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Bahamian Tortoise
''Chelonoidis alburyorum'' is an extinct species of land tortoise that lived from the late Pleistocene to around 1400 CE. The species was discovered and described by Richard Franz and Shelley E. Franz, the findings being published in 2009. Name The specific epithet, ''alburyorum'', is in honor of Bahamian naturalist Nancy Ann Albury. Fossil The shell of ''C. alburyorum'' was 47 cm (19 inches) in length. Fossils of the species were discovered in Sawmill Sink, a blue hole. Other sites where ''C. alburyorum'' fossils have been found include cave systems and an inland deep blue sink hole. All fossils of ''C. alburyorum'' have been found in the Bahamas. Extinction ''C. alburyorum'' was the last-surviving of the West Indian ''Chelonoidis'', persisting up to 1170 CE on the Abacos, up to 1200 CE on Grand Turk, and up to 1400 CE on the Middle Caicos Middle Caicos is the largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. To the west, it is separated from North Caicos by Juniper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tortoise
Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like other members of the suborder Cryptodira, they retract their necks and heads directly backward into the shell to protect them. Tortoises can vary in size with some species, such as the Galápagos tortoise, Galápagos giant tortoise, growing to more than in length, whereas others like the Chersobius signatus, Speckled cape tortoise have shells that measure only long. Several lineages of tortoises Giant tortoise, have independently evolved very large body sizes in excess of 100 kg, including the Galápagos tortoise, Galapagos giant tortoise and the Aldabra giant tortoise. They are usually Diurnality, diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive animals. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1200
Events By place Europe * Spring – Boniface I, marquis of Montferrat, sends envoys to Venice, Genoa and other city-states to negotiate a contract for transport to the Levant. Meanwhile, Boniface and various nobles are mustering an expeditionary army (mainly forces from France and the Holy Roman Empire) at Paris. On February 23, Baldwin IX, count of Flanders and his brother Henry of Flanders take the cross at Bruges (modern Belgium), and agree to take part in the Fourth Crusade called by Pope Innocent III (see 1199). * May 22 – The Kings John (Lackland) and Philip II (Augustus) sign a peace treaty at Le Goulet, an island in the middle of the Seine River, near Vernon in Normandy. The agreement recognizes John as overlord of most of the English owned lands in France, but John has to give Philip the lands of Norman Vexin and Évreux and a large sum of money (some 20,000 marks) – a "relief" payment for recognition of John's sovereignty of Brittany. * Augu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptiles Described In 2009
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians (tuatara). As of March 2022, the Reptile Database includes about 11,700 species. In the traditional Linnaean classification system, birds are considered a separate class to reptiles. However, crocodilians are more closely related to birds than they are to other living reptiles, and so modern cladistic classification systems include birds within Reptilia, redefining the term as a clade. Other cladistic definitions abandon the term reptile altogether in favor of the clade Sauropsida, which refers to all amniotes more closely related to modern reptiles than to mammals. The study of the traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. The earliest known proto-reptiles originated around 31 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chelonoidis
''Chelonoidis'' is a genus of turtles in the tortoise family erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1835. They are found in South America and the Galápagos Islands, and formerly had a wide distribution in the West Indies. The multiple subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise are among the largest extant terrestrial chelonians. Giant members of the genus, such as Lutz's giant tortoise (''C. lutzae'') were also present in mainland South America and the West Indies during the Pleistocene. Taxonomy They were formerly assigned to ''Geochelone'', but a 2006 genetic analysis indicated that they were actually most closely related to hingeback tortoises. However, a more recent genetic analysis of mtDNA has found that they are actually most closely related to the lineage containing ''Centrochelys'' and ''Geochelone''. Their ancestors apparently floated across the Atlantic from Africa to South America in the Oligocene. This crossing was made possible by their ability to float with their heads u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Colonization Of The Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short term settlement near the northern tip of Newfoundland circa 1000 CE, the later and more well-known wave by the European powers is what formally constitutes as beginning of colonization, involving the continents of North America and South America. During this time, several empires from Europe—primarily Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Russia, the Netherlands and Sweden—began to explore and claim the land, natural resources and human capital of the Americas, resulting in the displacement, disestablishment, enslavement, and in many cases, genocide of the indigenous peoples, and the establishment of several settler colonial states. Some formerly European settler colonies—including New Mexico, Alaska, the Prairies or northern Grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Caicos
