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Babakotia
''Babakotia'' is an extinct genus of medium-sized lemur, or strepsirrhine primate, from Madagascar that contains a single species, ''Babakotia radofilai''. Together with '' Palaeopropithecus'', '' Archaeoindris'', and '' Mesopropithecus'', it forms the family Palaeopropithecidae, commonly known as the sloth lemurs. The name ''Babakotia'' comes from the Malagasy name for the indri, ''babakoto'', to which it and all other sloth lemurs are closely related. Due to its mix of morphological traits that show intermediate stages between the slow-moving smaller sloth lemurs and the suspensory large sloth lemurs, it has helped determine the relationship between both groups and the closely related and extinct monkey lemurs. ''Babakotia radofilai'' and all other sloth lemurs share many traits with living sloths, demonstrating convergent evolution. It had long forearms, curved digits, and highly mobile hip and ankle joints. Its skull was more heavily built than that of indriids, but not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesopropithecus
''Mesopropithecus'' is an extinct genus of small to medium-sized lemur, or strepsirrhine primate, from Madagascar that includes three species, ''M. dolichobrachion'', ''M. globiceps'', and ''M. pithecoides''. Together with '' Palaeopropithecus'', ''Archaeoindris'', and '' Babakotia'', it is part of the sloth lemur family (Palaeopropithecidae). Once thought to be an indriid because its skull is similar to that of living sifakas, a recently discovered postcranial skeleton shows ''Mesopropithecus'' had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs—a distinctive trait shared by sloth lemurs but not by indriids. However, as it had the shortest forelimbs of all sloth lemurs, it is thought that ''Mesopropithecus'' was more quadrupedal and did not use suspension as much as the other sloth lemurs. All three species ate leaves, fruits, and seeds, but the proportions were different. ''M. pithecoides'' was primarily a leaf-eater (folivores), but also ate fruit and occasionally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sloth Lemur
The sloth lemurs (Palaeopropithecidae) comprise an extinct family of lemurs that includes four genera. The common name can be misleading, as members of Palaeopropithecidae were not closely related to sloths. This clade has been dubbed the ‘‘sloth lemurs’’ because of remarkable postcranial convergences with South American sloths. Despite postcranial similarities, the hands and feet show significant differences. Sloths possess long, curved claws, while sloth lemurs have short, flat nails on their distal phalanges like most primates. Diet Members of the family Palaeopropithecidae appear to have eaten a mix of fruit, nuts, and foliage. The sloth lemurs were mixed-feeders rather than specialized browsers who ate a mixed diet based on seasonality. On the basis of highly robust mandible, ''Palaeopropithecus'' and ''Archaeoindris'' can be considered highly folivorous. The family Palaeopropithecidae exhibited molar megadonty, small deciduous teeth with low occlusal length ratio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lemur
Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They arboreal, chiefly live in trees and nocturnal, are active at night. Lemurs share resemblance with other primates, but evolved independently from monkeys and apes. Due to Madagascar's highly seasonal climate, Evolution of lemurs, lemur evolution has produced a level of species diversity rivaling that of any other primate group. Until shortly after humans arrived on the island around 2,000 years ago, there were lemurs as large as a male gorilla. Most species have been discovered or promoted to full species status since the 1990s; however, lemur Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic classification is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeoindris
''Archaeoindris fontoynontii'' is an extinct giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar, comparable in size to a male gorilla. It belonged to a family of extinct lemurs known as "sloth lemurs" (Palaeopropithecidae) and, because of its extremely large size, it has been compared to the ground sloths that once roamed North and South America. It was most closely related to ''Palaeopropithecus'', the second largest type of sloth lemur. Along with the other sloth lemurs, ''Archaeoindris'' was related to the living indri, sifakas, and woolly lemurs, as well as the recently extinct monkey lemurs (Archaeolemuridae). The genus, ''Archaeoindris'', translates to "ancient indri-like lemur", even though it probably became extinct recently, around 350 BCE. ''Archaeoindris'' was first described by Herbert F. Standing in 1909 based on subfossil fragmentary jaws, although Charles Lamberton later discovered a complete skull. Only six bones from the lower skeleton have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeopropithecus
''Palaeopropithecus'' ("old sifaka" from Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós), “old” + Modern Latin propithecus, "sifaka") is a recently extinct genus of large sloth lemurs from Madagascar related to living lemur species found there today. Three species are known, ''Palaeopropithecus ingens'', ''P. maximus'', and ''P. kelyus''. Radiocarbon dates indicate that they may have survived until around 1300–1620 CE. Malagasy legends of the '' tretretretre'' or ''tratratratra'' are thought to refer to ''P. ingens''. Evidence suggests a solely arboreal lifestyle with frequent upside down suspension, hence the name sloth lemur. Anatomy ''Palaeopropithecus'' primarily lived in the trees to stay away from predators as well as to gain valuable resources. To survive properly in the trees, ''Palaeopropithecus'' had long and powerful arms and legs, each with significantly long fingers and toes to allow them to hang upside down on branches. These were used to swing from branch to br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". What belongs to a family—or if a described family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no hard rules for describing or recognizing a family, but in plants, they can be characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions, and there may be no broad consensus across the scientific community for some time. The publishing of new data and opini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indri
The indri (; ''Indri indri''), also called the babakoto, is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-body length of about and a weight of between . It has a black and white coat and maintains an upright posture when climbing or clinging. It is monogamous and lives in small family groups, moving through the canopy, and is herbivorous, feeding mainly on leaves but also seeds, fruits, and flowers. The groups are quite vocal, communicating with other groups by singing, roaring and other vocalisations. Besides humans, it is the only mammal found that can use rhythm. It is a diurnal tree-dweller related to the sifakas and, like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It is revered by the Malagasy people and plays an important part in their myths and legends with various stories in existence accounting for its origin. The main threats faced by the indri are habitat destruction and fragmentation due to slash and burn agriculture, fuelwood gathering, and logging. It is also hunted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. However, only about 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either independently or sent abroad by their employers. However, the term 'expatriate' is also used for retirees and others who have chosen to live outside their native country. Historically, it has also referred to exiles. Expatriates are immigrants or emigrants who maintain cultural ties such as the language of their country of origin. Etymology The word ''expatriate'' comes from the Latin terms '' ex'' ("out of") and ''patria'' ("native country, fatherland"). Semantics Dictionary definitions for the current meaning of the word include: :Expatriate: :* 'A person who lives outside their native country' (Oxford), or :* 'living in a foreign land' (Webster's). These definitions contrast with those of other words with a similar meaning, such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caving
Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment.Caving in New Zealand (from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Accessed 2012-11.) The challenges involved in caving vary according to the cave being visited; in addition to the total absence of light beyond the entrance, negotiating pitches, squeezes, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Miocene
The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma. The evolution of life The gibbons (family Hylobatidae) and orangutans (genus ''Pongo'') are the first groups to split from the line leading to the hominins, including humans, then gorillas (genus ''Gorilla''), and finally, chimpanzees and bonobos (genus ''Pan (genus), Pan''). The splitting date between hominin and chimpanzee lineages is placed by some between 4 to 8 million years ago, that is, during the Late Miocene. References External links GeoWhen Database - Late Miocene Miocene, .03 Miocene geochronology, 03 Messinian, * Tortonian, * {{geochronology-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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