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Gallotia Caesaris
The genus ''Gallotia'' are the lacertids (wall lizards) of the Canary Islands. This genus consists of a group that has been Evolution, evolving there ever since the first islands emerged from the sea over 20 million years ago. The Endemic (ecology), endemic species and subspecies of this group have a number of characteristics that make them quite special within their Family (biology), family (Lacertidae); their only close relatives are the sandrunner lizards (''Psammodromus'') of the western Mediterranean region. ''Gallotia'' are characteristic for eating significant quantities of plants, and several lineages are often presented as classic examples for insular gigantism. However, a find of an even larger ''Gallotia'' species from the early Miocene of mainland Europe casts doubt on this assumption. Instead the ancestor of all modern ''Gallotia'' species of the Canary islands was probably already very large but carnivorous (Černaňský et al., 2016). Systematics and biogeography T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene followed the Oligocene and preceded the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by distinct global events but by regionally defined transitions from the warmer Oligocene to the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, Afro-Arabia collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans, and allowing the interchange of fauna between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans and Ape, hominoids into Eurasia. During the late Miocene, the conn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lacertid
The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at about 360 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found in Europe. Habitat The European and Mediterranean species of lacertids live mainly in forest and scrub habitats. ''Eremias'' and ''Ophisops'' species replace these in the grassland and desert habitats of Asia. African species usually live in rocky, arid areas. ''Holaspis'' species are among the few arboreal lacertids, and its two species, ''Holaspis guentheri'' and ''Holaspis laevis'', are gliders (although apparently poor ones), using their broad tail and flattened body as an aerofoil. Description Lacertids are small to medium-sized lizards. Most species are less than 9cm long, excluding the tail. The largest living species, ''Gallotia stehlini'', reaches 46cm, and some extinct forms were larger still. They are primarily insectivorous. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenerife
Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of April 2025, it is the most populous island in Spain and the entire Macaronesia region. Tenerife is also home to 42.7% of the total population of the archipelago. More than seven million tourists (7,384,707 in 2024) visit Tenerife each year, making it by far the most visited island in the archipelago. It is one of the most important tourist destinations in Spain and the world, hosting one of the world's largest carnivals, the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The capital of the island, , is also the seat of the island council (). That city and are the co-capitals of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Canary Islands. The two cities are both home to governmental institutions, such as the offices of the preside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxa
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 st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Miocene
The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It was preceded by the Oligocene epoch. As the climate started to get cooler, the landscape started to change. New mammals evolved to replace the extinct animals of the Oligocene epoch. The first members of the hyena and weasel family started to evolve to replace the extinct ''Hyaenodon'', entelodonts and bear-dogs. The chalicotheres survived the Oligocene epoch. A new genus of entelodont called ''Daeodon'' evolved in order to adapt to the new habitats and hunt the new prey animals of the Early Miocene epoch; it quickly became the top predator of North America. But it became extinct due to competition from ''Amphicyon'', a newcomer from Eurasia. ''Amphicyon'' bested ''Daeodon'' because the bear-dog's la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insular Gigantism
Island gigantism, or insular gigantism, is a biological phenomenon in which the size of an animal species isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to its mainland relatives. Island gigantism is one aspect of the more general Foster's rule, "island effect" or "Foster's rule", which posits that when mainland animals colonize islands, small species tend to evolve larger bodies, and large species tend to evolve smaller bodies (insular dwarfism). This is itself one aspect of the more general phenomenon of island syndrome which describes the differences in Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, physiology and ethology, behaviour of insular (island) species compared to their continental counterparts. Following the arrival of humans and associated introduced predators (dogs, cats, rats, pigs), many giant as well as other island endemics have become Extinction, extinct (e.g. the dodo and Rodrigues solitaire, giant flightless pigeons related to the Nicobar pigeon). A sim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the west almost by the Morocco–Spain border. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The sea was an important rout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psammodromus
''Psammodromus'' is a small genus of sand lizards of the family ''Lacertidae''. It has six described species, which are found in European and North African countries next to the Mediterranean. Species The following species are recognized as being valid."''Psammodromus'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. *''Psammodromus algirus'' - large psammodromus, Algerian psammodromus, Algerian sand racer *'' Psammodromus blanci'' - Blanc's sand racer, Blanc's psammodromus *'' Psammodromus edwarsianus'' - East Iberian sand racer, East Iberian psammodromus *'' Psammodromus hispanicus'' – Spanish psammodromus *'' Psammodromus jeanneae'' *'' Psammodromus manuelae'' *'' Psammodromus microdactylus'' – small-fingered psammodromus, green psammodromus *'' Psammodromus occidentalis'' ''Nota bene'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Psammodromus''. References Further reading * Boulenger GA (188 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lacertidae
The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at about 360 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found in Europe. Habitat The European and Mediterranean species of lacertids live mainly in forest and scrub habitats. ''Eremias'' and ''Ophisops'' species replace these in the grassland and desert habitats of Asia. African species usually live in rocky, arid areas. '' Holaspis'' species are among the few arboreal lacertids, and its two species, '' Holaspis guentheri'' and '' Holaspis laevis'', are gliders (although apparently poor ones), using their broad tail and flattened body as an aerofoil. Description Lacertids are small to medium-sized lizards. Most species are less than 9cm long, excluding the tail. The largest living species, '' Gallotia stehlini'', reaches 46cm, and some extinct forms were larger still. They are primarily insect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family (, : ) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family—or whether a described family should be acknowledged—is established and decided upon by active taxonomists. There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging a family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to a lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community ... [...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] |
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), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology (biology), morphology, behaviour, or ecological niche. In addition, palaeontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. About 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a binomial nomenclature, two-part name, a "binomen". The first part of a binomen is the name of a genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name (zoology), specific name or the specific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
