|
Ryukyu Kajika Frog
The Ryukyu Kajika frog, Japanese Buerger's frog, or Japanese stream treefrog (''Buergeria japonica'') is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is found in the Ryukyu Islands (Japan) and in Taiwan. Habitat ''Buergeria japonica'' is a common species that occurs in a wide variety of habitats (rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, geothermal wetlands, irrigated land, and canals and ditches). It is locally threatened by habitat loss. Description ''Buergeria japonica'' is a small to medium-sized frog, about snout-vent length in males. Reproduction ''Buergeria japonica'' normally breed in slow-moving water in ditches and small streams. However, some Taiwanese populations also breed in geothermal hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Hallowell (herpetologist)
Edward Hallowell (1808 – February 20, 1860) was an American herpetologist and physician. He studied and practiced medicine in Philadelphia. He also was a renowned herpetologist who described 61 new species of reptiles. In 1851, Hallowell was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit .... Hallowell is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of frogs: '' Hyla hallowellii'' and '' Leptodactylus hallowelli. Cope ED (1862). "On some new and little known American ANURA". ''Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia'' 14: 151-159. ("... dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Edward Hallowell, whom the author holds in grateful and respectful recollection ...", p. 153). Publications in the ''Proceedings of the Academy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow under atmospheric pressure, and can be thought of as artificial rivers. In most cases, a canal has a series of dams and locks that create reservoirs of low speed current flow. These reservoirs are referred to as ''slack water levels'', often just called ''levels''. A canal can be called a ''navigation canal'' when it parallels a natural river and shares part of the latter's discharges and drainage basin, and leverages its resources by building dams and locks to increase and lengthen its stretches of slack water levels while staying in its valley. A canal can cut across a drainage divide atop a ridge, generally requiring an external water source above the highest elevation. The best-known example of such a canal is the Panama Canal. Many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibians Described In 1861
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this. The young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult air-breathing form with lungs. Amphibians use their skin as a secondary respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs and rely entirely on their skin. They are superficially similar to reptiles like lizards but, along with mammals and birds, reptiles are amniotes and do not require water bodies in which to breed. With their complex reproductive needs and permeable skins, amphibians are often ecological indicators; in recent decades there has been a dramatic decline ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibians Of Taiwan
At least 37 species of amphibians are native to Taiwan. This list does not include the provisionally recorded ''Fejervarya kawamurai'' nor the introduced ''Rhinella marina'' and ''Andrias davidianus''. Of these, 17 species are endemic to Taiwan. Salamander '' Echinotriton andersoni'' is considered extinct in Taiwan (but survives on the Ryukyu Islands of Japan). In addition, there are three introduced species: cane toad ''Rhinella marina'', bullfrog ''Lithobates catesbeianus'', and Chinese giant salamander ''Andrias davidianus''. Thus, in total 40 amphibians have been recorded in Taiwan. Anura (frogs and toads) Family Bufonidae — true toads * ''Bufo bankorensis'' Barbour, 1908 — endemic * ''Duttaphrynus melanostictus'' (Schneider, 1799) * ''Rhinella marina'' (Linnaeus, 1758) — introduced Family Dicroglossidae — fork-tongued frogs * ''Fejervarya cancrivora'' (Gravenhorst, 1829) * ''Fejervarya kawamurai'' Djong, Matsui, Kuramoto, Nishioka, and Sumida, 2011 — provisional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibians Of Japan
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this. The young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult air-breathing form with lungs. Amphibians use their skin as a secondary respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs and rely entirely on their skin. They are superficially similar to reptiles like lizards but, along with mammals and birds, reptiles are amniotes and do not require water bodies in which to breed. With their complex reproductive needs and permeable skins, amphibians are often ecological indicators; in recent decades there has been a dramatic decli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buergeria
''Buergeria'' is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, and the sole genus of subfamily Buergeriinae. They are the sister taxon for all the other rhacophorids (subfamily Rhacophorinae). This position is firmly supported by the available evidence. ''Buergeria'' are sometimes known as Buerger's frogs. There are four species found in an area that stretches from Hainan (China) and Taiwan through the Ryukyu Islands to Honshu (Japan). Description ''Buergeria'' are medium-sized to large frogs (snout-vent length ) that resemble in their body form ''Rana'' (unlike other rhacophorids). Their skin is smooth and they have no dorsal ornamentations. Their feet are fully webbed whereas their fingers are only up to half-webbed. They produce many eggs that are deposited in water and develop through a tadpole stage. Species There are six recognized species in the genus ''Buergeria'': * '' Buergeria buergeri'' (Temminck & Schlegel, 1838) — Kajika Frog * '' Buergeria choui'' Matsui & Tom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot Spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circulation through faults to hot rock deep in the Earth's crust. In either case, the ultimate source of the heat is radioactive decay of naturally occurring radioactive elements in the Earth's mantle, the layer beneath the crust. Hot spring water often contains large amounts of dissolved minerals. The chemistry of hot springs ranges from acid sulfate springs with a pH as low as 0.8, to alkaline chloride springs saturated with silica, to bicarbonate springs saturated with carbon dioxide and carbonate minerals. Some springs also contain abundant dissolved iron. The minerals brought to the surface in hot springs often feed communities of extremophiles, microorganisms adapted to extreme conditions, and it is possible that life on Earth had its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habitat Loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby reducing biodiversity and species abundance. Habitat destruction is the leading cause of biodiversity loss. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as they are major threats to the survival of endangered species. Activities such as harvesting natural resources, industrial production and urbanization are human contributions to habitat destruction. Pressure from agriculture is the principal human cause. Some others include mining, logging, trawling, and urban sprawl. Habitat destruction is currently considered the primary cause of species extinction worldwide. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change, introdu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from terrestrial land forms or Body of water, water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique anoxic hydric soils. Wetlands are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal species. Methods for assessing wetland functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed for many regions of the world. These methods have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions some wetlands provide. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent. The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or seawater, saltwater. The main w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock, molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265 Myr, million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy or evolutionary history. An adult frog has a stout body, protruding eyes, anteriorly-attached tongue, limb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh water, especially in arid regions which have relatively little annual rainfall. Springs are driven out onto the surface by various natural forces, such as gravity and hydrostatic pressure. Their yield varies widely from a volumetric flow rate of nearly zero to more than for the biggest springs. Formation Springs are formed when groundwater flows onto the surface. This typically happens when the groundwater table reaches above the surface level. Springs may also be formed as a result of karst topography, aquifers, or volcanic activity. Springs also have been observed on the ocean floor, spewing hot water directly into the ocean. Springs formed as a result of karst topography create karst springs, in which ground water travels throu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at the edges of lakes and streams, where they form a transition between the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They are often dominated by grasses, rushes or reeds. If woody plants are present they tend to be low-growing shrubs, and the marsh is sometimes called a carr. This form of vegetation is what differentiates marshes from other types of wetland such as swamps, which are dominated by trees, and mires, which are wetlands that have accumulated deposits of acidic peat. Marshes provide habitats for many kinds of invertebrates, fish, amphibians, waterfowl and aquatic mammals. This biological productivity means that marshes contain 0.1% of global sequestered terrestrial carbon. Moreover, they have an outsized influence on climate resi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.png "Click for more on -> Amphibians Described In 1861")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Hot Spring")
_Ranomafana.jpg "Click for more on -> Frog")
