“Study of the adaptability of organisms to their environment”
Goal of the work: consider, using specific examples, the adaptability of organisms to their environment.
Equipment: a table showing different types of insect limbs, a picture of animals from the same genus, sources of additional information, keys or identification cards.
Progress
Consider the different types of insect limbs (running, jumping, swimming, digging). Give examples of insects that have these types of limbs. What do their structures have in common? What's different? Explain the reasons for these differences.
Look at the images of the animals offered to you. Fill the table.
3. Draw a conclusion about the adaptability of specific living organisms to living conditions.
1.
A - running (ant limb)
B- jumping (grasshopper limb)
B- digging (limb of the mole cricket)
G- swimming (limb of a swimming beetle)
The limbs of insects, representing a system of levers movably connected to each other with a large number of degrees of freedom, are capable of varied and perfect movements.
The limbs are used to move insects. Differences in the structure of the limbs depend on the diverse specialization of insect life and on the environment.
For example: the jumping limb has powerful muscles, the running limbs are longer than the digging limbs.
Agama Caucasian
2.
Agama steppe
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View |
Area |
Habitat |
Body shape and color |
Claw development |
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Agama Caucasian |
Transcaucasia, Dagestan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan. |
Mountains, rocks, rocky slopes, large boulders. |
Color often depends on the background environment. It can be olive-gray, dirty-brown, ash-gray. Length up to 36 cm, weight up to 160 g, body and head flattened, scales heterogeneous. Has a long tail. |
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Agama steppe |
Desert and steppe zones of Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Northern Iran, etc. |
Sandy, clayey, rocky deserts, semi-deserts. They often settle near water. |
The color is light gray, with oval spots. With age, the color changes. Males are brighter than females. Length no more than 30 cm. Scales are uniform, ribbed with spines. Has a long tail. |
Agamas have thin fingers with short hooked claws, the limbs are equipped with five or more fingers, with the fourth finger longer than the third. |
Conclusion: organisms adapt to specific environmental conditions. This can be seen in a specific example of agamas. Organisms' means of defense - camouflage, protective coloration, mimicry, behavioral adaptations and other types of adaptations - allow organisms to protect themselves and their offspring.
The sizes of males of the Caucasian agama are up to 15 cm, females - up to 14 cm. Weight is up to 160 g.
The body, head and base of the tail are strongly flattened, the rest of the tail is more or less round in cross section. The scutes covering the anterior part of the upper side of the head, with the exception of the smaller supraorbital scutes, are slightly convex. The parietal eye is not expressed. All scutes of the occipital region are uniform and small. The nasal shield is noticeably swollen, the nostril occupies most of it, is located on the lateral surface of the muzzle and is not visible from above. Upper labial scutes 11-16. The eardrum is located superficially.
The scales covering the body are heterogeneous. Along the ridge runs a path of pentagonal or hexagonal, almost smooth or slightly ribbed scales, differing from the dorsal-lateral scales in shape and larger size. Behind the eardrum and on the sides of the neck are folds of skin covered at the free ends with enlarged conical scales. The sides of the body are covered with small conical scales, among which strongly ribbed or spiny scales stand out closer to the ventral surface. The throat and chest scales are smooth. The throat fold is well defined. Tail scales with blunt ribs turning into dense short spines; arranged in regular transverse rings, every 2 rings, at least in the anterior third of the tail, form a well-defined segment. The fourth toe of the hind leg is longer than the third. Adult males have 3-5 rows of callous scales in front of the cloacal slit and a large group of such scales in the middle of the abdomen.
The general background of the upper body of the Caucasian agama is olive-gray, dirty brown, brown or ash-gray, which largely depends on the background of the surrounding area. On light calcareous rocks, lizards are ash-gray, on basaltic lavas they are brown, almost black, and on red sandstones they are reddish-brown. On the sides of the back there is a varying degree of pronounced mesh pattern of dark streaks and lines, forming in places irregular circles with lighter centers, the space between which is occupied by dark and cream spots. The belly is dirty gray or pinkish-cream, which is especially characteristic of adult females. The throat usually has a more or less pronounced marble pattern. During the breeding season, the throat, chest, front legs and partly the belly acquire a blackish-blue, almost black color. The tail has vague transverse stripes. Young agamas are characterized by the presence of small light brown or fawn spots scattered on the upper side of the body and large spots of the same color behind the head, on the chest, throat, lower surface of the hind legs and tail. Dark and light transverse stripes are clearly visible on the back of the yearlings. Body coloration is subject to changes. Light agamas, after being caught and even briefly kept in captivity, usually quickly darken and acquire a dark brown, almost black color.
