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Tres Marias Raccoon
The Tres Marias raccoon (''Procyon lotor insularis'') is a subspecies of the common raccoon endemic on the two main islands of the Islas Marías, an archipelago off the western coast of the Mexican state of Nayarit. Although sometimes considered to be a valid species, the Tres Marias raccoon is now regarded to be a subspecies of the common raccoon, introduced to the Islas Marías in the recent past. It is slightly larger than the common raccoon and has a distinctive angular skull. There are fewer than 250 mature individuals on the islands, they are hunted by the islanders and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated their conservation status as being "endangered". Classification In its initial description in 1898, the Tres Marias raccoon was classified as a subspecies of the common raccoon (''Procyon lotor'') by Clinton Hart Merriam. (This source was used for the whole chapter about classification.) In 1950, Edward Alphonso Goldman identified it as a dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clinton Hart Merriam
Clinton Hart Merriam (December 5, 1855 – March 19, 1942) was an American zoologist, mammalogist, ornithologist, entomologist, ecologist, ethnographer, geographer, naturalist and physician. He was commonly known as the 'father of mammalogy', a branch of zoology referring to the study of mammals. Early life Clinton Hart Merriam was born in New York City in 1855 to Clinton Levi Merriam, a U.S. congressman, and Caroline Hart, a judge's daughter and a graduate of Rutgers Institute. The name Clinton, shared by both father and son, was in honor of New York governor DeWitt Clinton, whom the Merriam family had connections with. To avoid confusion, the younger Merriam went by his first initial combined with his middle name, his mother's maiden name, and thus often appears as C. Hart Merriam in both the literature of his time and thereafter. Although born in New York City, where his parents were staying the winter, the family home and place where Merriam spent his boyhood days was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insular Dwarfism
Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of large animals evolving or having a reduced body size when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands. This natural process is distinct from the intentional creation of dwarf breeds, called dwarfing. This process has occurred many times throughout evolutionary history, with examples including dinosaurs, like '' Europasaurus'' and ''Magyarosaurus dacus'', and modern animals such as elephants and their relatives. This process, and other "island genetics" artifacts, can occur not only on islands, but also in other situations where an ecosystem is isolated from external resources and breeding. This can include caves, desert oases, isolated valleys and isolated mountains ("sky islands"). Insular dwarfism is one aspect of the more general "island effect" or "Foster's rule", which posits that when mainland animals colonize islands, small species tend to evolve larger bodies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endangered Biota Of Mexico
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and invasive species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists the global conservation status of many species, and various other agencies assess the status of species within particular areas. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species which, for example, forbid hunting, restrict land development, or create protected areas. Some endangered species are the target of extensive conservation efforts such as captive breeding and habitat restoration. Human activity is a significant cause in causing some species to become endangered. Conservation status The conservation status of a species indicates the likelihood that it will become extinct. Multiple factors are considered when assessing the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbados Raccoon
The Barbados raccoon (''Procyon lotor gloveralleni'') is an extinct subspecies of the common raccoon (''Procyon lotor''), that was endemic on Barbados in the Lesser Antilles until 1964. Classification In 1950, Edward Alphonso Goldman identified the Barbados raccoon as a distinct species, a classification that has been challenged over the past years by other scientists, who assume that it was a subspecies of the common raccoon. This assumption was supported by a study of its morphological and genetic analysis in 2003 by Kristofer M. Helgen and Don E. Wilson, which indicated that the Barbados raccoon was introduced by humans just a few centuries ago. The study yielded the same result for the probably closely related subspecies Guadeloupe raccoon and Bahaman raccoon also living on West Indian islands. Therefore, the Barbados raccoon is listed as a subspecies of the common raccoon in the third edition of ''Mammal Species of the World'' published in 2005. Description Compare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guadeloupe Raccoon
The Guadeloupe raccoon (''Procyon lotor minor'') is a common raccoon subspecies endemic to the two main islands (Basse-Terre Island and Grande-Terre) of Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles. Classification Though thought in the past to be a distinct species, the Guadeloupe raccoon is a subspecies of the common raccoon (''Procyon lotor''), according to two studies in 1999 and 2003. The study of its morphological and genetic traits done in 2003 by Kristofer M. Helgen and Don E. Wilson indicated that the Guadeloupe raccoon was introduced by humans just a few centuries ago. This assumption is supported by the fact that the Guadeloupe raccoon seems to be closely related to the Bahamian raccoon (''Procyon lotor maynardi''), which is endemic on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, an archipelago nearly 2,000 km (1,243 mi) away, and that evidence exists of former raccoon populations on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica. Therefore, the Guadeloupe raccoon is listed to be conspe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bahamian Raccoon
