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Eyles' Harrier
Eyles's harrier (''Circus teauteensis'') is an extinct bird of prey which lived in New Zealand. Its closest relative is the smaller Swamp harrier (''Circus approximans''), which arrived in New Zealand after its extinction. Name This species was named after Jim Eyles, paleontologist and former director of the Nelson Provincial Museum and the West Coast Museum. Taxonomy Eyles' harrier was presumably somewhat similar to the living spotted harrier, its closest living relative, from which it diverged around 2.4 million years ago. Description It was an example of island gigantism, as an adult female weighed around , over twice as much as a swamp harrier. Its shape differed from that of most other harriers, and it was initially mistaken for a huge hawk, possibly a giant ''Accipiter''. Ecology It was a generalist predator, taking prey of the same size as small eagle species do: land animals weighing one or a few kilograms. In its hunting strategy, however, it was more adapted to avian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in 2009 by the International Union of Geological Sciences, the cutoff of the Pleistocene and the preceding Pliocene was regarded as being 1.806 million years Before Present (BP). Publications from earlier years may use either definition of the period. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period and also with the end of the Paleolithic age used in archaeology. The name is a combination of Ancient Greek grc, label=none, πλεῖστος, pleīstos, most and grc, label=none, καινός, kainós (latinized as ), 'new'. At the end of the preceding Pliocene, the previously isolated North and South American continents were joined by the Isthmus of Panama, causing Great American Interchang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Accipiter
''Accipiter'' is a genus of Bird of prey, birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. With 51 recognized species it is the most diverse genus in its family. Most species are called goshawks or sparrowhawks, although almost all New World species (excepting the northern goshawk) are simply known as hawks. They can be anatomically distinguished from their relatives by the lack of a coracoid, procoracoid foramen. Two small and aberrant species usually placed here do possess a large procoracoid foramen and are also distinct as regards DNA sequence. They may warrant separation in the old genus ''Hieraspiza''.Olson (2006) Extant accipiters range in size from the little sparrowhawk (''A. minullus''), in which the smallest males measure long, span across the wings and weigh , to the northern goshawk (''A. gentilis''), in which the largest females measure long, span across the wings, and weigh . These birds are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and a long tail which helps them mane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species have subspecies, but for those that do there must be at least two. Subspecies is abbreviated subsp. or ssp. and the singular and plural forms are the same ("the subspecies is" or "the subspecies are"). In zoology, under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the subspecies is the only taxonomic rank below that of species that can receive a name. In botany and mycology, under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, other infraspecific ranks, such as variety, may be named. In bacteriology and virology, under standard bacterial nomenclature and virus nomenclature, there are recommendations but not strict requirements for recognizing other important infraspecific ranks. A taxonomist decides whether ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nomina Nuda
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate description. This makes it a "bare" or "naked" name, which cannot be accepted as it stands. A largely equivalent but much less frequently used term is ''nomen tantum'' ("name only"). In zoology According to the rules of zoological nomenclature a ''nomen nudum'' is unavailable; the glossary of the ''International Code of Zoological Nomenclature'' gives this definition: And among the rules of that same Zoological Code: In botany According to the rules of botanical nomenclature a ''nomen nudum'' is not validly published. The glossary of the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' gives this definition: The requirements for the diagnosis or description are covered by articles 32, 36, 41, 42, and 44. ''Nomina nud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several examples, but explicitly designated as the holotype. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), a holotype is one of several kinds of name-bearing types. In the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and ICZN, the definitions of types are similar in intent but not identical in terminology or underlying concept. For example, the holotype for the butterfly '' Plebejus idas longinus'' is a preserved specimen of that subspecies, held by the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. In botany, an isotype is a duplicate of the holotype, where holotype and isotypes are often pieces from the same individual plant or samples from the same gathering. A holotype is not necessarily "typ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Te Aute
Te Aute College (Māori: Te Kura o Te Aute) is a school in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It opened in 1854 with twelve pupils under Samuel Williams, an Anglican missionary, and nephew and son-in-law of Bishop William Williams. It has a strong Māori character. It was built on land provided by Ngai Te Whatuiapiti, a hapū of the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi. In 1857, a Deed of Gift transferred the land from Te Whatuiapiti to the Crown, with a request that it be granted to the Bishop of New Zealand and his successors. History Establishment Te Aute is situated within a valley of significant strategic importance to local hapū. The nearby Roto-a-Tara pā had been the key stronghold for Te Whatuiapiti during the Musket Wars, and was still a key settlement during the 1850s. From as early as 1840 the Anglican Bishop William Williams had established a mission station at Gisborne and was proselytizing actively among the East Coast tribes, and William Colenso had established a mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augustus Hamilton
