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White-throated Monitor
The white-throated monitor (''Varanus albigularis albigularis'') is a lizard found in southern Africa. They are usually gray-brown with yellowish or white markings, and can reach up to in length. They are found in Southern Africa, northwards to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique. Taxonomy First described by François Marie Daudin in 1802, these lizards were previously classed as a subspecies of '' Varanus exanthematicus'', but have since been declared a distinct species based upon differences in hemipenal morphology. The generic name ''Varanus'' is derived from the Arabic word ''waral'' ورل, which is translated to English as "monitor". Their specific name comes from a compound of two Latin words: ''albus'' meaning "white" and ''gula'' meaning "throat". Diet ''Varanus albigularis albigularis'' are generalists, feeding opportunistically on a broad variety of prey in the wild. Tortoises make up a significant part of their diet, and are swallowed whole due to the hard shell. Othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
François Marie Daudin
François Marie Daudin (; 29 August 1776 in Paris – 30 November 1803 in Paris) was a French zoologist. Biography With legs paralyzed by childhood disease, he studied physics and natural history but ended up being devoted to the latter. Daudin wrote ' (Complete and Elementary Treatise of Ornithology) in 1799–1800. It was one of the first modern handbooks of ornithology, combining Linnean taxonomy, Linnean binomial nomenclature with the anatomical and physiological descriptions of Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Buffon. While an excellent beginning, it was never completed. In 1800, he also published ''Recueil de mémoires et de notes sur des espèces inédites ou peu connues de mollusques, de vers et de zoophytes'' (Collection of memories and notes on new or little-known species of molluscs, worms and zoophytes). Daudin found his greatest success in herpetology. He published ''Histoire naturelle des reinettes, des grenouilles et des crapauds'' (Natural history of tree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beetle
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described arthropods and 25% of all known animal species; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. However, the number of beetle species is challenged by the number of species in Fly, dipterans (flies) and hymenopterans (wasps). Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae (ladybirds or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oakland Zoo
The Oakland Zoo is located in the Grass Valley, Oakland, California, Grass Valley neighborhood of Oakland, California, United States. Established on June 6, 1922, it is managed by the Conservation Society of California, a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wildlife both locally and globally. The zoo is home to more than 850 native and exotic animals and is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). History Naturalist Henry A. Snow established the Oakland Zoo on June 6, 1922 - originally at 19th and Harrison streets in downtown Oakland. Snow Park now occupies the site of the zoo's first home. Over the years the zoo relocated several times: first to Sequoia Park, then Joaquin Miller Park and finally in 1939 to Durant Park. Under Joseph R. Knowland, chairman of the California State Parks Commission, California, purchased the land and in 1950 renamed the park to Joseph Knowland State Arboretum and Park.[1] In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926. It is part of Kruger to Canyons Biosphere, an area designated as a biosphere reserve. History Conservation Pre-Game Reserve (1867-1898) A Game Commission was established in 1891 with J.M. Malan of Rustenberg as chairperson which resulted in the establishment of the game law of 1891 It must be noted that there were already individual farmers as far back as 1867 who published notices in the ''Staatscourant'' to prohibit hunting and so try preserve the game on their own land. In total 200 owners protected game on about 300 farms between 1867 and 1881 in this manner. One o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Largo, Florida
Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, as well as the fourth largest in the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 82,485, up from 77,648 in 2010 United States Census, 2010. Largo was first incorporated in 1905. In 1913, it became the first municipality in Pinellas County to adopt a council-manager government. It switched back and forth between "town" and "city" a few times, and became a city again in 1974. It was an exporter of agricultural products until the 1960s population growth began to transform it into a commuter town, bedroom community. From 1905 to 2010, Largo grew in area from to about , and in population from about 300 people to more than 70,000. Largo began as a rural farming community and became the third largest city in Florida's most densely populated county. Largo is a sister city to Tosayamada, Kōchi, Japan, and has been named a National Arbor Day Tree City for 35 years in a row . History Beg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also known for having been home to many anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after the Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa people, Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people. In 1820 this area, which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom, began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from England, Scotland and Ireland. Eastern Cape is the only province in South Africa were the number of Black Africans declined from 86.6% to 85.7% since Apartheid ended in 1994. History The Eastern Cape p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Zebra National Park
