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Djibouti Spurfowl
The Djibouti spurfowl or Djibouti francolin (''Pternistis ochropectus'') is a bird species in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is critically endangered and found only in Djibouti, a nation in the Horn of Africa. This species is grayish-brown overall with white stripes and streaks on its underparts which become finer towards the upperparts. It has black markings on the head and a gray crown and has a short tail. It is in length, and weighs . Its natural habitat is high altitude subtropical or tropical dry forest composed primarily of African juniper. However, the juniper forests preferred by the spurfowl are dying, so it may be found in other habitats, such as box-tree forest. This bird is only known from two locations in Djibouti, one of which is largely unsurveyed. It can be found in small groups and is extremely shy. It is known to feed on berries, seeds, and termites, and it breeds between December and February. It is considered a critically endangered species because i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Dorst
Jean Dorst (7 August 1924 – 8 August 2001) was a French ornithologist. Dorst was born at Mulhouse and studied biology and paleontology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Paris. In 1947 he joined the staff of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. He succeeded Jacques Berlioz as chairman of Mammifères et Oiseaux in 1964, and was elected as director of the museum in 1975, resigning in 1985 to protest against government reforms of the museum. Dorst was a member of the Académie des Sciences, one of the founders and second president of the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos, president of the 16th International Ornithological Congress (IOC), and vice president of the Commission of Protection of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Dorst was one of the writers of the documentary '' Le Peuple Migrateur'' (''Winged Migration''), and the film is dedicated to him. A companion volume of photographs and essays was publi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry George Liddell
Henry George Liddell (; 6 February 1811– 18 January 1898) was dean (1855–1891) of Christ Church, Oxford, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1870–1874), headmaster (1846–1855) of Westminster School (where a house is now named after him), author of ''A History of Rome'' (1855), and co-author (with Robert Scott) of the monumental work ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', known as "Liddell and Scott", which is still widely used by students of Greek. Lewis Carroll wrote ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' for Henry Liddell's daughter Alice Liddell, Alice. Life Liddell received his education at Charterhouse School, Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford. He gained a British undergraduate degree classification, double first degree in 1833, then became a college tutor, and was ordained in 1838. Liddell was Headmaster of Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Publi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sister Taxon
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and taxon B are sister groups to each other. Taxa A and B, together with any other extant or extinct descendants of their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), form a monophyletic group, the clade AB. Clade AB and taxon C are also sister groups. Taxa A, B, and C, together with all other descendants of their MRCA form the clade ABC. The whole clade ABC is itself a subtree of a larger tree which offers yet more sister group relationships, both among the leaves and among larger, more deeply rooted clades. The tree structure shown connects through its root to the rest of the universal tree of life. In cladistic standards, taxa A, B, and C may represent specimens, species, genera, or any other taxonomic units. If A and B are at the same taxonomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molecular Phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to determine the processes by which diversity among species has been achieved. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree. Molecular phylogenetics is one aspect of molecular systematics, a broader term that also includes the use of molecular data in taxonomy and biogeography. Molecular phylogenetics and molecular evolution correlate. Molecular evolution is the process of selective changes (mutations) at a molecular level (genes, proteins, etc.) throughout various branches in the tree of life (evolution). Molecular phylogenetics makes inferences of the evolutionary relationships that arise due to molecular evolution and results in the construction of a phylogenetic tree. History The theoretical framew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erckel's Spurfowl
Erckel's spurfowl (''Pternistis erckelii''), also known as Erckel's francolin, is a species of game bird in the family Phasianidae. Taxonomy Erckel's spurfowl was described in 1935 by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell from specimens collected in the mountains of Ethiopia. He coined the binomial name ''Perdix erckelii''. The specific epithet was chosen by Rüppell to honour his assistant, Theodor Erckel (1811–1897), who had helped with the collection of specimens. The species is now placed in the genus ''Pternistis'' that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. Erckel's spurfowl is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. A phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that Erckel's spurfowl was most closely related to the Djibouti spurfowl. Description The largest African spurfowl, Erckel's spurfowl is in length, with females being slightly smaller than males. Males grow to , based on a sample of three specimens, and a single female specimen w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut-naped Spurfowl
