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Greater Glider
The greater gliders are three species of large gliding marsupials in the genus ''Petauroides'', all of which are found in eastern Australia. Until 2020 they were considered to be one species, ''Petauroides volans''. In 2020 morphological and genetic differences, obtained using diversity arrays technology, showed there were three species subsumed under this one name. The two new species were named '' Petauroides armillatus'' and '' Petauroides minor''. These species are not closely related to the ''Petaurus'' group of gliding marsupials but instead to the lemur-like ringtail possum, ''Hemibelideus lemuroides'', with which it shares the subfamily Hemibelideinae. The greater gliders are nocturnal and are solitary herbivores feeding almost exclusively on ''Eucalyptus'' leaves and buds. Like their relative, the lemur-like ringtail, the southern greater glider is found in two forms: a sooty brown form and a grey-to-white form. The central greater glider is instead silvery brown, while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oldfield Thomas
Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appointed to the museum secretary's office in 1876, transferring to the zoological department in 1878. In 1891, Thomas married Mary Kane, daughter of Sir Andrew Clark, heiress to a small fortune, which gave him the finances to hire mammal collectors and present their specimens to the museum. He also did field work himself in Western Europe and South America. His wife shared his interest in natural history, and accompanied him on collecting trips. In 1896, when William Henry Flower took control of the department, he hired Richard Lydekker to rearrange the exhibitions, allowing Thomas to concentrate on these new specimens. Thomas viewed his taxonomy efforts from the scope of British imperialism. "You and I in our scientific lives have seen th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monotypic Taxon
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group ( taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described. In contrast, an oligotypic taxon contains more than one but only a very few subordinate taxa. Examples Just as the term ''monotypic'' is used to describe a taxon including only one subdivision, the contained taxon can also be referred to as monotypic within the higher-level taxon, e.g. a genus monotypic within a family. Some examples of monotypic groups are: Plants * In the order Amborellales, there is only one family, Amborellaceae and there is only one genus, '' Amborella'', and in this genus there is only one species, namely ''Amborella trichopo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Australia (28 per km2). Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west, and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south (with the exception of a small land border with Tasmania located along Boundary Islet), the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea (a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid north-west. The majority of the Victorian population is concentrated in the central-south area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, and in particular within the me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Greater Glider
The southern greater glider (''Petauroides volans''), also known as the southern and central greater glider, is a species of large gliding marsupial native to the forests of southeastern Australia. It is a vulnerable species per the IUCN Red List classification, but since 5 July 2022 is listed as endangered under the EPBC Act in Australia. The main threats to its survival are climate change and logging. Taxonomy This was the first described species of ''Petauroides'', and long thought to be the only species, with '' Petauroides armillatus'' and ''Petauroides minor'' being thought to comprise a distinct subspecies of it, ''P. volans minor''; together, they were referred to as the greater glider. However, in 2012 and 2015, several field guides written by Colin Groves and/or Stephen Jackson listed the greater glider as being split into three species, confirmed by a 2020 analysis which found significant genetic and morphological differences between the three species. The American ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Greater Glider
The central greater glider (''Petauroides armillatus'') is a species of gliding marsupial native to the central coast of eastern Australia. Taxonomy It was initially described as a subspecies of ''Petauroides volans'', which alongside '' Petauroides minor'' formerly comprised a single species known simply as the greater glider. It was shortly after synonymized with ''P. v. minor''. However, in 2012 and 2015, several field guides written by Colin Groves and/or Stephen Jackson listed the greater glider as being split into 3 species, which was confirmed by a 2020 analysis, which found significant genetic and morphological differences between the three species. The American Society of Mammalogists now considers it a distinct species. There is some evidence of hybridization between this species and ''P. minor'' near the northern edge of its range. Distribution Although Jackson and Groves listed the species as ranging from just north of Townsville south to the Eungella Range, g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Greater Glider
The northern greater glider (''Petauroides minor'') is a species of gliding marsupial endemic to the forests of north-central Queensland, Australia. Taxonomy It was initially described as a subspecies of ''Petauroides volans'', which alongside '' Petauroides armillatus'' formerly comprised a single species known simply as the greater glider. ''P. v. armillatus'' was also eventually considered conspecific with ''P. v. minor''. However, in 2012 and 2015, several field guides written by Colin Groves and/or Stephen Jackson listed the greater glider as being split into 3 species, which was confirmed by a 2020 analysis, which found significant genetic and morphological differences between the three species. The American Society of Mammalogists now considers it a distinct species. There is some evidence of hybridization between this species and ''P. armillatus'' near the southern edge of its range. Distribution It is the northernmost species of ''Petauroides''. This species ranges ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sugar Glider
