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Argus Monitor
The yellow-spotted monitor (''Varanus panoptes''), also known as the Argus monitor, is a monitor lizard found in northern and western regions of Australia and southern New Guinea. Taxonomy The first description of the species was provided in a revision of the varanids of Western Australia, where the family is represented by diverse taxa in a wide variety of habitats. Early collections and descriptions of the region's species have historically been uncertain, leading the ICZN to issue an opinion that related to this taxon. A third subspecies was published in 1988, based on specimens from southern New Guinea. The describing author discovered that the specimen selected as the type of '' Varanus gouldii'' was in fact assignable to this species, recently described by reptile specialist Glenn Storr. By issuing an opinion on the various taxonomic considerations, the voting members conserved the name published with John Edward Gray's description and stabilised the nomenclature of this sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cincinnati Zoo And Botanical Garden
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is the sixth oldest zoo in the United States, founded in 1873 and officially opening in 1875. It is located in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It originally began with in the middle of the city, but has spread into the neighboring blocks and several reserves in Cincinnati's outer suburbs. It was appointed as a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The zoo houses over 500 species, 1800 animals and 3,000 plant species. In addition, the zoo also has conducted several breeding programs in its history, and was the first to successfully breed California sea lions. In 1986, the Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) was created to further the zoo's goal of conservation. The zoo is known for being the home of Martha, the last living passenger pigeon, and to Incas, the last living Carolina parakeet. The zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and a member of the Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argus Panoptes
Argus or Argos Panoptes ( grc, Ἄργος Πανόπτης, All-seeing Argos) is a many-eyed giant in Greek mythology. Mythology Argus Panoptes (), guardian of the heifer-nymph Io and son of Arestor and probably Mycene (in other version son of Gaia), was a primordial giant whose epithet ''Panoptes'', "all-seeing", led to his being described with multiple, often one hundred, eyes. The epithet ''Panoptes'' was applied to the god of the Sun, Helios, and was taken up as an epithet by Zeus, ''Zeus Panoptes''. "In a way," Walter Burkert observes, "the power and order of Argos the city are embodied in Argos the neatherd, lord of the herd and lord of the land, whose name itself is the name of the land."The epithet ''Panoptes'', reflecting his mythic role, set by Hera as a very effective watchman of Io, was described in a fragment of a lost poem '' Aigimios'', attributed to Hesiod: In the 5th century and later, Argus' wakeful alertness was explained for an increasingly literal cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biomes
A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader term than habitat and can comprise a variety of habitats. While a biome can cover large areas, a microbiome is a mix of organisms that coexist in a defined space on a much smaller scale. For example, the human microbiome is the collection of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that are present on or in a human body. A biota is the total collection of organisms of a geographic region or a time period, from local geographic scales and instantaneous temporal scales all the way up to whole-planet and whole-timescale spatiotemporal scales. The biotas of the Earth make up the biosphere. Etymology The term was suggested in 1916 by Clements, originally as a synonym for ''biotic community'' of Möbius (1877). Later, it gained its cur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the host) and parasitoidism (which always does, eventually). It is distinct from scavenging on dead prey, though many predators also scavenge; it overlaps with herbivory, as seed predators and destructive frugivores are predators. Predators may actively search for or pursue prey or wait for it, often concealed. When prey is detected, the predator assesses whether to attack it. This may involve ambush or pursuit predation, sometimes after stalking the prey. If the attack is successful, the predator kills the prey, removes any inedible parts like the shell or spines, and eats it. Predators are adapted and often highly specialized for hunting, with acute senses such as vision, hearing, or smell. Many predatory animals, both vertebrate and i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hybrid Zone
A hybrid zone exists where the ranges of two interbreeding species or diverged intraspecific lineages meet and cross-fertilize. Hybrid zones can form ''in situ'' due to the evolution of a new lineage but generally they result from secondary contact of the parental forms after a period of geographic isolation, which allowed their differentiation (or speciation). Hybrid zones are useful in studying the genetics of speciation as they can provide natural examples of differentiation and (sometimes) gene flow between populations that are at some point between representing a single species and representing multiple species in reproductive isolation. Definition Hybrid zones are areas where the hybrid offspring of two divergent taxa (species, subspecies or genetic "forms") are prevalent and there is a cline in the genetic composition of populations from one taxon to the other. The two (or more) genetically differentiated species or lineages contributing to formation of a hybrid zone are re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sand Goanna
