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Apparent Death
Apparent death, colloquially known as playing dead, feigning death, or playing possum, is a behavior in which animals take on the appearance of being dead. It is an immobile state most often triggered by a predatory attack and can be found in a wide range of animals from insects and crustaceans to mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Apparent death is also referred to as thanatosis, animal hypnosis, immobilization catatonia, or tonic immobility, the latter of which is preferred in the scientific literature on the subject. Apparent death is separate from the freezing behavior seen in some animals. Apparent death is a form of animal deception considered to be an anti-predator strategy, but it can also be used as a form of aggressive mimicry. When induced by humans, the state is sometimes colloquially known as animal hypnosis. The earliest written record of "animal hypnosis" dates back to the year 1646 in a report by Athanasius Kircher, in which he subdued chickens. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opossum2
Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North America in the Great American Interchange following the connection of North and South America. The Virginia opossum is the only species found in the United States and Canada. It is often simply referred to as an opossum, and in North America it is commonly referred to as a possum (; sometimes rendered as ''possum'' in written form to indicate the dropped "o"). Possums should not be confused with the Australasian arboreal marsupials of suborder Phalangeriformes that are also called possums because of their resemblance to the Didelphimorphia. The opossum is typically a nonaggressive animal. Etymology The word ''opossum'' is borrowed from the Powhatan language and was first recorded between 1607 and 1611 by John Smith (as ''opassom'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roadkill
Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mitigated. History Essentially non-existent before the advent of mechanized transport, roadkill is associated with increasing automobile speed in the early 20th century. Naturalist Joseph Grinnell noted in 1920 that "this oadkillis a relatively new source of fatality; and if one were to estimate the entire mileage of such roads in the state alifornia the mortality must mount into the hundreds and perhaps thousands every 24 hours." In Europe and North America, deer are the animal most likely to cause vehicle damage. In Australia, specific actions taken to protect against the variety of animals that can damage vehicles – such as bullbars (usually known in Australia as 'roo bars', in reference to kangaroos) – indicate the Austr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamprologus Lemairii
''Lamprologus lemairii'' is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika where it prefers to lurk by rocks or on the lake bed waiting for fish to prey on. This species can reach a length of TL. The specific name of this fish honours the leader of the Congo Free State expedition which collected the type, Lieutenant Charles Lemaire Charles LeMaire (April 22, 1897 – June 8, 1985) was an American costume designer. He was born in Chicago. LeMaire's early career was as a vaudeville performer, but he became a costume designer for such Broadway productions as '' Ziegfeld Fo ... (1863-1925). References Lamprologus Fish of Lake Tanganyika Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Fish described in 1899 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Lamprologini-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical Omani Empire and colonial territories of the British East Africa Protectorate and German East Africa, the term ''East Africa'' is often (especially in the English language) used to specifically refer to the area now comprising the three countries of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. However, this has never been the convention in many other languages, where the term generally had a wider, strictly geographic context and therefore typically included Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.Somaliland is not included in the United Nations geoscheme, as it is internationally recognized as a part of Somalia. *Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan are members of the East African Community. The f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fresh water lake in the world by volume, the ninth largest lake in the world by area—and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. Lake Malawi is home to more species of fish than any other lake in the world, including at least 700 species of cichlids.Turner, Seehausen, Knight, Allender, and Robinson (2001). "How many species of cichlid fishes are there in African lakes?" ''Molecular Ecology'' 10: 793–806. The Mozambique portion of the lake was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique on June 10, 2011,WWF (10 June 2011)"Mozambique’s Lake Niassa declared reserve and Ramsar site"Retrieved 17 July 2014. while in Malawi a portion of the lake is included in Lake Malawi National Park. Lake Malawi is a mer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimbochromis
''Nimbochromis'' is a small genus of haplochromine cichlids mostly endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. They are known as sleeper cichlids or ''kaligono'' ("sleepers" in Chichewa) due to their unique hunting behaviour. These piscivorous species are often seen lying motionless on the lake bottom near rocks where mbuna live, even adopting an unusual sideways position rarely seen in living fish. If smaller fishes approach, the ''Nimbochromis'' will "wake up" and try to seize them. Their coloration has an irregular dark cloudy pattern on lighter background; for one thing, this provides camouflage, but it is also suspected that it is – at least in some – evolving into aggressive mimicry ( apparent death) by imitating a rotting fish carcass and thus luring scavengers to their demise. Species There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * '' Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus'' (Regan, 1922) (Spothead Hap, Fuscotaeniatus Hap) * '' Nimbochromis linni'' ( W. E. Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adult Male Livingstonii
An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of majority and is therefore regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible. They may also be regarded as a "major". The typical age of attaining legal adulthood is 18, although definition may vary by legal rights, country, and psychological development. Human adulthood encompasses psychological adult development. Definitions of adulthood are often inconsistent and contradictory; a person may be biologically an adult, and have adult behavior, but still be treated as a child if they are under the legal age of majority. Conversely, one may legally be an adult but possess none of the maturity and responsibility that may define an adult character. In different cultures there are events that relate passing from being a child to becomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuptial Gift (animal Behavior)
A nuptial gift is a nutritional gift given by one partner in some animals' sexual reproduction practices. Formally, a nuptial gift is a material presentation to a recipient by a donor during or in relation to sexual intercourse that is not simply gametes in order to improve the reproductive fitness of the donor. Often, such a gift will improve the fitness of the recipient as well. This definition implies neutral gifts, costly gifts and beneficial gifts regarding the fitness of the recipient. Nuptial gifting is at the intersection of sexual selection, nutritional ecology, and life history theory, creating a link between the three. Edible and inedible nuptial gifts Many nuptial gifts are a source of nutrition for the recipient. In many species of animals, including birds, insects, and spiders, this takes the form of a food item that is transferred from a male to a female just prior to copulation. This is a behavior known as courtship feeding. Inedible tokens may include items ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pisaura Mirabilis
The nursery web spider ''Pisaura mirabilis'' is a spider species of the family Pisauridae. Description Striking characteristics of ''Pisaura mirabilis'' are its long legs (the fourth one being the longest) and its slender abdomen ( opisthosoma). The male is between 10 and 13 mm, while the female is 12 to 15 mm. After final ecdysis, the male spiders weigh on average 54 mg and females 68 mg. The prosoma ( cephalothorax) is variable in color, ranging from light to reddish brown and from gray to black. A lighter stripe is visible down the middle of the prosoma. The opisthosoma (abdomen) is long and narrow and tapered towards the rear end. The female spiders has a dark patch ( epigyne) on the underside of her abdomen that includes the copulatory organs. Male genital openings can be found at the same location, but remain inconspicuous. Patterning and coloration varies due to polymorphism. These patterns, which can be caused by hair and pigments, change with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gryllus Bimaculatus
''Gryllus bimaculatus'' is a species of cricket in the subfamily Gryllinae. Most commonly known as the two-spotted cricket, it has also been called the "African" or "Mediterranean field cricket", although its recorded distribution also includes much of Asia, including China and Indochina through to Borneo. It can be discriminated from other ''Gryllus'' species by the two dot-like marks on the base of its wings. The species is popular for use as a food source for insectivorous animals like spiders and reptiles kept as pets or in zoos. They are easy to raise and do not require prolonged exposure to cold in order to complete their life cycle. Behavior Fighting In the wild, male crickets do not tolerate one another and will fight until there is a winner. The loser usually retreats without serious injury. The fighting method involves opening the mandibles as wide as possible, gripping the opponent's mandibles and pushing with the hind legs. Chirping Male crickets of this spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nasonia Vitripennis
''Nasonia vitripennis'' (or ''Mormoniella vitripennis'', or ''Nasonia brevicornis'') is one of four known species under the genus '' Nasonia'' - small parasitoid wasps that afflict the larvae of parasitic carrion flies such as blowflies and flesh flies, which themselves are parasitic toward nestling birds. It is the best known and most widely studied of the parasitoid wasps, and their study forms a vital part of the information used to describe the order Hymenoptera, along with information from bees and ants. This parasitoid behaviour makes the wasps an interest for the development of biopesticide and biological systems for controlling unwanted insects. The biosynthetic pathways for sex pheromones in Hymenoptera, determination of sex in development, and many protein and gene product comparisons to other insects have been studied using ''N. vitripennis'' (most often contrasted against the Western honey bee, ''Apis mellifera''). ''Nasonia vitripennis'' also has a high variety of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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