|
Amateur Herpetology - the non-professional study of reptile and amphibian biology.
Amphibian - A cold blooded vertebrate that spends part of its life in water an part of its life on land.
Arboreal - Living or spending the majority of its' time in the trees.
Arthropod - An invertebrate with jointed legs and a body that is divided into sections.
Brumation - A long period of rest similar to hibernation without the extreme temperatures. Often associated with a cooling period in tropical animals
Camouflage - An adaptation by which an animal can hide by blending in with its surroundings.
Canopy - Highest level of the forest. Generally at the same elevation as the emergent layer.
Carapace - A hard bony outer covering that form the bottom, or underside of a turtle shell or the head and thorax of a crustacean.
Carnivore - A consumer that eats only animals.
Caudal Luring - To lure prey items by the utilization of movement of the tail, often the tail component that moves is brightly colored.
Coagulation - The final stage in blood clotting is the precipitation of insoluble fibrin, formed from the soluble plasma protein fibrinogen. The enzyme responsible is prothrombin, which is normally inactive, but in response to injury is activated by a cascade of events.
Conservation - The act of saving, protecting or using resources wisely. This includes reusing or recycling resources.
Crepuscular - A creature that is active immediately before and after dawn and dusk
Cryptic Hidden, difficult to see. Often in animals this ability is very similar to camouflage.
Dimorphic - A creature or plant that is highly variable between male and female. Easily distinguishable features such as color or size make the identification of the sexes very easy.
Diurnal - Active during the day.
Ectothermic - Cold blooded, deriving energy from external temperature sources such as the sun and ambient air temperature.
Endangered - A plant or animal species that is close to becoming extinct.
Estivate - dormant period similar in metabolic behavior to hibernation, but actually occurs during summer heat and or drought.
Exotic Species - Plant and animal species that are new to an area and often do not have natural predators or diseases in the new area.
Extinct - Died-out, leaving no more of that species alive on Earth.
Facial Pit - A series of pits located on or near the jaw region of certain snake species, heat sensing organs.
Genus - A group made up of two or more very similar species.
Gravid - Pregnant.
Habitat Loss - Animals and plants losing their home. It is the major reason plants and animals become extinct.
Hemotoxin - A venom which attacks blood and blood tissue. Coagulation often occurs with the destruction of the cell walls.
Herbivore - An animal that eats only plants.
Heredity - The passing of traits from parent to offspring.
Herpetoculture - The husbandry and breeding of reptiles and amphibians. This field is concerned with the behavioral studies that allow a reptile or amphibian to be kept healthy in captivity and to reproduce in captivity. The scientific method should be used, and notes on all breeding projects should be kept (and published) when possible. Note that breeding ("culture") is a goal in herpetoculture.
Herpetology - the Professional study of reptile and amphibian biology. This may include physiology, morphology, biogeography, behavioral studies, natural history studies, or conservation biology. A herpetologist makes a living at this, and in many cases has an advanced degree in the biological sciences.
Hobbyist - this is the individual who just keeps reptiles and amphibians because they are fascinated by these animals. They don't aggressively attempt to breed the animals in their collection, but are content to watch and enjoy their pets.
Instinct - A pattern of behavior that requires no thinking because it is programmed into an animal’s brain.
Insular - Found on Islands.
Invertebrate - An animal without a backbone.
Life Cycle - The stages of growth and change of an organisms life.
Life Span - How long an organism can be expected to live.
Mammal - A warm blooded vertebrate with hair or fur, female mammals produce milk to feed their young.
Monomorphic - Describes a species of animal that is essentially identical in all external features in both the male and female of the species.
Neurotoxic - A venom which attacks the central nervous system of the prey items.
Neurotoxic snakes include the Cobra and Mamba family. In the United States only the Coral snake is Neurotoxic.
Omnivore - A consumer that eats both plants and animals.
Overharvesting - Taking plants and animal in larger numbers that their population can withstand.
Overpopulation - A depletion of resources that occurs when too many of at least one kind of living thing inhabits an ecosystem.
Ovoviviparous - Reproducing by laying eggs.
Plastron - The hard bony plates that form the top of a turtle shell.
Pollution - The adding of harmful substances to the water air or land.
Regurgitate - To expel food from the body (throw-up).
Reproduce - To have offspring or babies.
Reptile - A cold blooded vertebrate that lives on land and has a backbone and endoskeleton as well as waterproof skin with scales and/or plates.
Species - A group of individuals that have many of the same characteristics, and are different from all other animals in some important way.
A method of remembering the list of plant and animal classifications is:
K.P.C.O.F.G.S
Kings
Play
Chess
On
Fiberglass
Stools
Kingdom, Phyllum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Terrestrial - Dwelling or living primarily on the ground.
Threatened - Species of plants and animals that are likely to become endangered in the near future.
Vertebrate - An animal with a backbone.
Viviparous - Giving birth to live off spring.
Warm Blooded - An animal with a constant body temperature
| 