Distributed in the eastern half of the Caucasus, Northeastern Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Northwestern Pakistan and southern Central Asia. In the USSR - in Eastern and Southern Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, mountainous Dagestan and Southern Turkmenistan.
The nominative subspecies lives within the USSR A. s. caucasica(Eichw., 1831). Second subspecies - A. s. microlepis(Blanf., 1874), previously considered an independent species, is distributed in the eastern half of Iran. It is distinguished by a large number of scales around the middle of the body (177-235 in males and 190-239 in females).
The Caucasian agama lives in the mountains, where it adheres mainly to rocks, very rocky slopes with sparse dry-loving vegetation and isolated stone blocks. In some places it lives on clay-loess cliffs and on soft rocks in dry riverbeds. It is also found among ruins, on stone fences and road slopes. In the mountains it is known up to an altitude of 3370 m above sea level. As shelters it uses various kinds of cracks, gullies and depressions in rocks, crevices and spaces between stones, and less often - burrows. One shelter is often used by several individuals. Winter shelters are usually deep gullies in rocks or deep horizontal spaces under layers of sedimentary rocks. It often overwinters in clusters, sometimes up to several hundred individuals. On the shore of Lake Sevan (in Armenia) at the end of May, the maximum population density was 86 individuals per 1 km. In Turkmenistan, 1.7-13.1 individuals were counted on a 10 km route.
After wintering, it appears in mid-March - late April. In autumn it is active until October - early December; in warm winters it is active in January. It feeds on insects and other arthropods, also eating flowering heads and buds of flowers, soft shoots and leaves, hawthorn fruits, buckthorn and blackberry berries. There have been cases of attacks on small lizards - holly-eyes, geckos, foot-and-mouth lizards, rock lizards. In Azerbaijan, beetles (44.2%), mainly weevils and ground beetles, orthoptera (20.2%), butterfly caterpillars (13.7%), bees (8%), as well as leaves and plant remains were found in the stomachs of agamas. In Georgia, their food consists of ants (42.1%), beetles (20.3%), butterflies (14%), locusts (12.5%), mollusks, woodlice and spiders (3.2% each) - In addition , plant remains were found in many stomachs. In June in Dagestan, agamas fed on beetles (91.9%), orthoptera (51.6%), hymenoptera (29%), butterflies (20.9%), and spiders (17.7%). Most stomachs also contained plant food. In southwestern Turkmenistan in spring and early summer, agamas eat beetles (58.3%), ants (44.2%), butterflies (44.2%), orthoptera (15.9%) and green parts of plants (58. 3%). In Southern Turkmenistan, agamas leaving their winter shelters, during thaws in winter, fed mainly on beetles (82%), of which almost half were ladybugs.
Mating in agamas begins soon after waking up and continues until the beginning - mid-June. The male mates with several females living in his area, who form a kind of “harem”. Females sometimes migrate long distances to oviposition sites. In Transcaucasia, individuals with eggs in the oviducts are found from mid-June to mid-July; in Turkmenistan, egg laying occurs in May-June. 2 clutches are possible per season.
Young females with a length of 98-110 mm lay 4-6, and with a length of 130 mm or more - 12-14 eggs measuring 15-17X22-26 mm. Young 36-38 mm long (without tail) appear in July-September. In Transcaucasia, sexual maturity in the Caucasian agama occurs in the third year of life in females with a body length of 96-98 mm; in Turkmenistan, the first breeding individuals were recorded at a body length of 110-120 mm.
In Kopet-Dag and in small ridges of the same mountain system of the Kuren-Dag of the Big and Small Balkhan, as well as in the rocks of the south of Karabil, the most numerous and noticeable lizard of these places lives - Caucasian agama.
The size of its body reaches 160 mm, the tail is slightly longer, its weight is up to 150 g. The head and body are strongly flattened. The scales on the back are varied. A path of five or hexagonal scales, smooth or slightly ribbed, runs along the center of the back. These agamas are olive-brown or olive-gray in color with small black or yellowish spots, and the underside of the body is darkish-gray with a marbled pattern on the throat; in females, the belly is pinkish-yellow; in males, during the mating period, it is blackish-bluish.
This agama is widespread in the Caucasus Mountains, North-Eastern Turkey, Balochistan, Afghanistan and Southern Turkmenistan.
The Caucasian agama is a real mountain lizard, choosing rocks and rocky slopes with sparse vegetation and an abundance of rock fragments for its habitat. Sometimes it settles in drying sai. Cracks and crevices between stones provide shelter. Agamas run and jump very well. When running across open space, they lift their tail, and when climbing rocks, they press it tightly against the stone, using the prickly tail spines as a support.
