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Psammobates
''Psammobates'' is a genus of tortoise erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1835. This genus contains three species, all of which are Indigenous (ecology), indigenous to southern Africa.JCVI.org (Retrieved February 24, 2010.) The genus name means "sand-loving", and these tortoises typically inhabit the arid and semi-arid areas of southern Africa. Their diets and adaptations for this environment mean that these species do not generally survive outside their habitats and soon die when kept in captivity. All three species suffer from illegal collecting and habitat destruction, but the Psammobates geometricus, geometric tortoise has historically been the worst affected and is now Endangered species, endangered. Species [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psammobates Tentorius
The tent tortoise (''Psammobates tentorius'') is a species of tortoise and one of three members of the genus, ''Psammobates''.Zip Code Zoo (Retrieved 28 February 2010) Known locally as the Karoo tent tortoise, this highly variable species is found in South Africa and Namibia. Distribution The Karoo tent tortoise occurs at very low densities throughout the Karoo and other semi-desert areas of southern Africa, extending from central Namibia almost to the southern coast of South Africa. Within this range, its population is very sparse and individuals are normally rare and widely separated. The species is also increasingly rare due to habitat destruction and illegal collecting for the pet trade. Due to its specific diet that consists of certain Karoo plants, this species rarely survives in c ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psammobates Geometricus
The geometric tortoise (''Psammobates geometricus'') is a critically endangered species of tortoise and one of three members of the genus ''Psammobates''. It is found in a very small section in the South-Western Cape of South Africa. Identification It has a very strong, black and yellow patterned carapace, used for defence against predators. The patterns are arranged in ray-like markings and help the tortoise blend in with its environment. From a birds eye view the shell has geometrical symbols on it thus giving it its name. This tortoise is very small, and a full grown tortoise can only reach about in diameter. The tortoise is one of the rarest species of tortoise of earth, only about 2,000 to 3,000 are alive today. However, because of its cryptic colouration and lack of activity, it makes it hard to create an accurate estimate of the population size. While it shares much of its superficial outer appearance with its relatives in the genus ''Psammobates'', it can be distinguis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psammobates Tent Tortoise Species Map - Southern Africa
''Psammobates'' is a genus of tortoise erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1835. This genus contains three species, all of which are indigenous to southern Africa.JCVI.org (Retrieved February 24, 2010.) The name means "sand-loving", and these tortoises typically inhabit the arid and semi-arid areas of southern Africa. Their diets and adaptations for this environment mean that these species do not generally survive outside their habitats and soon die when kept in captivity. All three species suffer from illegal collecting and |
Psammobates
''Psammobates'' is a genus of tortoise erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1835. This genus contains three species, all of which are Indigenous (ecology), indigenous to southern Africa.JCVI.org (Retrieved February 24, 2010.) The genus name means "sand-loving", and these tortoises typically inhabit the arid and semi-arid areas of southern Africa. Their diets and adaptations for this environment mean that these species do not generally survive outside their habitats and soon die when kept in captivity. All three species suffer from illegal collecting and habitat destruction, but the Psammobates geometricus, geometric tortoise has historically been the worst affected and is now Endangered species, endangered. Species [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psammobates Oculifer
The serrated tortoise (''Psammobates oculifer'') is a species of tortoise that occurs in the Kalahari Desert regions of southern Africa. Also known as the Kalahari tent tortoise, it is one of three members of the genus, ''Psammobates''. Name The common name internationally, serrated tortoise, stems from the characteristic, ray-like shell pattern and is shared by another tortoise species, '' Kinixys erosa''. In southern Africa it is known by the unambiguous name of Kalahari tent tortoise, after its Kalahari habitat. Distribution The serrated tortoise is found in Southern Africa. Here it favours arid savanna and scrub desert vegetation types (e.g. Kalahari thornveld, bushveld and arid grassland). This area lies within the border regions of Botswana, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa from extreme W Transvaal and the W Orange Free State northwestward across most of Botswana and central and eastern Namibia. In this range, which roughly matches the extent of the Kalahari De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tortoise
Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like other members of the suborder Cryptodira, they retract their necks and heads directly backward into the shell to protect them. Tortoises can vary in size with some species, such as the Galápagos giant tortoise, growing to more than in length, whereas others like the Speckled cape tortoise have shells that measure only long. Several lineages of tortoises have independently evolved very large body sizes in excess of , including the Galapagos giant tortoise and the Aldabra giant tortoise. They are usually diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive animals. Tortoises are the longest-living land animals in the world, although the longest-living species of tortois ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turtle Genera
Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked turtles), which differ in the way the head retracts. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling tortoises and freshwater terrapins. They are found on most continents, some islands and, in the case of sea turtles, much of the ocean. Like other Amniote, amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals) they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. Turtle shells are made mostly of bone; the upper part is the domed Turtle shell#Carapace, carapace, while the underside is the flatter plastron or belly-plate. Its outer surface is covered in scale (anatomy), scales made of keratin, the material of hair, horns, and claws. The carapace bones deve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leopold Fitzinger
Leopold Joseph Franz Johann Fitzinger (13 April 1802 – 20 September 1884) was an Austrian zoologist. Fitzinger was born in Vienna and studied botany at the University of Vienna under Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin. He worked at the Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum between 1817, when he joined as a volunteer assistant, and 1821, when he left to become secretary to the provincial legislature of Lower Austria; after a hiatus, he was appointed assistant curator in 1844 and remained at the Naturhistorisches Museum until 1861. Later, he became director of the zoos of Munich and Budapest. In 1826, he published ''Neue Classification der Reptilien'', based partly on the work of his friends Friedrich Wilhelm Hemprich and Heinrich Boie. In 1843, he published ''Systema Reptilium'', covering geckos, chameleons and iguanas. Fitzinger is commemorated in the scientific names of five reptiles: ''Algyroides fitzingeri'', ''Leptotyphlops fitzingeri'', ''Liolaemus fitzingerii'', ''Micrurus tener, Micr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equivalent to the concept of indigenous or autochthonous species. A wild organism (as opposed to a domesticated organism) is known as an introduced species within the regions where it was anthropogenically introduced. If an introduced species causes substantial ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage, it may be regarded more specifically as an invasive species. A native species in a location is not necessarily also endemic to that location. Endemic species are ''exclusively'' found in a particular place. A native species may occur in areas other than the one under consideration. The terms endemic and native also do not imply that an organism necessarily first originated or evolved where it is currently found. Notion The notio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and the #Definitions and Usage, physical geography definition based on the physical characteristics of the land. The most restrictive definition considers the region of Southern Africa to consist of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa, while other definitions also include several other countries from the area. Defined by physical geography, Southern Africa is home to several river systems; the Zambezi, Zambezi River is the most prominent. The Zambezi flows from the northwest corner of Zambia and western Angola to the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique. Along the way, it flows over Victoria Falls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world and a major tourist a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. Phylogeneti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habitat Destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease in biodiversity and species numbers. Habitat destruction is in fact the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinction worldwide. Humans contribute to habitat destruction through the use of natural resources, agriculture, industrial production and urbanization (urban sprawl). Other activities include mining, logging and trawling. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change, introduction of invasive species, ecosystem nutrient depletion, water and noise pollution are some examples. Loss of habitat can be preceded by an initial habitat fragmentation. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
