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Uroplatus
''Uroplatus'' is a genus of gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...s, commonly referred to as leaf-tail geckos or flat-tailed geckos, which are endemism, endemic to Madagascar and its coastal islands, such as Nosy Be. They are nocturnal, insectivorous lizards found exclusively in primary forest, primary and secondary forest. Etymology The Genus, generic name, ''Uroplatus'', is a Latinization of two Ancient Greek, Greek words: "ourá" (οὐρά) meaning "tail" and "platys" (πλατύς) meaning "flat". Description Geckos of the genus ''Uroplatus'' are nocturnal and arboreal. They range in total length (including tail) from about for ''U. giganteus'' to for ''U. ebenaui''. Larger species of ''Uroplatus'' are distinguished among geckos in having the largest nu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uroplatus Phantasticus Skull1
''Uroplatus'' is a genus of geckos, commonly referred to as leaf-tail geckos or flat-tailed geckos, which are endemic to Madagascar and its coastal islands, such as Nosy Be. They are nocturnal, insectivorous lizards found exclusively in primary and secondary forest. Etymology The generic name, ''Uroplatus'', is a Latinization of two Greek words: "ourá" (οὐρά) meaning "tail" and "platys" (πλατύς) meaning "flat". Description Geckos of the genus ''Uroplatus'' are nocturnal and arboreal. They range in total length (including tail) from about for ''U. giganteus'' to for ''U. ebenaui''. Larger species of ''Uroplatus'' are distinguished among geckos in having the largest number of marginal teeth among all living amniotes. Other rare apomorphic character states include multiple inscriptional ribs, restriction of autotomy planes, and finger-like diverticula of the lungs. All ''Uroplatus'' species have highly cryptic colouration, which acts as camouflage, most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uroplatus Sikorae
''Uroplatus sikorae'', commonly referred to as the mossy leaf-tailed gecko or the southern flat-tail gecko, is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Gekkonidae. The species is Endemism, endemic to Madagascar. It is a CITES II protected animal due to habitat loss. Etymology The Specific name (zoology), specific name, ''sikorae'', is a Latinization of the surname of , an Austrian fossil-hunter and explorer of Madagascar. Taxonomy The species was first described by German zoologist Oskar Boettger but not published until three years after his death.Oskar Boettger, Boettger O (1913). "''Reptilien und Amphibien von Madagascar, den Inseln und dem Festland Ostafrikas'' ". pp. 269–375. ''In'': Voeltzkow A (1913). ''Reise in Ostafrika in den Jahren 1903–1905. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse. Band III'' [Volume 3]. ''Systematische Arbeiten''. Stuttgart: ''E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Nägele & Dr. Sproesser''. ("''Uroplates'' [sic] ''sikorae''", new specie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crypsis
In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an animal or a plant to avoid observation or detection by other animals. It may be a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation. Methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle and mimicry. Crypsis can involve visual, olfactory (with pheromones) or auditory concealment. When it is visual, the term cryptic coloration, effectively a synonym for animal camouflage, is sometimes used, but many different methods of camouflage are employed by animals or plants. Overview There is a strong evolutionary pressure for animals to blend into their environment or conceal their shape, for prey animals to avoid predators and for predators to be able to avoid detection by prey. Exceptions include large herbivores without natural enemies, brilliantly colored birds that rely on flight to escape predators, and venomous or otherwise powerfully armed animals with warning coloration. Cryptic animals include the tawny frogmouth (feather pat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards for their vocalisations, which differ from species to species. Most geckos in the family Gekkonidae use chirping or clicking sounds in their social interactions. Tokay geckos (''Gekko gecko'') are known for their loud mating calls, and some other species are capable of making hissing noises when alarmed or threatened. They are the most species-rich group of lizards, with about 1,500 different species worldwide. All geckos, except species in the family Eublepharidae lack eyelids; instead, the outer surface of the eyeball has a transparent membrane, the cornea. They have a fixed lens within each iris that enlarges in darkness to let in more light. Since they cannot blink, species without eyelids generally lick t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saltuarius
''Saltuarius'' is a genus of larger Australian geckos, known collectively as leaf-tailed geckos. The genus was created in 1993 to accommodate some former members of the genus ''Phyllurus''. These geckos appear very similar to the ''Uroplatus'' geckos native to Madagascar. However, this is a convergent evolution. The genus name is derived from the Latin word ''saltuarius'', meaning "keeper of the forest".Cape Melville leaf-tailed gecko Australian Reptile Online Database, 2013. Habitat and distribution The in the genus ''Saltuarius'' inhabit Australia's eastern |
