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Galapagos Racer
The Galápagos racer (''Pseudalsophis biserialis'') is a colubrid snake in the genus '' Pseudalsophis'' that is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. It is a mildly venomous constrictor but it is not considered aggressive or harmful to humans. The two subspecies are the eastern and western racers, the latter being larger, longer, and darker than the former. The western subspecies specializes in hunting fish, while both subspecies eat small reptiles, eggs, rodents, and bird hatchlings. The Galapagos racer is near threatened due to recently introduced species that feed on snake eggs, including pigs, rats, mice, and cats. It is one of only three species of snakes on the Galápagos Islands, and it was first described in 1860. In November 2016, a video clip from the BBC series '' Planet Earth II'' showing a group of Galápagos racers hunting marine iguana hatchlings became a viral trend. Description The snake is the only snake that occurs in the islets around the Floreana Island in Galá ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Günther
Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther , also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3October 18301February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive reptile taxonomist (after George Albert Boulenger) with more than 340 reptile species described. Early life and career Günther was born in Esslingen in Swabia ( Württemberg). His father was a ''Stiftungs-Commissar'' in Esslingen and his mother was Eleonora Nagel. He initially schooled at the Stuttgart Gymnasium. His family wished him to train for the ministry of the Lutheran Church for which he moved to the University of Tübingen. A brother shifted from theology to medicine, and he, too, turned to science and medicine at Tübingen in 1852. His first work was "''Ueber den Puppenzustand eines Distoma''" (On the pupal state of ''Distoma''). He graduated in medicine with an M.D. from Tübingen in 1858, the same year in which he published a handbook ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colubrid
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colubrid snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica. Description Colubrids are a very diverse group of snakes. They can exhibit many different body styles, body sizes, colors, and patterns. They can also live in many different types of habitats including aquatic, terrestrial, semi-arboreal, arboreal, desert, mountainous forests, semi-fossorial, and brackish waters. A primarily shy and harmless group of snakes, the vast majority of colubrids are not venomous, nor do most colubrids produce venom that is medically significant to mammals. However, the bites of some can escalate quickly to emergency situations. Furthermore, within the Colubridae, the South African boomslang and twig snakes, as well as the Asian keelback snakes ('' R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudalsophis
''Pseudalsophis'' is a genus of snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to South America. Out of the ten species, nine are endemic to the Galapagos Islands. Geographic range Species in the genus ''Pseudalsophis'' are found in Ecuador (particularly the Galápagos), Chile and Peru. Species Ten species are recognized as being valid. *'' Pseudalsophis biserialis'' – Galápagos racer *'' Pseudalsophis darwini'' () – Darwin's racerZaher, Hassam; Yánez-Muños, Mario H.; Rodrigues, Miguel T.; Graboski, Roberta; Machado, Fabio A., Bonatto, Sandro L.; Grazziotin, Felipe G. (2018) – Darwin's racer "Origin and hidden diversity within the poorly known Galápagos radiation (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)". ''Systematics and Biodiversity''. Published online. (''Pseudalsophis darwini'', new species; ''P. hephaestus'', n. sp.; ''P. thomasi'', n. sp.). *'' Pseudalsophis dorsalis'' – Central Galapagos racer *'' Pseudalsophis elegans'' *'' Pseudalsophis hephaestus'' () – San ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of slightly over 33,000 (2020). The province is divided into the Cantons of Ecuador, cantons of San Cristóbal Island, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos), Santa Cruz, and Isabela Island (Galápagos), Isabela, the three most populated islands in the chain. The Galápagos are famous for their large number of Endemism, endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin in the 1830s and inception of Darwin's theory, inspired his theory of evolution by means of natural selection. All of these islands are protected as part of Ecuador's Galápagos National Park and Galápagos Marine Reserve, Marine Reserve. Thus far, there is no firm evidence that Polynesian expansion, Polynesians or the indigenous peoples of South America, Indigenous pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species have subspecies, but for those that do there must be at least two. Subspecies is abbreviated as subsp. or ssp. and the singular and plural forms are the same ("the subspecies is" or "the subspecies are"). In zoology, under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the subspecies is the only taxonomic rank below that of species that can receive a name. In botany and mycology, under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, other infraspecific name, infraspecific ranks, such as variety (botany), variety, may be named. In bacteriology and virology, under standard International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes, bacterial nomenclature and virus clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near Threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify for the threatened status. The IUCN notes the importance of reevaluating near-threatened taxon, taxa at appropriate intervals. The rationale used for near-threatened taxa usually includes the criteria of Vulnerable species, vulnerable which are plausible or nearly met, such as reduction in numbers or range. Those designated since 2001 that depend on conservation efforts to not become threatened are no longer separately considered conservation-dependent species. IUCN Categories and Criteria version 2.3 Before 2001, the IUCN used the version 2.3 Categories and Criteria to assign conservation status, which included a separate category for conservation-dependent species ("Conservation Dependen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Introduced Species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there by human activity, directly or indirectly, and either deliberately or accidentally. Non-native species can have various effects on the local ecosystem. Introduced species that become established and spread beyond the place of introduction are considered naturalized. The process of human-caused introduction is distinguished from biological colonization, in which species spread to new areas through "natural" (non-human) means such as storms and rafting. The Latin expression neobiota captures the characteristic that these species are ''new'' biota to their environment in terms of established biological network (e.g. food web) relationships. Neobiota can further be divided into neozoa (also: neozoons, sing. neozoon, i.e. animals) and ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planet Earth II
''Planet Earth II'' is a 2016 British nature documentary series co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, BBC Studios, BBC America, ZDF, France Télévisions and Tencent, and distributed by BBC Worldwide. It functions as a sequel to ''Planet Earth'', which was broadcast in 2006. The series is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the main theme music composed by Hans Zimmer. Announced in 2013, ''Planet Earth II'' is the first television series produced by the BBC in ultra high definition (4K), and set out to utilise new filmmaking technologies that had been developed since the first series. The first trailer was released on 9 October 2016, and the series premiered on 6 November 2016 in the United Kingdom on BBC One and BBC One HD. It aired internationally on BBC Earth and other networks. The series received universal critical acclaim, with many reviewers commending the use of new filmmaking technology and declaring it among the best nature documentaries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Iguana
The marine iguana (''Amblyrhynchus cristatus''), also known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galápagos marine iguana, is a species of Iguanidae, iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a marine reptile that has the ability to forage in the sea for algae, which make up almost all of its diet. Marine iguanas are the only extant lizard that spends time in a marine environment. Large males are able to dive to find this food source, while females and smaller males feed during low tide in the intertidal zone. They mainly live in Colony (biology), colonies on rocky shores where they bask after visiting the relatively cold water or intertidal zone, but can also be seen in marshes, mangrove swamps and beaches. Large males defend Territory (animal), territories for a short period, but smaller males have other breeding strategies. After mating, the female digs a nest hole in the soil where she lays her eggs, leaving them to hatch on th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viral Phenomenon
Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the term ''viral'' pertains to a video, image, or written content spreading to numerous online users within a short time period. This concept has become a common way to describe how thoughts, information, and trends move into and through a human population. The popularity of viral media has been fueled by the rapid rise of social network sites, wherein audiences—who are metaphorically described as experiencing "infection" and "contamination"—play as passive carriers rather than an active role to 'spread' content, making such content "go viral". The term ''viral media'' differs from '' spreadable media'' as the latter refers to the ''potential'' of content to become viral. Memes are one known example of informational viral patterns. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromicus
''Alsophis'' is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. Species in the genus ''Alsophis'' are among those snakes commonly called "racers". ''Alsophis'' species are endemic to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. One species in the genus ''Alsophis'', ''A. antiguae'', is one of the world's rarest known snakes. Snakes of the genus ''Alsophis'' are small and rear-fanged, and they are considered harmless to humans. This genus contains nine described species which are recognized as being valid. Several species once included in this genus have been placed in the genera '' Borikenophis'' and '' Pseudalsophis''. Rarity of species '' Alsophis antiguae'' is the rarest snake in the genus ''Alsophis''. This snake once occurred on Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Reptiles Of The Galápagos Islands
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 Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an i ... for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
