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Squamata
Squamata (, Latin ''squamatus'', 'scaly, having scales') is the largest Order (biology), order of reptiles; most members of which are commonly known as Lizard, lizards, with the group also including Snake, snakes. With over 11,991 species, it is also the second-largest order of Neontology, extant (living) vertebrates, after the Perciformes, perciform fish. Squamates are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scale (zoology), scales or shields, and must periodically engage in molting. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making possible movement of the Maxilla, upper jaw relative to the neurocranium. This is particularly visible in snakes, which are able to open their mouths very widely to accommodate comparatively large prey. Squamates are the most variably sized living reptiles, ranging from the Sphaerodactylus ariasae, dwarf gecko (''Sphaerodactylus ariasae'') to the reticulated python (''Malayopython reticulatus''). The now-Extinction, extinct mosasaurs reached ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicolaus Michael Oppel
Nicolaus Michael Oppel (December 7, 1782 in Schönficht – February 16, 1820 in Munich) was a German naturalist. He was a student of, and worked as an assistant to, André Marie Constant Duméril (1774-1860) at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris, France, cataloging and classifying species of reptiles. In 1811, he published a book entitled ''Die Ordnungen, Familien und Gattungen der Reptilien als Prodrom einer Naturgeschichte derselben'', or "The Orders, Families, and Types of Reptiles..." in which he established the order, Squamata, and the families Cheloniidae, Colubridae, and the subfamily Crotalinae, as well as several genera which are still in use by taxonomists today. With Friedrich Tiedemann (1781-1861) and Joseph Liboschitz (1783-1824), he was co-author of ''Naturgeschichte der Amphibien'' (Natural history of amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