Phyllurus
''Phyllurus'' is a small genus of Australian leaf-tailed geckos, lizards in the family Carphodactylidae. Rarely seen outside their native habitat, they are notable for their highly effective camouflage which is in part aided by the spiny tubercles that cover every body part. Most member species, except for ''P. caudiannulatus'', ''P. gulbaru'' and ''P. kabikabi'', have very flattened, leaf-shaped tails. Some of these species have recently been reassigned to the genus ''Saltuarius''. The ''Phyllurus'' geckos resemble the ''Uroplatus'' geckos of Madagascar. This is an example of convergent evolution because they are not closely related. Species The following species are recognized as being valid. www.reptile-database.org. *'' Phyllurus amnicola'' Couper, Schneider, Hoskin & Covacevich, 2000 – Mount Elliot leaf-tailed gecko *'' Phyllurus caudiannulatus'' Covacevich, 1975 – Bulburin leaf-tailed gecko *'' Phyllurus championae'' Couper, Schneider, Hoskin & Covacevich, 2000– Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia although some lizards are more closely related to these two excluded groups than they are to other lizards. Lizards range in size from chameleons and geckos a few centimeters long to the 3-meter-long Komodo dragon. Most lizards are quadrupedal, running with a strong side-to-side motion. Some lineages (known as "legless lizards"), have secondarily lost their legs, and have long snake-like bodies. Some such as the forest-dwelling ''Draco'' lizards are able to glide. They are often territorial, the males fighting off other males and signalling, often with bright colours, to attract mates and to intimidate rivals. Lizards are mainly carnivorous, often being sit-and-wait predators; many smaller species eat insects, while the Komodo eats mammals a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amniote
Amniotes are a clade of tetrapod vertebrates that comprises sauropsids (including all reptiles and birds, and extinct parareptiles and non-avian dinosaurs) and synapsids (including pelycosaurs and therapsids such as mammals). They are distinguished from the other tetrapod clade — the amphibians — by the development of three extraembryonic membranes ( amnion for embryoic protection, chorion for gas exchange, and allantois for metabolic waste disposal or storage), thicker and more keratinized skin, and costal respiration (breathing by expanding/constricting the rib cage). All three main features listed above, namely the presence of an amniotic buffer, water-impermeable cutes and a robust respiratory system, are very important for amniotes to live on land as true terrestrial animals – the ability to reproduce in locations away from water bodies, better homeostasis in drier environments, and more efficient air respiration to power terrestrial locomotions, although the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deforestation In Madagascar
Deforestation in Madagascar is an ongoing environmental issue. Deforestation creates agricultural or pastoral land but can also result in desertification, water resource degradation, biodiversity erosion and habitat loss, and soil loss. It has been noticed that Madagascar has lost 80 or 90% of its "original" or "pre-human" forest cover, but this claim is difficult to prove and is not supported by evidence. What is certain is that the arrival of humans on Madagascar some 2000+ years ago began a process of fire, cultivation, logging and grazing that has reduced forest cover. Industrial forest exploitation during the Merina monarchy and French colonialism contributed to forest loss. Evidence from air photography and remote sensing suggest that by c. 2000, around 40% to 50% of the forest cover present in 1950 was lost. Current hotspots for deforestation include dry forests in the southwest being converted for maize cultivation and rain forests in the northeast exploited for tropical h ... [...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] |
Herpetology
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, amphisbaenids, turtles, terrapins, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuataras). Birds, which are cladistically included within Reptilia, are traditionally excluded here; the scientific study of birds is the subject of ornithology. Thus, the definition of herpetology can be more precisely stated as the study of ectothermic (cold-blooded) tetrapods. Under this definition "herps" (or sometimes "herptiles" or "herpetofauna") exclude fish, but it is not uncommon for herpetological and ichthyological scientific societies to collaborate. Examples include publishing joint journals and holding conferences in order to foster the exchange of ideas between the fields, as the American Society of Ichthyologists and He ... [...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] |
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