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Prionomys
Dollman's tree mouse (''Prionomys batesi'') is a poorly understood climbing mouse from central Africa. It is unique enough that it has been placed in a genus of its own, ''Prionomys'', since its discovery in 1910. Distribution and habitat Dollman's tree mouse has only been recorded in four localities in three countries. These are Bitye and Obala in Cameroon, La Maboké in Central African Republic, and Odzala in Republic of the Congo. In total only 23 specimens are known to be present in museums throughout the world (Denys et al., 2006). Denys et al. (2006) indicate that ''Prionomys'' has a unique association with forest-savannah mosaics in central Africa. During interglacial periods, this region has undergone varying degrees of wet and dry periods. Savannah expands during dry periods and forest expands during wet periods, but there are small scale shifts in which regions are dry or wet. ''Prionomys'' appears to be associated with forest habitat on the edge of savannah pat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dendromurinae
Dendromurinae is a subfamily of rodents in the family Nesomyidae and superfamily Muroidea. The dendromurines are currently restricted to Africa, as is the case for all extant members of the family Nesomyidae. The authorship of the subfamily has been attributed to both Alston, 1876, and (incorrectly) to G. M. Allen, 1939. Two genera, ''Dendromus'' and '' Steatomys'', are relatively common throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa. The remaining genera are relatively rare and have restricted geographic distributions. The link rat, ''Deomys ferugineus'', has been traditionally placed in this subfamily, but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that it is more related to the spiny mice, genus '' Acomys''. The link rat is now placed in the family Muridae and subfamily Deomyinae. Only two of the currently recognized dendromurine genera, ''Dendromus'' and '' Steatomys'', have been studied in molecular analyses. Considering how distinct these genera are from one another, the pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and Cameroon to the west. The Central African Republic covers a land area of about . , it had an estimated population of around million. , the Central African Republic is the scene of a civil war, ongoing since 2012. Most of the Central African Republic consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas, but the country also includes a Sahelo- Sudanian zone in the north and an equatorial forest zone in the south. Two-thirds of the country is within the Ubangi River basin (which flows into the Congo), while the remaining third lies in the basin of the Chari, which flows into Lake Chad. What is today the Central African Republic has been inhabited for millennia; however, the country's current borders were established by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proodont
In rodents, incisor procumbency refers to the orientation of the upper incisor, defined by the position of the cutting edge of the incisor relative to the vertical plane of the incisors. Proodont incisors have the cutting edge in front of the vertical plane, orthodont teeth have it perpendicular to the plane, opisthodont incisors have it behind the plane, and hyper-opisthodont teeth have the cutting edge even behind the back of the alveolus of the incisor. Phyllotini are mostly opisthodont, but '' Auliscomys'' and '' Galenomys'' are orthodont and have sometimes even been described as proodont, and ''Eligmodontia'', '' Loxodontomys'', and some species of '' Calomys'' are hyper-opisthodont. ''Irenomys'', ''Reithrodon'', and '' Neotomys'', formerly classified as phyllotines, are also hyper-opisthodont.Steppan, 1995, p. 18 Oryzomyini are also mostly opisthodont, but ''Amphinectomys savamis'', ''Handleyomys fuscatus'', '' Melanomys caliginosus'', ''Mindomys hammondi'', ''Scolomys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convergent Evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy. The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight. Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are ''analogous'', whereas '' homologous'' structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions. The opposite of convergence is divergent evolution, where related species evolve different traits. Convergent evolution is similar to para ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deomys
The link rat (''Deomys ferrugineus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known by the common name Congo forest mouse.Schlitter, D. & Kerbis Peterhans, J. 2008''Deomys ferrugineus''.The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. Downloaded on 10 April 2015. It is native to central Africa. It is 12–14.5 cm long with a 15–21 cm long tail. It weighs 40-70 g. It has long legs and a pointed, narrow head, surmounted by enormous ears. It has a very long, bicoloured tail. The back and forehead are rich orange and brown and the underside is white. The rump hairs are stiff. The link rat is nocturnal and crepuscular. It prefers seasonally flooded forest floors between Cameroon and the Victoria Nile. It has a widespread but scattered distribution and is seldom common. It feeds mainly on insects, crustaceans, slugs and some fallen fruits, notably palm-nut husks. The link rat has traditionally been placed as a member of the subfamily Dend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deomyinae
