Prasinohaema virens

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Prasinohaema virens
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Prasinohaema
Species:
P. virens
Binomial name
Prasinohaema virens
(Peters, 1881)

The green-blooded skink (Prasinohaema virens), sometimes (ambiguously) known as "green tree skink", is a scincid lizard species [2] native to New Guinea. The species is poorly studied [3] and the species' risk of extinction has not been evaluated by the World Conservation Union, and does not appear in any CITES appendix.

Contents

The skink has developed setae on its toe pads (or digit pads) for climbing analogous to those of geckos and anoles, but the trait is believed to have evolved independently to these groups, so is an example of convergent evolution. With regards to the trait, other species in the genus, P. flavipes and P. prehensicauda, have the primitive character, and lack the setae. [4] Other skinks within the genus Lipinia have also evolved toe pad setae, and within the skink family, four morphologically distinct adhesive microstructures have evolved, possibly all with independent evolutionary origins. By contrast, anoles and geckos each use a single, common structure, although it appears to have evolved independently in the two groups. [3]

As in other lizards of the genus Prasinohaema , the blood of P. virens is green, rather than the usual red coloration of most vertebrates. The green blood pigmentation results in a strikingly bright lime-green coloration of muscles, bones, tongue, and mucosal tissue, and is the result of the accumulation of the bile pigment biliverdin in levels that would be toxic in all other vertebrates. [3] Biliverdin is formed from the breakdown of hemoglobin, and is normally converted to bilirubin. However, mutation in various genes regulating bilirubin formation is believed to lead to the formation and accumulation of high levels of biliverdin. [5] It is speculated that the high biliverdin concentration protects against malaria. [6]

Import to Australia

In Australia, Importing this skink is prohibited under State and Territory legislation because the skink's risk as an invasive species has not yet been assessed. [7] However, live specimens may be imported with a permit issued under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 for noncommercial purposes, such as research, but not as a household pet. [8]

Geographic specifications

This species of prasinohaema is native to Papua New Guinea in southeast Asia. P. virens were named after their discovery in the late 19th century by the German zoologist Wilhelm Peters. The species resides across the New Guinean and Solomon Islands in altitudes ranging from sea level to 500m. P. virens inhabit lowland rainforest and plantations of different varieties. [9] The high accumulation of biliverdin in this species blood makes it the only genus known to possess green blood in all of Asia. Due to the abundant rainforest and agrarianism, the species currently faces no clear threats to its habitat.

Related Research Articles

Gecko Lizard belonging to the infraorder Gekkota

Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 to 60 centimetres.

Lizard Suborder of reptiles

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 6,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic as it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia; some lizards are more closely related to these two excluded groups than they are to other lizards. Lizards range in size from chameleons and geckos a few centimeters long to the 3 meter long Komodo dragon.

Bilirubin Chemical compound

Bilirubin (BR) is a red-orange compound that occurs in the normal catabolic pathway that breaks down heme in vertebrates. This catabolism is a necessary process in the body's clearance of waste products that arise from the destruction of aged or abnormal red blood cells. First the hemoglobin gets stripped of the heme molecule which thereafter passes through various processes of porphyrin catabolism, depending on the part of the body in which the breakdown occurs. For example, the molecules excreted in the urine differ from those in the feces. The production of biliverdin from heme is the first major step in the catabolic pathway, after which the enzyme biliverdin reductase performs the second step, producing bilirubin from biliverdin.

Skink Family of reptiles

Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Skinks are characterized by their smaller legs in comparison to typical lizards and are found in different habitats except arctic and subarctic regions.

<i>Egernia</i> Genus of lizards

Egernia is a genus of skinks that occurs in Australia. These skinks are ecologically diverse omnivores that inhabit a wide range of habitats. However, in the loose delimitation the genus is not monophyletic but an evolutionary grade, as has long been suspected due to its lack of characteristic apomorphies.

<i>Chioninia coctei</i> Extinct species of lizard

Chioninia coctei was a species of lizard that was at one time known to inhabit the islets of Branco and Raso in the Cape Verde islands of the Atlantic Ocean, islets rendered deserts by human-caused habitat destruction. None has been observed since the early 20th century, and the species was officially declared extinct in 2013.

