1.
Conservation status
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The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Various systems of conservation status exist and are in use at international, multi-country, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system. Also included are species that have gone extinct since 500 AD, when discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term threatened is a grouping of three categories, critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category, Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora aims to ensure that trade in specimens of wild animals. Many countries require CITES permits when importing plants and animals listed on CITES, in the European Union, the Birds and Habitats Directives are the legal instruments that evaluate the conservation status within the EU of species and habitats. NatureServe conservation status focuses on Latin America, United States, Canada, and it has been developed by scientists from NatureServe, The Nature Conservancy, and the network of natural heritage programs and data centers. It is increasingly integrated with the IUCN Red List system and its categories for species include, presumed extinct, possibly extinct, critically imperiled, imperiled, vulnerable, apparently secure, and secure. The system also allows ambiguous or uncertain ranks including inexact numeric ranks, NatureServe adds a qualifier for captive or cultivated only, which has a similar meaning to the IUCN Red List extinct in the wild status. The Red Data Book of the Russian Federation is used within the Russian Federation, in Australia, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 describes lists of threatened species, ecological communities and threatening processes. The categories resemble those of the 1994 IUCN Red List Categories & Criteria, prior to the EPBC Act, a simpler classification system was used by the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. Some state and territory governments also have their own systems for conservation status, in Belgium, the Flemish Research Institute for Nature and Forest publishes an online set of more than 150 nature indicators in Dutch. In Canada, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada is a group of experts that assesses and designates which wild species are in danger of disappearing from Canada. Under the Species at Risk Act, it is up to the federal government, in China, the State, provinces and some counties have determined their key protected wildlife species. There is the China red data book, in Finland, a large number of species are protected under the Nature Conservation Act, and through the EU Habitats Directive and EU Birds Directive. In Germany, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation publishes red lists of endangered species, india has the Wild Life Protection Act,1972, Amended 2003 and the Biological Diversity Act,2002. In Japan, the Ministry of Environment publishes a Threatened Wildlife of Japan Red Data Book, in the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality publishes a list of threatened species, and conservation is enforced by the Nature Conservation Act 1998. Species are also protected through the Wild Birds and Habitats Directives, in New Zealand, the Department of Conservation publishes the New Zealand Threat Classification System lists
2.
IUCN Red List
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The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, founded in 1964, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the main authority on the conservation status of species. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, the IUCN Red List is set upon precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world, the aim is to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to try to reduce species extinction. Major species assessors include BirdLife International, the Institute of Zoology, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, collectively, assessments by these organizations and groups account for nearly half the species on the Red List. The IUCN aims to have the category of every species re-evaluated every five years if possible, the 1964 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants used the older pre-criteria Red List assessment system. Plants listed may not, therefore, appear in the current Red List, IUCN advise that is best to check both the online Red List and the 1997 plants Red List publication. The 2006 Red List, released on 4 May 2006 evaluated 40,168 species as a whole, plus an additional 2,160 subspecies, varieties, aquatic stocks, on 12 September 2007, the World Conservation Union released the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Russ Mittermeier, chief of Swiss-based IUCNs Primate Specialist Group, stated that 16,306 species are endangered with extinction,188 more than in 2006, the Red List includes the Sumatran orangutan in the Critically Endangered category and the Bornean orangutan in the Endangered category. The study shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction, and 836 are listed as Data Deficient. The Red List of 2012 was released 19 July 2012 at Rio+20 Earth Summit, nearly 2,000 species were added, the IUCN assessed a total of 63,837 species which revealed 19,817 are threatened with extinction. With 3,947 described as endangered and 5,766 as endangered. At threat are 41% of amphibian species, 33% of reef-building corals, 30% of conifers, 25% of mammals, the IUCN Red List has listed 132 species of plants and animals from India as Critically Endangered. Extinct – No known individuals remaining, extinct in the wild – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range. Critically endangered – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild, Endangered – High risk of extinction in the wild. Vulnerable – High risk of endangerment in the wild, near threatened – Likely to become endangered in the near future. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category, widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category. Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction, Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria
3.
Taxonomy (biology)
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Taxonomy is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups. The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but the core of the remains, the conception, naming. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature is considered a part of taxonomy, the broadest meaning of taxonomy is used here. The word taxonomy was introduced in 1813 by Candolle, in his Théorie élémentaire de la botanique, the term alpha taxonomy is primarily used today to refer to the discipline of finding, describing, and naming taxa, particularly species. In earlier literature, the term had a different meaning, referring to morphological taxonomy, ideals can, it may be said, never be completely realized. They have, however, a value of acting as permanent stimulants. Some of us please ourselves by thinking we are now groping in a beta taxonomy, turrill thus explicitly excludes from alpha taxonomy various areas of study that he includes within taxonomy as a whole, such as ecology, physiology, genetics, and cytology. He further excludes phylogenetic reconstruction from alpha taxonomy, thus, Ernst Mayr in 1968 defined beta taxonomy as the classification of ranks higher than species. This activity is what the term denotes, it is also referred to as beta taxonomy. How species should be defined in a group of organisms gives rise to practical and theoretical problems that are referred to as the species problem. The scientific work of deciding how to define species has been called microtaxonomy, by extension, macrotaxonomy is the study of groups at higher taxonomic ranks, from subgenus and above only, than species. While some descriptions of taxonomic history attempt to date taxonomy to ancient civilizations, earlier works were primarily descriptive, and focused on plants that were useful in agriculture or medicine. There are a number of stages in scientific thinking. Early taxonomy was based on criteria, the so-called artificial systems. Later came systems based on a complete consideration of the characteristics of taxa, referred to as natural systems, such as those of de Jussieu, de Candolle and Bentham. The publication of Charles Darwins Origin of Species led to new ways of thinking about classification based on evolutionary relationships and this was the concept of phyletic systems, from 1883 onwards. This approach was typified by those of Eichler and Engler, the advent of molecular genetics and statistical methodology allowed the creation of the modern era of phylogenetic systems based on cladistics, rather than morphology alone. Taxonomy has been called the worlds oldest profession, and naming and classifying our surroundings has likely been taking place as long as mankind has been able to communicate
4.
Animal
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Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia. The animal kingdom emerged as a clade within Apoikozoa as the group to the choanoflagellates. Animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently at some point in their lives and their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later in their lives. All animals are heterotrophs, they must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance, most known animal phyla appeared in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, about 542 million years ago. Animals can be divided broadly into vertebrates and invertebrates, vertebrates have a backbone or spine, and amount to less than five percent of all described animal species. They include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, the remaining animals are the invertebrates, which lack a backbone. These include molluscs, arthropods, annelids, nematodes, flatworms, cnidarians, ctenophores, the study of animals is called zoology. The word animal comes from the Latin animalis, meaning having breath, the biological definition of the word refers to all members of the kingdom Animalia, encompassing creatures as diverse as sponges, jellyfish, insects, and humans. Aristotle divided the world between animals and plants, and this was followed by Carl Linnaeus, in the first hierarchical classification. In Linnaeuss original scheme, the animals were one of three kingdoms, divided into the classes of Vermes, Insecta, Pisces, Amphibia, Aves, and Mammalia. Since then the last four have all been subsumed into a single phylum, in 1874, Ernst Haeckel divided the animal kingdom into two subkingdoms, Metazoa and Protozoa. The protozoa were later moved to the kingdom Protista, leaving only the metazoa, thus Metazoa is now considered a synonym of Animalia. Animals have several characteristics that set apart from other living things. Animals are eukaryotic and multicellular, which separates them from bacteria and they are heterotrophic, generally digesting food in an internal chamber, which separates them from plants and algae. They are also distinguished from plants, algae, and fungi by lacking cell walls. All animals are motile, if only at life stages. In most animals, embryos pass through a stage, which is a characteristic exclusive to animals. With a few exceptions, most notably the sponges and Placozoa and these include muscles, which are able to contract and control locomotion, and nerve tissues, which send and process signals
5.