The sugar glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its ability to glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel. They have very similar habits and appearance to the flying squirrel, despite not being closely related—an example of convergent evolution. The scientific name, ''Petaurus breviceps'', translates from Latin as "short-headed rope-dancer", a reference to their canopy acrobatics. The sugar glider is characterised by its pair of gliding membranes, known as patagia, which extend from its forelegs to its hindlegs. Gliding serves as an efficient means of reaching food and evading predators. The animal is covered in soft, pale grey to light brown fur which is countershaded, being lighter in colour on its underside. The sugar glider is native to a small portion of southeastern Austral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glide (flight)
Gliding flight is heavier-than-air flight without the use of thrust; the term volplaning also refers to this mode of flight in animals. It is employed by gliding animals and by aircraft such as gliders. This mode of flight involves flying a significant distance horizontally compared to its descent and therefore can be distinguished from a mostly straight downward descent like with a round parachute. Although the human application of gliding flight usually refers to aircraft designed for this purpose, most powered aircraft are capable of gliding without engine power. As with sustained flight, gliding generally requires the application of an airfoil, such as the wings on aircraft or birds, or the gliding membrane of a gliding possum. However, gliding can be achieved with a flat ( uncambered) wing, as with a simple paper plane, or even with card-throwing. However, some aircraft with lifting bodies and animals such as the flying snake can achieve gliding flight without any wings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patagium
The patagium (plural: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flight. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, birds, some dromaeosaurs, pterosaurs, gliding mammals, some flying lizards, and flying frogs. The patagium that stretches between an animal's hind limbs is called the uropatagium (especially in bats) or the interfemoral membrane. Bats In bats, the skin forming the surface of the wing is an extension of the skin of the abdomen that runs to the tip of each digit, uniting the forelimb with the body. The patagium of a bat has four distinct parts: #Propatagium: the patagium present from the neck to the first digit. #Dactylopatagium: the portion found within the digits. #Plagiopatagium: the portion found between the last digit and the hindlimbs. #Uropatagium: the posterior portion of the flap between the two hindlimbs. Pterosaurs In the flying pterosaurs, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Ringtail Possum
The common ringtail possum (''Pseudocheirus peregrinus'', Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien") is an Australian marsupial. It lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, as well as flowers, fruits and sap. This possum also consumes a special type of faeces that is produced during the daytime when it is resting in a nest. This behaviour is called caecotrophy and is similar to that seen in rabbits. Taxonomy The common ringtail possum is currently classified as the only living species in the genus ''Pseudocheirus''; the species of '' Pseudochirulus'' and other ringtail genera were formerly also classified in ''Pseudocheirus''. Several subspecies have been described, such as the Western Australian '' Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis'', but the entire population may be a species complex. The arrangement as the only extant species of ''Pseudocheirus'' is: *''Pseudocheirus peregrinus pereginus'', the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petauroides Volans Skeleton
The greater gliders are three species of large gliding marsupials in the genus ''Petauroides'', all of which are found in eastern Australia. Until 2020 they were considered to be one species, ''Petauroides volans''. In 2020 morphological and genetic differences, obtained using diversity arrays technology, showed there were three species subsumed under this one name. The two new species were named '' Petauroides armillatus'' and ''Petauroides minor''. These species are not closely related to the ''Petaurus'' group of gliding marsupials but instead to the lemur-like ringtail possum, ''Hemibelideus lemuroides'', with which it shares the subfamily Hemibelideinae. The greater gliders are nocturnal and are solitary herbivores feeding almost exclusively on ''Eucalyptus'' leaves and buds. Like their relative, the lemur-like ringtail, the southern greater glider is found in two forms: a sooty brown form and a grey-to-white form. The central greater glider is instead silvery brown, while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hybridization (biology)
In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents (such as in blending inheritance), but can show hybrid vigor, sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of a hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics, attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes. In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species are. Species are reproductively isolated by strong barriers to hybridisation, which include genetic and morphological differences, differing times of fertility, mating behaviors and cues, and physiological rejection of sperm cells or the developing embryo. Some act before fertilization and others after it. Similar barriers exist in plants, with differences in flowering tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
