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Ctenotus Regius
The pale-rumped ctenotus or regal striped skink (''Ctenotus regius'') is a medium-sized species of skink with an arid distribution restricted to the Australian Mainland, which belongs to the largest group of reptiles in Australia, '' Ctentotus'' (containing close to 100 species). Description ''Ctentotus regius'' is a medium-sized skink, characterised by its longitudinally striped back and white spotted sides. The species has a reddish-brown tail and its body is patterned by a blackish brown colour with a white-cream lateral stripe that runs from over the ear to below the eye, and white side spots in between the longitudinal lines that span the length of its body. The average snout-to-vent length of the species is 7.2 cm with females being recorded as slightly larger, on average, than their male counterparts. Taxonomy ''Ctenotus regius'' was first described by Glen Milton Store in 1970, and has not since had a name revision. The pale-rumped ctenotus is a member of the sk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glen Milton Storr
Dr. Glen Milton Storr (22 December 1921 – 26 June 1990) was an Australian ornithologist and Herpetology, herpetologist. He joined the Western Australian Museum in 1962 and became Curator of Ornithology and Herpetology in 1965. He was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), and served as Secretary of the Birds Australia Western Australia, Western Australian Branch of the RAOU in 1954. Storr produced his postgraduate research on kangaroos. His tenure as curator at the WA museum ended in 1986. Career Storr was born in Adelaide in 1921, and had become a cadet land surveyor with the South Australian Lands Department in 1939. World War II interrupted his training when he joined the Australian Infantry in 1942, serving with the Second Ninth Field Regiment in New Guinea and Queensland (1943-1945) Following the war, he became a licensed surveyor in South Australia in 1947. Legacy Storr was one of the most prolific Taxonomy (biology), alpha-taxonomists in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sturt National Park
The Sturt National Park is a protected national park that is located in the arid far north-western corner of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately northwest of Sydney and the nearest town is , away. Established in 1972, the park is named in honour of Charles Sturt, a colonial explorer. The park features typical outback scenery of flat, reddish-brown landscapes. It was resumed from five pastoral properties. The Sturt National Park was featured in British documentary called ''Planet Earth''. The Dingo Fence was built along the national park's northern boundary. Flora Flora consists mostly of mulga bushland and arid shrubland, particularly Saltbush. After good rain the harsh landscape is transformed by the growth of wildflowers including Sturt's desert pea. Fauna Mammals At least 31 species of mammal have been recorded in the park. The most obvious to visitors include the red kangaroo, western grey kangaroo, eastern grey kangar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. They do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (before 2001) conservation dependent. Species cannot be assigned the "Least Concern" category unless they have had their population status evaluated. That is, adequate information is needed to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution or population status. Evaluation Since 2001 the category has had the abbreviation "LC", following the IUCN 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1). Before 2001 "least concern" was a subcategory of the "Lower Risk" category and assigned the code "LR/lc" or lc. Around 20% of least concern taxa (3261 of 15636) in the IUCN database still use the code "LR/lc", which indicates they have not been re-evaluate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insectivore
A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were amphibians. When they evolved 400 million years ago, the first amphibians were piscivores, with numerous sharp conical teeth, much like a modern crocodile. The same tooth arrangement is however also suited for eating animals with exoskeletons, thus the ability to eat insects is an extension of piscivory. At one time, insectivorous mammals were scientifically classified in an order called Insectivora. This order is now abandoned, as not all insectivorous mammals are closely related. Most of the Insectivora taxa have been reclassified; those that have not yet been reclassified and found to be truly related to each other remain in the order Eulipotyphla. Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers. Insects make u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oviparity
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and monotremes. In traditional usage, most insects (one being ''Culex pipiens'', or the common house mosquito), molluscs, and arachnids are also described as oviparous. Modes of reproduction The traditional modes of reproduction include oviparity, taken to be the ancestral condition, traditionally where either unfertilised oocytes or fertilised eggs are spawned, and viviparity traditionally including any mechanism where young are born live, or where the development of the young is supported by either parent in or on any part of their body. However, the biologist Thierry Lodé recently divided the traditional category of oviparous reproduction into two modes that he named ovuliparity and (true) oviparity respectively. He distinguished the tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murray-Sunset National Park
