Balkan Mole-rat
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Balkan Mole-rat
The Bukovina blind mole-rat or (erroneously) the Balkan blind mole-rat (''Spalax graecus'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae found in Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. Taxonomy The specific epithet ''graecus'', as well as the reference to the Balkans in its former scientific name, both derive from the type specimen, which was initially thought to have been collected in the vicinity of Athens, Greece. However, in 1969 this was found to be erroneous, and the type locality was corrected to the vicinity of Chernovtsy, Ukraine. Formerly, this species was thought to comprise three disjunct subspecies: the type subspecies ''graecus'', inhabiting northern Romania, Moldova, and southwestern Ukraine, Mehely's blind mole-rat (subspecies ''antiquus''), thought to be endemic to central Romania, and the possibly extinct Oltenia blind mole-rat (subspecies ''istricus''), thought to be endemic to southern Romania. However, a 2013 morphological and phylogenetic analysis found ...
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Alfred Nehring
Alfred Nehring (29 January 1845, in Gandersheim – 29 September 1904 in Berlin-Charlottenburg) was a German zoologist and paleontologist. He studied philology and natural sciences in Göttingen and Halle, afterwards teaching classes in Wesel (1867) and Wolfenbüttel (1871). From 1881 he was a professor at the ''Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule'' (agricultural university) in Berlin. Nehring's scientific investigations involved modern and prehistoric vertebrates, being particularly interested in the history and morphology of domesticated animals (horses, dogs, etc.). In his studies of the guinea pig, he asserted '' Cavia cutleri'' to be the direct ancestor of the domesticated guinea pig. Selected writings * ''Ueber die Cerviden von Piracicaba in Brasilien (Prov. St. Paulo)'', 1884 - On cervids of Piracicaba. * ''Ueber eine Pelzrobben-Art von der Küste Süd-brasiliens'', 1887 - About a fur seal species from coastal southern Brazil. * ''Ueber Sus celebensis und verwandte'', 1889 ...
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Oltenia Blind Mole-rat
The Oltenia blind mole-rat (''Spalax istricus'') is a critically endangered, possibly extinct species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to Romania. Taxonomy Previously described in 1909 by Lajos Méhelÿ as a subspecies of the Balkan mole-rat (''S. graecus''), a 2013 morphological and phylogenetic analysis found it to be a distinct, well-defined species. Its closest taxonomic relations remain unclear due to a lack of genetic material from available specimens. The American Society of Mammalogists and IUCN Red List follow the results of this study. Distribution and habitat This species is restricted to southern Romania, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia. It inhabits hilly and flat terrain of the Wallachian Plain, covered by steppe or forest-steppe vegetation. It likely inhabits similar habitats to Mehely's blind mole-rat (''S. antiquus''). Status This species is classified as critically endangered or possibly extinct on the IUCN Red List ...
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Rodents Of Europe
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are native to all major land masses except for New Zealand, Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity. Rodents are extremely diverse in their ecology and lifestyles and can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat, including human-made environments. Species can be arboreal, fossorial (burrowing), saltatorial/richochetal (leaping on their hind legs), or semiaquatic. However, all rodents share several morphological features, including having only a single upper and lower pair of ever-growing incisors. Well-known rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Rabbits, hares, and pikas, whose inciso ...
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Spalax
''Spalax'' is a genus of rodent in the family Spalacidae, subfamily ''Spalacinae'' (blind mole-rats). It is one of two extant genera in the subfamily Spalacinae, alongside ''Nannospalax''.'''' Species in this genus are found in eastern Europe and western & central Asia. They are completely blind and have a subterranean lifestyle. Taxonomy Prior to 2013, ''Spalax'' was widely considered the only member of Spalacinae, with all blind mole-rat species being grouped within it. However, phylogenetic and morphological evidence supported some of the species within it forming a distinct lineage that diverged from the others during the Late Miocene, when a marine barrier formed between Anatolia and the Balkans. These species were reclassified into the genus ''Nannospalax'', making ''Spalax'' one of two extant spalacine genera.'''' Species of genus ''Spalax'' *Mehely's blind mole-rat'', S. antiquus'' * Sandy blind mole-rat, ''S. arenarius'' * Giant blind mole-rat, ''S. giganteus'' *B ...
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2007 Enlargement Of The European Union
On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became member states of the European Union (EU) in the fifth wave of EU enlargement. Negotiations Romania was the first country of post-communist Europe to have official relations with the European Community. In 1974, a treaty included Romania in the Community's Generalized System of Preferences. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, membership of the EC, and its successor the European Union (EU), had been the main goal of every Romanian Government and practically every political party in Romania. Romania signed its Europe Agreement in 1993, and submitted its official application for membership in the EU on 22 June 1995 and Bulgaria submitted its official application for membership in the EU on 14 December 1995, the third and the fourth of the post–communist European countries to do so after Hungary and Poland. Along with its official EU application, Romania submitted the Snagov Declaration, signed by all fourteen major political par ...
