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Roborovski Hamster
The Roborovski hamster (''Phodopus roborovskii''), also known as the desert hamster, Robo dwarf hamster or simply dwarf hamster is the smallest of three species of hamster in the genus '' Phodopus'', and is native to the deserts of Central Asia. They average in length at birth and grow to be in length and in weight in adulthood. Distinguishing characteristics of the Roborovskis are eyebrow-like white spots and the lack of any dorsal stripe (found on the other members of the genus ''Phodopus''). The average lifespan for the Roborovski hamster is 2–4 years, though this is dependent on living conditions (extremes being four years in captivity and two in the wild). Roborovskis are known for their speed and have been said to run up to 6 miles a night. The common name and scientific name honor the Russian explorer Vladimir Ivanovich Roborovski, who collected the holotype of this species. Distribution and habitat Roborovski hamsters are found in desert regions, such as the basin of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Konstantin Alekseevich Satunin
Konstantin Alekseevich Satunin (20 May 1863–10 November 1915) was a Russian zoologist who graduated at Moscow State University in 1890. From 1893 onward, he worked at a sericulture station in the Caucasus. He was a senior specialist at the Department of Agriculture between 1907 and 1915, concentrating on applied zoology and hunting in the Caucasus. He studied the mammals of Russia and Central Asia and published many works on the fauna of the Caucasus, mainly in the field of mammalogy but also entomology, herpetology, ichthyology, ornithology, sericulture, zoogeography, game management science and fishing. For example, he gave descriptions of a Caspian tiger from Prishibinskoye.Geptner, V. G., Sludskij, A. A. (1972). ''Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza.'' Vysšaia Škola, Moskva. (In Russian; English translation: Heptner, V.G., Sludskii, A. A., Komarov, A., Komorov, N.; Hoffmann, R. S. (1992)''Mammals of the Soviet Union. Vol III: Carnivores (Feloidea).''Smithsonian Institution ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordos Desert
The Ordos Desert () is a desert/ steppe region in Northwest China, administered under the prefecture of Ordos City in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (centered ca. ). It extends over an area of approximately , and comprises two sub-deserts: China's 7th-largest desert, the Kubuqi Desert, in the north; and China's 8th-largest desert, the Mu Us Desert, in the south. Wedged between the arable Hetao region to the north and the Loess Plateau to the south, the soil of the Ordos Desert is mostly a mixture of dry clay and sand, and as a result is poorly suited for agriculture. Location The Ordos Desert is almost completely encircled in the west, north and east by a great rectangular bend of the middle Yellow River known as the Ordos Loop. Mountain ranges separate the Ordos from the Gobi Desert north and east of the Yellow River. The northern border serves as the southern border of the Mu Us Desert. The mountain chains separating the Ordos from the central Gobi in the nort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milk Vetch
''Astragalus'' is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the List of the largest genera of flowering plants, largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names include milkvetch (most species), locoweed (in North America, some species) and goat's-thorn (Astragalus gummifer, ''A. gummifer'', Astragalus tragacantha, ''A. tragacantha''). Some pale-flowered vetches (''Vicia'' spp.) are similar in appearance, but they are more vine-like than ''Astragalus''. Description Most species in the genus have pinnately compound leaves. There are annual and perennial species. The flowers are formed in clusters in a raceme, each flower typical of the legume family, with three types of petals: banner, wings, and keel. The Sepal, calyx is tubular or bell-shaped. Taxonomy The genus was formally described in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dracocephalum Peregrinum
''Dracocephalum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. These flowers, collectively called dragonhead, are annual or perennial herbaceous plants or subshrubs, growing to 15 to 90 centimeters tall. The genus has 89 species as currently circumscribed, which includes the formerly separate genera ''Hyssopus'', ''Lallemantia'', and others. Older circumscriptions include 60Sonboli, A., et al. (2011)Molecular characterization of Iranian ''Dracocephalum'' (Lamiaceae) species based on RAPD data.''Acta Biologica Szegediensis'' 55(2), 227-30. to 70 species.Lazarević, P., et al. (2009)On the distribution of ''Dracocephalum ruyschiana'' (Lamiaceae) in the Balkan Peninsula.''Phytologia Balcanica'' 15(2), 175-79.''Dracocephalum''. Flora of China.
