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Meranoplus Cryptomys
''Meranoplus cryptomys'' is a Malagasy species of ant in the genus ''Meranoplus''. Despite the infrequent collection of this presumably rare species, ''M. cryptomys'' has a relatively broad range within the spiny forest/thickets and savanna woodland habitats of Madagascar. Workers of ''Meranoplus cryptomys'' are only known from two individuals collected at Tsimanampetsotsa, while gynes have been collected at the Isalo and Andohahela National Parks and the Beza Mahafaly Reserve. Neither hand-collected workers nor nests have been collected; all known individuals are from Malaise As a medical term, malaise is a feeling of general discomfort, uneasiness or lack of wellbeing and often the first sign of an infection or other disease. The word has existed in French since at least the 12th century. The term is often used ... or pitfall traps. Although two female castes have not been collected together, they share characteristics unique to the Malagasy ''Meranoplus'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At Madagascar is the world's List of island countries, second-largest island country, after Indonesia. The nation is home to around 30 million inhabitants and consists of the island of Geography of Madagascar, Madagascar (the List of islands by area, fourth-largest island in the world), along with numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of wildlife of Madagascar, its wildlife is endemic. Human settlement of Madagascar occurred during or befo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. However, only about 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family (taxonomy), family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meranoplus
''Meranoplus'' is an Old World genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. With over 80 valid species, it is predicted that over half of the ''Meranoplus'' diversity remains undescribed, most of these from Australia. Classification ''Meranoplus'' is a unique and charismatic myrmicine genus of hairy, slow-moving, and armored ants. The genus was previously classified in its own tribe, the Meranoplini, with one fossil genus, '' Parameranoplus'', from Baltic amber (44.1 ± 1.1 mya), but was moved to Crematogastrini by Ward ''et al.'' (2015). The historic shuffling of ''Meranoplus'' through higher taxa — Cryptoceridae, Cataulacinae, Tetramoriini, Meranoplini — reflects our poor understanding of the phylogenetic position of ''Meranoplus'' within the Formicidae. Brady et ''al''. (2006) recovered a clade of ''Meranoplus'' and ''Cataulacus'', although this relationship was not supported in Moreau ''et al''. (2006). Distribution The extant species of ''Meranoplus'' are distributed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsimanampetsotsa National Park
Tsimanampetsotsa National Park also spelt Tsimanampetsotse, and known as Tsimanampetsotsa Nature Reserve is a 432 km2 national park on the south-west coast of Madagascar in the region Atsimo-Andrefana. The park is south of Toliara and south of the capital, Antananarivo. Route Nationales (RN) 10 to Faux Cap passes the park and the nearest airport is at Toliara. The national park contains and is named after Lake Tsimanampetsotsa. History and Significance Tsimanampetsotsa National Park encompasses the westernmost escarpment of the limestone Mahafaly Plateau. It was first protected in 1927 for its endemic flora and fauna and became a national park in 1966. It is within the Madagascar spiny forests or "spiny desert" of southern Madagascar, a globally distinctive ecoregion. This is the area with the highest level of plant endemism in Madagascar, with 48% of the genera and 95% of the species endemicElmqvist T, Pyyko ̈nen M, Tengo ̈M, Rakotondrasoa F, Rabakonandrianina E, et al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isalo National Park
Isalo National Park is a National Park in the Ihorombe Region of Madagascar, in the southwestern corner of the Province of Fianarantsoa. The closest town is Ranohira, and the closest cities are Toliara and Ihosy. It is a sandstone landscape that has been dissected by wind and water erosion into rocky outcrops, plateaus, extensive plains and up to deep canyons. There are permanent rivers and streams as well as many seasonal watercourses. Elevation varies between . History and significance Isalo National Park was created in 1962 and has been administered by the Madagascar National Parks authority since 1997. The Bara people have traditionally inhabited this area, a nomadic people subsisting on cattle (zebu) farming. There are burial sites of the Bara people and some older burial sites of the Sakalava. Isalo is primarily within the dry deciduous forests ecoregion, an ecoregion in which natural vegetation has been reduced by almost 40% of its original extent. It also includes lands ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andohahela National Park
