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Golden Coquí
The golden coquí (''Eleutherodactylus jasperi'') is a rare species of frog endemic to Puerto Rico. General description Golden coquís are roughly in snout-vent length and are olive-gold to yellow-gold without pattern. The juveniles resemble adults. All Coqui species are very active throughout the night and are the most studied species in Puerto Rico. Both males and females are extremely territorial and they rarely move more than away from their retreat spot. The four discoverers (George E. Drewry, Kirkland L. Jones, Julia R. Clark and Jasper J. Loftus-Hills) planned to name the species for its color. However, when Dr. Loftus-Hills was killed in 1974 in an automobile accident, his colleagues chose instead to name it in his honor: ''jasperi''. Biology First reported to science in 1976, the golden coquí is ovoviviparous, the only live-bearing species known from the family Eleutherodactylidae. Female frog gives birth to 3–6 fully developed young after a pregnancy lasting less ... [...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] |
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation", the ESA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973. The Supreme Court of the United States described it as "the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation"."Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill" 437 U.S. 153 (1978) Retrieved 24 November 2015. The purposes of the ESA are two-fold: to prevent extinction and to recover species to the point where the law's protections are not needed. It therefo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertebrates Of Puerto Rico
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with currently about 69,963 species described. Vertebrates comprise such groups as the following: * jawless fish, which include hagfish and lampreys * jawed vertebrates, which include: ** cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, and ratfish) ** bony vertebrates, which include: *** ray-fins (the majority of living bony fish) *** lobe-fins, which include: **** coelacanths and lungfish **** tetrapods (limbed vertebrates) Extant vertebrates range in size from the frog species ''Paedophryne amauensis'', at as little as , to the blue whale, at up to . Vertebrates make up less than five percent of all described animal species; the rest are invertebrates, which lack vertebral columns. The vertebrates traditionally include the hagfish, which do not have pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eleutherodactylus
''Eleutherodactylus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Eleutherodactylidae.Hedges, S. B., W. E. Duellman, and M. P. Heinicke . 2008. New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and conservation. Zootaxa 1737: 1-182. Many of the 200 species of the genus are commonly known as "rain frogs" or "robber frogs", due to their sharp, high-pitched, insect-like calls. The best-known species is the common coquí (''E. coqui''), which is both a national symbol of Puerto Rico and a notorious invasive species in Hawaii. Two ''Eleutherodactylus'' species, '' E. limbatus'' and '' E. iberia'', are among the smallest known frogs, measuring only 8.5 mm in length (only slightly larger than ''Paedophryne amauensis'', which measures around 7.7 mm). Etymology The name "Eleutherodactylus" is derived from the Greek words for ‘free-toed’, composed of the Ancient Greek ' (, ‘free, unbound’) and ' (, ‘finger, toe’). Most sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Endemic Fauna Of Puerto Rico
This is a list of the endemic fauna of Puerto Rico. This list is sorted in alphabetical order by the scientific name of the species, which are in parentheses. Birds *Yellow-shouldered blackbird (''Agelaius xanthomus'') *Puerto Rican parrot (''Amazona vittata'') *Green mango (''Anthracothorax viridis'') *Puerto Rican nightjar (''Caprimulgus noctitherus'') *Puerto Rican emerald (''Chlorostilbon maugeaus'') * Puerto Rican lizard‑cuckoo (''Coccyzus vieilloti'') *Puerto Rican pewee (''Contopus portoricenis'') *Adelaide's warbler (''Dendroica adelaidae'') * Elfin-woods warbler (''Dendroica angelae'') *Puerto Rican oriole (''Icterus portoricensis'') *Puerto Rican bullfinch (''Loxigilla portoricensis'') *Puerto Rican owl (''Gymnasio nudipes'') *Puerto Rican woodpecker (''Melanerpes portoricensis'') *Puerto Rican flycatcher (''Myiarchus antillarum'') *Puerto Rican tanager (''Nesospingus speculiferus'') *Puerto Rican spindalis (''Spindalis portoricensis'') *Puerto Rican tody (''Todus m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fauna Of Puerto Rico
The fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago faunas, with high endemism, and low, skewed taxonomic diversity. Bats are the only extant native terrestrial mammals in Puerto Rico. All other terrestrial mammals in the area were introduced by humans, and include species such as cats, goats, sheep, the small Indian mongoose, and escaped monkeys. Marine mammals include dolphins, manatees, and whales. Of the 349 bird species, about 120 breed in the archipelago, and 47.5% are accidental or rare. The most recognizable and famous animal of Puerto Rico is probably the common coquí, a small endemic frog, and one of the 86 species that constitute Puerto Rico's herpetofauna. Some native freshwater fish inhabit Puerto Rico, but some species, introduced by humans, have established populations in reservoirs and rivers. The low richness-high diversity pattern is also apparent among invertebrates, which constitutes most of the archipelago's fauna. The arrival of the first peo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
