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Calabar Python
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 taxonomic efficiency. All recent analyses, however, place ''Calabaria reinhardtii'' at the base of a large clade within Boidae, which consists of the Boinae, the Erycinae, and an Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Johannes Theodor Reinhardt
Johannes Theodor Reinhardt (3 December 1816, in Copenhagen – 23 October 1882, in Frederiksberg) was a Danish zoologist and herpetologist. He was the son of Johannes Christopher Hagemann Reinhardt. Biography He participated as botanist in the first Galathea Expedition (1845—1847). In 1848 he became a curator at the ''Kongelige Naturhistoriske Museum'' in Copenhagen (now University of Copenhagen Zoological Museum). He taught classes in zoology at the '' Danmarks Tekniske Universitet'' (1856–1878) and at the University of Copenhagen (1861–1878). In 1854 he received the title of professor.Darwinarkivet Biographies; Johannes Theodor Reinhardt. During the 1840s and 1850s he periodically worked in |
Lichanura
''Lichanura'', the rosy boas, are a genus of snakes in the family Boidae. They are distributed across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar .... Species There are two recognized species: References Boidae Snake genera Snakes of North America Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope {{snake-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charina
''Charina'' is a genus of nonvenomous boas, commonly known as rubber boas, found in North America. Two species are currently recognized''.'' Distribution and habitat Found in North America from western Canada south through the western United States into northwestern Mexico. Species *) Not including the nominate subspecies. ) Type species. Taxonomy Sources vary on how many species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ... the genus contains. Some consider the rubber boa, '' C. bottae'', to be the sole member of the genus. In addition, some experts consider the southern rubber boa, '' C. umbratica'' to be a subspecies of ''C. bottae''. Although the Calabar python, '' Calabaria reinhardtii'' has been included in ''Charina'', recent phylogenetic analyses bas ... [...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), ''Boinae'' is considered an invalid synonym of Boidae. Genera *) Not including the nominate subspecies. T) 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 References Further reading * Kluge AG. 1991. Boine Snake Phylogeny and Research Cycles. Misc. Pub. Museum of Zoology, Univ. of Michigan No. 178PDFaUniversity of Michigan Library Accessed 8 July 2008. External links BoinaeaZipcodeZoo.com Accessed 14 July 2008. * {{Authority control Extant Paleocene first appearances Snake subfamilies Taxa named by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old World
The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously thought of by the Europeans as comprising the entire world, with the "New World", a term for the newly encountered lands of the Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas. Etymology In the context of archaeology and world history, the term "Old World" includes those parts of the world which were in (indirect) cultural contact from the Bronze Age onwards, resulting in the parallel development of the early civilizations, mostly in the temperate zone between roughly the 45th and 25th parallels north, in the area of the Mediterranean, including North Africa. It also included Mesopotamia, the Persian plateau, the Indian subcontinent, China, and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. These regions were connected via the Silk Road trade route, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New World
The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 33: "[16c: from the feminine of ''Americus'', the Latinized first name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). The name ''America'' first appeared on a map in 1507 by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, referring to the area now called Brazil]. Since the 16th century, the term "New World" has been used to describe the Western Hemisphere, often referred to as the Americas. Since the 18th century, it has come to represent the United States, which was initially colonial British America until it established independence following the American Revolutionary War. The second sense is now primary in English: ... However, the term is open to uncertainties: ..." The term arose in the early 16th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desert Rosy Boa
The desert rosy boa (''Lichanura trivirgata'') is a species of snake in the family Boidae. The desert rosy boa is native to the American Southwest and Baja California and Sonora in Mexico. The desert rosy boa is one of four species in the boa family native to the continental United States, the other three being the coastal rosy boa ('' Lichanura orcutti'') and the two species of rubber boas (''Charina''). Taxonomy Edward Drinker Cope described the species in 1861. The specific epithet ''trivirgata'' refers to the distinct three stripes characteristic of the species. Some researchers have placed the species in the genus ''Charina'' with the rubber boas (see Synonyms). Newer phylogenetic research supports the original arrangement, but herpetologists still do not agree on rosy boa taxonomy. The subspecific designations are just as uncertain, with many authorities not accepting ''L. t. arizonae'' or ''L. t. saslowi'', and others not recognizing any of the subspecies as being valid. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rubber Boa
The rubber boa (''Charina bottae'') is a species of snake in the Family (biology), family Boidae and is native to western North America. It is sometimes known as the coastal rubber boa or the northern rubber boa and is not to be confused with the southern rubber boa (''Charina umbratica''). Taxonomy Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville described the rubber boa in 1835. The Genus, generic name ''Charina'' is from the Ancient Greek "graceful" or "delightful", and the Specific name (zoology), specific name ''bottae'' honors Dr. Paul-Émile Botta, Paolo E. Botta, an Italian ship's surgeon, explorer, and naturalist. The family Boidae consists of the nonvenomous snakes commonly called Boidae, boas and consists of 43 species. The genus ''Charina'' consists of two species, both of which are found in North America. There is debate on whether the southern rubber boa, a population found in the San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles in Californ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phylogenetics
In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data and observed heritable traits of DNA sequences, protein amino acid sequences, and morphology. The results are a phylogenetic tree—a diagram depicting the hypothetical relationships among the organisms, reflecting their inferred evolutionary history. The tips of a phylogenetic tree represent the observed entities, which can be living taxa or fossils. A phylogenetic diagram can be rooted or unrooted. A rooted tree diagram indicates the hypothetical common ancestor of the taxa represented on the tree. An unrooted tree diagram (a network) makes no assumption about directionality of character state transformation, and does not show the origin or "root" of the taxa in question. In addition to their use for inferring phylogenetic pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erycinae
The Erycinae, also 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pythonidae
The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a Family (biology), family of Venomous snake, nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten Genus, genera and 39 species are currently recognized. Being naturally non-venomous, pythons must constrict their prey to induce cardiac arrest prior to consumption. Pythons will typically strike at and bite their prey of choice to gain hold of it; they then must use physical strength to constrict their prey, by coiling their muscular bodies around the animal, effectively suffocating it before swallowing whole. This is in stark contrast to venomous snakes such as the rattlesnake, for example, which delivers a swift, venomous bite but releases, waiting as the prey succumbs to envenomation before being consumed. Collectively, the pythons are well-documented and studied as constrictors, much like other non-venomous snakes, including the Boidae, boas and even kingsnakes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