Middle Caicos is the largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. To the west, it is separated from North Caicos by Juniper Hole, and to the east, from East Caicos by Lorimer Creek, both narrow passages that can accommodate only small boats. The island is known for its extensive system of caves and its significant Lucayan Indian archaeological sites. The island is connected to North Caicos via a causeway. Middle Caicos was previously called Grand Caicos, although this name is not used today. Geography The island has an area of within the high water mark, and of within the shoreline. The difference between the two values is not accounted for as land area. It is part of the North Caicos and Middle Caicos District. Notable natural areas are the scenic Mudjin Harbour, located on the northern shore, and Conch Bar Caves. On the eastern part of the islands are the ruins of Haulover Plantation. There are at least 38 Lucayan sites on Middle Caicos. Recent excavation has revealed tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1400
Year 1400 ( MCD) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The year 1400 was not a leap year in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. Events January–December * Henry IV of England quells the Epiphany Rising and executes the Earls of Kent, Huntingdon and Salisbury, and the Baron le Despencer, for their attempt to have Richard II restored as king. * February – Henry Percy (Hotspur) leads English incursions into Scotland. * February 14 – The deposed Richard II of England dies by means unknown in Pontefract Castle. It is likely that King Henry IV ordered his death by starvation, to prevent further uprisings. * March 23 – Five-year-old Trần Thiếu Đế is forced to abdicate as ruler of Đại Việt (modern-day Vietnam), in favour of his maternal grandfather and court official Hồ Quý Ly, ending the Trần Dynasty after 175 years and starting the Hồ Dynasty. Hồ Quý Ly subsequently changes th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Turk Island
Grand Turk Island is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands (the smaller of the two archipelagos that make up the island territory) with . Grand Turk contains the territory's capital, Cockburn Town, and the JAGS McCartney International Airport. The island is the administrative, historic, cultural and financial center of the territory and has the second-largest population of the islands at approximately 4,831 people in 2012. The name comes from a species of cactus on the island, the Turk's Cap Cactus (''Melocactus intortus''), which has a distinctive cap, reminiscent of an Ottoman fez. History The Lucayan people were the indigenous people of the island, who called it ''Abawana,'' meaning "the First Small Land"''.'' The Spanish later called it Amuana. Grand Turk was first colonised in 1681 by Bermudians, who set up the salt industry in the islands. In 1766 it became the capital of the country. For some time, at least until the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abaco Islands
Abaco is a variant Italian form of the Biblical name "Habakkuk" (but normally Abacùc or Abacucco). Abaco may refer to: People *Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco (1675–1742), Italian composer and violinist *Joseph Abaco (1710–1805), Belgian composer and violoncellist Places * Abaco Islands, part of the northern Bahamas **North Abaco **Central Abaco **South Abaco **Abaco National Park Other uses *Abaco (web browser), the web browser *Abaco Air, Bahamian airline *Abaco Independence Movement The Abaco Independence Movement (AIM) was a Bahamian political party formed shortly after the Bahamas became independent in August 1973. Its stated aim was self-determination for the Abaco islands within a federal Bahamas. In October 1973 ..., separatist organization on the Abaco islands See also * Abacus (other) {{disambiguation, surname, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Pleistocene
The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently defined as the time between c. 129,000 and c. 11,700 years ago. The Late Pleistocene equates to the proposed Tarantian Age of the geologic time scale, preceded by the officially ratified Chibanian (formerly known as Middle Pleistocene) and succeeded by the officially ratified Greenlandian. The estimated beginning of the Tarantian is the start of the Eemian interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage 5). It is held to end with the termination of the Younger Dryas, some 10th millennium BC, 11,700 years ago when the Holocene Epoch began. The term Upper Pleistocene is currently in use as a provisional or "quasi-formal" designation by the International Union of Geological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1170
Year 1170 ( MCLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Levant * Winter – Egyptian forces led by Saladin invade Palestine and besiege Darum on the Mediterranean coast. Its defenses are weak and though Saladin has no siege-engines with him, its fall seems imminent. King Amalric I withdraws his Templar garrison from Gaza, to assist him in defending Darum. Saladin raises the siege and marches on Gaza, where he captures the lower town (despite the stiff resistance ordered by Lord Miles of Plancy), and massacres the inhabitants. However, the citadel is too strong for Saladin, and he is forced to retreat to Egypt. * Saladin sends an Egyptian squadron up the Gulf of Aqaba, which captures the Crusader outpost of Aila, at the head of the Gulf. England * June 14 – King Henry II has his 15-year-old son Henry the Young King crowned by Roger, Archbishop of York, as junior king and h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea caves, rock shelters, and grottos, that extend a relatively short distance into the rock and they are called ''exogene'' caves. Caves which extend further underground than the opening is wide are called ''endogene'' caves. Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves and the cave environment. Visiting or exploring caves for recreation may be called ''caving'', ''potholing'', or ''spelunking''. Formation types The formation and development of caves is known as ''speleogenesis''; it can occur over the course of millions of years. Caves can range widely in size, and are formed by various geological processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion by water, tectonic forces, microorgani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
