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Aldabrachelys Grandidieri
''Aldabrachelys grandidieri'', or Grandidier's giant tortoise, is an extinct species of tortoise that was endemic to Madagascar. Mitochondrial DNA extracted from subfossil bone confirm that it is a distinct species. Description ''Aldabrachelys grandidieri'' was a giant tortoise, one of the largest in the world, measuring about in carapace length. It was originally one of the six endemic tortoise species of Madagascar (two large '' Aldabrachelys''; two medium '' Astrochelys''; two small ''Pyxis''). It is distinguished from all other '' Aldabrachelys'' by a massive, flattened or depressed carapace, bulging sides of the carapace, short gulars, top of the nasal aperture is higher than the top of orbits, diverging quadrates, broad postorbitals, and a very large processus vomerinus dorsalis. It also had an unusually thick, strong carapace, possibly an adaptation to heavy predation. It seems to have been predominantly a grazer of meadows and wetlands. Extinction Material of this s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Quaternary period. The Holocene is an interglacial period within the ongoing Ice age, glacial cycles of the Quaternary, and is equivalent to Marine isotope stages, Marine Isotope Stage 1. The Holocene correlates with the last maximum axial tilt towards the Sun of the Earth#Axial tilt and seasons, Earth's obliquity. The Holocene corresponds with the rapid proliferation, growth, and impacts of the human species worldwide, including Recorded history, all of its written history, technological revolutions, development of major civilizations, and overall significant transition towards urban culture, urban living in the present. The human impact on modern-era Earth and its ecosystems may be considered of global significance for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyxis (turtle)
''Pyxis'' is a genus of tortoise in the family Testudinidae Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like ot .... It contains the following species: * Flat-backed spider tortoise (''Pyxis planicauda'') * Spider tortoise (''Pyxis arachnoides'') References Turtle genera Taxa named by Thomas Bell (zoologist) {{Turtle-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holocene Extinctions
The Holocene () is the current geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Quaternary period. The Holocene is an interglacial period within the ongoing glacial cycles of the Quaternary, and is equivalent to Marine Isotope Stage 1. The Holocene correlates with the last maximum axial tilt towards the Sun of the Earth's obliquity. The Holocene corresponds with the rapid proliferation, growth, and impacts of the human species worldwide, including all of its written history, technological revolutions, development of major civilizations, and overall significant transition towards urban living in the present. The human impact on modern-era Earth and its ecosystems may be considered of global significance for the future evolution of living species, including approximately synchronous lithospheric evidence, or more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinct Animals Of Madagascar
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its last member. A taxon may become functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to reproduce and recover. As a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. Over five billion species are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryotes globally, possibly many times more if microorganisms are included. Notable extinct animal species include non-avian dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, and mammoths. Through evolution, species arise through the process of speciation. Species become extinct when they are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against superior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adansonia Rubrostipa
''Adansonia rubrostipa'', commonly known as fony baobab, is a deciduous tree in the Malvaceae family. Of eight species of baobab currently recognized, six are indigenous to Madagascar, including fony baobab. It is endemic to western Madagascar, found in Baie de Baly National Park, south. It is associated with well-drained soils and is found in dry and spiny forests. It occurs in the following protected areas: Amoron'i Onilahy, Baie de Baly, Menabe Antimena, Mikea, Namoroka, Ranobe PK 32, Tsimanampesotse, Tsimembo Manambolomaty, Tsinjoriake (La Table/St Augustin). Fony baobab is the smallest of the baobabs, easily identified by its distinctive reddish bark. It is usually bottle-shaped and has toothed leaves and round fruit. It was first described by H.Perrier de la Bathie in 1909. Description General This is a small to large deciduous tree tall with reddish brown, peeling bark. The trunk is usually a distinctive bottle shape. Main branches are often horizontal, then curving up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldabra Giant Tortoise
The Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae and genus '' Aldabrachelys''. The species is endemic to the Seychelles, with the nominate subspecies, ''A. g. gigantea'' native to Aldabra atoll. It is one of the largest tortoises in the world.Pritchard, Peter C.H. (1979) ''Encyclopedia of Turtles.'' Neptune, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd. Historically, giant tortoises were found on many of the western Indian Ocean islands, as well as Madagascar, and the fossil record indicates giant tortoises once occurred on every continent and many islands with the exception of Australia and Antarctica. Many of the Indian Ocean species were thought to be driven to extinction by over-exploitation by European sailors, and they were all seemingly extinct by 1840 with the exception of the Aldabran giant tortoise on the island atoll of Aldabra. Although some remnant individuals of ''A. g. hololissa'' and ''A. g. arnoldi'' may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adansonia
