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Picken's Hole
Picken's Hole is a small cave on the southern side of Crook Peak in the Mendip Hills in the English county of Somerset. It has been designated as a scheduled monument. It has sometimes been confused with a nearby cave called Scragg's Hole, including by the Somerset Historic Environment Record. The cave is below the plateau and above the valley floor. It is named after M. J. Picken who found teeth in earth thrown out of their sets in the area by badgers. A number of Middle Palaeolithic artefacts, and two Neolithic teeth dated to about 4,800 years bp, were recovered from the cave. Faunal deposits of spotted hyena, lion, Arctic fox, mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, horse, reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ..., suslik and northern vole (''Microtus oeconomus'') from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crook Peak To Shute Shelve Hill
Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill is a 332.2 hectare (820.9 acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the western end of the Mendip Hills, Somerset. The line of hills runs for approximately from west to east and includes: Crook Peak, Compton Hill, Wavering Down, Cross Plain and Shute Shelve Hill. Most of the site is owned by the National Trust, which bought in 1985, and much of it has been designated as common land. It was notified as an SSSI by Natural England in 1952. The ecology of the area includes ancient woodland and calcareous grassland which supports nationally rare species including the Cheddar pink. The underlying rocks are Carboniferous Limestone containing phreatic caves at Shute Shelve Cavern and Picken's Hole from which fossils dating from the Middle Devensian have been recovered. Description The site extends for some from west to east. Near its eastern end it is divided by a gap used by the A38 road and the disused Ched ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair. They lived from the Pliocene epoch (from around 5 million years ago) into the Holocene at about 4,000 years ago, and various species existed in Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America. They were members of the family Elephantidae, which also contains the two genera of modern elephants and their ancestors. Mammoths are more closely related to living Asian elephants than African elephants. The oldest representative of ''Mammuthus'', the South African mammoth (''M. subplanifrons''), appeared around 5 million years ago during the early Pliocene in what is now southern and eastern Africa. Descendant species of these mammoths moved north and continued to propagate into numerous subsequent spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caves Of The Mendip Hills
The caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills: large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain. Geology The hills consist of anticlines of Carboniferous Limestone lying over Devonian Old Red Sandstone, with the sandstone exposed on the summits. When a surface stream running off the sandstone reaches the limestone it sinks below ground through a " swallet", (also known locally as a "slocker"), continuing on its way down towards sea level by enlarging existing cracks in the rock to form caves, and reappearing at the base of the limestone outcrop. As the water changes route within the hill some caves (or parts of caves) are left dry. There is a characteristic type of Mendip cave, in which there is an initially steep descent, and then a more level stretch ending in a "sump" as the cave reaches and descends below the prevailing water table. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Before Present
Before Present (BP) years, or "years before present", is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use 1 January 1950 as the commencement date (epoch) of the age scale. The abbreviation "BP" has been interpreted retrospectively as "Before Physics", which refers to the time before nuclear weapons testing artificially altered the proportion of the carbon isotopes in the atmosphere, which scientists must now account for. In a convention that is not always observed, many sources restrict the use of BP dates to those produced with radiocarbon dating; the alternative notation RCYBP stands for the explicit "radio carbon years before present". Usage The BP scale is sometimes used for dates established by means other than radiocarbon dating, such as stratigraphy. This usage differs from t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tundra Vole
The tundra vole (''Microtus oeconomus'') or root vole is a medium-sized vole found in Northern and Central Europe, Asia, and northwestern North America, including Alaska and northwestern Canada. In the western part of the Netherlands, the tundra vole is a relict from the ice age and has developed into the subspecies ''Microtus oeconomus arenicola''. Description The tundra vole has short ears and a short tail. Its fur is yellowish brown with paler sides and white underparts. It is typically about long with a tail and a weight of about . Habitat The tundra vole is found in damp tundra or moist meadows, usually near water. Behaviour and diet This species makes runways through the surface growth in warm weather and tunnels through the snow in winter. It feeds on grasses, sedges and seeds. It is active year-round. It also digs burrows where it stores seeds and roots, especially licorice root, for the winter. The species epithet ''oeconomus'' refers to this "economical" behaviour. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Ground Squirrel
