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Web-footed Tenrec
The web-footed tenrec, Malagasy otter shrew, or aquatic tenrec (''Microgale mergulus'') is the only known semiaquatic tenrec (the related African otter shrews have similar habits), and is found in eastern Madagascar, especially in and around Ranomafana National Park. It grows to between , and was once thought to be extinct. It feeds on crabs, aquatic insects, and crayfish. The population is considered vulnerable. It was formerly placed in the Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus ''Limnogale'', but has been moved to ''Microgale'' based on molecular data showing it to be deeply nested within the latter. Life history ''Microgale mergulus'' is strictly nocturnal, spending the day in stream side burrows, only emerging at night to hunt. Nocturnal movements appear to be restricted to waterways but include movements away from burrows and diving. Radio collar tracking has shown that some individuals are known to utilize stream channels as much as 1160 meters in length, while others may only ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IUCN Red List Of Threatened Species
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. It uses a set of precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. With its strong scientific base, the IUCN Red List is recognized as the most authoritative guide to the status of biological diversity. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit. The aim of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN Red List is to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to reduce species extinction. According to International Unio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, the equivalent Latin term ''cladus'' (plural ''cladi'') is often used in taxonomical literature. The common ancestor may be an individual, a population, or a species (extinct or extant). Clades are nested, one in another, as each branch in turn splits into smaller branches. These splits reflect evolutionary history as populations diverged and evolved independently. Clades are termed monophyletic (Greek: "one clan") groups. Over the last few decades, the cladistic approach has revolutionized biological classification and revealed surprising evolutionary relationships among organisms. Increasingly, taxonomists try to avoid naming taxa that are not clades; that is, taxa that are not monophyletic. Some of the relationships between organisms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimba Otter Shrew
The Nimba otter shrew (''Micropotamogale lamottei'') is a dwarf otter shrew and belongs to the mammal family Potamogalidae. Otter shrews are shrew-like afrotherian mammals found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar. This species belongs to the genus ''Micropotamogale'', literally meaning "tiny river weasel". It is native to the Mount Nimba area which rests along the border of Liberia, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in West Africa. Description The Nimba otter shrew is a small-bodied mammal. Weighing only about it has a body length of with a quarter to a third of its body size being its tail. It has been described as a "miniature sea otter with a rat tail". Its pelage is long, hiding its ears and eyes, and almost always universally colored (usually brown, but black and gray otter shrews have been spotted). Evolution and life history The Nimba otter shrew is classified as a member of Potamogalidae, which is related to wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Shrew Tenrec
The northern shrew tenrec (''Microgale jobihely'') is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is endemic to Madagascar, where it has a restricted disjoint range in two locations 485 km apart in the north and east of the island. In the north, it is found on the southwestern slopes of the Tsaratanana Massif at elevations from 1420 to 1680 m. In central eastern Madagascar, it is found in the Ambatovy Forest. Its natural habitat is montane forest. The species is most closely related to the widely distributed ''M. cowani''. This tenrec is threatened by deforestation from agricultural conversion, lumbering and mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via .... References Afrosoricida Mammals of Madagascar Mammals described in 2006 {{afrosoricida-stu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Golden Mole
The giant golden mole (''Chrysospalax trevelyani'') is a small mammal found in Africa. At in length, it is the largest of the golden mole species. The mole has dark, glossy brown fur; the name ''golden'' comes from the Greek word for green-gold, the family Chrysochloridae name. Characteristics The giant golden mole has a subterranean lifestyle. It has large claws, powerful forelimbs, no external tail or ears, wedge-shaped head, leather pad, and skin covering the eyes. It is approximately 208-235 millimetres in length and 410-500 grams in weight. With dark and brown skin on the upper parts and faded on the underparts, the hair is longer and coarser than any other species of golden mole: thick, with dense, woolly underfur. Biology The largest, rarest, and most endangered of all 17 species of golden moles, the giant golden mole spends most of its time underground and is blind and deaf. It is nocturnal, hunting mostly at night, but also in some cool and cloudy daytime conditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Otter Shrew
