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Peccary
A peccary (also javelina or skunk pig) is a medium-sized, pig-like hoofed mammal of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North America. They usually measure between in length, and a full-grown adult usually weighs about . They represent the closest relatives of the family Suidae, which contains pigs and relatives. Together Tayassuidae and Suidae are grouped in the Suina within the Artiodactyla (even toed ungulates). Peccaries are social creatures that live in herds. They eat roots, grubs, and a variety of foods. They can identify each other by their strong odors. A group of peccaries that travel and live together is called a "squadron". A squadron of peccaries averages between six and nine members. Peccaries first appeared in North America during the Miocene, and migrated into South America during the Pliocene-Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collared Peccary
The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ''javelina, saíno'', or ''báquiro'', although these terms are also used to describe other species in the family. The species is also known as the musk hog. In Trinidad, it is colloquially known as ''quenk''. Taxonomy Although somewhat related to true Old World pigs, and frequently referred to as a pig, this species and the other peccaries are no longer classified in the pig family, Suidae. Although formerly classified in the genus ''Pecari'', studies in 2020 placed them in the genus ''Dicotyles'', based on an unequivocal type-species selection; these studies have been accepted by the American Society of Mammalogists. Currently, the IUCN still places them in the genus ''Pecari''. Description The collared peccary stands around tall at th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tayassu
The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance to pigs, but covered in dark hair (except on certain regions, such as the throat, where it is cream). The range of ''T. pecari'', which extends from Mexico to Argentina, has become fragmented, and the species's population is declining overall (especially in Mexico and Central America). They can be found in a variety of habitats. Social animals, white-lipped peccaries typically forage in large groups, which can have as many as 300 peccaries. They are an important part of their ecosystem and multiple efforts are being made to preserve them in the wild. Not all disappearances are explained, but human activities play a role, with two major threats being deforestation and hunting; the latter is very common in rural areas, although it can be dange ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platygonus
''Platygonus'' ("flat head" in reference to the straight shape of the forehead) is an extinct genus of herbivorous peccaries of the family Tayassuidae, endemic to North and South America from the Miocene through Pleistocene epochs (10.3 million to 11,000 years ago), existing for about . ''P. compressus'' stood 2.5 feet (0.75 meters) tall. Description Most ''Platygonus'' species were similar in size to modern peccaries especially giant peccary, at around in body length, and had long legs, allowing them to run well. They also had a pig-like snout and long tusks which were probably used to fend off predators. Taxonomy While long thought to be the sister-lineage to the Chacoan peccary based on morphological similarities, a 2017 ancient DNA study which recovered mitochondrial DNA from ''Platygonus'' found that all living peccaries are more closely related to each other than they are to ''Platygonus''. The estimated divergence between ''Platygonus'' and all living peccaries was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catagonus
''Catagonus'' is a genus of peccaries that contains the living Chacoan peccary and several extinct species. The genus has always been restricted to South America. Taxonomy ''Catagonus'' is notable in that the type species, '' C. metropolitanus'', is extinct; the living Chacoan peccary was first described in 1930 from subfossil remains, and only found alive by scientists in 1972 (an example of a Lazarus taxon In paleontology, a Lazarus taxon (plural ''taxa'') is a taxon that disappears for one or more periods from the fossil record, only to appear again later. Likewise in conservation biology and ecology, it can refer to species or populations tha ...). A 2017 study on the phylogenetic systematics of Tayassuidae species suggests that ''Catagonus'' should only contain ''C. metropolitanus''. The extinct narrow-headed peccary ''(C. stenocephalus)'' should be moved into ''Brasiliochoerus'', while the Chacoan peccary, ''C. bonaerensis'' and ''C. carlesi'' should be placed in ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mylohyus
''Mylohyus'' is an extinct genus of peccary found in North and Central America. It first evolved during the Late Miocene and became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, around 12,000 years ago. Six species were known, the most famous being ''Mylohyus nasutus'', also known as the long-nosed peccary. The genus was slightly larger-bodied than any modern peccaries, with an estimated mass of . Isotope and anatomical studies have suggested that the diet of ''Mylohyus'' varied over geological time, from being primarily a C3 browser during the Blancan, with an increasing consumption of C4 vegetation during the Irvingtonian, with a relatively even mixture of C3 and C4 during the Rancholabrean The Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from less than 240,000 years to 11,000 years BP, a p .... Suggestions have been made that it was fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world, as well as the most widespread suiform. It has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide range, high numbers, and adaptability to a diversity of habitats. It has become an invasive species in part of its introduced range. Wild boars probably originated in Southeast Asia during the Early Pleistocene and outcompeted other suid species as they spread throughout the Old World. , up to 16 subspecies are recognized, which are divided into four regional groupings based on skull height and lacrimal bone length. The species lives in matriarchal societies consisting of interrelated females and their young (both male and female). Fully grown males are usually solitary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great American Interchange
