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Golden Mantella
The golden mantella (''Mantella aurantiaca'') is a small, terrestrial frog endemic to Madagascar. It has an extremely restricted distribution in three distinct areas centered on the town of Moramanga - Beparasy and Ambohibary Communes, Torotorofotsy Wetland northwest of Andasibe, and in the area of Ambakoana. ''Mantella aurantiaca'' is one of Madagascar's most threatened amphibian species due to its limited distribution in an area under tremendous anthropogenic pressure. It may also be threatened by over-collection for the pet trade. Description The golden mantella is a uniformly yellow, orange, or red frog measuring 20–26 mm. The inner leg displays red flash marks. The tympanum is visible, but small. Brightly colored skin warns predators that the frog is poisonous. It is thought that the brilliant colors exhibited by the golden mantella are an example of aposematism, warning predators of the poisonous nature of the frog. Ecology and behaviour The golden mantella is hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
François Mocquard
François Mocquard (27 October 1834 – 19 March 1917) was a French herpetologist born in Leffond, Haute-Saône. In 1860 he was named ''préparateur du physique'' after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree at the Faculty of Besançon. Subsequently, he earned degrees in physical sciences (1862), mathematical sciences (1865) and medicine (1873). Despite being middle-aged, he made a career change, and began studying natural sciences in the laboratory of Alphonse Milne-Edwards (1835-1900) at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. In 1884 he earned his doctorate of sciences with a thesis on the structure of the stomach in crustaceans, afterwards working as an assistant in the ichthyology and herpetology department at the museum. During his career he described numerous herpetological taxa, most notably species from Madagascar, Tonkin, Borneo, Mexico and Central America. In addition, he has several species named after him, including reptiles, '' Alluaudina mocquardi'', ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allopumiliotoxin
Allopumiliotoxins are a structural division in the pumiliotoxin-A class of alkaloids. The compounds of the pumiliotoxin-A class are primarily found in the skins of frogs, toads, and other amphibians and are used as a chemical defense mechanism to ward off predators, microorganisms, and ectoparasites. The compounds were originally discovered in neotropical dendrobatid frogs, but are also found in the mantellid frogs of Madagascar, myobatrachid frogs of Australia, and bufonid toad of South America. Frogs possessing this defense mechanism have aposematic coloring.Jain, P.; Garraffo, H. M.; Spande, T. F.; Yeh, H. J. C.; Daly, J. W. J. Nat. Prod. 1995, 58, 100-104. Biological activity The poison-dart frog family Dendrobatidae has yielded many different alkaloids categorized into several different classes, almost all of which have shown high pharmacological activity on muscle and nerve cells.Aoyagi, S.; Wang, T. C.; Kibayashi, C. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1993, 115, 11393-11409. The pumili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species Endangered By Urbanization
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 in zoological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species Endangered By Fires
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 in zoological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