''Adansonia'' is a genus of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). The eight species of ''Adansonia'' are native to Africa, Australia, and Madagascar but have also been introduced to other regions of the world, including Barbados, where several of the baobabs there are suspected to have originated from Africa. Other baobabs have been introduced to Asia. A genomic and ecological analysis further suggests that the genus itself originated from Madagascar. The generic name ''Adansonia'' honours Michel Adanson, the French naturalist and explorer who provided the first detailed botanical description and illustrations of ''Adansonia digitata''. The baobab, however, is also known as the "upside down tree," a name attributable to the trees' overall appearance and historical myths. Baobabs are among the most long-lived of vascular plants and have large flowers that are reproductive for a maximum of 15 hours. The flowers open around dusk with sufficiently rapid moveme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldabrachelys Abrupta
''Aldabrachelys abrupta'', the abrupt giant tortoise, is an extinct species of giant tortoise that was endemic to Madagascar. Ecology It was a large species, roughly 115 cm in length. It was originally one of the seven endemic tortoise species of Madagascar (two large '' Aldabrachelys''; three medium '' Astrochelys''; two small ''Pyxis Pyxis is a small and faint constellation in the southern sky. Abbreviated from Pyxis Nautica, its name is Latin for a mariner's compass (contrasting with Circinus, which represents a draftsman's compasses). Pyxis was introduced by Nicolas-Louis ...''). It was sympatric with the other giant tortoise species of Madagascar, Grandidier's giant tortoise ('' Aldabrachelys grandidieri'' (also extinct)), and both species occupied both the coasts and the cooler highlands of Madagascar, where they fulfilled the role of large grazers. ''A. abrupta'' was a browser of bushes and low-hanging branches; ''A. grandidieri'' was a grazer of grassy meadows an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nose
A nose is a sensory organ and respiratory structure in vertebrates. It consists of a nasal cavity inside the head, and an external nose on the face. The external nose houses the nostrils, or nares, a pair of tubes providing airflow through the nose for Respiration (physiology), respiration. Where the nostrils pass through the nasal cavity they widen, are known as nasal fossae, and contain nasal concha, turbinates and olfactory mucosa. The nasal cavity also connects to the paranasal sinuses (dead-end air cavities for pressure buffering and humidification). From the nasal cavity, the nostrils continue into the pharynx, a switch track valve connecting the respiratory system, respiratory and digestive systems. In humans, the nose is located centrally on the face and serves as an alternative respiratory passage especially during suckling for infants. The protruding nose that is completely separate from the mouth part is a characteristic found only in theria, therian mammals. It has b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulars
Snakes, like other reptiles, have skin covered in scales.Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India. p. 1 Snakes are entirely covered with scales or scutes of various shapes and sizes, known as snakeskin as a whole. A scale protects the body of the snake, aids it in locomotion, allows moisture to be retained within, alters the surface characteristics such as roughness to aid in camouflage, and in some cases even aids in prey capture (such as '' Acrochordus''). The simple or complex colouration patterns (which help in camouflage and anti-predator display) are a property of the underlying skin, but the folded nature of scaled skin allows bright skin to be concealed between scales then revealed in order to startle predators. Scales have been modified over time to serve other functions such as "eyelash" fringes, and protective covers for the eyes [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron. In botany, a carapace refers to the hard outer cover of a seed which protects the inner embryo. Crustaceans In crustaceans, the carapace functions as a protective cover over the cephalothorax (i.e., the fused head and thorax, as distinct from the abdomen behind). Where it projects forward beyond the eyes, this projection is called a rostrum. The carapace is calcified to varying degrees in different crustaceans. Zooplankton within the phylum Crustacea also have a carapace. These include Cladocera, ostracods, and isopods, but isopods only have a developed "cephalic shield" carapace covering the head. Arachnids In arachnids, the carapace is formed by the fusion of prosomal tergites into a single pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astrochelys
''Astrochelys'' is a genus of tortoises in the family Testudinidae. The two species are both found in Madagascar, and both classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Species A single extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ... species was described in 2023: '' Astrochelys rogerbouri''. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q779267 Turtles of Africa Reptiles of Madagascar Endemic fauna of Madagascar Turtle genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
