A brief review of acari parasitizing reptiles (Reptilia) was presented. Reptilian mites are represented by 15 families of temporary and permanent parasites which belong to 3 orders: Mesostigmata (Entonyssidae, Heterozerconidae, Ixodorhynchidae, Laelapidae, Macronyssidae, Omentolaelapidae, Paramegistidae), Metastigmata (Amblyommidae, Argasidae, Ixodidae) and Prostigmata (Cloacaridae, Harpirhynch...

Nondestructive sampling methods, such as removal of feathers for contaminant analysis, are desirable in ecological monitoring programs that seek to minimize the impacts of harvesting organisms. Although many reptiles are declining worldwide, nondestructive sampling techniques seldom have been employed for assessing contaminant exposure in these organisms. In this study, we examined the utility ...

From the vantage point of thirty years of study, we can sketch the general features of activity capacity and performance ability in reptiles. Extant reptilian groups all share low levels of maintenance metabolism and ectothermy, with their consequent advantages (Pough, 1980) and disadvantages. Among the latter is a limited capacity to expand aerobic metabolism, limited in comparison to the rela...

The morphology of the reptilian heart results in the mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood (cardiac shunts). In birds and mammals cardiac shunts are detrimental, but in reptiles this condition is often considered a derived trait, conveying important physiological functions and favored by natural selection. Alternative views are advanced suggesting that, in reptiles, cardiac shunts represe...

This paper analyzes a web crawler for the Web 2.0 network, which presents new challenges. A comprehensive overview on various programs and strategies is presented, which includes the design and realization of Ajax reptiles. Experimental verification indicates that an Ajax Crawler can effectively obtain Ajax dynamic pages. The proposed Ajax Crawler is then compared with common Ajax reptiles in t...

The Medical Journal of Australia ISSN: 0025729X 5 July 2010 193 1 54-55 ©The Medical Journal of Australia 2010 www.mja.com.au Lessons from Practice infections. The particular susceptibility of childr transmission from reptiles kept in the family home m greater exposure to the contaminated reptile and vulnerability. Much of the available evidence rega children comes from case–control studies con...

Chromatophoromas are tumours of pigment-producing cells of the skin and are rarely reported in reptiles. These tumours are subclassified on the basis of the type of pigment. The present study characterizes chromatophoromas arising in 26 reptiles, including six snakes, 19 lizards and a tortoise. These include the first reports of melanophoromas in a yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus), pigmy ratt...

Earth’s tropical ecosystems have witnessed several extinctions and a dramatic reduction of the range and abundance of large reptile species, which is directly related to the rise of early and modern humans. The occurrence of such extinctions, range reduction, species loss, and the consequences for several paramount ecosystem processes are poorly documented compared to other large vertebrate spe...

To understand the role of the immune system with respect to disease in reptiles, there is the need to develop tools to assess the host's immune response. An important tool is the development of molecular markers to identify immune cells, and these are limited for reptiles. We developed a technique for the cryopreservation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and showed that a commercially avai...

REPTILES and amphibians are, for many of us, the most fascinating animals on earth, with morphological, physiological, reproductive, behavioural and life style diversity far beyond anything found in mammals and birds, the typical focus of veterinary research and practice. When I started my career in reptile behaviour there was comparatively little interest in reptiles and amphibians in ethology...