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Taita Hills
The Taita Hills, sometimes also spelled as Teita Hills, are a mountain range located in the Taita-Taveta County in south-eastern Kenya. The hills consist of three massifs: Dawida, Sagalla in the southern side of Voi township and Kasigau in the south near the border of Tanzania. The Dawida massif is the largest and tallest of the three, with an altitude of above sea level at its highest peak, Vuria. Dabida has three other main peaks: Iyale, Wesu, and Susu. Geology The Taita Hills, with others in the Eastern Arc Mountains, were formed more than one hundred million years ago. About thirty million years ago, the area was covered by extensive rainforest. During a cooler and drier period some ten million years ago, the lowland forests were converted to savanna, leaving the mountain ranges as "islands" where the tropical forests continued to flourish. The isolation of each mountain range has led to a great deal of endemism, and a very diverse flora and fauna. Some of the other moun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taita Mountain Dwarf Galago From Taita Hills
Taita may refer to: * Taita people, a Bantu ethnic group in Kenya * Taita language, a Bantu language *Taitā, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt City * Taita Hills, a mountain range in Kenya * Taita Cushitic languages, an extinct pair of Afro-Asiatic languages spoken in the Taita Hills * Taita falcon, a small falcon found in central and eastern Africa * Taita Line, a railway line in Gifu prefecture, Japan * Taița, a tributary of Lake Babadag in Romania * Taița, a former village in Hamcearca Commune, Romania * Taita I, king of ancient Palistin * Taita, another name for the leavened flatbread injera popular in Ethiopia and Eritrea * Taita, a fictional character from The Egyptian Series, beginning with the novel '' River God'', by Wilbur Smith * Taita, another name for a yage shaman in Colombia. See also * * National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taita Thrush
The Taita thrush (''Turdus helleri''), also known as the Taita olive thrush or Heller's ground thrush, is an endangered bird from the family of thrushes (Turdidae), endemic to the Taita Hills in Kenya. Description The Taita thrush was previously classified as subspecies of the olive thrush (''Turdus olivaceus''), but it is regarded as distinct species since 1985. It reaches a length between 20 and 22 centimetres. Head, breast and upperparts are coloured darkly. The underparts are white and the flanks have a rufous hue. The eyes and the bill exhibit a pale orange coloration. It was named after zoologist Edmund Heller (1875–1939) a workmate of the American ornithologist Edgar Alexander Mearns (1856–1916) who described this species scientifically in 1913. Distribution The Taita thrush is a forest-dependent endemic bird confined to four forests in the Taita Hills (in the south east of Kenya): Mbololo, Chawia, Yale and Ngangao. The forests cover a tiny 342 ha. Conservationists ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Ranges Of Kenya
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher than a hill, typically rising at least 300 metres (1,000 feet) above the surrounding land. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in mountain ranges. Mountains are formed through tectonic forces, erosion, or volcanism, which act on time scales of up to tens of millions of years. Once mountain building ceases, mountains are slowly leveled through the action of weathering, through slumping and other forms of mass wasting, as well as through erosion by rivers and glaciers. High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level at similar latitude. These colder climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains: different elevations have different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dwarf Galago
The western dwarf galagos are a group of three species of strepsirrhine primates, native to western and central Africa. They are classified in the genus ''Galagoides'' of the family Galagidae. The eastern dwarf galagos (''P. cocos, P. granti, P. orinus, P. rondoensis,'' and ''P. zanzibaricus'') have been moved to their own genus, ''Paragalago'', based on genetic evidence and differences in vocalization. The two genera are not sister taxa and thus may have evolved their small sizes via parallel evolution. They are separated by the East African Rift. The first genus to be introduced to scientific literature was ''Galago'' by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. The genus was based on a smaller species from West Africa. Later, the genus ''Galagoides'' was introduced by Sir Andrew Smith in 1833. Smith wanted to differentiate the dwarf (''Gd. demidovii'') and the lesser galagos from the 'true galagos.' ''Otolemur'' was later introduced to indicate the greater galagos by Coquerel in 1859. Before ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree Hyrax
The tree hyrax or tree dassie is a small nocturnal mammal native to Africa. Distantly related to elephants and sea cows, it comprises the four species in the genus ''Dendrohyrax'', one of only three genera in the family Procaviidae, which is the only living family within the order Hyracoidea. The four species are: * Southern tree hyrax (''D. arboreus''), found in East and Southern Africa * Eastern tree hyrax (''D. validus''), found in East Africa. * Benin tree hyrax (''D''. ''interfluvialis''), found in West Africa. * Western tree hyrax (''D. dorsalis''), found in West and Central Africa Analysis of calls found that they could be divided into 'shrieking' hyraxes and 'barking' hyraxes, with the barkers being a genetically distinct fourth species. The tree hyrax has four-toed front feet and three-toed back feet with rounded nails, and rubbery soles that help it climb. Colouring Dependent on geographical location, their soft dense coats can range from a pale gray to ligh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Galago