Caucasian agamas leave for wintering in November, after wintering they appear at the end of February, in March. In early spring and autumn, agamas are active in the middle of the day, and in summer - in the morning and evening hours. On summer days they emerge from their shelters at sunrise. Climbing onto a stone or rock ledge, they spend hours looking for prey. Noticing it, the agama quickly moves towards the prey and unerringly grabs it. In addition to animal food, these lizards willingly eat leaves and seeds of labiates and cruciferous plants.
In late May - early June, females lay eggs. Their average dimensions are 22X13 mm. Newborns appear in August-September. At the age of two years they become sexually mature.
Among the enemies of the Caucasian agama are the multi-colored and red-striped snakes, the Central Asian cobra, the viper, and the black kite. A case of cannibalism has been reported. Lizards moult from March to June.
The Caucasian agama brings certain benefits to mountain pastures, destroying vegetation pests: beetles (weevils, leaf beetles, darkling beetles), ants, bees, wasps, bumblebees, locusts, bedbugs, termites, butterfly caterpillars. Thus, in the mountains of Turkmenistan, among the invertebrate animals eaten by this lizard, 1199 specimens were harmful, 792 specimens were neutral, and only 211 were beneficial.
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Steppe agama- a medium-sized lizard (length up to 10-15 cm) with pronounced sexual dimorphism in color. Inhabits deserts and semi-deserts of the Eastern Ciscaucasia and Central Asia. Outside the Soviet Union, it is widespread in the northern regions of Iran and Afghanistan, and in the northwestern part of China.
The color of the steppe agama is quite variable, but it is usually gray or grayish-yellow (similar to the color of sand), has large dark spots on its back, and vague dark transverse stripes on its tail and upper side of its paws. Body color depends on the ambient temperature and the mood of the animal. When frightened or strongly excited, sexual dimorphism in color becomes more noticeable: in males the throat, belly, lower part of the sides and limbs become dark blue, while in females this does not happen.
It lives in open areas, but in extreme heat it uses rodent holes, cracks in the soil, and voids under stones and plant roots as shelters. To protect the body from overheating on hot soil in the heat, it climbs onto the branches of saxaul and other shrubs. Territorial males have their own areas and protect them from other individuals. This must be taken into account when keeping agamas in order to avoid fights between males.
In nature, the agama feeds on beetles, ants, bedbugs and spiders, in addition, it eats leaves, stems and flowers of plants, especially in spring.
In captivity, it is kept in "Desert" type terrariums at a temperature of 27-29 ° C, with heating. It eats well mealworms, cockroaches, crickets, and green food includes dandelion leaves and flowers.
Sometimes lays eggs in a common terrarium.
Website "Siberian Zoological Museum" (www.bionet.nsc.ru), photo by Yu.K. Zinchenko
(Eichwald, 1831)
(= Stellio caucasius Eichwald, 1831; Agama caucasia (Eichwald, 1831); Agama reticulata Nikolsky, 1912)
Appearance. Large lizards with a body size of up to 15-16 cm and a tail length of up to 20-23 cm. Males are slightly larger than females. The body and head, as well as the base of the tail, are strongly flattened.
Scales the bodies are heterogeneous: along the ridge there is a path of pentagonal or hexagonal, almost smooth or slightly ribbed scales, differing from the dorsal-lateral scales not only in shape, but also in larger size: in the area of the shoulder blades they become smaller and then gradually turn into very small granular scales neck. Behind the eardrum and on the sides of the neck are folds of skin covered at the free ends with enlarged scales. Ridge Scales several times smaller than the upper-tail ones. Ventral scales quadrangular, smooth and arranged in more or less regular transverse and oblique longitudinal rows. Scales on the throat and on the chest are smooth, without ribs. The throat fold is well defined. Tail scales with blunt ribs turning into dense, short spines and arranged in regular transverse rings: every two (extremely three) rings form a well-defined segment corresponding to one caudal vertebra.
Upper tail scales of agamas:
1 - Himalayan agama (Laudakia himalayana), 2 - Caucasian agama, 3 - Khorasan agama (Laudakia erythrogastra), 4 - Turkestan agama (Laudakia lehmanni) and 5 - steppe agama (Trapelus sanguinolentus)
Fingers the hind legs are noticeably compressed laterally; the fourth finger on them is longer than the third. Adult males have 3-5 rows callous scales(pore) in front of the cloacal slit and a large group of such scales in the middle of the abdomen.
General coloring The upper side of the body is olive-gray, dirty brown or ash-gray with small black or yellowish spots forming a complex mosaic pattern. Coloring largely depends on the background of the surrounding landscape and on the physiological state of the animal. On light calcareous rocks, lizards are usually ash-gray, while in basaltic lavas they are brown, often almost black. In females, the belly is light, pinkish-cream, in males it is dirty gray, dark olive in the middle and in front of the cloacal slit. The throat is the same color, but with a more or less pronounced marble pattern.
IN breeding season the throat, chest, forelimbs and partly the belly acquire an intense blackish-blue, almost black color. The tail has vague transverse stripes.
Spreading. The Caucasian agama is distributed in the eastern half of the Caucasus, northeastern Turkey, northern Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, northwestern Pakistan and southern Central Asia. Within the former USSR - eastern and southern Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan; The main habitat in Central Asia is Turkmenistan: the Krasnovodsk plateau, Meshed sands, Small and Large Balkhans, Kopetdag and Badkhyz. Further to the east, localities are known from the vicinity of Chubek (southern Tajikistan). On the territory of Russia it is found in Dagestan in the vicinity of the village of Kumtor-Kala and, according to literary data, near the villages of Akhty and Rutul.
Taxonomy of the species. On the territory of Russia and neighboring countries there are two subspecies: Laudakia caucasia caucasia And Laudakia caucasia triannulata Ananjeva et Atajev, 1984. The second subspecies is known only from the Meshed sands near the village of Madau.
Habitat. Lives in the mountains, where it mainly adheres rocks, rocky slopes with sparse xerophytic vegetation and single rocky blocks. This xerophilic species widely inhabits all mountain and foothill biotopes. Sometimes, as, in particular, populations of Laudakia caucasia triannulaia in Turkmenistan, agamas live on the slopes of crumbling sandy ravines, cutting through fixed ridge sands with Kandym-Cherkez-Boyalych plant association with sedge bluegrass at an altitude of 180-200 m above sea level. It is also found among ruins, on rocky fences and road slopes. Known in the mountains in all zones, starting from the foothill plain to an altitude of 3370 m above sea level. Sometimes it climbs bushes and trees in search of food and shelter. As shelters it uses cracks, gullies and depressions in rocks, between stones and, less commonly, burrows. The abundance of stones of various sizes on the lower slopes of the mountains creates favorable conditions for life; an increased concentration of individuals is usually observed here. Favorite habitats are old buildings and dilapidated fortresses.
Activity. Daytime activity. Depending on the temperature in spring and autumn, agamas are found only in the middle of the day, and on hotter summer days they are characterized by two types of activity cycles: morning and evening. The Caucasian agama is a common species, one of the most numerous in Turkmenistan and Transcaucasia. On average, 3-5 individuals per 1 hectare were counted per 1 km of route in Turkmenistan.
Reproduction. Agamas begin to reproduce in the third year of life with a body length of more than 100 mm. Calendar dates depend on the specific climatic conditions of the year and area; pairing in lizards living in the lower zones of the mountains (in the first ten days of March), and mass mating occurs in April-May. A male usually mates with 2-3 females, who constantly live in his area, forming a kind of “harem”. Set aside eggs(from 5 to 14) at the end of May - July. The young emerge from the eggs starting at the end of July, the incubation period is about 2 months, the body size of newborns is 36-45 mm.
Nutrition. They feed on insects, various beetles, hymenoptera, locusts, lepidoptera, centipedes, spiders, very rarely small vertebrates (small lizards, blind snakes), phalanges. An important role in nutrition is played by plant foods, mainly flowering heads and buds of flowers, soft shoots and leaves, hawthorn fruits, buckthorn and blackberry berries.
Wintering. It winters in rock cracks, cliffs and crevices, under stones at a depth of 5-45 cm, sometimes in groups of up to 35 individuals. Animals of different ages can be in one wintering shelter, with young and adult lizards being kept separately. In Turkmenistan, wintering lasts from November to early March, in the Caucasus mountains - from October to March.
Similar species. The Caucasian agama differs from other species (Himalayan, Chernova) in its larger size. From the Khorasan agama - smooth throat and chest scales, and from the Turkestan agama - scales of the dorsal track that are uniform in size.
At the Ecosystem Ecological Center you can purchase color identification table " Amphibians and reptiles of central Russia"and a computer guide to reptiles (reptiles) of Russia and the USSR, as well as other teaching materials on animals and plants of Russia(see below).
On our website you can also find information on anatomy, morphology and ecology of reptiles: general characteristics of reptiles, integument, movement, and skeleton of reptiles, digestive organs and nutrition,
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