The chestnut-naped spurfowl (''Pternistis castaneicollis'') is a species of bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. At in length and weighing , it is a large species of spurfowl. It is found in Ethiopia and Somaliland. The population is believed to be stable but according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) there is insufficient data to make an estimate of the population. Taxonomy The chestnut-naped spurfowl was described in 1888 by the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori based on a specimen collected near "Lago Ciar-Ciar" (now Haro Ch'erch'er Hayk') in the Ahmar Mountains of central Ethiopia. He coined the binomial name ''Francolinus castaneicollis''. The species is now placed in the genus ''Pternistis'' that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. The specific epithet ''castaneicollis'' combines the Latin ''castaneus'' meaning "chestnut-brown" and the Modern Latin ''-collis'' meaning "necked". The chestnut-naped spurfowl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handsome Spurfowl
The handsome spurfowl (''Pternistis nobilis'') is a species of bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is a large, up to 35 cm long, terrestrial forest bird with a dark reddish brown plumage, grey head, red bill and legs, brown iris, bare red orbital skin and rufous grey below. Both sexes are similar. The female is slightly smaller than male. The young has duller plumage. The handsome spurfowl is distributed in mountain forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, southwest Uganda and borders between Burundi and Rwanda. It is a shy and elusive bird, more often heard than seen. The diet consists mainly of seeds. Taxonomy The handsome spurfowl was described in 1908 by the German ornithologist Anton Reichenow from a specimen collected on Mount Sabyinyo in the Virunga Mountains. Mount Sabyinyo is in Rwanda, on the border with the Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Reichenow coined the binomial name ''Francolinus nobilis''. The species is now placed in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackson's Spurfowl
Jackson's spurfowl or Jackson's francolin (''Pternistis jacksoni'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Kenya and Uganda. Its preferred habitats include mountainous forests and stands of bamboo. The species is named after the English administrator and ornithologist Frederick John Jackson who collected the first specimens. Taxonomy Jackson's francolin was described in 1891 by the Scottish ornithologist William Robert Ogilvie-Grant from specimens collected by Frederick John Jackson in Kikuyu, Kenya. Ogilvie-Grant honoured Jackson and coined the binomial name ''Francolinus jacksoni''. The species is now placed in the genus ''Pternistis'' that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. Jackson's spurfowl is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. References External linksXeno-canto: audio recordings of Jackson's spurfowl [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johann Georg Wagler
Johann Georg Wagler (28 March 1800 – 23 August 1832) was a German herpetologist and ornithologist. Wagler was assistant to Johann Baptist von Spix, and gave lectures in zoology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich after it was moved to Munich. He worked on the extensive collections brought back from Brazil by Spix, and published partly together with him books on reptiles from Brazil. Wagler wrote ''Monographia Psittacorum'' (1832), which included the correct naming of the blue macaws. In 1832, Wagler died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound while out collecting in München-Moosach. Life Johann Georg Wagler was a German naturalist and scientist in the 19th century, whose works primarily focused on herpetology and ornithology (Beolens, Watkins & Grayson, 2011). Johan Georg Wagler was born on the 28th of March 1800, in the city of Nuremberg, where the Chancellor of the City Court was Wagler's father (Wagler, 1884). After taking up gymnastics at Nuremberg, J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family (taxonomy), family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the Roman Republic it became the dominant language in the Italian region and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. Even after the fall of Western Rome, Latin remained the common language of international communication, science, scholarship and academia in Europe until well into the 18th century, when other regional vernaculars (including its own descendants, the Romance languages) supplanted it in common academic and political usage, and it eventually became a dead language in the modern linguistic definition. Latin is a highly inflected language, with three distinct genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), six or seven noun cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, and vocative), five declensions, four verb conjuga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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