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Amplexus
Amplexus (Latin "embrace") is a type of Mating, mating behavior exhibited by some External fertilization, externally fertilizing species (chiefly amphibians, Amphipoda, amphipods, and horseshoe crabs) in which a male grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process, and at the same time or with some time delay, he fertilizes the eggs, as they are released from the female's body. In amphibians, females may be grasped by the head, waist, or armpits, and the type of amplexus is characteristic of some taxonomic groups. Amplexus involves direct contact between male and female, distinguished from other forms of external fertilization, such as broadcast spawning, where sperm and eggs are freely shed into water without direct contact by individuals. In order for amplexus to be initiated, male frogs must first find a mate by attracting one through calls, typically in the evening. Once a male has successfully attracted a mate, the process of amplexus begins, while the unsu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibian
Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excluding the amniotes (tetrapods with an amniotic membrane, such as modern reptiles, birds and mammals). All extant taxon, extant (living) amphibians belong to the monophyletic subclass (biology), subclass Lissamphibia, with three living order (biology), orders: Anura (frogs and toads), Urodela (salamanders), and Gymnophiona (caecilians). Evolved to be mostly semiaquatic, amphibians have adapted to inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living in freshwater ecosystem, freshwater, wetland or terrestrial ecosystems (such as riparian woodland, fossorial and even arboreal habitats). Their biological life cycle, life cycle typically starts out as aquatic animal, aquatic larvae with gills known as tadpoles, but some species have devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to wart-like parotoid glands tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal and purely cosmetic, not from taxonomy (biology), taxonomy or evolutionary history. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest and associated wetlands. They account for around 88% of extant amphibian species, and are one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar (250Myr, million years ago), but molecular clock, molecular clock dating suggests their divergent evolution, divergence from other amphibians may exte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ascaphus
The tailed frogs are two species of frogs in the genus ''Ascaphus'', the only taxon in the family Ascaphidae . The "tail" in the name is actually an extension of the male cloaca. The tail is one of two distinctive anatomical features adapting the species to life in fast-flowing streams. These are the only North American frog species that reproduce by internal fertilization. They are among the most primitive known families of frogs. Its scientific name means 'without a spade', from the privative prefix '' a-'' and the Ancient Greek ' (, 'spade, shovel'), referring to the metatarsal spade, which these frogs do not have. Taxonomy Until 2001, the genus was believed to be monotypic, the single species being the tailed frog (''Ascaphus truei'' Stejneger, 1899). However, in that year, Nielson, Lohman, and Sullivan published evidence that promoted the Rocky Mountain tailed frog (''Ascaphus montanus'') from a subspecies to its own species. Since then, the former species has been formall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooglossidae
Sooglossidae, the Seychelles frogs or Seychelles Island frogs, are a family of frogs found on the Seychelles Islands. Until recently, this family was believed to include the genera '' Sechellophryne'', '' Nesomantis'' and '' Sooglossus'', but following a major revision of amphibians in 2006, the genus ''Nesomantis'' was named a junior synonym of ''Sooglossus''. Their closest relatives are the purple frogs ( Nasikabatrachidae) of India. Description All Sooglossidae species are relatively small terrestrial frogs, about in length, hiding under fallen leaves or in rock crevices. They are unusual for the neobatrachials, in that they undertake inguinal amplexus, a primitive version of amplexus. They lay their eggs on moist ground, rather than in water. Several species lack tadpoles, with the eggs hatching directly into froglets. The tadpoles of '' S. sechellensis'' are carried, abnormally, on the backs of the female frogs until metamorphosis. There is no fossil record for the family. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphipoda
Amphipoda () is an order (biology), order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphipod species currently recognized. They are mostly marine animals, but are found in almost all aquatic environments. Some 2,250 species live in fresh water, and the order also includes the terrestrial Talitridae, sandhoppers such as ''Talitrus saltator'' and ''Arcitalitrus sylvaticus''. Etymology and names The name ''Amphipoda'' comes, via Neo-Latin ', from the Greek language, Greek root (linguistics), roots 'on both/all sides' and 'foot'. This contrasts with the related Isopoda, which have a single kind of thoracic leg. Particularly among Angling, anglers, amphipods are known as ''freshwater shrimp'', ''scuds'', or ''sideswimmers''. Description Anatomy The body of an amphipod is divided into 13 segments, which can be tagmosis, grouped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fertilize
Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a zygote and initiate its development into a new individual organism or offspring. While processes such as insemination or pollination, which happen before the fusion of gametes, are also sometimes informally referred to as fertilisation, these are technically separate processes. The cycle of fertilisation and development of new individuals is called sexual reproduction. During double fertilisation in angiosperms, the haploid male gamete combines with two haploid polar nuclei to form a triploid primary endosperm nucleus by the process of vegetative fertilisation. History In antiquity, Aristotle conceived the formation of new individuals through fusion of male and female fluids, with form and function emerging gradually, in a mode called by him as epigenetic. In 1784, Spallanzani established the need of interacti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strongylopus Grayii In Amplexus
''Strongylopus'' ('strongylos'=round, 'pus'=foot) is a genus of pyxicephalid frogs native to Africa. They are found in the area from southwestern South Africa and Namibia to northern Tanzania. Their common name is stream frogs. Description ''Strongylopus'' are small to medium-sized frogs: adult snout–vent lengths are typically in the range of . Species within this genus may be found at altitudes from sea level up to 3250 m in elevation. They generally occur in riparian habitats, including fynbos heath, grassland, montane flooded grassland, savanna and forest edge. Some species occur in more specific habitats, such as ''Strongylopus kilimanjaro'' in alpine moorland near cold water streams. Species These species belong to this genus: * ''Strongylopus bonaespei'' (Dubois, 1981) – Banded stream frog * ''Strongylopus fasciatus'' (Smith, 1849) – Striped stream frog * ''Strongylopus fuelleborni'' (Nieden, 1911) – Fuelleborn's stream frog * '' Strongylopus grayii'' (Smith, 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myobatrachidae
Myobatrachidae, commonly known as Australian ground frogs or Australian water frogs, is a family of frogs found in Australia and New Guinea. Members of this family vary greatly in size, from species less than long, to the second-largest frog in Australia, the giant barred frog (''Mixophyes iteratus''), at in length. The entire family is either terrestrial or aquatic frogs, with no arboreal species. Characteristics The family Myobatrachidae contains forms of parental care unique in the animal kingdom. The two species of gastric-brooding frog (genus: ''Rheobatrachus''), are found in this family. The females of these species swallow their young, where they develop until metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different .... The pouched frog (''Assa darlingtoni'') ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intromittent Organ
An intromittent organ is any external organ of a male organism that is specialized to deliver sperm during copulation. Intromittent organs are found most often in terrestrial species, as most non-mammalian aquatic species fertilize their eggs externally, although there are exceptions. For many species in the animal kingdom, the male intromittent organ is a hallmark characteristic of internal fertilization. Species with intromittent organs Invertebrates Molluscs Male cephalopods have a specialized arm, the hectocotylus, which is inserted into the female's mantle cavity to deliver a spermatophore during copulation. In some species, the hectocotylus breaks off inside the female's mantle cavity; in others, it can be used repeatedly to copulate with different females. Arachnids In spiders, the intromittent organs are the male pedipalps, even though these are not primarily sexual organs, but serve as indirect mating organs; in the male the pedipalps have hollow, clubbed tips, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mertensophryne
''Mertensophryne'' is a genus of true toads (family Bufonidae). They are found in eastern and southern Democratic Republic of Congo to Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, southeastern Zimbabwe, and adjacent Mozambique. Their common names include snouted frogs, Chirinda forest toads, and forest toads. The genus is named for Robert Mertens, German zoologist and herpetologist. Taxonomy ''Mertensophryne'', as currently understood, consist of the former ''"Bufo" taitanus'' group and the genera ''Mertensophryne'' (as formerly defined) and ''Stephopaedes''. The latter is monophyletic and still recognized as a subgenus. The closest relatives of ''Mertensophryne'' remain uncertain but probably include '' Poyntonophrynus'', '' Vandijkophrynus'', and '' Capensibufo''. Description ''Mertensophryne'' lack tympanum and columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nectophrynoides
''Nectophrynoides'' is a genus of true toads, family Bufonidae. They are endemic to Eastern Arc forests and wetlands in Tanzania,Channing and Howell. (2006). ''Amphibians of East Africa.'' Pp. 104–117. and all except '' N. tornieri'' are threatened. Species of the genus are 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 develo ...: fertilization is internal, and the females give birth to fully developed, small toadlets. Together with the West Africa '' Nimbaphrynoides'' (which was included in ''Nectophrynoides'' in the past) and '' Limnonectes larvaepartus'', they are the only frogs/toads in the world that do not lay eggs.Wells (2007). ''The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians.'' Pp. 486–487. The Ethiopian '' Altiphrynoides'' (includes ''Spinophrynoides''), which lay e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
