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Subfossil Lemur
Subfossil lemurs are lemurs from Madagascar that are represented by recent (subfossil) remains dating from nearly 26,000 years ago to approximately 560 years ago (from the late Pleistocene until the Holocene). They include both extant and extinct species, although the term more frequently refers to the extinct giant lemurs. The diversity of subfossil lemur communities was greater than that of present-day lemur communities, ranging from as high as 20 or more species per location, compared with 10 to 12 species today. Extinct species are estimated to have ranged in size from slightly over to roughly . Even the subfossil remains of living species are larger and more robust than the skeletal remains of modern specimens. The subfossil sites found around most of the island demonstrate that most giant lemurs had wide distributions and that ranges of living species have contracted significantly since the arrival of humans. Despite their size, the giant lemurs shared ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeopropithecus Ingens
''Palaeopropithecus'' ("old sifaka" from Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós), “old” + Modern Latin propithecus, "sifaka") is a recently extinct genus of large sloth lemurs from Madagascar related to living lemur species found there today. Three species are known, ''Palaeopropithecus ingens'', ''P. maximus'', and ''P. kelyus''. Radiocarbon dates indicate that they may have survived until around 1300–1620 CE. Malagasy legends of the '' tretretretre'' or ''tratratratra'' are thought to refer to ''P. ingens''. Evidence suggests a solely arboreal lifestyle with frequent upside down suspension, hence the name sloth lemur. Anatomy ''Palaeopropithecus'' primarily lived in the trees to stay away from predators as well as to gain valuable resources. To survive properly in the trees, ''Palaeopropithecus'' had long and powerful arms and legs, each with significantly long fingers and toes to allow them to hang upside down on branches. These were used to swing from branch to br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pachylemur
''Pachylemur'' is an extinct, giant lemur most closely related to the ruffed lemurs of genus ''Varecia''. Two species are known, ''Pachylemur insignis'' and ''Pachylemur jullyi'', although there is some doubt as to whether or not they may actually be the same species. ''Pachylemur'' is sometimes referred to as the giant ruffed lemur, because although it and the living ruffed lemurs had similar teeth and skeletons, ''Pachylemur'' was more robust and as much as three to four times larger. DNA studies have confirmed a sister group relationship between these two types of lemur. Like living ruffed lemurs, ''Pachylemur'' specialized in eating fruit, and was therefore an important seed disperser, possibly for tree species with seeds too large for even ruffed lemurs to swallow. In the spiny thickets of southwestern Madagascar, they were also likely to have dispersed seeds evolved to attach to fur and be carried away. Unlike ruffed lemurs, the fore- and hindlimbs of ''Pachylemur'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sambirano Domain
The Sambirano region, also known as the Sambirano domain, is a biogeographic region of northwestern Madagascar. It has a distinctive lowland climate with year-round rain, differing from the rest of seasonally-dry western and northern Madagascar. The climate supports humid lowland rainforests, with greater similarity to those of eastern Madagascar than the dry deciduous forests characteristic of the Madagascar's western lowlands.Donque, G. (1972). The Climatology of Madagascar. In: Battistini, R., Richard-Vindard, G. (eds) ''Biogeography and Ecology in Madagascar''. Monographiae Biologicae, vol 21. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7159-3_3Koechlin, J. (1972). Flora and Vegetation of Madagascar. In: Battistini, R., Richard-Vindard, G. (eds) ''Biogeography and Ecology in Madagascar''. Monographiae Biologicae, vol 21. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7159-3_4Chauvet, B. (1972). The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humerus
The humerus (; ) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a rounded head, a narrow neck, and two short processes (tubercles, sometimes called tuberosities). The body is cylindrical in its upper portion, and more prismatic below. The lower extremity consists of 2 epicondyles, 2 processes ( trochlea & capitulum), and 3 fossae ( radial fossa, coronoid fossa, and olecranon fossa). As well as its true anatomical neck, the constriction below the greater and lesser tubercles of the humerus is referred to as its surgical neck due to its tendency to fracture, thus often becoming the focus of surgeons. Etymology The word "humerus" is derived from la, humerus, umerus meaning upper arm, shoulder, and is linguistically related to Gothic ''ams'' shoulder and Greek ''ōmos''. Structure Upper extremity The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Bone
The long bones are those that are longer than they are wide. They are one of five types of bones: long, short, flat, irregular and sesamoid. Long bones, especially the femur and tibia, are subjected to most of the load during daily activities and they are crucial for skeletal mobility. They grow primarily by elongation of the diaphysis, with an epiphysis at each end of the growing bone. The ends of epiphyses are covered with hyaline cartilage ("articular cartilage"). The longitudinal growth of long bones is a result of endochondral ossification at the epiphyseal plate. Bone growth in length is stimulated by the production of growth hormone (GH), a secretion of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. The long bone category includes the femora, tibiae, and fibulae of the legs; the humeri, radii, and ulnae of the arms; metacarpals and metatarsals of the hands and feet, the phalanges of the fingers and toes, and the clavicles or collar bones. The long bones of the hum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cortical Bone