Prasinohaema is a genus of skinks characterized by having green blood. This condition is caused by an excess buildup of the bile pigment biliverdin. Prasinohaema species have plasma biliverdin concentrations approximately 1.5-30 times greater than fish species with green blood plasma and 40 times greater than humans with green jaundice. The benefit provided by the high pigment concentration is unknown, but one possibility is that it protects against malaria.

<i>Anolis carolinensis</i> Species of reptile

Anolis carolinensis or green anole is a tree-dwelling species of anole lizard native to the southeastern United States and introduced to islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. A small to medium-sized lizard, the green anole can change its color to several shades from brown to green.

Prehensile tail Tail of an animal that has adapted to be able to grasp or hold objects

A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees. If the tail cannot be used for this it is considered only partially prehensile - such tails are often used to anchor an animal's body to dangle from a branch, or as an aid for climbing. The term prehensile means "able to grasp".

Bermuda rock lizard Species of lizard

The Bermuda skink, longnose skink, or Bermuda rock lizard ) is a critically endangered species and the only endemic land-living vertebrate of Bermuda. It is a relatively small skink : adults reach an average snout-to-vent length of about 8 cm (3.1 in).

Biliverdin Chemical compound

Biliverdin is a green tetrapyrrolic bile pigment, and is a product of heme catabolism. It is the pigment responsible for a greenish color sometimes seen in bruises.

Green tree skink can refer to several skink species:

Green blood may refer to:

<i>Lamprolepis smaragdina</i> Species of lizard

The emerald tree skink, sometimes (ambiguously) known as "green tree skink" or "emerald green skink". It is a non-threatened species although it not commonly seen but it is, however, becoming more and more popular in the exotic pet trade. In the Philippines, it is called Tabili in the Cebuano language.

Plasmodium minuoviride is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium.

<i>Saiphos</i> Species of reptile

Saiphos equalis, commonly known as the yellow-bellied three-toed skink or simply three-toed skink, is a species of burrowing skink found in eastern Australia. It is the only species classified under the genus Saiphos.

Lankascincus dorsicatenatus, also known as the catenated lankaskink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to island of Sri Lanka.

Susan L. Perkins is an American microbiologist and the Martin and Michele Cohen Dean of Science at The City College of New York (CCNY). Her expertise includes the pathology and genetics of malaria parasites and other haemosporidians infecting myriad non-primate species.

References

  1. Harlow, P., Tallowin, O., Shea, G., Allison, A. & Hamilton, A. 2015. Prasinohaema virens. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T196632A2468780. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T196632A2468780.en. Downloaded on 05 July 2020.
  2. Austin, C. C.; Jessing, K. W. (1994). "Green-blood pigmentation in lizards". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology. 109 (3): 619–626. doi:10.1016/0300-9629(94)90201-1.
  3. 1 2 3 Molecular, morphological, and physiological evolution in South Pacific scincid lizards. Austin, Christopher Cowell, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 1995, 213 pages; AAT 9603793
  4. Coddington, J. A. (1988). "Cladistic tests of adaptational hypotheses" (PDF). Cladistics. 4 (1): 3–22. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.493.3219 . doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.1988.tb00465.x. PMID   34933495. S2CID   28693357.
  5. Austin, C. C.; Perkins, S. L. (2006). "Parasites in a Biodiversity Hotspot: A Survey of Hematozoa and a Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis of Plasmodium in New Guinea Skinks". Journal of Parasitology. 92 (4): 770–777. doi:10.1645/GE-693R.1. PMID   16995395. S2CID   1937837.
  6. Grens, K. (2018-05-16). "Lizards' Green Blood Evolved Four Times". The Scientist . Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  7. Vertebrate Pests Committee, List of Exotic Vertebrate Animals in Australia, Revised January 2006 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-31. Retrieved 2006-11-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. List of Specimens taken to be Suitable for Live Import. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Last updated 23 October 2006. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-19. Retrieved 2006-11-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Prasinohaema virens (Green-blooded skink, Green Tree Skink)". www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 2018-06-12.[ dead link ]

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