The subfamily Deomyinae consists of four genera of mouse-like rodents that were placed in the subfamilies Murinae and Dendromurinae until very recently. They are sometimes called the Acomyinae, particularly in references that antedate the discovery that the link rat, '' Deomys ferugineus'', is part of the clade. Deomyinae is the older name and therefore has priority over Acomyinae. Deomyines share no morphological characteristics that can be used to separate them from other muroids, though subtle aspects of the third upper molar have been suggested. This subfamily is united solely on the basis of shared genetic mutations. These conclusions have demonstrated good statistical support using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, and DNA-DNA hybridization. Actually, all of the species in the subfamily share stiff hairs somewhere on their bodies. Because of the lack of physical characteristics supporting this group, it is very possible that the subfamily as it is currently recogn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dendroprionomys
The velvet climbing mouse (''Dendroprionomys rousseloti'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae The Nesomyidae are a family of African rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes several subfamilies, all of which are native to either continental Africa or to Madagascar. Included in this family are Malagasy rodents, .... It is found only in Republic of the Congo. References * * Schlitter, D. 2004.Dendroprionomys rousseloti 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 July 2007. Dendromurinae Mammals of the Republic of the Congo Endemic fauna of the Republic of the Congo Mammals described in 1966 Taxa named by Francis Petter Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic {{Muroid-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phylogeny
A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics. All life on Earth is part of a single phylogenetic tree, indicating common ancestry. In a ''rooted'' phylogenetic tree, each node with descendants represents the inferred most recent common ancestor of those descendants, and the edge lengths in some trees may be interpreted as time estimates. Each node is called a taxonomic unit. Internal nodes are generally called hypothetical taxonomic units, as they cannot be directly observed. Trees are useful in fields of biology such as bioinformatics, systematics, and phylogenetics. ''Unrooted'' trees illustrate only the relatedness of the leaf nodes and do not require the ancestral root to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehensile
Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different origins. The most common are tree-climbing and the need to manipulate food. Examples Appendages that can become prehensile include: Uses Prehensility affords animals a great natural advantage in manipulating their environment for feeding, climbing, digging, and defense. It enables many animals, such as primates, to use tools to complete tasks that would otherwise be impossible without highly specialized anatomy. For example, chimpanzees have the ability to use sticks to obtain termites and grubs in a manner similar to human fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arboreal
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose numerous mechanical challenges to animals moving through them and lead to a variety of anatomical, behavioral and ecological consequences as well as variations throughout different species.Cartmill, M. (1985). Climbing. In ''Functional Vertebrate Morphology'', eds. M. Hildebrand D. M. Bramble K. F. Liem and D. B. Wake, pp. 73–88. Cambridge: Belknap Press. Furthermore, many of these same principles may be applied to climbing without trees, such as on rock piles or mountains. Some animals are exclusively arboreal in habitat, such as the tree snail. Biomechanics Arboreal habitats pose numerous mechanical challenges to animals moving in them, which have been solved in diverse ways. These challenges include moving on narrow branches, mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nocturnal Animal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed senses of hearing, smell, and specially adapted eyesight. Some animals, such as cats and ferrets, have eyes that can adapt to both low-level and bright day levels of illumination (see metaturnal). Others, such as bushbabies and (some) bats, can function only at night. Many nocturnal creatures including tarsiers and some owls have large eyes in comparison with their body size to compensate for the lower light levels at night. More specifically, they have been found to have a larger cornea relative to their eye size than diurnal creatures to increase their : in the low-light conditions. Nocturnality helps wasps, such as '' Apoica flavissima'', avoid hunting in intense sunlight. Diurnal animals, including squirrels and songbirds, are active ... [...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 tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