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Caragana Arborescens
''Caragana arborescens'', the Siberian peashrub, Siberian pea-tree, or caragana, is a species of legume native to Siberia and parts of China (Heilongjiang, Xinjiang) and neighboring Mongolia and Kazakhstan. It was taken to the United States by Eurasian immigrants, who used it as a food source while travelling west. In some areas of the United States it is considered an invasive species. Introduced on the Canadian prairies in the 1880's, the hardy caragana provided shelter-belts, wildlife habitat, nitrogen fixation, and windbreaks to prevent soil erosion and snow drifting. Description It is a perennial shrub or small tree growing tall. Typically, it has a moderate to fast growth rate, being able to grow one to three feet during the first year after trimming. The Leaf, leaves vary from light green to dark green, and are alternate and compound with many small leaflets. Fragrant yellow flowers bloom in May or June. The fruits are legumes which contain many seeds, and ripen in Jul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitraria
''Nitraria'', known as the nitre bushes, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nitrariaceae, native to Africa, Europe, Asia, Russia and 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 isl .... There are about 9 species including: *'' Nitraria billardierei'' DC., known as nitre bush or dillon bush *'' Nitraria retusa'' (Forssk.) Asch. *'' Nitraria schoberi'' L. *'' Nitraria sibirica'' Pall. References * * Nitrariaceae {{Sapindales-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alyssum
''Alyssum'' is a genus of over a hundred species of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. The genus comprises annual plant, annual and perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plants or (rarely) small shrubs, growing to 10–100 cm tall, with oblong-oval leaves. Alyssum flowers are characteristically small and grouped in terminal clusters; they are often yellow or white colored but can be pink or purple. The genera ''Lobularia (plant), Lobularia'', ''Aurinia'' and ''Odontarrhena'' are closely related to ''Alyssum'' and were formerly included in it. The widely cultivated species popularly known as "sweet alyssum" (''Alyssum maritimum'') is ''Lobularia maritima''. The common rockery plant (''Alyssum saxatile'') is ''Aurinia saxatilis''. ''Alyssum'' foliage is used as food by the caterpillars of certain Lepidoptera, including the Orthonama obstipata, Gem (''Orthon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snail
A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled gastropod shell, shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also numerous species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Gastropods that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are mostly called ''slugs'', and land snails that have only a very small shell (that they cannot retract into) are often called ''semi-slugs''. Snails have considerable human relevance, including Snails as food, as food items, as pests, and as vectors of disease, and their shells are used as decorative objects and are incorporated into jewellery. The snail has also had some cultural significance, tending t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orthoptera
Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grasshoppers, locusts, and close relatives; and Ensifera – crickets and close relatives. More than 20,000 species are distributed worldwide. The insects in the order have incomplete metamorphosis, and produce sound (known as a " stridulation") by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps. The tympanum, or ear, is located in the front tibia in crickets, mole crickets, and bush crickets or katydids, and on the first abdominal segment in the grasshoppers and locusts. These organisms use vibrations to locate other individuals. Grasshoppers and other orthopterans are able to fold their wings (i.e. they are members of Neoptera). Etymology The name is derived from the Gree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earwig
Earwigs make up the insect order (biology), order Dermaptera. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cercus, cerci, a pair of forceps-like pincer (biology), pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded underneath short, rarely used forewings, hence the scientific order name, "skin wings". Some groups are tiny parasites on mammals and lack the typical pincers. Earwigs are found on all continents except Antarctica. Earwigs are mostly nocturnal and often hide in small, moist crevices during the day, and are active at night, feeding on a wide variety of insects and plants. Damage to foliage, flowers, and various crops is commonly blamed on earwigs, especially the common earwig ''Forficula auricularia.'' Earwigs have five ecdysis, molts in the year before they become adults. Many earwig species display maternal care, which is uncommon among insects. Female earwigs may care for their eggs; the ones t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beetle
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described arthropods and 25% of all known animal species; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. However, the number of beetle species is challenged by the number of species in Fly, dipterans (flies) and hymenopterans (wasps). Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae (ladybirds or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insects
Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species. The insect nervous system consists of a brain and a ventral nerve cord. Most insects reproduce by laying eggs. Insects breathe air through a system of paired openings along their sides, connected to small tubes that take air directly to the tissues. The blood therefore does not carry oxygen; it is only partly contained in vessels, and some circulates in an open hemocoel. Insect vision is mainly through their compound eyes, with additional small ocelli. Many insects can hear, using tympanal organs, which may be on the legs or other parts of the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
