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Sand Boa
The Erycinae, known as the Old World sand boas, are a subfamily of nonvenomous snakes in the family Boidae. Species of the subfamily Erycinae are found in Europe, Asia Minor, Africa, Arabia, central and southwestern Asia, India, Sri Lanka, and western North America. Four genera comprising 18 species are currently recognized as being valid. Description Erycinae is a subfamily of stout-bodied snakes, all of which are competent burrowers. The largest, '' E. johnii'', rarely exceeds in total length (including tail). Most grow to around in total length. They have small eyes and hard, small scales to protect their skin from the grit of sand. A great deal of sexual dimorphism exists, with females generally becoming much larger than males. Erycines have skeletal adaptations to burrowing. The skull is more compact than in the subfamily Boinae. Also, the vertebrae of the tail are increased in size but reduced in number. Distribution and habitat Erycines are found in Southeastern Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eryx Jaculus
''Eryx jaculus'', known commonly as the javelin sand boa, is a species of snake in the Boidae family. It is the type species of the genus ''Eryx''. Geographic range ''Eryx jaculus'' is found in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and North-Africa. In September 2014 the snake was rediscovered in Romania near the Danube after being extinct in the nation since 1937, when the last specimen was seen near Cochirleni. In late 2015 the snake was rediscovered near Licata on the south coast of Sicily after not having been officially recorded in Italy for eighty years. Description The javelin sand boa may grow to in total length (including tail). Coloring varies greatly. Dorsally, it may be grayish, tan, brownish, or reddish, with darker blotches or bars in an irregular network. It usually has a dark streak from the eye to the corner of the mouth. Ventrally it is whitish or yellowish. It is heavy-bodied and has a short blunt tail. The ventrals are very narrow, less than ⅓ of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eryx Colubrinus
''Eryx colubrinus'', the Egyptian or Kenyan sand boa,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . is a species of snake in the family Boidae. The species is endemic to Northern and Eastern Africa. There are three subspecies which are recognized as being valid. Description The Kenyan sand boa is heavily-built snake with a small head, small eyes, vertical pupils, and a short tail. Scale texture is extremely smooth, except on the tail, which is covered in bumps. Adult female specimens of ''G. colubrinus'' are rarely more than 91 cm (3 feet) in total length (including tail). The average Kenyan sand boa grows no longer than 12-24" (30-60cm) long, with males being significantly smaller than females. The color pattern may consist of a yellow or orange coloration overlaid with dark brown splotches. The belly is white or cream colored. It is readily available in the pet trade due to its small size, docility and ease of care. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the second most circulated English-language newspaper in India, after '' The Times of India''. , ''The Hindu'' is published from 21 locations across 11 states of India. ''The Hindu'' has been a family-owned newspaper since 1905, when it was purchased by S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar from the original founders. It is now jointly owned by Iyengar's descendants, referred to as the "Kasturi family", who serve as the directors of the holding company. The current chairperson of the group is Malini Parthasarathy, a great-granddaughter of Iyengar. Except for a period of about two years, when Siddharth Varadarajan, S. Varadarajan held the editorship of the newspaper, the editorial positions of the paper were always held by members of the family or held under t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eryx Jayakari
''Eryx jayakari'', known commonly as the Arabian sand boa or Jayakar's sand boa, is a species of snake in the family Boidae. The species is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran where it spends the day buried in the sand. Etymology Both the specific name, ''jayakari'', and one of the common names, Jayakar's sand boa, are in honor of Atmaram Sadashiv Jayakar (1844–1911), an Indian surgeon and naturalist.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Eryx jayakari'', p. 134). Description The Arabian sand boa is a small snake growing to a total length (including tail) of about . The eyes are very small and are located on the top of the head, which has a blunt snout and is wedge-shaped. This snake's colour is yellowish-grey or sandy-brown speckled with white flecks and transversely banded with dark marks. Geographic range The Arabian sand boa is native to the A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pythonidae