The Great American Biotic Interchange (commonly abbreviated as GABI), also known as the Great American Interchange and the Great American Faunal Interchange, was an important late Cenozoic paleozoogeographic biotic interchange event in which land and freshwater fauna migrated from North America via Central America to South America and vice versa, as the volcanic Isthmus of Panama rose up from the sea floor and bridged the formerly separated continents. Although earlier dispersals had occurred, probably over water, the migration accelerated dramatically about 2.7 million years ( Ma) ago during the Piacenzian age. It resulted in the joining of the Neotropic (roughly South American) and Nearctic (roughly North American) biogeographic realms definitively to form the Americas. The interchange is visible from observation of both biostratigraphy and nature (neontology). Its most dramatic effect is on the zoogeography of mammals, but it also gave an opportunity for reptiles, amphibia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feral Pig
The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral pig is a domestic pig that has escaped or been released into the wild, and is living more or less as a wild animal, or one that is descended from such animals. Zoologists generally exclude from the ''feral'' category animals that, although captive, were genuinely wild before they escaped. Accordingly, Eurasian wild boar, released or escaped into habitats where they are not native, such as in North America, are not generally considered feral, although they may interbreed with feral pigs. Likewise, reintroduced wild boars in Western Europe are also not considered feral, despite the fact that they were raised in captivity prior to their release. In the New World North America Domestic pigs were first introduced to the Americas in the 16th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmost island in the West Indies. With an area of , it is also the List of Caribbean islands by area, fifth largest in the West Indies. Name The original name for the island in the Arawak language, Arawaks' language was which meant "Land of the Hummingbird". Christopher Columbus renamed it ('The Island of the Holy Trinity, Trinity'), fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage. This has since been shortened to ''Trinidad''. History Island Caribs, Caribs and Arawaks lived in Trinidad long before Christopher Columbus encountered the islands on his third voyage on 31 July 1498. The island remained Spanish until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists from the French Caribbean, especially Martinique.Besson, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species Distribution
Species distribution —or species dispersion — is the manner in which a biological taxon is spatially arranged. The geographic limits of a particular taxon's distribution is its range, often represented as shaded areas on a map. Patterns of distribution change depending on the scale at which they are viewed, from the arrangement of individuals within a small family unit, to patterns within a population, or the distribution of the entire species as a whole (range). Species distribution is not to be confused with dispersal, which is the movement of individuals away from their region of origin or from a population center of high density. Range In biology, the range of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, distribution is the general structure of the species population, while dispersion is the variation in its population density. Range is often described with the following qualities: * Sometimes a distinction is made betw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maya Peoples
The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical region. Today they inhabit southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. "Maya" is a modern collective term for the peoples of the region, however, the term was not historically used by the indigenous populations themselves. There was no common sense of identity or political unity among the distinct populations, societies and ethnic groups because they each had their own particular traditions, cultures and historical identity. It is estimated that seven million Maya were living in this area at the start of the 21st century. Guatemala, southern Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, El Salvador, and western Honduras have managed to maintain numerous remnants of their ancient cultural her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodore Sherman Palmer
Theodore Sherman Palmer (January 26, 1868 – July 24, 1955) was an American zoologist. Palmer was born in Oakland, California, and studied at the University of California. He was the son of Henry Austin and Jane Olivia (Day) Palmer, and his mother was the daughter of Sherman Day, granddaughter of Yale President Jeremiah Day, and the great-granddaughter of American founding father Roger Sherman, meaning that Palmer was Sherman's great-great grandson. In 1889, he joined the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy of the United States Department of Agriculture under Clinton Hart Merriam. In 1891 he was a member of the 1891 Death Valley Expedition and its leader for its first 3 months. He was Assistant Chief of the Department from 1896 to 1902, and then from 1910 to 1914. He became interested in the legislation affecting wildlife, leading a branch of the organization to deal with it from 1902 to 1910 and from 1914 to 1916. He wrote the preliminary draft of the treaty for p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
