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Triton (newt Genus)
''Triturus'' is a genus of newts comprising the crested and the marbled newts, which are found from Great Britain through most of continental Europe to westernmost Siberia, Anatolia, and the Caspian Sea region. Their English names refer to their appearance: marbled newts have a green–black colour pattern, while the males of crested newts, which are dark brown with a yellow or orange underside, develop a conspicuous jagged seam on their back and tail during their breeding phase. Crested and marbled newts live and breed in vegetation-rich ponds or similar aquatic habitats for two to six months and usually spend the rest of the year in shady, protection-rich land habitats close to their breeding sites. Males court females with a ritualised display, ending in the deposition of a spermatophore that is picked up by the female. After fertilisation, a female lays 200–400 eggs, folding them individually into leaves of water plants. Larvae develop over two to four months before meta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states since the lengthy conquest of Siberia, which began with the fall of the Khanate of Sibir in 1582 and concluded with the annexation of Chukotka in 1778. Siberia is vast and sparsely populated, covering an area of over , but home to roughly a quarter of Russia's population. Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Omsk are the largest cities in the area. Because Siberia is a geographic and historic concept and not a political entity, there is no single precise definition of its territorial borders. Traditionally, Siberia spans the entire expanse of land from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, with the Ural River usually forming the southernmost portion of its western boundary, and includes most of the drainage basin of the Arctic Ocean. I ... [...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] |
Hybridisation (biology)
In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different variety (botany), varieties, subspecies, species or genus, genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two different organisms, whereas an individual where some cells are derived from a different organism is called a chimera (genetics), chimera. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents such as in blending inheritance (a now discredited theory in modern genetics by particulate inheritance), but can show Heterosis, hybrid vigor, sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of a hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics, attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes. In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species are. Species are reproductive isolation, reproductively isola ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatolian Crested Newt
The Anatolian crested newt (''Triturus anatolicus'') is a species of newt endemic to northern Anatolia in Turkey. Before its description in 2016, it was initially considered to belong to the southern crested newt (''Triturus karelinii'') and then the Balkan crested newt (''Triturus ivanbureschi''). The three species form a complex of morphologically indistinguishable cryptic species. Genetic data demonstrated the Anatolian crested newt to be distinct from the other two species, although it hybridises with the Balkan crested newt at its western range end. With its two closely related species, the Anatolian crested newt is more stockily built than the other crested newts, and reaches 10–13 cm in length. It is semiaquatic, spending most of the year on land and only returning to water for breeding. The species does not seem to be immediately threatened. Systematics and taxonomy The Anatolian crested newt was described by Ben Wielstra and Jan Willem Arntzen in 2016. Mitochon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calotriton
''Calotriton'', or the European brook newts, is a genus of newts native to the Pyrenees and central Catalonia (Catalan Pre-coastal Range). These amphibians were formerly placed within genus ''Euproctus'', but the genus was resurrected in 2005. Instead of ''Euproctus'', they seem more closely related to ''Triturus'', their sister taxon. Evolution ''Calotriton'' and ''Triturus'' are estimated to have split approximately 8 myr ago. This may have been associated with adaptation to fast-running, well-oxygenated mountain streams (instead of ponds in ''Triturus''), leading to some superficial similarity with ''Euproctus'' in convergent evolution: strongly depressed head and body, and reduction or even absence of lungs. Description ''Calotriton'' are small- to medium-sized newts, in total length. Skin is covered with tubercles bearing horny tips, more so above than beneath, which can be completely smooth. Limbs are moderate, with four fingers and five toes. Body is rounded or slightly d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
