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Ornimegalonyx
The Cuban giant owl or giant cursorial owl (''Ornimegalonyx'') is an extinct genus of giant owl that measured in height. It is closely related to the many species of living owls of the genus ''Strix''.Feduccia, Alan (1996) "The Origin and Evolution of Birds" Yale University Press It was a flightless or nearly flightless bird and it is believed to be the largest owl that ever existed. It lived on the island of Cuba. The first fossil specimen was mistakenly described as a bird in the family Phorusrhacidae, in part because the bones were so large. In 1961, Pierce Brodkorb reviewed the findings and placed them properly, with the owls. Remains have been abundant throughout the island, in cave deposits from the Late Pleistocene period (126,000 to 11,700 years ago) and at least three nearly complete skeletons have been found. Taxonomy In the past, three additional species of ''Ornimegalonyx'' besides ''O. oteroi'' were regarded as valid. All were described in 1982 and include: *''Ornim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1982 In Paleontology
Plants Pteridophytes Angiosperms Fish Ray-finned fish Archosauromorphs Newly named dinosaurs Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list. Birds Some remarks on newly named birds * ''Hulsanpes perlei'' Osmolska, 1982 was described as a Troodontidae, it is sometimes seen as an Avialae because of having a ginglymoid metatarsal II. Newly named birds Plesiosaurs New taxa Pterosaurs New taxa Crocodylomorpha New taxa References {{reflist, 30em Paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ... Paleontology 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Arredondo
Oscar Paulino Arredondo de la Mata (18 July 1918 – 20 July 2001) was a Cuban paleontologist. He described a number of birds and mammals of the Quaternary Period from fossils obtained from Cuban caves. He has been called the "father of Cuban vertebrate paleontology". Oscar Arredondo was born in Havana in the Quarter of the Pillar. He lived in that area until 1955. Born in a family of ordinary means with six other siblings, he studied at the local public school (number 33). He took an interest in natural history early in life and learnt about animals on his own. In 1936 he sang with tango music groups for various radio stations and was an actor in the local theatre. In 1942 he worked at a local hair salon apart from selling fruits and as being a representative for theater workers. He continued his personal studies and sketched various local birds. In 1945 he took an interest in exploring caves and began to explore fossils found in the caves of Cuba. In order to join the expeditions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strix (genus)
''Strix'' is a genus of owls in the typical owl family (Strigidae), one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being the barn-owl (Tytonidae). Common names are earless owls or wood owls, though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, and " wood owl" is also used as a more generic name for forest-dwelling owls. Neotropical birds in the genus '' Ciccaba'' are sometimes included in ''Strix''. These are medium-sized to large, robustly built, powerful owls. They do not have ear tufts and most are highly nocturnal woodland birds. Most prey on small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Most owls in the genus ''Strix'' can be distinguished from other genera of owls through their hooting vocalization and lack of visible ears. The Latin genus name ''Strix'' referred to a mythical vampiric owl-monster believed to suck the blood of infants. Although the genus ''Strix'' was established for the earless owls by Linnaeus in 1758, many applied the term to other o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geocapromys
''Geocapromys'' is a genus of rodent belonging to the hutia subfamily and are currently only found on the Bahamas and Jamaica. However, they formerly ranged throughout the Caribbean, from Cuba to the Cayman Islands to even islands off mainland Central America. Systematics The genus ''Geocapromys'' comprises five recent species, three of which are extinct. * ''Geocapromys ingrahami'', the Bahamian hutia or Ingraham's hutia, is an extant species of hutia native to the Bahamas. * ''G. brownii'', the Jamaican hutia, which is also known as the Jamaican coney or Brown's hutia, is another extant species endemic to Jamaica. * ''G. thoracatus'', the Little Swan Island hutia, was a third species which was found only on Little Swan Island, off northeastern Honduras. It became extinct in 1955, wiped out by storms and introduced predators. Some scientists consider it a subspecies of ''G. brownii''. *''G. columbianus'', the Cuban coney, was endemic to Cuba, where it went extinct shortly after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cursorial
A cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. cheetah) or if it can keep a constant speed for a long distance (high endurance). "Cursorial" is often used to categorize a certain locomotor mode, which is helpful for biologists who examine behaviors of different animals and the way they move in their environment. Cursorial adaptations can be identified by morphological characteristics (e.g. loss of lateral digits as in ungulate species), physiological characteristics, maximum speed, and how often running is used in life. There is much debate over how to define a cursorial animal specifically. The most accepted definitions include that a cursorial organism could be considered adapted to long-distance running at high speeds or has the ability to accelerate quickly over short distances. Among vertebrates, animals under 1 kg of mass are rarely considered cursorial, and cursorial behaviors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Turkey
The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an Upland game bird, upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey (not the related ocellated turkey). Description Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green legs. The body feathers are generally blackish and dark, sometimes grey brown overall with a coppery sheen that becomes more complex in adult males. Adult males, called toms or gobblers, have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red Wattle (anatomy), wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called Caruncle (bird anatomy) , caruncles. Juvenile males are called jakes; the difference between an adult male and a juvenile is that the jake has a very short beard and his tail fan has longer feathers in the middle. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hutia
Hutias (known in Spanish as jutía) are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the subfamily Capromyinae that inhabit the Caribbean islands, with most species restricted to Cuba and Hispaniola. Twenty species of hutia have been identified, but at least half are extinct. Only Desmarest's hutia and the prehensile-tailed hutia remain common and widespread; all other extant species are considered threatened by the IUCN. The extinct giant hutias of the family Heptaxodontidae also inhabited the Caribbean, but are not thought to be closely related, with the giant hutias belonging in the superfamily Chinchilloidea. Description Most species have a head-and-body length that ranges from and weigh less than , but Desmarest's hutia has a head-and-body length of and weighs . They resemble the coypu in some respects. Tails are present, varying from vestiges to prehensile. They have stout bodies and large heads. Most species are herbivorous, though some consume small animals. Instead of burro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capromys
''Capromys'' is a genus of rodents that contains Desmarest's hutia, Garrido's hutia, and several recently extinct species, mainly from Cuba, although one extinct subspecies of Desmarest's hutia is known from Grand Cayman. Species The following species are considered valid per Borroto-Páez (2012) and the American Society of Mammalogists: *''Capromys garridoi'' (Garrido's hutia, possibly extinct) *''Capromys pilorides'' (Desmarest's hutia or Cuban hutia) **''C. p. ciprianoi'' **''C. p. doceleguas'' **'' C. p. gundlachianus'' **†''C. p. lewisi'' **''C. p. pilorides'' **''C. p. relictus'' *†''Capromys acevedo'' *†''Capromys latus ''Capromys'' is a genus of rodents that contains Desmarest's hutia, Garrido's hutia, and several recently extinct species, mainly from Cuba, although one extinct subspecies of Desmarest's hutia is known from Grand Cayman. Species The following s ...'' ''Capromys arredondoi'' and ''Capromys pappus'' are now synonymous with the Cuban hutia. ''Capro ... [...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] |
Adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the population during that process. Thirdly, it is a phenotypic trait or adaptive trait, with a functional role in each individual organism, that is maintained and has evolved through natural selection. Historically, adaptation has been described from the time of the ancient Greek philosophers such as Empedocles and Aristotle. In 18th and 19th century natural theology, adaptation was taken as evidence for the existence of a deity. Charles Darwin proposed instead that it was explained by natural selection. Adaptation is related to biological fitness, which governs the rate of evolution as measured by change in allele frequencies. Often, two or more species co-adapt and co-evolve as they develop adaptations that interlock with those of the oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capybara
The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is a giant cavy rodent native to South America. It is the largest living rodent and a member of the genus ''Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmius''). Its close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the nutria. The capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests, and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually live in groups of 10–20 individuals. The capybara is hunted for its meat and hide and also for grease from its thick fatty skin. It is not considered a threatened species. Etymology Its common name is derived fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