The sand goanna (''Varanus gouldii'') is a species of large Australian monitor lizard, also known as Gould's monitor, sand monitor, or racehorse goanna. Taxonomy John Edward Gray described the species in 1838 as ''Hydrosaurus gouldii'', noting the source of the type specimen as "New Holland" and distinguishing the new varanid by "two yellow streaks on the sides of the neck" and small flat scales at the orbits. An earlier description, ''Tupinambis endrachtensis'' Péron, F. 1807, was determined as likely to refer to this animal, but the epithet ''gouldii'' was conserved and a new specimen designated as the type. This neotype was obtained in 1997 at the near coastal Western Australian suburb of Karrakatta, and placed with the British Museum of Natural History. The decision of a nomenclatural commission (ICZN) was to issue an opinion suppressing the earlier names, ''Tupinambis endrachtensis'' and ''Hydrosaurus ocellarius'' Blyth, 1868, that were unsatisfactory to some who had comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the animal hatches. Most arthropods such as insects, vertebrates (excluding live-bearing mammals), and mollusks lay eggs, although some, such as scorpions, do not. Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs are laid out of water and are surrounded by a protective shell, either flexible or inflexible. Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a warm and favorable temperature range while the embryo grows. When the embryo is adequately developed it hatches, i.e., breaks out of the egg's shell. Some embryos have a temporary egg tooth they use to crack, pip, or break the eggshell or covering. The largest recorded egg is from a whale shark and was in size. Whale shark eggs typically hatch within the mother. At and up to , the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lace Monitor
The lace monitor or tree goanna (''Varanus varius'') is a member of the monitor lizard family native to eastern Australia. A large lizard, it can reach in total length and in weight. The lace monitor is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Taxonomy John White, the surgeon-general of New South Wales, described this species as the variegated lizard (''Lacerta varia'') in 1790. George Shaw reported that several specimens were taken back to England. French naturalist François Marie Daudin gave it the name ''Tupinambis variegatus'' in 1802, and noted two forms. German naturalist Blasius Merrem established the genus '' Varanus'' in 1820, with ''V. varius'' as the first mentioned member set as its type species by John Edward Gray in 1827. French zoologists André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron described two specimens in 1836, one in their possession and one from the collection of English zoologist Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perentie
The perentie (''Varanus giganteus'') is the largest monitor lizard or goanna native to Australia. It is one of the largest living lizards on earth, after the Komodo dragon, Asian water monitor, crocodile monitor, and intersecting by size with Nile monitor. Found west of the Great Dividing Range in the arid areas of Australia, it is rarely seen, because of its shyness and the remoteness of much of its range from human habitation. The species is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Its status in many Aboriginal cultures is evident in the totemic relationships, and part of the Ngiṉṯaka dreaming, as well as bush tucker. It was a favoured food item among desert Aboriginal tribes, and the fat was used for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. Taxonomy British zoologist John Edward Gray described the perentie in 1845 as ''Hydrosaurus giganteus'', calling it the "gigantic water lizard". George Albert Boulenger moved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sexual Dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, colour, markings, or behavioural or cognitive traits. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated and may be subjected to sexual selection and natural selection. The opposite of dimorphism is ''monomorphism'', which is when both biological sexes are phenotypically indistinguishable from each other. Overview Ornamentation and coloration Common and easily identified types of dimorphism consist of ornamentation and coloration, though not always apparent. A difference in coloration of sexes within a given species is called sexual dichromatism, which is commonly seen in many species of birds and reptiles. Sexual selection leads to the exaggerated dim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argus Monitor And Lace Monitor
Argus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek word ''Argos''. It may refer to: Greek mythology * See Argus (Greek myth) for mythological characters named Argus **Argus (king of Argos), son of Zeus (or Phoroneus) and Niobe **Argus (son of Arestor), builder of the ship ''Argo'' in the tale of the Argonauts **Argus Panoptes (Argus "All-Eyes"), a giant with a hundred eyes **Argus, the eldest son of Phrixus and Chalciope **Argus, the son of Phineus and Danaë, in a variant of the myth **Argus or Argos (dog), belonging to Odysseus **Argus or Argeus (king of Argos), son of Megapenthes **Argus, one of Actaeon's dogs **Argus, a watchful guardian Arts and entertainment Fictional entities *Argus (comics), in the DC Comics Universe * Argus (''Mortal Kombat''), a deity * ARGUS (''Splinter Cell''), a military contractor *A.R.G.U.S., a government agency in the DC Universe *Argus Filch, in the ''Harry Potter'' series *Argus, a planet in the ''Warcraft'' franchise *Argus, a hero in '' Mobi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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