Hottentotta tamulus

Hottentotta tamulus, the Indian red scorpion also known as the eastern Indian scorpion, is a species of scorpion of the family Buthidae. It occurs in most of India, eastern Pakistan and the eastern lowlands of Nepal, and recently from Sri Lanka.
Taxonomy.
This species was named "Scorpio tamulus" by J.C. Fabricius in 1798. The species name was apparently derived from the occurrence in the state/province of the Tamil people of southeastern India. It was later often referred to the genera "Buthus" or "Mesobuthus", although it was already correctly placed in "Hottentotta" by A. A. Birula in 1914, a referral that was confirmed again by F. Kovařík in 2007. Nevertheless, the binomen "Mesobuthus tamulus" is traditionally widespread in the popular and scientific literature.
R.I. Pocock (1900) distinguished five subspecies according to coloration and distribution, but these are color-morphs (individuals with varying color) rather than subspecies.
Description.
"H. tamulus" specimen range in size from 5–9 cm. The coloration ranges from dark orange or brightly red-brown through dull brown with darker grey carinae (ridges) and granulation. Grey spots might be distributed irregularly across the cephalothorax and the mesosoma. The walking legs and the tip of the pedipalp pincers are brighter colored (orange-yellow to light reddish-brown). The mesosomal tergites always bear three distinct carinae. Their habitus is typical of buthid scorpions, with rather small pedipalp pincers, moderately thickened metasomal segments and a rather bulbous telson with large stinger. The base of the pedipalp pincers (manus) is slightly more inflated in males than in females.
Toxicity.
This species is of great medical significance in densely populated areas of India and Nepal and occasionally causes human fatalities. Fatality rates of 8–40% have been reported in clinical studies; most victims are children.
Symptoms of envenomation by this species include:
The venom mainly affects the cardiovascular and pulmonary system, eventually leading to a pulmonary oedema, which may cause death. Scorpion antivenom has little effect in clinical treatment but application of prazosin reduces the mortality rate to less than 4%.
As in other scorpions, the venom of "H. tamulus" consists of a complex mixture of proteins. Some major components have been isolated, including the toxin tamapin. Scorpion envenomation with high morbidity and mortality is usually due to either excessive autonomic activity and cardiovascular toxic effects or neuromuscular toxic effects. Antivenin is the specific treatment for scorpion envenomation combined with supportive measures including vasodilators in patients with cardiovascular toxic effects and benzodiazepines when there is neuromuscular involvement. Although rare, severe hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylaxis to scorpion antivenin (SAV) are possible.<ref name="10.4103/0972-5229.164807"></ref>
Habitat and ecology.
Despite its medical importance, little is known about the ecology and habitat preferences of this species. It is widespread across vegetated lowlands with subtropical to tropical, humid climate and often lives close to or in human settlements, especially in rural areas. A study from Saswad-Jejuri, Pune (western India) has found "H. tamulus" in a wide range of microhabitats, including scrubland and veld with stones, red and black soil in cropland, loamy, grassy and stony hillslopes and -tops, black soil in mango orchards, "Eucalyptus" plantations, and under tree bark. With an abundance of 48.43% it was by far the most abundant of the six scorpion species recorded in this study. It occurs rather seldom under tree bark, a habitat dominated by its sister species "Hottentotta pachyurus" (8.9% versus 91.1% abundance).
As all other scorpions, "H. tamulus" is nocturnal, preying upon small invertebrates and even small vertebrates like lizards. Encounters with humans mainly occur during the night or early morning, when the scorpions accidentally crawl into beds or fall from ceilings.
In Sri Lanka.
Originally, "H. tamulus" was not found in Sri Lanka. But from 2010 to 2013, experiments and other medical reports suggest that the species is also present in Sri Lanka. Few deaths were recorded from Jaffna peninsula in recent times. After observing medical reports and patients, a research team found three dead scorpion specimens and five live specimens as well. After series of observations from research team and other international scientists, it was revealed that the scorpion specimens belong to the species "H. tamulus".
Deaths from "H. tamulus" were recorded in 2006, 2007 and 2009 as one patient per year. No cases were recorded in 2010. In 2011, 12 children in Jaffna died due to "H. tamulus" stings. In 2012, 80 patients were recorded. Out of them, 52% were female, 48% were male. 30% from them were children between the age 3 and 12.
In 2013, many "H. tamulus" stings were recorded, as many as four each week, again mostly in women and children. Usually, the drug Prazosin is recommended for "H. tamulus" stings. The drug can reduce the increasing blood pressure.


Calonotos tripunctata

Calonotos tripunctata is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It was described by Herbert Druce in 1898. It is found in Saint Vincent, Trinidad and the Amazon region.


Megasis lesurella

Megasis lesurella is a species of snout moth in the genus "Megasis". It was described by Daniel Lucas in 1932 and is known from Morocco (including Aïn Leuh and Ifrane).


Heteropoda eluta

Heteropoda eluta, is a species of spider of the genus "Heteropoda". It is endemic to Sri Lanka.


Eastern casquehead iguana

The eastern casquehead iguana ("Laemanctus longipes") is a species of lizard in the family Corytophanidae. The species is endemic to Central America and Mexico.
Geographic range.
"L. longipes" is found in southern Mexico (Colima, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Yucatán), Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Description.
Long and thin, "L. longipes" can reach 70 cm (27.5 in) in total length, two-thirds of which is a thin tail.
The scales on the forehead are much larger than those on the back of the head. No projecting triangular scales occur on the posterior border of the head. The gular scales are bicarinate or tricarinate.
Sexual dimorphism is present, but is difficult to observe. Males have a somewhat thicker tail root than females, and the hemipenes are sometimes visible when lifting the tail gently.
Habitat.
The eastern casquehead iguana inhabits tropical wet, moist, and seasonally dry forests. It can persist in secondary growth when suitable trees are present.
Behavior.
The eastern casquehead iguana is an arboreal species occurring high up in the trees. Rather slow, it sits on trees and bushes above water courses, licking water drops on leaves, and catching insects that walk nearby. "L. longipes" lives individually, or in a territory with one male and one to three females. Usually, however, males and females only meet for mating, which can happen several times per year.
Subspecies.
Two subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies.
Etymology.
The subspecific name, "deborrei", is in honor of Belgian entomologist Alfred Preudhomme de Borre (1833–1905). The subspecific name, "waltersi", is in honor of Leon L. Walters, who collected the type specimen with Karl P. Schmidt.
Captivity.
The eastern casquehead iguana is sometimes bred in captivity, but it is not a good terrarium companion for beginners, as it quickly and often dehydrates. Daily misting or a water-dropping system is essential. Temperatures should range between 25 and 35 °C (77 and 95 °F) during the day, and between 20 and 23 °C (68 and 73.4 °F) during the night. Humidity should range between 70 and 90%. "L. longipes" is a great cricket eater and should receive at least four or five adult crickets every day. It also needs UVA and UVB lighting and an additional vitamin and calcium feed once a week.


Dwarf sturgeon

The dwarf sturgeon, little shovelnose sturgeon, or small Amu-Darya shovelnose sturgeon ("Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni") is a species of fish in the family Acipenseridae. It is found in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Population.
The "Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni" population is recorded to be a rare species. There are few recordings of this species being caught, but there are accusations that fishermen are unknowingly catching them. The population trend of this species is decreasing. The Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni is being negatively affected due to dams, poaching, water extraction, irrigation, and high levels of water pollution including mineral fertilizers, pesticides for cotton agriculture, and drainage waste. More survey work on this species is needed to determine the status of their population. Overall this species is recorded to be a critically endangered species.
Diet.
The "Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni" has a diet of midge larvae.
Distribution.
"Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni" is endemic to the Amu Darya river basin in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and might also occur in Tajikistan. It formerly occurred in the Aral Sea.
Identification.
The "Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni" has been recorded reaching a maximum length of 27.5 centimeters or 10.82 inches. The maximum reported weight of this species is 50.5 grams or 0.11 pounds. The oldest reported age of this species is six years old. This species is considered to be potamodromous. This species is also recorded to be sensitive to chemicals in the water.
Environment.
The "Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni" is recorded to live in freshwater or slightly salty environments within a demersal depth range. This species lives in a temperate climate.
Common names.
The common names of the Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni in various languages include the following:


Robust tuco-tuco

The robust tuco-tuco ("Ctenomys tuconax") is a species of rodent in the family Ctenomyidae. It is a burrowing rodent and is endemic to the Tucumán Province of Argentina.
Description.
The robust tuco-tuco is a large species of tuco-tuco and grows to a total length of about including a tail of about . As is the case with other members of the genus, the eyes and ears are small, the fur is dense and the claws on the forefeet are large. The fur is brown and it has a blackish stripe running along its spine. The underparts are yellowish-brown and the tail pale brown. The feet are clad in sparse whitish hairs.
Its karyotype has 2n = 58-61 and FN = 80.
Distribution.
This tuco-tuco is endemic to Tucumán Province in northwestern Argentina where it lives at altitudes of up to . Its exact range is unclear but there seem to be two separate populations. It inhabits damp plains, making its burrows in well-compacted, humus-rich or loamy soils.
Behaviour.
Tuco-tucos get their common name from the calls they make, either issued from the entrance to the burrow or from underground. They have complex burrows with many tunnels and several food storage chambers as well as a nesting chamber. They are solitary creatures and feed on roots and grasses.
Status.
The conservation status of "C. tuconax" is listed as "data deficient" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because the animal is poorly known. It is said to be common in the northern part of its range but is threatened by the destruction of its habitat for agricultural development. Its population trend is unknown, but it is recorded on the Argentine Red List as a "vulnerable species".


