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Fauna Of The U.S. Virgin Islands
The fauna of the United States Virgin Islands consists of 144 species of birds, 22 species of mammals, 302 species of fish and 7 species of amphibians. The wildlife of the U.S.V.I. includes numerous endemic species of tropical birds, fish, and land reptiles as well as sea mammals. The only endemic land mammals are six species of native bats: the greater bulldog bat, Antillean fruit-eating bat, red fruit bat, Brazilian free-tailed bat, velvety free-tailed bat and the Jamaican fruit bat. Some of the nonnative land mammals roaming the islands are the white-tailed deer, small Asian mongoose, goats, feral donkeys, rats, mice, sheep, hogs, dogs and cats. Sea mammals includes numerous species of whales, dolphins, orcas, manatees and dugongs. The islands’ only species of seal, the Caribbean monk seal, was deemed extinct in the early 1950s. Virgin Islands National Park and the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument are the two largest among many refugees for numerous species of wildl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aratinga Pertinax -national Park -Aruba-8
''Aratinga'' is a genus of South American conures. Most are predominantly green, although a few are predominantly yellow or orange. They are social and commonly seen in groups in the wild. In Brazil, the popular name of several species usually is ''jandaia'', sometimes written as ''jandaya'' in the scientific form. Many species from this genus are popular pets, although being larger than the members of the genus ''Pyrrhura'', they need a sizable aviary to thrive. Taxonomy The genus ''Aratinga'' was introduced in 1824 by the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix. The type species was subsequently designated as the sun parakeet. The genus name is from the extinct Tupi language of Brasil. ''Ará tinga'' means "bright bird" or "bright parrot". The taxonomy of this genus has recently been resolved by splitting it in four genera, as the genus as previously defined was paraphyletic. The species of the '' Aratinga solstitialis'' complex, were retained in this genus, while other form ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Croix Ground Lizard
The Saint Croix ground lizard (''Pholidoscelis polops'') is a small lizard endemic to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Description Growing to a size of between 35 and 90 mm (excluding the tail), adults have a pattern of light brown, dark brown and white longitudinal stripes down their back. Below these are a series of narrow brown, black and white vertical stripes, which extend from the sides down to the stomach. The stomach is white with bright blue markings (males), and the rest of the underside is a deep pinkish-red hue. The tail changes from a brown color near the body with alternating rings of blue and black. The entire tail of juveniles and hatchlings is a bright blue color. It eats virtually any prey item, including berries, amphipods, moths, ants and small hermit crabs. Habitat The lizard is mainly found in beach areas and upland forest. Once found on St. Croix, the population was extirpated, likely due to habitat loss and the introduction of the small Indian mongoose to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawksbill Turtle
The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is largely limited to tropical and subtropical marine and estuary ecosystems. The hawksbill's appearance is similar to that of other marine turtles. In general, it has a flattened body shape, a protective carapace, and flipper-like limbs, adapted for swimming in the open ocean. ''E. imbricata'' is easily distinguished from other sea turtles by its sharp, curving beak with prominent tomium, and the saw-like appearance of its shell margins. Hawksbill shells slightly change colors, depending on water temperature. While this turtle lives part of its life in the open ocean, it spends more time in shallow lagoons and coral reefs. The World Conservation Union, primarily as a result of human fishing practices, classifies ''E. imbricata'' as critically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Turtle
The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. It is the only 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 s ... in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black. The Dorsoventral#Dorsal and ventral, dorsoventrally flattened body of ''C. mydas'' is covered by a large, teardrop-shaped carapace; it has a pair of large, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leatherback Turtle
The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights of . It is the only living species in the genus ''Dermochelys'' and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named. Taxonomy and evolution Taxonomy ''Dermochelys coriacea'' is the only species in genus ''Dermochelys''. The genus, in turn, contains the only extant member of the family Dermochelyidae. Domenico Agostino Vandelli named the species first in 1761 as ''Testudo coriacea'' after an animal captured at Ostia and donated to the University of Padua by Pope Clement XIII. In 1816, French zoologist Henri Blainville coined the term ''Dermochelys''. The leatherback was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles to the east of Puerto Rico and west of the British Virgin Islands. The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas and 50 other surrounding minor islands and cays. The total land area of the territory is . The territory's capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas. Previously known as the Danish West Indies of the Kingdom of Denmark–Norway (from 1754 to 1814) and the independent Kingdom of Denmark (from 1814 to 1917), they were sold to the United States by Denmark for $25,000,000 in the 1917 Treaty of the Danish We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ameiva Polops St
