parent_taxon leiolopisma
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia , is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . It is the world ' s sixth - largest country by total ___MASK99___ . The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea , Indonesia and East Timor to the north ; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north - east ; and New Zealand to the south - east . Australia ' s capital is Canberra , and its largest urban ___MASK99___ is Sydney . A genus ( genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms in biology . In the hierarchy of biological classification , genus comes above species and below family . In binomial nomenclature , the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus . In biology , a species ( abbreviated sp ., with the plural form species abbreviated spp .) is the basic unit of biological classification and a taxonomic rank . A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring , typically by sexual reproduction . While this definition is often adequate , looked at more closely it is often problematic . For example , in a species complex , the boundaries between closely related species become unclear or disappear altogether . Other ways of defining species include similarity of DNA , morphology , or ecological niche . The presence of locally adaptive traits may further subdivide species into infraspecific taxa such as subspecies . Tonga ( or ; Tongan : " Puleanga Fakatui o Tonga "), officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago comprising 169 islands of which 36 are inhabited . The total surface ___MASK99___ is about scattered over of the southern Pacific Ocean . It has a population of 103 , 000 people of whom 70 % reside on the main island of Tongatapu . Skinks are lizards belonging to the family ___MASK92___ and the infraorder ___MASK53___ . With more than 1 , 500 described species , the ___MASK92___ is one of the most diverse families of lizards . ___MASK53___ is an infraorder of lizards . They first appear in the fossil record about 170 million years ago , during the Jurassic period . Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand . It is the most populous urban ___MASK99___ in the country . Auckland has a population of , which constitutes percent of New Zealand ' s population . It is part of the wider Auckland Region  the ___MASK99___ governed by the Auckland Council  which also includes outlying rural ___MASK55___ and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf , resulting in a total population of . Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world . The Mori language name for Auckland is or , meaning " Tmaki with a hundred lovers ", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions . It has also been called karana , the Mori enunciation of " Auckland ". Metropolitan France ( or " ___MASK73___ Métropole "), also known as European France , is the part of France in Europe . It comprises mainland France and nearby islands in the Atlantic Ocean , the English Channel , and the Mediterranean Sea , including Corsica . Overseas France (" ___MASK73___ France d ' outre - mer ") is the collective name for the part of France outside Europe : French overseas regions (" départements et régions d ' outre - mer " or " DROM "), territories (" territoires d ' outre - mer " or " TOM "), collectivities (" collectivités d ' outre - mer " or " COM "), and the sui generis collectivity (" collectivité sui generis ") of New Caledonia . Sexual reproduction is a form of reproduction where two morphologically distinct types of specialized reproductive cells called gametes fuse together , involving a female ' s large ovum ( or egg ) and a male ' s smaller sperm . Each gamete contains half the number of chromosomes of normal cells . They are created by a specialized type of cell division , which only occurs in eukaryotic cells , known as meiosis . The two gametes fuse during fertilization to produce DNA replication and the creation of a single - celled zygote which includes genetic material from both gametes . In a process called genetic recombination , genetic material ( DNA ) joins up so that homologous chromosome sequences are aligned with each other , and this is followed by exchange of genetic information . Two rounds of cell division then produce four daughter cells with half the number of chromosomes from each original parent cell , and the same number of chromosomes as both parents , though self - fertilization can occur . For instance , in ___MASK58___ reproduction each ___MASK58___ cell contains 46 chromosomes , 23 pairs , except gamete cells , which only contain 23 chromosomes , so the child will have 23 chromosomes from each parent genetically recombined into 23 pairs . Cell division initiates the development of a new individual organism in multicellular organisms , including animals and plants , for the vast majority of whom this is the primary method of reproduction . A clade ( from , " klados ", " branch ") is a group of organisms that consists of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants , and represents a single " branch " on the " tree of life ". Deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA ) is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions used in the growth , development , functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses . DNA and RNA are nucleic acids ; alongside proteins , lipids and complex carbohydrates ( polysaccharides ), they are one of the four major types of macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life . Most DNA molecules consist of two biopolymer strands coiled around each other to form a double ___MASK49___ . Wellington is the capital city and second most populous urban ___MASK99___ of New Zealand , with residents . It is at the south - western tip of the North Island , between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range . Wellington is the major population centre of the southern North Island and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region , which also includes the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa . As the nation ' s capital city , the New Zealand Government and Parliament , Supreme Court and most of the civil service are based in the city . ___MASK76___ is a genus of skinks in the subfamily ___MASK87___ . It belongs to a group of genera mainly from the southwestern Pacific - Australian region . The group also includes the genus " Leiolopisma ". The North Island or Te Ika - a - Mui (" Mori ") is one of the two main islands of New Zealand , separated from the slightly larger but much less populous South Island by Cook Strait . The island ' s ___MASK99___ is , making it the world ' s 14th - largest island . It has a population of New Zealand is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean . The country geographically comprises two main landmasses  that of the North Island , or Te Ika - a - Mui , and the South Island , or Te Waipounamu  and numerous smaller islands . New Zealand is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly south of the Pacific island ___MASK55___ of New Caledonia , Fiji , and Tonga . Because of its remoteness , it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans . During its long period of isolation , New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal , fungal and plant life . The country ' s varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks , such as the Southern Alps , owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions . New Zealand ' s capital city is Wellington , while its most populous city is Auckland . Ants are eusocial ___MASK40___ of the family Formicidae and , along with the related wasps and bees , belong to the order Hymenoptera . Ants evolved from wasp - like ancestors in the Cretaceous period , about 99 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants . More than 12 , 500 of an estimated total of 22 , 000 species have been classified . They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node - like structure that forms their slender waists . New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean , east of Australia and east of Metropolitan France . The archipelago , part of the Melanesia subregion , includes the main island of Grande Terre , the Loyalty Islands , the Chesterfield Islands , the Belep archipelago , the Isle of Pines , and a few remote islets . The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea . Locals refer to Grande Terre as "" (" the pebble "). ___MASK87___ is the largest subfamily of skinks in the family Scincidae . The subfamily can be divided into a number of genus groups . If the rarely used taxonomic rank of infrafamily is employed , the genus groups would be designated as such , but such a move would require a formal description according to the ICZN standards . ___MASK28___ is a genus of skinks . Most species occur in the region of New Caledonia - New Zealand , and they are related to other genera from that general ___MASK99___ , such as ___MASK76___ ; these and others form the Eugongylus group . One living and two extinct taxa represent a clade endemic to the Mascarenes . ( Austin & Arnold 2006 ) Species ___MASK28___ alazon ___MASK28___ bardensis ___MASK28___ ceciliae Arnold & Bour , 2008 - extinct ___MASK28___ eulepis ___MASK28___ fallai ___MASK28___ fasciolare ___MASK28___ fuscum ___MASK28___ grande ___MASK28___ lioscincus ___MASK28___ mauritiana - extinct ( c . 1600 ) ___MASK28___ paronae ___MASK28___ telfairii ___MASK28___ zelandia An undescribed extinct taxon from Réunion was close to L . mauritiana ( Austin & Arnold 2006 ) . These two were formerly separated in Didosaurus . David Day ( 1979 ) , in Vanished Species , described the Reunion skink as small and fast moving but completely unafraid of humans . Individuals would climb on observer ' s legs . Efforts to maintain the species in captivity proved futile . The Reunion skink was reported to be completely insectivorous . Binomial nomenclature ( also called binominal nomenclature or binary nomenclature ) is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts , both of which use Latin grammatical forms , although they can be based on words from other languages . Such a name is called a binomial name ( which may be shortened to just " binomial "), a binomen or a scientific name ; more informally it is also called a Latin name . The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs ; the second part identifies the species within the genus . For example , humans belong to the genus " ___MASK34___ " and within this genus to the species " ___MASK34___ sapiens ". The " formal " introduction of this system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus , effectively beginning with his work " Species Plantarum " in 1753 . But Gaspard Bauhin , in as early as 1623 , had introduced in his book " Pinax theatri botanici " ( English , " Illustrated exposition of plants ") many names of genera that were later adopted by Linnaeus . Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles , with over 6 , 000 species , ranging across all continents except Antarctica , as well as most oceanic island chains . The group , traditionally recognized as the suborder Lacertilia , is defined as all extant members of the ___MASK1___ ( reptiles with overlapping scales ) that are neither sphenodonts ( i . e ., tuatara ) nor snakes  they form an evolutionary grade . While the snakes are recognized as falling phylogenetically within the Toxicofera clade from which they evolved , the sphenodonts are the sister group to the squamates , the larger monophyletic group , which includes both the lizards and the snakes . Chesterfield Islands (" îles Chesterfield " in French ) is a French archipelago of New Caledonia located in the Coral Sea , 550 km northwest of Grande Terre , the main island of New Caledonia . The archipelago is 120 km long and 70 km broad , made up of 11 islets and many reefs . The land ___MASK99___ of the islands is less than 10 km² . In biology , an organism is any contiguous living system , such as an ___MASK46___ , ___MASK42___ , fungus , archaeon , or bacterium . All known types of organisms are capable of some degree of response to stimuli , reproduction , growth and development and homeostasis . An organism consists of one or more cells ; when it has one cell it is known as a unicellular organism ; and when it has more than one it is known as a multicellular organism . Most unicellular organisms are of microscopic scale and are thus loosely described as microorganisms . Humans are multicellular organisms composed of many trillions of cells grouped into specialized tissues and organs . Eugongylus is a genus of skinks in the subfamily ___MASK87___ . The namesake of the " Eugonglyus " group of genera , it occupies a quite basal position among these . Members of this genus are commonly called mastiff skinks or short - legged giant skinks .