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Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbean), and two species native to Afro-Eurasia. A group of flamingoes is called a "flamboyance." Etymology The name ''flamingo'' comes from Portuguese language, Portuguese or Spanish language, Spanish ("flame-colored"), which in turn comes from Old Occitan, Provençal – a combination of ("flame") and a Germanic-like suffix ''wikt:-ing#Etymology 3, -ing''. The word may also have been influenced by the Spanish ethnonym ("Fleming" or "Flemish"). The name of the genus, ''Phoenicopterus'', is from the Greek , ); other genera names include ''Lesser flamingo, Phoeniconaias,'' which means "crimson/red Naiad, water nymph (or naiad)", and ''Phoenicoparrus,'' which means "crimson/red bird (though, an unknown bird of om ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Flamingo
The lesser flamingo (''Phoeniconaias minor'') is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. Birds are occasionally reported from further north, but these are generally considered Vagrancy (biology), vagrants. Characteristics The lesser flamingo is the smallest species of flamingo, though it is a tall and large bird by most standards. The species can weigh from . The standing height is around . The total length (from beak to tail) and wingspan are in the same range of measurements, from . Most of the plumage is pinkish white. The clearest difference between this species and the greater flamingo, the only other Old World species of flamingo, is the much more extensive black on the bill. Size is less helpful unless the species are together, since the sexes of each species also differ in height. The extinct species ''Phoeniconaias proeses'' in the same genus, from the Pliocene of Australia, is thought to have been even smaller. The lesser flamingo may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James's Flamingo
James's flamingo (''Phoenicoparrus jamesi''), also known as the puna flamingo, is a species of flamingo that lives at high altitudes in the Andean plateaus of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina. It is named for Harry Berkeley James, a British naturalist who studied the bird. James's flamingo is closely related to the Andean flamingo, and the two species are the only members of the genus ''Phoenicoparrus''. The Chilean flamingo, Andean flamingo, and James's flamingo are all sympatric, and all live in colonies (including shared nesting areas).Mascitti, V. and Kravetz, F.O., "Bill Morphology of South American Flamingos". ''The Condor''. 104(1), 73. James's flamingo had been thought to be extinct until a population was discovered in a remote area in 1956.Johnson, A.W., Behn, F., and Millie, W.R. "The South American Flamingos". ''The Condor''. 60(5), 289-99 Description The James's flamingo is smaller than the Andean flamingo, and is about the same size as the Old World sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenicopteriformes
Phoenicopteriformes is a group of water birds which comprises flamingos and their extinct relatives. Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes) and the closely related grebes ( Podicipedidae) are contained in the parent clade Mirandornithes. Fossil record Flamingos and their relatives are well attested in the fossil record, with the first unequivocal member of the Phoenicopteridae, ''Elornis'' known from the late Eocene epoch. Relation to extinct palaelodids The Palaelodidae – an extinct family of peculiar "swimming flamingos" – are believed to be the closest relatives of the modern flamingos, with the extinct genus ''Juncitarsus'' slightly more primitive than the clade which contains flamingos and grebes (Mirandornithes). The foot and wing anatomy of fossil palaelodids suggests that they were surface-swimming birds, rather than grebe-like divers as was proposed in the past. Whether swimmers or divers, that both primitive phoenicopteriforms and their closest relatives, the gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenorhynchopsis
''Xenorhynchopsis'' is an extinct genus of flamingo from the Pliocene to Pleistocene Lake Eyre basin of Australia. Initially described as species of stork, the two known ''Xenorhynchopsis'' species are vastly different in size. ''X. minor'' is the older and small of the two species, ranging from the Pliocene to Pleistocene and being described as having reached a size smaller than that of the lesser flamingo. ''X. tibialis'' meanwhile appears to have been restricted to Pleistocene strata and was notably bigger, being counted as one of the biggest known flamingos in the fossil record. History The fossils of ''Xenorhynchopsis'' were initially described by Charles Walter de Vis in 1905, who recognized two species he named ''Xenorhynchopsis minor'' and ''Xenorhynchopsis tibialis'' respectively. Possibly due to the fact that de Vis lacked flamingo material in his collection to compare the fossils to, he assigned the genus to the Ciconiidae, the storks. ''X. tibialis'', the larger of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoeniconaias
