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Slowworm
The common slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a species of legless lizard native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple, steelworm, and hazelworm. The "blind" in blindworm refers to the lizard's small eyes, similar to a blindsnake (although the slow worm's eyes are functional). The common slow worm, i.e. the species ''Anguis fragilis'', is often called simply "slow worm", though all species of the species complex comprising the genus ''Anguis'' are also called "slow worms". Common slow worms are fossorial, semifossorial (burrowing) lizard, lizards that spend much of their time hiding underneath objects. The skin of slow worms is smooth, with scales that do not overlap. Like many other lizards, they autotomy, autotomize, meaning that they have the ability to shed their tails to escape predators. While the tail regrows, it does not reach its original length. In the UK, slow worms are commonly encountered in gardens and Allotment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anguis
Slow wormsThe "slow-" in slowworm is distinct from the English adjective ''slow'' ("not fast"); the word comes from Old English ''slāwyrm'', where ''slā-'' means "slowworm" and ''wyrm'' means "serpent, reptile". () (also called blindworms and hazelworms) are a small genus (''Anguis'') of snake-like legless lizards in the family Anguidae. The genus contains five extant living species, including the Anguis fragilis, common slow worm (''A. fragilis''), the Anguis colchica, eastern slow worm (''A. colchica''), the Anguis graeca, Greek slow worm (''A. graeca''), the Peloponnese slow worm (''A. cephalonnica''), and the Anguis veronensis, Italian slow worm (''A. veronensis''). There are also known fossil species. Description Slow worms are typically grey-brown, with the females having a coppery sheen and two lateral black stripes, and the males displaying Electric blue (color), electric blue spots, particularly in the breeding season. They viviparous, give birth to live young, which ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lizard
Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic islands, oceanic Archipelago, island chains. The grouping is Paraphyly, paraphyletic as some lizards are more closely related to snakes than they are to other lizards. Lizards range in size from chameleons and geckos a few centimeters long to the 3-meter-long Komodo dragon. Most lizards are quadrupedal, running with a strong side-to-side motion. Some lineages (known as "legless lizards") have secondarily lost their legs, and have long snake-like bodies. Some lizards, such as the forest-dwelling ''Draco (genus), Draco'', are able to glide. They are often Territory (animal), territorial, the males fighting off other males and signalling, often with bright colours, to attract mates and to intimidate rivals. Lizards are mainly carnivorous, often b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copenhagen Zoo
Copenhagen Zoo () is a zoological garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1859, it is one of the oldest zoos in Europe and is a member of EAZA. It comprises and is located in the municipality of Frederiksberg, sandwiched between the parks of Frederiksberg Gardens and Søndermarken. With 1,571,331 visitors in 2019 it is the most visited zoo and one of the most visited attractions in Denmark. The zoo is noted for its new Elephant House designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster. The zoo maintains and promotes a number of European breeding programmes. History Copenhagen Zoo was founded by the ornithologist Niels Kjærbølling in 1859. He was given the summer garden of "Prinsess Vilhelmines Have" (The garden of Princess Vilhelmine) by the chief directorate of Copenhagen. The animals that the visitors could contemplate at the opening were eagles, chickens, ducks, owls, rabbits, a fox, a seal in a bathtub and a turtle in a bucket. In the early years the zoo focused on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
10th Edition Of Systema Naturae
The 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' (Latin; the English title is ''A General System of Nature'') is a book written by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus and published in two volumes in 1758 and 1759, which marks the starting point of zoological nomenclature. In it, Linnaeus introduced binomial nomenclature for animals, something he had already done for plants in his 1753 publication of ''Species Plantarum''. Starting point Before 1758, most biological catalogues had used polynomial names for the taxa included, including earlier editions of ''Systema Naturae''. The first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature across the animal kingdom was the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature therefore chose 1 January 1758 as the "starting point" for zoological nomenclature and asserted that the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' was to be treated as if published on that date. Names published before that date are unavailable, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legless Lizard
