Southern Torrent Salamander
The southern torrent salamander (''Rhyacotriton variegatus'') is a member of the salamander family Rhyacotritonidae. This species of torrent salamander is found the farthest south in the Pacific Northwest region. It is a small salamander endemic from Northern California to Northern Oregon. It is one of four species of ''Rhyacotriton'', along with '' R. cascadae'', '' R. kezeri'' and '' R. olympicus''. All species of Rhyacotriton are small, with their body lengths being less than 5 inches. The species reproduces annually, with an extended courtship and egg-laying period. The time it takes from oviposition to reach sexual maturity ranges from five to eight years, making the generation interval rather long. The larval stage, from hatching to metamorphosis, lasts 2.0-2.5 yr, with females requiring another 1.5–2.0 yr until they can first breed. They reach sexual maturity 1.0-1.5 yr after metamorphosis, which occurs between 4.5 and 5.0 yr. This species feeds on small insects and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert C
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, renown, godlike" and ''berht'' "bright, light, shining"). It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin.Reaney & Wilson, 1997. ''Dictionary of English Surnames''. Oxford University Press. It is also in use as a surname. Another commonly used form of the name is Rupert. After becoming widely used in Continental Europe, the name entered England in its Old French form ''Robert'', where an Old English cognate form (''Hrēodbēorht'', ''Hrodberht'', ''Hrēodbēorð'', ''Hrœdbœrð'', ''Hrœdberð'', ''Hrōðberχtŕ'') had existed before the Norman Conquest. The feminine version is Roberta. The Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish form is Roberto. Robert is also a common name in many Germanic languages, including En ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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, the sole surviving order from the group Caudata. ''Urodela'' is a scientific Latin term based on the Ancient Greek : ourà dēlē "conspicuous tail". ''Caudata'' is the Latin for "tailed ones", from : "tail". 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 never 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. So ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Cascade Torrent Salamander
The Cascade torrent salamander (''Rhyacotriton cascadae'') is a species of salamander in the family Rhyacotritonidae. The Cascade torrent salamander are a small species of salamanders, with adults reaching about two inches on average. Their color ranges from brown to black, and they usually exhibit yellowish underbellies and spotted sides. It is Endemism, endemic to the Pacific Northwest in the United States where it is found from Skamania County in Washington (U.S. state), Washington south to Lane County, Oregon, Lane County in Oregon on the west slope of the Cascade Mountains. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, and freshwater Spring (hydrosphere), springs. It is threatened by habitat loss. These salamanders are typically found under rocks and fallen logs. As far as movement, cascade torrent salamander can stay in a small area over very long periods. They also tend to move parallel to the streams they live by. Living by the stream creates a wide range of general ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Columbia Torrent Salamander
The Columbia torrent salamander (''Rhyacotriton kezeri'') is a species of salamander in the family Rhyacotritonidae, endemic to the Pacific Northwest in the United States. It is found in the coastal areas of Washington to northwestern Oregon. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, and freshwater springs. It is a small salamander (up to 10 cm total length) that lives in clear, cold, mountain streams. It is threatened by habitat loss 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 .... Due to their egg disposition being in enigmatic and obscure locations, there aren't many clear patterns as to where this species of salamander lays their eggs. Therefore, leading to inconclusive results on their reproductive ecology. References Rhyacotriton Endemic amphibians o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Olympic Torrent Salamander
The Olympic torrent salamander (''Rhyacotriton olympicus'') is a species of salamander in the family Rhyacotritonidae. This is a small salamander (up to 10 cm total length) that lives in clear, cold, mountain streams. It is medium to dark brown and may have a few small light spots on the sides and small dark spots on the tail; it is bright yellow on the belly, usually with some dark spots. Torrent salamanders typically have short snouts and relatively large eyes. As in other torrent salamanders, adult males have square-edged lobes behind the cloaca. These salamanders live at the edges of clear, cold, mountain streams; they can be abundant under gravel at stream edges and in the spray zones of waterfalls. During rainy seasons, they are occasionally found under objects on land away from streams. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, and freshwater springs. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oviposition
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typically its form is adapted to functions such as preparing a place for the egg, transmitting the egg, and then placing it properly. For most insects, the organ is used merely to attach the egg to some surface, but for many parasitic species (primarily in wasps and other Hymenoptera), it is a piercing organ as well. Some ovipositors only retract partly when not in use, and the basal part that sticks out is known as the scape, or more specifically oviscape, the word ''scape'' deriving from the Latin word , meaning "stalk" or "shaft". In insects Grasshoppers use their ovipositors to force a burrow into the earth to receive the eggs. Cicadas pierce the wood of twigs with their ovipositors to insert the eggs. Sawflies slit the tissues of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sexual Maturity
Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans, it is related to both puberty and adulthood. ''Puberty'' is the biological process of sexual maturation, while ''adulthood'', the condition of being socially recognized as an independent person capable of giving consent and taking responsibility, generally implies sexual maturity (certain disorders of sexual development notwithstanding), but depends on other criteria, defined by specific cultural expectations. Most multicellular organisms are unable to sexually reproduce at birth (animals) or germination (e.g. plants): depending on the species, it may be days, weeks, or years until they have developed enough to be able to do so; in addition, certain cues may trigger an organism to become sexually mature. These may be external, such as drought, or fire, that triggers sexual maturation of certain plants, or internal, such as percentage of body fat (certain animals). Internal cues are not to be confused ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Coniferous Forest
Conifers () are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant conifers are perennial woody plants with secondary growth. The majority are trees, though a few are shrubs. Examples include cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews.Campbell, Reece, "Phylum Coniferophyta". ''Biology''. 7th ed. 2005. Print. p. 595. As of 2002, Pinophyta contained seven families, 60 to 65 genera, and more than 600 living species. Although the total number of species is relatively small, conifers are ecologically important. They are the dominant plants over large areas of land, most notably the taiga of the Northern Hemisphere, but also in similar cool climates in mountains further south. Boreal conifers have many wintertime adaptations. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rhyacotriton Olympicus
The Olympic torrent salamander (''Rhyacotriton olympicus'') is a species of salamander in the family Rhyacotritonidae. This is a small salamander (up to 10 cm total length) that lives in clear, cold, mountain streams. It is medium to dark brown and may have a few small light spots on the sides and small dark spots on the tail; it is bright yellow on the belly, usually with some dark spots. Torrent salamanders typically have short snouts and relatively large eyes. As in other torrent salamanders, adult males have square-edged lobes behind the cloaca. These salamanders live at the edges of clear, cold, mountain streams; they can be abundant under gravel at stream edges and in the spray zones of waterfalls. During rainy seasons, they are occasionally found under objects on land away from streams. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, and freshwater springs. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |