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Sicilian Green Toad
The African green toad (''Bufotes boulengeri'') is a species of toad found in North Africa from Western Sahara to Egypt, and on the Italian islands of Sicily, Favignana, Lampedusa and Ustica. The populations on the Italian islands were described as a separate species, the Sicilian green toad (''B. siculus''), in 2008, but more recent authorities treat it as a subspecies of the African green toad because they are very closely related. Both were historically included in the European green toad (''B. viridis'') and all have been included in the genus '' Bufo''. It was previously suggested that the African green toad might range east into Sinai and the Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ..., but a review has shown that this involves the related '' B. sitibundus''. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fernand Lataste
Fernand Lataste (1847 - 1934) was a French zoologist and herpetologist born in Cadillac, Gironde. From 1880 to 1884 he collected reptiles and amphibians in North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco), publishing ''"Les missions scientifiques de Fernand Lataste en Afrique noire et au Maghreb"''. In 1885 he released ''"Étude de la faune des vertébrés de Barbarie"'', a standard work on animals of North Africa. ''The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals'' by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson. Other publications by Lataste are: *''Essai d'une faune herpétologique de la Gironde'', 1876 - Essay on the herpetological fauna of |
Bufo
''Bufo'' is a genus of true toads in the amphibian family Bufonidae. As traditionally defined, it was a wastebasket genus containing a large number of toads from much of the world, but following taxonomic reviews most of these have been moved to other genera, leaving only seventeen extant (living) species from Europe, northern Africa and Asia in this genus, including the well-known common toad (''B. bufo''). Some of the genera that contain species formerly placed in ''Bufo'' are ''Anaxyrus'' (many North American species), ''Bufotes'' (European green toad and relatives), ''Duttaphrynus'' (many Asian species, including the Asian common toad introduced elsewhere), ''Epidalea'' (natterjack toad) and ''Rhinella'' (many Latin American species, including the cane toad introduced elsewhere). Description True toads have in common stocky figures and short legs, which make them relatively poor jumpers. Their dry skin is thick and "warty". Behind their eyes, ''Bufo'' species have wart-li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibians Of North Africa
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] |
Paratoid Gland
The parotoid gland (alternatively, paratoid gland) is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It can secrete a number of milky alkaloid substances (depending on the species) known collectively as bufotoxins, which act as neurotoxins to deter predation. These cutaneous glands are called parotoid as they are somewhat similarly positioned to mammalian parotid gland, although the latter have a different function, excreting saliva within the mouth rather than externally excreted defensive chemicals. A study of the parotoid glands of the Colorado River toad in 1976 found that the parotoid glands were "composed of numerous lobules", each of which is a separate unit with a lumen surrounded by a double cell layer. The cell layers have interlocking microvilli. The study found that the outer cell layer resembled smooth muscle cells, with some organelles hypothesised to "function in some aspects of venom synthesis, active cellular trans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balearic Green Toad
The Balearic green toad (''Bufotes balearicus'') is a toad belonging to the true toad family, Bufonidae, from Italy and islands in the western Mediterranean Sea. It is mostly a lowland species, but can be found as high as asl in central Italy. Distribution In spite of the name, this species is native to Italy (where it is present on all territories except for the extreme north-east, south-east and south-west) and Corsica. It was probably introduced to the Balearic Islands in prehistoric times, where it is common but declining. Its formerly extended into Switzerland and there have been (so far) unsuccessful reintroduction attempts in that country. Its range meets that of the similar and closely related European green toad (''B. viridis'') in far northeastern Italy and that of the Sicilian green toad (''B. boulengeri siculus'') in easternmost Sicily. Taxonomy and appearance Once considered the same as the European green toad, molecular genetic data now firmly support its status a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bufotes
