|
Nesiotites
''Asoriculus'' is an extinct genus of terrestrial shrews in the subfamily Soricinae (red-toothed shrews) and tribe Nectogalini. The best known species, ''Asoriculus gibberodon'' was widespread in Europe from the Late Miocene to the Early Pleistocene. Insular species are known from the Mediterranean islands of Sicily (''A. burgioi'' Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene), and Corsica-Sardinia including ''A. corsicanus'' (Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene) and ''A. similis'' (Early Pleistocene- Late Pleistocene/Holocene). ''A. similis'' likely survived into the Holocene, when it became extinct after human settlement of the islands. The genus ''Nesiotites'' (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene-Holocene) from the Balearic Islands, including the chronospecies ''N. rafelinensis'' (earliest Pliocene), ''N. ponsi'' (Late Pliocene) and ''N. hidalgo'' (Middle Pleistocene-Holocene) is considered to descend from ''Asoriculus,'' likely ''A. gibberodon.'' The insular species of ''Asoriculus'' from Sicily a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nesiotites
''Asoriculus'' is an extinct genus of terrestrial shrews in the subfamily Soricinae (red-toothed shrews) and tribe Nectogalini. The best known species, ''Asoriculus gibberodon'' was widespread in Europe from the Late Miocene to the Early Pleistocene. Insular species are known from the Mediterranean islands of Sicily (''A. burgioi'' Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene), and Corsica-Sardinia including ''A. corsicanus'' (Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene) and ''A. similis'' (Early Pleistocene- Late Pleistocene/Holocene). ''A. similis'' likely survived into the Holocene, when it became extinct after human settlement of the islands. The genus ''Nesiotites'' (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene-Holocene) from the Balearic Islands, including the chronospecies ''N. rafelinensis'' (earliest Pliocene), ''N. ponsi'' (Late Pliocene) and ''N. hidalgo'' (Middle Pleistocene-Holocene) is considered to descend from ''Asoriculus,'' likely ''A. gibberodon.'' The insular species of ''Asoriculus'' from Sicily a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balearic Shrew
The Balearic shrew (''Nesiotites hidalgo'') is an extinct species of shrew from Majorca and Menorca, in the Balearic Islands of Spain, belonging to the endemic genus ''Nesiotites.'' It was one of three native land mammals to the Balearic Islands, alongside ''Myotragus'' and ''Hypnomys. Nesotites'' has been present in the Balearic Islands for over 5 million years since the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene, and is the final and largest chronospecies of the lineage. It was relatively large for a shrew, being estimated to weigh between 20 and 30 grams. Among living shrews it is most closely related to the Himalayan shrew, from which it diverged around 6.44 million years ago and has a probable close relationship with the extinct genus ''Asoriculus'' of mainland Europe and Corsica-Sardinia''.'' See also * List of extinct animals of Europe This list of European animals extinct in the Holocene features animals known to have become extinct in the last 12,000 years on the European continent an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrew (animal)
Shrews (family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different families or orders. Although its external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, a shrew is not a rodent, as mice are. It is, in fact, a much closer relative of hedgehogs and moles; shrews are related to rodents only in that both belong to the Boreoeutheria magnorder. Shrews have sharp, spike-like teeth, whereas rodents have gnawing front incisor teeth. Shrews are distributed almost worldwide; among the major tropical and temperate land masses, only New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand have no native shrews; in South America shrews appeared only relatively recently, as a result of the Great American Interchange, and are present only in the northern Andes. The shrew family has 385 known species, making it the fourth-most sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soricinae
The red-toothed shrews of the subfamily Soricinae are one of three living subfamilies of shrews, along with Crocidurinae (white-toothed shrews) and Myosoricinae (African white-toothed shrews). In addition, the family contains the extinct subfamilies Limnoecinae, Crocidosoricinae, Allosoricinae and Heterosoricinae. These species are typically found in North America, northern South America, Europe and northern Asia. The enamel of the tips of their teeth is reddish due to iron pigment. The iron deposits serve to harden the enamel and are concentrated in those parts of the teeth most subject to wear. The list of species is: * Tribe Anourosoricini ** Genus '' Anourosorex'' (Asian mole shrews) *** Assam mole shrew, ''A. assamensis'' *** Giant mole shrew, ''A. schmidi'' *** Chinese mole shrew, ''A. squamipes'' *** Taiwanese mole shrew, ''A. yamashinai'' * Tribe Blarinellini ** Genus ''Blarinella'' (Asiatic short-tailed shrews) *** Indochinese short-tailed shrew, ''B. griselda'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is Palma. The 2007 Statute of Autonomy designates the Balearic Islands as one of the ''nationalities'' of Spain. The official languages of the Balearic Islands are Catalan and Spanish. Its four largest islands are Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera. Many of its minor islands and islets are close to the larger islands, including Cabrera, Dragonera, and S'Espalmador. The islands have a Mediterranean climate, and the four major islands are all popular tourist destinations. Ibiza, in particular, is known as an international party destination, attracting many of the world's most popular DJs to its nightclubs. The islands' culture and cuisine are similar to those of the rest of Spain but have their own distinctive features. Etymology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Pleistocene
The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently defined as the time between c. 129,000 and c. 11,700 years ago. The Late Pleistocene equates to the proposed Tarantian Age of the geologic time scale, preceded by the officially ratified Chibanian (formerly known as Middle Pleistocene) and succeeded by the officially ratified Greenlandian. The estimated beginning of the Tarantian is the start of the Eemian interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage 5). It is held to end with the termination of the Younger Dryas, some 10th millennium BC, 11,700 years ago when the Holocene Epoch began. The term Upper Pleistocene is currently in use as a provisional or "quasi-formal" designation by the International Union of Geological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holocene Extinctions
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Quaternary period. The Holocene has been identified with the current warm period, known as MIS 1. It is considered by some to be an interglacial period within the Pleistocene Epoch, called the Flandrian interglacial.Oxford University Press – Why Geography Matters: More Than Ever (book) – "Holocene Humanity" section https://books.google.com/books?id=7P0_sWIcBNsC The Holocene corresponds with the rapid proliferation, growth and impacts of the human species worldwide, including all of its written history, technological revolutions, development of major civilizations, and overall significant transition towards urban living in the present. The human impact on modern-era Earth and its ecosystems may be considered of global sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pliocene First Appearances
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58See the 2014 version of the ICS geologic time scale million years ago. It is the second and most recent epoch of the Neogene Period in the . The Pliocene follows the Epoch and is followed by the Epoch. Prior to the 2009 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molecular Clock
The molecular clock is a figurative term for a technique that uses the mutation rate of biomolecules to deduce the time in prehistory when two or more life forms diverged. The biomolecular data used for such calculations are usually nucleotide sequences for DNA, RNA, or amino acid sequences for proteins. The benchmarks for determining the mutation rate are often fossil or archaeological dates. The molecular clock was first tested in 1962 on the hemoglobin protein variants of various animals, and is commonly used in molecular evolution to estimate times of speciation or radiation. It is sometimes called a gene clock or an evolutionary clock. Early discovery and genetic equidistance The notion of the existence of a so-called "molecular clock" was first attributed to Émile Zuckerkandl and Linus Pauling who, in 1962, noticed that the number of amino acid differences in hemoglobin between different lineages changes roughly linearly with time, as estimated from fossil evidence. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himalayan Shrew
The Himalayan shrew (''Soriculus nigrescens'') is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal, is currently the only species in the genus ''Soriculus'' within the tribe Nectogalini, although the species ''Chodsigoa'' and ''Episoriculus'', which occur in southeastern Asia, as well as those of the fossil European genus ''Asoriculus ''Asoriculus'' is an extinct genus of terrestrial shrews in the subfamily Soricinae (red-toothed shrews) and tribe Nectogalini. The best known species, ''Asoriculus gibberodon'' was widespread in Europe from the Late Miocene to the Early Pleisto ...'', were formerly included there. References *Hutterer, R. 2005. Order Soricomorpha. Pp. 220–311 in Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M. (eds.)Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd ed Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols., 2142 pp. Mammals of Nepal Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammals described in 1842 {{redtoothed-shrew-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Island Gigantism
Island gigantism, or insular gigantism, is a biological phenomenon in which the size of an animal species isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to its mainland relatives. Island gigantism is one aspect of the more general "island effect" or "Foster's rule", which posits that when mainland animals colonize islands, small species tend to evolve larger bodies, and large species tend to evolve smaller bodies (insular dwarfism). This is itself one aspect of the more general phenomenon of island syndrome which describes the differences in morphology, ecology, physiology and behaviour of insular species compared to their continental counterparts. Following the arrival of humans and associated introduced predators (dogs, cats, rats, pigs), many giant as well as other island endemics have become extinct. A similar size increase, as well as increased woodiness, has been observed in some insular plants. Possible causes Large mammalian carnivores are often absent on isl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyphyly
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of convergent evolution. The arrangement of the members of a polyphyletic group is called a polyphyly .. ource for pronunciation./ref> It is contrasted with monophyly and paraphyly. For example, the biological characteristic of warm-bloodedness evolved separately in the ancestors of mammals and the ancestors of birds; "warm-blooded animals" is therefore a polyphyletic grouping. Other examples of polyphyletic groups are algae, C4 photosynthetic plants, and edentates. Many taxonomists aim to avoid homoplasies in grouping taxa together, with a goal to identify and eliminate groups that are found to be polyphyletic. This is often the stimulus for major revisions of the classification schemes. Researchers concerned more with ecology than with system ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
