|
Wetmorena Agasepsoides
''Wetmorena agasepsoides'', the serpentine four-toed galliwasp, is an endangered species of lizard of the Diploglossidae family endemic to the Dominican Republic on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Taxonomy It was formerly classified in the genus ''Celestus'', but was moved to ''Wetmorena ''Wetmorena'' is a genus of diploglossid lizards endemic to the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, occurring in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Taxonomy There are two species, both of which were formerly classified in the genus ''Ce ...'' in 2021. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q2943927 Wetmorena Reptiles described in 1971 Reptiles of the Dominican Republic Endemic fauna of the Dominican Republic Taxa named by Richard Thomas (herpetologist) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Thomas (herpetologist)
John Paul Richard Thomas (born 1938) is an American taxonomist and systematist, and retired professor of herpetology and evolution at University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (San Juan, Puerto Rico). (Kindle edition). (hardcover). He described several species new to science, mostly amphibians and reptiles, from throughout the Caribbean islands including the common coquí (''Eleutherodactlys coqui)'', the national animal of Puerto Rico. Early life and education Thomas was born in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, on May 2, 1938. At the University of South Florida, Thomas graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in 1969. Later, he went to Louisiana State University and obtained a PhD in 1976. Research Thomas' research has focused mostly on amphibians and reptiles, spanning several fields from natural history to systematics and evolution. His studies have yielded descriptions of new species of dwarf geckos (''Sphaerodactylus''), blind snakes ( Scolecophidia), and rain frogs (''Eleutherodactylus''). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology (biology), morphology, behaviour, or ecological niche. In addition, palaeontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. About 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a binomial nomenclature, two-part name, a "binomen". The first part of a binomen is the name of a genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name (zoology), specific name or the specific ... [...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] |
Diploglossidae
Diploglossidae is a family of anguimorph lizards native to the Americas, with most genera being endemic to Hispaniola. Most members of this family (aside from the legless genus '' Ophiodes'') are known as galliwasps. They were formerly considered a subfamily of Anguidae, but genetic evidence has shown them to be less closely related to other members of Anguidae than Anniellidae is. Taxonomy Phylogenetic evidence supports an early Cenozoic origin for the family Diploglossidae. member species were previously only classified into three genera ('' Celestus'', '' Diploglossus'', and '' Ophiodes''), but a 2021 study found these genera to be paraphyletic, and thus further split them into more genera, classified within three different subfamilies (the celestines, diploglossines, and siderolamprines). The siderolamprines and a single celestine radiated throughout most of Central America, the diploglossines radiated throughout South America, and both the celestines and diploglossines radi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family (, : ) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family—or whether a described family should be acknowledged—is established and decided upon by active taxonomists. There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging a family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to a lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic
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 bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and a Dominican Republic–Haiti border, land border with Haiti to the west, occupying the Geography of the Dominican Republic, eastern five-eighths of Hispaniola which, along with Saint Martin (island), Saint Martin, is one of only two islands in the Caribbean shared by two sovereign states. In the Antilles, the country is the List of Caribbean islands by area, second-largest nation by area after Cuba at and List of Caribbean countries by population, second-largest by population after Haiti with approximately 11.4 million people in 2024, of whom 3.6 million reside in the Greater Santo Domingo, metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city. The native Taíno people had inhabited Hispaniola prior to European colonization of the America ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America to the west, and South America to the south, it comprises numerous List of Caribbean islands, islands, cays, islets, reefs, and banks. It includes the Lucayan Archipelago, Greater Antilles, and Lesser Antilles of the West Indies; the Quintana Roo Municipalities of Quintana Roo#Municipalities, islands and Districts of Belize#List, Belizean List of islands of Belize, islands of the Yucatán Peninsula; and the Bay Islands Department#Islands, Bay Islands, Miskito Cays, Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina, Corn Islands, and San Blas Islands of Central America. It also includes the coastal areas on the Mainland, continental mainland of the Americas bordering the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hispaniola
Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of Caribbean islands by area, land area, after Geography of Cuba, Cuba. The island is Dominican Republic–Haiti border, divided into two separate Sovereign state, sovereign countries: the Spanish-speaking Geography of the Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic () to the east and the French language, French and Haitian Creole–speaking Geography of Haiti, Haiti () to the west. The only other divided island in the Caribbean is Saint Martin (island), Saint Martin, which is shared between France () and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands (). At the time of the European arrival of Christopher Columbus, Hispaniola was home to the Ciguayo language, Ciguayo, Macorix language, Macorix, and Taíno Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, native pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celestus
''Celestus'' is a genus of diploglossid lizards mostly endemic to Jamaica (aside from a single species endemic to Haiti) and containing about 11 species, though three of these may be extinct. They are commonly known as galliwasps although the origin of this name is unclear. Formerly, this genus had more than 31 species, but a 2021 phylogenetic study found this classification to be paraphyletic and split those species into their own genera. A more recent study found that several ecomorphs exist on Jamaica including a swamp ecomorph, a tree ecomorph, and a ground ecomorph. Species *'' Celestus barbouri'' – limestone forest galliwasp *'' Celestus crusculus'' – Jamaican forest galliwasp *'' Celestus duquesneyi'' – blue-tailed forest galliwasp *'' Celestus fowleri'' – bromeliad forest galliwasp *'' Celestus hewardi'' – red-spotted forest galliwasp *'' Celestus macrolepis'' – large-scaled forest galliwasp (possibly extinct) *'' Celestus macrotus'' Thomas Thomas m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetmorena
''Wetmorena'' is a genus of diploglossid lizards endemic to the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, occurring in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Taxonomy There are two species, both of which were formerly classified in the genus ''Celestus'' until the genus ''Wetmorena'' was revived for them in 2021. Conservation Both species in the genus are endangered. Etymology The genus was named after American ornithologist Alexander Wetmore Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 – December 7, 1978) was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist. He was the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was also an elected member of both the American Philosophical Soc .... Species * '' Wetmorena agasepsoides'' – serpentine four-toed galliwasp * '' Wetmorena haetiana'' – Hispaniolan earless galliwasp or earless galliwasp References {{taxonbar, from= Q113540484 Wetmorena Lizard genera Taxa named by Doris Mable Cochran Lizards of the Caribbean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptiles Described In 1971
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocephalia. About 12,000 living species of reptiles are listed in the Reptile Database. The study of the traditional reptile orders, customarily in combination with the study of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. Reptiles have been subject to several conflicting taxonomic definitions. In Linnaean taxonomy, reptiles are gathered together under the class Reptilia ( ), which corresponds to common usage. Modern cladistic taxonomy regards that group as paraphyletic, since genetic and paleontological evidence has determined that birds (class Aves), as members of Dinosauria, are more closely related to living crocodilians than to other reptiles, and are thus nested among reptiles from an evolutionary perspective. Many cladistic systems therefore redefine Reptilia as a clade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
