|
Varanus (Hapturosaurus)
The subgenus ''Hapturosaurus,'' sometimes known as the tree monitors, consists of slender-bodied arboreal monitor lizards mostly found in the tropical rainforests of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Taxonomy The type species is the green tree monitor, originally designated by Hermann Schlegel in 1844 as ''Monitor prasinus''. Robert Mertens placed tree monitors within the subgenus ''Odatria'' in 1942. In 1988, tree monitors were instead placed within '' Euprepriosaurus'' alongside the mangrove monitors. Nevertheless, there was a distinction between mangrove and tree monitors that was clear even then, so ''Euprepriosaurus'' was commonly considered to consist of two species complexes, i.e., the '' V. indicus'' complex and the '' V. prasinus'' complex. In 2016, Yannick Bucklitsch, Wolfgang Böhme, and André Koch found the two species complexes sufficiently morphologically, ecologically, and biologically distinct, and so all species within the ''V. prasinus'' complex were moved und ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Tree Monitor
The emerald tree monitor (''Varanus prasinus'') or green tree monitor, is a small to medium-sized arboreal monitor lizard. It is known for its unusual coloration, which consists of shades from green to turquoise, topped with dark, transverse dorsal banding. This coloration helps camouflage it in its arboreal habitat. Its color also makes the emerald tree monitor highly prized in both the pet trade and zoos alike. Names It is known as wbl km in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea. Taxonomy ''Varanus prasinus'' was first described as ''Monitor viridis'' by John Edward Gray in 1831; however, Gray's original holotype (RMNH 4812 in the National Natural History Museum in Leiden) was lost and the species was redescribed by Schlegel eight years later as ''V. prasinus'' using the found specimen. The generic name ''Varanus'' is derived from the Arabic word ''waral'' (ورل), which translates to English as "monitor". Its specific name, ''prasinus'', is Latin for the color green. ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emerald Tree Monitor
The emerald tree monitor (''Varanus prasinus'') or green tree monitor, is a small to medium-sized arboreal monitor lizard. It is known for its unusual coloration, which consists of shades from green to turquoise, topped with dark, transverse dorsal banding. This coloration helps camouflage it in its arboreal habitat. Its color also makes the emerald tree monitor highly prized in both the pet trade and zoos alike. Names It is known as wbl km in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea. Taxonomy ''Varanus prasinus'' was first described as ''Monitor viridis'' by John Edward Gray in 1831; however, Gray's original holotype (RMNH 4812 in the National Natural History Museum in Leiden) was lost and the species was redescribed by Schlegel eight years later as ''V. prasinus'' using the found specimen. The generic name ''Varanus'' is derived from the Arabic word ''waral'' (ورل), which translates to English as "monitor". Its specific name, ''prasinus'', is Latin for the color green. ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sympatry
In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sharing a common range exemplifies sympatric speciation. Such speciation may be a product of reproductive isolation – which prevents hybrid offspring from being viable or able to reproduce, thereby reducing gene flow – that results in genetic divergence. Sympatric speciation may, but need not, arise through secondary contact, which refers to speciation or divergence in allopatry followed by range expansions leading to an area of sympatry. Sympatric species or taxa in secondary contact may or may not interbreed. Types of populations Four main types of population pairs exist in nature. Sympatric populations (or species) contrast with parapatric populations, which contact one another in adjacent but not shared ranges and do n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, S.C. The land is mostly flat and about half of the area is used for grazing cattle. The relatively undisturbed eucalyptus-wooded savannahs, tropical rainforests and other types of habitat are now recognised and preserved for their global environmental significance. Although much of the peninsula remains pristine, with a diverse repertoire of endemic flora and fauna, some of its wildlife may be threatened by industry and overgrazing as well as introduced species and weeds.Mackey, B. G., Nix, H., & Hitchcock, P. (2001). The natural heritage significance of Cape York Peninsula. Retrieved 15 January 2008, froepa.qld.gov.au. The northernmost point of the peninsula is Cape York (). The land has been occupied by a number of Ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a Megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with Deserts of Australia, deserts in the centre, tropical Forests of Australia, rainforests in the north-east, and List of mountains in Australia, mountain ranges in the south-east. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately Early human migrations#Nearby Oceania, 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canopy Goanna
