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Calumma Benovskyi
''Calumma benovskyi'' is an extinct species of chameleon of the '' Calumma'' genus. While species of this genus are only found on Madagascar today, ''C. benovskyi'' was discovered in the Miocene sediments of Kenya. This indicates that the genus and even chameleons as a whole did not originate on Madagascar, as often held previously, but on continental Africa. This matches with several prior studies that favor an African origin of the group both based on phylogenetic results and the ocean currents present between Africa and Madagascar during much of the Paleogene and Neogene. Additionally, since ''C. benovskyi'' was found to be a rather derived member of its genus, this would necessitate a much greater, as of yet unknown diversity of chameleons from the Oligocene and Miocene of Africa. History and naming The fossil material of ''Calumma benovskyi'' was discovered by Alan Walker in the Miocene sediments of the Kenyan Hiwegi Formation of Rusinga Island. The type specimen (KNM-RU 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calumma
''Calumma'' is a genus of chameleons endemic and restricted to Madagascar. The species formerly named ''Calumma tigris'' was transferred to the genus '' Archaius'' by Townsend et al., when they found that it is more closely related to '' Rieppeleon'' than to ''Calumma''. The oldest fossil of the genus is known from the Early Miocene of Kenya, showing that the genus originated in Africa. Species groups Four species groups are recognised within the genus ''Calumma'' (originally proposed by Glaw & Vences in 1994), some of which may be only phenetic, while others are phylogenetically supported: '' Calumma furcifer'' species group Contents: ''Calumma furcifer, C. gastrotaenia, C. marojezense, C. guillaumeti, C. andringitraense, C. glawi, C. vencesi'' Species characterised by typically green body colouration, sleek body form, and generally no occipital lobes (flaps of skin posterior to the head; present only in ''C. glawi'') and no rostral appendage (present only in males of ''C. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
External Nares
A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbinates, whose function is to warm air on inhalation and remove moisture on exhalation. Fish do not breathe through noses, but they do have two (but cyclostomes have merged into one) small holes used for smelling, which can also be referred to as nostrils. In humans, the nasal cycle is the normal ultradian cycle of each nostril's blood vessels becoming engorged in swelling, then shrinking. The nostrils are separated by the septum. The septum can sometimes be deviated, causing one nostril to appear larger than the other. With extreme damage to the septum and columella, the two nostrils are no longer separated and form a single larger external opening. Like other tetrapods, humans have two external nostrils (anterior nares) and two addit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deceptive Chameleon
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight of hand as well as distraction, camouflage or concealment. There is also self-deception, as in bad faith. It can also be called, with varying subjective implications, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, ruse, or subterfuge. Deception is a major relational transgression that often leads to feelings of betrayal and distrust between relational partners. Deception violates relational rules and is considered to be a negative violation of expectations. Most people expect friends, relational partners, and even strangers to be truthful most of the time. If people expected most conversations to be untruthful, talking and communicating with others would require distraction and misdirection to acquire reliable information. A significant amoun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big-nosed Chameleon
''Calumma nasutum'', the Madagascar pimple-nose chameleon, is a small species of chameleon found in Madagascar. The taxonomic identity of the species is currently uncertain and in need of revision, and this revision is likely to result in several newly described species. Several different data sets indicate that ''C. nasutum'' is a complex of several species. Taxonomy ''Calumma nasutum'' belongs to the so-called "''C. nasutum'' species group" within the genus ''Calumma''. This group is a phenetic one, and has been reconstructed by some studies as being polyphyletic, but the species are unified by their small size and possession of a soft dermal appendage at the front of the nose ("rostral appendage"). The group currently consists of ''C. nasutum'', '' C. fallax'', '' C. gallus'', ''C. vohibola'', '' C. vatosoa'', '' C. radamanus'', '' C. peyrierasi'', '' C. boettgeri'', and '' C. linotum''. ''Calumma nasutum'' itself is a member of a species complex. Gehring et al. showed that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short-horned Chameleon
''Calumma brevicorne'', the short-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon endemic to Madagascar. Description The short-horned chameleon has a compressed body, spindly limbs, grasping feet and a prehensile tail allowing it to negotiate the branches and twigs of its arboreal habitat. The most distinctive features of the short-horned chameleon are its large, ear-like occipital lobes, and the short bony rostral appendage that projects from the snout of the male. When threatened, it raises its ear-like flaps to increase its apparent size and attacks with an open mouth. The short-horned chameleon is generally grayish in color, although there is variation between the sexes and across the species' range, with the slightly larger males having a lighter colored head, and some specimens being greener and having blue legs. Distribution The short-horned chameleon is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, and is calculated to have a population density of 2.4 chameleons ha−1 in the fores ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parson's Chameleon