Centruroides nigrescens

Centruroides nigrescens is a species of scorpion in the family Buthidae. It is native to Mexico.


Chinese mackerel

The Chinese mackerel ("Scomberomorus sinensis"), also known as the Chinese seerfish, is a ray-finned bony fish in the family Scombridae, better known as the mackerel family. More specifically, this fish is a member of the tribe Scomberomorini, the Spanish mackerels. It is a marine species occurring in the Western Pacific Ocean, but it also enters the Mekong River.


Diasporus citrinobapheus

Diasporus citrinobapheus, or yellow dyer rainfrog, is a species of frogs native to the Cordillera de Talamanca of western Panama. It was first described in 2012.
The specific name "citrinobapheus" is derived from the Greek "citrinos" (citrin-yellow) and "bapheus" (dyer) referring to the yellow body color that dyes one's fingers yellowish when the frog is handled.


Cnemaspis nilgala

Cnemaspis nilgala, also known as Nilgala day gecko, is a species of diurnal gecko endemic to island of Sri Lanka.
Description.
Adult is relatively smaller than other "Cnemaspis" species, ranges SVL 31.5–32.9 mm in length. Dorsal scales are homogeneous. Smooth ventral scales on trunk. 17–19 scales found across the belly. 122–129 ventral scales and 7–8 supralabials. Subdigitals scansors unnotched. precloacal pores are absent in males.


Zabrus graecus

Zabrus graecus is a species of ground beetle in the "Pelor" subgenus that is endemic to Greece.
Subspecies.
There are four subspecies of "Z. graecus":


Xerocrassa barceloi

Xerocrassa barceloi is a species of air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Geomitridae, the hairy snails and their allies. This species is endemic to Spain, where it occurs in the province of Alicante.


Imara satrapes

Imara satrapes is a moth in the Castniidae family. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The wingspan is about 75 mm.
Subspecies.
"Imara satrapes catharina" from Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay was formerly considered a distinct subspecies, but was placed as a synonym of "Imara satrapes" in 2011.


Golden-billed saltator

The golden-billed saltator ("Saltator aurantiirostris") is a species of saltator in the family Thraupidae.
It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay; also the regions of the southern pantanal, along the Paraguay River.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.


Common yellow-toothed cavy

The common yellow-toothed cavy (Galea musteloides) is a species of rodent in the family Caviidae, closely related to the domesticated guinea pig. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. It's karyotype has 2n = 68 and FN = 136. "G. musteloides" is the most common and widely found member of "Galea", and is present at elevations ranging from 20 to 5000 m above sea level. It has yellow teeth.
A recent study reveals there are five subspecies of "G. musteloides": "boliviensis", "demissa", "leucoblephara", "littoralis" and "musteloides". These are recognized on the basis of pelage coloration, size and shape of skull, auditory bullae size and tooth shape. The species is found within a range from southern Peru to central Argentina. Evidence is mounting that the lowland form of "G. musteloides" is an independent species and should be called " G. leucoblephara". It is a “diurnal herbivore of squirrel size that lives in groups and occupies open habitat.”
Female and male common yellow-toothed cavies average 37.6 g and 36.4 g at birth, respectively. "G. musteloides" reproduces for the first time at one to three months of age; the minimum age needed to reproduce is twenty-eight days. Gestation lasts fifty-three days and lactation for three weeks. Litter size averages 2.7.
In Peru, "Galea" sometimes associates with "Ctenomys"; the common name for rodents of this genus is ":tuco-tuco". According to Sanborn and Pearson, "Galea" use "tuco-tuco" burrows and seeks in response to tuco-tuco alarm calls. "Galea" uses their burrows and as they seek cover they respond to the alarm calls of "Ctenomys". "G. musteloides" is mostly found in moist areas such as stream edges and croplands.
In captive groups "G. musteloides" establish a male and a female hierarchical order. The alpha males regularly guards receptive females, however to little effect. Usually other males also mate with the same female and in more than 80% the resulting littermates have more than one father. At least in captivity the females are clearly promiscuous, always mating with several males in the group. In the wild "G. musteloids" is clearly territorial and it remains unclear if a similar hierarchical social order exists, or if they live territorial solitary. Aggression between adult males happens regularly. Adult male "G. musteloides" never engage in parental activities and are aggressive to subadult males even if they are their own offspring and very young. However, males are not aggressive to females. Female adult lactate and nurse the offspring of other females during their first week of life. Nearly all offspring receive some milk from females other than their mother. However, own offspring is cared for preferentially and for longer than one week.
As closely related "Galea" species show a range of mating systems from monogamy to promiscuous, comparative studies are possible in these groups. As general trends have been identified: a) testis size increases relative to body size in promiscuous species and b) higher social tolerance in captive held groups is associated with greater promiscuity and higher testosterone levels in males. Testosterone levels and aggression levels in males are not correlated. In fact females avoid above average aggressive males.


Longitarsus violentoides

Longitarsus violentoides is a species of beetle in the subfamily Galerucinae that is endemic to Armenia.


Accuminulia buscki

Accuminulia buscki is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae described by John W. Brown in 2000. It is found in Chile. The species was first recorded as an interception at the Port of New York in a shipment of grapes from Chile.
The length of the forewings is 6.5–8 mm for males and 6–7 mm for females. The forewings are whitish tan, with irregular gray, brown and cream overscaling and irrorations (speckling). The hindwings are dingy white, with pale gray overscaling and mottling. Adults have been recorded on wing from October to April.
Larvae have been reared from the fruit of grape "Vitis" species, "Prunus domestica", "Prunus armeniaca" and "Prunus persica". They bore into the fruit of their host plant. It is not thought to be an introduced pest in Chile, but a native species that has expanded its food plant range to include agricultural plants.
Etymology.
The species is named in honour of microlepidopterist August Busck.


Metlapilcoatlus occiduus

Metlapilcoatlus occiduus is a venomous pitviper subspecies endemic to southern Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Description.
Adults are usually in total length. The largest specimens reported are a male of from Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, and a female of from Volcán de Agua, Escuintla, Guatemala. The build is very stout, although not so much as that of "M. mexicanus".
Geographic range.
Found in southern Mexico (southeastern Chiapas), southern and central Guatemala, and western El Salvador. The type locality given is "Saint-Augustín (Guatemala), versant occidentale de la Córdillère. 610 mètres [2,000 ft] d´altitude". Actually, San Augustín is on the southern slope of Volcán Atitlán.
Habitat.
Its habitat includes subtropical wet forest on the Pacific versant from southeastern Chiapas, Mexico to western El Salvador. It also inhabits the pine-oak forest near Guatemala City. It can be found at altitudes varying from .
Taxonomy.
Regarded as a full species, "Metlapilcoatlus occiduus", by Campbell and Lamar (2004).


Cyrtodactylus jeyporensis

Cyrtodactylus jeyporensis, also known as the Jeypore Indian gecko, the Jeypore ground gecko, or the Patinghe Indian gecko, is a endangered species of gecko found in India, which was until recently considered extinct. Described from a single specimen in 1877, it was rediscovered in 2010 in the Eastern Ghats of Odisha state, India.
Discovery and rediscovery.
The species was described in 1877 by then Lt Col Richard Henry Beddome of the Madras Presidency Army, from a single male specimen obtained from the woods on "Patinghe hill" in the Jeypore forests of present-day Odisha, at an altitude of . The holotype is deposited as BNHM 82.5.22.37 in the Natural History Museum (earlier British Museum of natural history).
In 2009, Ishan Aggarwal, a doctoral student at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, started working on the genus "Geckoella". He hoped to rediscover this "lost" species as it would help piece together the evolutionary history of the genus. The search began with piecing together the route of Beddome's explorations in the Eastern Ghats. After many months of research, the CES and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) put together expeditions in high elevation areas of the Eastern Ghats in southern Odisha in September 2010 and northern Andhra Pradesh in November 2011.
A sub-adult male lizard was collected on 20 September 2010 in Koraput district, Odisha, by Ishan Agarwal and Aniruddha Datta-Roy of CES which was deposited in the collection of the BNHS. A second specimen, an adult male, was recorded on 9 October 2011 from Galikonda, Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh extending its known distribution range.
Description.
Description of type, male specimen, collected in Jeypore by Beddome in 1877:
Measurements :
Distribution.
The lizard appears to inhabit semi-evergreen forests in high elevation areas (> ) of the Eastern Ghats of southern Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh. However, the areas where the lizard has been found are under tremendous pressure from deforestation and mining. The taxon is surmised to possibly be a wet-zone relict stranded by the aridification of peninsular India.


Aenigmarachne

Aenigmarachne is a monotypic genus of tarantulas containing the single species, Aenigmarachne sinapophysis. It was first described by Günter E. W. Schmidt in 2005, and has only been found in Costa Rica.


Crested blenny

The crested blenny ("Parablennius laticlavius") is a species of combtooth blenny found off New South Wales, Australia, New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands to depths of between . This species reaches a length of TL.


Salt Range gecko

The Salt Range gecko ("Cyrtopodion montiumsalsorum") is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to northern Pakistan.
Geographic range.
"C. montiumsalsorum" is found in the Salt Range of Punjab province, Pakistan. It may also occur in northern India.
Reproduction.
"C. montiumsalsorum" is oviparous.


Pyrenaearia poncebensis

Pyrenaearia poncebensis is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies. This species is endemic to Spain.


Amphisbaena kiriri

Amphisbaena kiriri is a species of worm lizard in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is endemic to northeastern Brazil.
Etymology.
The specific name, "kiriri", refers to the Kiriri, an indigenous tribe of the Brazilian Caatinga.
Geographic range.
"A. kiriri" is found in Bahia state, Brazil.
Description.
"A. kiriri" is dark gray dorsally, and cream-colored ventrally. Furthermore, the first two to three ventral segments are dark gray in color and the remainder ventral segments are cream colored including the ventral portion of the head and the rest of the belly. It has 158–165 body annuli, and two precloacal pores.


Caspian tiger

The Caspian tiger was a tiger from a specific population of the "Panthera tigris tigris" subspecies that was native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan, and Xinjiang in western China. It inhabited sparse forests and riverine corridors in this region until the 1970s. This population was assessed as extinct in 2003.
"Felis virgata" was a scientific name used since its 1815 naming by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger for tigers of this zone. It was seen as a distinct subspecies, most often as "Panthera tigris virgata". However, results of phylogeographic analysis evinces that the Caspian and Siberian tiger populations shared a common continuous geographic distribution until the early 19th century.
Some Caspian tigers were intermediate in size between Siberian and Bengal tigers.
It was also called the Balkhash tiger, Hyrcanian tiger, Turanian tiger, and the Mazandaran tiger (), by local communities.
Taxonomy.
"Tigris septentrionalis" was the scientific name proposed by Konstantin Satunin in 1904 for a skull and mounted skins of tigers that were killed in the Lankaran Lowland in the 1860s.
"Felis virgata" was proposed by Illiger in 1815 when he described the greyish tigers in the area of the Caspian Sea and Persia.
"Felis tigris lecoqi" and "Felis tigris trabata" were proposed by Ernst Schwarz in 1916 for tiger skins and skulls from Lop Nur and Ili River areas, respectively.
In 1929, Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated the tiger to the genus "Panthera". For several decades, the Caspian tiger was considered a distinct tiger subspecies.
In 1999, the validity of several tiger subspecies was questioned. Most putative subspecies described in the 19th and 20th centuries were distinguished on basis of fur length and colouration, striping patterns and body size, hence characteristics that vary widely within populations. Morphologically, tigers from different regions vary little, and gene flow between populations in those regions is considered to have been possible during the Pleistocene. Therefore, it was proposed to recognize only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely "P. t. tigris" in mainland Asia, and "P. t. sondaica" in the Greater Sunda Islands and possibly in Sundaland.
At the start of the 21st century, genetic studies were carried out using 20 tiger bone and tissue samples from museum collections and sequencing at least one segment of five mitochondrial genes. Results revealed a low amount of variability in the mitochondrial DNA in Caspian tigers; and that Caspian and Siberian tigers were remarkably similar, indicating that the Siberian tiger is the genetically closest living relative of the Caspian tiger. Phylogeographic analysis indicates that the common ancestor of Caspian and Siberian tigers colonized Central Asia via the Gansu−Silk Road region from eastern China less than 10,000 years ago, and subsequently traversed eastward to establish the Siberian tiger population in the Russian Far East. The Caspian and Siberian tigers were likely a single contiguous population until the early 19th century, but became isolated from another due to fragmentation and loss of habitat during the Industrial Revolution.
In 2015, morphological, ecological and molecular traits of all putative tiger subspecies were analysed in a combined approach. Results support distinction of the two evolutionary groups continental and Sunda tigers. The authors proposed recognition of only two subspecies, namely "P. t. tigris" comprising the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South Chinese, Siberian and Caspian tiger populations, and "P. t. sondaica" comprising the Javan, Bali and Sumatran tiger populations. Tigers in mainland Asia fall into two clades, namely a northern clade formed by the Caspian and Siberian tiger populations, and a southern clade formed by populations in remaining mainland Asia.
In 2017, the Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and now recognizes the tiger populations in continental Asia as "P. t. tigris".
However, a genetic study published in 2018 supported six monophyletic clades, with the Amur and Caspian tigers being distinct from other mainland Asian populations, thus supporting the traditional concept of six living subspecies.
Characteristics.
Fur.
Photographs of skins of Caspian and Siberian tigers indicate that the main background colour of the Caspian tiger's fur varied and was generally brighter and more uniform than that of the Siberian tiger. The stripes were narrower, fuller and more closely set than those of tigers from Manchuria. The colour of its stripes was a mixture of brown or cinnamon shades. Pure black patterns were invariably found only on head, neck, the middle of the back and at the tip of the tail. Angular patterns at the base of the tail were less developed than those of Far Eastern populations. The contrast between the summer and winter coats was sharp, though not to the same extent as in Far Eastern populations. The winter coat was paler, with less distinct patterns. The summer coat had a similar density and hair length to that of the Bengal tiger, though its stripes were usually narrower, longer and closer set. It had the thickest fur amongst tigers, possibly due its occurrence in the temperate parts of Asia.
Size.
Male Caspian tigers had a body length of and weighed ; females measured in head-to-body and weighed . Maximum skull length in males was , while that of females was . Its occiput was broader than of the Bengal tiger.
It ranked among the largest extant cat species, along with the Siberian tiger.
Some individuals attained exceptional sizes. In 1954, a tiger was killed near the Sumbar River in Kopet-Dag, whose stuffed skin was put on display in a museum in Ashgabat. Its head-to-body length was . Its skull had a condylobasal length of about , and zygomatic width of . Its skull length was , hence more than the known maximum of for this population, and slightly exceeding skull length of most Siberian tigers.
In Prishibinske, a tiger was killed in February 1899. Measurements after skinning revealed a body length of between the pegs, plus a long tail, giving it a total length of about . Measurements between the pegs of up to is known. It was said to have been "a tiger of immense proportions" and "no smaller than the common Tuzemna horse." It had rather long fur.
Skull size and shape of Caspian tigers significantly overlap with and are almost indistinguishable from other tiger specimens in mainland Asia.
Distribution and habitat.
Historical records show that the distribution of the tiger in the region of the Caspian Sea was not continuous but patchy, and associated with wetlands such as river basins, lake edges and sea shores. In the 19th century, tigers occurred in:
Its former distribution can be approximated by examining the distribution of ungulates in the region. Wild boar was the numerically dominant ungulate in forested habitats, along watercourses, in reed beds and in thickets of the Caspian and Aral Seas. Where watercourses penetrated deep into desert areas, suitable wild pig and tiger habitat was often linear, only a few kilometers wide at most. Red and roe deer occurred in forests around the Black Sea to the western side and around the southern side of the Caspian Sea in a narrow belt of forest cover. Roe deer occurred in forested areas south of Lake Balkash. Bactrian deer lived in the narrow belt of forest habitat on the southern border of the Aral Sea, and southward along the Syr-Darya and Amu Darya rivers.
Throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene, the Caspian tiger population was likely connected to the Bengal tiger population through corridors below elevations of in the Hindu Kush, before gene flow was interrupted by humans.
Local extinction.
The demise of the Caspian tiger began with the Russian colonisation of Turkestan during the late 19th century.
Its extirpation was caused by several factors:
Until the early 20th century, the regular Russian army was used to clear predators from forests, around settlements, and potential agricultural lands. Until World War I, about 100 tigers were killed in the forests of Amu Darya and Piandj Rivers each year. High incentives were paid for tiger skins up to 1929. Wild pigs and deer, the prey base of tigers, were decimated by deforestation and subsistence hunting by the increasing human population along the rivers, supported by growing agricultural developments. By 1910, cotton plants were estimated to occupy nearly one-fifth of Turkestan's arable land, with about one half located in the Fergana Valley.
Last sightings.
In Iraq, a tiger was killed near Mosul in 1887.
In Georgia, the last known tiger was killed in 1922 near Tbilisi, after taking domestic livestock.
In China, tigers disappeared from the Tarim River basin in Xinjiang in the 1920s. From the Manasi River basin in the Tian Shan Range west of Ürümqi they reportedly disappeared in the 1960s.
In Turkey, a pair of tigers was allegedly killed in the area of Selçuk in 1943. Several tiger skins found in the early 1970s near Uludere indicated the presence of a tiger population in eastern Turkey. Questionnaire surveys conducted in this region revealed that one to eight tigers were killed each year until the mid-1980s, and that tigers likely had survived in the region until the early 1990s. Due to lack of interest, in addition to security and safety reasons, no further field surveys were carried out in the area.
In Kazakhstan, the last Caspian tiger was recorded in 1948, in the environs of the Ili River, the last known stronghold in the region of Lake Balkhash.
In Iran, one of the last known tigers was shot in Golestan National Park in 1953. Another individual was sighted in the Golestan area in 1958.
In Turkmenistan, the last known tiger was killed in January 1954 in the Sumbar River valley in the Kopet-Dag Range. The last record from the lower reaches of the Amu Darya river was an unconfirmed observation in 1968 near Nukus in the Aral Sea area. By the early 1970s, tigers disappeared from the river's lower reaches and the Pyzandh Valley in the Turkmen-Uzbek-Afghan border region.
The Piandj River area between Afghanistan and Tajikistan was a stronghold of the Caspian tiger until the late 1960s. The latest sighting of a tiger in the Afghan-Tajik border area dates to 1998 in the Babatag Range.
Behaviour and ecology.
No information is available for home ranges of Caspian tigers. In search for prey, they possibly prowled widely and followed migratory ungulates from one pasture to another.
Wild pigs and cervids probably formed their main prey base. In many regions of Central Asia, Bactrian deer and roe deer were important prey species, as well as Caspian red deer, goitered gazelle in Iran; Eurasian golden jackals, jungle cats, locusts, and other small mammals in the lower Amu Darya River area; saiga, wild horses, Persian onagers in Miankaleh peninsula; Turkmenian kulans, Mongolian wild asses, and mountain sheep in the Zhana-Darya and around the Aral Sea; Manchurian wapiti, and moose in the area of Lake Baikal. They caught fish in flooded areas and irrigation channels. In winter, they frequently attacked dogs and livestock straying away from herds. They preferred drinking water from rivers, and drank from lakes in seasons when water was less brackish.
Disease.
Two tigers in southwestern Tajikistan harbored 5–7 tapeworms ("Taenia bubesei") in their small and large intestines.
Conservation efforts.
Soviet Union.
In 1938, the first protected area Tigrovaya Balka (), was established in Tajikistan. The name was given to this "zapovednik" after a tiger had attacked two Russian Army officers riding horseback along dried-up river channel known in Russian as "balka". Tigrovaya Balka was apparently the last refuge of Caspian tigers in the Soviet Union, and is situated in the lower reaches of Vakhsh River between the Piandj and Kofarnihon Rivers near the border of Afghanistan. A tiger was seen there in 1958.
After 1947, tigers were legally protected in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Iran.
In Iran, Caspian tigers had been protected since 1957, with heavy fines for shooting. In the early 1970s, biologists from the Department of Environment searched several years for Caspian tigers in the uninhabited areas of Caspian forests, but did not find any evidence of their presence.
Reintroduction project.
Stimulated by recent findings that the Siberian tiger is the closest relative of the Caspian tiger, discussions started as to whether the Siberian tiger could be appropriate for reintroduction into a safe place in Central Asia, where the Caspian tiger once roamed. The Amu Darya delta was suggested as a potential site for such a project. A feasibility study was initiated to investigate if the area is suitable, and if such an initiative would receive support from relevant decision makers. A viable tiger population of about 100 animals would require at least of large tracts of contiguous habitat, with rich prey populations. Such habitat is not currently available, and cannot be provided in the short term. The proposed region is therefore unsuitable for the reintroduction, at least at the current stage.
While the restoration of the Caspian tiger has stimulated discussions, the locations for the tiger have yet to become fully involved in the planning. But through preliminary ecological surveys it has been revealed that some small populated areas of Central Asia have preserved natural habitat suitable for tigers.
In captivity.
Three tigers from Mazandaran Province were part of a collection of animals that the Persian Qajari Shah Naser al-Din used to found Tehran Zoological Garden in the 19th century. A tiger from the Caucasus was housed at Berlin Zoo in the late 19th century. DNA from a tiger caught in northern Iran and housed at Moscow Zoo in the 20th century was used in the genetic test that established the Caspian tiger's close genetic relationship with the Siberian tiger.


