| Aiphanes argos | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Genus: | Aiphanes |
| Species: | A. argos |
| Binomial name | |
| Aiphanes argos | |
Aiphanes argos is a plant in the family Arecaceae, native to Colombia.
Aiphanes argos grows as a small palm and is a rheophyte (a plant living in swift waters). The pinnae are very long and thin, an adaptation to its environment. Similarly, the stem is flexible and thin. [1]
Aiphanes argos is endemic to Colombia, where it is confined to the canyon of the Samaná Norte River and the river's tributary streams, in Antioquia. Its habitat is on the banks of the canyon or tributaries, at elevations of 200–800 metres (700–2,600 ft). At high water on the river, the plant may be entirely submerged. [1]
Aiphanes argos has been assessed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. The greatest risk to the species is the proposed construction of a hydroelectric power plant and dam on the Samaná Norte River. The dam would submerge most of the species' population in deep waters. Mining activities on the river pose an additional risk to the species' habitat. As of 2017 [update] , the population of Aiphanes argos was estimated at 600. [1] The specific epithet argos refers to Grupo Argos, the company in charge of the dam project. [3]
The Neretva, also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four hydroelectric power plants with large dams provide flood protection, electicity and water storage. The Neretva is recognized for its natural environment and diverse landscapes.
Aiphanes is a genus of spiny palms which is native to tropical regions of South and Central America and the Caribbean. There are about 26 species in the genus, ranging in size from understorey shrubs with subterranean stems to subcanopy trees as tall as 20 metres (66 ft). Most have pinnately compound leaves ; one species has entire leaves. Stems, leaves and sometimes even the fruit are covered with spines. Plants flower repeatedly over the course of their lifespan and have separate male and female flowers, although these are borne together on the same inflorescence. Although records of pollinators are limited, most species appear to be pollinated by insects. The fruit are eaten by several birds and mammals, including at least two species of amazon parrots.
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Aiphanes minima is a spiny palm tree which is native to the insular Caribbean from Hispaniola to Grenada, and widely cultivated elsewhere. Usually 5–8 metres (16–26 ft) tall, it sometimes grows as an understorey tree and only 2 m (6.6 ft) in height.
Ceroxylon quindiuense, often called Quindío wax palm, is a palm native to the humid montane forests of the Andes in Colombia and Peru.
The humpback chub is a federally protected fish that lived originally in fast waters of the Colorado River system in the United States. This species takes its name from the prominent hump between the head and dorsal fin, which is thought to direct the flow of water over the body and help maintain body position in the swift currents of the Colorado river. The body is almost entirely scaleless, retaining only about 80 mid-lateral scales along the lateral line. The fish is very streamlined, with a thin caudal peduncle and a deeply forked tail. The back is a light olive gray, the sides silver, and the belly white. The dorsal fin usually has nine rays, and the anal fin 10 or more. Maximum recorded length is 38 cm.
Rodrigo Bernal González is a Colombian botanist who specialises in the palm family. Bernal was a faculty member at the Institute of Natural Sciences, National University of Colombia until 2007. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, in 1996. He was general curator of the National Colombian Herbarium (1986-1987), and editor of the scientific journal Caldasia.
The bonytail chub or bonytail is a cyprinid freshwater fish native to the Colorado River basin of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the southwestern United States; it has been extirpated from the part of the basin in Mexico. It was once abundant and widespread in the basin, its numbers and range have declined to the point where it has been listed as endangered since 1980 (ESA) and 1986 (IUCN), a fate shared by the other large Colorado basin endemic fish species like the Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, and razorback sucker. It is now the rarest of the endemic big-river fishes of the Colorado River. There are 20 species in the genus Gila, seven of which are found in Arizona.
Aiphanes hirsuta is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama.
Aiphanes leiostachys is a species of palm that is endemic to Colombia. Known from only a few forest fragments in the Cordillera Central, it is threatened by habitat loss and forest management practices.
Aiphanes lindeniana is a species of palm that is endemic to Colombia. Although widespread in the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central, it is threatened by habitat loss and forest management practices.
Aiphanes linearis is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Colombia.
Aiphanes ulei is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found in Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.
Aiphanes verrucosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Ceroxylon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Andes in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, known as Andean wax palms.
Ceroxylon sasaimae, also known as the Sasaima wax palm is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Colombia. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Gloria Amparo Galeano Garcés was a Colombian botanist and agronomist specializing in the palm family. Galeano was a faculty member at the National University of Colombia, and was the director of the Institute of Natural Sciences from 2003 to 2006. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Aarhus, Denmark in 1997.
A rheophyte is a plant that lives in fast moving water currents in an environment where few other organisms can survive. Rheophytes tend to be found in currents that move at rates of one to two meters per second and that are up to 1 to 2 m deep. The amount of force produced by these currents, and the damaging debris they can carry, makes this environment inhospitable to most plants. Rheophytes are able to live in such environments because their leaves are streamlined so as put up little resistance to the flow of water. The leaves tend to be quite narrow and flexible as well. Simply being an aquatic plant with narrow leaves is not a sufficient condition for being a rheophyte. In order to prevent being uprooted by the rushing currents, rheophytes have an extremely strong wide spreading root system.
The fish fauna of the Neretva river basin in the western Balkans is representative of the Dinaric karst region and characterized by several endemic and endangered species.
Aiphanes pilaris is a plant in the family Arecaceae, native to Colombia.
