Filfola Lizard
The filfola lizard or Maltese wall lizard (''Podarcis filfolensis'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in Italy (in the Pelagian Islands) and in the island group of Malta. Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, rocky shores, arable land, pastureland, and rural gardens. ''P. filfolensis'' in Malta In the Maltese Islands, there are four subspecies of the Maltese wall lizard, all of which are endemic there. ''Podarcis filfolensis'' ssp. ''maltensis'' This subspecies is found on the three main islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. It is normally greenish and sometimes speckled.Wildlife of the Maltese Islands, BirdLife Malta and Nature Trust, 1995 ''Podarcis filfolensis'' ssp. ''filfolensis'' This subspecies is endemic to the islet of Filfla just off the coast of Malta. It is the largest of the four subspecies and is blackish with bluish spots. ''Podarcis filfolensis'' ssp. ''kieselbachi'' This subspecies is end ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marsaxlokk
Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen and history. As at March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534. The village is also known for the Marsaxlokk Market, which is mainly a large fish market which takes place along the seafront on Sundays, and a tourist market during all other days of the week. Inhabited and well-known since antiquity, Marsaxlokk was used as a port by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and also has the remains of a Roman-era harbour. Originally a part of the city of Żejtun, the fishing village became a separate parish in the late nineteenth century. Traditional luzzi and other larger and more modern vessels line the sheltered inner harbour. The village is also popular among locals and tourists alike for its walks around the coast and harbour, its restaurants, as well as for its swimming zones. Marsaxlokk Bay also includes a contain ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gozo
Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago. As of 2021, the island has a population of around 31,232 (out of Malta's total 443,227), and its inhabitants are known as Gozitans ( mt, Għawdxin). It is rich in historic locations such as the Ġgantija temples, which, along with the other Megalithic Temples of Malta, are amongst the world's oldest free-standing structures. The island is rural in character and less developed than the island of Malta. Gozo is known for its scenic hills, which are featured on its coat of arms. The Azure Window, a natural limestone arch, was a remarkable geological feature until its collapse on March 8, 2017. The island has other notable natural features, including the Inland Se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Endemic Maltese Wildlife
The Maltese Islands, although small in area (316 km2), host many endemic species. This may make the organism endangered. These endemic species are important to the Maltese Islands because they form part of Maltese national heritage and are topics of scientific research. Introduction Of the 10,000 estimated terrestrial and freshwater species in the Maltese archipelago,Wildlife of the Maltese Islands, BirdLife Malte and Nature Trust, 1995. 78 are endemic, a large number considering the country's size. Only 4,500 species have so far been identified, and others still await correct taxonomic classification, which means that there may be several more endemic species yet to be discovered. Twenty-three of the endemic species are vascular plants and plants such as bryophytes, while the remaining 55 species are animals. Plants Malta hosts around 860 plants of indigenous nature, occurring in the archipelago before man. Another 20 taxa are considered archaeophytes, being introduced throu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Lampione
Lampione (; scn, Lampiuni; ar, جزيرة الكتاب, ''Jazīrat al-Kitāb'') is a small rocky island located in the Mediterranean Sea, which belongs geographically to the Pelagie Islands and administratively to the ''comune'' of Lampedusa e Linosa, Province of Agrigento, region of Sicily, Italy. It is about long and across, and has an area of and a highest elevation of . The islet is uninhabited, the only building being a lighthouse. According to the legend, the island was a rock that had fallen from the hands of the cyclops Polyphemus. Lampione is part of the Riserva Marina Isole Pelagie, and its vegetation and wildlife are strictly protected. Animal species include the endemic ''Podarcis filfolensis'' ssp. ''laurentimulleri'' (also found on Linosa), which is a subspecies of Maltese wall lizard, numerous migrating birds, and the ''Armadillidium hirtum pelagicum'', a land crustacean. The waters are populated by sharks, including the sandbar shark, groupers, lobsters, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Linosa