The giant otter shrew (''Potamogale velox'') is a semiaquatic, carnivorous afrotherian mammal. It is found in the main rainforest block of central Africa from Nigeria to Zambia, with a few isolated populations in Kenya and Uganda. It lives in streams, wetlands and slow flowing larger rivers. It is the only species in the genus ''Potamogale''. Otter shrews are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar. They are nocturnal carnivores that feed on aquatic animals. Despite its name, the giant otter shrew is not a true shrew ( Soricidae). The common name refers to their resemblance to otters with their flat face, stiff whiskers, and muscular tails, and to their overall superficial similarity to true shrews. Description The giant otter shrew is a mammal superficially similar to an otter in appearance. It is characterized by a long, flat tail, which it uses for swimming by sideways undulation like a fish. It has a muzzle covered with bristles, and flat shielded nostrils. It has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Potamogalidae
Potamogalidae is the family of "otter shrews", a group of semiaquatic riverine afrotherian mammals indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar, from which they are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago. They were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae. All otter shrews are carnivorous, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers, particurally insects. As their common name suggests, they bear a strong, but superficial resemblance to true otters to which they are not closely related, nor are they closely related to true shrews. They move through the water by undulating their tail in a side-to-side motion similar to the motions made by a crocodile swimming. Morphology Otter shrews have small eyes and ears, consistent with the features of nearly all shrews. They have a broad, flat, muzzle that is substantially covered with sensetive whiskers and ends in a leathery pad. The margins o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenrecinae
Tenrecinae is a tenrec subfamily endemic to the island of Madagascar. It contains the largest species in the family, ''Tenrec ecaudatus''. All members of the genus possess spines, analogous to those of hedgehogs, for defense against predators. Tenrecinae is thought to have split from the lineages of all other extant tenrecs about 36 million years ( Ma) ago. The deepest phylogenetic split within the subfamily, that between two clades composed of ''Echinops'' plus ''Setifer'' and ''Hemicentetes'' plus ''Tenrec'', is thought to have occurred about 26 Ma ago. In turn, ''Hemicentetes'' is thought to have diverged from ''Tenrec'' about 16 Ma ago, and ''Echinops'' from ''Setifer'' about 10 Ma ago. Extant species Subfamily Tenrecinae * Tribe: Setiferini ** Genus ''Echinops'' *** Lesser hedgehog tenrec (''E. telfairi'') ** Genus ''Setifer'' *** Greater hedgehog tenrec (''S. setosus'') * Tribe: Tenrecini ** Genus '' Hemicentetes'' *** Highland streaked tenrec (''H. nigriceps'') *** L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megaannum
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. In temperate and subpolar regions around the planet, four seasons are generally recognized: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In tropical and subtropical regions, several geographical sectors do not present defined seasons; but in the seasonal tropics, the annual wet and dry seasons are recognized and tracked. A calendar year is an approximation of the number of days of the Earth's orbital period, as counted in a given calendar. The Gregorian calendar, or modern calendar, presents its calendar year to be either a common year of 365 days or a leap year of 366 days, as do the Julian calendars. For the Gregorian calendar, the average length of the calendar year (the mean yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature (journal)
''Nature'' is a British weekly scientific journal founded and based in London, England. As a multidisciplinary publication, ''Nature'' features peer-reviewed research from a variety of academic disciplines, mainly in science and technology. It has core editorial offices across the United States, continental Europe, and Asia under the international scientific publishing company Springer Nature. ''Nature'' was one of the world's most cited scientific journals by the Science Edition of the 2019 ''Journal Citation Reports'' (with an ascribed impact factor of 42.778), making it one of the world's most-read and most prestigious academic journals. , it claimed an online readership of about three million unique readers per month. Founded in autumn 1869, ''Nature'' was first circulated by Norman Lockyer and Alexander Macmillan as a public forum for scientific innovations. The mid-20th century facilitated an editorial expansion for the journal; ''Nature'' redoubled its efforts in exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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