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Lissotriton Graecus
The Greek smooth newt or Greek newt (''Lissotriton graecus'') is a newt species found in the southern Balkans, from southern Croatia (Dalmatia) over Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia to Greece and south-westernmost Bulgaria. Willy Wolterstorff described the species in 1906 as ''Triton vulgaris graeca'', a subspecies of the smooth newt. After genetic data had suggested the smooth newt was a complex of distinct lineages, Dubois and Raffaëlli, in 2009, recognised several subspecies, including the Greek smooth newt, as distinct species. This was followed by subsequent authors. Molecular phylogenetics suggested that the closest relative of the Greek smooth newt is Kosswig's smooth newt (''Lissotriton kosswigi'') from northwestern Anatolia. The species differs from other species in the smooth newt species complex mainly in the male secondary characters during breeding season. The male dorsal crest is less than 1 mm high and has smooth edges. The belly has many small spo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willy Wolterstorff
Willy Georg Wolterstorff (16 June 1864 in Calbe – 21 January 1943 in Magdeburg) was a German paleontologist and herpetologist. As a child he lost his hearing due to disease, thus finding it necessary to lip-reading, lip-read from an early age. He learned natural sciences through private lessons. After receiving vocational training as a bookbinder, he studied geology from 1884 under Karl von Fritsch (1838-1906) at the University of Halle. At Halle he also received training as a curator. In 1889 he became an assistant to Konrad Oebbeke (1853-1932) at the mineralogical-geological institute at Erlangen, and two years later was appointed curator at the ''Museum für Naturkunde und Vorgeschichte'' (museum of natural history and prehistory) in Magdeburg. After his retirement in 1929, he remained at the Magdeburg museum, performing important functions as a volunteer. Wolterstorff is known for scientific research of "lower vertebrates", in particular investigations involving the syst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molecular Phylogenetics
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to determine the processes by which diversity among species has been achieved. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree. Molecular phylogenetics is one aspect of molecular systematics, a broader term that also includes the use of molecular data in taxonomy and biogeography. Molecular phylogenetics and molecular evolution correlate. Molecular evolution is the process of selective changes (mutations) at a molecular level (genes, proteins, etc.) throughout various branches in the tree of life (evolution). Molecular phylogenetics makes inferences of the evolutionary relationships that arise due to molecular evolution and results in the construction of a phylogenetic tree. History The theoretical frame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lissotriton
''Lissotriton'' is a genus of newts native to Europe and parts of Asia Minor. As most other newts, they are aquatic as larvae and during breeding time but live in terrestrial, humid environments over the rest of the season. These rather small species used to be included in genus ''Triturus'', but phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that genus as paraphyletic. In the following, the name ''Lissotriton'', originally introduced by Thomas Bell in 1839, was reinstated for the small-bodied species related to the type species ''Lissotriton vulgaris'' (the smooth newt). Their exact phylogenetic placement within the newts (subfamily Pleurodelinae) is still uncertain. Species Currently, ten species are listed in ''Amphibian Species of the World'' – the rank of some of these as species or subspecies is however controversial: *''Lissotriton boscai'' (Lataste, 1879) – Bosca's newt *''Lissotriton graecus'' (Wolterstorff, 1906) – Greek newt *''Lissotriton helveticus'' (Razoumovsky, 1789) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable". Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects. IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation. It tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice and through building partnerships. The organization is best known to the wider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conservation Status
The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation status: not simply the number of individuals remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, and known threats. Various systems of conservation status exist and are in use at international, multi-country, national and local levels as well as for consumer use. International systems IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system. Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation. Also included are species that have gone ext ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secondary Sex Characteristic
Secondary sex characteristics are features that appear during puberty in humans, and at sexual maturity in other animals. These characteristics are particularly evident in the sexually dimorphic phenotypic traits that distinguish the sexes of a species, but unlike the sex organs (primary sex characteristics), are not directly part of the reproductive system. Secondary sex characteristics are believed to be the product of sexual selection for traits which display fitness, giving an organism an advantage over its rivals in courtship and in aggressive interactions. Secondary sex characteristics include, for example, the manes of male lions, the bright facial and rump coloration of male mandrills, and horns in many goats and antelopes. These characteristics are believed to be produced by a positive feedback loop known as the Fisherian runaway produced by the secondary characteristic in one sex and the desire for that characteristic in the other sex. Male birds and fish of many species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The region is bounded by the Turkish Straits to the northwest, the Black Sea to the north, the Armenian Highlands to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the west. The Sea of Marmara forms a connection between the Black and Aegean seas through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits and separates Anatolia from Thrace on the Balkan peninsula of Southeast Europe. The eastern border of Anatolia has been held to be a line between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Black Sea, bounded by the Armenian Highlands to the east and Mesopotamia to the southeast. By this definition Anatolia comprises approximately the western two-thirds of the Asian part of Turkey. Today, Anatolia is sometimes considered to be synonymous with Asian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kosswig's Smooth Newt
Kosswig's smooth newt (''Lissotriton kosswigi'') is a newt species found in northwestern Anatolia, east of the Bosphorus. Günther Erich Freytag described the species in 1955 as ''Triturus vulgaris kosswigii'', a subspecies of the smooth newt (now ''Lissotriton vulgaris''). After genetic data had suggested the smooth newt was a complex of distinct lineages, Dubois and Raffaëlli, in 2009, recognised several subspecies, including Kosswig's smooth newt, as distinct species. This was followed by subsequent authors. Molecular phylogenetics suggested that the closest relative of Kosswig's smooth newt is the Greek smooth newt (''Lissotriton graecus'') from the Balkans. The species differs from other species in the smooth newt species complex mainly in the male secondary characters during breeding season. The male dorsal crest is less than 1 mm high, but high at the tail base, has smooth edges, and ends in a long filament. The well-developed dorso-lateral folds give the body a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lineage (evolution)
An evolutionary lineage is a temporal series of populations, organisms, cells, or genes connected by a continuous line of descent from ancestor to descendant.The Oxford English Dictionary defines biological lineage as "a sequence of species each of which is considered to have evolved from its predecessorOED definition of lineage/ref> Lineages are subsets of the evolutionary tree of life. Lineages are often determined by the techniques of molecular systematics. Phylogenetic representation of lineages 299x299px, A rooted tree of life into three ancient monophyletic lineages: bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes">archaea.html" ;"title="bacteria, archaea">bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes based on rRNA genes Lineages are typically visualized as subsets of a phylogenetic tree. A lineage is a single line of descent or linear chain within the tree, while a clade is a (usually branched) monophyletic group, containing a single ancestor and all its descendants. Phylogenetic trees are typica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species Complex
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each other, further blurring any distinctions. Terms that are sometimes used synonymously but have more precise meanings are cryptic species for two or more species hidden under one species name, sibling species for two (or more) species that are each other's closest relative, and species flock for a group of closely related species that live in the same habitat. As informal taxonomic ranks, species group, species aggregate, macrospecies, and superspecies are also in use. Two or more taxa that were once considered conspecific (of the same species) may later be subdivided into infraspecific taxa (taxa within a species, such as bacterial strains or plant varieties), that is complex but it is not a species complex. A species complex is in most cas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
