To promote awareness & interest in amphibians and reptiles and their conservation - New Zealand Herpetological Society


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Glossary

ARBOREAL

Living in trees and shrubs

ADVENTIVE

Introduced to the country. Not endemic

ARTHOPODS

Insects and spiders.

BASKING

Lying in the sun to absorb heat.

CARAPACE

The upper shell of a Turtle/tortoise.

CHROMOPHORES

Pigment cells

CREPUSCULAR

Active in the morning and/or evening.

DIURNAL

Active during the daylight hours

DIVARICATING

Branching pattern characteristic of NZ shrubs, division into two branches

ECTOTHERMIC

Cold blooded, but able to control their body temperatures (thermoregulate), with considerable precision, depending on the species

ENDEMIC

Native to a specific country. Not adventive

EPIPHYTE

A plants growing on another, but not organically connected

HABITAT

The region where a species or individual lives or is found

HEMIPENES

Paired sex organs of males, the bulge at the base of the tail

HERPETOCULTURE

The keeping and breeding of reptiles and amphibians in captivity.

HERPETOLOGY

The study of reptiles and amphibians

NOCTURNAL

Active at night.

OVIPAROUS

Lay eggs

OVOVIVIPAROUS

Carry eggs internally, which hatch during the birth process

SLOUGHING

Shedding old skin

TAXONOMY

Species identification

VENT

The slit at the base of the tail (urogenital opening)
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