''Bufotes'', the Eurasian green toads or Palearctic green toads, is a genus of true toads (family Bufonidae). They are native to Europe (absent from the British Isles, most of Fennoscandia, most of France and the Iberian Peninsula), western and central Asia and northern Africa; a region roughly equalling the western and central Palearctic. Historically they were included in the genus ''Bufo'' and then for a few years placed in ''Pseudepidalea'', which is a synonym of the currently accepted name ''Bufotes''. ''Bufotes'' are typical toads and as suggested by their common names most—but not all— species and individuals have a distinct greenish-spotted pattern. They occur in a wide range of habitats and mostly lay their eggs in fresh water, but sometimes in waters that are brackish. Appearance Size and morphology ''Bufotes'' are fairly small to medium-large toads with adults that are between about in snout–to–vent length. The average size varies significantly depending on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bufotes Sitibundus
''Bufotes'', the Eurasian green toads or Palearctic green toads, is a genus of true toads (family Bufonidae). They are native to Europe (absent from the British Isles, most of Fennoscandia, most of France and the Iberian Peninsula), western and central Asia and northern Africa; a region roughly equalling the western and central Palearctic. Historically they were included in the genus ''Bufo'' and then for a few years placed in ''Pseudepidalea'', which is a synonym of the currently accepted name ''Bufotes''. ''Bufotes'' are typical toads and as suggested by their common names most—but not all— species and individuals have a distinct greenish-spotted pattern. They occur in a wide range of habitats and mostly lay their eggs in fresh water, but sometimes in waters that are brackish. Appearance Size and morphology ''Bufotes'' are fairly small to medium-large toads with adults that are between about in snout–to–vent length. The average size varies significantly depending on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is equivalent to a stretch of land bordering the Mediterranean in South-western Asia,Gasiorowski, Mark (2016). ''The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa''. }, ), meaning "the eastern place, where the Sun rises". In the 13th and 14th centuries, the term ''levante'' was used for Italian maritime commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Anatolia, Syria-Palestine, and Egypt, that is, the lands east of Venice. Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt. In 1581, England set up the Levant Company to monopolize commerce with the Ottoman Empire. The name ''Levant States'' was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and Lebanon after World War I. This is probab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Africa. Sinai has a land area of about (6 percent of Egypt's total area) and a population of approximately 600,000 people. Administratively, the vast majority of the area of the Sinai Peninsula is divided into two Governorates of Egypt, governorates: the South Sinai Governorate and the North Sinai Governorate. Three other governorates span the Suez Canal, crossing into African Egypt: Suez Governorate on the southern end of the Suez Canal, Ismailia Governorate in the center, and Port Said Governorate in the north. In the classical era the region was known as Arabia Petraea. The peninsula acquired the name Sinai in modern times due to the assumption that a mountain near Saint Catherine's Monastery is the Biblical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Green Toad
The European green toad (''Bufotes viridis'') is a species of toad found in steppes, mountainous areas, semi-deserts, urban areas and other habitats in mainland Europe, ranging from far eastern France and Denmark to the Balkans and Western Russia. As historically defined, the species ranged east through the Middle East and Central Asia to western China, Mongolia and northwestern India, and south through Italy and the Mediterranean islands to North Africa. Following genetic and morphological reviews, 14 population (all largely or entirely Asian, except for the African and Balearic green toads) are now regarded as separate species. These species and the European green toad are placed in their own genus ''Bufotes'', but they were included in ''Bufo''. Description The spots on the back vary from green to dark brown and sometimes red spots appear, too. The underside is white or very lightly coloured. The European green toad will change colour in response to heat and light changes. ... [...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] |
Subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species have subspecies, but for those that do there must be at least two. Subspecies is abbreviated subsp. or ssp. and the singular and plural forms are the same ("the subspecies is" or "the subspecies are"). In zoology, under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the subspecies is the only taxonomic rank below that of species that can receive a name. In botany and mycology, under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, other infraspecific ranks, such as variety, may be named. In bacteriology and virology, under standard bacterial nomenclature and virus nomenclature, there are recommendations but not strict requirements for recognizing other important infraspecific ranks. A taxonomist decides whether ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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