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Usambara Torrent Frog
The Usambara torrent frog (''Arthroleptides martiensseni''), also known as Martienssen's torrent frog, or Tanzania rocky river frog, is a species of frog in the family Petropedetidae endemic to the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. It is one of many, often taxonomically unrelated, frogs referred to as torrent frog Torrent frogs are a number of unrelated frogs that prefer to inhabit small rapid-flowing mountain or hill streams with a lot of torrents. They are generally smallish neobatrachians with a greyish-brown and usually darkly mottled back, giving them e ...s. These frogs are associated with rocky streams in montane forests. Eggs are laid on rocks close to torrential streams and waterfalls. The tadpoles remain attached to the rocks, where they develop, not entering the water. It is threatened by habitat loss. References Arthroleptides Endemic fauna of Tanzania Amphibians of Tanzania Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1911 {{Petroped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz Nieden
Fritz Nieden (1883 – 1942) was a German zoologist who specialized in African herpetology. He worked as a zoologist at the ''Museum für Naturkunde'' in Berlin. His name is associated with Nieden's dwarf skink, '' Panaspis megalurus''. In 1911 he was the first to describe '' Callulina kreffti'', a species of frog, which until 2004 was the only known species of the genus ''Callulina''. The Sagala caecilian, ''Boulengerula niedeni'', is named after him. Selected writings *Die Amphibienfauna von Kamerun' (1908), Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 3: 491–518 ("''Amphibian fauna of Cameroon''") *''Die Reptilien (außer den Schlangen) und Amphibien'', 1910 - Reptiles (other than snakes) and amphibians. *''Gymnophoina (Amphibia apoda)'', 1913 - Gymnophiona Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform or serpentine amphibians. They mostly live hidden in the ground and in stream substrates, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. Caecilians are mo ... [...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] |
Petropedetidae
The Petropedetidae are a family of frogs containing three genera and 12 species. They are found in sub-Saharan tropical Africa and are sometimes known under common name African torrent frogs. They are inhabitants of the splash-water zone of clear-running streams predominantly in forests. Tadpoles are either semiterrestrial in the spray zone or fully aquatic in zones of the strongest currents. Some species guard their clutches. They are small ('' Ericabatrachus'') or medium- to large-sized frogs ('' Arthroleptides'' and '' Petropedetes''). Taxonomy The Petropedetidae are related to true frogs, family Ranidae, and have often been considered as a subfamily within a broadly defined Ranidae. However, they are now commonly treated as a family, although the genera included may differ between sources. In particular, ''Conraua ''Conraua'', known as slippery frogs or giant frogs is a genus of large frogs from sub-Saharan Africa. ''Conraua'' is the only genus in the family Conrauidae. A ... [...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] |
Usambara Mountains
The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tanga Region. They were formed nearly two million years ago by faulting and uplifting, and are composed of Precambrian metamorphic rocks. They are split into two sub-ranges; the West Usambaras being higher than the East Usambaras, which are nearer the coast and receive more rainfall. The mountains are clad in virgin tropical rainforest which has been isolated for a long period and they are a centre of endemism. Historically they were inhabited by Bantu, Shambaa, and Maasai people but in the eighteenth century, a Shambaa kingdom was founded by Mbegha. The kingdom eventually fell apart after a succession struggle in 1862. German colonists settled in the area which was to become German East Africa, and after World War I it became part of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torrent Frog
Torrent frogs are a number of unrelated frogs that prefer to inhabit small rapid-flowing mountain or hill streams with a lot of torrents. They are generally smallish neobatrachians with a greyish-brown and usually darkly mottled back, giving them excellent camouflage among wet rocks overgrown with algae; their well-developed feet make them agile climbers of slippery rocks. Torrent frogs belong to the following taxa: * The "torrent frogs" of Asia are certain species in various ranoid genera: ''Amolops'', ''Huia'', ''Odorrana'' (all Ranidae), ''Micrixalus'', ( Micrixalidae) and '' Nanorana'' (Dicroglossidae). * The "torrent frogs" of Africa are the genera ''Arthroleptides'', ''Petropedetes'' (both family Petropedetidae) and '' Odontobatrachus'' ( Odontobatrachidae), which are found in eastern Africa, central Africa and western Africa, respectively. * The "torrent frogs" of Australia are the genus ''Taudactylus'' of the Australian ground frog family (Myobatrachidae). * The torrent t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tadpole
A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in adult amphibians such as a lateral line, gills and swimming tails. As they undergo metamorphosis, they start to develop functional lungs for breathing air, and the diet of tadpoles changes drastically. A few amphibians, such as some members of the frog family Brevicipitidae, undergo direct development i.e., they do not undergo a free-living larval stage as tadpoles instead emerging from eggs as fully formed "froglet" miniatures of the adult morphology. Some other species hatch into tadpoles underneath the skin of the female adult or are kept in a pouch until after metamorphosis. Having no hard skeletons, it might be expected that tadpole fossils would not exist. However, traces of biofilms have been preserved and fossil tadpoles have ... [...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] |
Arthroleptides
''Arthroleptides'' is a small genus of frogs in the family Petropedetidae. Their common name is rocky river frogs. They are found in the mountains of East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, and probably Uganda). They have been considered to belong to '' Petropedetes'', which after exclusion of ''Arthroleptides'' is restricted to Central Africa. ''Arthroleptides'' species have distinct tympana and no external vocal sacs. Males have femoral glands, and in the breeding state, spiny nuptial excrescences. Tadpoles live on wet rocks out of water. Species The three species are: * '' Arthroleptides dutoiti'' Loveridge, 1935 * '' Arthroleptides martiensseni'' Nieden, 1911 "1910" * '' Arthroleptides yakusini'' Channing, Moyer, and Howell, 2002 Also, one undescribed species from the Nguru Mountains The Nguru Mountains are a mountain range in Morogoro Region, Tanzania, Africa. The Nguru Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The mountains are predominantly covered with rainforest, home t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Fauna Of Tanzania
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 s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibians Of Tanzania
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] |
Taxonomy Articles Created By Polbot
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification (general theory), classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. Among other things, a taxonomy can be used to organize and index knowledge (stored as documents, articles, videos, etc.), such as in the form of a library classification system, or a Taxonomy for search engines, search engine taxonomy, so that users can more easily find the information they are searching for. Many taxonomies are hierarchy, hierarchies (and thus, have an intrinsic tree structure), but not all are. Originally, taxonomy referred only to the categorisation of organisms or a particular categorisation of organisms. In a wider, more general sense, it may refer to a categorisation of things or concepts, as well as to the principles underlying such a categorisation. Taxonomy organizes taxonomic uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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