Amphibians and Reptiles

Canli and Erdem 1994, Wachs 1989). In sardines, the relative methylmercury concentration was high and remained constant with age in muscle ( 85%), but decreased with age in liver (from 50% to 20%), though this might indicate the existence of a slow demethylation process (Joiris et al. 1999). The biological half-life of mercury in fish is long for inorganic mercury it has been calculated as 722 309 days in catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) (Schultz et al. 1996). 

The toxicokinetics and toxicity of inorganic and organically bound mercury in reptiles and amphibians is largely unknown (Wolfe et al. 1998). 

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Excretory processes for xenobiotics are best understood for mammals, with far less work having been done on birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Highly lipophilic compounds show little tendency to be excreted unchanged. In the absence of effective metabolism, they tend to have very long biological half-lives in depot fat. Thus, half-lives of about 1 year have been reported for p,p -DDE in birds, whereas higher... 

MFW would like to thank JoAim Bradley, Miriam Library, California State University - Chico, for heroic document retrieval and Greg Linder, Jack Campbell, and Glen Lubcke for assistance with reptile and amphibian discussions. Special thanks to Michael Murray and David Evers for manuscript editing. 

Cogger, H. G. (1994) Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed Books, Sydney. 

Defensive Compounds. The developmental stages of fireflies are poisonous due to the presence of steroidal pyrones called lucibufagins. Recently it became evident that exotic reptiles and amphibians from habitats without the poisonous fireflies, e.g. the Australian lizard Pogona, are killed immediately if they ingest just one firefly. 

SGG has not been detected In the testes of the limited numbers of birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians analysed... 

Urochordata is one of three subphyla in the phylum Chordata. Mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians are all part of subphylum Vertebrata. Subphylum Cephalochordata is comprised of... 

The tanned or preserved skin of an animal is called leather. This material varies greatly from species to species, and its properties are also affected by the process of tanning. Most of the materials treated in this way come from mammals, but the skins of some fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians are also occasionally tanned for various purposes. 

Fish, reptiles, and amphibians are sometimes prepared as whole-body taxidermy mounts, but in collections they are most often preserved in 70% ethanol and water. Dried mounts prepared for display are often painted, since most of the natural pigments change or disappear when the animal dies. Mounted fish, particularly large ones, are often produced as a combination of natural and artificial parts. Large dorsal fins, such as those on sailfish and marlin, are often damaged and are recreated in wax or resin (older mounts) or fiberglass, masonite, or thick cardboard. 

Vertebrates Reptiles and amphibians Study skins, mounted specimens (taxidermy), whole or partial skeletons, wet-preserved animals or parts Tortoise shell, teeth, skin... 

Behler, John L. and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York Alfred A. Knopf, 1979. 

Cogger, Harold G., David Kir , and Richard Zweifel. Encyclopedia cf Reptiles and Amphibians. 2nd ed. San Di o, CA Academic Press, 1998. 

Sparling DW, Linder G, and Bishop CA (2000) Ecotoxicology of Reptiles and Amphibians. Pensacola, FL SETAC Press. 

Numerous methods are available to measure or model the impact of explosives contamination and detonation craters or other physical stressors on vegetation. U.S. Army installations may collect data on the distribution of vegetation and soils to describe plant communities and the distribution of small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians to characterize species-specific habitat as part of the Land Condition... 

The next step in the catabolism of heme is the reduction of biliverdin to bilirubin. Birds, reptiles, and amphibians are quite happy to excrete water-soluble biliverdin directly—hence the green colour of bird droppings—but not mammals or fish. 

In vitro studies with abdominal skin of Rana pipiens demonstrated that naphthalene inhibited sodium transport after exposure to 4.4mg/L for 30 min. Some data were available on biological effects of benzo[a]pyrene, 3-methylcholanthrene, and perylene to reptiles and amphibians. Implantation of 1.5 mg of benzo[a]pyrene crystals into the abdominal cavity of adult South African clawed toads (Xenopus laevis) produced lymphosarcomas in 11 of the 13 toads (85%) ter 86-288 days. Immature toads were more resistant with only 45% bearing lymphoid tumors of liver, kidney, spleen, or abdominal muscle 272-310 days after implantation of 1.5 mg of benzo[a]pyrene crystals in the dorsal lymph sac or abdominal cavity. Implantation of 3-methylcholanthrene crystals into X. laevis provokes development of lymphoid tumors similar to those occurring naturally in this species moreover, these... 

Mason, R.T., Chivers, D., Mathis, A., and Blaustein, A.R., 1998, Bioassays with reptiles and amphibians, in Methods in Chemical Ecology, I. Millar and K. Haynes, eds.. Chapman Hall, New York, pp. 271-325. 

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