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Giganhinga
''Giganhinga'' is a genus of giant darter that lived during the Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene in what is now Uruguay and Argentina. The largest species of anhinga known to science, estimates suggest it may have weighed around and was likely flightless. Its weight likely helped it dive for prey and the anatomy of the pelvis indicates that it was a good and maneuverable swimmer. Only a single species is currently recognized, ''G. kiyuensis''. History and naming ''Giganhinga'' was described by Rinderknecht and Noriega in the year 2002 based on specimen MNHN 1632, an incomplete pelvis. Due to the fossils immense size and weight, it was at first thought to belong to a terror bird before it was identified as an anhinga. The exact stratigraphic layer of ''Giganhinga'' is unknown, as there are three outcrops present in the region where the fossil has been found. These three outcrops belong to the Camacho Formation, the San José Formation and the Libertad Formation. However, based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giganhinga Kiyuensis
''Giganhinga'' is a genus of giant darter that lived during the Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene in what is now Uruguay and Argentina. The largest species of anhinga known to science, estimates suggest it may have weighed around and was likely flightless. Its weight likely helped it dive for prey and the anatomy of the pelvis indicates that it was a good and maneuverable swimmer. Only a single species is currently recognized, ''G. kiyuensis''. History and naming ''Giganhinga'' was described by Rinderknecht and Noriega in the year 2002 based on specimen MNHN 1632, an incomplete pelvis. Due to the fossils immense size and weight, it was at first thought to belong to a terror bird before it was identified as an anhinga. The exact stratigraphic layer of ''Giganhinga'' is unknown, as there are three outcrops present in the region where the fossil has been found. These three outcrops belong to the Camacho Formation, the San José Formation and the Libertad Formation. However, based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2002 In Paleontology
Plants Gymnosperms Angiosperms Arthropods Insects Conodonts New taxa Archosauromorphs Dinosaurs New taxa Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list. Birds New taxa Plesiosaurs New taxa Pterosaurs In October, a partial ''Mesadacylus'' wing was discovered in the Kingsview Quarry of Colorado. This find marks the first time that a Morrison pterosaur has been found at more than one site in the formation.Foster, J. (2007). "''Mesadactylus ornithosphyos''." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World''. Indiana University Press. pp. 159-160. New taxa Lepidosauromorphs Squamates New taxa Synapsids Non-mammalian References {{Reflist, 2 2000s in paleontology Paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darter
The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term ''snakebird'' is usually used without any additions to signify whichever of the completely allopatric species occurs in any one region. It refers to their long thin neck, which has a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged, or when mated pairs twist it during their bonding displays. "Darter" is used with a geographical term when referring to particular species. It alludes to their manner of procuring food, as they impale fishes with their thin, pointed beak. The American darter (''A. anhinga'') is more commonly known as the anhinga. It is sometimes called "water turkey" in the southern United States; though the anhinga is quite unrelated to the wild turkey, they ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oriental Darter
The Oriental darter (''Anhinga melanogaster'') is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water. It spears a fish underwater, bringing it above the surface, tossing and juggling it before swallowing the fish head first. The body remains submerged as it swims, and the slender neck alone is visible above the water, which accounts for the colloquial name of snakebird. Like the cormorants, it has wettable feathers and it is often found perched on a rock or branch with its wings held open to dry. Description The Oriental darter is like all other anhingas, a cormorant, cormorant-like species that has a very long neck. The structure of the neck is as in other species of darter with strongly developed muscles about a kink in the neck at the 8th and 9th vertebrae that allows it to be flexed and darted forward with rapid force to stab fish u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guanay Cormorant
The Guanay cormorant or Guanay shag (''Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum'') is a member of the cormorant family found on the Pacific coast of Peru and northern Chile. (The Argentinian population on the Patagonian Atlantic coast appears to be extirpated.) After breeding it spreads south to southern parts of Chile and north to Ecuador, and has also been recorded as far north as Panama and Colombia – probably a result of mass dispersal due to food shortage in El Niño years. Its major habitats include shallow seawater and rocky shores. The Guanay cormorant is similar in coloration to the rock shag, ''Leucocarbo magellanicus'', but larger, measuring 78 cm from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail. Its bill is grayish with some red at the base. The face is red with a green eye-ring. It has roseate feet. The head, neck and back are black as are the outer parts of the thighs. The throat patch, breast and belly are white. In breeding plumage it has a few white feathers on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-legged Cormorant
