| ADPRESSED LIMBS |
limbs that are pressed parallel
to the sides of the body |
| ALLOTOPIC |
referring to two species or other
groups that co-occur regionally but do not share the same local
habitat |
| AMPLEXUS |
the position assumed by male and
female frogs during egg laying and external fertilization; the male
is on the female's back, clasping her under her forelegs. |
| ANTERIOR |
referring to the front or snout
end of an animal |
| ANURAN |
frogs and toads |
| ARBOREAL |
tree-dwelling |
| AUTOTOMY |
self-amputation of the tail |
| BALANCER |
a fleshy appendage that extends
from each side of the head of hatchling (larval) salamanders; they
are typically associated with pond-type larvae. |
| BENTHIC |
associated with the bottom of
a waterbody |
| CANTHUS ROSTRALIS |
a raised, dorsal-lateral, bony
ridge that extends from the eye to the tip of the snout |
| CARAPACE |
the top shell of a turtle |
| CLOACA (VENT) |
chamber into which the intestinal,
urinary, and reproductive tracts open |
| CLOACAL GLAND |
|
| COMPRESSED |
flattened from side to side, such
as the tails of many salamanders |
| COSTAL GROOVES |
vertical grooves on the sides
of a salamander |
| COURTSHIP |
a ritualized behavioral pattern
prior to mating: functions to stimulate and synchronize the readiness
to mate |
| CUSP |
a curves or straight projection
arising from the surface of the crown of the tooth |
| DEPRESSED |
flattened from top to bottom,
such as the body of the hellbender. |
| DIGIT |
toe or finger |
| DISTAL |
away from the body; outward |
| DIURNAL |
active during daylight |
| DORSAL (DORSUM) |
the top or back of an animal |
| DORSAL-LATERAL
RIDGE |
Folds that extend from behind the
eye along the lateral surface of the trunk |
| EFT |
the terrestrial phase of a predominantly
aquatic newt |
| ECTOTHERM |
cold-blooded species; a species
that depends on an external heat source to warm its body |
| ENDANGERED
SPECIES |
any species which
is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion
of its range other than a species of the Class Insecta determined
by the Secretary to constitute a pest whose protection under the
provisions of this Act would present an overwhelming and overriding
risk to man. |
| EPHEMERAL |
lasting a very short time |
| ESTIVATE |
to spend the summer in a state
of torpor or stagnation |
| FACULTATIVE
SPECIES |
|
| FOSSORIAL |
adapted to digging |
| GENIAL GLAND |
a pitlike gland on the side of
the head of a newt that presumably functions to mediate courtship
behavior |
| GILL |
a feathery or filamentous aquatic
respiratory organ |
| GRAVID |
pregnant |
| HEDONIC GLAND |
a gland that secretes chemicals
that stimulate sexual activity; it is often used by males in courtship |
| HERPS/HERPETILES |
amphibian and reptiles |
| HIBERNACULA |
shelters occupied during the winter
by dormant animals |
| HOME RANGE |
the area over which an organism
wanders during its normal activities |
| HOMING |
the ability to return to a specific
location following displacement |
| HYBRID |
an individual that is the result
of a cross between two genetically distinct parental types |
| HYDROPERIOD |
length of time a pond is flooding |
| IMMACULATE |
spotless; unicolor |
INTEGUMENTARY
XANTHOPHORES |
|
| IRIDOPHORE |
a cell that contains light pigments
and produces brassy, silvery, golden, or whitish coloration on the
body. |
| JUVENILE |
a sexually immature individual;
in species with biphasic life cycles, the stage between the termination
of metamorphosis and the onset of sexual maturity |
| KEEL |
a thin, raised edge that runs along
the dorsal surface of the tail |
| LATERAL |
referring to the sides of an animal |
| LARVA |
(pl., larvae) a gilled, free-living,
post-hatching stage capable of acquiring its own nourishment. The
larval stage begins at hatching and ends at metamorphosis, and is
therefore lacking in species whose terrestrial eggs metamorphose
at hatching. |
| MEDIAN |
the midline of the body
|
| MELANISTIC |
abnormally dark or blackish
|
| MELANOPHORE |
a cell that contains the pigment
melanim, which produces black, grayish, or brownish coloration on
the body |
| MENTAL GLANDS |
secretory glands found on the
chin of male salamander that are used in courtship. Theses are often
organized into rounded or oblong, raised patches that are visible
with the naked eye. |
| MESIC |
requiring or characterized by
moderate moisture |
| METAMORPH |
a term applied to an individual
that has recently transformed, typically to the time between resorption
of the gills and the acquisition of juvenile color patterns |
| MORPH |
one of a small number of variants
in coloration or morphology that occur in a group |
| NARIS |
a nostril or external opening
to the nasal passages |
| NASOLABIAL GROOVE |
a slitlike channel that extends
from the lateral corner of each naris to the margin of the upper
lip; it is characteristic of members of the family Plethodontidae |
| NOCTURNAL |
active at night |
| NYMPH |
any of various immature insects |
| OPAQUE |
impenetrable to light |
ORBITAL
MELANOPHORES |
|
| OVIDUCT |
a tube that transports eggs from
the ovaries toward the cloaca |
| OVIPAROUS |
producing eggs |
| OVIPOSIT |
to lay eggs |
| PAROTOID GLAND |
a swollen gland at the back of
the head that secretes noxious or poisonous compounds and aids in
the defense against predators. |
| PLASTRON |
the bottom shell of a turtle |
| POND LARVAE |
a type of larva characterized
by a deep dorsal fin that extends well forward on the body, long
feathery gills, slender toes, and often the presence of balancers
during its early stages |
| POSTERIOR |
referring to the tail end of an
animal |
| PROXIMAL |
toward the body, inward |
| RIPARIAN |
related to the banks of a river
(may also refer to lake shores)
|
| SNOUT-VENT LENGTH |
(SVL) the distance from the tip
of the snout to the posterior margin of the cloaca |
| SPERMATOPHORE |
a structure deposited on substrates
by courting male salamanders that typically consists of a mass of
semial fluid (sperm cap) resting upon a gelatinous base |
| SPERM CAP |
a mass of seminal fluid that rests
upon the top of the jelly base of a spermatophore |
| STREAM LARVA |
a type of larva characterized
by a dorsal fin that extends no further forward than the level of
the hindlimbs, short bushy gills, the absence of balances, and short
toes |
| TADPOLE |
|
| TAIL LENGTH |
the distance from the posterior
angle of the vent to the tip of the tail (when body length is measured
as standard length); the distance from the anterior angle of the
vent to the tip of the tail (when the body length is measured as
snout-vent length) |
| TAIL-STRADDLE
WALK |
a phase of courtship in plethodontid
salamanders in which the female is led |
| TETRAPLOID |
having four sets of chromosomes
instead of the usual two |
| THREATENED
SPECIES |
any species which
is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable
future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. |
| TRIPLOID |
having three sets of chromosomes
instead of the usual two |
| TRUNCATE |
shortened and squared off: broad
at the tip |
| TYMPANUM |
eardrum; most frogs and toads
have a large external one |
| VENTRAL (VENTER) |
the bottom or abdomen of an animal |
| VENT |
external opening into the cloaca |
| VIVIPAROUS |
producing live young |
| XERIC |
requiring or characterized
by a small amount of moisture |
