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Japanese Stream Toad
The Japanese stream toad (''Bufo torrenticola''), also known as the Honshū toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It was first described by Masafumi Matsui in 1976 during research with Kyoto University as a "moderate to large-sized toad" with a "peculiar color pattern" and "stream-dwelling habits." It is endemic to Japan. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and rivers, mainly in the mountainous regions of Japan. It is threatened by habitat loss. Reproduction Studies in rivers throughout the Toyama Bay region of Honshu, the main island of Japan, showed interbreeding between ''Bufo torrenticola'' and ''Bufo japonicus formosus'' which is another species of toad endemic to Japan. Hybrids of these species tend to resemble ''Bufo torrenticola'' more closely in terms of morphology, making mitochondrial DNA analysis the only way to identify between purebreds of either species and hybrids. It is believed that ''Bufo torrenticola'' is the only species of toad in Jap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species
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 i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