Legless lizard may refer to any of several groups of lizards that have independently lost limbs or reduced them to the point of being of no use in locomotion.Pough ''et al.'' 1992. Herpetology: Third Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall:Pearson Education, Inc., 2002. It is the common name for the family Pygopodidae. These lizards are often distinguishable from snakes on the basis of one or more of the following characteristics: *possessing eyelids *possessing Outer ear, external ear openings *lack of broad belly scales *notched rather than forked tongue, forked tongue *having two lungs of roughly equal size (snakes have one short and one very long lung) *having a very long tail (while snakes have a long body and short tail). Every stage of reduction of the Shoulder girdle#Other animals, shoulder girdle —including complete loss— occurs among limbless Squamata, squamates, but the Hip bone#Evolution of the pelvis in animal, pelvic girdle is never completely lost regardless of the degr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vipera Berus
''Vipera berus'', also known as the common European adder Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . and the common European viper, Stidworthy J (1974). ''Snakes of the World''. New York: Grosset & Dunlap Inc. 160 pp. . is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. The species is extremely widespread and can be found throughout much of Europe, and as far as East Asia. There are three recognised subspecies. Known by a host of common names including common adder and common viper, the adder has been the subject of much folklore in Britain and other European countries. It is not regarded as especially dangerous; the snake is not aggressive and usually bites only when really provoked, stepped on, or picked up. Bites can be very painful, but are seldom fatal. The specific name, ''berus'', is Neo-Latin and was at one time used to refer to a snake, possibly the gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovoviviparity
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop inside eggs that remain in the mother's body until they are ready to hatch. The young of some ovoviviparous amphibians, such as '' Limnonectes larvaepartus'', are born as larvae, and undergo further metamorphosis outside the body of the mother. Members of genera '' Nectophrynoides'' and '' Eleutherodactylus'' bear froglets, not only the hatching, but all the most conspicuous metamorphosis, being completed inside the body of the mother before birth. Among insects that depend on opportunistic exploitation of transient food sources, such as many Sarcophagidae and other carrion flies, and species such as many Calliphoridae, that rely on fresh dung, and parasitoids such as tachinid flies that depend on entering the host as soon as possible, the embryos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Badger
The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to Europe and West Asia and parts of Central Asia. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, as it has a wide range and a large, stable population size which is thought to be increasing in some regions. Several subspecies are recognized, with the nominate subspecies (''M. m. meles'') predominating in most of Europe. In Europe, where no other badger species commonly occurs, it is generally just called the "badger". The European badger is a powerfully built, black, white, brown, and grey animal with a small head, a stocky body, small black eyes, and a short tail. Its weight varies, being in spring, but building up to in autumn before the winter sleep period. It is nocturnal and is a social, burrowing animal that sleeps during the day in one of several setts in its territorial range. These burrows have multiple chambers and entrances, and are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evening Mating Of Slow Worms (Anguis Fragilis)
Evening is the period of a day that begins at the end of daylight and overlaps with the beginning of night. It generally indicates the period of time when the sun is close to the horizon and comprises the periods of civil, nautical and astronomical twilight. The exact times when evening begins and ends are subjective and depend on location and time of year. It may be used colloquially to include the last waning daytime shortly before sunset. Etymology The word is derived from the Old English ''ǣfnung'', meaning 'the coming of evening, sunset, time around sunset', which originated from ''æfnian'', meaning "become evening, grow toward evening". The Old English ''æfnian'' originated from ''æfen'' (eve), which meant "the time between sunset and darkness", and was synonymous with even (Old English ''æfen''), which meant the end of the day. The use of "evening" dates from the mid 15th century. Start time The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' defines evening as varying according to d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemipenis
A hemipenis (: hemipenes) is one of a pair of intromittent organs of male squamates (snakes and lizards). Hemipenes are usually held inverted within the body, and are everted for reproduction via erectile tissue, much like that in the human penis. They come in a variety of shapes, depending on species, with ornamentation such as spikes. Background The hemipenis is the intromittent organ of Squamata, which is the second largest order of vertebrates with over 9,000 species distributed around the world. They differ from the intromittent organs of most other amniotes such as mammals, archosaurs and turtles that have a single genital tubercle, as squamates have paired, separate genitalia. Squamate hemipenes also develop from a different cell origin, originating from the same embryonic cells that produce the limbs, whereas mammalian penises arise from the embryonic cells that develop the tail. Evolution Much debate continues regarding the evolutionary origin of hemipenes and their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