Mountain Zebra National Park is a national park in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa; established in July 1937 for the purpose of providing a nature reserve for the endangered Cape mountain zebra. It is surrounded by of the Mountain Zebra-Camdeboo Protected Environment. History In the early 1930s, the Cape mountain zebra was threatened with extinction. The National Parks Board of Trustees proclaimed a area for the zebra's preservation in 1938 after the purchase of the farm ''Babylons Toren'', Cradock the year before. The mountain zebra population of the park comprised only five stallions and one mare and was insufficient to expand the population. By 1950 only two stallions remained, and a neighbouring farmer, Mr H L Lombard, improved the breeding pool by donating eleven zebra to the park, five stallions and six mares. By 1964, there were only 25 zebra in the park. At this time, the park's size was increased to and Paul Michau donated six zebra to the park. From th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tawny Eagle
The tawny eagle (''Aquila rapax'') is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family ''Accipitridae''. Its heavily feathered legs mark it as a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as booted eagles.Helbig, A. J., Kocum, A., Seibold, I., & Braun, M. J. (2005). ''A multi-gene phylogeny of aquiline eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) reveals extensive paraphyly at the genus level''. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 35(1), 147-164. Tawny eagles have an extensive but discontinuous breeding range that constitutes much of the African continent as well as the Indian subcontinent, with rare residency in the southern Middle East. Throughout its range, it favours open dry habitats such as semideserts, deserts steppes, or savanna plains. Despite its preference for arid areas, the species seldom occurs in areas where trees are entirely absent.Hustler, K., & Howells, W. W. (1989). ''Habitat preference, breeding success and the effect of primary productivity on Tawny ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martial Eagle
The martial eagle (''Polemaetus bellicosus'') is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa.Ferguson-Lees & Christie, ''Raptors of the World''. Houghton Mifflin Company (2001), . It is the only member of the genus ''Polemaetus''. A species of the booted eagle subfamily ( Aquilinae), it has feathers over its tarsus. One of the largest and most powerful species of booted eagle, it is a fairly opportunistic predator that varies its prey selection between mammals, birds and reptiles. It is one of few eagle species known to hunt primarily from a high soar, by stooping on its quarry.Steyn, P. (1983). ''Birds of prey of southern Africa: Their identification and life histories''. Croom Helm, Beckenham (UK). 1983. This species, an inhabitant of wooded belts of otherwise open savanna, has shown a precipitous decline in the last few centuries due to a variety of factors. The martial eagle is one of the most persecuted bird species in the world. Due to its habit of taking livestock and re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orthoptera
Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grasshoppers, locusts, and close relatives; and Ensifera – crickets and close relatives. More than 20,000 species are distributed worldwide. The insects in the order have incomplete metamorphosis, and produce sound (known as a " stridulation") by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps. The tympanum, or ear, is located in the front tibia in crickets, mole crickets, and bush crickets or katydids, and on the first abdominal segment in the grasshoppers and locusts. These organisms use vibrations to locate other individuals. Grasshoppers and other orthopterans are able to fold their wings (i.e. they are members of Neoptera). Etymology The name is derived from the Gree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mollusca
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The number of additional fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000, and the proportion of undescribed species is very high. Many taxa remain poorly studied. Molluscs are the largest marine biology, marine phylum, comprising about 23% of all the named marine organisms. They are highly diverse, not just in size and anatomical structure, but also in behaviour and habitat, as numerous groups are freshwater mollusc, freshwater and even terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial species. The phylum is typically divided into 7 or 8 taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class (biology), classes, of which two are entirely extinct. Cephalopod molluscs, such as squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses, are among the most neurobiology, neurologi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millipede
Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a tight ball. Although the name "millipede" derives from Latin for "thousand feet", no species was known to have 1,000 or more until the discovery in 2020 of '' Eumillipes persephone'', which can have over 1,300 legs. There are approximately 12,000 named species classified into 16 orders and around 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods, an arthropod group which also includes centipedes and other multi-legged creatures. Most millipedes are slow-moving detritivores, eat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
