Blue Tongue Lizard
Blue-tongued skinks comprise the Australasian genus ''Tiliqua'', which contains some of the largest members of the skink family (Scincidae). They are commonly called blue-tongued lizards or simply blue-tongues or blueys in Australia or panana in Indonesia. As suggested by these common names, a prominent characteristic of the genus is a large blue tongue that can be bared as bluff-warning to potential enemies. Their tongue can also deform itself and produce a thick mucus in order to catch prey. They are relatively shy in comparison with other lizards, and also significantly slower due to their shorter legs. Systematics and distribution Blue-tongued skinks are closely related to the genera '' Cyclodomorphus'' and '' Hemisphaeriodon''. All species are found on mainland Australia with the exception of ''Tiliqua gigas'', which occurs in New Guinea and various islands of Indonesia. The Tanimbar blue-tongued skink, a subspecies of ''Tiliqua scincoides'', is also found on several small ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a zoological name. Gray was keeper of zoology at the British Museum in London from 1840 until Christmas 1874, before the natural history holdings were split off to the Natural History Museum. He published several catalogues of the museum collections that included comprehensive discussions of animal groups and descriptions of new species. He improved the zoological collections to make them amongst the best in the world. Biography Gray was born in Walsall, but his family soon moved to London, where Gray studied medicine. He assisted his father in writing ''The Natural Arrangement of British Plants'' (1821). After being blackballed by the Linnean Society of London, Gray shifted his interest from botany to zoology. He began his zoological ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Diurnality
Diurnality is a form of plant and ethology, animal behavior characterized by activity during daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The common adjective used for daytime activity is "diurnal". The timing of activity by an animal depends on a variety of environmental factors such as the temperature, the ability to gather food by sight, the risk of predation, and the time of year. Diurnality is a cycle of activity within a 24-hour period; cyclic activities called circadian rhythms are endogenous cycles not dependent on external cues or environmental factors except for a zeitgeber. Animals active during twilight are crepuscular, those active during the night are nocturnal and animals active at sporadic times during both night and day are cathemerality, cathemeral. Plants that open their flowers during the daytime are described as diurnal, while those that bloom during nighttime are nocturnal. The timing of flower opening is often related to the time at whic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tiliqua Gigas
The Indonesian blue-tongued skink (''Tiliqua gigas'') is a lizard in the family Scincidae. It is a close relative of the eastern blue-tongued lizard. They are endemic to the island of New Guinea and other various surrounding islands. They are found typically in the rainforest, and in captivity, require high humidity. In comparison to ''Tiliqua scincoides'', they are fairly lean. They also have long tails (60–90% of their snout-vent length). Description ''Tiliqua gigas'' has an elongated body and very small limbs, which is typical of most skinks of the genus. They typically get up to 18-24 inches (46-61 centimeters) in length and weigh up to 1 kilogram. They are known for their thinner, elongated tails, and avoiding participation in seasonal brumation as they regulate their breeding cycle on a wet and dry season. The subspecies ''T. gigas gigas'' is the most tropical and known for having the skinniest tail. They have solid, dark, or near solid dark limbs. ''Tiliqua gigas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tiliqua Frangens (cropped)
''Tiliqua frangens'' is an extinct species of the extant genus ''Tiliqua'', blue-tongued skinks. It lived during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epoch from New South Wales in Australia. Discovery In 2009, the holotype, known from early Pliocene to early Pleistocene rocks from the Wellington Caves of New South Wales in Australia, consisted of the anterior portion of the left mandible, from the symphysis to the splenial bone and containing portions of the coronoid. Hutchinson and Scanlon named the species ''Aethesia frangens'': the generic name was based on the Greek word ''ἀήθως'' (aëthes), meaning 'odd' or 'unusual', while the specific name, meaning 'breaking into pieces' or 'smashing,' is based on the possible effect of its large jaws. Teeth number 9 to 15 are intact, with the eighth being a partial tooth and none of the other remaining past the mandible. The teeth slightly enlarge from anterior to posterior. In 2013, Čerňanský and Hutchinson described a new species of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tiliqua Adelaidensis (Peters, 1863) 3069938647
The Adelaide pygmy blue-tongue skink (''Tiliqua adelaidensis'') or pygmy bluetongue is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species was previously thought to be extinct and only rediscovered in 1992. Known locations of the species extend from Kapunda in the Light River valley, about north east of Adelaide, northwards to Peterborough, about north of Adelaide. Rediscovery and conservation Found only in the Mid North of South Australia, ''T. adelaidensis'' was for a time believed to be extinct. It was rediscovered in 1992, when a researcher found the remains of an adult male ''T. adelaidensis'' in the stomach contents of a dead brown snake, near Burra.Pygmy bluetongue liz ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ovoviviparous
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparity, oviparous and live-bearing viviparity, viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop inside eggs that remain in the mother's body until they are ready to hatch. The young of some ovoviviparous amphibians, such as ''Limnonectes larvaepartus'', are born as larvae, and undergo further metamorphosis outside the body of the mother. Members of genera ''Nectophrynoides'' and ''Eleutherodactylus'' bear froglets, not only the hatching, but all the most conspicuous metamorphosis, being completed inside the body of the mother before birth. Among insects that depend on Opportunism#Biological, opportunistic exploitation of transient food sources, such as many Sarcophagidae and other carrion flies, and species such as many Calliphoridae, that rely on fresh dung, and parasitoids such as Tachinidae, tachinid flies that depend on enteri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arthropod
Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metamerism (biology), metameric) Segmentation (biology), segments, and paired jointed appendages. In order to keep growing, they must go through stages of moulting, a process by which they shed their exoskeleton to reveal a new one. They form an extremely diverse group of up to ten million species. Haemolymph is the analogue of blood for most arthropods. An arthropod has an open circulatory system, with a body cavity called a haemocoel through which haemolymph circulates to the interior Organ (anatomy), organs. Like their exteriors, the internal organs of arthropods are generally built of repeated segments. They have ladder-like nervous systems, with paired Anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral, ventral Ventral nerve cord, nerve cord ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Terrestrial Locomotion
Terrestrial locomotion has evolution, evolved as animals adapted from ecoregion#Marine, aquatic to ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial environments. Animal locomotion, Locomotion on land raises different problems than that in water, with reduced friction being replaced by the increased effects of gravity. As viewed from evolutionary taxonomy, there are three basic forms of animal locomotion in the terrestrial environment: *#Legged locomotion, legged – moving by using appendages *#Limbless locomotion, limbless locomotion – moving without legs, primarily using the body itself as a propulsive structure. *#Rolling, rolling – rotating the body over the substrate Some terrains and land cover, terrestrial surfaces permit or demand alternative locomotive styles. A sliding component to locomotion becomes possible on slippery surfaces (such as ice and snow), where locomotion is aided by potential energy, or on loose surfaces (such as sand or scree), where friction is low but purchase ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ambush Predator
Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture their prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey using sheer speed or endurance, ambush predators avoid fatigue by staying in concealment, waiting patiently for the prey to get near, before launching a sudden overwhelming attack that quickly incapacitates and captures the prey. The ambush is often opportunistic, and may be set by hiding in a burrow, by camouflage, by aggressive mimicry, or by the use of a trap (e.g. a web). The predator then uses a combination of senses to detect and assess the prey, and to time the strike. Nocturnal ambush predators such as cats and snakes have vertical slit pupils helping them to judge the distance to prey in dim light. Different ambush predators use a variety of means to capture their prey, from the long sticky tongues of chameleons to the expand ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |