[Infographic | Herpetology • 2013] Physiological Color Change in Green Anole Anolis carolinensis

ANOLES [polychrotidae]

Due to their ability to change color, anole lizards are frequently referred to as American chameleons.  Also, because they can run up walls, they are sometimes confused with geckos.  Not closely related to either of those groups, in fact, they are more closely related to iguanas.

Physiological Color Change  by ~elizabethnixon

Ever wonder how an Anole changes color?   

Here’s how! Done in adobe photoshop. ~40+ hours

http://scientificillustration.tumblr.com/post/51005107648/mucholderthen-physiological-color-change-by

‘Bangalore’s Frogs at Risk!’

‘Bangalore’s Frogs at Risk!’ 

‘Bangalore’s Frogs at Risk!’ 

poster by Seshadri K.S., Krishna M.B. and Sunil Kumar M., 2012 

http://facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151411396538233

http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/conservation/field-reports/580-field-reports/9223-bangalores-frogs-at-risk.html

Frog of India • 15 Endemic Amphibian Genera of India

Frog of India

15 Endemic Amphibian Genera of India

1. Micrixalus (Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka)

2. Pterorana (Nagaland)

3. Indirana (Western Ghats)

4. Melanobatrachus indicus 

5. Nasikabatrachus (Kerala and Tamil Nadu)

6. Ghatixalus (Kerala & Tamil Nadu)

7. Minervarya 

8. Nyctibatrachus (Western Ghats) 

9. Xanthophryne (Maharashtra)

10. Xanthophryne (Maharashtra)

11. Ghatophryne 

12. Chikilila 

13. Indotyphlus 

14. Uraeotyphlus (Kerala and Tamil Nadu)

15. Gegeneophis

http://facebook.com/BijuSDas

http://facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=347149815359492

[Ornithology • Conservation] Parrots of India in Illegal Trade

TRAFFIC helps to claw back illegal parrot trade in India

 —A parrot in captivity is one of the more visible symbols of illegal trade in India, where all native wildlife is fully protected. To help enforcement officers identify the 12 native parrot species, and thereby clip the wings of the illegal bird trade, TRAFFIC India with support from WWF-India has produced an identification poster entitled “Parrots of India in Illegal Trade.”

The posters will be distributed to Police, Customs, Forest Departments, Railway Protection Forces and educational institutions including schools and colleges.   

Despite the blanket ban since 1990-91 on trade in all Indian bird species, hundreds of parrots are collected and traded annually in the country.

They are taken from the wild and smuggled to various parts of India and beyond. The bulk of the trade is in three to four week old chicks. 

Parrots are caught using nets and bird-lime. Adult parrots are traded throughout the year, with chicks arriving in trade between December and June. For every bird that reaches the market place, several are believed to die en route. 

Of the 12 native species, eight are regularly found being illegally traded. They include Alexandrine, Rose-ringed, Plum-headed, Red-breasted, Malabar, Himalayan and Finsch’s Parakeets and Vernal Hanging-parrot. 

For centuries, parrots have been kept as pets mainly because they are straightforward to keep and easy to replace because of the large numbers in trade. This has in turn created demand that has led to an organized illegal trade in parrots. 

Abrar Ahmed, ornithologist and a bird trade consultant to TRAFFIC India said, “The Alexandrine Parakeet is one of the most sought after species in the Indian live bird trade and is traded in large volumes throughout the year.

“The chicks are collected from forested areas and transported to bird markets in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Patna, Lucknow and Kolkata. 

“Many specimens are smuggled by Indian dealers via Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh to bird markets in various parts of the world”. 

“Alarmingly, three species of Indian parrots—Nicobar, Long-tailed & Derby’s Parakeets—are considered by IUCN as Near Threatened with extinction, with illegal trade posing a significant threat.”

MKS Pasha, Co-ordinator of TRAFFIC India said: “Few know that our favourite and well-known ‘mithu’ is a protected species in India. Their chicks are captured remorselessly from the wild, and many to not make it to their final destination.” 

“The parrot trade is substantial and well organized, but it can be counteracted through concerted enforcement actions at the grassroot level and mass awareness campaigns. 

“TRAFFIC India’s new poster is a step in this direction. We hope it will also inspire children and young people too, because they are the ones who will influence future change and can play a significant role in curtailing the demand for our native wildlife.”

TRAFFIC helps to claw back illegal parrot trade in India

http://www.traffic.org/home/2012/2/15/traffic-helps-to-claw-back-illegal-parrot-trade-in-india.html

WWF India Distributes Poster On 12 Illegally-Traded Native Parrot Species | Asian Scientist Magazine

http://www.asianscientist.com/topnews/wwf-traffic-india-poster-on-parrots-of-india-in-illegal-trade-2012/

[Herpetology | Poster • 2012] Venomous Land Snakes of Peninsular Malaysia

Venomous Land Snakes of Peninsular Malaysia

by Norhayati Ahmad 

http://facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4898891759025

Venomous Land Snakes of Peninsular Malaysia

[Mammalogy] Pangolins of the World (Family Manidae) | โลกของลิ่น

Family Manidae (Pangolins)

http://www.lynxeds.com/

Pangolins of the World 

All 8 species of pangolin side by side for comparision. While varying in size and colour all eight species have scales, long curved claws for digging into termite mounds and an appetite for ants. 

ORDER PHOLIDOTA

Family Manidae | Subfamily Maninae 

Genus Manis

Subgenus Manis

Indian pangolin M. crassicaudata  ..........6.

Chinese pangolin M. pentadactyla  ..........2.

Asian giant pangolin M. paleojavanica  ............† (EX)

Subgenus Paramanis

Sunda pangolin M. javanica ..........3.

Philippine pangolin M. culionensis ..........4. 

Subgenus Smutsia

Giant pangolin M. gigantea  ...........5. 

Ground pangolin M. temmincki  ..........1. 

Subgenus Phataginus

Tree pangolin M. tricuspis  ..........8. 

Subgenus Uromanis

Long-tailed pangolin M. tetradactyla  ............7. 

---------------------------------------

1. Cape pangolin or Temminck’s Ground Pangolin Smutsia temminckii

Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

2. Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla

Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand and Viet Nam.

3. Sunda pangolin or Malayan Pangolin Manis javanica

Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

4. Philippine Pangolin Manis culionensis

 Philippines

5. Giant ground pangolin Smutsia gigantea

Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania.

6. Indian Pangolin or Thick-tailed Pangolin Manis crassicaudata

Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

7. Long tailed Pangolin or Black-bellied Pangolin Uromanis tetradactyla

Cameroon, Congo, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

8. Tree pangolin or African White-bellied Pangolin Phataginus tricuspis

Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia.

http://www.lynxeds.com/es/hmw/plate/family-manidae-pangolins

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=419729811443742

[PaleoOrnithology • 2012] Penguins: The Strangest Bird

A Panoply of Penguins

Art: Stephanie Abramowicz, Maps by XNR Productions

doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1112-56

- Penguins are weird birds in that they cannot fly and are instead proficient swimmers and divers.

- Evolutionary biologists have long wondered how penguins evolved their peculiar traits and how some of their kind conquered the bitterly cold Antarctic.

- Recent fossil discoveries have enabled researchers to piece together the penguins' evolutionary past, revealing that some of the traits that fortify them against the cold evolved under warm conditions.

- Although penguins have triumphed over 60 million years of climate change, current warming conditions may outpace their ability to adapt.

R. Ewan Fordyce & Daniel T. Ksepka. 2012. The Strangest Bird. Scientific American 307, 56 - 61 | DOI: 10.1038/scientificamerican1112-56

[Infographic | National Geographic • 2004] World of Cranes

The World of Cranes

Truly global citizens, the world's 15 species of cranes range freely over five continents and migrate across deserts, mountains, frozen tundra, and the borders of dozens of nations. As such, they are ambassadors for peace among diverse peoples who unite in efforts to save the elegant birds, and for the preservation of their fragile wetland and grassland homes and migratory staging grounds. Because of habitat loss and development, many species that once thrived in much broader ranges—among them, the red-crowned, black crowned, and white-naped—are now restricted to fragments of protected land in parks, sanctuaries, even disputed areas between hostile nations.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0404/feature2/map.html

Symbols of luck and majesty, cranes have been called "wildness incarnate." But with wildness disappearing and their luck running out, the great birds are getting some help from scientists and self-described "craniacs."

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0404/feature2/index.html