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St. Helena Crake
The Saint Helena crake (''Zapornia astrictocarpus'') is an extinct bird species from the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, one of two flightless rails which survived there until the early 16th century.Storrs L. Olson, Paleornithology of St Helena Island, south Atlantic Ocean, Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 23 (1975) After American ornithologist Alexander Wetmore described bones of the large Saint Helena rail (''Aphanocrex podarces'') from Prosperous Bay, Saint Helena, in 1963, American paleontologist Storrs Olson found almost complete skeletons of the Saint Helena crake in the same region in 1973. These skeletons consist of bones which were smaller than the bones of ''Aphanocrex podarces''. Due to the peculiar shape of the carpometacarpus Olson named this species ''Porzana astrictocarpus''. Olson proceeded on the assumption that the Saint Helena crake was a derivative of the Baillon's crake (''Zapornia pusilla''), which is widespread in Europe and A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storrs L
{{disambiguation, geo ...
Storrs may refer to: * Storrs (surname) * Storrs, Connecticut, a village where the main campus of the University of Connecticut is located * Storrs, South Yorkshire, a rural hamlet within the City of Sheffield, England * Storrs, Cumbria See also * Storrs Hall, a listed building in Cumbria, England * Yealand Storrs, a hamlet in the English county of Lancashire * Storr Storr is a surname of Old Scandinavian origin, and may refer to * Anthony Storr (1920–2001), English psychiatrist and author * Catherine Storr (1913–2001), English novelist and children's writer * Farrah Storr (born 1978), British journalist * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carpometacarpus
The carpometacarpus is a bone found in the hands of birds. It results from the fusion of the carpal and metacarpal bone, and is essentially a single fused bone between the wrist and the knuckles. It is a smallish bone in most birds, generally flattened and with a large hole in the middle. In flightless birds, however, its shape may be slightly different, or it might be absent entirely. It forms the tip of the wing skeleton in birds. To it, most of the primary remiges attach. The alula, by contrast, is formed by the thumb, which does not completely fuse with the other hand-bones. Likewise, the tipmost primaries attach to the phalanx bones. To non-biologists the carpometacarpus may be best known from buffalo wings. Buffalo wings come in two basic sizes, a large angled one containing three major bones, and a smaller flat one containing only two. The bone missing in the latter is the carpometacarpus. See also * Carpometacarpal joint The carpometacarpal (CMC) joints are five joint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Described In 1973
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of Saint Helena Island
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. Birds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Extinctions Since 1500
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. Bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zapornia
''Zapornia'' is a genus of birds in the rail family Rallidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Zapornia'' was introduced in 1816 by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in a catalogue of animals in the British Museum. He included a single species, the little crake which is therefore the type species. The genus name is an anagram of the genus ''Porzana'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis-Pierre Vieillot. The species now placed in this genus were formerly assigned to ''Porzana'' and ''Amaurornis''. The genus contains the following species: * Black crake, ''Zapornia flavirostra'' (formerly placed in ''Amaurornis'') * Sakalava rail, ''Zapornia olivieri'' (formerly placed in ''Amaurornis'') * Ruddy-breasted crake, ''Zapornia fusca'' (formerly placed in ''Porzana'') * Band-bellied crake, ''Zapornia paykullii'' (formerly placed in ''Porzana'') * Black-tailed crake, ''Zapornia bicolor'' (formerly placed in ''Porzana'') * Brown crake, ''Zapornia akool'' (formerly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinct Flightless Birds
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point. Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. More than 99% of all species that ever lived on Earth, amounting to over five billion species, are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryote globally, and possibly many times more if microorganisms, like bacteria, are included. Notable extinct animal species include non-avian dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, dodos, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baillon's Crake
Baillon's crake (''Zapornia pusilla''), also known as the marsh crake, is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. Distribution Their breeding habitat is Cyperaceae, sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across the Palearctic. They used to breed in Great Britain up to the mid-19th century, but the western European population declined through drainage. There has been a recovery in north-western Europe in recent years, with the recolonisation of Germany and the Netherlands, and breeding suspected in Britain; an Irish record in 2012 was the first there since the 1850s. They nest in a dry location in wet sedge bogs, laying 4–8 Bird egg, eggs. This species is bird migration, migratory, wintering in east Africa and south Asia. It is also a resident breeder in Africa and Australasia. There is a single North American record of this species on Attu Island in September 2000. Subspecies There are at least five subspecies of Baillon's crake: * Marsh crake ''Porzana pusilla af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storrs Olson
Storrs Lovejoy Olson (April 3, 1944 – January 20, 2021) was an American biologist and ornithologist who spent his career at the Smithsonian Institution, retiring in 2008. One of the world's foremost avian paleontologists, he was best known for his studies of fossil and subfossil birds on islands such as Ascension, St. Helena and Hawaii. His early higher education took place at Florida State University in 1966, where he obtained a B.A. in biology, and the University of Florida, where he received an M.S. in biology. Olson's doctoral studies took place at Johns Hopkins University, in what was then the School of Hygiene and Public Health. He was married to fellow paleornithologist Helen F. James. Early life and education Olson was born April 4, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois. His father was physical oceanographer Franklyn C.W. Olson. He was named after his maternal conservationist grandfather P.S. Lovejoy. Franklyn worked at the University of Ohio's Stone Laboratory on Gibral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena measures about and has a population of 4,439 per the 2021 census. It was named after Helena, mother of Constantine I. It is one of the most remote islands in the world and was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese enroute to the Indian subcontinent in 1502. For about four centuries the island was an important stopover for ships from Europe to Asia and back, while sailing around the African continent, until the opening of the Suez canal. St Helena is the United Kingdom's second-oldest overseas territory after Bermuda. Saint Helena is known for being the site of Napoleon's second exile, following his final defeat in 1815. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosperous Bay Plain
Prosperous Bay Plain is an area on the eastern coast of Saint Helena, a British island territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the site of the new Saint Helena Airport, and is notable for its high invertebrate biodiversity. Geography Prosperous Bay Plain forms part of the eastern arid area of Saint Helena, and covers about 2.25 km2, comprising one of the largest areas of relatively level ground on the island. It was formed 8.5 million years ago by lava flows from Saint Helena's Southwest Volcano. The surface of the plain is covered by rocks, grit and dust, with what little soil there is containing high concentrations of mineral salts. Within the plain there is a 60 hectare (0.6 km2) depression known as the Central Basin, with a level dusty base. This forms a miniature mature desert ecosystem.Ashmole, Philip; & Ashmole, Myrtle. (2004). ''The invertebrates of Prosperous Bay Plain, St Helena''. Commissioned by the St Helena Government and financed by the Foreign and Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Helena Rail
The Saint Helena rail (''Aphanocrex podarces'') was a large flightless rail from Saint Helena. It became extinct in the early 16th century. When American ornithologist Alexander Wetmore described this species from subfossil remains which were found at Prosperous Bay Plain, Prosperous Bay, Saint Helena, he classified it into the new genus ''Aphanocrex''. However, in 1973 American paleontologist Storrs Olson synonymised this genus with the genus ''Atlantisia'', the other representative of which was the Inaccessible Island rail (''Atlantisia rogersi''). While Olson had considered it as congener of the Inaccessible Island rail, other scientists regarded it not even as a close relative and so it was renamed as ''Aphanocrex''. The Saint Helena rail was relatively large and reached almost the size of the New Zealand weka (''Gallirallus australis''). In contrast to the weka it was more slender. Since Saint Helena was predator free until the sixteenth century, the swamphen had lost its ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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