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European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been described as a '' sui generis'' political entity (without precedent or comparison) combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation. Containing 5.8per cent of the world population in 2020, the EU generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of around trillion in 2021, constituting approximately 18per cent of global nominal GDP. Additionally, all EU states but Bulgaria have a very high Human Development Index according to the United Nations Development Programme. Its cornerstone, the Customs Union, paved the way to establishing an internal single market based on standardised legal framework and legislation that applies in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where the states have agreed to act ...
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Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Apuseni Mountains. Broader definitions of Transylvania also include the western and northwestern Romanian regions of Crișana and Maramureș, and occasionally Banat. Transylvania is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history. It also contains Romania's second-largest city, Cluj-Napoca, and other iconic cities and towns such as Brașov, Sibiu, Târgu Mureș, Alba Iulia and Sighișoara. It is also the home of some of Romania's List of World Heritage Sites in Romania, UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, Villages with fortified churches, the Historic Centre of Sighișoara, the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains and the Rosia Montana Mining Cultural Landsc ...
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Lesser Blind Mole-rat
The lesser blind mole-rat (''Spalax leucodon'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey and Ukraine. Prior to 2012, it was classified in the genus ''Spalax'', but modern authors tend to separate this and some closely related mole rat species into a separate genus named ''Nannospalax''. A cariological study showed that ''Nannospalax leucodon'' is a superspecies consisting of several cariologically distinct cryptic species. According to this definition there are four separate cariological forms in the Carpathian Basin, one of them endangered and another one vulnerable while insufficient data are available to evaluate the conservation status of the other two forms. One study directed towards life expectancy used this species by virtue of its incredible longevity performance, hypoxia and hypercapnia endurance, as well as cancer resistance. Looking a ...
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Intensive Farming
Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of agricultural land area. It is characterized by a low fallow ratio, higher use of inputs such as capital and labour, and higher crop yields per unit land area. Most commercial agriculture is intensive in one or more ways. Forms that rely heavily on industrial methods are often called industrial agriculture, which is characterised by innovations designed to increase yield. Techniques include planting multiple crops per year, reducing the frequency of fallow years, and improving cultivars. It also involves increased use of fertilizers, plant growth regulators, pesticides, antibiotics for livestock and mechanised agriculture, controlled by increased and more detailed analysis of growing conditions, including weather, soil, water, weeds, an ...
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Steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome A steppe may be semi-arid or covered with grass or with shrubs or with both, depending on the season and latitude. The term " steppe climate" denotes the climate encountered in regions too dry to support a forest but not dry enough to be a desert. Steppe soils are typically of the chernozem type. Steppes are usually characterized by a semi-arid or continental climate. Extremes can be recorded in the summer of up to and in winter, . Besides this major seasonal difference, fluctuations between day and night are also very great. In both the highlands of Mongolia and northern Nevada, can be reached during the day with sub-freezing readings at night. Mid-latitude steppes feature hot summers and cold wint ...
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Bukovina
Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerThe Creeping Codification of the New Lex Mercatoria Kluwer Law International, 2010, p. 132 The region is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided between Romania and Ukraine. Settled initially and primarily by Romanians and subsequently by Ruthenians (Ukrainians) during the 4th century, it became part of the Kievan Rus' in the 10th century and then the Principality of Moldavia during the 14th century. The region has been sparsely populated since the Paleolithic, with several now extinct peoples inhabiting it. Consequently, the culture of the Kievan Rus' spread in the region, with the Bukovinian Church administered from Kyiv until 1302, when it passed to Halych metropoly. The ...
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Outer Ear
The outer ear, external ear, or auris externa is the external part of the ear, which consists of the auricle (also pinna) and the ear canal. It gathers sound energy and focuses it on the eardrum (tympanic membrane). Structure Auricle The visible part is called the auricle, also known as the pinna, especially in other animals. It is composed of a thin plate of yellow elastic cartilage, covered with integument, and connected to the surrounding parts by ligaments and muscles; and to the commencement of the ear canal by fibrous tissue. Many mammals can move the pinna (with the auriculares muscles) in order to focus their hearing in a certain direction in much the same way that they can turn their eyes. Most humans do not have this ability. Ear canal From the pinna, the sound waves move into the ear canal (also known as the ''external acoustic meatus'') a simple tube running through to the middle ear. This tube leads inward from the bottom of the auricula and conducts the ...
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