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Giant Pouched Rat
The giant pouched rats (genus ''Cricetomys'') of sub-Saharan Africa are large muroid rodents. Their head and body lengths range from with scaly tails ranging from . They weigh between . Taxonomy Giant pouched rats are only distantly related to the true rats, although until recently they had been placed in the same family, Muridae. Recent molecular studies, however, place them in the family Nesomyidae, part of an ancient radiation of African and Malagasy muroids. The name "pouched rat" refers to their large cheek pouches. The species are: Behaviour Females have been said to be capable of producing up to 10 litters yearly. Gestation is 27–36 days. The animals generally have between six and eight nipples. One to five young are born at a time. The animals are nocturnal omnivores, and feed on vegetation and small animals, especially insects. They have a particular taste for palm nuts. Interaction with humans In many African countries, giant pouched rats are valu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emin's Pouched Rat
Emin's pouched rat ''(Cricetomys emini)'', also known as the African pouched rat, is a large rat of the muroid superfamily. It is related to ''Cricetomys gambianus'', the Gambian pouched rat. Both species belong to '' Cricetomys'', the genus of the giant pouched rats. These animals were introduced into the exotic pet trade, but have been banned by the CDC and FDA after an outbreak of monkeypox. They are easily tamed. Comparison to Gambian pouched rats They are native to Africa and are found along the edges of forests and along the plains. Emin's pouched rats are actually better climbers than their better known Gambian pouched rat cousins. These pouched rats are named for having cheek pouches much like a hamster. Emin's pouched rat and the Gambian pouched rat have a few very noticeable physical differences: *Emin's pouched rats have a distinct line of color difference between their lower abdomen area and upper body. The abdomen is grey/white, whereas their upper body is da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kivu Giant Pouched Rat
The Kivu giant pouched rat (''Cricetomys kivuensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae.Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. (2012)''Cricetomys kivuensis'' The Animal Diversity Web (online). Taxonomy It was formerly considered conspecific with the Emin's pouched rat (''C. emini''), but is now considered its own species. Distribution It is found in central Africa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the .... References Further reading Cricetomys Rodents of Africa Mammals described in 1917 {{muroid-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodents Of Africa
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are native to all major land masses except for New Zealand, Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity. Rodents are extremely diverse in their ecology and lifestyles and can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat, including human-made environments. Species can be arboreal, fossorial (burrowing), saltatorial/richochetal (leaping on their hind legs), or semiaquatic. However, all rodents share several morphological features, including having only a single upper and lower pair of ever-growing incisors. Well-known rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Rabbits, hares, and pikas, whose incisors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willard (2003 Film)
''Willard'' is a 2003 American psychological horror film co-written and directed by Glen Morgan and starring Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermey and Laura Elena Harring. It is loosely based on the novel ''Ratman's Notebooks'' by Stephen Gilbert, as well as on the novel's first film adaptation, '' Willard'' (1971), and its sequel, ''Ben'' (1972). It was not billed as a remake by the producers, who chose instead to present it as a reworking of the themes from the original with a stronger focus on suspense. Plot Social misfit Willard Stiles, who cares for his ill and fragile but verbally abusive mother Henrietta in a musty old mansion, is constantly humiliated and mercilessly taunted in front of his co-workers by his vicious and cruel boss, Frank Martin, who took over the Stiles family company after Willard's father Alfred committed suicide in 1995. After discovering and failing to exterminate a growing rat colony in the basement, Willard befriends and quickly becomes obsessed with a whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. Around 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kill about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. It was historically referred to as consumption due to the weight loss associated with the disease. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms. Tuberculosis is spread from one person to the next through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze. People with Latent TB do not spread the disease. Active infection occurs more often in people with HIV/AIDS and in those who smoke. Diagnosis of active TB is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clicker
A clicker, sometimes called a cricket, is any device that makes a clicking sound, usually when deliberately activated by its user. They usually consist of a piece of thin metal or plastic held in a casing so that the metal is slightly torqued; depressing one end of the metal causes it to pop out of alignment and releasing it causes it to pop back into alignment, each time making a sharp click. With some clickers, the user depresses the metal directly with thumb or finger; with others, a button extends above the surface of the casing so that depressing the button makes the metal click. Use in animal training Clickers were first used by marine mammal trainer Karen Pryor as a way of communicating with their animals. Dolphins and whales communicate underwater through a series of clicks and whistles known as echolocation, and the clicker allowed a trainer to produce signals they were more likely to understand. Nowadays, clickers are used to train all kinds of animals, most co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgians
Belgians ( nl, Belgen; french: Belges; german: Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural rather than ethnic. The majority of Belgians, however, belong to two distinct ethnic groups or ''communities'' ( nl, gemeenschap, links=no; french: communauté, links=no) native to the country, i.e. its historical regions: Flemings in Flanders, who speak Dutch; and Walloons in Wallonia, who speak French or Walloon. There is also a substantial Belgian diaspora, which has settled primarily in the United States, Canada, France, and the Netherlands. Etymology The 1830 revolution led to the establishment of an independent country under a provisional government and a national congress. The name "Belgium" was adopted for the country, the word being derived from ''Gallia Belgica'', a Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul that, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
APOPO
APOPO (an acronym for Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling: "Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development" in English) is a registered Belgian non-governmental organisation and US non-profit which trains southern giant pouched rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis.APOPO - Who We Are They call their trained rats 'HeroRATs'.APOPO - Training HeroRATs History APOPO started as an R&D organization in in the 1990s, working with the support of research and government grants to develop the concept of Dete ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, although other detonation mechanisms are also sometimes used. A land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. Landmines are typically laid throughout an area, creating a ''minefield'' which is dangerous to cross. The use of land mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming civilians and the economy. Seventy-eight countries are contaminated with land mines and 15,000–20,000 people are killed every year while many more are injured. Approximately 80% of land mine casualties are civilians, with children as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HeroRAT Finds Mine
APOPO (an acronym for Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling: "Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development" in English) is a registered Belgian non-governmental organisation and US non-profit which trains southern giant pouched rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis.APOPO - Who We Are They call their trained rats 'HeroRATs'.APOPO - Training HeroRATs History APOPO started as an R&D organization in in the 1990s, working with the support of research and government grants to develop the concept of Dete ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003 Midwest Monkeypox Outbreak
Beginning in May 2003, by July a total of 71 cases of human monkeypox were found in six Midwestern states including Wisconsin (39 cases), Indiana (16), Illinois (12), Kansas (1), Missouri (2), and Ohio (1). The cause of the outbreak was traced to three species of African rodents (Gambian pouched rat, dormice, rope squirrels) imported from Ghana on April 9, 2003, into the United States by an exotic animal importer in Texas. These were shipped from Texas to an Illinois distributor, who housed them with prairie dogs, which then became infected. The outbreak marked the first time monkeypox infection appeared in the United States, and the first time in the Western Hemisphere. No deaths were reported, and no human-to-human transmission was found. All cases involved direct contact with infected prairie dogs. Electron microscopy and testing by polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry were used to confirm the causative agent was human monkeypox.Centers for Disease Control ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arecaceae
The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees. Currently, 181 genera with around 2,600 species are known, most of which are restricted to tropical and subtropical climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds, arranged at the top of an unbranched stem. However, palms exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts. Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derived from palms. In contemporary times, palms are also widely used in landscaping. In many historical cultures, because of their importance as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