Chordate
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Chordates are deuterostomes, as during the embryo development stage the anus forms before the mouth. They are also bilaterally symmetric coelomates, in the case of vertebrate chordates, the notochord is usually replaced by a vertebral column during development, and they may have body plans organized via segmentation. There are also additional extinct taxa, the Vertebrata are sometimes considered as a subgroup of the clade Craniata, consisting of chordates with a skull, the Craniata and Tunicata compose the clade Olfactores. Of the more than 65,000 living species of chordates, the worlds largest and fastest animals, the blue whale and peregrine falcon respectively, are chordates, as are humans. Fossil chordates are known from at least as early as the Cambrian explosion, Hemichordata, which includes the acorn worms, has been presented as a fourth chordate subphylum, but it now is usually treated as a separate phylum. The Hemichordata, along with the Echinodermata, form the Ambulacraria, the Chordata and Ambulacraria form the superphylum Deuterostomia, composed of the deuterostomes. Attempts to work out the relationships of the chordates have produced several hypotheses. All of the earliest chordate fossils have found in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna. Because the fossil record of early chordates is poor, only molecular phylogenetics offers a prospect of dating their emergence. However, the use of molecular phylogenetics for dating evolutionary transitions is controversial and it has also proved difficult to produce a detailed classification within the living chordates. Attempts to produce family trees shows that many of the traditional classes are paraphyletic. While this has been known since the 19th century, an insistence on only monophyletic taxa has resulted in vertebrate classification being in a state of flux. Although the name Chordata is attributed to William Bateson, it was already in prevalent use by 1880, ernst Haeckel described a taxon comprising tunicates, cephalochordates, and vertebrates in 1866. Though he used the German vernacular form, it is allowed under the ICZN code because of its subsequent latinization, among the vertebrate sub-group of chordates the notochord develops into the spine, and in wholly aquatic species this helps the animal to swim by flexing its tail. In fish and other vertebrates, this develops into the spinal cord, the pharynx is the part of the throat immediately behind the mouth. In fish, the slits are modified to form gills, a muscular tail that extends backwards behind the anus. This is a groove in the wall of the pharynx. In filter-feeding species it produces mucus to gather food particles, which helps in transporting food to the esophagus and it also stores iodine, and may be a precursor of the vertebrate thyroid gland
6.
Amphibian
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Amphibians are ectothermic, tetrapod vertebrates of the class Amphibia. They inhabit a variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, the young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult air-breathing form with lungs. Amphibians use their skin as a respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs. They are superficially similar to lizards but, along with mammals and birds, reptiles are amniotes, the earliest amphibians evolved in the Devonian period from sarcopterygian fish with lungs and bony-limbed fins, features that were helpful in adapting to dry land. They diversified and became dominant during the Carboniferous and Permian periods, over time, amphibians shrank in size and decreased in diversity, leaving only the modern subclass Lissamphibia. The three modern orders of amphibians are Anura, Urodela, and Apoda, the number of known amphibian species is approximately 7,000, of which nearly 90% are frogs. The smallest amphibian in the world is a frog from New Guinea with a length of just 7.7 mm. The largest living amphibian is the 1.8 m Chinese giant salamander, the study of amphibians is called batrachology, while the study of both reptiles and amphibians is called herpetology. The word amphibian is derived from the Ancient Greek term ἀμφίβιος, the term was initially used as a general adjective for animals that could live on land or in water, including seals and otters. Traditionally, the class Amphibia includes all tetrapod vertebrates that are not amniotes, the numbers of species cited above follows Frost and the total number of known amphibian species is over 7,000, of which nearly 90% are frogs. With the phylogenetic classification, the taxon Labyrinthodontia has been discarded as it is a group without unique defining features apart from shared primitive characteristics. Classification varies according to the phylogeny of the author and whether they use a stem-based or a node-based classification. The phylogeny of Paleozoic amphibians is uncertain, and Lissamphibia may possibly fall within groups, like the Temnospondyli or the Lepospondyli. If the common ancestor of amphibians and amniotes is included in Amphibia, all modern amphibians are included in the subclass Lissamphibia, which is usually considered a clade, a group of species that have evolved from a common ancestor. The three modern orders are Anura, Caudata, and Gymnophiona, although the fossils of several older proto-frogs with primitive characteristics are known, the oldest true frog is Prosalirus bitis, from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of Arizona. It is anatomically similar to modern frogs. The oldest known caecilian is another Early Jurassic species, Eocaecilia micropodia, the earliest salamander is Beiyanerpeton jianpingensis from the Late Jurassic of northeastern China
7.
Frog
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A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura. The oldest fossil proto-frog appeared in the early Triassic of Madagascar, Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforests. There are approximately 4,800 recorded species, accounting for over 85% of extant amphibian species and they are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. The body plan of a frog is generally characterized by a stout body, protruding eyes, cleft tongue, limbs folded underneath. Besides living in water and on dry land, the adults of some species are adapted for living underground or in trees. The skin of the frog is glandular, with secretions ranging from distasteful to toxic, Frogs skins vary in colour from well-camouflaged dappled brown, grey and green to vivid patterns of bright red or yellow and black to advertise toxicity and warn off predators. Frogs typically lay their eggs in water, the eggs hatch into aquatic larvae called tadpoles that have tails and internal gills. They have highly specialized rasping mouth parts suitable for herbivorous, omnivorous or planktivorous diets, the life cycle is completed when they metamorphose into adults. A few species deposit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage, adult frogs generally have a carnivorous diet consisting of small invertebrates, but omnivorous species exist and a few feed on fruit. Frogs are extremely efficient at converting what they eat into body mass and they are an important food source for predators and part of the food web dynamics of many of the worlds ecosystems. The skin is semi-permeable, making them susceptible to dehydration, so they live in moist places or have special adaptations to deal with dry habitats. Frogs are valued as food by humans and also have many roles in literature, symbolism. Frog populations have declined significantly since the 1950s, more than one third of species are considered to be threatened with extinction and over one hundred and twenty are believed to have become extinct since the 1980s. The number of malformations among frogs is on the rise and a fungal disease. Conservation biologists are working to understand the causes of these problems, the name frog derives from Old English frogga, abbreviated to frox, forsc, and frosc, probably deriving from Proto-Indo-European preu = to jump. About 88% of amphibian species are classified in the order Anura and these include around 4,810 species in 33 families, of which the Leptodactylidae, Hylidae and Ranidae are the richest in species. The use of the common frog and toad has no taxonomic justification. From a classification perspective, all members of the order Anura are frogs, there are numerous exceptions to this rule
8.
True toad
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A true toad is any member of the family Bufonidae, in the order Anura. This is the family of anurans in which all members are known as toads. The bufonids now comprise more than 35 genera, Bufo being the most widespread, true toads are widespread and are native to every continent except Australia and Antarctica, inhabiting a variety of environments, from arid areas to rainforest. Most lay eggs in paired strings that hatch into tadpoles, although, in the genus Nectophrynoides, true toads are toothless and generally warty in appearance. They have a pair of glands on the back of their heads. These glands contain a poison which the toads excrete when stressed. The poison in the glands contains a number of toxins causing different effects, different animals contain significantly different substances and proportions of substances. Some, like the cane toad Rhinella marina, are more toxic than others, some psychoactive toads, such as the Colorado River toad Bufo alvaris, have been used recreationally for the effects of their bufotoxin. Male toads possess a Bidders organ, under the right conditions, the organ becomes an active ovary and the toad, in effect, becomes female. The family Bufonidae contains about 500 species among 38 genera, Amphibian Species of the World 5.1 - Bufonidae. Halliday, Tim R. and Kraig Adler, the New Encyclopedia of Reptiles & Amphibians. Facts on File, New York,2002, tolweb. org, Bufonidae Bufonidae. com Amphibian and Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia - Family Bufonidae FED. us Bufonidae recordings from the British Library Sound Archive
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Atelopus
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Atelopus is a large genus of true toads, commonly known as harlequin toads or stubfoot toads, from Central and South America, ranging as far north as Costa Rica and as far south as Bolivia. Atelopus species are small, generally brightly colored, and diurnal, most species are associated with mid-to-high elevation streams. This genus has greatly affected by amphibian declines, and many species are now considered endangered. While threatened by loss, pollution, and introduced species. New Atelopus species are discovered with some regularity, and many new species have been described in the last decade, leeanne Alonso from Conservation International, the organisation that led the expedition, said this frog may be threatened by illegal gold mining. It was described as a new subspecies of Atelopus hoogmoedi, named A. h. nassaui in 2012, Atelopus at the Encyclopedia of Life Atelopus. com - Fighting to Survive Ranas Arlequines Bufonidae
10.
Binomial nomenclature
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Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name or a scientific name, more informally it is also called a Latin name. The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs, for example, humans belong to the genus Homo and within this genus to the species Homo sapiens. The formal introduction of system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus. But Gaspard Bauhin, in as early as 1623, had introduced in his book Pinax theatri botanici many names of genera that were adopted by Linnaeus. Although the general principles underlying binomial nomenclature are common to these two codes, there are differences, both in the terminology they use and in their precise rules. Similarly, both parts are italicized when a binomial name occurs in normal text, thus the binomial name of the annual phlox is now written as Phlox drummondii. In scientific works, the authority for a name is usually given, at least when it is first mentioned. In zoology Patella vulgata Linnaeus,1758, the original name given by Linnaeus was Fringilla domestica, the parentheses indicate that the species is now considered to belong in a different genus. The ICZN does not require that the name of the person who changed the genus be given, nor the date on which the change was made, in botany Amaranthus retroflexus L. – L. is the standard abbreviation used in botany for Linnaeus. – Linnaeus first named this bluebell species Scilla italica, Rothmaler transferred it to the genus Hyacinthoides, the ICN does not require that the dates of either publication be specified. Prior to the adoption of the binomial system of naming species. Together they formed a system of polynomial nomenclature and these names had two separate functions. First, to designate or label the species, and second, to be a diagnosis or description, such polynomial names may sometimes look like binomials, but are significantly different. For example, Gerards herbal describes various kinds of spiderwort, The first is called Phalangium ramosum, Branched Spiderwort, is aptly termed Phalangium Ephemerum Virginianum, Soon-Fading Spiderwort of Virginia. The Latin phrases are short descriptions, rather than identifying labels, the Bauhins, in particular Caspar Bauhin, took some important steps towards the binomial system, by pruning the Latin descriptions, in many cases to two words. The adoption by biologists of a system of binomial nomenclature is due to Swedish botanist and physician Carl von Linné. It was in his 1753 Species Plantarum that he first began using a one-word trivial name together with a generic name in a system of binomial nomenclature. This trivial name is what is now known as an epithet or specific name
11.
Synonym (taxonomy)
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For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies. This name is no longer in use, it is now a synonym of the current scientific name which is Picea abies, unlike synonyms in other contexts, in taxonomy a synonym is not interchangeable with the name of which it is a synonym. In taxonomy, synonyms are not equals, but have a different status, for any taxon with a particular circumscription, position, and rank, only one scientific name is considered to be the correct one at any given time. A synonym cannot exist in isolation, it is always an alternative to a different scientific name, given that the correct name of a taxon depends on the taxonomic viewpoint used a name that is one taxonomists synonym may be another taxonomists correct name. Synonyms may arise whenever the same taxon is described and named more than once, independently. They may also arise when existing taxa are changed, as when two taxa are joined to one, a species is moved to a different genus. To the general user of scientific names, in such as agriculture, horticulture, ecology, general science. A synonym is a name that was used as the correct scientific name but which has been displaced by another scientific name. Thus Oxford Dictionaries Online defines the term as a name which has the same application as another. In handbooks and general texts, it is useful to have mentioned as such after the current scientific name. Synonyms used in this way may not always meet the strict definitions of the synonym in the formal rules of nomenclature which govern scientific names. Changes of scientific name have two causes, they may be taxonomic or nomenclatural, a name change may be caused by changes in the circumscription, position or rank of a taxon, representing a change in taxonomic, scientific insight. A name change may be due to purely nomenclatural reasons, that is, based on the rules of nomenclature, the earliest such name is called the senior synonym, while the later name is the junior synonym. One basic principle of zoological nomenclature is that the earliest correctly published name, synonyms are important because if the earliest name cannot be used, then the next available junior synonym must be used for the taxon. Objective synonyms refer to taxa with the type and same rank. For example, John Edward Gray published the name Antilocapra anteflexa in 1855 for a species of pronghorn, however, it is now commonly accepted that his specimen was an unusual individual of the species Antilocapra americana published by George Ord in 1815. Ords name thus takes precedence, with Antilocapra anteflexa being a subjective synonym. Objective synonyms are common at the level of genera, because for various reasons two genera may contain the type species, these are objective synonyms
12.
Species
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In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. While this definition is often adequate, looked at more closely it is problematic, for example, with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, or in a ring species, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear. Other ways of defining species include similarity of DNA, morphology, all species are given a two-part name, a binomial. The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs, the second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet. For example, Boa constrictor is one of four species of the Boa genus, Species were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as fixed kinds that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being. In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time, Charles Darwins 1859 book The Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection. Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal transfer, and species may become extinct for a variety of reasons. In his biology, Aristotle used the term γένος to mean a kind, such as a bird or fish, a kind was distinguished by its attributes, for instance, a bird has feathers, a beak, wings, a hard-shelled egg, and warm blood. A form was distinguished by being shared by all its members, Aristotle believed all kinds and forms to be distinct and unchanging. His approach remained influential until the Renaissance, when observers in the Early Modern period began to develop systems of organization for living things, they placed each kind of animal or plant into a context. Many of these early delineation schemes would now be considered whimsical, animals likewise that differ specifically preserve their distinct species permanently, one species never springs from the seed of another nor vice versa. In the 18th century, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus classified organisms according to shared physical characteristics and he established the idea of a taxonomic hierarchy of classification based upon observable characteristics and intended to reflect natural relationships. At the time, however, it was widely believed that there was no organic connection between species, no matter how similar they appeared. However, whether or not it was supposed to be fixed, by the 19th century, naturalists understood that species could change form over time, and that the history of the planet provided enough time for major changes. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in his 1809 Zoological Philosophy, described the transmutation of species, proposing that a species could change over time, in 1859, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace provided a compelling account of evolution and the formation of new species. Darwin argued that it was populations that evolved, not individuals and this required a new definition of species. Darwin concluded that species are what appear to be, ideas
13.
Toad
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Toad is a common name applied to certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and parotoid glands. In scientific taxonomy, toads are found in the families Bufonidae, Bombinatoridae, Discoglossidae, Pelobatidae, Rhinophrynidae, Scaphiopodidae, usually the largest of the bumps on the skin of a toad are those that cover the parotoid glands. The bumps are commonly called warts, but they have nothing to do with infectious warts, being fixed in size, present on healthy specimens, frogs travel from non-breeding areas to breeding areas of ponds and lakes. Bogert suggests that the call of the toads is the most important cue used by toads in the homing to ponds, toads, like many amphibians, exhibit breeding site fidelity. Individual Bufo americanus toads return to their natal ponds to breed where they are likely to encounter siblings as potential mates, although inbred examples within a species is possible, siblings rarely mate. Toads recognize and actively avoid mating with close kin, advertisement vocalizations given by males appear to serve as cues by which females recognize kin. Kin recognition thus allows avoidance of inbreeding and consequent inbreeding depression, in Kenneth Grahames 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, Mr. Toad is a likeable and popular, if selfish and narcissistic, comic character. Mr. Toad reappears as the character in A. A. Milnes 1929 play Toad of Toad Hall. In Chinese culture, the Money Toad Jin Chan appears as a Feng Shui charm for prosperity. There is no definitive collective noun for toads, and like most collective nouns, true toad Common toad Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Toad
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Endemism
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The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, the word endemic is from New Latin endēmicus, from Greek ενδήμος, endēmos, native. Endēmos is formed of en meaning in, and dēmos meaning the people, the term, precinctive, has been suggested by some scientists, and was first used in botany by MacCaughey in 1917. It is the equivalent of endemism, precinction was perhaps first used by Frank and McCoy. That definition excludes artificial confinement of examples by humans in far-off botanical gardens or zoological parks, physical, climatic, and biological factors can contribute to endemism. The orange-breasted sunbird is found in the fynbos vegetation zone of southwestern South Africa. The glacier bear is found only in limited places in Southeast Alaska, political factors can play a part if a species is protected, or actively hunted, in one jurisdiction but not another. There are two subcategories of endemism, paleoendemism and neoendemism, paleoendemism refers to species that were formerly widespread but are now restricted to a smaller area. Neoendemism refers to species that have arisen, such as through divergence and reproductive isolation or through hybridization. Endemics can easily become endangered or extinct if their restricted habitat changes, particularly—but not only—due to human actions, there were millions of both Bermuda petrels and Bermuda cedars in Bermuda when it was settled at the start of the seventeenth century. By the end of the century, the petrels were thought extinct, cedars, already ravaged by centuries of shipbuilding, were driven nearly to extinction in the twentieth century by the introduction of a parasite. Bermuda petrels and cedars are now rare, as are species endemic to Bermuda
15.
Panama
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Panama, officially called the Republic of Panama, is a country usually considered to be entirely in North America or Central America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, the capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half of the countrys 4.1 million people. Panama was inhabited by indigenous tribes prior to settlement by the Spanish in the 16th century. Panama broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, when Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined, eventually becoming the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, in 1977 an agreement was signed for the total transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the 20th century, which culminated on 31 December 1999. Revenue from canal tolls continues to represent a significant portion of Panamas GDP, although commerce, banking, in 2015 Panama ranked 60th in the world in terms of the Human Development Index. Since 2010, Panama remains the second most competitive economy in Latin America, covering around 40 percent of its land area, Panamas jungles are home to an abundance of tropical plants and animals – some of them to be found nowhere else on the planet. There are several theories about the origin of the name Panama, some believe that the country was named after a commonly found species of tree. Others believe that the first settlers arrived in Panama in August, when butterflies abound, the best-known version is that a fishing village and its nearby beach bore the name Panamá, which meant an abundance of fish. Captain Antonio Tello de Guzmán, while exploring the Pacific side in 1515, in 1517 Don Gaspar De Espinosa, a Spanish lieutenant, decided to settle a post there. In 1519 Pedrarias Dávila decided to establish the Empires Pacific city in this site, the new settlement replaced Santa María La Antigua del Darién, which had lost its function within the Crowns global plan after the beginning of the Spanish exploitation of the riches in the Pacific. Blending all of the above together, Panamanians believe in general that the word Panama means abundance of fish and this is the official definition given in social studies textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education in Panama. However, others believe the word Panama comes from the Kuna word bannaba which means distant or far away, at the time of the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the known inhabitants of Panama included the Cuevas and the Coclé tribes. These people have disappeared, as they had no immunity from European infectious diseases. The earliest discovered artifacts of indigenous peoples in Panama include Paleo-Indian projectile points, later central Panama was home to some of the first pottery-making in the Americas, for example the cultures at Monagrillo, which date back to 2500–1700 BC. These evolved into significant populations best known through their spectacular burials at the Monagrillo archaeological site, the monumental monolithic sculptures at the Barriles site are also important traces of these ancient isthmian cultures. Before Europeans arrived Panama was widely settled by Chibchan, Chocoan, the largest group were the Cueva. The size of the population of the isthmus at the time of European colonization is uncertain
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International Union for Conservation of Nature
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The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, lobbying. IUCNs mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of resources is equitable. Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to equality, poverty alleviation. Unlike other international NGOs, IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation and it tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice, and through lobbying and partnerships. The organization is best known to the public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List. IUCN has a membership of over 1200 governmental and non-governmental organizations, some 11,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis. It employs approximately 1000 full-time staff in more than 60 countries and its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland. IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the implementation of several conventions on nature conservation. It was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature, in the past, IUCN has been criticized for placing the interests of nature over those of indigenous peoples. In recent years, its relations with the business sector have caused controversy. It was previously called the International Union for Protection of Nature, establishment In 1947, the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature organised an international conference on the protection of nature in Brunnen. It is considered to be the first government-organized non-governmental organization, the initiative to set up the new organisation came from UNESCO and especially from its first Director General, the British biologist Julian Huxley. At the time of its founding IUPN was the international organisation focusing on the entire spectrum of nature conservation Early years. Its secretariat was located in Brussels and its first work program focused on saving species and habitats, increasing and applying knowledge, advancing education, promoting international agreements and promoting conservation. Providing a solid base for conservation action was the heart of all activities. IUPN and UNESCO were closely associated and they jointly organized the 1949 Conference on Protection of Nature. In preparation for this conference a list of endangered species was drawn up for the first time
17.
Extinct in the wild
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The tortoise was believed to be entirely extinct in the mid-20th century, until Hungarian malacologist József Vágvölgyi spotted Lonesome George on the Galapagos island of Pinta on 1 December 1971. Since then, Lonesome George has been a symbol for conservation efforts in general. With his death on 24 June 2012, the subspecies is believed to be extinct. With the discovery of 17 hybrid Pinta tortoises located at nearby Wolf Volcano a plan has made to attempt to breed the subspecies back into a pure state. Not all species that are extinct in the wild are rare, however, the ultimate purpose of preserving biodiversity is to maintain ecological function. When a species only in captivity, it is ecologically extinct. Reintroduction is the release of species into the wild, from captivity or relocated from other areas where the species survives. This may be an option for certain species that are endangered or extinct in the wild, while conservation efforts may preserve some of the genetics of a species, the species may never fully recover due to the loss of the natural memetics of the species
18.
Ex situ conservation
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Ex situ conservation literally means, off-site conservation. Ex situ management can occur within or outside a species geographic range. Individuals maintained ex situ exist outside of an ecological niche and this means that they are not under the same selection pressures as wild populations, and they may undergo artificial selection if maintained ex situ for multiple generations. Agricultural biodiversity is conserved in ex situ collections. This is primarily in the form of gene banks where samples are stored in order to conserve the resources of major crop plants. These facilities provide not only housing and care for specimens of endangered species and they are the most publicly visited ex situ conservation sites, with the WZCS estimating that the 1100 organized zoos in the world receive more than 600 million visitors annually. Globally there is a total of 2,107 aquaria. Additionally many private collectors or other not-for-profit groups hold animals and they engage in conservation or reintroduction efforts, similarly there are approximately 2,000 botanical gardens in 148 counties cultivating or storing an estimated 80,000 taxa of plants. The storage of seeds, pollen, tissue, or embryos in liquid nitrogen and this method can be used for virtually indefinite storage of material without deterioration over a much greater time-period relative to all other methods of ex situ conservation. Cryopreservation is also used for the conservation of livestock genetics through Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources, technical limitations prevent the cryopreservation of many species, but cryobiology is a field of active research, and many studies concerning plants are underway. The storage of seeds in a temperature and moisture controlled environment and this technique is used for taxa with orthodox seeds that tolerate desiccation. Seed bank facilities vary from sealed boxes to climate controlled walk-in freezers or vaults, taxa with recalcitrant seeds that do not tolerate desiccation are typically not held in seed banks for extended periods of time. Somatic tissue can be stored in vitro for short periods of time and this is done in a light and temperature controlled environment that regulates the growth of cells. As a ex situ conservation technique tissue culture is used for clonal propagation of vegetative tissue or immature seeds. This allows for the proliferation of clonal plants from a small amount of parent tissue. An extensive open-air planting used maintain genetic diversity of wild, agricultural, typically species that are either difficult or impossible to conserve in seed banks are conserved in field gene banks. Field gene banks may also be used grow and select progeny of species stored by other ex situ techniques, plants under horticultural care in a constructed landscape, typically a botanic garden or arboreta. This technique is similar to a gene bank in that plants are maintained in the ambient environment
19.
Entomology
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Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. This wider meaning may still be encountered in informal use, Entomology is rooted in nearly all human cultures from prehistoric times, primarily in the context of agriculture, but scientific study began only as recently as the 16th century. William Kirby is widely considered as the father of Entomology, in collaboration with William Spence, he published a definitive entomological encyclopedia, Introduction to Entomology, regarded as the subjects foundational text. He also helped to found the Royal Entomological Society in London in 1833, one of the earliest such societies in the world, earlier antecedents, such as the Aurelian society date back to the 1740s. There has also been a history of people becoming entomologists through museum curation and research assistance, insect identification is an increasingly common hobby, with butterflies and dragonflies being the most popular. Most insects can easily be recognized to such as Hymenoptera or Coleoptera. However, insects other than Lepidoptera are typically identifiable to genus or species only through the use of Identification keys and Monographs. Because the class Insecta contains a large number of species and the characteristics separating them are unfamiliar, and often subtle. This has led to the development of automated species identification systems targeted on insects, for example, Daisy, ABIS, SPIDA, in 1994 the Entomological Society of America launched a new professional certification program for the pest control industry called The Associate Certified Entomologist. To qualify as a true entomologist an individual would require an advanced degree. Trichopterology - caddis flies Vespology - Social wasps Like other scientific specialties, entomologists have a number of local, national, there are also many organizations specializing in specific subareas. C. Y. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas University of Minnesota, big Fleas Have Little Fleas, How Discoveries of Invertebrate Diseases Are Advancing Modern Science University of Arizona Press, Tucson,208 pages, ISBN 0-8165-2544-7. Triplehorn, Charles A. and Norman F. Johnson, borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition, Thomas Brooks/Cole. — a classic textbook in North America, cS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list Capinera, JL.2008. Iowa State Entomology Index of Internet Resources, archived from the original on 2006-11-14. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06, archived from the original on 2007-02-07. Compendium of References on Flies and Disease, archived from the original on 2006-10-15. USDA Collecting methods. Detailed instructions Arthropa Extensive photo album sorted by topic, Tereshkin Scientific illustration in entomology Tereshkin, A.2008, Methodology of a scientific drawings preparation in entomology on example of ichneumon flies
20.
James Zetek
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Dr. James Zetek was an entomologist and authority on the natural history of Panama. He was born Vaclav Zetek, Dec.12,1886 in Chicago, son of Vaclav Zetek, an immigrant from Bohemia and a cutter in Chicago. James went to Panama in 1911 as an entomologist, serving for a time as professor there, dr. Zetek was the Founding Director of the Canal Zone Biological Area, located on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. He served as Resident Manager from 1923 to 1956 and he died in Panama June 2,1959, and was buried in Amador Cemetery. Zeteks primary research interest was the study of termites and termite control, USDA entomologist Thomas E. Snyder studied with him. Zetek also became an authority in other aspects of Panamas natural history and he wrote a paper on the mollusks of Panama in 1917. His successor was Carl D. Koford, zeteks papers are held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives. James Zetek on Barro Colorado Island, workers on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Party of Scientists on Barro Colorado Island, building Water Tank on Barro Colorado. James Zetek and Watson Perrygo next to boat, Barro Colorado Island
21.
Species description
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A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species which have been described previously. The species description often contains photographs or other illustrations of the type material, the publication in which the species is described gives the new species a formal scientific name. Today, some 1.9 million species have been described and named and it is customary for scientists to introduce all relevant new findings and research in a scientific manuscript, which is sent to other scientists for peer review. If accepted, it is published in a journal of the appropriate discipline or in a book. Descriptions and naming of a new species or other taxa follow the same process, a name of a new species becomes valid with the date of publication of its formal scientific description. A scientific species description must fulfill several formal criteria specified by the nomenclature codes, Species names are written in the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, but many species names are based on words from other languages, Latinized. Once the manuscript has been accepted for publication, the new name is officially created. Once a species name has been assigned and approved, it can not be changed except in the case of error. For example, a species of beetle was named by a German collector after Adolf Hitler in 1933 when he had become chancellor of Germany. It is not clear whether such a dedication would be considered acceptable or appropriate today, Species names have been chosen on many different bases. Most common is a naming for the external appearance, its origin. Examples would include a bat species named for the two stripes on its back, a named for its Bolivian origin, and an ant species dedicated to the actor Harrison Ford. A scientific name in honor of a person or persons is a known as a taxonomic patronym or patronymic, a number of humorous species names also exist. Literary examples include the genus name Borogovia, which is named after the borogove, a second example, Macrocarpaea apparata was named after the magical spell to apparate from the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, as it seemed to appear out of nowhere. For example, the genus Victoria was named in honour of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, more recently, a species of lemur was named after the actor John Cleese in recognition of his work to publicize the plight of lemurs in Madagascar. Non-profit ecological organizations may also allow benefactors to name new species in exchange for support for taxonomic research. A German non-profit organisation, BIOPAT - Patrons for Biodiversity has raised more than $450,000 for research, the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants discourages this practice somewhat, Recommendation 20A
22.
Subspecies
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In biological classification, subspecies is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or a taxonomic unit in that rank. A subspecies cannot be recognized independently, a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or at least two, in zoology, under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the subspecies is the only taxonomic rank below that of species that can receive a name. In botany and mycology, under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, in bacteriology and virology, under standard bacterial nomenclature and virus nomenclature, there are recommendations but not strict requirements for recognizing other important infraspecific ranks. A taxonomist decides whether to recognize a subspecies or not, the differences between subspecies are usually less distinct than the differences between species. In zoology, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature accepts only one rank below that of species, other groupings, infrasubspecific entities do not have names regulated by the ICZN. Such forms have no official ICZN status, though they may be useful in describing altitudinal or geographical clines, pet breeds, transgenic animals, etc. While the scientific name of a species is a binomen, the name of a subspecies is a trinomen - a binomen followed by a subspecific name. A tigers binomen is Panthera tigris, so for a Sumatran tiger the trinomen is, for example, names published before 1992 in the rank of variety are taken to be names of subspecies. In botany, subspecies is one of many ranks below that of species, such as variety, subvariety, form, the subspecific name is preceded by subsp. or ssp. as Schoenoplectus californicus ssp. tatora. A botanical name consists of at most three parts, an infraspecific name includes the species binomial, and one infraspecific epithet, such as subspecies or variety. For example, Motacilla alba alba is the subspecies of the white wagtail. The subspecies name that repeats the name is referred to in botanical nomenclature as the subspecies autonym. When zoologists disagree over whether a population is a subspecies or a full species. A subspecies is a rank below species – the only recognized rank in the zoological code. Botanists and mycologists have the choice of ranks lower than subspecies, such as variety or form, in biological terms, rather than in relation to nomenclature, a polytypic species has two or more subspecies, races, or more generally speaking, populations that need a separate description. These are separate groups that are distinct from one another and do not generally interbreed. These subspecies, races, or populations, can be named as subspecies by zoologists, a monotypic species has no distinct population or races, or rather one race comprising the whole species. A taxonomist would not name a subspecies within such a species, monotypic species can occur in several ways, All members of the species are very similar and cannot be sensibly divided into biologically significant subcategories
23.
Atelopus varius
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Atelopus varius, also known as the clown frog, is a neo-tropical true toad from the family Bufonidae. A. zeteki has been considered a subspecies of A. varius, the historic range of A. varius stretched from the Pacific and Atlantic slopes of the Cordilleras de Tilaran mountain range in Costa Rica into western Panama. Suitable habitat includes both pre-montane and lower-montane zones as well as some lowland sites along streams in hilly areas. A. varius is a diurnal frog found on rocks or in crevices along streams in humid lowland. It is primarily a species, only entering the water during breeding season. The Costa Rican variable harlequin frog is slow moving and often remains in the area for long periods of time. The conspicuous or aposematic coloration of A. varius likely serves as a warning to predators of the toxicity of the frogs integument which contains tetrodotoxin. Its main food source is small arthropods that are most abundant during the dry season, the only known predator of A. varius is a parasitic sarcophagid fly which deposits its larvae on the surface of the frogs thigh. The larvae then proceed to burrow inside the frog and eat it from within, in recent decades, A. varius has become increasingly rare throughout its geographic range. By 1996, A. varius was believed to be extinct throughout Costa Rica, however, subsequent surveys carried out by the rainmaker project in 2003 and 2005 rediscovered a population of the endangered frog on the Pacific coastal range near Quepos. In Panama, mass mortality has drastically reduced populations of A. varius in recent years, several theories related to changes in climatic patterns have been put forth to account for the rapid decline of A. varius. A trend toward rising temperatures across the tropics in the late 1980s and early 1990s has been implicated in the declines of multiple lizard, more recently, an observed global decline in amphibian species richness has been linked to an outbreak of the pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Current attempts to preserve A. varius include a recently initiated captive breeding program as well as continued efforts to protect vital forest habitat, homing and site fidelity in a Neotropical frog, Atelopus varius. Aggression in harlequin frogs, male-male competition and a conflict of interest between the sexes. Lethal Parasitism of an Aposematic Anuran by Notochaeta bufonivora, mass mortality and population declines of anurans at an upland site in western Panama. Green, D. E. and Papendick, R.2003, chytridiomycosis in wild frogs from southern Costa Rica. Bustamante, M. R. Coloma, L. A. Consuegra, merino-Viteri, A. Puschendorf, R. Ron, S. R. Widespread amphibian extinctions from epidemic disease driven by global warming, harlequin Frogs Along a Tropical Montane Stream, Aggregation and the Risk of Predation by Frog-Eating Flies
24.
Bufadienolide
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Bufadienolide is a chemical compound with steroid structure. Its derivatives are known as bufadienolides, including many in the form of bufadienolide glycosides. These are a type of cardiac glycoside, the other being the cardenolide glycosides, both bufadienolides and their glycosides are toxic, specifically, they can cause an atrioventricular block, bradycardia, ventricular tachycardia, and possibly lethal cardiac arrest. Consequently, related structures with one double bond are called bufenolides. According to MeSH, bufadienolides and bufanolides are classified as follows, Polycyclic compounds Steroids Cardanolides Cardiac glycosides Bufanolides Proscillaridin Daigremontianin Cardenolides
25.
Alkaloid
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Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that mostly contain basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties, some synthetic compounds of similar structure are also termed alkaloids. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, alkaloids may also contain oxygen, sulfur and, more rarely, other such as chlorine, bromine. Alkaloids are produced by a variety of organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants. They can be purified from crude extracts of these organisms by acid-base extraction, many have found use in traditional or modern medicine, or as starting points for drug discovery. Other alkaloids possess psychotropic and stimulant activities, and have used in entheogenic rituals or as recreational drugs. Although alkaloids act on a diversity of systems in humans and other animals. The boundary between alkaloids and other nitrogen-containing natural compounds is not clear-cut, Compounds like amino acid peptides, proteins, nucleotides, nucleic acid, amines, and antibiotics are usually not called alkaloids. Natural compounds containing nitrogen in the position are usually classified as amines rather than as alkaloids. Some authors, however, consider alkaloids a special case of amines, the name alkaloids was introduced in 1819 by the German chemist Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Meißner, and is derived from late Latin root Latin, alkali and the suffix Greek, -οειδής – like. However, the term came into use only after the publication of a review article by Oscar Jacobsen in the chemical dictionary of Albert Ladenburg in the 1880s. There is no method of naming alkaloids. Many individual names are formed by adding the suffix ine to the species or genus name, for example, atropine is isolated from the plant Atropa belladonna, strychnine is obtained from the seed of Strychnine tree. If several alkaloids are extracted from one plant then their names often contain suffixes idine, anine, aline, inine etc. There are also at least 86 alkaloids whose names contain the root vin because they are extracted from plants such as Vinca rosea. Alkaloid-containing plants have been used by humans since ancient times for therapeutic, for example, medicinal plants have been known in the Mesopotamia at least around 2000 BC. The Odyssey of Homer referred to a given to Helen by the Egyptian queen. It is believed that the gift was an opium-containing drug, a Chinese book on houseplants written in 1st–3rd centuries BC mentioned a medical use of Ephedra and opium poppies
26.
Tetrodotoxin
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Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an order that includes pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish, several of these species carry the toxin. Tetrodotoxin inhibits the firing of action potentials in nerves by binding to the sodium channels in nerve cell membranes. This prevents the system from carrying messages and thus muscles from flexing in response to nervous stimulation. The toxin is used by metazoans as a defensive biotoxin to ward off predation. Even though the acts as a defense mechanism, some predators such as the common garter snake have developed insensitivity to TTX. As Lago et al. note, there is evidence that uptake of bacteria producing TTX is an important element of TTX toxicity in marine metazoans that present this toxin. Tetrodotoxin binds to what is known as site 1 of the fast voltage-gated sodium channel, site 1 is located at the extracellular pore opening of the ion channel. Tetrodotoxin binds to TTX-s Na+ channels with an affinity of 5–15 nM. Nerve cells containing TTX-r Na+ channels are located primarily in cardiac tissue, TTX and its analogs have historically been important agents for use as chemical tool compounds, for use in channel characterization and in fundamental studies of channel function. The prevalence of TTX-s Na+ channels in the nervous system makes tetrodotoxin a valuable agent for the silencing of neural activity within a cell culture. In 1964 a team of scientists led by Robert B. Woodward at Harvard University elucidated the structure of tetrodotoxin, the structure was confirmed by X-ray crystallography in 1970. Yoshito Kishi and coworkers at Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan, reported the first total synthesis of D, L-tetrodotoxin in 1972. M. Isobe and coworkers at Nagoya University, Japan and J. Du Bois et al. at Stanford University, the two 2003 syntheses used very different strategies, with Isobes route based on a Diels-Alder approach and Du Boiss work using C-H bond activation. Since then, methods have rapidly advanced, with new strategies for the synthesis of tetrodotoxin having been developed. The Material Safety Data Sheet for TTX lists the oral median lethal dose for mice as 334 μg per kg, for comparison, the oral LD50 of potassium cyanide for mice is 8.5 mg per kg, demonstrating that even orally, TTX is more poisonous than cyanide. TTX is even more dangerous if injected, the amount needed to reach a lethal dose by injection is only 8 μg per kg in mice, the toxin can enter the body of a victim by ingestion, injection, or inhalation, or through abraded skin. Poisoning occurring as a consequence of consumption of fish from the order Tetraodontiformes is extremely serious, the organs of the pufferfish can contain levels of tetrodotoxin sufficient to produce the described paralysis of the diaphragm and corresponding death due to respiratory failure. Toxicity varies between species and at different seasons and geographic localities, and the flesh of many pufferfish may not be dangerously toxic
27.
Voltage-dependent sodium channel
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Sodium channels are integral membrane proteins that form ion channels, conducting sodium ions through a cells plasma membrane. They are classified according to the trigger that opens the channel for such ions, in excitable cells such as neurons, myocytes, and certain types of glia, sodium channels are responsible for the rising phase of action potentials. These channels go through 3 different states called as resting, active and inactive states, even though the resting and inactive states wouldnt allow the ions to flow through the channels the difference exists with respect to their structural conformation. Sodium channels are selective for the transport of sodium ions across cell membranes. The high selectivity with respect to the ion is achieved in many different ways. All involve encapsulation of the ion in a cavity of specific size within a larger molecule. Sodium channels consist of large α subunits that associate with proteins, an α subunit forms the core of the channel and is functional on its own. When the α subunit protein is expressed by a cell, it is able to form channels that conduct Na+ in a voltage-gated way, when accessory proteins assemble with α subunits, the resulting complex can display altered voltage dependence and cellular localization. The α-subunit has four domains, labeled I through IV, each containing six membrane-spanning segments. The highly conserved S4 segment acts as the voltage sensor. The voltage sensitivity of this channel is due to amino acids located at every third position. When stimulated by a change in voltage, this segment moves toward the extracellular side of the cell membrane. The ions are conducted through a pore, which can be broken into two regions, the more external portion of the pore is formed by the P-loops of the four domains. This region is the most narrow part of the pore and is responsible for its ion selectivity, the inner portion of the pore is formed by the combined S5 and S6 segments of the four domains. The region linking domains III and IV is also important for channel function and this region plugs the channel after prolonged activation, inactivating it. Voltage-gated Na+ channels have three main states, closed, open and inactivated. Forward/back transitions between states are correspondingly referred to as activation/deactivation, inactivation/reactivation, and recovery from inactivation/closed-state inactivation. Closed and inactivated states are ion impermeable, because the voltage across the membrane is initially negative, as its voltage increases to and past zero, it is said to depolarize
28.
Saxitoxin
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Saxitoxin is a potent neurotoxin and the best-known paralytic shellfish toxin. Ingestion of saxitoxin, usually by consumption of shellfish contaminated by toxic algal blooms, is responsible for the illness known as paralytic shellfish poisoning. The term saxitoxin originates from the name of the butter clam from which it was first isolated. In the United States, paralytic shellfish poisoning has occurred in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Saxitoxin is a neurotoxin naturally produced by certain species of marine dinoflagellates and freshwater cyanobacteria Saxitoxin accumulates particularly in bivalve filter feeders. Saxitoxin has also found in at least 12 marine puffer fish species in Asia. However, the source of STX is often still uncertain. The dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense is the source of STX found in Florida, recent research shows the detection of STX in the skin, muscle, viscera, and gonads of “Indian River Lagoon” southern puffer fish, with the highest concentration measured in the ovaries. Even after a year of captivity, the skin mucus remained highly toxic, the concentrations in puffer fish from the United States are similar to those found in the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, and South American countries. Puffer fish also accumulate a structurally distinct toxin, tetrodotoxin, Saxitoxin dihydrochloride is an amorphous hygroscopic solid, but X-ray crystallography of crystalline derivatives enabled the structure of saxitoxin to be determined. Oxidation of saxitoxin generates a highly fluorescent purine derivative which has been utilized to detect its presence, several total syntheses of saxitoxin have been accomplished. Saxitoxin is a neurotoxin that acts as a sodium channel blocker. One of the most potent known natural toxins, it acts on the sodium channels of neurons, preventing normal cellular function. The voltage-gated sodium channel is essential for normal neuronal functioning and it exists as integral membrane proteins interspersed along the axon of a neuron and possessing four domains that span the cell membrane. Opening of the sodium channel occurs when there is a change in voltage or some ligand binds in the right way. It is of foremost importance for these channels to function properly. Without this ability, the cell becomes unable to transmit signals. This may lead to paralysis of the region, as in the case of saxitoxin. Saxitoxin binds reversibly to the sodium channel and it binds directly in the pore of the channel protein, occluding the opening, and preventing the flow of sodium ions through the membrane
29.
Chytridiomycosis
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Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a nonhyphal zoosporic fungus. Much of the New World is also at risk of the disease arriving within the coming years, the fungus is capable of causing sporadic deaths in some amphibian populations and 100% mortality in others. No effective measure is known for control of the disease in wild populations, various clinical signs are seen by individuals affected by the disease. A number of options are possible for controlling this disease-causing fungus, the disease has been proposed as a contributing factor to a global decline in amphibian populations that apparently has affected about 30% of the amphibian species of the world. The disease in its form was first discovered in 1993 in dead and dying frogs in Queensland. It had been present in the country since at least 1978 and is widespread across Australia and it is also found in Africa, the Americas, Europe, New Zealand, and Oceania. In Australia, Panama, and New Zealand, the fungus seemed to have suddenly ‘appeared’, in the Americas, It originated in Venezuela in 1987 where it swept up the continent into Central America. It was also found in the part of Central America in 1987. The fungus has been detected in four areas of Australia—the east coast, Adelaide, south-west Western Australia, the first well-documented method of human pregnancy testing involved this species, and as a result, large-scale international trade in living African clawed frogs began more than 60 years ago. If Batrachochytrium originated in Africa, it has been theorized that the African clawed frog was the vector of the spread out of the continent. The earliest documented case of the disease chytridiomycosis was an American bullfrog collected in 1978 and it is still not clear if it is a new emergent pathogen or if it is an old pathogen with recently increased virulence. The geographic range of chytridiomycosis is difficult to ascertain, if it occurs, the disease is only present where the fungus B. dendrobatidis is present. However, the disease is not always present where the fungus is, reasons for amphibian declines are often termed ‘enigmatic’ because the cause is unknown. Why some areas are affected by the fungus while others are not is not fully understood, oscillating factors such as climate, habitat suitability, and population density may be factors which cause the fungus to infect amphibians of a given area. Therefore, when considering the range of chytridiomycosis, the range of B. dendrobatidis occurrence must be considered. The geographic range of B. dendrobatidis has recently been mapped, B. dendrobatidis has been detected in 56 of 82 countries, and in 516 of 1240 species using a data set of more than 36,000 individuals. It is widely distributed in the Americas, and detected sporadically in Africa, Asia, Asia, for example, has only 2. 35% prevalence. The range suitable for B. dendrobatidis in the New World is vast, regions with its highest suitability include habitats that contain the world’s most diverse amphibian fauna
30.