''Ameiva'', commonly called jungle-runners, is a genus of whiptail lizards that belongs to the family Teiidae. Geographic range Member species of the genus ''Ameiva'' are found in South America, Central America and the Caribbean (West Indies). Their major habitat in four regions of Brazil include: Caatinga, Cerrado, the Amazonian rain forest, and the Amazonian savanna. Additionally, ''Ameiva ameiva'' has been introduced to Florida in the United States. Species Sourced from "The Reptile Database". The Reptile Database. http://www.reptile-database.org. '''': A |
Saint Croix Macaw
The St. Croix macaw (''Ara autocthones'') or Puerto Rican macaw, is an extinct species of macaw whose remains have been found on the Caribbean islands of St. Croix and Puerto Rico. It was described in 1937 based on a tibiotarsus leg bone unearthed from a kitchen midden at a pre-Columbian site on St. Croix. A second specimen consisting of various bones from a similar site on Puerto Rico was described in 2008, while a coracoid from Montserrat may belong to this or another extinct species of macaw. The St. Croix macaw is one of 13 extinct macaw species that have been proposed to have lived on the Caribbean islands. Macaws were frequently transported long distances by humans in prehistoric and historical times, so it is impossible to know whether species known only from bones or accounts were native or imported. As it is only known from bones, the St. Croix macaw's color is not known. Extant macaws can generally be grouped in either large-body or small-body size clusters. Yet, the bon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Croix Racer
The Saint Croix racer (''Borikenophis sanctaecrucis'') www.reptile-database.org. is a possibly extinct species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the island of Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Etymology The specific name, ''sanctaecrucis'', refers to the island of Saint Croix, on which the holotype was collected. Description ''B. sanctaecrucis'' may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . It has smooth dorsal scales, which are arranged in 17 rows at midbody. The holotype has a total length of , which includes a tail long. Cope ED (1860). ''B. sanctaecrucis'' is oviparous. Habitat The preferred natural habitat of ''B. sanctaerucis'' is xeric forest. Conservation ''B. sanctaecrucis'' is feared extinct; it has not been recorded in over 100 years, since the holotype was collected; St. Croix is a densely-populated, and the species is a fairy large snake. If it is extinct, the most probable causes were due to predation from introduced mongooses an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Croix's Anole
The St. Croix's anole (''Anolis acutus''), also known as the sharp anole, is an arboreal lizard found only in the Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Distribution This species is endemic to Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Coloration The typical coloration for a St. Croix's anole ranges from light tan, yellowish-greenish or dark brown. They have brightly yellow to orange colored dewlaps A dewlap is a longitudinal flap of skin or similar flesh that hangs beneath the lower jaw or neck of many vertebrates. More loosely, it can be various similar structures in the neck area, such as those caused by a double chin or the submandibula .... See also * List of ''Anolis'' lizards References External links A Lizards of the Caribbean Endemic fauna of the United States Virgin Islands Reptiles of the United States Virgin Islands Reptiles described in 1856 Taxa named by Edward Hallowell (herpetologist) {{Lizard-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seal Of The United States Virgin Islands
The seal of the United States Virgin Islands is an official symbol of the United States Virgin Islands. History The present seal was adopted on 1 January 1991 and replaced an earlier seal similar to the flag of the United States Virgin Islands, which was based on the central design of the Great Seal of the United States. Design The seal features the three-island design of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas, often seen throughout the territory. It reads "Government of the United States Virgin Islands". The seal also contains the flag of the United States and also the flag of Denmark to symbolize its former status as a Danish colony before 1917. There's also, centered in the seal, a bananaquit, the island's national bird and a ribbon bearing the motto ''United in Pride and Hope''. It was designed by St. Thomas artist Mitchlyn E. Davis, Sr. References External linksVirgin Islands Revised Organic Act of 1954 {{US state seals Virgin Islands Unite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
