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Hormurus Polisorum
''Hormurus polisorum'', also known as the Christmas Island cave scorpion, is a species of troglofauna, troglobitic scorpion in the Hormuridae Family (biology), family. It is endemism, endemic to Australia’s Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. It was first described in 2001; at the time of its discovery, it was the first troglobitic scorpion species recorded for Australia, and the second outside the Americas. The scorpions are rare, blind, obligate cave-dwellers, and are restricted to only a few caves on Christmas Island. References Hormurus, polisorum Scorpions of Australia Cave arachnids Fauna of Christmas Island Animals described in 2001 {{Scorpion-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Troglofauna
Troglofauna are small cave-dwelling animals that have adapted to their dark surroundings. Troglofauna and stygofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environments – troglofauna are associated with caves and spaces above the water table and stygofauna with water. Troglofaunal species include spiders, insects, myriapods and others. Some troglofauna live permanently underground and cannot survive outside the cave environment. Troglofauna adaptations and characteristics include a heightened sense of hearing, touch and smell. Loss of under-used senses is apparent in the lack of pigmentation as well as eyesight in most troglofauna. Troglofauna insects may exhibit longer appendages and a lack of wings. Ecological categories Troglofauna are divided into three main categories based on their ecology: * Troglobionts (or troglobites): species, or populations of species, strictly bound to subterranean habitats. * Troglo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always ending with a stinger. The evolutionary history of scorpions goes back Silurian, 435 million years. They mainly live in deserts but have adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions, and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. There are over 2,500 described species, with 22 extant (living) families recognized to date. Their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy is being revised to account for 21st-century genomic studies. Scorpions primarily prey on insects and other invertebrates, but some species hunt vertebrates. They use their pincers to restrain and kill prey, or to prevent their own predation. The Scorpion sting, venomous sting is used for offense and defense. During courtship, the male and female ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hormuridae
Hormuridae is a family of scorpions in the order Scorpiones. There are about 10 genera and more than 90 described species in Hormuridae. Genera These 11 genera belong to the family Hormuridae: * '' Cheloctonus'' Pocock, 1892 * '' Chiromachetes'' Pocock, 1899 * '' Chiromachus'' Pocock, 1893 * '' Hadogenes'' Kraepelin, 1894 * '' Hormiops'' Fage, 1933 * '' Hormurus'' Thorell, 1876 * '' Iomachus'' Pocock, 1893 * '' Liocheles'' Sundevall, 1833 * '' Opisthacanthus'' Peters, 1861 * '' Palaeocheloctonus'' Lourenço, 1996 * '' Tibetiomachus'' Lourenço & Qi, 2006 References Scorpion families Hormuridae {{scorpion-stub ... [...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] |
Endemism
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 for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the list of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania. Australia is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent. It is a megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and Climate of Australia, climates including deserts of Australia, deserts in the Outback, interior and forests of Australia, tropical rainforests along the Eastern states of Australia, coast. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last glacial period. By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south of Java and Sumatra and about north-west of the closest point on the mainland Australia, Australian mainland. It has an area of . Christmas Island's geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of interest to scientists and naturalists. The territory derives its name from its discovery on Christmas Day 1643 by Captain William Mynors. The first European to sight Christmas Island was Richard Rowe of the ''Thomas'' in 1615. Mynors gave it its name. It was first settled in the late 19th century, after abundant phosphate deposits were found, originally deposited as guano, leading Britain to annex the island in 1888 and begin commercial mining in 1899. The J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by the Southern Ocean or Antarctica, depending on the definition in use. The Indian Ocean has large marginal or regional seas, including the Andaman Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Laccadive Sea. Geologically, the Indian Ocean is the youngest of the oceans, and it has distinct features such as narrow continental shelf, continental shelves. Its average depth is 3,741 m. It is the warmest ocean, with a significant impact on global climate due to its interaction with the atmosphere. Its waters are affected by the Indian Ocean Walker circulation, resulting in unique oceanic currents and upwelling patterns. The Indian Ocean is ecologically diverse, with important ecosystems such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hormurus
''Hormurus'' is a genus of scorpions, commonly known as rainforest scorpions, in the family (biology), family Hormuridae, that occur in rainforest habitats, mainly in Australia and Melanesia. The genus was first described by Swedish arachnology, arachnologist Tamerlan Thorell in 1876. Species Species include: * ''Hormurus boholiensis'' Kraepelin, 1914 - Philippines * ''Hormurus ischnoryctes'' Monod & Prendini, 2013 - Australia * ''Hormurus karschii'' Keyserling, 1885 - Australia and New Guinea * ''Hormurus litodactylus ''(Monod & Volschenk, 2004) - Australia * ''Hormurus longimanus'' (Locket, 1995) - Australia * ''Hormurus macrochela'' Monod, 2013 - Australia * ''Hormurus neocaledonicus'' (Simon, 1877) - New Caledonia * ''Hormurus ochyroscapter'' Monod, 2013 - Australia * ''Hormurus penta'' (Francke & Lourenco, 1991) - New Guinea and Solomon Islands * ''Hormurus polisorum'' (Volschenk, Locket & Harvey, 2001) - Christmas Island * ''Hormurus waigiensis'' (Gervais, 1943) - Austral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scorpions Of Australia
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always ending with a stinger. The evolutionary history of scorpions goes back 435 million years. They mainly live in deserts but have adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions, and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. There are over 2,500 described species, with 22 extant (living) families recognized to date. Their taxonomy is being revised to account for 21st-century genomic studies. Scorpions primarily prey on insects and other invertebrates, but some species hunt vertebrates. They use their pincers to restrain and kill prey, or to prevent their own predation. The venomous sting is used for offense and defense. During courtship, the male and female grasp each other's pincers and dance while he tries to move her onto his sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cave Arachnids
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock shelters). Caves which extend further underground than the opening is wide are called endogene caves. Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves and the cave environment. Visiting or exploring caves for recreation may be called ''caving'', ''potholing'', or ''spelunking''. Formation types The formation and development of caves is known as ''speleogenesis''; it can occur over the course of millions of years. Caves can range widely in size, and are formed by various geological processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion by water, tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure, and atmospheric influences. Isotopic dating techniques can be applied to cave sediments, to determine the time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fauna Of Christmas Island
The wildlife of Christmas Island is composed of the flora and fauna of this isolated island in the tropical Indian Ocean. Christmas Island is the summit plateau of an underwater volcano. It is mostly clad in tropical rainforest and has karst, cliffs, wetlands, coasts and sea. It is a small island with a land area of , 63% of which has been declared a National park. Most of the rainforest remains intact and supports a large range of Endemism, endemic species of animals and plants. Geography The island is about long and wide. The total land area is , with of coastline. The island is the flat summit of an underwater volcano more than high, with about being submerged and only about above the surface. Some basalt is exposed in places but most of the surface rock is limestone accumulated from coral growth. The karst terrain supports numerous anchialine pools. Steep cliffs along much of the coast rise abruptly to a central plateau. The island is mainly covered by tropical rainfore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