The Bahamian raccoon (''Procyon lotor maynardi''), also called Bahama raccoon or Bahamas raccoon, is a subspecies of the common raccoon endemic on the New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The binomial name, ''maynardi'', comes from Charles Johnson Maynard, an American naturalist. Classification Thought to be a distinct species in the past, the Bahamian raccoon is now considered a subspecies of the common raccoon, as a result of a study of morphological and genetic analysis in 2003. The assumption that its occurrence on the Bahamas is the result of a human-sponsored introduction just a few centuries ago is supported by the fact that the Bahaman raccoon seems to be closely related to the Guadeloupe raccoon found on Guadeloupe, an archipelago nearly 2,000 km (1,243 mi) away, as well as records of raccoons being present on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica. Description The Bahamian raccoon is small compared to the average size of the common raccoon, making it an exa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cozumel Raccoon
The Cozumel raccoon (''Procyon pygmaeus''), is a critically endangered species of island raccoon endemic on Cozumel Island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. It is also called the pygmy raccoon, dwarf raccoon, Cozumel Island raccoon, and Cozumel raccoon bear. Classification Clinton Hart Merriam first described the Cozumel raccoon as morphologically distinctive from its mainland relative, the common raccoon subspecies ''Procyon lotor hernandezii'', in 1901. Since then, other scientists have generally agreed with Merriam's assessment, especially Kristofer Helgen and Don E. Wilson, who have dismissed this classification for the other four island raccoons in their studies in 2003 and 2005. Therefore, the Cozumel raccoon was listed as the only distinct species of the genus ''Procyon'' besides the common raccoon and the crab-eating raccoon in the third edition of ''Mammal Species of the World''. An archeological study showed that Maya from Cozumel used raccoons of re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Island Raccoon
The term island raccoons is used as a generic term for four endangered and one (or two) extinct subspecies or species of raccoon (''Procyon'') endemic on small Mexican and Caribbean islands, such as Cozumel and Guadeloupe. Other subspecies of raccoon living on islands, like that of the common raccoon (''Procyon lotor'') native to the Florida Keys, are generally not included under this term, since it was established at a time when all five (or six) "island raccoons" were considered distinct species. The five (or six) populations are: * Bahamian raccoon (''Procyon lotor maynardi''): subspecies of the common raccoon endemic on New Providence Island in the Bahamas * Barbados raccoon (''Procyon lotor gloveralleni''): extinct subspecies of the common raccoon endemic on Barbados until 1964 * Cozumel raccoon (''Procyon pygmaeus''): species endemic on Cozumel * Guadeloupe raccoon (''Procyon lotor minor''): subspecies of the common raccoon endemic on the two main islands Basse-Terre Island a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinction
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] |
Wildlife Conservation
Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habitat destruction, degradation, fragmentation, overexploitation, poaching, pollution and climate change. The IUCN estimates that 27,000 species of the ones assessed are at risk for extinction. Expanding to all existing species, a 2019 UN report on biodiversity put this estimate even higher at a million species. It is also being acknowledged that an increasing number of ecosystems on Earth containing endangered species are disappearing. To address these issues, there have been both national and international governmental efforts to preserve Earth's wildlife. Prominent conservation agreements include the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, bone/tusks, horn (anatomy), horn/antler, etc.), for recreation/taxidermy (see trophy hunting), to remove predators dangerous to humans or domestic animals (e.g. wolf hunting), to pest control, eliminate pest (organism), pests and nuisance animals that damage crops/livestock/poultry or zoonosis, spread diseases (see varmint hunting, varminting), for trade/tourism (see safari), or for conservation biology, ecological conservation against overpopulation and invasive species. Recreationally hunted species are generally referred to as the ''game (food), game'', and are usually mammals and birds. A person participating in a hunt is a hunter or (less commonly) huntsman; a natural area used for hunting is called a game reserve; an experienced hun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endangered Species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and invasive species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists the global conservation status of many species, and various other agencies assess the status of species within particular areas. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species which, for example, forbid hunting, restrict land development, or create protected areas. Some endangered species are the target of extensive conservation efforts such as captive breeding and habitat restoration. Human activity is a significant cause in causing some species to become endangered. Conservation status The conservation status of a species indicates the likelihood that it will become extinct. Multiple factors are considered when assessing the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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