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Rail (bird)
Rails (avian family Rallidae) are a large, Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of small- to medium-sized terrestrial and/or semi-amphibious birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity in its forms, and includes such ubiquitous species as the crakes, coots, and gallinule; other rail species are extremely rare or endangered. Many are associated with wetland habitats, some being semi-aquatic like waterfowl (such as the coot), but many more are wading birds or shorebirds. The ideal rail habitats are marsh areas, including rice paddy, rice paddies, and flooded fields or open forest. They are especially fond of dense vegetation for nesting.Horsfall & Robinson (2003): pp. 206–207 The rail family is found in every Terrestrial animal, terrestrial habitat with the exception of dry desert, Polar climate, polar or freezing regions, and Alpine climate, alpine areas (above the snow line). Members of Rallidae occur on every continent except Antarctica. N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Eocene
In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian is consistent with the Lower Eocene (Early Eocene). Events The Ypresian Age begins during the throes of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The Fur Formation in Denmark, the Messel shales in Germany, the Oise amber of France and Cambay amber of India are of this age. The Eocene Okanagan Highlands are an uplands subtropical to temperate series of lakes from the Ypresian. The Ypresian is additionally marked by another warming event called the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). The EECO is the longest sustained warming event in the Cenozoic record, lasting about 2–3 million years between 53 and 50 Ma. The interval is characterized by low oxygen-18 isotopes, high levels of atmospheric pCO2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpine Climate
Alpine climate is the typical climate for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of alpine climate. In the Köppen climate classification, the alpine and mountain climates are part of group ''E'', along with the polar climate, where no month has a mean temperature higher than . According to the Holdridge life zone system, there are two mountain climates which prevent tree growth : a) the alpine climate, which occurs when the mean biotemperature of a location is between . The alpine climate in Holdridge system is roughly equivalent to the warmest tundra climates (ET) in the Köppen system. b) the alvar climate, the coldest mountain climate since the biotemperature is between 0 °C and 1.5 °C (biotemperature can never be below 0 °C). It corresponds more or less to the coldest tundra climates and to the ice cap cli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horned Coot
The horned coot (''Fulica cornuta'') is a species of bird found in the Andes of South America. It was described by Bonaparte in 1853 based on a specimen collected in Bolivia. For a long time it was known only from the type specimen. Description Horned coot males average a little larger than the female. With a total length of and a reported body mass from , it averages slightly smaller than the related giant coot as the second largest coot and the third largest extant species of rail.Jaramillo, A. Burke, P., & Beadle, D. (2003). ''Birds of Chile.'' Christopher Helm. ''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), .Taylor, P. B. (1996). Horned Coot (Fulica cornuta). pp. 209 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. (1996). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World.'' Vol. 3. Hoatzins to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. While most coots have a horny shield on the forehead, the horned coot has three wattles in both sexes. The central wat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frontal Shield
A frontal shield, also known as a facial shield or frontal plate, is a feature of the anatomy of several bird species. Located just above the upper mandible, and protruding along the forehead, it is composed of two main parts: a hard, proteinaceous callus and a soft, fleshy corium. It is thought to play roles in protection, mate identification, sexual selection, and territorial defense. Composition The callus is a hard, keratinous section of the frontal plate located highest on the forehead. It is generally more pigmented than the surrounding corium. Underneath the callus is a Malpighian layer of tissue that connects the structure to the maxilla. This layer is supplied with blood via vessel-containing dermal papillae. It has been observed to resemble the texture of calloused human skin. The corium is a thick, dense mass of connective tissue fibers that makes up the largest portion of the frontal plate. It contains layers of cells that aide in enlarging or flattening the structur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porphyrio
''Porphyrio'' is the swamphen or swamp hen bird genus in the rail family. It includes some smaller species of gallinules which are sometimes separated as genus ''Porphyrula'' or united with the gallinules proper (or "moorhens") in '' Gallinula''. The ''Porphyrio'' gallinules are distributed in the warmer regions of the world. The group probably originated in Africa in the Middle Miocene, before spreading across the world in waves from the Late Miocene to Pleistocene. The genus ''Porphyrio'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the western swamphen (''Porphyrio porphyrio'') as the type species. The genus name ''Porphyrio'' is the Latin name for "swamphen", meaning "purple". Species The genus contains ten extant species and two that have become extinct in historical times: Extant species * Purple swamphen complex ** Western swamphen, ''Porphyrio porphyrio'' ** African swamphen, ''Porphyrio madagascariensis'' ** Grey-headed swamphen, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Fulica'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The genus name is the Latin word for a Eurasian coot. The name was used by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in 1555. The type species is the Eurasian coot. A group of coots is referred to as a ''covert'' or ''cover''. Species The genus contains 10 extant species and one which is now extinct. Extinct species Recently extinct species * ''Fulica newtonii'' Milne-Edwards, 1867 – Mascarene coot (extinct, c. 1700) Late Quaternary species * ''Fulica chathamensis'' Forbes, 1892 – Chatham Island coot ( early Holocene of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a single continent, the Americas or America is the 2nd largest continent by area after Asia, and is the 3rd largest continent by population. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with their associated islands, the Americas cover 8% of Earth's total surface area and 28.4% of its land area. The topography is dominated by the American Cordillera, a long chain of mountains that runs the length of the west coast. The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by large river basins, such as the Amazon, St. Lawrence River–Great Lakes, Mississippi, and La Plata basins. Since the Americas extend from north to south, the climate and ecology vary widely, from the arctic tundra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clapper Rail
The clapper rail (''Rallus crepitans'') is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined. It is a large brown rail that is resident in wetlands along the Atlantic coasts of the eastern United States, eastern Mexico and some Caribbean islands. This species was formerly considered to be conspecific with the mangrove rail. Taxonomy The clapper rail was Species description, formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other rails in the genus ''Rallus'' and coined the binomial nomenclature, binomial name ''Rallus crepitans''. Gmelin based his description on those by Thomas Pennant and John Latham (ornithologist), John Latham. The type locality (biology), type locality is Long Island, New York. The genus ''Rallus'' had been erected in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beak
The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and carrying objects, killing prey, or fighting), preening, courtship, and feeding young. The terms ''beak'' and '' rostrum'' are also used to refer to a similar mouth part in some ornithischians, pterosaurs, cetaceans, dicynodonts, rhynchosaurs, anuran tadpoles, monotremes (i.e. echidnas and platypuses, which have a bill-like structure), sirens, pufferfish, billfishes, and cephalopods. Although beaks vary significantly in size, shape, color and texture, they share a similar underlying structure. Two bony projections–the upper and lower mandibles–are covered with a thin keratinized layer of epidermis known as the rhamphotheca. In most species, two holes called ''nares'' lead to the respiratory system. Etymology Although the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. It has greatly influenced many languages, Latin influence in English, including English, having contributed List of Latin words with English derivatives, many words to the English lexicon, particularly after the Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England, Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons and the Norman Conquest. Latin Root (linguistics), roots appear frequently in the technical vocabulary used by fields such as theology, List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names, the sciences, List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes, medicine, and List of Latin legal terms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin, also known as Colloquial, Popular, Spoken or Vernacular Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. ''Vulgar Latin'' as a term is both controversial and imprecise. Spoken Latin existed for a long time and in many places. Scholars have differed in opinion as to the extent of the differences, and whether Vulgar Latin was in some sense a different language. This was developed as a theory in the nineteenth century by François Just Marie Raynouard, Raynouard. At its extreme, the theory suggested that the written register formed an elite language distinct from common speech, but this is now rejected. The current consensus is that the written and spoken languages formed a continuity much as they do in modern languages, with speech tending to evolve faster than the written language, and the written, formalised language exerting pressure back on speech. ''Vulgar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