Andohahela National Park, in south-east Madagascar, is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy Highlands and contains the last humid rainforests in the southern part of Madagascar. The Park was inscribed in the World Heritage Site in 2007 as part of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana. History Andohahela has been a protected area since 1939 but did not become a national park until 1998. Geography Andohahela National Park is north-west of Tôlanaro and at the southern end of the Malagasy Highlands. The park is divided into three zones. The first, Malio, ranges from to the summit of Pic d' Andohahela at , and has dense lowland and montane rainforest with more than two hundred species of tree ferns, orchids, wild vanilla, lemurs and many birds. The second, Ihazofotsy-Mangatsiaka, contains dry spiny forest with rare birds and reptiles in altitudes ranging from to at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beza Mahafaly Reserve
The Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve is a nature reserve in Madagascar northeast of Betioky Sud. The reserve also provides training and research opportunities. It consists of a fenced gallery forest, approximately , separated by from a gallery of arid spiny forest. The reserve has a museum that is open to tourists. Tree species featured in the two galleries include tamarind trees and Madagascar ocotillo, among many others. Animals residing in the galleries include four species of lemurs, four species of tenrecs, 17 species of saurians, 12 species of snakes, two species of tortoises and, in season, the Nile crocodile. There are over 100 species of birds. History The Reserve was founded in 1975, when community leaders formed a partnership with the University of Madagascar (now University of Antananarivo), Washington University, and Yale University aiming to protect the forest. It has been a centre for research and education since 1978, and the Bezà Mahafaly Monitoring Team of loca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitfall Trap
A pitfall trap is a trapping pit for small animals, such as insects, amphibians and reptiles. Pitfall traps are a sampling technique, mainly used for ecology studies and ecologic pest control. Animals that enter a pitfall trap are unable to escape. This is a form of passive collection, as opposed to active collection where the collector catches each animal (by hand or with a device such as a butterfly net). Active collection may be difficult or time-consuming, especially in habitats where it is hard to see the animals such as thick grass. Structure and composition Pitfall traps come in a variety of sizes and designs. They come in 2 main forms: dry and wet pitfall traps. Dry pitfall traps consist of a container (tin, jar or drum) buried in the ground with its rim at surface level used to trap mobile animals that fall into it. Wet pitfall traps are basically the same, but contain a solution designed to kill and preserve the trapped animals. The fluids that can be used in these trap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meranoplus Mayri
''Meranoplus mayri'' is a Malagasy species of ant in the genus ''Meranoplus''. Distribution ''Meranoplus mayri'' is distributed throughout the drier regions of Madagascar from the Southwestern region near Andohahela National Park all the way north into the Mahajanga Province. The elevational range of ''M. mayri'' is 20–1345 m. Description This species displays subtle variation in morphometric and most sculptural characters across its range except for the sculpture of the base of abdominal tergum IV. This character varies from extremely smooth and shining in the southwest to strongly, dense-punctate and costate along the western edge of the High Plateau. Intergrades are common, however, occurring all along the western coast and into the High Plateau. Both smooth and punctate specimens may be found at the same locales, including Ampotoampoto, Ejada, Tsihombe and Ambinanitelo. The variation of this character indicates that although the two extremes are reproductively isolated b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zootaxa
''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week. From 2001 to 2020, more than 60,000 new species have been described in the journal accounting for around 25% of all new taxa indexed in The Zoological Record in the last few years. Print and online versions are available. Temporary suspension from JCR The journal exhibited high levels of self-citation and its journal impact factor of 2019 was suspended from ''Journal Citation Reports'' in 2020, a sanction which hit 34 journals in total. Biologist Ross Mounce noted that high levels of self-citation may be inevitable for a journal which publishes a large share of new species classification. Later that year this decision was reversed and it was admitted that levels of self-citation are appropriate considering the large proportion of papers f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