Linosa (; scn, Linusa; ar, نموشة, ''Nammūša'') is one of the Pelagie Islands in the Sicily Channel of the Mediterranean Sea. The island is a part of the Italian comune of Lampedusa e Linosa, part of the province of Agrigento in Sicily, Italy. It has a population of 430. Name The island is cited first as Greek Aethusa (''Αἰθοῦσσα'') by ancient geographer Strabo, and as Algusa (''Ἀλγοῦσσα'') by Roman essayist Pliny the Elder in his ''Naturalis Historia''. The name "Lenusa" appeared first during the 16th century in the writing of Tommaso Fazello, while the modern one dates back to 1845. Geography The island has an area of and is of volcanic origin. It is formed by a series of craters of which Monte Vulcano, high, is the most important. The closest land to Linosa is the island of Lampedusa, which lies to the south. Linosa is situated west of Gozo, Malta, southeast of Pantelleria, south of Sicily and east of Cape Mahida in Tunisia. History Durin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cominotto
Cominotto ( mt, Kemmunett), sometimes referred to as ''Cominetto'', is an uninhabited Mediterranean island off the northern coast of Malta. Measuring only in area, it is the largest uninhabited island of Malta. Cominotto lies to the north-west of Comino Comino ( mt, Kemmuna) is a small island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring in area. Named after the cumin seed, the island has a permanent population of only two residents and .... Between Comino and Cominotto lie the transparent, cyan waters of the Blue Lagoon (Maltese: ''Bejn il-Kmiemen'', literally "Between the Cominos"). Frequented by large numbers of tourists and tour boats daily, the Blue Lagoon makes it popular with divers and snorkelers. File:Blue Lagoon, Comino.jpg, The Blue Lagoon at sea level with Cominotto in the background File:CominoBlueLagoon.jpg, Cominotto and the Blue Lagoon References Islands of Malta Uninhabited islands of Ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Podarcis Filfolensis Linosa 003s
''Podarcis'' is a genus of lizards in the family Lacertidae. Its members look very similar to lizards of the genus ''Lacerta'', to which they were considered to belong until the 1970s. While similar externally and ecologically, ''Podarcis'' form a distinct group differing from ''Lacerta'' by the construction of the skull and the hemipenis, and by the processes of the caudal vertebrae. They are commonly known as wall lizards. They are native to Europe and northern Africa, and most species are restricted to the Mediterranean region. Wall lizards diversified and hybridized during the Messinian salinity crisis. The Italian wall lizard and the common wall lizard have been introduced to North America, where they have become intermediate hosts for some Acuariidae larvae. Species and subspecies The genus ''Podarcis'' contains the following 26 species which are recognized as being valid. A few of the many recognized subspecies are also listed here. * Bocage's wall lizard, ''Podar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fungus Rock
Fungus Rock, sometimes known as ''Mushroom Rock'', and among the Maltese as Il-Ġebla tal-Ġeneral ( en, The General's Rock), is a small islet in the form of a massive lump of limestone at the entrance to an almost circular black lagoon in Dwejra, on the coast of Gozo, itself an island in the Maltese archipelago. It is located at and falls within the jurisdiction of the town of San Lawrenz. History The Knights Hospitaller apparently discovered what is popularly known as the Maltese fungus growing on the rock's flat top. This plant, which is a kind of parasitic flowering plant, not a fungus, has a repulsive smell. Doctors at the time believed that it had medicinal properties. The Knights used it as a styptic dressing for wounds and a cure for dysentery. They so prized it that they often gave gifts of it to distinguished noblemen and visitors to the Maltese islands. Grand Master Pinto decreed the Rock out of bounds in 1746; trespassers risked a three-year spell as oar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Male Selmunnett
Male ( symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to at least one ovum from a female, but some organisms can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Most male mammals, including male humans, have a Y chromosome, which codes for the production of larger amounts of testosterone to develop male reproductive organs. Not all species share a common sex-determination system. In most animals, including humans, sex is determined genetically; however, species such as '' Cymothoa exigua'' change sex depending on the number of females present in the vicinity. In humans, the word ''male'' can also be used to refer to gender in the social sense of gender role or gender identity. Overview The existence of separate sexes has evolved independently at different times and in different lineages, an exa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Filfla
Filfla is a small, mostly barren, uninhabited islet south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. ''filflu'' (or ''filfluu''), a small rocky islet some southwest of Filfla,"Topography and Flora of the Satellite islets surrounding the Maltese Archipelago" - Arnold Sciberras, Jeffrey Sciberras, 2010 has the southernmost point of Malta. The name is believed to come from ''felfel'', the [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |