|
Orange County, Florida Paleontological Sites
The Orange County paleontological sites are assemblages of Late Pleistocene vertebrates occurring in Orange County, Florida. Age Era: Neogene Period: Pleistocene Faunal stage: Rancholabrean 126,000—11,000 years ago, calculates to a period of approximately . Sites *Rock Spring site (Pleistocene). Time period: ~126,000—11,000 thousand years ago. Specimens were collected by H. J. Gut, J. Mann, J. Todd, G. Lintner, circa 1939. The site was recorded as bone-bearing argillaceous sandstone overlaying Ocala Limestone containing macrofossils. "The bones are well mineralized, and most are unworn; frequent occurrence in association of bones from what appear to be the same individual indicates that the material has not been reworked." (Glen E. Woolfenden 1959). Coordinates: Specimens Birds *''Meleagris gallopavo'' (wild turkey) *'' Mergus serrator'' (red-breasted merganser) *'' Anas fulvigula'' (mottled duck) *'' Anas crecca carolinensis'' (green-winged teal) *''Anas discors'' (blu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Pleistocene
The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently defined as the time between c. 129,000 and c. 11,700 years ago. The Late Pleistocene equates to the proposed Tarantian Age of the geologic time scale, preceded by the officially ratified Chibanian (formerly known as Middle Pleistocene) and succeeded by the officially ratified Greenlandian. The estimated beginning of the Tarantian is the start of the Eemian interglacial period ( Marine Isotope Stage 5). It is held to end with the termination of the Younger Dryas, some 11,700 years ago when the Holocene Epoch began. The term Upper Pleistocene is currently in use as a provisional or "quasi-formal" designation by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Although the three olde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anas Fulvigula
The mottled duck (''Anas fulvigula'') or mottled mallard is a medium-sized species of dabbling duck. It is intermediate in appearance between the female mallard and the American black duck. It is closely related to those species, and is sometimes erroneously considered a subspecies of the former. Along the Gulf of Mexico coast, the mottled duck is one of the most frequently banded waterfowl. This is due in part to the fact that it is mostly non-migratory. Approximately one out of every 20 mottled ducks is banded, making it an extremely prized and sought after bird among hunters. Subspecies There are two distinct subspecies of the mottled duck. One subspecies, the Gulf Coast mottled duck (''A. f. maculosa''), lives on the Gulf of Mexico coast between Alabama and Tamaulipas (Mexico); outside the breeding season, individual birds may venture as far south as Veracruz. The other, the Florida mottled duck (''A. f. fulvigula''), is resident in central and southern Florida and occasion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ajaia Ajaja
The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Taxonomy The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own genus - ''Ajaia''. A 2010 study of mitochondrial DNA of the spoonbills by Chesser and colleagues found that the roseate and yellow-billed spoonbills were each other's closest relatives, and the two were descended from an early offshoot from the ancestors of the other four spoonbill species. They felt the genetic evidence meant it was equally valid to consider all six to be classified within the genus ''Platalea'' or alternatively the two placed in the monotypic genera ''Platibis'' and ''Ajaia'', respectively. However, as the six species were so similar morphologically, keeping them within the one genus made more sense. Description The roseate spoonbill is long, with a wingspan and a body mass of . The tarsus measures , the culmen meas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ciconia Maltha
''Ciconia maltha'', also known as the asphalt stork or La Brea stork, is an extinct stork from the Late Pliocene – Late Pleistocene of United States (California, Oregon, Idaho and Florida), Cuba and Bolivia. It has been found in the La Brea Tar Pits. It is a relatively large species of ''Ciconia __NOTOC__ ''Ciconia'' ( ; ) is a genus of birds in the stork family. Six of the seven living species occur in the Old World, but the maguari stork has a South American range. In addition, fossils suggest that ''Ciconia'' storks were somewhat mo ...'', with a height of over and a wingspan up to across. References maltha Pliocene birds of North America Pleistocene birds of North America Pleistocene extinctions Fossils of Cuba Fossil taxa described in 1910 Birds described in 1910 {{Ciconiiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anhinga Anhinga
The anhinga (; ''Anhinga anhinga''), sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word ''anhinga'' comes from ''a'ñinga'' in the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird". The origin of the name is apparent when swimming: only the neck appears above water so the bird looks like a snake ready to strike. They do not have external nares (nostrils) and breathe solely through their epiglottis. The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (''Anhinga melanogaster''), African (''Anhinga rufa''), and Australian (''Anhinga novaehollandiae'') darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak. Distribution and migration ''Anhinga'' species are found all over the world in warm shallow waters. The American anhinga has been subdivided into two subspecies, ''A. a. anhinga'' and ''A. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nannopterum Auritum
The double-crested cormorant (''Nannopterum auritum'') is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes, and in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring in length, it is entirely black except for a bare patch of orange-yellow facial skin and some extra plumage that it exhibits in the breeding season, when it grows a double crest in which black feathers are mingled with white. Five subspecies are recognized. It mainly eats fish and hunts by swimming and diving. Its feathers, like those of all cormorants, are not waterproof and it must spend time drying them out after spending time in the water. Once threatened by the use of DDT, the numbers of this bird have increased markedly in recent years. Taxonomy The double-crested cormorant was described by René Primevère Lesson in 1831. It was formerly classified in the genus ''Phalacrocorax'', but a 2014 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Podilymbus Podiceps
The pied-billed grebe (''Podilymbus podiceps'') is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Because the Atitlán grebe (''Podilymbus gigas'') has become extinct, the Pied-Billed Grebe is now the sole extant member of the genus ''Podilymbus''. The pied-billed grebe is primarily found in ponds throughout the Americas. Other names of this grebe include American dabchick, rail, dabchick, Carolina grebe, devil-diver, dive-dapper, dipper, hell-diver, pied-billed dabchick, pied-bill, thick-billed grebe, and water witch. Taxonomy and name The pied-billed grebe was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' in 1758 as ''Colymbus podiceps''. The binomial name is derived from Latin ''Podilymbus'', a contraction of ''podicipes'' ("feet at the buttocks", from ''podici-'', "rump-" + ''pes'', "foot")—the origin of the name of the grebe order—and Ancient Greek ''kolymbos'', "diver", and ''podiceps'', "rump-headed", from ''podici-'' + New Latin ''ceps''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Podiceps Auritus
The horned grebe or Slavonian grebe (''Podiceps auritus'') is a relatively small waterbird in the family Podicipedidae. There are two known subspecies: ''P. a. auritus'', which breeds in the Palearctic, and ''P. a. cornutus'', which breeds in North America. The Eurasian subspecies is distributed over most of northern Europe and the Palearctic, breeding from Greenland to western China. The North American subspecies spans most of Canada and some of the United States. The species got its name from large patches of yellowish feathers located behind the eyes, called "horns", that the birds can raise and lower at will. Description Horned grebes can be easily recognised by its red-and-black alternate (breeding) plumage, its black-and-white basic (non-breeding) plumage, and its characteristic "horns". It is 31–38 cm long, has a wingspan 55–74 cm wide and weighs 300–570 g. It has a moderately long neck, flat forehead and a rear crown of black feathers. Its beak is s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gavia Immer
The common loon or great northern diver (''Gavia immer'') is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish or blackish-grey upperparts, and pure white underparts except some black on the undertail coverts and vent. Non-breeding adults are brownish with a dark neck and head marked with dark grey-brown. Their upperparts are dark brownish-grey with an unclear pattern of squares on the shoulders, and the underparts, lower face, chin, and throat are whitish. The sexes look alike, though males are significantly heavier than females. During the breeding season, loons live on lakes and other waterways in Canada; the northern United States (including Alaska); and southern parts of Greenland and Iceland. Small numbers breed on Svalbard and sporadically elsewhere in Arctic Eurasia. Common loons winter on both coasts of the US as far south as Mexico, and on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aythya Affinis
The lesser scaup (''Aythya affinis'') is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the little bluebill or broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill. The origin of the name scaup may stem from the bird's preference for feeding on scalp—the Scottish word for clams, oysters, and mussels; however, some credit it to the female's discordant scaup call as the name's source. It is apparently a very close relative of the Holarctic greater scaup or "bluebill" (''A. marila''), with which it forms a superspecies. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek ''aithuia'' an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin, ''affinis'' "related to", from its resemblance to the greater scaup. Description Adults are long, on average. The species can weigh ; males weigh on average and females weigh noticeably less, at on average. Wing lengths (not wingspans) are ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aythya Collaris
The ring-necked duck (''Aythya collaris'') is a diving duck from North America commonly found in freshwater ponds and lakes. The scientific name is derived from Greek , an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ''collaris'', "of the neck" from ''collum'', "neck". Description Ring-necked ducks are small to medium-sized diving ducks with the following length, weight, and wingspan measurements: * Length: 15.3-18.1 in (39-46 cm) * Weight: 17.3-32.1 oz (490-910 g) * Wingspan: 24.4-24.8 in (62-63 cm) The adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasian tufted duck, its relative. Males are a little bit bigger than the female. It has two white rings surrounding its gray bill, a shiny black angular head, black back, white line on the wings, a white breast and yellow eyes. The adult female has a grayish brown angular head and body with a dark brown back, a dark bill with a more subtle light band than the male, grayish-b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aix Sponsa
The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typical adult is from ( or 1.5 feet max.) In length with a wingspan of between . The wood duck's weight ranges from 454-862 g (16.0-30.4 oz). This is about three-quarters of the length of an adult mallard. It shares its genus with the Asian Mandarin duck (''Aix galericulata''). The adult male has stunning multicolored iridescent plumage and red eyes, with a distinctive white flare down the neck. The female, less colorful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. The male's call is a rising whistle, ''jeeeeee''; the females utter a drawn-out, rising squeal, ''do weep do weep'', when flushed, and a sharp ''cr-r-ek, cr-e-ek'' for an alarm call. Behavior Their breeding habitat is wooded swamps, shallow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Gavia Immer")
