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Sian Kaʼan Biosphere Reserve
Sian Kaʼan Biosphere Reserve () is a biosphere reserve in Tulum Municipality in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It was established in 1986 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The term Sian Kaʼan, from the Yuatec Mayan language, "means 'gate of heaven' or 'a place where heaven begins. With the participation of scientists, technicians, students, fishers, farmers, rural promoters, and administrators, together with regional and international partners, have successfully carried out more than 200 conservation projects basing all conservation actions on scientific and technical information for planning and implementing environmental policies and the proposal of viable solutions for sustainable use of natural resources and focusing their efforts established within eight protected natural areas that include the reefs of Banco Chinchorro, and Xcalak at South of Quintana Roo, Sian Kaʼan Biosphere Reserve, Cancun, the island of Cozumel that is located in front of Xca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tulum Municipality
Tulum Municipality (, ) is one of the eleven municipalities that make up the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It became a municipality when it was formed on 13 March 2008, at which time it was separated from Solidaridad Municipality. Tulum is home to the Maya archaeological sites of Tulum and Cobá. Geography The municipality of Tulum borders the municipalities of Solidaridad to the north and Felipe Carrillo Puerto to the south, in the state of Quintana Roo. It also borders Chemax Municipality and Valladolid Municipality in the state of Yucatán on the northwest, and the Caribbean Sea on the east. Orography and hydrography Like most of the Yucatan Peninsula Tulum is entirely flat with a gentle slope towards the sea, so from west to east, the area never reaches an altitude higher than above sea level. The municipality is above sea level on average. Like the rest of the peninsula's surface the land has a limestone base that does not allow the formation of surface water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coral Reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and jellyfish. Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons that support and protect the coral. Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated water. Coral reefs first appeared 485 million years ago, at the dawn of the Early Ordovician, displacing the microbial and sponge reefs of the Cambrian. Sometimes called ''rainforests of the sea'', shallow coral reefs form some of Earth's most diverse ecosystems. They occupy less than 0.1% of the world's ocean area, about half the area of France, yet they provide a home for at least 25% of all marine species, including fish, mollusks, worms, crustaceans, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodylus Acutus
''Crocodylus'' is a genus of true crocodiles in the family Crocodylidae. Taxonomy The generic name, ''Crocodylus'', was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. ''Crocodylus'' contains 13–14 extant (living) species and 5 extinct species. There are additional extinct species attributed to the genus ''Crocodylus'' that studies have shown no longer belong, although they have not yet been reassigned to new genera. Extant species The 13–14 living species are: Fossils ''Crocodylus'' also includes five extinct species: * † '' Crocodylus anthropophagus'' is an extinct crocodile from Plio-Pleistocene of Tanzania. * † '' Crocodylus checchiai'' is an extinct crocodile from Late Miocene of Kenya. * † '' Crocodylus falconensis'' is an extinct crocodile from Early Pliocene of Venezuela. * † '' Crocodylus palaeindicus'' is an extinct crocodile the Miocene to the Pleistocene of southern Asia. * † '' Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni'' is an extinct crocodile from Plio-Pleistoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crax Rubra
The great curassow (''Crax rubra'') is a large, pheasant-like bird from the Neotropical rainforests, its range extending from eastern Mexico, through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Male birds are black with curly crests and yellow beaks; females come in three colour morphs, barred, rufous and black. These birds form small groups, foraging mainly on the ground for fruits and arthropods, and the occasional small vertebrate, but they roost and nest in trees. This species is monogamous, the male usually building the rather small nest of leaves in which two eggs are laid. This species is threatened by loss of habitat and hunting, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as " vulnerable". Taxonomy The great curassow is the most northerly ''Crax'' species. It is part of a clade that inhabited the north of South America since about 9 mya (Tortonian, Late Miocene). As the Colombian Andes were uplifted around ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caracara Plancus
The crested caracara (''Caracara plancus'') is a bird of prey (raptor) in the falcon family, Falconidae. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Polyborus'' before being given in its own genus, '' Caracara''. It is native to and found in the southern and southeastern United States, Mexico (where it is present in every state) and the majority of mainland Latin America, as well as some Caribbean islands. The crested caracara is quite adaptable and hardy, for a species found predominantly in the neotropics; it can be found in a range of environments and ecosystems, including semi-arid and desert climates, maritime or coastal areas, subtropical and tropical forests, temperate regions, plains, swamps, and even in urban areas. Documented, albeit rare, sightings have occurred as far north as Minnesota and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Prince Edward Island. The southern extent of the crested caracara's distribution can reach as far as Tierra del Fuego and Magallanes Region, Chile. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ateles Geoffroyi
Geoffroy's spider monkey (''Ateles geoffroyi''), also known as the black-handed spider monkey or the Central American spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, parts of Mexico and possibly a small portion of Colombia. There are at least five subspecies. Some primatologists classify the black-headed spider monkey (''A. fusciceps''), found in Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador as the same species as Geoffroy's spider monkey. It is one of the largest New World monkeys, often weighing as much as . Its arms are significantly longer than its legs, and its prehensile tail can support the entire weight of the monkey and is used as an extra limb. Its hands have only a vestigial thumb, but long, strong, hook-like fingers. These adaptations allow the monkey to move by swinging by its arms beneath the tree branches. Geoffroy's spider monkey lives in fission–fusion societies that contain between 20 and 42 members. Its diet consists pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ardea Herodias
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is occasionally found in the Azores and is a rare vagrant to Europe. An all-white population found in south Florida and the Florida Keys is known as the great white heron. Debate exists about whether these white birds are a color morph of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species. Taxonomy The great blue heron was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, ''Systema Naturae''. The scientific name comes from Latin , and Ancient Greek (), both meaning "heron". The great blue heron's niche in the Old World is filled by the congeneric grey heron (''Ardea cinerea''), which is somewhat smaller (), and sports a pale gray neck and legs, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
