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Catostomus Discobolus
The bluehead sucker (''Catostomus discobolus'') is endemic to the intermountain Western US. A total of 23 members of the genus ''Catostomus'' has been found in North America. ''C. discobolus'' and ''C. yarrowi'' are two sister species that have very similar Arizona habitats. Description The bluehead sucker is the largest of all Arizona endemic suckers, reaching lengths over 11.8 in. Their colors are very similar to the desert sucker, with dark green or dark silvery top portions and light yellow bottoms. The bluehead has the largest lips of any sucker and has tiny papillae on the lower lip. This is also the only species with the absence of an inguinal process, just behind the pectoral fins, distinguishing it from the other eight suckers. The lower lip is slightly notched at the midline, with lateral line scales in large numbers that range from 70 to 100. They have 7 to 9 dorsal fin rays and a smaller number of caudal fin rays. During breeding, the males obtain a blu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of 19. Though his father tried to raise Cope as a gentleman farmer, he eventually acquiesced to his son's scientific aspirations. Cope married his cousin and had one child; the family moved from Philadelphia to Haddonfield, New Jersey, although Cope would maintain a residence and museum in Philadelphia in his later years. Cope had little formal scientific training, and he eschewed a teaching position for field work. He made regular trips to the American West, prospecting in the 1870s and 1880s, often as a member of United States Geological Survey teams. A personal feud between Cope and paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh led to a period of intense fossil-finding competition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mate Choice
Mate choice is one of the primary mechanisms under which evolution can occur. It is characterized by a "selective response by animals to particular stimuli" which can be observed as behavior.Bateson, Paul Patrick Gordon. "Mate Choice." Mate Choice, Cambridge University Press, 1985 In other words, before an animal engages with a potential mate, they first evaluate various aspects of that mate which are indicative of quality—such as the resources or phenotypes they have—and evaluate whether or not those particular Phenotypic trait, trait(s) are somehow beneficial to them. The evaluation will then incur a response of some sort. These mechanisms are a part of evolutionary change because they operate in a way that causes the qualities that are desired in a mate to be more frequently passed on to each generation over time. For example, if female peacocks desire mates who have a colourful plumage, then this trait will increase in frequency over time as male peacocks with a colourful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. The name Colorado derives from the Spanish language for "colored reddish" due to its heavy silt load. Starting in the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau and through the Grand Canyon before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada border, where it turns south toward the Mexico–United States border, international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora. Known for its dramatic canyons, whitewater rapids, and eleven National parks of the United States, U.S. National Parks, the Colorado River and its tributaries are a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Mead
Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. Lake Mead provides water to the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada as well as some of Mexico, providing sustenance to nearly 20 million people and large areas of farmland. At maximum capacity, Lake Mead is long, at its greatest depth, has a surface elevation of above sea level, has a surface area of , and contains 28.23 million acre-feet (32.236 km³) of water. The lake has remained below full capacity since 1983 owing to drought and increased water demand. As of May 31, 2022, Lake Mead held of full capacity at , dropping below the reservoir's previous all-time low of recorded in July 2016. In a draft 2022 Colorado River annual operating plan, released by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, a "Shortage Condition" is expected to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shoshone Falls
Shoshone Falls () is a waterfall in the western United States, on the Snake River in south-central Idaho, approximately northeast of the city of Twin Falls. Sometimes called the "Niagara of the West," Shoshone Falls is in height, higher than Niagara Falls, and flows over a rim nearly in width. Formed by the cataclysmic outburst flooding of Lake Bonneville during the Pleistocene ice age about 14,000 years ago, Shoshone Falls marks the historical upper limit of fish migration (including salmon) in the Snake River, and was an important fishing and trading place for Native Americans. The falls were documented by Europeans as early as the 1840s; despite the isolated location, it became a tourist attraction starting in the 1860s. At the beginning of the 20th century, part of the Snake River was diverted for irrigation of the Magic Valley. Now, the flows over the falls can be viewed seasonally based on snowfall, irrigation needs and hydroelectric demands. Irrigation and hydroelect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catostomidae
The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family of freshwater fishes. The Catostomidae are almost exclusively native to North America. The only exceptions are ''Catostomus catostomus,'' found in both North America and Russia, and ''Myxocyprinus asiaticus'' found only in China. In the Ozarks they are a common food fish and a festival is held each year to celebrate them. ''Ictiobus cyprinellus'' can reach an age up to 112 years, making it the oldest known freshwater teleost. Description and biology The mouths of these fish are most commonly located on the underside of their head ( subterminal), with thick, fleshy lips. Most species are less than in length, but the largest species (''Ictiobus'' and '' Myxocyprinus'') can surpass . They are distinguished from related fish by having a long pharyngeal bone in the throat, containing a single row of teeth. Catostomids are most often found in rivers, but can be found in any freshwate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
