|
Weller's Salamander
Weller's salamander (''Plethodon welleri'') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. This species in endemic to the southeastern mountain range of the United States. It is mainly found in North Carolina near Grandfather Mountain. The salamanders have a unique metallic spotting which distinguishes them from other ''Plethodon'' species and other salamanders in the area. They mainly inhabit cool forests with rocky areas. Worth Hamilton Weller, an American herpetologist, discovered the new species during his sophomore/junior high school summer vacation in 1931. This species is currently threatened by population fragmentation, habitat degradation and loss. Description Weller's salamander has 16 coastal or costal grooves with light dorsal markings. The markings are usually dark gold in color with a metallic sheen. These are smaller salamanders, like most plethodontids, and have a slender body. They have 17 trunk vertebrae, which makes them the shortest of the eastern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm. Salamanders rarely have more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer digits and others lack hind limbs. Their permeable skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water or other cool, damp places. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout their lives, some take to the water intermittently, and others are entirely terrestrial as adults. This group of amphibians is capable of regenerating lost lim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plethodontidae
Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In terms of number of species, they are by far the largest group of salamanders. Biology Adult lungless salamanders have four limbs, with four toes on the fore limbs, and usually with five on the hind limbs. Within many species, mating and reproduction occur solely on land. Accordingly, many species also lack an aquatic larval stage, a phenomenon known as direct development in which the offspring hatch as fully-formed, miniature adults. Direct development is correlated with changes in the developmental characteristics of plethodontids compared to other families of salamanders including increases in egg size and duration of embryonic development. Additionally, the evolutionary loss of the aquatic larval stage is related to a diminishing dep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, a non-profit attraction, and a North Carolina state park near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet (1,812 m), it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major chains of the Appalachian Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway passes by the south side of the mountain and also passes over the nearby Grandmother Gap. It is located at the meeting point of Avery, Caldwell (highest point), and Watauga (highest point) counties. Era of private ownership Until 2008, Grandfather Mountain was privately owned and operated as a nature preserve and tourist attraction. It was and still is best known for its mile-high swinging bridge, the highest in America, built in 1952 by Hugh Morton. The bridge links two of the mountain's rocky peaks, and is known as the "swinging" bridge due to its tendency to sway in high winds. Morton inherited the mountain from his grandfather and developed the tourist attractions. He died on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worth Hamilton Weller
Worth Hamilton Weller (May 28, 1913 – June 22, 1931) was an American herpetologist who discovered two new salamanders, ''Gyrinophilus porphyriticus duryi''Burt, Charles E. 1933. "A Contribution to the Herpetology of Kentucky". ''American Midland Naturalist'' 14 (6): 669-679. and Weller's salamander (''Plethodon welleri''). Weller died in a fall from a cliff at Grandfather Mountain near Linville, North Carolina. Early life Weller was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents were Arthur Douglas Weller and Ruth Hamilton Weller. Herpetology His interest in herpetology, specializing in salamanders, developed when he was a young boy. He explored nearby fields and woods with his friend Karl Maslowski (1913–2006), who went on to become a well known wildlife photographer. Soon Weller was recording observations for the Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. Shortly after the director of the museum, Ralph E Dury (1899–?) established the Cincinnati Junior Society ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herpetologist
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, amphisbaenids, turtles, terrapins, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuataras). Birds, which are cladistically included within Reptilia, are traditionally excluded here; the scientific study of birds is the subject of ornithology. Thus, the definition of herpetology can be more precisely stated as the study of ectothermic (cold-blooded) tetrapods. Under this definition "herps" (or sometimes "herptiles" or "herpetofauna") exclude fish, but it is not uncommon for herpetological and ichthyological scientific societies to collaborate. Examples include publishing joint journals and holding conferences in order to foster the exchange of ideas between the fields, as the American Society of Ichthyologists and He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Population Fragmentation
