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Amphiuma
''Amphiuma'' is a genus of aquatic salamanders from the United States, the only Extant taxon, extant genus within the family (biology), family Amphiumidae . They are colloquially known as amphiumas. They are also known to fishermen as "conger eels" or "Congo snakes", which are zoology, zoologically incorrect designations or misnomers, since amphiumas are actually salamanders (and thus amphibians), and not fish, nor reptiles and are not from Congo Basin, Congo. ''Amphiuma'' exhibits one of the largest complements of DNA in the living world, around 25 times more than a human. Taxonomy Numerous phylogenetic studies have indicated that amphiumas form a clade with the families Torrent salamander, Rhyacotritonidae (torrent salamanders) and Plethodontidae (lungless salamanders), with an especially close relationship to Plethodontidae. Despite this possible relationship, the two families must have still diverged very early on. The genus ''Proamphiuma'' from the Cretaceous is the earlies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphiuma Antica
''Amphiuma'' is a genus of aquatic salamanders from the United States, the only extant genus within the family Amphiumidae . They are colloquially known as amphiumas. They are also known to fishermen as "conger eels" or "Congo snakes", which are zoologically incorrect designations or misnomers, since amphiumas are actually salamanders (and thus amphibians), and not fish, nor reptiles and are not from Congo. ''Amphiuma'' exhibits one of the largest complements of DNA in the living world, around 25 times more than a human. Taxonomy Numerous phylogenetic studies have indicated that amphiumas form a clade with the families Rhyacotritonidae (torrent salamanders) and Plethodontidae (lungless salamanders), with an especially close relationship to Plethodontidae. Despite this possible relationship, the two families must have still diverged very early on. The genus ''Proamphiuma'' from the Cretaceous is the earliest known member of the family, and closely resembles the modern species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Two-toed Amphiuma
The two-toed amphiuma (''Amphiuma means'') is an aquatic salamander widely distributed in the southeastern United States. It is commonly, but incorrectly, called "congo snake", "conger eel" or the "blind eel". Description Two-toed amphiumas are the most prominent in the Amphiumidae family and the longest salamander species in the United States, that can grow from in mass and from in length.Caudata Culture Species Entry – Amphiuma Caudata.org. Retrieved on 2013-01-03.Deyle, Anna C. (2011 Population Genetics of ''Amphiuma means'' and ''Siren lacertina'' in Central Florida M.S. Thesis, Univer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One-toed Amphiuma
The one-toed amphiuma (''Amphiuma pholeter)'' is a species of aquatic, eel-like salamander in the family Amphiumidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. It was unknown to science until 1950, when it was collected by herpetologist Wilfred T. Neill, who described it as a new species in 1964. It is rarely observed in the wild, and much about the species remains uncertain. Description The one-toed amphiuma is considered aquatic, and ranges in coloration from gray-black to purplish-brown. Unlike the other two ''Amphiuma'' species which have distinctively lighter undersides, the one-toed amphiuma is the same color on both the dorsum (back) and the venter (belly). It can also be distinguished by its cone-shaped head and number of toes. The one-toed amphiuma has one toe on each foot as opposed to the two or three exhibited by other ''Amphiuma'' species. It is the smallest species in the genus ''Amphiuma'' with the average adult size being 8.5 inches (220 mm). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphiuma Tridactylum
''Amphiuma tridactylum'', the three-toed amphiuma, is a species of aquatic salamander native to the Southeastern United States. Description The three-toed amphiuma looks rather eel-like, with an elongate, dark gray-black, or brown colored body, and tiny vestigial legs. A large salamander, one record sized individual was recorded at , but is the typical size of an average adult. They have small, lidless eyes, and gill slits. They have four tiny legs each with three toes and an average of 62 costal grooves. Distribution The three-toed amphiuma is found in the United States, along the Gulf of Mexico states, from Alabama to Texas, and north to Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. It is often found in bottomland marshes and lakes, seeps, bayous, cypress sloughs, and streams in areas with limestone bedrock. It frequently occupies crayfish burrows and may be found in manmade ditches. Behavior Amphiumas are nocturnal carnivores. They spend most of the time hiding in hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela, the sole surviving order from the group Caudata. ''Urodela'' is a scientific Latin term based on the Ancient Greek : ourà dēlē "conspicuous tail". ''Caudata'' is the Latin for "tailed ones", from : "tail". Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm. Salamanders never have more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer digits and others lack hind limbs. Their permeable skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water or other cool, damp places. So ... [...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] |
Gill Slit
Gill slits are individual openings to gills, i.e., multiple gill arches, which lack a single outer cover. Such gills are characteristic of cartilaginous fish such as sharks and rays, as well as deep-branching vertebrates such as lampreys. In contrast, bony fishes have a single outer bony gill covering called an operculum. Most sharks and rays have five pairs of gill slits, but a few species have 6 or 7 pairs. Shark gill slits lie in a row behind the head. The anterior edge of a gill slit is motile, moving outward to allow water to exit, but closing to prevent reverse flow. A modified slit, called a spiracle, lies just behind the eye, which assists the shark with taking in water during respiration and plays a major role in bottom–dwelling sharks. Spiracles are reduced or missing in active pelagic sharks. While the shark is moving, water passes through the mouth and over the gills in a process known as "ram ventilation". While at rest, most sharks pump water over their gil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metamorphosis (biology)
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 differentiation. Some insects, jellyfish, fish, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidarians, echinoderms, and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which is often accompanied by a change of nutrition source or behavior. Animals can be divided into species that undergo complete metamorphosis (" holometaboly"), incomplete metamorphosis (" hemimetaboly"), or no metamorphosis (" ametaboly"). Generally organisms with a larval stage undergo metamorphosis, and during metamorphosis the organism loses larval characteristics. Etymology The word ''metamorphosis'' derives from Ancient Greek , "transformation, transforming", from ('), "after" and ('), "form". Hormonal control In insects, growth and metamorphosis are controlled by hormones synthesized by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