Craugastor spatulatus

Craugastor spatulatus is a species of frog in the family Craugastoridae. It is endemic to Mexico and known from Cuautlapam in central Veracruz and Vista Hermosa in the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca. Its natural habitat is cloud forest. This formerly abundant species has strongly declined because of habitat loss, although other factors may have been involved too.


White-throated hummingbird

The white-throated hummingbird ("Leucochloris albicollis") is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is the only member of the genus Leucochloris. It is found in north-eastern Argentina, south-eastern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It is found in forest, woodland, parks and gardens. It is generally common, and therefore considered to be of least concern by BirdLife International.
French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot described the white-throated hummingbird in 1818 as "Trochilus albicollis". Its species name is derived from the Latin words "albus" "white" and "collum" "neck". Ludwig Reichenbach erected the genus "Leucochloris" in 1854, deriving the name from the Ancient Greek "leukos" "white" and "chloros" "green".
A 2014 genetic study found that it lay within the large genus "Amazilia", and that it diverged around 5 million years ago from a lineage that gave rise to the green-and-white hummingbird ("Amazilia viridicauda"), white-bellied hummingbird ("A. chionogaster"), rufous-throated sapphire ("A. sapphirina"), gilded sapphire ("Hylocharis chrysura"), sapphire-spangled emerald ("A. lactea"), and glittering-throated emerald ("A. fimbriata").
The white-throated hummingbird is 10–11·5 cm (4-4.5 in) long, with a distinctive white throat, belly and tail tips. The head, upperparts, wing coverts, chin and sides of neck are an iridescent green. The rest of the wings are purple-brown. It is unlikely to be confused with any other bird species. The male weighs 5–8 g (0.17–0.28 oz), while the female weighs around 4·5 g (0.16 oz).
The white-throated hummingbird is found in forest margins, marshy areas, shrubland and parks. It forages at both terrestrial and arboreal bromeliads such as "Quesnelia testudo" and "Tillandsia aeranthos", as well as "Mendoncia velloziana", and "Siphocampylus sulfureus".


Agrisius vernalis

Agrisius vernalis is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It is found in China (Guangdong).


Edalorhina nasuta

Edalorhina nasuta (common snouted frog) is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae.
It is endemic to Peru.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and intermittent freshwater marshes.
It is threatened by habitat loss.


Red-faced liocichla

The red-faced liocichla ("Liocichla phoenicea") is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae.
Distribution and habitat.
"L. phoenicea" is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Northeast India, Nepal and western Yunnan. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist, montane forests. When foraging, it moves through the dense undergrowth of tropical broad-leaf forest in pairs, or in flocks with or without other species.


Geobatrachus walkeri

Geobatrachus walkeri, commonly known as Walker's Sierra frog, is a species of frog in the family Craugastoridae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus "Geobatrachus". It is endemic to Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Swamp francolin

The swamp francolin ("Francolinus gularis"), also called swamp partridge, is a partridge species native to the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India and Nepal. It is considered extinct in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Description.
From Frank Finn's The Game Birds of India & Asia (1911):
This species is easily distinguished from most of our partridges by its large size and comparatively long legs; as in the last species, the sexes are alike in plumage, but the cock is easily distinguishable by his spurs. The upper plumage is brown barred with buff, and the outer tail-feathers chestnut, as in the grey partridge; but the throat is bright rust-red, and the rest of the under-parts brown longitudinally streaked with white. The bill is blackish, the eyes dark, and the feet dull red. The cock of this species, which is a little larger than the hen, will measure fifteen inches, though his tail is only a little over four; the wing is more than seven inches, and the shank two-and-a-quarter.
The swamp partridge, as its name implies, has a habitat quite different from our other species, affecting high grass and cane-brakes near the edges of rivers and jheels, though it will come into cultivated ground to feed. It haunts the alluvial plains of the Ganges and Brahmaputra, extending from Pilibhit to the extremity of Assam and Cachar, and even occurs occasionally on the Khasi plateau; but it is not found in the Sundarbans. Very little is known about its breeding, but on two occasions five eggs of the species have been taken in April; they were cream-coloured and slightly speckled.
Owing to the localities which it frequents, the swamp partridge is usually shot from elephants; but Blanford states that he has shot it on foot near Colgong, in grass only three or four feet high. He says it much resembles the common grey partridge in its edible qualities, as it also does in its call ; and it is equally pugnacious. Mr. Hume, in the "Game-birds of India," falls foul of his artist for representing this species standing in water like a wading-bird. No doubt the draughtsman represented it thus in ignorance, but it would be interesting to know if this, one of the very few swamp-haunting birds in the pheasant family, ever does voluntarily go into water in the wild state. The keeper of the aviary in which a specimen of this species was confined in the London Zoo told me that he had seen it standing in water.
Distribution.
The Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve in Nepal represents the western limit of its distribution.


Agrisius aestivalis

Agrisius aestivalis is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It is found in China (Guangdong).


Brachypelma klaasi

Brachypelma klaasi (also known as the Mexican pink tarantula) is a tarantula endemic to Mexico and it is the rarest of the genus "Brachypelma".
Appearance.
The setae of this species have a uniformly rusty appearance. The coloration is very similar to that of the six species of "Brachypelma" that are endemic to the west coast. "B. boehmei" is similar, having black tarsi, orange-yellow metatarsi, tibias and patellas, black femora and coxae and orange-yellow hairs on the opistosoma. It differs only in the carapace, which is yellow-orange in "B. boehmei" and black in "B. klaasi". Another very similar species is "B. baumgarteni". Adults of "B. klaasi" have a body length of about 6–7.5 cm with a 16 cm legspan.
Name.
The species is named in honor of Peter Klaas, the collector of the species.
Distribution.
"B. klaasi" is found at elevations of 300–1400 m above sea level on the western slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental and some areas on the western limits of the Transverse Volcanic Belt in Jalisco and Nayarit states. Its known range extends from Tepic, Nayarit, in the north to Chamela, Jalisco, in the south, with the largest known population at the biological reserve at Chamela.
Conservation.
There is a high rate of collection for the pet trade of "B. klaasi" and other members of the genus "Brachypelma". As such, all members of "Brachypelma" have been placed on Appendix II of CITES. "B. klaasi" is considered to be the rarest and most threatened of the Mexican tarantula species. Their slow growth, combined with habitat degradation and illegal wild capture for the pet trade means that it is estimated that less than 0.1% of individual tarantulas survive from egg to adulthood in the wild. Temperature and humidity may influence the survival and development of eggs and spiderlings, and appear to be more important in governing the distribution of "B. klaasi" than are food resources or intra-specific interactions.


Cochlostoma canestrinii

Cochlostoma canestrinii is a species of small land snail with an operculum, a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Cochlostomatidae.
Distribution and habitat.
This species is endemic to Italy. It lives in rocky limestone areas.


Nebria sobrina

Nebria sobrina is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to Spain.
Subspecies.
The species contain 3 subspecies all of which are endemic to Spain:


Scopula aequifasciata

Scopula aequifasciata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Hugo Theodor Christoph in 1881. It is found in the Russian Far East.


Stenoptilia atlanticola

Stenoptilia atlanticola is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is found in Morocco.
The wingspan is 25 mm. The forewings are brown and the hindwings are creamy brown.


Amphimallon evorense

Amphimallon evorense is a species of beetle in the Melolonthinae subfamily that is endemic to Portugal.


Orthotylus blascoi

Orthotylus blascoi is a species of bug from the Miridae family that is endemic to Spain.


Brown-throated parakeet

The brown-throated parakeet ("Eupsittula pertinax"), also known as the St. Thomas conure or the brown-throated conure, in aviculture, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae.
Description.
The brown-throated parakeet is mostly green, with the lower parts being a lighter green than the upperparts. Black/grey beak. Some blue in the wing feathers. Head and face colors depend on the subspecies. Though most subspecies are brown-throated, both "E. p. pretax" and "E. p. pathogenic" have most of the head, including the throat, orange-yellow. It is not to be confused with the similarly-named extinct Brown-headed parakeet of Raiatea in the Society Islands (Tahiti and its neighbors), more commonly known as the Society parakeet. It interacts with abiotic features as well, like rocks. They use it as their platform mostly for singing and dancing. This species of parakeets predominantly eat seeds and forage for them in small groups. They utter loud calls while flying through the habitat, foraging groups either respond or stay silent. If the foraging group responds, groups flying above may join the foraging group or carry on.
Distribution and habitat.
It is found widely in woodland, savanna and scrub throughout northern South America and the southeastern Caribbean in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Trinidad and Tobago, the ABC islands in the Netherlands Antilles, and northern Brazil (mainly the Rio Negro/Branco region) with a disjunct population in south-western Pará. Another disjunct population is found in southern Central America in Panama and Costa Rica, and is sometimes considered a separate species, the Veraguas parakeet ("A. ocularis"). The brown-throated parakeet has been introduced to Puerto Rico (where now possibly extirpated), the U.S. Virgin Islands (mainly Saint Thomas, hence the alternative name St. Thomas conure), and various other islands in the Lesser Antilles (at least Dominica; recent sightings also from Martinique and Guadeloupe).
Taxonomy.
There are several subspecies which have varying colours particularly of the crown, face and underparts.
"Eupsittula pertinax" :


Roatan coral snake

The Roatán coral snake ("Micrurus ruatanus") also known as Coral de la Isle de Roatán or Coral Roatanense in Spanish is a critically endangered species of elapid snake, endemic to the island of Roatán off of the coast of Honduras. There are no recognized subspecies.


Pheidole microgyna

Pheidole microgyna is a species of ant in the genus "Pheidole". It is endemic to Guyana.


Trifurcula baldensis

Trifurcula baldensis is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It is known from Monte Baldo in Italy.
The larvae feed on "Genista radiata".


Niceforonia fallaciosa

Hypodactylus fallaciosus is a species of frog in the family Craugastoridae.
It is endemic to Peru.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.


Aquiloeurycea praecellens

Aquiloeurycea praecellens, also known as the admirable false brook salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Sierra Madre Oriental in Veracruz, Mexico. Its natural habitat is lowland tropical moist forest where it is threatened by habitat loss.
Description.
"Aquiloeurycea praecellens" is a stocky, ground dwelling species that may reach a total length of , almost half of which is tail. It has short, strong limbs and partially webbed fingers and toes. The general colour is brownish black and there are whitish spots along the sides and on the tail. The underside is paler brown. There is some doubt as to the validity of this species as it is only known from a single specimen (holotype) found in 1940. It was an immature specimen so its full size when mature is not known. However, it is likely that it is the smallest species of false brook salamander. The eggs probably hatch directly into small salamanders.
Distribution.
"Aquiloeurycea praecellens" is known from humid tropical forest on the Atlantic side of the Sierra Madre Oriental near Cordoba in Veracruz State in Mexico. Another sighting was made in a canyon at Teocelo near Jalapa, but this may not have been the same species.
Conservation.
"Aquiloeurycea praecellens" is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Critically Endangered. This is because only a single individual has ever been recorded (in 1940) and it was found not far from the city of Cordoba, which has expanded considerably since that date. It is unlikely that any suitable habitat survives.


Ingerophrynus parvus

Ingerophrynus parvus is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in southern Myanmar, southwestern Thailand, southwestern Cambodia, Peninsular Malaysia, and Java and Sumatra (Indonesia). Its natural habitats are primary and regenerating rainforests where it is found inhabiting streams. Breeding takes place in pools and slow-moving streams. It is common in the mainland but uncommon in Indonesia.


Agyneta plagiata

Agyneta plagiata is a species of sheet weaver found in Panama. It was described by Banks in 1929.


Phoenix petrel

The Phoenix petrel ("Pterodroma alba") is a medium-sized tropical seabird, measuring up to long, with a wingspan of . It has a dark brown upperparts plumage, white below and whitish throat. The sexes are similar.
The Phoenix petrel is found throughout oceans and coastal areas in the central Pacific Ocean. Their colonies can be found on Phoenix, Tonga, Kiritimati, Tuamotu, Marquesas and Pitcairn Island. Females lay one white egg on the ground surface. The diet consists mainly of squid, fish and crustaceans.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size, predation by invasive species and human exploitation, the Phoenix petrel is evaluated as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.


Carabus nanschanicus

Carabus nanschanicus is a species of black coloured ground beetle in the Carabinae subfamily that can be found in Qinghai and Sichuan provinces of China.


Acanthemblemaria stephensi

The Malpelo barnacle blenny ("Acanthemblemaria stephensi") is a species of chaenopsid blenny found in coral reefs around Malpelo Island, in the eastern Pacific ocean. It can reach a maximum total length of . This species feeds primarily on zooplankton. The specific name honours the environmental biologist John S. Stephens, Jr.


Nebria holtzi

Nebria holtzi is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that can be found on Mount Erymanthos in Greece.


Stripe-headed sparrow

The stripe-headed sparrow ("Peucaea ruficauda") is an American sparrow which breeds from Pacific coastal south-western Mexico, including the transverse ranges, Cordillera Neovolcanica to Pacific coastal northern Costa Rica.
This common bird is found in lowlands up to in altitude in the north of its range, and in Costa Rica. Its habitat is brushy savannah, scrubby second growth and woodland edges, but it avoids the forest interior.
The nest, built by the female, is a deep cup of plant material lined with fine grass or horsehair. It is constructed less than above the ground in an isolated spiny scrub. The female lays two to four unmarked pale blue eggs, which she incubates for 12–14 days. The whole group helps in feeding the chicks, and roost together in a tight group at night.
The stripe-headed sparrow is a large, long-tailed species, long and weighing up to . The adult has a black head with broad white stripes on the crown and above each eye. The nape is narrowly grey and the rest of the upperparts are pale brown, streaked with black on the back, but unstreaked and more buff on the rump and tail. The shoulders are rufous and the wing feathers have buff edging. The throat and underparts are white, becoming buff on the flanks and with a grey breast.
Young birds have a duller, indistinct head pattern, with buff stripes and a brown ground colour, and have streaked breasts.
There are four subspecies, which, in general, become larger and brighter from north to south. Thus the northernmost form, "P. r. acuminata ", is smaller than the nominate Costa Rican subspecies "P. r. ruficauda", which has duller, browner upperparts, and paler, whiter underparts.
The stripe-headed sparrow has a group vocalisation of chattering squeaks. The male's song, given from an open perch, consists of dry thin notes, but shows geographical variation. The subspecies "P. r. ruficauda" has a dry trill, while "P. r. acuminata" has a series of "pechew" double notes.
The stripe-headed sparrow feeds on the ground mainly on grass seeds, but also takes some small insects and spiders. It is usually in family groups or small flocks of up to seven birds. The flight is low and fluttery, with the tail held low,


Hemidactylus dawudazraqi

Hemidactylus dawudazraqi is a species of gecko. It is found in Jordan and Syria.


Montserratina bofilliana

Montserratina bofilliana is a species of land snail in the family Canariellidae, the hairy snails and their allies. It is endemic to Spain.
This snail is limited to four mountains in northeastern Spain, including Sant Llorenç del Munt and Montserrat. It has a limited range across these mountains, but it is common in parts of its range. It lives in rocky areas in forested habitat. Its habitat is located in nature reserves, where it receives some protection.


Calliophis nigrescens

Calliophis nigriscens, commonly known as the black coral snake or striped coral snake, is a species of venomous elapid snake endemic to the Western Ghats, India.
Geographic range.
It is found in India in the Western Ghats, Karwar, Wayanad, Nilgiris, Anamalai, and the Travancore hills at .
Description.
Rostral broader than long; frontal as long as its distance from the end of the snout, much shorter than the parietals; one preocular and two postoculars; a single temporal; seven upper labials, third and fourth entering the eye; anterior chin shields as long as the posterior or a little shorter, in contact with four labials.
Dorsal scales in 13 rows. Ventrals 232-261; anal usually divided; subcaudals 33-44.
This species comprises several colour varieties, which are connected by insensible gradations; in all the head and nape are black, with an oblique yellow band, sometimes broken up into spots, on each side from the parietals to behind the angle of the mouth, and the upper lip is yellow in front of and behind the eye; lower parts uniform red.
Color variations include the following:
Total length ; tail .


Pleurobema sintoxia

Pleurobema sintoxia, the round pigtoe, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.
Distribution and conservation status.
This species is native to eastern North America. It is found in the drainages of the Ohio River, the St. Lawrence River, and the Great Lakes.
The Canadian Species at Risk Act listed it in the List of Wildlife Species at Risk as being endangered in Canada.


Western gerbil

The western gerbil ("Gerbillus hesperinus") is distributed mainly in northern Morocco. It is listed as Endangered by the IUCN.


Carabus dufouri baguenai

Carabus dufouri baguenai is a subspecies of black coloured beetle in the family Carabidae that is endemic to Spain.


Dusky fruit bat

The dusky fruit bat, ("Penthetor lucasi") is a species of bat found in Indonesia and Malaysia.


Cryptazeca elongata

Cryptazeca elongata is a species of gastropod in the family Cochlicopidae. It is endemic to Spain.


Incilius porteri

Incilius porteri is a species of toads in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the Montañas de Comayagua region, Honduras. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forests. It is likely threatened by habitat loss and chytridiomycosis.


Lesser Asiatic yellow bat

The lesser Asiatic yellow bat ("Scotophilus kuhlii") is a species of vesper bat. It is found in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan.
Description.
Head and body length is 7 cm. Forearm is 5 cm.
"Scotophilus kuhlii" is a uniform beige color above sometimes with a yellow tinge and its underparts very light brown to whitish. Its wing membrane is dark brown and its ears are pinkish brown. The fur of this speciesvery dense and short.


Sociosa nesima

Sociosa nesima is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae that is endemic to Nepal.
The wingspan is about . The ground colour of the forewings of the males is brownish cream with brownish suffusions, strigulation and dots. The markings are brown. The hindwings are greyish brown. The ground colour of the females is paler and the markings are browner and better developed.
Etymology.
The species name refers to the type locality.


Scopula benigna

Scopula benigna is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is endemic to Iran.


Gamasomorpha subclathrata

Gamasomorpha subclathrata, is a species of spider of the genus "Gamasomorpha". It is endemic to Sri Lanka.


Pyroderces brosi

Pyroderces brosi is a moth in the family Cosmopterigidae. It is found in Italy.
The wingspan is about 13 mm. Adults have been recorded in June.


List of mammals of Grenada

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Grenada. Of the mammal species in Grenada, one is vulnerable and one is considered extinct.
The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:
Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:
Subclass: Theria.
Infraclass: Metatheria.
Order: Didelphimorphia (common opossums).
Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. They are small to medium-sized marsupials, about the size of a large house cat, with a long snout and prehensile tail.
Infraclass: Eutheria.
Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs).
Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered.
Order: Rodentia (Rodents).
Rodentia is an order of mammals characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing.
Order: Primates.
The order Primates includes the lemurs, monkeys, and apes, with the latter category including humans.
Order: Cingulata (armadillos).
The armadillos are small mammals with a bony armored shell. There are around 20 extant species. They are native to the Americas. There are around 20 extant species.
Order: Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares).
The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.
Order: Chiroptera (bats).
The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.
Order: Cetacea (whales).
The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.
Order: Carnivora (carnivorans).
There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.


Nebria fageticola

Nebria fageticola is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to Greece.


Oriental skylark

The Oriental skylark ("Alauda gulgula"), also known as the small skylark, is a species of skylark found in the southern, central and eastern Palearctic . Like other skylarks, it is found in open grassland where it feeds on seeds and insects.
Taxonomy and systematics.
The Oriental skylark was described by the English soldier and naturalist James Franklin in 1831 and given the binomial name "Alauda gulgula". The meaning of the specific epthet "gulgula" is uncertain but is perhaps a reference to the song as "gula" is Latin for "throat" or may be the color of the "gulgula" or a sweet which looks like doughnut made in many parts of Central India.
Other alternate names for the Oriental skylark include eastern skylark, Indian skylark and lesser skylark.
Subspecies.
Thirteen subspecies are recognized:
Description.
Oriental skylarks are about 16 cm long. They have streaked, yellow-brown upper plumage, with white outer tail feathers and a short crest. Both sexes are similar.
Behaviour and ecology.
These skylarks frequently rocket up into the sky, fluttering and singing before descending down to earth. Male Oriental skylarks may also hover in the air and sing, in order to attract a mate.


Amphimallon gianfranceschii

Amphimallon gianfranceschii is a species of beetle in the Melolonthinae subfamily that is endemic to Italy.


Checkered woodpecker

The checkered woodpecker ("Veniliornis mixtus") is a woodpecker (Family Picidae) found in eastern South America.
Taxonomy.
The checkered woodpecker was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his "Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux" from a specimen collected in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the "Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle" which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name "Picus mixtus" in his catalogue of the "Planches Enluminées". The checkered woodpecker is now placed in the genus "Veniliornis " that was introduced by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854. The generic name combines the name of the Roman deity Venilia with the Ancient Greek word "ornis" meaning "bird". The specific epithet "mixtus" is the Latin word for "mixed" or "jumbled".
This species was until recently classified in the genus "Picoides". With its sister taxon, the striped woodpecker, it was difficult to place in this genus due to the odd head-pattern and the fine, yet bold body and wing spotting. mtDNA COI and Cyt "b" sequence analyses have shown that their closest relative is rather the white-spotted woodpecker, "Veniliornis spilogaster" which unlike its congeners shares the two "Picoides"' pattern, but is abundistic. This species co-occurs with "V. m. cancellatus" over much of their range. In an apparent case of character displacement, the latter is by far the lightest and least-patterned subspecies.
Four subspecies are recognised:
Subspecific differences run contrary to Gloger's rule. "V. m. malleator" and "V. m. berlepschi", which inhabit arid habitat, have darker and more prominent underside patterning, whereas the other two subspecies which are birds of mesic or riparian woodland are paler overall.
Description.
The bird is about long. Its coloring is black and white, and the male has a red area on the back of its head.
Status and conservation.
It is a widespread species and not considered threatened by the IUCN.>


Zorotypus cervicornis

Zorotypus cervicornis is a species of insect in the order Zoraptera. It was first found in Malaysia.


Cometicercus

Cometicercus is an extinct genus of thelodont which lived in Canada during the Early Devonian period.
It is only known from its caudal fin and parts of its dorsal surface, including its dorsal fin.


Burro da Ilha Graciosa

The Burro da Ilha Graciosa or Burro Anão da Graciosa is a breed of small domestic donkey endemic to the island of Graciosa, in the North Atlantic archipelago of the Azores, which are an autonomous region of Portugal. It is critically endangered, but is not officially recognised or reported to the DAD-IS database of the FAO. Efforts are being made to obtain official recognition and protection of the breed.
History.
Donkeys were introduced to the Azores, which does not have any large indigenous mammal, by Portuguese colonists in the fifteenth century; their presence there is documented in the "Saudades da Terra" of Gaspar Frutuoso (1522–1591). The donkey became the principal beast of burden in the Azores. It was used also for riding, but not as a draught animal. Donkeys were very numerous in the islands; in 1841 the number on São Miguel alone was estimated at 8000.
The number of donkeys on Graciosa in now severely reduced; the number remaining was reported as 26 in 2001 and as about 70 in 2008. As with the Miranda donkey, male donkeys used for farm work were for preference castrated; the number of donkey geldings on the island may be a factor in the effective population.
A process of recognition of the Burro da Ilha Graciosa as an autochthonous breed began in 2005. An association, the Associação de Criadores e Amigos do Burro da Ilha Graciosa, was formed in 2013.
Characteristics.
The Burro da Ilha Graciosa is a small donkey, standing on average . The coat is usually pale grey or mouse-brown in colour, but may also be bay or black; the belly, muzzle and surround of the eyes are paler. A darker dorsal stripe and shoulder-stripe are often seen, especially in pale-coloured animals; the legs may have zebra-stripes.


Bronze featherback

The bronze featherback ("Notopterus notopterus"; "kandhuli", , , Vietnamese: Cá thát lát, ) is a fish in family Notopteridae found in South and Southeast Asia. Although primarily found in fresh water, it has been known to enter brackish water. At present it is the only member of its genus, but as currently defined it is likely a species complex.
Description.
Young specimens are a dark bronze-like color that becomes lighter with age. The species reaches a length of up to .
The bronze featherback can easily be kept in an aquarium. Popular as food, this fish also appears in a stamp of the Kingdom of Laos.
As food.
This fish is one of the fish species that has been used as food in Southeast Asia since ancient times. It is an important food item in Laos, Indonesia, and Thailand. It is preserved and prepared in different ways. "Nam phrik pla salat pon" (น้ำพริกปลาสลาดป่น) is a variety of "nam phrik" with minced roasted "pla salat" eaten along with raw vegetables. It is popular in Khorat.
Although much smaller in size, it is similar in appearance to the "Chitala ornata", another important fish in Thai cuisine.


Littoraria flammea

Littoraria flammea was a species of sea snail in the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles or winkles.
This species was endemic to coastal China. It is now extinct.


Attulus nenilini

Attulus nenilini is a jumping spider species that lives in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It was first described in 1993 and named "Sitticus nenilini" but was moved to the genus "Attulus" in 2017.


Ironus elegans

Ironus elegans is a species of freshwater nematodes. It is described from Sicily.


Kelp goose

The kelp goose (Spanish: Caranca or Cauquén Marino), "Chloephaga hybrida", is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily "Tadorninae". It can be found in the Southern part of South America - mainly in Patagonian Chile, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands.
Habitat.
Kelp geese inhabit Chile's southern half to the eastern tip of Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. They habitat rocky coasts around their food sources.
Description.
Males are a white color, with a black beak, and yellow feet. The females are dark brown, with transverse gray lines on the chest, and yellow feet.
Behavior.
Kelp geese generally have clutches of 2-7 eggs. They prefer to hide their eggs in long grass. The eggs hatch about a month later.
There are about 15,000 breeding pairs in existence.
Ecology.
Kelp geese are noted for only eating kelp and will migrate along the coast of South America in order to find kelp, hence the name 'kelp geese'.
Trivia.
In the Falkland Islands and Argentina there are kelp geese stamps.


Naso vlamingii

Naso vlamingii is a species of unicornfish in the surgeonfish family known by the common names bignose unicornfish, scibbled unicornfish, Vlaming's unicornfish, and zebra unicornfish.
Description.
This is a relatively large member of the Acanthuridae, easily reaching 60 centimeters. The adult has tall dorsal and anal fins, vertical blue lines on its sides, and small blue spots dorsally and ventrally. A broad blue band extends from the eyes to the prominent snout. The coloration of the juvenile is a dingy green with blue spots and lips, later turning deeper blue with purple markings. The fish turns mud-brown while sleeping or when frightened, a form of camouflage.
Diet.
This fish is mostly herbivorous but will eat small crustaceans such as copepods. In captivity brine shrimp and mysis shrimp. Most of its natural diet is algae.
Range.
This tang is found in the Indo-Pacific oceans off the coasts of East Africa, on the islands of the Marquesas and Tuamotu, southern Japan and southern areas of the Great Barrier Reef. It is most often found in association with reefs and coastal lagoons, sometimes in small schools.
Economic value.
"Naso vlamingii" has very little use to commercial fishers but is occasionally available in the marine aquarium industry, where it is a higher-priced, more uncommon tang.


Chingizid kosachevi

Chingizid kosachevi is a moth in the family Cossidae. It was described by Yakovlev in 2012 and is endemic to Mongolia.


Acalyptris heteranthes

Acalyptris heteranthes is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It was described by Edward Meyrick in 1926. It is known from Karwar, India.


Carabus kantaikensis

Carabus kantaikensis is a species of ground beetle in Carabinae subfamily that are endemic to Russia.


Graptodytes delectus

Graptodytes delectus is a species of beetle in family Dytiscidae. It is endemic to Spain.


List of birds of Tristan da Cunha

This is a list of the bird species recorded in Tristan da Cunha. The avifauna of Tristan da Cunha include a total of eighty-eight species, of which twelve are endemic or breeding endemic, and one is extinct.
This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of "The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World", 2018 edition.
The following tags have been used to categorise some species:
Ducks, geese, and swans.
Order AnseriformesFamily Anatidae
Includes all but four species of Anseriformes. They are excellent at an aquatic life thanks to an oily covering on their feathers. One species has been recorded in Tristan da Cunha.
Cuckoos and anis.
Order CuculiformesFamily Cuculidae
Cuckoos are found almost worldwide. They are highly variable in size, shape, colour, and habits.
Nighthawks.
Order CaprimulgiformesFamily Caprimulgidae
Nighthawks belong to the same family as nightjars but are found only in the Americas. They have mottled or striped plumage for camouflage.
Rails, gallinules, and coots.
Order GruiformesFamily Rallidae
Rails are usually secretive birds. Many island species are flightless and many of those have gone extinct in the last five centuries. Gallinules are less secretive, and are usually found near or on water.
Penguins.
Penguins are southern ocean birds with only one species north of the equator. Small to large in size and mostly black and white in colour. Five species have been recorded in Tristan da Cunha.
Tropicbirds.
Order PhaethontiformesFamily Phaethontidae
Tropicbirds are seabirds once thought to be closely related to pelicans but now known to belong in a clade known as Metaves. Three species have been record in Tristan da Cunha.
Storm petrels.
Order ProcellariiformesFamily Hydrobatidae
Storm petrels are small marine birds mostly black and white. Seven species have been recorded in Tristan da Cunha.
Petrels and shearwaters.
Order ProcellariiformesFamily Procellariidae
Petrels and shearwaters are known collectively as tubenoses for the tubes on their beaks which they use for excreting salt. There are 22 species in Tristan da Cunha.
Albatrosses.
Order ProcellariiformesFamily Diomedeidae
Albatrosses are large tubenoses with wingspans of more than a meter. Most are southern ocean species but some are found in the north Pacific Ocean. There are seven species in Tristan da Cunha.
Herons, egrets, and bitterns.
Order PelecaniformesFamily Ardeidae
Herons are long-necked long-legged water birds. The majority feed on fish and other pond-life. Six species have been recorded in Tristan da Cunha.
Sheathbills.
Order CharadriiformesFamily Chionidae
Sheathbills are scavenging ground-dwelling birds native to Antarctica.
Plovers and lapwings.
Order CharadriiformesFamily Charadriidae
Plovers are small to medium-sized wading birds found worldwide, which live both on coasts and inland. Two species have been recorded in Tristan da Cunha.
Sandpipers and allies.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil.
Skuas and jaegers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Stercorariidae
The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants.
Gulls, terns, and skimmers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years.
Storks.
Order: CiconiiformesFamily: Ciconiidae
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute, but bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory. Only one species is a visitor to Tristan da Cunha.
Falcons.
Order: FalconiformesFamily: Falconidae
Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons. One species has been recorded in Tristan da Cunha.
Swallows.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hirundinidae
The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.
Tanagers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Thraupidae
This large family includes the true tanagers, as well as a number of other species often referred to simply as "finches", although they are not members of the true finch family.
Leaf-warblers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Phylloscopidae
This widespread family consists of small, insectivorous birds that forage mainly in trees.
Thrushes.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Turdidae
The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.


Eirenis lineomaculatus

Eirenis lineomaculatus is a species of snake in the family Colubridae.
It is found in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territory, Occupied, Syria, and Turkey.
Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, and rural gardens.
It is threatened by habitat loss.


Bridled mabuya

The bridled mabuya or bridled skink ("Heremites vittatus") is a species of skinks found in North Africa and Middle East. The length of those skinks is up to 22 cm.
The binomial name of this species has seen multiple updates in early 2000. The current binomial name is "Heremites vittatus". Previously it was known as "Mabuya vittata" and for short period as "Eutropis vittata" and "Trachylepis vittata ". The reason for those changes is an attempt to divide the vast genus "Mabuya" in a few smaller genera.
The bridled mabuya lives in open sandy or stony soil with little grass or bushy vegetation. It is usually found near water; in Egypt in the Wetlands and near oases in Tunisia. It can grow up to 22 centimeters long and has a smooth, shiny, body with overlapping scales. Their heads are cone shaped and they have elongated bodies and a tapering tail that is easily broken but can be regenerated.
The bridled mabuya feeds primarily on insects and other arthropods.


Er Shun

Er Shun − is a female giant panda, born at the Chongqing Zoo.
On Monday, March 25, 2013, two giant pandas Er Shun (female) and Da Mao (male) arrived at Toronto Zoo, with their exhibit (the refurbished Amur tiger exhibit) opening to the public on May 18. The bears are on a 10-year Canada tour from the Chengdu Panda Base and Chongqing Zoo, residing in Toronto from 2013 to 2017 and at the Calgary Zoo from 2018 to 2022. When plans were first made to bring giant pandas to Canada, Er Shun was believed to be male, and had been paired with a female from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding for the journey. Months before her departure her true sex was determined and the known female switched out for male Da Mao. Without blood testing identifying panda sex is next to impossible until the animals reach full sexual maturity.
With the pandas' arrival, the Toronto zoo has refurbished its seasonal attraction area into an extensive educational centre - the Giant Panda Interpretive Centre. In 2014, after her first estrus, Er Shun was artificially inseminated - the first such procedure performed on a panda in Canada. No baby was born in 2014 and it was believed that Er Shun experienced a pseudopregnancy, a phenomenon common in giant pandas.
On October 13, 2015, Er Shun gave birth to two cubs - the first giant pandas born in Canada. One was born at 3:31 AM and weighed 187.7 g and the other was born at 3:44 AM and weighed 115 g. At this very small size, the cubs chance of survival was low. It was announced on February 5th, 2016 that the panda cubs were Male (the larger panda) and Female (smaller). They were not viewed to the public until the age of 5 months. The names of the cubs are Jia Panpan (male) and Jia Yueyue (female).
On March 23, 2018, Er Shun, her cubs, and Da Mao all left the Toronto Zoo to begin a five-year stay at the Calgary Zoo, in accordance with the agreement between the Canadian and Chinese governments. In May 2020, the Calgary Zoo requested that both Er Shun and Da Mao pandas be returned to China due to the difficulty of importing bamboo during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Er Shun was born at the Chongqing Zoo on August 10, 2007 (Year of the Pig). Her mother Yalaoer (also called as Ya Ya) raised her at the zoo; her father was Ling Ling. The name Er Shun means "double smoothness" because she was the second born and they hoped for smooth and healthy growth. Er Shun's grandmother Xing Xing was in Calgary, Canada in 1988 for a friendly half year exchange.
Er Shun's character traits include being docile, lively and affectionate towards her zoo keepers.