''Varanus keithhornei'', commonly known as the canopy goanna, Keith Horne's monitor, blue-nosed tree monitor, or Nesbit River monitor, is a species of monitor lizards native to northeast Australia. It is a member of the '' Varanus prasinus'' species group.Monitor-lizards.net This monitor lizard is found in a restricted area of less than 100 km2 near the Claudie and Nesbit rivers, in the McIlwraith and of the |
Allopatric Speciation
Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from each other to an extent that prevents or interferes with gene flow. Various geographic changes can arise such as the movement of continents, and the formation of mountains, islands, bodies of water, or glaciers. Human activity such as agriculture or developments can also change the distribution of species populations. These factors can substantially alter a region's geography, resulting in the separation of a species population into isolated subpopulations. The vicariant populations then undergo genetic changes as they become subjected to different selective pressures, experience genetic drift, and accumulate different mutations in the separated populations' gene pools. The barriers prevent the exchange of genetic information betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Komodo Dragon
The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of , and weighing up to . As a result of their size, Komodo dragons are apex predators, and dominate the ecosystems in which they live. Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals. It has been claimed that they have a venomous bite; there are two glands in the lower jaw that secrete several toxic proteins. The biological significance of these proteins is disputed, but the glands have been shown to secrete an anticoagulant. Komodo dragons' group behavior in hunting is exceptional in the reptile world. The diet of Komodo dragons mainly consists of Javan rusa (''Rusa timorensis''), though they also eat considerable amounts of carrion. Komodo dragons also occ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehensile Tail
A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees. If the tail cannot be used for this it is considered only partially prehensile - such tails are often used to anchor an animal's body to dangle from a branch, or as an aid for climbing. The term ''prehensile'' means "able to grasp" (from the Latin ''prehendere'', to take hold of, to grasp). Evolution One point of interest is the distribution of animals with prehensile tails. The prehensile tail is predominantly a New World adaptation, especially among mammals. Many more animals in South America have prehensile tails than in Africa and Southeast Asia. It has been argued that animals with prehensile tails are more common in South America because the forest there is denser than in Africa or Southeast Asia. In contrast, less dense forests such as in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehensility
Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different origins. The most common are tree-climbing and the need to manipulate food. Examples Appendages that can become prehensile include: Uses Prehensility affords animals a great natural advantage in manipulating their environment for feeding, climbing, digging, and defense. It enables many animals, such as primates, to use tools to complete tasks that would otherwise be impossible without highly specialized anatomy. For example, chimpanzees have the ability to use sticks to obtain termites and grubs in a manner similar to human fishing. However, not all prehensile organs are applied to tool use; the giraffe tongue, for instance, is instead used in feeding and self-cleaning Government procurement or public procurement is undertaken by the pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangrove Monitor
The mangrove monitor, mangrove goanna, or Western Pacific monitor lizard (''Varanus indicus'') is a member of the monitor lizard family with a large distribution from northern Australia and New Guinea to the Moluccas and Solomon Islands. It grows to lengths of . Names It is known as wbl yb in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea. Taxonomy The mangrove monitor was first described by the French herpetologist François Marie Daudin in 1802. Daudin's original holotype of a subadult specimen was collected on Ambon, Indonesia, and has since disappeared from the museum in Paris. Daudin's original name for the species was ''Tupinambis indicus'', an appellation it would carry for 100 years until being renamed as a ''Varanus''. The generic name ''Varanus'' is derived from the Arabic word ''waral'' (ورل), which translates to English as "monitor." Its specific name, ''indicus'', is Latin for the country of India, but in this instance it relates to Indonesia or the East Indies, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.png "Click for more on -> Prehensile Tail")