Population fragmentation is a form of population segregation. It is often caused by habitat fragmentation. Causes of Fragmentation Fragmentation can be the cause of natural forces or human actions, although in modern times, human activity is the most common cause. Some general causes of fragmentation are: * the development of land around a protected area, even through the addition of a single road lane or fence line, * the captivity, capture or killing of species in an area that links populations, * the movement of a population away from other individuals of that species, such as the natural introduction of wolves and moose on Isle Royale, * geologic processes, such as landslides or volcanoes, dividing a habitat * rising sea levels separating islands from what was once a common landmass, * global warming, especially when coupled with mountains, reducing movement from one habitat to another. Genetic effects Population fragmentation causes inbreeding depression, which leads to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rib Cage
The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels. The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a semi-rigid bony and cartilaginous structure which surrounds the thoracic cavity and supports the shoulder girdle to form the core part of the human skeleton. A typical human thoracic cage consists of 12 pairs of ribs and the adjoining costal cartilages, the sternum (along with the manubrium and xiphoid process), and the 12 thoracic vertebrae articulating with the ribs. Together with the skin and associated fascia and muscles, the thoracic cage makes up the thoracic wall and provides attachments for extrinsic skeletal muscles of the neck, upper limbs, upper abdomen and back. The rib cage intrinsically holds the muscles of respiration ( diaphragm, intercostal muscles, etc.) that are crucial for active inhalation and forced exhalation, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the bulk of the Appalachians, lies the Great Appalachian Valley, bordered on the west by the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian range. The Blue Ridge Mountains are known for having a bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released into the atmosphere. This contributes to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their perceived color. Within the Blue Ridge province are two major national parks – the Shenandoah National Park in the northern secti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melanophores
Chromatophores are cells that produce color, of which many types are pigment-containing cells, or groups of cells, found in a wide range of animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and cephalopods. Mammals and birds, in contrast, have a class of cells called melanocytes for coloration. Chromatophores are largely responsible for generating skin and eye colour in ectothermic animals and are generated in the neural crest during embryonic development. Mature chromatophores are grouped into subclasses based on their colour (more properly "hue") under white light: xanthophores (yellow), erythrophores (red), iridophores (reflective / iridescent), leucophores (white), melanophores (black/brown), and cyanophores (blue). While most chromatophores contain pigments that absorb specific wavelengths of light, the color of leucophores and iridophores is produced by their respective scattering and optical interference properties. Some species can rapidly change colour through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Endangered Animal Species
On 19 August 2018, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 4584 endangered species, subspecies, stocks and subpopulations. Annelida Clitellata Megadrilaceae =Megascolecidae= =Moniligastridae= Opisthopora =Octochaetidae= Arthropoda Arachnida Araneae = Araneidae= = Barychelidae= =Clubionidae= =Lycosidae= = Nephilidae= =Oonopidae= =Pholcidae= =Salticidae= =Scytodidae= = Symphytognathidae= = Telemidae= =Tetrablemmidae= = Tetragnathidae= =Theraphosidae= =Theridiidae= =Thomisidae= Holothyrida =Holothyridae= Opiliones = Biantidae= = Oncopodidae= =Podoctidae= =Samoidae= Oribatida =Scheloribatidae= Pseudoscorpiones = Atemnidae= = Syarinidae= = Tridenchthoniidae= Schizomida =Hubbardiidae= Scorpiones =Buthidae= Branchiopoda Anostraca = Branchinectidae= = Streptocephalidae= = Thamnocephalidae= Notostraca = Triopsidae= Chilopoda Geophilomorpha = Mecistocephalidae= Lithobiomorpha =Lithobiidae= Scutigeromorpha =Scutigeridae= Diplopoda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibians Of The United States
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] |
Plethodon
''Plethodon'' is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are also known as woodland salamanders or, more rarely, slimy salamanders. All members of the genus are endemic to North America (Canada and USA). They have no aquatic larval stage. In some species, such as ''Plethodon cinereus'', the red-backed salamander, eggs are laid underneath a stone or log. Young hatch in the adult form. Members of ''Plethodon'' primarily eat small invertebrates. The earliest known fossils of this genus are from the Hemphillian of Tennessee in the United States. Species There are 56 species in the genus ''Plethodon''. Listed in alphabetical order of specific name: ''Nota bene'': A binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ... in parentheses indicates that th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.png "Click for more on -> Amphibians Of The United States")