The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten genera and 42 species are currently recognized. Distribution and habitat Pythons are found in sub-Saharan Africa, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, southeastern Pakistan, southern China, the Philippines and Australia. In the United States, an introduced population of Burmese pythons, ''Python bivittatus'', has existed as an invasive species in the Everglades National Park since the late 1990s. Common names * Sinhala - පිඹුරා (''Pimbura'') * Telugu - కొండచిలువ (Kondachiluva) * Odia - ଅଜଗର (Ajagara) *Malayalam - പെരുമ്പാമ്പ് (perumpāmp) *Hindi - अजगर ('Ajgar') Conservation Many species have been hunted aggressively, which has greatly reduced the population of some, such as the Indian python, ''Python ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calabar Python
:''Common names: Calabar ground boa, burrowing boa, Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . Calabar boa, more.'' The Calabar python (''Calabaria reinhardtii'') is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Boidae. The species is endemic to West and Central Africa. It is the only species in its genus. Etymology The specific name or epithet, ''reinhardtii'', is dedicated to Danish herpetologist Johannes Theodor Reinhardt (1816–1882). Taxonomy Although Schlegel (1848) first assigned this taxon to the genus ''Eryx'', most herpetologists have since regarded it as a python, which is still reflected in many of its common names. Kluge (1993) referred it to ''Charina'' (Erycinae) based on a phylogenetic analysis. ''Charina'' was used to group together '' C. bottae'' and '' C. trivirgata'' with ''C. reinhardtii'' to emphasize evidence for an historical connection between the New and Old Worlds, as well as for taxono ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovoviviparity
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing 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 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 tachinid flies that depend on entering the host as soon as possible, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boinae
The Boinae are a purported subfamily of boas found in Central and South America as well as the West Indies. In the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the ''Boinae'' are considered an invalid synonym of Boidae. Genera ''*) Not including the nominate subspecies.'' ) Type genus. Taxonomy The genera '' Acrantophis'' and '' Sanzinia'' were erroneously synonymized with the genus ''Boa'' by Kluge in 1991. These have now been transferred to the resurrected subfamily Sanziniinae. The genus ''Candoia ''has similarly been transferred to its own subfamily, Candoiinae. See also * List of boine species and subspecies This is a list of all extant genera, species and subspecies of the snakes of the subfamily Boinae, otherwise referred to as boines or true boas. It follows the taxonomy currently provided by ITIS, which is based on the continuing work of Roy McDia ... References Further reading * Kluge AG. 1991. Boine Snake Phylogeny and Research Cycles. Misc. Pub. Museum of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constriction
Constriction is a method used by various snake species to kill or subdue their prey. Although some species of venomous and mildly venomous snakes do use constriction to subdue their prey, most snakes which use constriction lack venom. The snake initially strikes at its prey and holds on, pulling the prey into its coils or, in the case of very large prey, pulling itself onto the prey. The snake will then wrap one or two loops around the prey, forming a constriction coil. The snake will monitor the prey's heartbeat to ascertain when it is dead. This can be a physically demanding and potentially dangerous procedure for the snake, as it accelerates its metabolism up to seven times and leaves it vulnerable to attack by another predator. Contrary to myth, the snake does not crush the prey, or break its bones. However, several natural observations exist involving wild Anacondas that show broken bones in large prey. Also, contrary to previous belief, the snake does not cause suffocation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Messel Pit
The Messel pit (german: Grube Messel) is a disused quarry near the village of Messel (Landkreis Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hesse) about southeast of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Bituminous shale was mined there. Because of its abundance of well-preserved fossils dating from the middle of the Eocene, it has significant geological and scientific importance. Over 1000 species of plants and animals have been found at the site. After almost becoming a landfill, strong local resistance eventually stopped these plans and the Messel Pit was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 9 December 1995. Significant scientific discoveries about the early evolution of mammals and birds are still being made at the Messel Pit, and the site has increasingly become a tourist site as well. History Brown coal and later oil shale was actively mined from 1859. The pit first became known for its wealth of fossils around 1900, but serious scientific excavation only started around the 1970s, when falling oil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