The greater galagos or thick-tailed bushbabies are three species of strepsirrhine primates. They are classified in the genus ''Otolemur'' in the family Galagidae. Historical classification and species discovery The diversity of galago species has historically been grossly underestimated. In 1931, only 5 species were recognized, 4 in the genus ''Galago'' and 1 in ''Euoticus'', and only one species that would later be placed in the genus ''Otolemur''. In 1979, the genus ''Otolemur'' was separated from ''Galago''. By 1986, eleven species were recognized with revamped systemic classification including ''Otolemur crassicaudatus'' and ''Otolemur garnettii''. Additionally, ''O. crassidautus'' and ''O. monteiri'' were recognized as separate species instead of ''O. monteiri'' as a nested subspecies. By 2001, 23 species were recognized. Classification by vocalization has particularly become prevalent and helpful as a tool in understanding of these species. All ''Otolemur'' species exhibi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taita People
The Taita people (the ''Wataita'' or Wadawida) are a Kenyan ethnic group located in the Taita-Taveta County.For ethnographic details, see "The Teita," pp.97-132, In: A.H.J. Prins 1952.''The Coastal Tribes of the North-Eastern Bantu (Pokomo, Nyika, Teita),'' London: International African Institute They speak ''Kidawida'' or ''Kitaita'' which belongs to the Bantu languages. The West-Bantu moved to the area of the Taita-Taveta County first approximately in 1000-1300.N. Vogt & J. Wiesenhütter: Land use and socio-economic structure of Taita-Taveta County (S-Kenya) – Potentials and constraints (October 2000) It has been argued that the Taita people migrated to Kenya through Tanzania. They migrated to Kenya in five groups each settling at different places in the present Taita-Taveta District in Kenya. While settling in these areas the Taita-speaking people interacted with other communities or tribes particularly the Taveta, the Pare of Tanzania, and the Maasai. Contrary to this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boulengerula Niedeni
''Boulengerula niedeni'', the Sagalla caecilian, is a worm-like amphibian first described in 2005. The species was described from a specimen discovered on Sagala Hill, an isolated mountain block of the Taita Hills in Kenya, and is not known from other areas. Little of the original forest remains on Sagalla Hill, but the species seems to adapt to human disturbance associated with small-scale farming activities; it is not found in the eucalyptus plantations that cover much of the hill. Because of the small range of this species, it is as of 2013 listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, while previously from 2006 been listed as critically endangered. It has been listed as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2008 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) project. Description The Sagalla caecilian is a caecilian, a highly unusual group of amphibians characterized by an elongated, limbless, externally segmented body, closely resembling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boulengerula
''Boulengerula'' is a genus of amphibians in the family Herpelidae. They are found in East Africa. They are sometimes known as Boulenger's caecilians or Usambara bluish-gray caecilians. Ecology ''Boulengerula taitana'' feeds on earthworms, termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...s, dipteran larvae and other soil macrofauna. Presumably other ''Boulengerula'' have similar diets. Species There are eight species: References Amphibians of Africa Amphibian genera Taxa named by Gustav Tornier Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Caecilian-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibian
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this. The young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult air-breathing form with lungs. Amphibians use their skin as a secondary respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs and rely entirely on their skin. They are superficially similar to reptiles like lizards but, along with mammals and birds, reptiles are amniotes and do not require water bodies in which to breed. With their complex reproductive needs and permeable skins, amphibians are often ecological indicators; in recent decades there has been a dramatic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taita Fiscal
The Taita fiscal or Teita fiscal (''Lanius dorsalis'') is a member of the shrike family found in east Africa from southeastern South Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and western Somalia to northeastern Tanzania.BirdLife International and Natureserve (2011) "Bird species distribution maps of the world." 2009. Lanius dorsalis'. In: IUCN 2011. ''IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.'' Version 2011.2. Accessed 2012-06-11. Its habitat is dry open thornbush and acacia and other dry open woodland. Description This is a fairly distinctive -long passerine with white underparts and a black crown, hindneck and wings. The back is grey with a characteristic white 'V' and the rump is white. The tail is relatively long and black with white outer feathers. There is a small white patch on the wings. The bill, eyes and legs are black. The adult male and female Taita fiscal have similar plumage except for a rufous lower flank of the female which is usually hidden by the wing. The juvenile is mainly brown ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taita Falcon
The Taita falcon (''Falco fasciinucha'') is a small falcon found in central and eastern Africa. It was first described from the Taita Hills of Kenya from which it derives its name. Description The Taita falcon is a small, rare raptor species. The biology and ecology of this falcon is not well-understood. It is robust, long winged with a short tail, and is adept at aerial hunting. This falcon bears some resemblance to the African hobby, with which it is often confused; however, the white throat and rufous patches on the nape offer a unique characteristic for identification. The wingspan of the males is , and that of females is . Males weigh and the females . The plumage of the males is more brightly coloured than the females. Abundance, Distribution and Habitat The Taita falcon is globally listed as Vulnerable (VU). This species is predicted to be represented by less than 1500 individuals of 500 breeding pairs in its distribution range and only 50 nest sites are known. Howev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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