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Macroderma Malugara
''Macroderma malugara'' is a species of bat known from fossil material found in Australia. The name describes a 'good killer' in the local language, and was similar in size and probably habits of the modern ''Macroderma gigas'' (known as the ghost bat). They ate a wide variety of animals in their rainforest environment, including birds, turtles, small crocodiles and other bats. Taxonomy ''Macroderma malugara'' was described by the Australian palaeontologist Suzanne Hand in 1996. The author placed the new species in the genus '' Macroderma'', recognising an affinity with the only extant species ''Macroderma gigas'' (ghost bat). The type location is the Gotham City Site at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. The specific epithet ''malugara'' is derived from the indigenous Wanyi language and means 'good killer'. The species is megadermatid of the suborder Microchiroptera within superfamily Rhinolophoidea. Description The species is a member of the family Megadermatidae, carnivoro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suzanne Hand
Suzanne J. Hand (born 1955) is an associate professor at the University of New South Wales, a teacher of geology and biology, who has a special interest in vertebrate palaeontology and modern mammals. Her research has been published in over a hundred articles, and is especially focused on the subjects of evolutionary biology, functional morphology, phylogenetics, and biogeography. Hand is a co-leader of the research team investigating the Riversleigh World Heritage Area Riversleigh World Heritage Area is Australia's most famous fossil location, recognised for the series of well preserved fossils deposited from the Late Oligocene to more recent geological periods. The fossiliferous limestone system is located ne ..., regarded as one of the four most important sites of fossil-bearing formations in the world. Amongst the recognition of Hand's contributions is the specific epithet of a fossil species of bird, '' Eoanseranas handae'', discovered in the Riversleigh fossil sites. R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macroderma Gigas
The ghost bat (''Macroderma gigas'') is a species of bat found in northern Australia. The species is the only Australian bat that preys on large vertebrates – birds, reptiles and other mammals – which they detect using acute sight and hearing, combined with echolocation, while waiting in ambush at a perch. The wing membrane and bare skin is pale in colour, their fur is light or dark grey over the back and paler at the front. The species has a prominent and simple nose-leaf, their large ears are elongated and joined at lower half, and the eyes are also large and dark in colour. The first description of the species was published in 1880, its recorded range has significantly contracted since that time. Taxonomy A species of '' Macroderma'', one of several genera in the family Megadermatidae (false vampires). The family all have large eyes, a nose-leaf and tragus, long ears joined at the base, and are also found in southern Asia and central Africa. The description was published ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macroderma (bat)
''Macroderma'' is a genus of microbats, present in the fossil record and as one extant species. They have existed in Australia since the early Miocene. Taxonomy The description to the genus was published in a revision of chiropterans by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. in 1906, separating the type species from it placement in the genus ''Megaderma''. The taxonomic placement is to family Megadermatidae of the suborder Microchiroptera. The name ''Macroderma'' combines the Greek words ''macros'' (large) and ''derma'' (skin), due to the large size of their partially conjoined ears. * ''Macroderma gigas'' Dobson, 1880 the only living species, a large predatory carnivore referred to as the Australian false vampyre or ghost bat * ''Macroderma godthelpi'', a fossil taxon describing the earliest and smallest species * '' Macroderma koppa'' Hand, Dawson & Augee, 1988. a fossil species that existed in the Pliocene epoch. * '' Macroderma malugara'' S. J. Hand, 1996. The genus describes an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riversleigh World Heritage Area
Riversleigh World Heritage Area is Australia's most famous fossil location, recognised for the series of well preserved fossils deposited from the Late Oligocene to more recent geological periods. The fossiliferous limestone system is located near the Gregory River in the north-west of Queensland, an environment that was once a very wet rainforest that became more arid as the Gondwanan land masses separated and the Australian continent moved north. The approximately area has fossil remains of ancient mammals, birds, and reptiles of the Oligocene and Miocene ages, many of which were discovered and are only known from the Riversleigh area; the species that have occurred there are known as the Riversleigh fauna. The fossils at Riversleigh are unusual because they are found in soft freshwater limestone which has not been compacted. This means the animal remains retain their three-dimensional structure, rather than being partially crushed like in most fossil sites. The area is locat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wanyi Language
