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Chuckwalla
Chuckwallas are lizards found primarily in arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Some are found on coastal islands. The six species of chuckwallas are all placed within the genus ''Sauromalus''; they are part of the iguanid family, Iguanidae. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name, ''Sauromalus'', is said to be a combination of two ancient Greek words: ''sauros'' meaning "lizard" and ''homalos'' (ὁμαλός) meaning "flat". The common name "chuckwalla" derives from the Shoshone word ''tcaxxwal'' or Cahuilla ''čaxwal'', transcribed by Spaniards as ''chacahuala''. Extant species Description Chuckwallas are stocky, wide-bodied lizards with flattened midsections and prominent bellies. Their tails are thick, tapering to a blunt tip. Loose folds of skin characterize the neck and sides of their bodies, which are covered in small, coarsely granular scales. The common chuckwalla (''Sauromalus ater'') measures 15 3/4 inches long, whereas insular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Esteban Chuckwalla
The San Esteban chuckwalla (''Sauromalus varius''), also known as the piebald chuckwalla or pinto chuckwalla, is a species of chuckwalla belonging to the family Iguanidae endemic to San Esteban Island in the Gulf of California. It is the largest of the five species of chuckwallas, and the most threatened. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name, ''Sauromalus'', is said to be a combination of two ancient Greek words: ''sauros'' meaning "lizard" and ''omalus'' meaning "flat". The proper ancient Greek word for "flat" is however ''homalos'' (ὁμαλός) or ''homalēs'' (ὁμαλής). Its specific name ''varius'' is Latin for "speckled" in reference to the chuckwalla's mottled coloration. It was first described by American herpetologist Mary C. Dickerson in 1919. The common name chuckwalla derives from the Shoshone word ''tcaxxwal'' or Cahuilla ''caxwal'', transcribed by Spaniards as ''chacahuala''. The Seri people named originally the island for this species: ''Coftécöl li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angel Island Chuckwalla
The Angel Island chuckwalla (''Sauromalus hispidus''), also known as the spiny chuckwalla, is a species of chuckwalla lizard belonging to the family Iguanidae endemic to Isla Ángel de la Guarda (Guardian Angel Island) in the Gulf of California. The species was transported to other islands by a tribe of the Seri as a potential food source. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name, ''Sauromalus'', is said to be a combination of two ancient Greek words: ''sauros'' meaning "lizard" and ''omalus'' meaning "flat". The proper ancient Greek word for "flat" is however ''homalos'' (ὁμαλός) or ''homalēs'' (ὁμαλής). Its specific name ''hispidus'' is Latin for "coarse" or "thorny" in reference to the spines on the chuckwalla's tail. The common name chuckwalla derives from the Shoshone word ''tcaxxwal'' or Cahuilla ''caxwal'', transcribed by Spaniards as ''chacahuala''. Description The Angel Island chuckwalla is the second-largest species of chuckwalla, reaching in body length ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauromalus Hispidus
The Angel Island chuckwalla (''Sauromalus hispidus''), also known as the spiny chuckwalla, is a species of chuckwalla lizard belonging to the family Iguanidae endemic to Isla Ángel de la Guarda (Guardian Angel Island) in the Gulf of California. The species was transported to other islands by a tribe of the Seri as a potential food source. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name, ''Sauromalus'', is said to be a combination of two ancient Greek words: ''sauros'' meaning "lizard" and ''omalus'' meaning "flat". The proper ancient Greek word for "flat" is however ''homalos'' (ὁμαλός) or ''homalēs'' (ὁμαλής). Its specific name ''hispidus'' is Latin for "coarse" or "thorny" in reference to the spines on the chuckwalla's tail. The common name chuckwalla derives from the Shoshone word ''tcaxxwal'' or Cahuilla ''caxwal'', transcribed by Spaniards as ''chacahuala''. Description The Angel Island chuckwalla is the second-largest species of chuckwalla, reaching in body length ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauromalus Ater
''Sauromalus ater'', also known as the common chuckwalla, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It inhabits the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its range extends from eastern California, Utah, and Nevada south to Baja California and Sonora. Taxonomy The common name "chuckwalla" (or chuckawalla) is derived from the Shoshone word ''tcaxxwal'', or ''caxwal'', the form used by the Cahuilla of southeastern California. Its generic name, ''Sauromalus'', is said to be a combination of two ancient Greek words: ''sauros'' meaning "lizard" and ''omalus'' meaning "flat". The proper ancient Greek word for "flat" is however ''homalos'' (ὁμαλός) or ''homalēs'' (ὁμαλής).Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. Its specific name is ''ater'', Latin for "black" or "dar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iguanidae
