| Atacamen Pacific iguana | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Tropiduridae |
| Genus: | Microlophus |
| Species: | M. atacamensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Microlophus atacamensis (Donoso-Barros, 1960) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Microlophus atacamensis, the Atacamen Pacific iguana, is a species of lava lizard that is endemic to Chile. [1] [2]
Survival characteristics, such as thermoregulation and migration, are purely based on behavior for Microlophus atacamensis. Being an omnivorous creature, it has the choice to eat both plants and animals that inhabit northern Chile. Depending on the specific population of Microlophus atacamensis, it can reside in the most northern region of northern Chile and depend more on algae for its diet instead of Diptera (fruit flies), as they would in most of the southern region of northern Chile. They abundantly occupy a large coastal area, and can be easily sampled [3]
Thermoregulation levels also suggest behavioral patterns since M. atacamensis not only bask in the sun to retain heat, but they also change their body shape or orientate their body plane perpendicular to the sun. Hence proving that M. atacamensis can make behavioral adjustments to increase heating rates. [4] [5]
Homeothermy, homothermy or homoiothermy is thermoregulation that maintains a stable internal body temperature regardless of external influence. This internal body temperature is often, though not necessarily, higher than the immediate environment. Homeothermy is one of the three types of thermoregulation in warm-blooded animal species. Homeothermy's opposite is poikilothermy. A poikilotherm is an organism that does not maintain a fixed internal temperature but rather fluctuates based on their environment and physical behaviour.
Microlophus is a genus of tropidurid lizards native to South America. Around 20 species are recognized and six of these are endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where they are commonly known as lava lizards. The remaining, which often are called Pacific iguanas, are found in the Andes and along the Pacific coasts of Chile, Peru, and Ecuador.
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation. The internal thermoregulation process is one aspect of homeostasis: a state of dynamic stability in an organism's internal conditions, maintained far from thermal equilibrium with its environment. If the body is unable to maintain a normal temperature and it increases significantly above normal, a condition known as hyperthermia occurs. Humans may also experience lethal hyperthermia when the wet bulb temperature is sustained above 35 °C (95 °F) for six hours. The opposite condition, when body temperature decreases below normal levels, is known as hypothermia. It results when the homeostatic control mechanisms of heat within the body malfunction, causing the body to lose heat faster than producing it. Normal body temperature is around 37 °C (99 °F), and hypothermia sets in when the core body temperature gets lower than 35 °C (95 °F). Usually caused by prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, hypothermia is usually treated by methods that attempt to raise the body temperature back to a normal range.
An ectotherm is an organism in which internal physiological sources of heat are of relatively small or of quite negligible importance in controlling body temperature. Such organisms rely on environmental heat sources, which permit them to operate at very economical metabolic rates.
Iguania is an infraorder of squamate reptiles that includes iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards like anoles and phrynosomatids. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believed to form the sister group to the remainder of the Squamata, and comprise nearly 13,000 named species. However, molecular information has placed Iguania well within the Squamata as sister taxa to the Anguimorpha and closely related to snakes. The order has been under debate and revisions after being classified by Charles Lewis Camp in 1923 due to difficulties finding adequate synapomorphic morphological characteristics. Most Iguanias are arboreal but there are several terrestrial groups. They usually have primitive fleshy, non-prehensile tongues, although the tongue is highly modified in chameleons. The group has a fossil record that extends back to the Early Jurassic. Today they are scattered occurring in Madagascar, the Fiji and Friendly Islands and Western Hemisphere
The Atacama myotis is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in Chile and Peru, an example ecoregion of occurrence being the Chilean matorral.
The Tarapaca Pacific iguana is a species of lizard in the family Tropiduridae. It is endemic to Chile.
Burton's legless lizard is a species of lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species lacks forelegs and has only rudimentary hind legs. Pygopodid lizards are also referred to as "legless lizards", "flap-footed lizards" and "snake-lizards". This species is endemic to Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Calyptocephalella is a genus of frogs in the family Calyptocephalellidae. It is represented by a single living species, Calyptocephalella gayi, commonly known as the helmeted water toad, Chilean helmeted bull frog or wide-mouth toad. Additionally, there are a few extinct species that only are known from Late Cretaceous and Paleogene fossil remains from Patagonia in South America and in the Antarctic Peninsula. The helmeted water toad living today is aquatic to semi-aquatic, and found in deep ponds and reservoirs in central Chile and possibly adjacent west-central Argentina.
Kleptothermy is any form of thermoregulation by which an animal shares in the metabolic thermogenesis of another animal. It may or may not be reciprocal, and occurs in both endotherms and ectotherms. One of its forms is huddling. However, kleptothermy can happen between different species that share the same habitat, and can also happen in pre-hatching life where embryos are able to detect thermal changes in the environment.
Microlophus delanonis, the Española lava lizard or Hood lava lizard, is endemic to the Galapagos island of Española. The species is commonly attributed to the genus Microlophus but has been attributed to the genus Tropidurus.
Microlophus albemarlensis, the Galápagos lava lizard, also known as the Albemarle lava lizard, is a species of lava lizard. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where it occurs on several islands in the western archipelago: the large islands Isabela, Santa Cruz, Fernandina, Santiago and Santa Fe, as well as several smaller islands: Seymour, Baltra, Plaza Sur, Daphne Major and Rábida. It is the most widespread of the Galápagos species of Microlophus, the others only occurring on single islands. Some authors however, consider populations on Santiago, Santa Cruz, and Santa Fe to be distinct species. The species is commonly attributed to the genus Microlophus but has been historically placed in the genus Tropidurus.
Microlophus bivittatus, the San Cristóbal lava lizard, is a species of lava lizard endemic to San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos Islands. The species is commonly attributed to the genus Microlophus but has been attributed to the genus Tropidurus. They are currently under threat by invasive cats on the island.
Microlophus stolzmanni, also known commonly as Stolzmann's Pacific iguana, is a species of South American lava lizard in the family Tropiduridae. The species is endemic to Peru.
Microlophus quadrivittatus, the four-banded Pacific iguana, is a species of lava lizard found in the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile.
The Santa Cruz lava lizard is a species of lava lizard endemic to the Galapagos island of Santa Cruz.
Insect thermoregulation is the process whereby insects maintain body temperatures within certain boundaries. Insects have traditionally been considered as poikilotherms as opposed to being homeothermic. However, the term temperature regulation, or thermoregulation, is currently used to describe the ability of insects and other animals to maintain a stable temperature, at least in a portion of their bodies by physiological or behavioral means. While many insects are ectotherms, others are endotherms. These endothermic insects are better described as regional heterotherms because they are not uniformly endothermic. When heat is being produced, different temperatures are maintained in different parts of their bodies, for example, moths generate heat in their thorax prior to flight but the abdomen remains relatively cool.
Tropidurus torquatus is a species of lizard in the family Tropiduridae, the Neotropical ground lizards. Its common name is Amazon lava lizard.
Roberto Donoso-Barros was a Chilean botanist, naturalist, and herpetologist.
Liolaemus sarmientoi is a species of lizard in the family Liolaemidae. It is considered a medium sized example of the family, with an average snout–vent length of 76 to 77 mm, with males usually larger than females.
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