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Garganornis Ballmanni
''Garganornis'' (meaning "Gargano bird") is an extinct genus of enormous flightless anatid waterfowl from the Late Miocene of Gargano, Italy. The genus contains one species, ''G. ballmanni'', named by Meijer in 2014. Its enormous size is thought to have been an adaptation to living in exposed, open areas with no terrestrial predators, and as a deterrent to the indigenous aerial predators like the eagle ''Garganoaetus'' and the giant barn owl ''Tyto gigantea''. Description The tibiotarsus of ''Garganornis'' is approximately 30% larger than that of the living mute swan in circumference. Based on comparisons with the latter, it has been estimated that ''Garganornis'' had a weight in the range of , larger than any living anatid. This suggests that it was likely flightless. The preserved carpometacarpi from the wings had quite a short and robust shaft, much shorter than any of the living large-bodied anseriforms that are capable of flight. The carpometacarpus was also peculiarly fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Island Gigantism
Island gigantism, or insular gigantism, is a biological phenomenon in which the size of an animal species isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to its mainland relatives. Island gigantism is one aspect of the more general "island effect" or "Foster's rule", which posits that when mainland animals colonize islands, small species tend to evolve larger bodies, and large species tend to evolve smaller bodies (insular dwarfism). This is itself one aspect of the more general phenomenon of island syndrome which describes the differences in morphology, ecology, physiology and behaviour of insular species compared to their continental counterparts. Following the arrival of humans and associated introduced predators (dogs, cats, rats, pigs), many giant as well as other island endemics have become extinct. A similar size increase, as well as increased woodiness, has been observed in some insular plants. Possible causes Large mammalian carnivores are often absent on isl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geese
A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the shelducks, have "goose" as part of their names. More distantly related members of the family Anatidae are swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller. The term "goose" may refer to either a male or female bird, but when paired with "gander", refers specifically to a female one (the latter referring to a male). Young birds before fledging are called goslings. The List of collective nouns, collective noun for a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team, or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump. Etymology The word "goose" is a direct descendant of,''*ghans-''. In Germanic languages, the root gave Old E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scontrone
Scontrone is a ''comune'' and town in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re .... In 2021, Poste Italiane (Italian post office) launched the service of ATM. References Cities and towns in Abruzzo {{Abruzzo-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morphology (biology)
Morphology is a branch of biology dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features. This includes aspects of the outward appearance (shape, structure, colour, pattern, size), i.e. external morphology (or eidonomy), as well as the form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs, i.e. internal morphology (or anatomy). This is in contrast to physiology, which deals primarily with function. Morphology is a branch of life science dealing with the study of gross structure of an organism or taxon and its component parts. History The etymology of the word "morphology" is from the Ancient Greek (), meaning "form", and (), meaning "word, study, research". While the concept of form in biology, opposed to function, dates back to Aristotle (see Aristotle's biology), the field of morphology was developed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1790) and independently by the German anatomist and physiologist Karl Friedrich Burdach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type (biology)
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the defining features of that particular taxon. In older usage (pre-1900 in botany), a type was a taxon rather than a specimen. A taxon is a scientifically named grouping of organisms with other like organisms, a set that includes some organisms and excludes others, based on a detailed published description (for example a species description) and on the provision of type material, which is usually available to scientists for examination in a major museum research collection, or similar institution. Type specimen According to a precise set of rules laid down in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), the scientific name of every taxon is almost al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muridae
The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae comes from the Latin ' (genitive '), meaning "mouse", since all true mice belong to the family, with the more typical mice belonging to the genus '' Mus''. Distribution and habitat Murids are found nearly everywhere in the world, though many subfamilies have narrower ranges. Murids are not found in Antarctica or many oceanic islands. Although none of them are native to the Americas, a few species, notably the house mouse and black rat, have been introduced worldwide. Murids occupy a broad range of ecosystems from tropical forests to tundras. Fossorial, arboreal, and semiaquatic murid species occur, though most are terrestrial animals. The extensive list of niches filled by murids helps to explain their relative abundance. Diet and dentiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikrotia
''Mikrotia'' is an extinct rodent belonging to the Muridae. It lived during the upper Miocene (about 11.63 - 5 million years ago) and its fossil remains have been found in Italy (Gargano). The type species is ''M. magna'', although two other species (''M. maiuscula'' and ''M. parka'') are also known.M. Freudenthal. (1976). Rodent stratigraphy of some Miocene fissure fillings in Gargano (prov. Foggia, Italy). ''Scripta Geologica'' 37:1-23M. Freudenthal. (2006). ''Mikrotia'', ''nomen novum'' for ''Microtia'' Freudenthal 1976 (Mammalia, Rodentia). ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 26(3):784 Description This animal, despite belonging to the Muridae, was much larger in size than its modern equivalents. The only known skull of the largest species, ''Mikrotia magna'', was about long. The three known species of the genus ''Mikrotia'' show an evolutionary tendency towards the development of hypsodontal molars (with a high crown) and in the increase of the number of dental lobes in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apricena
Apricena ( Foggiano: ) is an Apulian town in the province of Foggia. It is from its provincial capital, Foggia, Italy and a few kilometres inland from the Adriatic Sea. This territory is mainly plain, cultivated with olives, cereals and wine. The economy is focused on quarrying the local rock, the ''Stone of Apricena'', and exporting it to Germany, Japan, and China. History Apricena developed from the summer residence of the Emperor Frederick II. Main sights *Baronial Palace (''Palazzo baroniale'', commonly known as ''Torriolo'') *The clocktower (''Torre dell'orologio'') *Mother Church of St. Martin and Lucy *The abandoned Monastery of ''San Giovanni in Piano'', where Pope Celestine V fled after renouncing his papacy. *The ruins of Frederick II's castle, at Castelpagano. Twin towns * Altavilla Vicentina Altavilla Vicentina is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. It is located southwest of Vicenza. The town originates from a castle (''Rocc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phalanx Bone
The phalanges (singular: ''phalanx'' ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bones. Structure The phalanges are the bones that make up the fingers of the hand and the toes of the foot. There are 56 phalanges in the human body, with fourteen on each hand and foot. Three phalanges are present on each finger and toe, with the exception of the thumb and large toe, which possess only two. The middle and far phalanges of the fifth toes are often fused together (symphalangism). The phalanges of the hand are commonly known as the finger bones. The phalanges of the foot differ from the hand in that they are often shorter and more compressed, especially in the proximal phalanges, those closest to the torso. A phalanx is named according to whether it is proximal, middle, or distal and its associated finger or toe. The proximal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cygnus Falconeri
''Cygnus falconeri'', the giant swan, ( Maltese: ) is an extinct, very large swan known from Middle Pleistocene-aged deposits from Malta and Sicily. Its dimensions are described as exceeding those of the living mute swan by one-third, which would give a bill-to-tail length of about (based on 145–160 cm for '' C. olor''.). By comparison to the bones of living swans, it can be estimated that it weighed around and had a wingspan of about . It would have been taller, though not heavier, than the region's dwarf elephants. Due to its size, it may have been flightless. It became extinct before the increase in human activity in the region (see Holocene extinction event), so its disappearance is thought to have resulted from extreme climate fluctuations or the arrival of superior predators and competitors. Its bones are exhibited at Għar Dalam museum in Birżebbuġa Birżebbuġa (; sometimes shortened to B'Buġa) is a seaside town in the Southern Region of Malta, close to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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