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Fiordland Tokoeka
The Fiordland tokoeka or Fiordland kiwi (''Apteryx australis australis'') is a subspecies of southern brown kiwi. It is endemic to New Zealand. Like other ratites, it is flightless. Morphology The Fiordland tokoeka is among the largest of southern brown kiwis. It has red-brown feathers that resemble fur. Its wings are small and it has no tail. It has a long, curved bill. The nostrils are at the end of the bill, not at the top near the rest of its face. Habitat and diet The Fiordland tokoeka lives in Fiordland and on nearby islands. Its range extends from the Milford Sound to Lake Te Anau to Preservation Inlet. The adult Fiordland tokoeka is solitary and territorial, fighting other adult kiwis over feeding grounds. It is nocturnal. Threats There are about 15,000 Fiordland tokoeka alive. The number of Fiordland kiwis is decreasing because of habitat loss and because invasive species such as stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Brown Kiwi
The southern brown kiwi, tokoeka, or common kiwiDavies, S. J. J. F. (2003) (''Apteryx australis'') is a species of kiwi from South Island, New Zealand. Until 2000 it was considered conspecific with the North Island brown kiwi, and still is by some authorities. Taxonomy ''Apteryx australis'' is based on Greek and Latin. ''Apteryx'' means "''A-''" without "''pterux''" wings, and "''australis''" from "''auster''" the south wind, and "''-alis''" relating to. The southern brown kiwi belongs to the kiwi family and it is a ratite, and a member of the order Apterygiformes. Like all ratites, its sternum has no keel, it is flightless, and it has a distinctive palate. The holotype specimen of ''Apteryx australis'' ShawNat. Miscell., 24,1813, pl1057 is held in the collections of National Museums Liverpool at World Museum, with accession number NML-VZ D180. The specimen was collected by Captain Barclay at Dusky Sound, South Island, New Zealand and came to the Liverpool national collectio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering . New Zealand is about east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratite
A ratite () is any of a diverse group of flightless, large, long-necked, and long-legged birds of the infraclass Palaeognathae. Kiwi, the exception, are much smaller and shorter-legged and are the only nocturnal extant ratites. The systematics of and relationships within the paleognath clade have been in flux. Previously, all the flightless members had been assigned to the order Struthioniformes, which is more recently regarded as containing only the ostrich. The modern bird superorder Palaeognathae consists of ratites and the flighted Neotropic tinamous (compare to Neognathae). Unlike other flightless birds, the ratites have no keel on their sternum — hence the name, from the Latin ''ratis'' ( raft, a vessel which has no keel - in contradistinction to extant flighted birds with a keel). Without this to anchor their wing muscles, they could not have flown even if they developed suitable wings. Ratites are a paraphyletic group; tinamous fall within them, and are the sister ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiordland
Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, and its steep, glacier-carved and now ocean-flooded western valleys. The name "Fiordland" comes from a variant spelling of the Scandinavian word for this type of steep valley, "fjord". The area of Fiordland is dominated by, and very roughly coterminous with, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand's largest National Park. Due to the often steep terrain and high amount of rainfall supporting dense vegetation, the interior of the Fiordland region is largely inaccessible. As a result, Fiordland was never subjected to notable logging operations, and even attempts at whaling, seal hunting, and mining were on a small scale and short-lived, partly also because of the challenging weather. Today, Fiordland contains by far the greatest extent of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milford Sound
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey (the ''2008 Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards'' by TripAdvisor) and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination."Real Journeys rapt with Kiwi Must-Do's" ''Scoop'', 13 February 2007. had previously called it the |
Lake Te Anau
Lake Te Anau is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the largest lake in Australasia by fresh water volume. The main body of the lake runs north-south, and is 65 km in length. Three large fiords form arms to the lake on its western flank: North Fiord, Middle Fiord and South Fiord. These are the only inland fiords that New Zealand has, the other 14 are out on the coast. Several small islands lie in the entrance to Middle Fiord, which forks partway along its length into northwest and southwest arms. The surface of the lake is at an altitude of 210 m. It has a maximum depth of 417 m, so much of its bed lies below sea level, with the deepest part of the lake being 226 metres below sea level. Several rivers feed the lake, of which the most important is the Eglinton River, which joins the lake from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preservation Inlet
Rakituma / Preservation Inlet is the southernmost fiord in Fiordland National Park and lies on the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. With an area of , it is the fourth largest fiord in New Zealand, after Tamatea / Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound / Patea, and the neighbouring Taiari / Chalky Inlet to the north. Rakituma was briefly the site of an attempted fishing and gold mining settlement at Cromarty during the 19th century, however this was quickly abandoned once the level of gold declined in relation to more promising fields elsewhere. Geography As with Taiari / Chalky Inlet immediately to the north, Rakituma / Preservation Inlet has reasonably complex geography, resembling an inlet in its outer reaches more than the well-defined fiords to the north. According to Māori legend, these fiords were carved by the demigod Tū-te-raki-whānoa using his adze, Te Hamo. Starting from the south with Rakituma, his initial efforts were rough and resulted in rough coa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nocturnal Animals
''Nocturnal Animals'' is a 2016 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written, produced, and directed by Tom Ford in his second feature, based on the 1993 novel '' Tony and Susan'' by Austin Wright. The film stars Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, and Michael Sheen. The plot follows an art gallery owner as she reads the new novel written by her first husband and begins to see the similarities between it and their former relationship. Principal photography began on October 5, 2015, in Los Angeles. The film premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2016 and was released in North America on November 18, 2016, by Focus Features. It received positive reviews, with praise for the performances, and grossed over $32 million worldwide. ''Nocturnal Animals'' was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasive Species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native species that become harmful to their native environment after human alterations to its food webfor example the purple sea urchin ('' Strongylocentrotus purpuratus'') which has decimated kelp forests along the northern California coast due to overharvesting of its natural predator, the California sea otter (''Enhydra lutris''). Since the 20th century, invasive species have become a serious economic, social, and environmental threat. Invasion of long-established ecosystems by organisms is a natural phenomenon, but human-facilitated introductions have greatly increased the rate, scale, and geographic range ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoat
The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is distinct from the long-tailed weasel (''Neogale frenata''), also known as the "masked ermine", or "big stoat"; the two species are visually similar, especially the black tail tip. The name ermine () is used for species in the genus '' Mustela'', especially the stoat, in its pure white winter coat, or the fur thereof. Introduced in the late 19th century into New Zealand to control rabbits, the stoat has had a devastating effect on native bird populations. It was nominated as one of the world's top 100 "worst invaders". Ermine fur was used in the 15th century by Catholic monarchs, who sometimes used it as the mozzetta cape. It has long been used on the ceremonial robes of members of the UK House of Lords ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferret
The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), evidenced by their interfertility. Other mustelids include the stoat, badger and mink. Physically, ferrets resemble other mustelids because of their long, slender bodies. Including their tail, the average length of a ferret is about ; they weigh between ; and their fur can be black, brown, white, or a mixture of those colours. In this sexually dimorphic species, males are considerably larger than females. Ferrets may have been domesticated since ancient times, but there is widespread disagreement because of the sparseness of written accounts and the inconsistency of those which survive. Contemporary scholarship agrees that ferrets were bred for sport, hunting rabbits in a practice known as rabbiting. In North America, the ferret has become an increasingly prominent choice of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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