|
Neanis
''Neanis'' is an extinct genus of bird probably related to woodpeckers and toucans. It contains at least one species, ''N. schucherti''; ''N. kistneri'' resembles this, but it probably belongs to a distinct genus and may not be closely related. Both are known from the Late Wasatchian (51-52 MYA) stratum of the Early Eocene Green River Formation of the Western-Central USA. ''"N." kistneri'' is known from one fairly complete, but not very well preserved skeleton, whereas of ''N. schucherti'' even less material was found. The systematic assignment of the genus (apart from the problems posed by ''"N." kistneri'') is not well resolved. Initially, the genus (at that time only comprising the type species) was considered to be a passeriform. ''"N." kistneri'' was described 60 years later as a species of the genus ''Primobucco'', which then thought to be related to woodpeckers because it had a zygodactyl foot or at least could turn the outer toe backwards; some years later, several genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neanis Schucherti
''Neanis'' is an extinct genus of bird probably related to woodpeckers and toucans. It contains at least one species, ''N. schucherti''; ''N. kistneri'' resembles this, but it probably belongs to a distinct genus and may not be closely related. Both are known from the Late Wasatchian (51-52 MYA) stratum of the Early Eocene Green River Formation of the Western-Central USA. ''"N." kistneri'' is known from one fairly complete, but not very well preserved skeleton, whereas of ''N. schucherti'' even less material was found. The systematic assignment of the genus (apart from the problems posed by ''"N." kistneri'') is not well resolved. Initially, the genus (at that time only comprising the type species) was considered to be a passeriform. ''"N." kistneri'' was described 60 years later as a species of the genus ''Primobucco'', which then thought to be related to woodpeckers because it had a zygodactyl foot or at least could turn the outer toe backwards; some years later, several genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Primobucco
''Primobucco'' is an extinct genus of bird placed in its own family, Primobucconidae. The type species, ''Primobucco mcgrewi'', lived during the Lower Eocene of North America. It was initially described by American paleo-ornithologist Pierce Brodkorb in 1970, from a fossil right wing, and thought to be an early puffbird. However, the discovery of a further 12 fossils in 2010 indicate that it is instead an early type of roller. Related fossils from the European Messel deposits have been assigned to the two species ''P. perneri'' and ''P. frugilegus''. Two specimens of ''P. frugilegus'' have been found with seeds in the area of their digestive tract, which suggests that these birds were more omnivorous than the exclusively predaceous modern rollers. See also * Neanis ''Neanis'' is an extinct genus of bird probably related to woodpeckers and toucans. It contains at least one species, ''N. schucherti''; ''N. kistneri'' resembles this, but it probably belongs to a distinct genus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piciformes
Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes , the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of which the Picidae (woodpeckers and relatives) make up about half. In general, the Piciformes are insectivorous, although the barbets and toucans mostly eat fruit and the honeyguides are unique among birds in being able to digest beeswax (although insects make up the bulk of their diet). Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like zygodactyl feet—two toes forward and two back, an arrangement that has obvious advantages for birds that spend much of their time on tree trunks. An exception are a few species of three-toed woodpeckers. The jacamars aside, Piciformes do not have down feathers at any age, only true feathers. They range in size from the rufous piculet at 8 centimetres in length, and weighing 7 grams, to the toco toucan, at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colourful birds including the kingfishers, the bee-eaters, the rollers, the motmots, and the todies. They generally have syndactyly, with three forward-pointing toes (and toes 3 & 4 fused at their base), though in many kingfishers one of these is missing. The members of this order are linked by their “slamming” behaviour, thrashing their prey onto surfaces to disarm or incapacitate them. This is largely an Old World order, with the representation in the New World limited to the dozen or so species of todies and motmots, and a mere handful of the more than a hundred species of kingfishers. The name Coraciiformes means " raven-like". Specifically, it comes from the Latin language "corax", meaning "raven" and Latin "forma", meaning "form", which is the standard ending for bird orders. Systematics This order has been seen to be something of a mixed assortment, and the Coraciiformes may be considered as including only the rollers. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene Birds
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cypselomorph
Strisores ( ) is a clade of birds that includes the living families and orders Caprimulgidae (nightjars, nighthawks and allies), Nyctibiidae (potoos), Steatornithidae (oilbirds), Podargidae (frogmouths), Apodiformes (swifts and hummingbirds), as well as the Aegotheliformes (owlet-nightjars) whose distinctness was only recently realized. The Apodiformes (which include the "Trochiliformes" of the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy) and the Aegotheliformes form the Daedalornithes. Description The material evidence for this group is very equivocal; the most ancient Strisores are quite nondescript tree-dwellers but already tend towards peculiarly apomorphic feet, and no Cretaceous fossils are known. Torpor and other metabolic peculiarities are very frequently found in this group, perhaps more often than in any other bird lineage. The synapomorphies that define this clade are the '' ossa maxillaria'' separated by a large cleft, a mandible with very short ''pars symphysialis'', and '' rami ... [...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] |
Puffbird
The puffbirds and their relatives in the near passerine family Bucconidae are tropical tree-dwelling insectivorous birds that are found from South America up to Mexico. Together with their closest relatives, the jacamars, they form a divergent lineage within the order Piciformes, though the two families are sometimes elevated to a separate order Galbuliformes. Lacking the iridescent colours of the jacamars, puffbirds are mainly brown, rufous or grey, with large heads, large eyes, and flattened bills with a hooked tip. Their loose, abundant plumage and short tails makes them look stout and puffy, giving rise to the English name of the family. The species range in size from the rufous-capped nunlet, at and , to the white-necked puffbird, at up to and . Taxonomy and naming Puffbirds get their common name from their fluffy plumage. In Spanish, they have been nicknamed ''bobo'' ("dummy") from their propensity to sit motionless waiting for prey. American naturalist Thomas Horsfield de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". What belongs to a family—or if a described family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no hard rules for describing or recognizing a family, but in plants, they can be characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions, and there may be no broad consensus across the scientific community for some time. The publishing of new data and opini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