The Murray-Sunset National Park is the second largest national park in Victoria, Australia, located in the Mallee district in the northwestern corner of the state, bordering South Australia. The national park is situated approximately northwest of Melbourne and was proclaimed in 1991. It is in the northwestern corner of the state, bordering South Australia to the west and the Murray River to the north. The Sturt Highway passes through the northern part of the park, but most of the park is in the remote area between the Sturt Highway and the Mallee Highway, west of the Calder Highway. History The park was created in 1991, and expanded to encompass Pink Lakes State Park in 1999. The lakes are dubbed "pink" after the beta-carotene pigment that colours it in late summer, caused by the algae ''Dunaliella salina''. This area was the site of a major salt industry from 1916 to 1975. At its peak, ten thousand tons of salt was harvested and railed from Lake Crosbie, Lake Becking and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Butcherbird
The grey butcherbird (''Cracticus torquatus'') is a widely distributed species endemic to Australia. It occurs in a range of different habitats including arid, semi-arid and temperate zones. It is found across southern Australia, but is absent from the deserts of central Australia and the monsoon tropics of northern Australia. It has a characteristic "rollicking" birdsong. It appears to be adapting well to city living, and can be encountered in the suburbs of many Australian cities including Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. The grey butcherbird preys on small vertebrates including other birds. Other birds in the same family include the Australian magpie, the currawongs, woodswallows and other members of the butcherbird genus ''Cracticus''. Taxonomy The grey butcherbird was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name ''Lanius torquatus''. Closely related species include the silver-backed butcherbird (''Cracticus argenteus'') and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitraria Billardierei
''Nitraria billardierei'', commonly known as nitre bush or dillon bush, is a perennial shrub native to Australia. It is often found in saline areas or other areas which have been disturbed. This species produces flowers predominantly in spring, with small ovoid or oblong fruit (drupe) that are purple, red or golden. The fruit are edible, said to taste like salty grapes. They were eaten, sometimes whole, including the stone, by indigenous Australians such as the Wemba-Wemba. Fruit can also be made into jam or dried and stored. It is a broad and low shrub, up to high and 4 m wide. Nitre bush is found across all mainland states of Australia. The plant's spread and germination in areas of heavy clay soil is assisted by the fruit's consumption by emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maireana
''Maireana '' is a genus of around 57 species of perennial shrubs and herbs in the family Amaranthaceae which are endemic to Australia. Species in this genus were formerly classified within the genus ''Kochia''. The genus was described in 1840 by the botanist, Moquin-Tandon and named to honour Joseph François Maire (1780-1867), an amateur botanist who befriended him during the author's first visit to Paris in 1834.Fournier, Eugene, Rapport sur l'herbier de M. le Docteur E. Cosson. (1867/ref>Moquin-Tandon, Alfred. Marcel Rolland(editor.) Un naturaliste à Paris sous Louis-Philippe: journal de voyage inédit (1834) 1944. The type species is '' Maireana tomentosa''. Species include: *'' Maireana amoena'' (Diels) Paul G.Wilson *''Maireana aphylla'' (R.Br.) Paul G.Wilson- Cotton bush or leafless bluebush *'' Maireana appressa'' (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana astrotricha'' (L.A.S.Johnson) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana atkinsiana'' (W.Fitzg.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana brevifolia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atriplex
''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''. The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments. The generic name originated in Latin and was applied by Pliny the Elder to the edible oraches. The name saltbush derives from the fact that the plants retain salt in their leaves; they are able to grow in areas affected by soil salination. Description Species of plants in genus ''Atriplex'' are annual or perennial herbs, subshrubs, or shrubs. The plants are often covered with bladderlike hairs, that later collapse and form a silvery, scurfy or mealy surface, rarely with elongate trichomes. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches, rarely in opposite pairs, either sessile or on a petiole, and are sometim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions, where little precipitation occurs, and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location. Deserts are formed by weathering processes as large variations in temperature between day and night put strains on the rocks, which consequently break in pieces. Although rain seldom occurs in deserts, there are occasional downpours that can result in flash floods. Rain falling on hot rocks can cause them to shatter, and the resulting fragments and rubble strewn over the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species Distribution Map
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. However, only about 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
