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Nototriton Saslaya
''Nototriton saslaya'' is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Nicaragua and known only from Cerro Sasalya (its eponymous type locality) and Cerro El Torro, both in the Saslaya National Park, north-central Nicaragua. Common name Saslaya moss salamander has been proposed for it. Description Adult males, based on a single specimen, measure about , and adult females measure in snout–vent length. The head is relatively large and clearly distinct from the trunk. The parotoid glands are well-developed and prominent. The snout is rounded. The eyes are moderately protuberant. The tail is slightly constricted at its base and tapering to a pointed tip. The limbs are slender and relatively long. The digits are well-differentiated and have some webbing. Dorsal coloration is brown with dark gray chevron markings and fine yellow-green mottling. The head is darker than the trunk. Ventral parts are brown with lighter speckling. Habitat and conservation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunther Köhler
Gunther Köhler (born 20 May 1965 in Hanau) is a German herpetologist. His research is primarily focused in Central America and in the West Indies. Career In 1995, Köhler received a doctorate in natural sciences at the Goethe University Frankfurt with his thesis on the systematics and ecology of black iguanas (genus ''Ctenosaura''). Since November 1995, he is curator at the department of herpetology and since 2004 acting director of the department of terrestrial zoology at the Senckenberg Research Institute. The projects of Köhler and his research group focus on the study of neotropical herpetofauna in Central and South America, in particular in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Bolivia. The studies are taxonomic, zoogeographical and phylogenetic, with the genus ''Anolis'' forming one of the main groups. In 1994, he rediscovered '' Ctenosaura bakeri'' (the Utila iguana), a species previously known only from the type specimens described in 1901. Since April 1998, Köhler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm. Salamanders rarely have more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer digits and others lack hind limbs. Their permeable skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water or other cool, damp places. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout their lives, some take to the water intermittently, and others are entirely terrestrial as adults. This group of amphibians is capable of regenerating lost l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plethodontidae
Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In terms of number of species, they are by far the largest group of salamanders. Biology Adult lungless salamanders have four limbs, with four toes on the fore limbs, and usually with five on the hind limbs. Within many species, mating and reproduction occur solely on land. Accordingly, many species also lack an aquatic larval stage, a phenomenon known as direct development in which the offspring hatch as fully-formed, miniature adults. Direct development is correlated with changes in the developmental characteristics of plethodontids compared to other families of salamanders including increases in egg size and duration of embryonic development. Additionally, the evolutionary loss of the aquatic larval stage is related to a diminishing dep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example ''Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. ''Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type Locality (biology)
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the defining features of that particular taxon. In older usage (pre-1900 in botany), a type was a taxon rather than a specimen. A taxon is a scientifically named grouping of organisms with other like organisms, a set that includes some organisms and excludes others, based on a detailed published description (for example a species description) and on the provision of type material, which is usually available to scientists for examination in a major museum research collection, or similar institution. Type specimen According to a precise set of rules laid down in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), the scientific name of every taxon is almos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snout–vent Length
Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most common measurement taken in herpetology, being used for all amphibians, lepidosaurs, and crocodilians (for turtles, carapace length (CL) and plastral length (PL) are used instead). The SVL differs depending on whether the animal is struggling or relaxed (if alive), or various other factors if it is a preserved specimen. For fossils, an osteological correlate such as precaudal length must be used. When combined with weight and body condition, SVL can help deduce age and sex. Advantages Because tails are often missing or absent, especially in juveniles, SVL is seen as more invariant than total length. Even in the case of crocodiles, tail tips may be missing. Methods The measurements may be taken with dial calipers or digital calipe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parotoid Gland
The parotoid gland (alternatively, paratoid gland) is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It can secrete a number of milky alkaloid substances (depending on the species) known collectively as bufotoxins, which act as neurotoxins to deter predation. These cutaneous glands are called parotoid as they are somewhat similarly positioned to mammalian parotid gland, although the latter have a different function, excreting saliva within the mouth rather than externally excreted defensive chemicals. A study of the parotoid glands of the Colorado River toad in 1976 found that the parotoid glands were "composed of numerous lobules", each of which is a separate unit with a lumen surrounded by a double cell layer. The cell layers have interlocking microvilli. The study found that the outer cell layer resembled smooth muscle cells, with some organelles hypothesised to "function in some aspects of venom synthesis, active cellular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Above Sea Level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The combination of unit of measurement and the physical quantity (height) is called " metres above mean sea level" in the metric system, while in United States customary and imperial units it would be called " feet above mean sea level". Mean sea levels are affected by climate change and other factors and change over time. For this and other reasons, recorded measurements of elevation above sea level at a reference time in history might differ from the actual elevation of a given location over sea level at a given moment. Uses Metres above sea level is the standard measurement of the elevation or altitude of: * Geographic locations such as towns, mountains and other landmarks. * The top of buildings and other structures. * Flying obje ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arboreal
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose numerous mechanical challenges to animals moving through them and lead to a variety of anatomical, behavioral and ecological consequences as well as variations throughout different species.Cartmill, M. (1985). Climbing. In ''Functional Vertebrate Morphology'', eds. M. Hildebrand D. M. Bramble K. F. Liem and D. B. Wake, pp. 73–88. Cambridge: Belknap Press. Furthermore, many of these same principles may be applied to climbing without trees, such as on rock piles or mountains. Some animals are exclusively arboreal in habitat, such as the tree snail. Biomechanics Arboreal habitats pose numerous mechanical challenges to animals moving in them, which have been solved in diverse ways. These challenges include moving on narrow branches, mov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nototriton
''Nototriton'', commonly referred to as moss salamanders is a genus in the salamander family Plethodontidae, which is characterized by their absence of lungs; they instead achieve respiration through their skin and the tissues lining their mouth. They range from Central Costa Rica to north-central and western Honduras reaching also to eastern Guatemala. Species The genus contains the following 20 species: References External links * . 2007. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.2 (15 July 2008)''Nototriton'' Electronic Database accessible at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. (Accessed: August 1, 2008). * eb application 2008. Berkeley, California''Nototriton'' AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: August 1, 2008). Amphibian genera Taxa named by David B. Wake Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Plethodontidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Fauna Of Nicaragua
Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. ''Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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