Melissa
Kaplan's
Herp Care Collection
Last updated
January 1, 2014
Glossary of Herp & Related Terms
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Melissa Kaplan, 1995
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| Parathyroid | Glandular structures secreting parathormone, used in calcium metabolism. |
| Parietal Eye |
A photosensory organ connected to the pineal body, active in triggering hormone production (including reproduction) and thermoregulation; sensitive to changes in light and dark, it does not form images, having only a rudimentary retina and lens; visible as an opalescent gray spot on the top of some lizard's heads; also referred to as "pineal eye" or "third eye".
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| Parthenogenic | Females who reproduce without males, producing primarily or only female offspring (daughters). Common in several lizard species |
| Pathogen | Disease-causing organism. |
| Photoperiod | A day/night cycle of light/dark. Depending on the context in which this term is used, it may refers to just the daylight period (see also photoperiod). |
| Pipping | The breaking open of an egg shell by the hatchling inside. Most hatchlings are equipped with an "egg tooth," a sharp protruberance on their mouth, used to pierce and cut a tear in the shell. |
| Poikilotherm | An animal whose temperature varies with that of its environment, excluding birds and mammals. ("Cold-blooded") |
| Plastron | The bottom park of a turtle or tortoise shell. |
| Renal | Relating to the kidneys. |
| Rostral | Relating to the rostrum - the nose and area surrounding the nostrils and front of the top lip. |
| Saxicolous | Rock and crevice dweller. |
| Scotophase | The dark period during of 24 hour period of light and dark (see also photoperiod). |
| Setae | singular: seta. The tiny hair-like projections on some the toe pads of some gecko species that enable them to climb smooth vertical surface, even walk across ceilings. Each seta is tipped with hundreds of spatulate projections. There are theories about how exactly they work. |
| Semi-Aquatic | Lives on land but spends some or much time in water. |
| Snout-Tail Length | (stl; STL) The measurement of an animal from nose to the end tip of the tail. |
| Snout-Vent Length | (svl; SVL) The measurement of an animal from nose to the vent. |
| sp. | Subspecies. (UK: ssp.) |
| spp. | Species (plural) |
| species | Plural: ranking below a genus or subgenus, related organisms capable of interbreeding. Singular: one such type of organism. |
| subspecies | Ranking below species, used for organisms related at the species level but who show distinct differences, other than color/pattern, from other species or subspecies in the genus. |
| Spur | The remnant of the hind limb, visible as a small claw on either side of the vent, on boas and pythons. On some torotises, an enlarged scale projecting out from the legs, generally the inside of the hind legs. |
| Subcutaneous | Just beneath the skin (as in SQ, subq, subcutaneous fluids). |
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