Waanyi, also spelt Wanyi, Wanji or Waanji, is an endangered Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Waanyi people of the lower gulf area of Northern Queensland, Australia. Although earlier thought to be extinct, as of the 2016 Australian census there were 16 speakers of the language. This was down from the recorded peak of 40 in the 2011 Australian census. The language region includes the western parts of Lawn Hill Creek and Nicholson River, from about the boundary between the Northern Territory and Queensland, westwards towards Alexandria station, Doomadgee, and Nicholson River. It includes the local government area of the Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee. Words and phrases from this language are used by novelist Alexis Wright in her 2013 novel, ''The Swan Book ''The Swan Book'' is the third novel by the Indigenous Australian author Alexis Wright. It met with critical acclaim when it was published, and was short-listed for Australia's premier literary prize, the Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinolophoidea
Rhinolophoidea is a superfamily of bats. It contains the following families: Craseonycteridae, Hipposideridae, Megadermatidae, Rhinolophidae, Rhinonycteridae, and Rhinopomatidae. It is one of two superfamilies that comprise the suborder Yinpterochiroptera The Yinpterochiroptera (or Pteropodiformes) is a suborder of the Chiroptera, which includes taxa formerly known as megabats and five of the microbat families: Rhinopomatidae, Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, Craseonycteridae, and Megadermatidae ..., the other being Pteropodoidea, which only contains the family Pteropodidae. Phylogeny The relationships within Rhinolophoidea are as follows based on a 2016 study. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q1634024 Bat taxonomy Mammal superfamilies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Miocene
The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). During this period, a sharp drop in global temperatures took place. This event is known as the Middle Miocene Climate Transition. For the purpose of establishing European Land Mammal Ages The European Land Mammal Mega Zones (abbreviation: ELMMZ, more commonly known as European land mammal ages or ELMA) are zones in rock layers that have a specific assemblage of fossils (biozones) based on occurrences of fossil assemblages of Europe ... this sub-epoch is equivalent to the Astaracian age. External links GeoWhen Database - Middle Miocene .02 02 * * {{geochronology-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riversleigh Fauna
Riversleigh fauna is the collective term for any species of animal identified in fossil sites located in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. Faunal zones The presence of the Riversleigh in the Oligo-Miocene has been exceptionally well preserved throughout a number of time periods. These has been classified by four "faunal zones", and may be summarised as, * Faunal Zone A (FZA): late Oligocene, a period 23.03–28.4 million years before present * Faunal Zone B (FZB): early Miocene, 15.97-23.03 myr * Faunal Zone C (FZC): middle Miocene, 11.608-15.97 myr * Faunal Zone D (FZD): late Miocene, 5.332-11.608 myr More recent fossil specimens has also been coded to the period of deposition, * Pliocene (PLIO), a period 2.588-5.332 myr * Pleistocene (PLEIS), 0.0117-2.588 myr * Holocene, noted as (HOLO) to indicate the period dated as following the Pleistocene, from the present day to 11,700 years ago. Faunal lists The following are incomplete lists of mammals, birds, fish, and invertebr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megadermatidae
Megadermatidae, or false vampire bats, are a family of bats found from central Africa, eastwards through southern Asia, and into Australia. They are relatively large bats, ranging from 6.5 cm to 14 cm in head-body length. They have large eyes, very large ears and a prominent nose-leaf. They have a wide membrane between the hind legs, or uropatagium, but no tail. Many species are a drab brown in color, but some are white, bluish-grey or even olive-green, helping to camouflage them against their preferred roosting environments. They are primarily insectivorous, but will also eat a wide range of small vertebrates. Description False vampire bats are relatively large, with combined head and body lengths that range from . Their forearm lengths range from . They all lack tails. The ghost bat is the largest member of the family. All the species have very large ears with divided tragi. They have long nose-leaves. All species are similar in that they lack upper incisors, though ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammals Described In 1996
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles (including birds) from which they diverged in the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described divided into 29 orders. The largest orders, in terms of number of species, are the rodents, bats, and Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, moles, shrews, and others). The next three are the Primates (including humans, apes, monkeys, and others), the Artiodactyla ( cetaceans and even-toed ungulates), and the Carnivora (cats, dogs, seals, and others). In terms of cladistics, which reflects evolutionary history, mammals are the only living members of the Synapsida (synapsids); this clade, together with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
