|
Pangshura Tatrotia
''Pangshura'' is a genus of geoemydid turtles endemic to South Asia. Its member species were formerly in the obsolete genus ''Kachuga''. A fifth member, ''Pangshura tatrotia'', was described in 2010, but it is only known from Pliocene fossils. 2 to 4 black blotches on each shield, which form a symmetrical pattern but one of each gular, anal, axillary and inguinal shields. Carapace olive green with small black spots, an orange or red band present on first three vertebral shields (Smith, 1931: Sharma, 1998). Habits and habitats: The species inhabits freshwater bodies with plenty of aquatic vegetation. Though entirely aquatic, the turtle is a poor swimmer. Usually few individuals are seen basking on logs on the standing water. Herbivorous, feeds chiefly on aquatic vegetation. The turtle has a peculiar defensive habit of retracting the head and forelimbs, everting the hindlimbs and pushing the shell forward till suitable shelter is reached. (Sharma, 1998: Das, 2002). Not much is kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a zoological name. Gray was keeper of zoology at the British Museum in London from 1840 until Christmas 1874, before the natural history holdings were split off to the Natural History Museum. He published several catalogues of the museum collections that included comprehensive discussions of animal groups and descriptions of new species. He improved the zoological collections to make them amongst the best in the world. Biography Gray was born in Walsall, but his family soon moved to London, where Gray studied medicine. He assisted his father in writing ''The Natural Arrangement of British Plants'' (1821). After being blackballed by the Linnean Society of London, Gray shifted his interest from botany to zoology. He began his zoologica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family (taxonomy), family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoemydidae
The Geoemydidae (formerly known as Bataguridae) are one of the largest and most diverse families in the order Testudines (turtles), with about 70 species. The family includes the Eurasian pond and river turtles and Neotropical wood turtles. Members of this family are commonly called Leaf turtle. Characteristics Geoemydidae are turtles of various sizes (from about in length) with often a high degree of sexual dimorphism. They usually have webbed toes, and their pelvic girdles articulate with their plastrons flexibly. Their necks are drawn back vertically. Their carapaces have 24 marginal scutes. The plastron is composed of 12 scutes and has no mesoplastron; the pectoral and abdominal scutes contact the marginal scutes. Some other features include a single articulation between the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae, the lack of a hyomandibular branch of the facial nerve, and an epipterygoid bone in the skull. Ecology Geoemydidae live in tropics and subtropics of Asia, Europe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian subcontinent and defined largely by the Indian Ocean on the south, and the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Pamir mountains on the north. The Amu Darya, which rises north of the Hindu Kush, forms part of the northwestern border. On land (clockwise), South Asia is bounded by Western Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic cooperation organization in the region which was established in 1985 and includes all eight nations comprising South Asia. South Asia covers about , which is 11.71% of the Asian continent or 3.5% of the world's land surface area. The population of South Asia is about 1.9 billion or about one- ... [...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] |
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58See the 2014 version of the ICS geologic time scale million years ago. It is the second and most recent epoch of the Neogene Period in the . The Pliocene follows the Epoch and is followed by the Epoch. Prior to the 2009 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pangshura Smithii
The brown roofed turtle (''Pangshura smithii'') is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is endemic to South Asia. Two subspecies are recognized. Etymology The specific name, ''smithii'', is in honor of Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith. Description The carapace of ''P. smithii'' is much depressed and feebly keeled. The nuchal shield is small, trapezoidal, and broadest posteriorly. The first vertebral has sinuous lateral borders and is usually a little narrower in front than behind. The second vertebral is shortest, broader than long, and usually with straight or slightly convex posterior border. The third vertebral is considerably longer than broad, subquadrangular, and its posterior border is straight or slightly convex. The fourth vertebral is longest, tapering anteriorly and forming a narrow suture with the third. The fifth vertebral is much broader than the others. The large plastron is feebly angulated laterally. The front lobe is rounded. The hind l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pangshura Sylhetensis
The Assam roofed turtle or Sylhet roofed turtle (''Pangshura sylhetensis'') is a turtle species of the family Geoemydidae found in the Brahmaputra-Meghna drainage in India (Assam) and parts of eastern Bangladesh. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Batagur'' and the defunct genus ''Kachuga''. Description The species has a triangular and elevated carapace with a prominent spiked keel and 26 strongly serrated marginal plates. The carapace is olive brown, with a lighter (yellowish to beige) keel. The head is small and has a weakly hooked upper jaw; a narrow pink stripe runs from the back of each eye to the middle of the back of the head. Adults may attain a maximum length of 20.5 cm, although body sizes of 16 cm are more common. The species' local names include ''dura kaso'' (দূৰা কাছ) in Assamese, ''śileṭi kaiṭṭa'' (সিলেটি কাইট্টা), ''śileṭi kori kaiṭṭa'' (সিলেটি কড়ি কাইট্টা), ''k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinction
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point. Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. More than 99% of all species that ever lived on Earth, amounting to over five billion species, are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryote globally, and possibly many times more if microorganisms, like bacteria, are included. Notable extinct animal species include non-avian dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, dodos, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Endemism")
update.PNG "Click for more on -> South Asia")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Extinction")