|
Acontias Albigularis
''Acontias albigularis'', the white-throated legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is found under flat rocks on the montane grasslands and shrublands of the Mpumalanga escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte .... The species was originally regarded as a population of the shorthead lance skink (also called the shortheaded legless skink, ''Acontias breviceps''). Description ''A. albigularis'' is one of 28 recognized species within the genus '' Acontias''. Of the legless skinks, it is considered to be medium sized. The body is cylindrical, with a rounded, short snout. Coloration is dorsally olive to olive brown, with dark brown or black spotting on the terminal ends of the scales. Ventrally scale ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lizard
Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic islands, oceanic Archipelago, island chains. The grouping is Paraphyly, paraphyletic as some lizards are more closely related to snakes than they are to other lizards. Lizards range in size from chameleons and geckos a few centimeters long to the 3-meter-long Komodo dragon. Most lizards are quadrupedal, running with a strong side-to-side motion. Some lineages (known as "legless lizards") have secondarily lost their legs, and have long snake-like bodies. Some lizards, such as the forest-dwelling ''Draco (genus), Draco'', are able to glide. They are often Territory (animal), territorial, the males fighting off other males and signalling, often with bright colours, to attract mates and to intimidate rivals. Lizards are mainly carnivorous, often b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montane Grasslands And Shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than the ecological term that denotes the region below the treeline. This biome includes high elevation ( montane and alpine) grasslands and shrublands, including the puna and páramo in South America, subalpine heath in New Guinea and East Africa, steppes of the Tibetan plateaus, as well as other similar subalpine habitats around the world. The plants and animals of tropical montane páramos display striking adaptations to cool, wet conditions and intense sunlight. Around the world, characteristic plants of these habitats display features such as rosette structures, waxy surfaces, and abundant pilosity. The páramos of the northern Andes are the most extensive examples of this habitat type. Although ecoregion biotas are most diverse in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State (province), Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela. Mpumalanga was formed in 1994, when the area that was the Eastern Transvaal (province), Transvaal was merged with the former bantustans KaNgwane, KwaNdebele and parts of Lebowa and Gazankulu. Although the contemporary borders of the province were formed only at the end of apartheid, the region and its surroundings have a history that extends back thousands of years. Much of its history and current significance are as a region of trade. History Precolonial Era Archeological sites in the Mpumalanga region indicate settlement by humans and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used interchangeably with ''escarpment.'' ''Escarpment'' referring to the margin between two landforms, and ''scarp'' referring to a cliff or a steep slope. In this usage an escarpment is a ridge which has a gentle slope on one side and a steep scarp on the other side. More loosely, the term ''scarp'' also describes a zone between a coastal lowland and a continental plateau which shows a marked, abrupt change in elevation caused by coastal erosion at the base of the plateau. Formation and description Scarps are generally formed by one of two processes: either by differential erosion of sedimentary rocks, or by movement of the Earth's crust at a geologic fault. The first process is the more common type: the escarpment is a transition from one seri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acontias Breviceps
''Acontias breviceps'', the shorthead lance skink or shortheaded legless skink, is a species of viviparous, legless, fossorial lizards occurring along the southern and eastern sections of the Great Escarpment in South Africa. It may grow up to long. This skink was first collected in 1925 by Robert Essex at Hogsback in the Amatola Mountains in the Eastern Cape at an elevation of some . A disjunct second population exist in the Transvaal Drakensberg. Essex collected for the Albany Museum of Grahamstown, but a fire in 1941 destroyed most specimens and records. References Bibliography * * Essex, R. 1925. Descriptions of two new species of the genus ''Acontias'' and notes on some other lizards found in the Cape Province. Rec. Albany Mus. 3: 332–342. * Greer, Allen E. 2001. Distribution of maximum snout-vent length among species of Scincid lizards. Journal of Herpetology 35 (3): 383-395 * Lamb, T.; Biswas, S. & Bauer, A.M. 2010. A phylogenetic reassessment of African fossoria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acontias
''Acontias'' is a genus of limbless skinks, the lance skinks, (family Scincidae) in the African subfamily Acontinae.Branch 2004. Most are small animals, but the largest member of the genus is '' Acontias plumbeus'' at approximately snout-vent length. All members of this genus are live-bearing sandswimmers, with fused eyelids. A recent review moved species that were formerly placed in the genera ''Typhlosaurus'', ''Acontophiops'', and ''Microacontias'' into this genus, as together these form a single branch in the tree of life. This new concept of ''Acontias'' is a sister lineage to '' Typhlosaurus'', and these two genera are the only genera within the subfamily Acontinae. Species These 24 species are recognized:"''Acontias'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. * ''Acontias albigularis'' Conradie, Busschau, & Edwards, 2018 – white-throated legless skink * '' Acontias aurantiacus'' ( W. Peters, 1854) – golden blind legless skink * '' Acontias bicolor'' ( He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Tom Pass
Long Tom Pass is a mountain pass on the Great Escarpment, Southern Africa, Great Escarpment situated in the Mpumalanga province, on the R37 (Limpopo), R37 regional route between Lydenburg and Sabie (South Africa). It is named after the 155 mm Creusot Long Tom, Long Tom cannon. Route The route up Long Tom Pass starts at 1456m and climbs 682 vertical metres to an altitude of 2138m at its end. The summit of the pass lies at an altitude of 2150m. The pass is part of the Mpumalanga Panorama Route and carries appropriately heavy traffic both tourist and commercial. The pass is prone to heavy mist and can be dangerous in low visibility conditions. Long Tom Monument A monument commemorating the last use of the Boer 155 mm Creusot Long Tom guns during the Second Boer War is located in the pass, about from Sabie. References Mountain passes of Mpumalanga {{Mpumalanga-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skinks Of Africa
Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Skinks are characterized by their smaller legs in comparison to typical lizards and are found in different habitats except arctic and subarctic regions. Etymology The word ''skink'', which entered the English language around 1580–1590, comes from classical Greek and Latin , names that referred to various specific lizards. Description Skinks look like lizards of the family Lacertidae (sometimes called ''true lizards''), but most species of skinks have no pronounced neck and relatively small legs. Several genera (e.g., '' Typhlosaurus'') have no limbs at all. This is not true for all skinks, however, as some species such as the red-eyed crocodile skink have a head that is very distinguished from the body. These lizards also have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Reptiles Of South Africa
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or becomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptiles Described In 2018
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocephalia. About 12,000 living species of reptiles are listed in the Reptile Database. The study of the traditional reptile orders, customarily in combination with the study of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. Reptiles have been subject to several conflicting Taxonomy, taxonomic definitions. In Linnaean taxonomy, reptiles are gathered together under the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), which corresponds to common usage. Modern Cladistics, cladistic taxonomy regards that group as Paraphyly, paraphyletic, since Genetics, genetic and Paleontology, paleontological evidence has determined that birds (class Aves), as members of Dinosauria, are more closely related to living crocodilians than to other reptiles, and are thus nested among re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxa Named By Werner Conradie
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and given a particular ranking, especially if and when it is accepted or becomes established. It is very common, however, for taxonomists to remain at odds over what belongs to a taxon and the criteria used for inclusion, especially in the context of rank-based (" Linnaean") nomenclature (much less so under phylogenetic nomenclature). If a taxon is given a formal scientific name, its use is then governed by one of the nomenclature codes specifying which scientific name is correct for a particular grouping. Initial attempts at classifying and ordering organisms (plants and animals) were presumably set forth in prehistoric times by hunter-gatherers, as suggested by the fairly sophisticated folk taxonomies. Much later, Aristotle, and later still ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
