are to other living reptiles, and so modern cladistic classification systems include birds within Reptilia, redefining the term as a clade. Other cladistic definitions abandon the term reptile altogether in favor of the clade Sauropsida, which refers to all amniotes more closely related to modern reptiles than to mammals. The study of the traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. The earliest known proto-reptiles originated around 31 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fauna Of The Middle East
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoologists and paleontologists use ''fauna'' to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess Shale fauna". Paleontologists sometimes refer to a sequence of faunal stages, which is a series of rocks all containing similar fossils. The study of animals of a particular region is called faunistics. Etymology ''Fauna'' comes from the name Fauna, a Roman goddess of earth and fertility, the Roman god Faunus, and the related forest spirits called Fauns. All three words are cognates of the name of the Greek god Pan, and ''panis'' is the Greek equivalent of fauna. ''Fauna'' is also the word for a book that catalogues the animals in such a manner. The term was first used by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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