The European ground squirrel (''Spermophilus citellus''), also known as the European souslik, is a species from the squirrel family, Sciuridae. It is among the few European species in the genus ''Spermophilus''. Like all squirrels, it is a member of the rodent order. It is to be found in eastern Europe from southern Ukraine, to Asia Minor, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and north as far as Poland but the range is divided in two parts by the Carpathian Mountains. The European ground squirrel grows to a length of approximately and a weight of approximately . It is a diurnal animal, living in colonies of individual burrows in pastures or grassy embankments. The squirrels emerge during the day to feed upon seeds, plant shoots and roots or flightless invertebrates. The colonies maintain sentinels who whistle at the sight of a predator, bringing the pack scurrying back to safety. Breeding takes place in early summer when a sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspecies. A 2022 revision of the genus elevated five of the subspecies to species (see Taxonomy below). They have a circumpolar distribution and are native to the Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal forest, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. Reindeer occur in both migratory and sedentary populations, and their herd sizes vary greatly in different regions. The tundra subspecies are adapted for extreme cold, and some are adapted for long-distance migration. Reindeer vary greatly in size and color from the smallest species, the Svalbard reindeer (''R. t. platyrhynchus''), to the largest subspecies, Osborn's caribou (''R. t. osborni''). Although reindeer are quite numerous, some species and subspecies are in d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, ''Eohippus'', into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began domesticating horses around 4000 BCE, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BCE. Horses in the subspecies ''caballus'' are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, as this term is used to describe horses that have never been domesticated. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior. Horses are adapted to run, allowing them to quickly escape predators, and po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woolly Rhinoceros
The woolly rhinoceros (''Coelodonta antiquitatis'') is an extinct species of rhinoceros that was common throughout Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch and survived until the end of the last glacial period. The woolly rhinoceros was a member of the Pleistocene megafauna. The woolly rhinoceros was covered with long, thick hair that allowed it to survive in the extremely cold, harsh mammoth steppe. It had a massive hump reaching from its shoulder and fed mainly on herbaceous plants that grew in the steppe. Mummified carcasses preserved in permafrost and many bone remains of woolly rhinoceroses have been found. Images of woolly rhinoceroses are found among cave paintings in Europe and Asia. Taxonomy Woolly rhinoceros remains have been known long before the species was described, and were the basis for some mythical creatures. Native peoples of Siberia believed their horns were the claws of giant birds. A rhinoceros skull was found in Kl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic Fox
The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in cold environments, and is best known for its thick, warm fur that is also used as camouflage. It has a large and very fluffy tail. In the wild, most individuals do not live past their first year but some exceptional ones survive up to 11 years. Its body length ranges from , with a generally rounded body shape to minimize the escape of body heat. The Arctic fox preys on many small creatures such as lemmings, voles, ringed seal pups, fish, waterfowl, and seabirds. It also eats carrion, berries, seaweed, and insects and other small invertebrates. Arctic foxes form monogamous pairs during the breeding season and they stay together to raise their young in complex underground dens. Occasionally, other family members may assist in raising their y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Chew Valley and other tributaries of the Avon to the north. The hills give their name to the local government district of Mendip, which administers most of the area. The higher, western part of the hills, covering has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which gives it a level of protection comparable to a national park. The hills are largely formed from Carboniferous Limestone, which is quarried at several sites. Ash–maple woodland, calcareous grassland and mesotrophic grassland which can be found across the Mendip Hills provide nationally important semi-natural habitats. With their temperate climate these support a range of flora and fauna including birds, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is a social species, forming groups called ''prides''. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males, related females, and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex predator, apex and keystone predator; although some lions scavenge when opportunities occur and have been known to hunt Human, humans, lions typically don't actively seek out and prey on humans. The lion inhabits grasslands, savannas and shrublands. It is usually more diurnality, diurnal than other wild cats, but when persecuted, it adapts to being active nocturnality, at night and crepuscular, at twilight. During the Neolithic period, the li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
