Tag: zoology

Given here are the animals and the class where they belong.

Tortoises are considered as reptiles and not amphibians because of the following characteristics:

• Ichthyophis is a genus of caecilians (a group of limbless, serpentine amphibians).
  
• They are found in moisturized or wet tropical habitats.
  
• So, the correct answer is 'It is a limbless amphibian, who lives in water'.

Anapsid is a subclass of reptiles. An anapsid is an amniote whose skull does not have openings near the temples. The skull of anapsid are made by solid roof. It includes turtles and extinct Permian forms. 

Turtles are characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs and acting as a shield. Before the turtle lay their eggs, nearly all turtles prepare a nest on land. During the last weeks of gestation, the pregnant female spends less time in the water and more time on land, smelling and scratching at the ground in search of the perfect place to lay her eggs.

Loss of biodiversity includes decline in plant production, lowered resistance to environmental perturbations and increased variability in processes of ecosystem.

Decrease or loss of biodiversity can be brought by pollution in environment and habitat, forest fires and loss of habitat and overgrazing. While afforestation or planting of forest trees cause conservation of natural habitat thus saving the biodiversity.

The major causes of biodiversity decline are land use changes, pollution, changes in atmospheric CO$ _2$ concentrations, changes in the nitrogen cycle and acid rain, climate alterations and the introduction of exotic species, all coincident to human population growth. The geometric rise in human population levels during the twentieth century is the fundamental cause of the loss of biodiversity. It exacerbates every other factor having an impact on rainforests. It has led to an unceasing search for more arable land for food production and livestock grazing, and for wood for fuel, construction, and energy.