''Phoeniconaias'' is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. The genus contains one extant species, the lesser flamingo (''Phoenicopterus minor'') occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India, and an extinct species ''Phoeniconaias proeses'' from the Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Phoeniconaias Bird genera Taxa described in 18 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leakeyornis
''Leakeyornis'' is an extinct genus of flamingo from the early to middle Miocene of Kenya, primarily in the area of modern day Lake Victoria. Initially described as a species of ''Phoenicopterus'' based on an incomplete skull and various limb bones, it was later found to show a mixture of traits found across modern flamingo genera and subsequently placed in its own genus. It contains a single species, ''Leakeyornis aethiopicus''. History and naming Various fossils of ''Leakeyornis'' were collected by Louis Leakey from Miocene strata of Lake Victoria and later given to the Natural History Museum, London. These remains were first named by Harrison and Walker in 1976 as a species of ''Phoenicopterus'', ''Phoenicopterus aethiopicus''. This description was based on the holotype specimen BMNH A 4382, which represents the back of a beak, while a lower jaw fragment and various appendicular skeleton, appendicular bones were designated as the paratypes. In the years following this publicat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoeniconotius
''Phoeniconotius'' is an extinct genus of flamingo that lived in Australia from the late Oligocene to the early Miocene. Unlike modern flamingos and the contemporary '' Phoenicopterus novaehollandiae'', it was likely less well adapted for swimming and deep water wading. ''Phoeniconotius'' was a robust flamingo with bones more massive than those of the modern greater flamingo. Only a single species is recognized, ''Phoeniconotius eyrensis''. History The fossils of ''Phoeniconotius'' have been discovered in the Lake Eyre basin of Australia, specifically a layer of mudstone belonging to the Etadunna Formation on the western shore of Lake Palankarinna. The type material consists of three bones, the distal end of the left tarsometatarsus and two phalanges. The material was collected from the surface and were discovered in association with one another, however not articulated. One phalax, which is thought to represent the third toe, matches well with the corresponding area on the ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenicopterus
''Phoenicopterus'' is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. Taxonomy The genus ''Phoenicopterus'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' to accommodate a single species, the American flamingo ''Phoenicopterus ruber''. The genus name is Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ... for "flamingo". Species The genus contains three species. References Phoenicopterus Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Bird genera {{bird-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenicoparrus
''Phoenicoparrus'' is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. First established by Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ... in 1856, it contains two species. References Phoenicopteridae Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Ciconiiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naiad
In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied rivers, and the very ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters of marshes, ponds and lagoon-lakes such as pre-Mycenaean Lerna in the Argolis. Etymology The Greek word is (, ), plural (, ). It derives from (), "to flow", or (), "running water". Mythology Naiads were often the object of archaic local cults, worshipped as essential to humans. Boys and girls at coming-of-age ceremonies dedicated their childish locks to the local naiad of the spring. In places like Lerna their waters' ritual cleansings were credited with magical medical properties. Animals were ritually drowned there. Oracles might be situated by ancient springs. Naiads could be dangerous: Hylas of the '' Argo''’s crew was lost when he was taken ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omen
An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages from the gods. These omens include natural phenomena, for example an eclipse, abnormal births of animals (especially humans) and behaviour of the sacrificial lamb on its way to the slaughter. Specialists, known as diviners, variously existed to interpret these omens. They would also use an artificial method, for example, a clay model of a sheep liver, to communicate with their gods in times of crisis. They would expect a binary answer, either yes or no, favourable or unfavourable. They did these to predict what would happen in the future and to take action to avoid disaster. Though the word ''omen'' is usually devoid of reference to the change's nature, hence being possibly either "good" or "bad", the term is more often used in a forebodin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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