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, and enable mobility. Bones come in a variety of shapes and sizes and have complex internal and external structures. They are lightweight yet strong and hard and serve multiple functions. Bone tissue (osseous tissue), which is also called bone in the uncountable sense of that word, is hard tissue, a type of specialized connective tissue. It has a honeycomb-like matrix internally, which helps to give the bone rigidity. Bone tissue is made up of different types of bone cells. Osteoblasts and osteocytes are involved in the formation and mineralization of bone; osteoclasts are involved in the resorption of bone tissue. Modified (flattened) osteoblasts become the lining cells that form a protective layer on the bone surface. The mineralized matr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Femur
The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with the tibia (shinbone) and patella (kneecap), forming the knee joint. By most measures the two (left and right) femurs are the strongest bones of the body, and in humans, the largest and thickest. Structure The femur is the only bone in the upper leg. The two femurs converge medially toward the knees, where they articulate with the proximal ends of the tibiae. The angle of convergence of the femora is a major factor in determining the femoral-tibial angle. Human females have thicker pelvic bones, causing their femora to converge more than in males. In the condition ''genu valgum'' (knock knee) the femurs converge so much that the knees touch one another. The opposite extreme is ''genu varum'' (bow-leggedness). In the general popu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diademed Sifaka
The diademed sifaka (''Propithecus diadema''), or diademed simpona, is an endangered species of sifaka, one of the lemurs endemic to certain rainforests in eastern Madagascar. Along with the indri, this species is one of the two largest living lemurs, with an average weight of 6.5 kg and a total adult length of approximately 105 centimetres (41 inches), half of which is its tail. Russell Mittermeier, one of the contemporary authorities on lemurs, describes the diademed sifaka as "one of the most colorful and attractive of all the lemurs", having a long and silky coat. ''P. diadema'' is also known by the Malagasy names simpona, simpony and ankomba joby. The term "diademed sifaka" is also used as a group species designation formerly encompassing four distinct subspecies. Description ''P. diadema'' is readily distinguished from all the other lemur species by its characteristic markings and large physical size. Its entire coat is moderately long, silky and luxuriant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indri
The indri (; ''Indri indri''), also called the babakoto, is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-body length of about and a weight of between . It has a black and white coat and maintains an upright posture when climbing or clinging. It is monogamous and lives in small family groups, moving through the canopy, and is herbivorous, feeding mainly on leaves but also seeds, fruits, and flowers. The groups are quite vocal, communicating with other groups by singing, roaring and other vocalisations. Besides humans, it is the only mammal found that can use rhythm. It is a diurnal tree-dweller related to the sifakas and, like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It is revered by the Malagasy people and plays an important part in their myths and legends with various stories in existence accounting for its origin. The main threats faced by the indri are habitat destruction and fragmentation due to slash and burn agriculture, fuelwood gathering, and logging. It is also hunt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagasy People
The Malagasy (french: Malgache) are an Austronesian-speaking African ethnic group native to the island country of Madagascar. Traditionally, the population have been divided by subgroups (tribes or ethnicities). Examples include "Highlander" (ethnically Austronesian/Malay-Indonesian with less Bantu ancestry) groups such as the Merina and Betsileo of the central highlands around Antananarivo, Alaotra ''(Ambatondrazaka)'' and Fianarantsoa, and the "coastal dwellers" (ethnically Bantu with less Austronesian ancestry) with tribes like the Sakalava, Bara, Vezo, Betsimisaraka, Mahafaly, etc. The Merina are also further divided into two subgroups. The “Merina A” are the Hova and Andriana, and have an average of 30–40% Bantu ancestry. The second subgroup is the “Merina B”, the Andevo, who have an average of 40-50% Bantu ancestry. They make up less than 1/3 of Merina society. The Malagasy population was 2,242,000 in the first census in 1900. Their population experienced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oral Tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985), reported statements from present generation which "specifies that the message must be oral statements spoken, sung or called out on musical instruments only"; "There must be transmission by word of mouth over at least a generation". He points out, "Our definition is a working definition for the use of historians. Sociologists, linguists or scholars of the verbal arts propose their own, which in, e.g., sociology, stresses common knowledge. In linguistics, features that distinguish the language from common dialogue (linguists), and in the verbal arts features of form and content that define art (folklorists)."Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: "Methodology and African Prehistory", 1990, ''UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a Gener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common thresholds used are weight over see page 17 (i.e., having a mass comparable to or larger than a human) or over a tonne, (i.e., having a mass comparable to or larger than an ox). The first of these include many species not popularly thought of as overly large, and being the only few large animals left in a given range/area, such as white-tailed deer, Thomson's gazelle, and red kangaroo. In practice, the most common usage encountered in academic and popular writing describes land mammals roughly larger than a human that are not (solely) domesticated. The term is especially associated with the Pleistocene megafauna – the land animals often larger than their extant counterparts that are considered archetypical of the last ice age, such as m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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