Oscaravis

Oscaravis olsoni (also known as the Cuban teratorn), of the teratorn family, was a large, predatory bird that roamed the territory that is now modern-day Cuba before going extinct at the end of the Pleistocene era. Previously classified as "Teratornis olsoni", it has recently been granted a new genus due to its ecological isolation from others in the teratorn family, as well as differences in size and possibly behavior. Although no exact measurements can be stated, due to recent archaeological findings and the comparison of "O. olsoni" bone lengths with that of other teratorns, it has been concluded "Oscaravis olsoni" would have had a body bigger than "Taubatornis campbelli" but smaller than "Cathartornis gracilis".
Ecology.
"Oscaravis olsoni" was most prominently located in modern-day Cuba, as well as the outlying islands at the time. Due to their massive size and wingspan, it was believed that many members of the family Teratornithidae, especially "Oscaravis olsoni", could travel to neighboring islands and continents, resulting in the establishing of new niches as well as fostering the speciation of teratorns. Unlike many in the family Teratornithidae, it is believed that "Oscaravis olsoni" was a primarily a carnivorous predator as opposed to a scavenger. The large, stocky build and short legs of some of the larger members of the teratorn family, including "Argentavis magnificens" (the largest of the teratorn family), pushed them to scavenging or simply waiting for prey to pass. However, the Cuban teratorn was believed to have survived on a diet of lizards, fish, and smaller birds, which it attacked using aerial assaults. Following the methodology of attacks, teratorns’ primary weapon was their large mouth, which it could use to swallow prey whole.
Extinction.
"Oscaravis olsoni" became extinct during the Late Pleistocene Era along with the majority of the North American, South American, and European megafauna. Due to their large size, these megafauna needed such a large amount of resources. Because of this, their probability of going extinct was much higher than smaller animals.
New species.
The extinct Teratornithidae family originally included only five genera. However, its isolation as well as recent comparisons between the Cuban teratorn and "Teratornis merriami" (among others in the teratorn family) have convinced scientists to create a new sixth genus in the teratorn family, Oscaravis. The Cuban teratorn, previously named "Teratornis olsoni", is the only species in this new genus. Analysis of incomplete skeletons of Cuban teratorns were done, comparing them to "Teratornis merriami", as well as some modern condors. The comparisons showed differences in the bones. The Cuban teratorn did not have features especially typical to any specific species of teratorn. In many cases, its bones were larger than "Teratornis merriami", supposedly its closest relative. Some of the differences in the fossil record suggest that some of the bones may have had slightly different functions. This clearly shows a differentiation in species. It seems that the Cuban teratorn, as the name suggests, was endemic to Cuba.


Gegeneophis

Gegeneophis is a genus of amphibians in the family Indotyphlidae. They are found in southern and northeastern India.
Species.
There are 12 species:


Agyneta serratula

Agyneta serratula is a species of sheet weaver found in Mongolia. It was described by Wunderlich in 1995.


List of birds of the Cook Islands

This is a list of the bird species recorded in the Cook Islands. The avifauna of the Cook Islands include a total of 50 species, of which six are endemic, one has been introduced by humans and three are rare or accidental. Ten species are globally threatened. Birds described from subfossil remains that became extinct as a consequence of human settlement of the islands and the introduction of exotic mammals include the Mangaia rail ("Gallirallus ripleyi") and the Mangaia crake ("Porzana rua").
This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of "The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World", 6th edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for the Cook Islands.
The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. Not all species fall into one of these categories. Those that do not are commonly occurring native species.
Albatrosses.
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Diomedeidae
The albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses from the genus "Diomedea" have the largest wingspans of any extant birds.
Shearwaters and petrels.
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae
The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Austral storm petrels.
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Oceanitidae
The austral storm petrels are relatives of the petrels and are the smallest seabirds. They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.
Tropicbirds.
Order: PhaethontiformesFamily: Phaethontidae
Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings.
Rails, gallinules, and coots.
Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae
Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.
Boobies and gannets.
Order: SuliformesFamily: Sulidae
The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.
Frigatebirds.
Order: SuliformesFamily: Fregatidae
Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black and white or completely black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have coloured inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.
Herons, egrets, and bitterns.
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Ardeidae
The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons, and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills.
Hawks, eagles, and kites.
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Accipitridae
Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight.
Ducks, geese and swans.
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae
Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.
Pheasants, grouse, and allies.
Order: GalliformesFamily: Phasianidae
The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quails, partridges, snowcocks, francolins, spurfowls, tragopans, monals, pheasants, peafowls, grouse, ptarmigan, and jungle fowls. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.
Plovers and lapwings.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Charadriidae
The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.
Sandpipers and allies.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
Gulls, terns, and skimmers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years.
Pigeons and doves.
Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae
Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.
Old World parrots.
Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittaculidae
Cuckoos and anis.
Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae
The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. The Old World cuckoos are brood parasites.
Swifts.
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Apodidae
Swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.
Kingfishers.
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Alcedinidae
Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs and stubby tails.
Acroephalid warblers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Acrocephalidae
Monarch flycatchers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Monarchidae
The monarch flycatchers are small to medium-sized insectivorous passerines which hunt by flycatching.
Starlings.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sturnidae
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen.


Chilina elegans

Chilina elegans is an air-breathing freshwater snail species in the genus "Chilina". It is found in Chile.


Salamandrina

Salamandrina, the spectacled salamanders, is a genus of salamander, the only of subfamily Salamandrininae in the family Salamandridae which is still alive, as one of its own relatives is extinct. The IUCN Red List follows Mattoccia et al. (2005) and Canestrelli et al. (2006) in accepting two species, both only found in Italy:


Acarolella gentilis

Acarolella gentilis is a species of tortrix moth in the tortricine tribe Cochylini. The species was first described in 1994 by Józef Razowski. The type specimen was collected in Bolivia.
Appearance.
"Acarolella gentilis" has a wingspan of 17 mm.


Sufflamen bursa

Sufflamen bursa, also known as the bursa, scythe or boomerang triggerfish, is a triggerfish from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 25 cm in length. "Scythe" markings on the tail of the triggerfish contain pigments which may change hue from light yellow to dark brown depending on mood of the fish.


Asaphocrita vitae

Asaphocrita vitae is a moth in the family Blastobasidae that is endemic to Costa Rica.


Magnificent web-footed salamander

The magnificent web-footed salamander ("Bolitoglossa magnifica") is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae.
It is endemic to Panama.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
It is threatened by habitat loss.


Asaphocrita quietis

Asaphocrita quietis is a moth in the family Blastobasidae that is endemic to Costa Rica.


Zodarion thoni

Zodarion thoni is a spider species found in Eastern Europe to Azerbaijan.


Amphisbaena mebengokre

Amphisbaena mebengokre is a species of worm lizard in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is endemic to Brazil.
Etymology.
The specific name, "mebengokre", refers to the Mebêngôkre, an indigenous people of Brazil.
Geographic range.
"A. mebengokre" is found in Goiás state, Brazil.


Agyneta muriensis

Agyneta muriensis is a species of sheet weaver found in Nepal. It was described by Wunderlich in 1983.


Christinus guentheri

Christinus guentheri is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae (geckos). The species is endemic to two Australian islands, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island.
Common names.
"C. guentheri" has the common names Günther's island gecko, Lord Howe Island gecko, and Lord Howe Island southern gecko.
Taxonomy.
The first description of "C. guentheri" was by Belgian-born British herpetologist George Albert Boulenger, in 1885, as "Phyllodactylus guentheri".
Etymology.
The specific epithet, "guentheri", commemorates German-born British zoologist Albert Günther.
Conservation status.
"C. guentheri" is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, and by the Australian government's EPBC act.


Aristelliger nelsoni

Aristelliger nelsoni is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is endemic to the Swan Islands, Honduras. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of "Aristelliger praesignis".
Etymology.
The specific name, "nelsoni", is in honor of the collector of the holotype, George Nelson (born 1873) who was Chief Taxidermist at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard.
Geographic range.
"A. nelsoni" is found on Great Swan Island and on Little Swan Island.
Description.
"A. nelsoni" may attain a total length (including tail) of . It has 15 lamellae under the fourth toe.
Reproduction.
"A. nelsoni" is oviparous.


Asaphocrita spei

Asaphocrita spei is a moth in the family Blastobasidae that is endemic to Costa Rica.


White-eyed thrush

The white-eyed thrush ("Turdus jamaicensis") is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Jamaica. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and heavily degraded former forest.


Japanese house bat

The Japanese house bat or Japanese pipistrelle ("Pipistrellus abramus") is a species of vesper bat. An adult has a body length of , a tail of , and a wing length of . It prefers to roost under the ceiling or inside the roof of old buildings. It is found across East Asia, from China and Taiwan into the Ussuri region, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan.
Further distribution.
In China, it is found in Hainan province and its island and the Zhoushan archipelago.
Diet.
The species feeds on beetles, caddisflies, flies, hymenopterans, moths, and true bugs.
Reproduction.
Before the young is born, it goes through 33 embryonic stages.


Cryptotermes ceylonicus

Cryptotermes ceylonicus, is a species of dry wood termite of the genus "Cryptotermes". It is found in Sri Lanka. It is found in living wood, and other man-made wooden constructions. They possess teeth-less mandibles.