Parson's chameleon (''Calumma parsonii'') is a large species of chameleon in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to isolated pockets of humid primary forest in eastern and northern Madagascar. It is listed on CITES Appendix II, meaning that trade in this species is regulated. While most chameleon species from Madagascar cannot be legally exported, a limited number of Parson's chameleons can be legally exported each year from its native country. Etymology The specific name, ''parsonii'', is in honor of British physician James Parsons. Description Among the largest chameleons in the world (usually considered the largest by weight, but shorter than the Malagasy giant chameleon which holds the title for the largest by length), ''C. parsonii'' males have ridges running from above the eyes to the nose, forming two warty horns. There are two recognized subspecies: The widespread ''Calumma p. parsonii'' reaches up to in total length (including tail), about the size ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calumma Ambreense
''Calumma ambreense'' is a species of chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ... found in Madagascar. References Calumma Reptiles of Madagascar Reptiles described in 1974 {{chameleon-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squamosal Bone
The squamosal is a skull bone found in most reptiles, amphibians, and birds. In fishes, it is also called the pterotic bone. In most tetrapods, the squamosal and quadratojugal bones form the cheek series of the skull. The bone forms an ancestral component of the dermal roof and is typically thin compared to other skull bones. The squamosal bone lies ventral to the temporal series and otic notch, and is bordered anteriorly by the postorbital. Posteriorly, the squamosal articulates with the quadrate and pterygoid bones. The squamosal is bordered anteroventrally by the jugal and ventrally by the quadratojugal. Function in reptiles In reptiles, the quadrate and articular bones of the skull articulate to form the jaw joint. The squamosal bone lies anterior to the quadrate bone. Anatomy in synapsids Non-mammalian synapsids In non-mammalian synapsids, the jaw is composed of four bony elements and referred to as a quadro-articular jaw because the joint is between the articular an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supratemporal Fenestrae
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, these two parts are the neurocranium and the viscerocranium (facial skeleton) that includes the mandible as its largest bone. The skull forms the anterior-most portion of the skeleton and is a product of cephalisation—housing the brain, and several sensory structures such as the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In humans these sensory structures are part of the facial skeleton. Functions of the skull include protection of the brain, fixing the distance between the eyes to allow stereoscopic vision, and fixing the position of the ears to enable sound localisation of the direction and distance of sounds. In some animals, such as horned ungulates (mammals with hooves), the skull also has a defensive function by providing the mount (on the frontal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pineal Eye
A parietal eye, also known as a third eye or pineal eye, is a part of the epithalamus present in some vertebrates. The eye is located at the top of the head, is photoreceptive and is associated with the pineal gland, regulating circadian rhythmicity and hormone production for thermoregulation. The hole in the head which contains the eye is known as a pineal foramen or parietal foramen, since it is often enclosed by the parietal bones. Presence in various animals The parietal eye is found in the tuatara, most lizards, frogs, salamanders, certain bony fish, sharks, and lampreys. It is absent in mammals, but was present in their closest extinct relatives, the therapsids, suggesting it was lost during the course of the mammalian evolution due to it being useless in endothermic animals. It is also absent in the ancestrally endothermic ("warm-blooded") archosaurs such as birds. The parietal eye is also lost in ectothermic ("cold-blooded") archosaurs like crocodilians, and in turtles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jugal
The jugal is a skull bone found in most reptiles, amphibians and birds. In mammals, the jugal is often called the malar or zygomatic. It is connected to the quadratojugal and maxilla, as well as other bones, which may vary by species. Anatomy The jugal bone is located on either side of the skull in the circumorbital region. It is the origin of several masticatory muscles in the skull. The jugal and lacrimal bones are the only two remaining from the ancestral circumorbital series: the prefrontal, postfrontal, postorbital, jugal, and lacrimal bones. During development, the jugal bone originates from dermal bone. In dinosaurs This bone is considered key in the determination of general traits in cases in which the entire skull has not been found intact (for instance, as with dinosaurs in paleontology). In some dinosaur genera the jugal also forms part of the lower margin of either the antorbital fenestra or the infratemporal fenestra, or both. Most commonly, this bone ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parietal Bone
The parietal bones () are two bones in the skull which, when joined at a fibrous joint, form the sides and roof of the cranium. In humans, each bone is roughly quadrilateral in form, and has two surfaces, four borders, and four angles. It is named from the Latin ''paries'' (''-ietis''), wall. Surfaces External The external surface ig. 1is convex, smooth, and marked near the center by an eminence, the parietal eminence (''tuber parietale''), which indicates the point where ossification commenced. Crossing the middle of the bone in an arched direction are two curved lines, the superior and inferior temporal lines; the former gives attachment to the temporal fascia, and the latter indicates the upper limit of the muscular origin of the temporal muscle. Above these lines the bone is covered by a tough layer of fibrous tissue – the epicranial aponeurosis; below them it forms part of the temporal fossa, and affords attachment to the temporal muscle. At the back part and clos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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