biology

Martinique curlytail lizard

Martinique curlytail lizard is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Martinique curlytail lizard rather than just read about it. In short: The Martinique curlytail lizard (Leiocephalus herminieri) is an extinct species of lizard in the family of curly-tailed lizard (Leiocephalidae). Etymology The specific name, herminieri, commemorates French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier.

Key takeaways

Martinique curlytail lizard belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Martinique curlytail lizard to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Martinique curlytail lizard from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Martinique curlytail lizard (Leiocephalus herminieri) is an extinct species of lizard in the family of curly-tailed lizard (Leiocephalidae).

Etymology The specific name, herminieri, commemorates French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier.

Extant specimens There are five specimens of L. herminieri, of which three are deposited in the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, one in London, and the other in Leiden.

Geographic range Though Martinique is assumed as the geographic range of L. herminieri, there was some confusion about the type locality in the past. While André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron stated Martinique and Trinidad and Tobago as type locality, George Albert Boulenger has given only Trinidad and Tobago as terra typica.

Biology and extinction The biology of L. herminieri, the reasons for its extinction, and the date of extinction are unknown. This species was last collected in the 1830s.

Description Of the three specimens of L. herminieri in Paris, the largest female is measured at 139 mm (5.5 in) snout-to-vent length (SVL), and the largest male at 126 mm (5.0 in) SVL. The large head scales are more or less distinctly striate. The large dorsal scales are keeled and forming continuous oblique series. The smaller lateral and ventral scales are keeled too. The back is greenish brown with or without irregular yellowish crossbands. The head is yellowish with four or five black bars on the sides. The venter is yellowish. The throat has oblique black transverse bands.

References

Further reading Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. Iguanidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (Liocephalus [sic] herminieri, p. 166). Duméril AMC, Bibron G (1837). Erpétologie générale ou Histoire naturelle complète des Reptiles. Tome quatrième [Volume 4]. Paris: Roret. ii + 571 pp. (Holotropis herminieri, new species, pp. 261–263 + Plate 44). (in French). Gray JE (1845). Catalogue of the Specimens of Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). xxviii + 289 pp. (Leiocephalus herminieri, p. 217). Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. 714 pp. ISBN 0-8130-1049-7. Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Leiocephalus herminieri, p. 130).

External links Illustration of Leiocephalus herminieri by Duméril and Bibron, PDF, 754 kb

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Martinique curlytail lizard

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Martinique curlytail lizard claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Martinique curlytail lizard before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Martinique curlytail lizard ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Martinique curlytail lizard

In research: Martinique curlytail lizard appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Martinique curlytail lizard in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Martinique curlytail lizard is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Endemic fauna of Martinique, Extinct reptiles, IUCN Red List extinct species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Martinique curlytail lizard outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Martinique curlytail lizard in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Martinique curlytail lizard means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Martinique curlytail lizard out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Martinique curlytail lizard in simple terms?

The Martinique curlytail lizard (Leiocephalus herminieri) is an extinct species of lizard in the family of curly-tailed lizard (Leiocephalidae). Etymology The specific name, herminieri, commemorates French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier.

Why does Martinique curlytail lizard matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Martinique curlytail lizard?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Martinique curlytail lizard.