Augustus Hamilton (1 March 1853 – 12 October 1913) was a New Zealand ethnologist, biologist and museum director. He was born in Poole, Dorset, England on 1 March 1853. He wrote on the fishing and seafoods of the ancient Māori people. He also wrote on the art and workmanship of the Maori in New Zealand with a series of illustrations (from photographs). Hamilton was President of the Royal Society of New Zealand between 1909 and 1911; preceded by G. M. Thomson and followed by Thomas Frederic Cheeseman Thomas Frederick Cheeseman (8 June 184515 October 1923) was a New Zealand botanist. He was also a naturalist who had wide-ranging interests, such that he even described a few species of sea slugs (marine gastropod molluscs). Biography Chee .... Family life Hamilton married Hope Ellen McKain in Napier on 22 September 1882. He had a daughter, Pearl, and a son, Harold. References External link 1853 births 1913 deaths New Zealand biologists New Zealand curato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyramid Valley
Pyramid Valley is a locality in the Hurunui District of New Zealand. It is well known for its prominent limestone rock formations. It is located near Waikari in the North Canterbury region, 80 km north-west of Christchurch. On the foot of the valley is a swamp which became notable in 1939 as New Zealand's largest paleontological site for moa fossils. The swamp was formed around 18,000 BC and became drained c. 2,000 years ago. It provided a lush vegetation which attracted five different moa species. In 1938 the landowners Joseph and Rob Hodgen found three large bones of Dinornis giganteus while they buried a dead horse in the swamp. They opened this area for excavations and in the early 1940s fossil hunters like Robert Falla, Roger Duff, Robert Cushman Murphy, Jim Eyles, Ron Scarlett and many others began their research work at this site and unearthed the remains of long extinct birds including more than 183 complete moa skeletons and tens of thousands of fossil bone fragments ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxonomy (biology)
In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given a taxonomic rank; groups of a given rank can be aggregated to form a more inclusive group of higher rank, thus creating a taxonomic hierarchy. The principal ranks in modern use are domain, kingdom, phylum (''division'' is sometimes used in botany in place of ''phylum''), class, order, family, genus, and species. The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus is regarded as the founder of the current system of taxonomy, as he developed a ranked system known as Linnaean taxonomy for categorizing organisms and binomial nomenclature for naming organisms. With advances in the theory, data and analytical technology of biological systematics, the Linnaean system has transformed into a system of modern biological classification intended to reflect the evolu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nomenclature
Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal naming conventions, conventions of everyday speech to the internationally agreed principles, rules and recommendations that govern the formation and use of the specialist terms used in scientific and any other disciplines. Naming "things" is a part of general human communication using words and language: it is an aspect of everyday Taxonomy (general), taxonomy as people distinguish the objects of their experience, together with their similarities and differences, which observers Identification (information), identify, name and wikt:classification, classify. The use of names, as the many different kinds of nouns embedded in different languages, connects nomenclature to theoretical linguistics, while the way humans mentally structure the world in relation to semantics, word meanings and Experience ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goshawk
Goshawk may refer to several species of birds of prey, mainly in the genus ''Accipiter'': * Northern goshawk, ''Accipiter gentilis'', often referred to simply as the goshawk, since it is the only goshawk found in much of its range (in Europe and North America) * Crested goshawk, ''Accipiter trivirgatus'' * Sulawesi goshawk, ''Accipiter griseiceps'' * Red-chested goshawk, ''Accipiter toussenelii'' * African goshawk, ''Accipiter tachiro'' * Imitator goshawk, ''Accipiter imitator'' * Grey goshawk, ''Accipiter novaehollandiae'' * Brown goshawk, ''Accipiter fasciatus'' ** Christmas goshawk, ''Accipiter (fasciatus) natalis'' * Black-mantled goshawk, ''Accipiter melanochlamys'' * Slaty-mantled goshawk ''Accipiter luteoschistaceus '' * Pied goshawk, ''Accipiter albogularis'' * Fiji goshawk, ''Accipiter rufitorques'' * White-bellied goshawk, ''Accipiter haplochrous'' * Moluccan goshawk, ''Accipiter henicogrammus'' * Grey-headed goshawk, ''Accipiter poliocephalus'' * New Britain gosh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diurnality
Diurnality is a form of plant and ethology, animal behavior characterized by activity during daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The common adjective used for daytime activity is "diurnal". The timing of activity by an animal depends on a variety of environmental factors such as the temperature, the ability to gather food by sight, the risk of predation, and the time of year. Diurnality is a cycle of activity within a 24-hour period; cyclic activities called circadian rhythms are endogenous cycles not dependent on external cues or environmental factors except for a zeitgeber. Animals active during twilight are crepuscular, those active during the night are nocturnal and animals active at sporadic times during both night and day are cathemerality, cathemeral. Plants that open their flowers during the daytime are described as diurnal, while those that bloom during nighttime are nocturnal. The timing of flower opening is often related to the time at which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