Flag semaphore
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Flag semaphore is the telegraphy system conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags, rods, disks, paddles, or occasionally bare or gloved hands. Information is encoded by the position of the flags, it is read when the flag is in a fixed position, semaphores were adopted and widely used in the maritime world in the 19th century. It is still used during underway replenishment at sea and is acceptable for emergency communication in daylight or, using lighted wands instead of flags, at night. The current flag semaphore system uses two short poles with flags, which a signalman holds in different positions to signal letters of the alphabet. The signalman holds one pole in each hand, and extends each arm in one of eight possible directions, except for in the rest position, the flags do not overlap. The flags are colored based on whether the signals are sent by sea or by land. At sea, the flags are colored red and yellow, while on land, they are white, flags are not required, their purpose is to make the characters more obvious. The following 30 semaphore characters are presented as they would appear when facing the signalman, letters can be signaled by first signaling J. The sender uses the Attention signal to request permission to begin a transmission, the receiver uses a Ready to receive signal not shown above to grant permission to begin the transmission. The receiver raises both flags vertical overhead and then drops them to the rest position, once only, to grant permission to send, the sender ends the transmission with the Ready to receive signal. The receiver can reply with the Attention signal, at this point, sender and receiver change places. The Japanese merchant marine and armed services have adapted the flag system to the Japanese language. The flags are specified as a white square for the left hand. It is the arm, holding the red flag, which moves as a pen would. As in telegraphy, the syllabary is the one used to write down the messages as they are received. Also, the Japanese system presents the number 0 by moving flags in a circle, and those from 1 through 9 using a sort of the dial system. Semaphore flags are sometimes used as means of communication in the mountains where oral or electronic communication is difficult to perform. Although they do not carry flags, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers have used hand semaphore in this manner, some surf-side rescue companies, such as the Ocean City Maryland Beach Patrol, use semaphore flags to communicate between lifeguards
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Adaptation
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In biology, an adaptation, also called an adaptive trait, is a trait with a current functional role in the life of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. Adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation. Adaptations enhance the fitness and survival of individuals, organisms face a succession of environmental challenges as they grow and develop and are equipped with an adaptive plasticity as the phenotype of traits develop in response to the imposed conditions. The developmental norm of reaction for any given trait is essential to the correction of adaptation as it affords a kind of insurance or resilience to varying environments. Adaptation is, first of all, a process, to rather be with the animal, an internal parasite can illustrate the distinction, such a parasite may have a very simple bodily structure, but nevertheless the organism is highly adapted to its specific environment. From this we see that adaptation is not just a matter of visible traits, in such parasites critical adaptations take place in the life cycle, however, as a practical term, adaptation often refers to a product, those features of a species which result from the process. Many aspects of an animal or plant can be correctly called adaptations, by using the term adaptation for the evolutionary process, and adaptive trait for the bodily part or function, one may distinguish the two different senses of the word. Adaptation is one of the two processes that explain the diverse species found in biology, such as the different species of Darwins finches. The other process is speciation, caused by geographical isolation or some other mechanism, a favorite example used today to study the interplay of adaptation and speciation is the evolution of cichlid fish in African lakes, where the question of reproductive isolation is much more complex. Adaptation is not always a simple matter where the ideal phenotype evolves for an external environment. An organism must be viable at all stages of its development and this places constraints on the evolution of development, behavior and structure of organisms. However, it is not clear what relatively small should mean, the origin of eukaryotic symbiosis exemplifies a more dramatic example. All adaptations help organisms survive in their ecological niches, the adaptive traits may be structural, behavioral or physiological. Structural adaptations are features of an organism. Behavioral adaptations are composed of inherited behavior chains and/or the ability to learn, behaviors may be inherited in detail, examples, searching for food, mating, vocalizations. Adaptation, then, affects all aspects of the life of an organism, the following definitions are mainly due to Theodosius Dobzhansky. Adaptation is the process whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat or habitats. Adaptedness is the state of being adapted, the degree to which an organism is able to live, an adaptive trait is an aspect of the developmental pattern of the organism which enables or enhances the probability of that organism surviving and reproducing
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Evolution
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Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. Evolutionary processes give rise to biodiversity at every level of organisation, including the levels of species, individual organisms. In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the LUCA of all living on Earth. The fossil record includes a progression from early biogenic graphite, to microbial mat fossils, existing patterns of biodiversity have been shaped both by speciation and by extinction. More than 99 percent of all species that lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct. Estimates of Earths current species range from 10 to 14 million, more recently, in May 2016, scientists reported that 1 trillion species are estimated to be on Earth currently with only one-thousandth of one percent described. In the mid-19th century, Charles Darwin formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection. This teleonomy is the quality whereby the process of natural selection creates and preserves traits that are fitted for the functional roles they perform. The processes by which the changes occur, from one generation to another, are called evolutionary processes or mechanisms, the four most widely recognized evolutionary processes are natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene migration. Natural selection and genetic drift sort variation, mutation and gene migration create variation, consequences of selection can include meiotic drive, nonrandom mating and genetic hitchhiking. In the early 20th century the modern evolutionary synthesis integrated classical genetics with Darwins theory of evolution by natural selection through the discipline of population genetics, the importance of natural selection as a cause of evolution was accepted into other branches of biology. Moreover, previously held notions about evolution, such as orthogenesis, evolutionism, evolutionary computation, a sub-field of artificial intelligence, involves the application of Darwinian principles to problems in computer science. The proposal that one type of organism could descend from another type goes back to some of the first pre-Socratic Greek philosophers, such as Anaximander, such proposals survived into Roman times. The poet and philosopher Lucretius followed Empedocles in his masterwork De rerum natura, in contrast to these materialistic views, Aristotelianism considered all natural things as actualisations of fixed natural possibilities, known as forms. This was part of a teleological understanding of nature in which all things have an intended role to play in a divine cosmic order. In the 17th century, the new method of modern science rejected the Aristotelian approach, however, this new approach was slow to take root in the biological sciences, the last bastion of the concept of fixed natural types. The biological classification introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1735 explicitly recognized the nature of species relationships. Other naturalists of this time speculated on the change of species over time according to natural laws
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Amplexus
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In amphibians, females may be grasped by the head, waist, or armpits, and the type of amplexus is characteristic of some taxonomic groups. Amplexus chiefly occurs aquatically, but some more terrestrial anurans like the disc-tongued frogs perform amplexus on land, in crown-group anurans like the true frogs, the tree frogs, and the true toads, amplexus is axillary. Other anurans, show the state which is inguinal or lumbar amplexus. Some species show cephalic amplexus where the head of the female is held while others show complete lack of amplexus. In most anurans, the males deposit sperm onto the eggs as they are being laid, however males of the genus Ascaphus possess an intromittent organ, unique among anurans, internal fertilization does occur in a few other genera, including Nectophrynoides, Mertensophryne, and Eleutherodactylus. In the case of newts the process of amplexus is often observed soon after the newts become seasonally active. In the western USA, for example, this time is soon after the onset of the winter rainy season. The rough-skinned newt is a widespread example of a newt in the western USA that can be observed in quiet stream pools. Amplexus occurs in all four species of horseshoe crab, the first pair of walking legs is used to tightly clasp the female in all species, and the second pair is also employed in all but Limulus polyphemus. Fossil evidence suggests that a certain euthycarcinoid from the Cambrian may also have mated by amplexus
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Oviposition
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Oviparous animals are animals that lay eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the method of most fish, amphibians, reptiles, all birds. In traditional usage, most insects, molluscs, and arachnids are also described as oviparous, Thierry Lodé, however, however, the biologist Thierry Lodé recently divided the traditional category of oviparous reproduction into two modes that he named ovuliparity and oviparity respectively. Among the Vertebrata ovuliparity is common among fishes and most Amphibia and it occurs among Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Echinodermata, Mollusca, and several other phyla as well. Oviparity, in which fertilisation is internal, the egg is not retained in the body for most of the period of development of the embryo within the egg, which is the main distinction between oviparity and ovoviviparity. Oviparity occurs in all birds, most reptiles, some fishes, among mammals, the monotremes are oviparous. Such classifications are largely for convenience and as such can be important in practice, — but speaking loosely in contexts in which the distinction is not relevant, it is common to lump both categories together as oviparous. Oviparity at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings
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Tadpole
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A tadpole is the larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or toad. They are usually wholly aquatic, though some species have tadpoles that are terrestrial, when first hatched from the egg they have a more or less globular body, a laterally compressed tail and internal or external gills. As they grow they undergo metamorphosis, during which process they grow limbs, develop lungs, most tadpoles are herbivorous and during metamorphosis the mouth and internal organs are rearranged to prepare for an adult carnivorous lifestyle. Having no hard parts, it might be expected that fossil tadpoles would not exist, however, traces of biofilms have been preserved and fossil tadpoles have been found dating back to the Miocene. Tadpoles are eaten in parts of the world and are mentioned in folk tales. The name tadpole is from Middle English taddepol, made up of the elements tadde, toad, similarly, pollywog / polliwog is from Middle English polwygle, made up of the same pol, head, and wiglen, to wiggle. Tadpoles are young amphibians that live in the water, though a few tadpoles are semi-terrestrial and terrestrial. During the tadpole stage of the life cycle, most respire by means of autonomous external or internal gills. They do not usually have arms or legs until the transition to adulthood, as a tadpole matures, it most commonly metamorphosizes by gradually growing limbs and then outwardly absorbing its tail by apoptosis. Lungs develop around the time of leg development, and tadpoles late in development will often be found near the surface of the water, where they breathe air. During the final stages of external metamorphosis, the mouth changes from a small. The intestines shorten to accommodate the new diet, most tadpoles are herbivorous, subsisting on algae and plants. Some species are omnivorous, eating detritus and, when available, tadpoles vary greatly in size, both during their development and between species. For example, in a family, Megophryidae, length of late-stage tadpoles varies between 33 millimetres and 106 millimetres. The tadpoles of Pseudis paradoxa grow to 25 centimetres, the largest of any frog, despite their soft-bodied nature and lack of mineralised hard parts, fossil tadpoles have been recovered from Upper Miocene strata. They are preserved by virtue of biofilms, with more robust structures preserved as a carbon film, in Miocene fossils from Libros, Spain, the brain case is preserved in calcium carbonate, and the nerve cord in calcium phosphate. Other parts of the tadpoles bodies exist as organic remains and bacterial biofilms, tadpole remains with telltale external gills are also known from several of the Labyrinthodont groups. Some tadpoles are used as food, tadpoles of megophryid frog Oreolalax rhodostigmatus are particularly large, more than 10 cm in length, and are collected for human consumption in China
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Atelopus certus
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Atelopus certus, the Darien stubfoot toad or Toad Mountain harlequin frog, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae endemic to Panama. The toad is endemic to the Darien region of eastern Panama and its natural habitats are tropical montane and submontane forests. It breeds in forest streams where the tadpoles also develop, because so many other Atelopus species are in steep declines, this amphibian is seen as a priority species for ex situ conservation. A documentary film about this effort was aired in 2011 on Smithsonian Networks entitled Mission Critical, notes on reptiles and amphibians from Panama
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Gastromyzon
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Gastromyzon is a genus of gastromyzontid loaches native to Borneo. There are currently 36 species recognized in this genus, Gastromyzon aequabilis H. H. Tan,2006 Gastromyzon aeroides H. H, Tan & Sulaiman,2006 Gastromyzon crenastus H. H. Leh,2006 Gastromyzon ctenocephalus T. R. Roberts,1982 Gastromyzon danumensis P. K, Chin & Inger,1989 Gastromyzon embalohensis Rachmatika,1998 Gastromyzon extrorsus H. H. Tan,2006 Gastromyzon farragus H. H. Leh,2006 Gastromyzon fasciatus Inger & P. K. Chin,1961 Gastromyzon ingeri H. H. Tan,2006 Gastromyzon introrsus H. H. Tan,2006 Gastromyzon katibasensis M. U. C. Leh & P. K. P. Chai,2003 Gastromyzon lepidogaster T. R. Roberts,1982 Gastromyzon megalepis T. R. Roberts,1982 Gastromyzon monticola Gastromyzon ocellatus H. H. Tan & P. K. L. Ng,2004 Gastromyzon ornaticauda H. H, Tan & Martin-Smith,1998 Gastromyzon pariclavis H. H. Leh,2006 Gastromyzon spectabilis H. H. Tan,2006 Gastromyzon stellatus H. H. Tan,2006 Gastromyzon umbrus H. H. Tan,2006 Gastromyzon venustus H. H. Tan & Sulaiman,2006 Gastromyzon viriosus H. H. Tan,2006 Gastromyzon zebrinus H. H. Tan,2006
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Melanin
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Melanin /ˈmɛlənɪn/ is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. Melanin is produced by the oxidation of the amino acid tyrosine, the pigment is produced in a specialized group of cells known as melanocytes. There are three types of melanin, eumelanin, pheomelanin, and neuromelanin. The most common is eumelanin, of which there are two types—brown eumelanin and black eumelanin, pheomelanin is a cysteine-containing red polymer of benzothiazine units largely responsible for red hair, among other pigmentation. Neuromelanin is found in the brain, though its function remains obscure, in the skin, melanogenesis occurs after exposure to UV radiation, causing the skin to visibly tan. Melanin is an effective absorber of light, the pigment is able to dissipate over 99. 9% of absorbed UV radiation, because of this property, melanin is thought to protect skin cells from UVB radiation damage, reducing the risk of cancer. e. Nonetheless, the relationship between skin pigmentation and photoprotection is still being clarified, in humans, melanin is the primary determinant of skin color. It is also found in hair, the pigmented tissue underlying the iris of the eye, in the brain, tissues with melanin include the medulla and pigment-bearing neurons within areas of the brainstem, such as the locus coeruleus and the substantia nigra. It also occurs in the zona reticularis of the adrenal gland, the melanin in the skin is produced by melanocytes, which are found in the basal layer of the epidermis. Although, in general, human beings possess a concentration of melanocytes in their skin. Some humans have very little or no melanin synthesis in their bodies, because melanin is an aggregate of smaller component molecules, there are many different types of melanin with differing proportions and bonding patterns of these component molecules. Both pheomelanin and eumelanin are found in skin and hair. Eumelanin polymers have long thought to comprise numerous cross-linked 5, 6-dihydroxyindole and 5. There are two types of eumelanin and black eumelanin—which chemically differ from each other in their pattern of polymeric bonds. A small amount of black eumelanin in the absence of other pigments causes grey hair, a small amount of brown eumelanin in the absence of other pigments causes blond color hair. As the body ages, it continues to produce black melanin but stops producing the brown version, pheomelanins impart a pink to red hue, depending upon the concentration. Pheomelanins are particularly concentrated in the lips, nipples, glans of the penis, when a small amount of brown eumelanin in hair, which would otherwise cause blond hair, is mixed with red pheomelanin, the result is red hair. Pheomelanin is also present in the skin, and redheads consequently often have a pinkish hue to their skin as well
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Colubridae
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The Colubridae are a family of snakes. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, they are the largest snake family, the earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid species are found on every continent except Antarctica, some colubrids are described as opisthoglyphous, meaning they have elongated, grooved teeth located in the back of the upper jaw. The opisthoglyphous dentition appears at least twice in the history of snakes and these are unlike those of vipers and elapids, which are located in the front. The Colubridae as traditionally defined are not a group, as many are more closely related to other groups, such as elapids. This family has classically been a garbage bin taxon for snakes that do not fit elsewhere, additional research will be necessary to sort out the relations within this group. cz Reptile Database. Psammophids at Life is Short but Snakes are Long
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Liophis
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Liophis is a genus of New World colubrid snakes. They have a range of nondescript and local names, among these water snakes, mapepires. The status of the genus Liophis on the mainland of South America is highly uncertain, and some authorities assign some species to the genera Dromicus, Leimadophis, Lygophis, others consider Dromicus and Leimadophis to be synonyms of Liophis. Natürliches System der Amphibien, mit vorangehender Classification des Säugthiere und Vögel
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Life in Cold Blood
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Life in Cold Blood is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first broadcast in the United Kingdom from 4 February 2008 on BBC One. It also examines the challenges faced by the crew and reveals some of the used to film the series. The series is a co-production between the BBC and Animal Planet, the executive producer is Sara Ford and the series producer is Miles Barton. The Under the Skin segments were produced by James Brickell in collaboration with the Open University, the score for the main films was composed by David Poore and Ben Salisbury, whilst the music for Under the Skin was written and performed by Tony Briscoe. The series won the 2009 BAFTA Television Award in the Specialist Factual category, within David Attenboroughs Life series, it is preceded by Life in the Undergrowth. Filming began in the part of 2006 and, as with Attenboroughs previous series. In May 2006, Attenborough celebrated his 80th birthday in the Galápagos Islands while filming giant tortoises, one of which, Lonesome George died on 24 June 2012, he was believed to have been more than 100 years old. Several innovative techniques were used to capture footage, expert scientists helped the producers to film animal behaviour that is rarely seen. The team staked out radiotagged timber rattlesnakes in order to one of them despatching its prey. However, for Attenboroughs close encounter with a cobra, a captive snake that was used to being handled was placed in a natural setting. Other examples of pets being used were for sequences depicting the lassoing tongue of a chameleon, Life in Cold Blood is Attenboroughs last major series and also represents the final study in his Life series, which comprises 79 programmes. In a 2008 interview, he stated, The evolutionary history is finished, if youd asked me 20 years ago whether wed be attempting such a mammoth task, Id have said Dont be ridiculous. A 2-disc DVD set of the series was released on 25 February 2008, the accompanying 288-page book, Life in Cold Blood by David Attenborough, was published by BBC Books on 7 December 2007, in advance of the television series. The Region 1 DVD was released on 5 August 2008 through Warner Home Video. net site BBC on YouTube, David Attenborough face to face with a spitting cobra
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