The Iguanidae is a family of lizards composed of the iguanas, chuckwallas, and their prehistoric relatives, including the widespread green iguana. Taxonomy Iguanidae is thought to be the sister group to the collared lizards (family Crotaphytidae); the two groups likely diverged during the Late Cretaceous, as that is when ''Pristiguana'' and ''Pariguana'', the two earliest fossil genera, are known from. The subfamily Iguaninae, which contains all modern genera, likely originated in the earliest Paleocene, at about 62 million years ago. The most basal extant genus, '' Dipsosaurus,'' diverged from the rest of Iguaninae during the late Eocene, about 38 million years ago, with '' Brachylophus'' following a few million years later at about 35 million years ago, presumably after its dispersal event to the Pacific. All other modern iguana genera formed in the Neogene period. A phylogenetic tree of Iguaninae is shown here: Description Iguanas and iguana-type species are divers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauromalus Slevini
''Sauromalus slevini'', also known as the Monserrat chuckwalla or Slevin's chuckwalla, is a species of chuckwalla belonging to the family Iguanidae. ''S. slevini'' is native to three small islands in the Gulf of California, Sea of Cortés. Taxonomy and etymology The Genus, generic name, ''Sauromalus'', is said to be a combination of two ancient Greek words: ''sauros'' meaning "lizard" and ''omalus'' meaning "flat". The proper ancient Greek word for "flat" is however ''homalos'' (ὁμαλός) or ''homalēs'' (ὁμαλής). Its Specific name (zoology), specific name, ''slevini'', is a latinized form of the surname of American zoologist Joseph Richard Slevin (1881–1957), who was Curator of Herpetology at the California Academy of Sciences from 1928 to 1957. The species was first described by American herpetologist John Van Denburgh in 1922.John Van Denburgh, Van Denburgh, John (1922). "The Reptiles of Western North America. Volume I. Lizards" and "Volume II. Snakes and Tu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauromalus Klauberi
''Sauromalus klauberi'', commonly called the Catalina chuckwalla or the spotted chuckwalla, is a species of chuckwalla, a lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species was first identified in 1941. Geographic range ''S. klauberi'' is endemic to Baja California. It is found on the islands of the Gulf of California: Isla Espíritu Santo, Isla Partida, Santa Cruz Island, San Marcos, Santa Catalina, and San Francisco Island. Etymology ''S. klauberi'' is named in honor of Laurence Monroe Klauber, an American amateur naturalist.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Sauromalus klauberi'', p. 143). References External links ''Sauromalus klauberi''at the Animal Diversity Web ''Sauromalus klauberi''at the National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Esteban Island
San Esteban Island ( es, Isla San Esteban, Seri: ''Coftéecöl'' and sometimes ''Hast'' ) is a small island in the Gulf of California, Mexico, located to the southwest of Tiburón Island. It is part of the Municipality of Hermosillo in Sonora and has a land area of 39.773 km2 (15.356 sq mi), the 15th-largest island in Mexico. It is located in the Gulf of California. It was once inhabited by a group of the Seri people. San Esteban Island is home to many types of rare animal species found on only a few of the islands, such as the San Esteban chuckwalla (''Sauromalus varius''), the spiny chuckwalla (''S. hispidus'') and the spiny-tailed iguana (''Ctenosaura conspicuosa''). References Further reading * * (in Spanish). External linksLand area of islands in MexicoINEGI The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its name in es, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, with small portions extending into Arizona and Utah. The Mojave Desert, together with the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin deserts, forms a larger North American Desert. Of these, the Mojave is the smallest and driest. The Mojave Desert displays typical basin and range topography, generally having a pattern of a series of parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is also the site of Death Valley, which is the lowest elevation in North America. The Mojave Desert is often colloquially called the "high desert", as most of it lies between . It supports a diversity of flora and fauna. The desert supports a number of human activities, including recreation, ranching, and military training. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territories of the United States by population, most populous U.S. state and the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated Administrative division, subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous Statistical area (United States), urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7million residents and the latter having over 9.6million. Sacramento, California, Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the List of largest California cities by population, most populous city in the state and the List of United States cities by population, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It is the hottest desert in both Mexico and the United States. It has an area of . In phytogeography, the Sonoran Desert is within the Sonoran Floristic province of the Madrean Region of southwestern North America, part of the Holarctic realm of the northern Western Hemisphere. The desert contains a variety of unique endemic plants and animals, notably, the saguaro (''Carnegiea gigantea'') and organ pipe cactus (''Stenocereus thurberi''). The Sonoran Desert is clearly distinct from nearby deserts (e.g., the Great Basin, Mojave, and Chihuahuan deserts) because it provides subtropical warmth in winter and two seasons of rainfall (in contrast, for example, to the Mojave's dry summers and cold winters). This creates an ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biome
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 c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