The red-legged cormorant (''Poikilocarbo gaimardi''), also known as the red-legged shag, red-footed cormorant, red-footed shag, Gaimard's cormorant and grey cormorant,Nelson, J. B. 2005. Cormorants and shags. Pages 512–14. In C. M. Perrins, W. J. Bock and J. Kikkawa, eds. Pelicans, Cormorants, and their Relatives. Oxford University Press, New York. is a species of cormorant resident to the coastline of South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Poikilocarbo.'' It is non-colonial unlike most seabirds. The red-legged cormorant has not been observed wing-spreading, which is unusual among cormorant species.Johnsgard, P. A. 1993. Cormorants and shags (Phalacrocoracidae). Pages 311–314 In A. Matthew, ed. Cormorants, Darters and Pelicans of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington. Taxonomy The red-legged cormorant is placed within the genus ''Phalacrocorax'', but it has been debated that it should be placed within ''Notocarbo'' as phylogenetic studies suggest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Shag
The rock shag (''Leucocarbo magellanicus''), also known as the Magellanic cormorant, is a marine cormorant found around the southernmost coasts of South America. Its breeding range is from around Valdivia, Chile, south to Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego, and north to Punta Tombo in Argentina. In winter it is seen further north, with individuals reaching as far as Santiago, Chile on the west coast and Uruguay on the east. The birds also breed around the coasts of the Falkland Islands. Taxonomy The rock shag was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it in the genus '' Pelecanus'' and coined the binomial name ''Pelecanus magellanicus''. Gmelin based his description on the "Magellanic shag" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham had in turn based his description on a specime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neotropic Cormorant
The neotropic cormorant or olivaceous cormorant (''Nannopterum brasilianum'') is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the United States south through Mexico and Central America to southern South America, where it is called by the indigenous name of ''biguá''. It also breeds on the Bahamas, Cuba and Trinidad. It can be found both at coasts (including some mangrove areas) and on inland waters. There are at least two subspecies: ''N. b. mexicanum'' from Nicaragua northwards and ''N. b. brasilianum'' further south. In Peru the neotropic cormorant is used by the Uru people for fishing. Taxonomy The neotropic cormorant was documented in 1658 by the Dutch naturalist Willem Piso after travels in Brazil. This formed the basis for the formal description and naming of the species by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. He placed it with the petrels in the genus ''Procellaria'' and coined ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magnificent Frigatebird
The magnificent frigatebird (''Fregata magnificens'') is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. With a length of and wingspan of it is the largest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters off America, between northern Mexico and Perú on the Pacific coast and between Florida and southern Brazil along the Atlantic coast. There are also populations on the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific and the Cape Verde islands in the Atlantic. The magnificent frigatebird is a large, lightly built seabird with brownish-black plumage, long narrow wings and a deeply forked tail. The male has a striking red gular sac which he inflates to attract a mate. The female is slightly larger than the male and has a white breast and belly. Frigatebirds feed on fish taken in flight from the ocean's surface (often flying fish), and sometimes indulge in kleptoparasitism, harassing other birds to force them to regurgitate their food. Taxonomy The magnificent frigatebir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Gannet
The northern gannet (''Morus bassanus'') is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. It is the largest seabird in the northern Atlantic. The sexes are similar in appearance. The adult northern gannet has a mainly white streamlined body with a long neck, and long and slender wings. It is long with a wingspan. The head and nape have a buff tinge that is more prominent in breeding season, and the wings are edged with dark brown-black feathers. The long, pointed bill is blue-grey, contrasting with black, bare skin around the mouth and eyes. Juveniles are mostly grey-brown, becoming increasingly white in the five years it takes them to reach maturity. Nesting takes place in colonies on both sides of the North Atlantic, the largest of which are at Bass Rock (75,000 pairs as of 2014), St. Kilda (60,000 pairs as of 2013) and Ailsa Craig (33,000 pairs as of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraphyletic
In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In contrast, a monophyletic group (a clade) includes a common ancestor and ''all'' of its descendants. The terms are commonly used in phylogenetics (a subfield of biology) and in the tree model of historical linguistics. Paraphyletic groups are identified by a combination of Synapomorphy and apomorphy, synapomorphies and symplesiomorphy, symplesiomorphies. If many subgroups are missing from the named group, it is said to be polyparaphyletic. The term was coined by Willi Hennig to apply to well-known taxa like Reptilia (reptiles) which, as commonly named and traditionally defined, is paraphyletic with respect to mammals and birds. Reptilia contains the last common ancestor of reptiles a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anhinga
The anhinga (; ''Anhinga anhinga''), sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word ''anhinga'' comes from ''a'ñinga'' in the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird". The origin of the name is apparent when swimming: only the neck appears above water so the bird looks like a snake ready to strike. They do not have external nares (nostrils) and breathe solely through their epiglottis. The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (''Anhinga melanogaster''), African (''Anhinga rufa''), and Australian (''Anhinga novaehollandiae'') darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak. Distribution and migration ''Anhinga'' species are found all over the world in warm shallow waters. The American anhinga has been subdivided into two subspecies, ''A. a. anhinga'' and ''A. a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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