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Mating Call
A mating call is the auditory signal used by animals to attract mates. It can occur in males or females, but literature is abundantly favored toward researching mating calls in females. In addition, mating calls are often the subject of mate choice, in which the preferences of one gender for a certain type of mating call can drive sexual selection in a species. This can result in sympatric speciation of some animals, where two species diverge from each other while living in the same environment. There are many different mechanisms to produce mating calls, which can be broadly categorized into vocalizations and mechanical calls. Vocalizations are considered as sounds produced by the larynx and are often seen in species of birds, mammals, amphibians, and insects. Mechanical calls refer to any other type of sound that the animal produces using unique body parts and/or tools for communication with potential mates. Examples include crickets that vibrate their wings, birds that flap thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mate Choice
Mate choice is one of the primary mechanisms under which evolution can occur. It is characterized by a "selective response by animals to particular stimuli" which can be observed as behavior.Bateson, Paul Patrick Gordon. "Mate Choice." Mate Choice, Cambridge University Press, 1985 In other words, before an animal engages with a potential mate, they first evaluate various aspects of that mate which are indicative of quality—such as the resources or phenotypes they have—and evaluate whether or not those particular trait(s) are somehow beneficial to them. The evaluation will then incur a response of some sort. These mechanisms are a part of evolutionary change because they operate in a way that causes the qualities that are desired in a mate to be more frequently passed on to each generation over time. For example, if female peacocks desire mates who have a colourful plumage, then this trait will increase in frequency over time as male peacocks with a colourful plumage will hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breeding Season
Seasonal breeders are animal species that successfully mate only during certain times of the year. These times of year allow for the optimization of survival of young due to factors such as ambient temperature, food and water availability, and changes in the predation behaviors of other species. Related sexual interest and behaviors are expressed and accepted only during this period. Female seasonal breeders will have one or more estrus cycles only when she is "in season" or fertile and receptive to mating. At other times of the year, they will be anestrus, or have a dearth of their sexual cycle. Unlike reproductive cyclicity, seasonality is described in both males and females. Male seasonal breeders may exhibit changes in testosterone levels, testes weight, and fertility depending on the time of year. Seasonal breeders are distinct from opportunistic breeders, that mate whenever the conditions of their environment become favorable, and continuous breeders that mate year-ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Field Cricket Gryllus Pennsylvanicus
Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grassland that is either natural or allowed to grow unmowed and ungrazed * Playing field, used for sports or games Arts and media * In decorative art, the main area of a decorated zone, often contained within a border, often the background for motifs ** Field (heraldry), the background of a shield ** In flag terminology, the background of a flag * ''FIELD'' (magazine), a literary magazine published by Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio * ''Field'' (sculpture), by Anthony Gormley Organizations * Field department, the division of a political campaign tasked with organizing local volunteers and directly contacting voters * Field Enterprises, a defunct private holding company ** Field Communications, a division of Field Enterprises * Field Museum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctiinae (erebid Moths)
The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity''. Second ed. Oxford University Press. This subfamily includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths (or tigers), which usually have bright colours, footmen, which are usually much drabber, lichen moths, and wasp moths. Many species have "hairy" caterpillars that are popularly known as woolly bears or woolly worms. The scientific name Arctiinae refers to this hairiness (Gk. αρκτος = a bear). Some species within the Arctiinae have the word "tussock"' in their common names because they have been misidentified as members of the Lymantriinae subfamily based on the characteristics of the larvae. Taxonomy The subfamily was previously classified as the family Arctiidae of the superfamily Noctuoidea and is a monophyletic group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ostrinia Furnacalis
''Ostrinia furnacalis'' is a species of moth in the family Crambidae, the grass moths. It was described by Achille Guenée in 1854 and is known by the common name Asian corn borer since this species is found in Asia and feeds mainly on corn crop. The moth is found from China to Australia, including in Java, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Micronesia. The Asian corn borer is part of the species complex, ''Ostrinia'', in which members are difficult to distinguish based on appearance. Other ''Ostrinia'' such as '' O. orientalis'', '' O. scapulalis'', '' O. zealis'', and '' O. zaguliaevi'' can occur with ''O. furnacalis'', and the taxa can be hard to tell apart. This moth exhibits unique acoustic mimicry of a predator by mirroring the echolocation calls of bats in order to temporarily paralyze female moths and make it easier to mate. It is also well known as being an agricultural pest on several crops in the western Pacific region of Asia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bibron's Toadlet
The Bibron's toadlet or brown toadlet (''Pseudophryne bibronii'') is a species of Australian ground-dwelling frog that, although having declined over much of its range, is widespread through most of New South Wales, Victoria, south-eastern Queensland, and eastern South Australia, including Kangaroo Island. Bibron's toadlet settles in a wide variety of habitats within these region but they mainly reside in dry forests, woodland, shrubland, grassland, coastal swamps, heathland, and sub-alpine areas. They deposit their eggs in leaf litters during the flooding season, which is essential for the proper development of the egg. This species has high sexual dimorphism within the species and utilizes chemosignals to attract potential mates. Taxonomy The genus '' Pseudophryne'' encapsulates 14 different species of frogs localized to Australia. These frogs are morphologically similar to small bufonid frogs not localized to Australia. The first known nomenclature of the ''Pseudophryne' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dendropsophus Ebraccatus
''Dendropsophus ebraccatus'', also known as the hourglass treefrog, referring to the golden-brown hourglass shape seen surrounded by skin yellow on its back. Their underbellies are yellow. Their arms and lower legs usually display bold patterns while their upper legs or thighs are light yellow giving them the appearance of wearing no pants. The species name "''ebraccata''" translates to "without trousers" in Latin. The hourglass treefrog is throughout Mexico from southern Veracruz and northern Oaxaca, slightly more southern in Chiapas, Tabasco, and the Yucatán Peninsula. The hourglass treefrog also presides south of Mexico in the northern Guatemala and Belize areas. The range of the hourglass treefrog becomes more scarce in Honduras and a few more known locations in Nicaragua, but then has been commonly reported again in Central America spanning from Costa Rica to Panama even venturing into Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Taxonomy ''Dendropsophus ebraccatus'' is a member o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mexican Burrowing Toad
This frog belongs to the Family ''Rhinophrynidae'' and Genus Rhinophrynus. Rhinophrynus dorsalis is the only living representation of the family Rhinophrynidae. This family is also known as the burrowing toads, and is evidently a small and specialized taxonomic group. Organisms in this family will have specializations for a burrowing lifestyle such as pointed snouts for digging into the ground, strong and short limbs, and tongue specializations for eating ants. This family spends most of its time underground and comes to the surface only for mating. Its closest sister group is Pipdae, or the aquatic clawed frogs. The Mexican burrowing toad has had no living relatives for over 190 million years, making its evolution completely independent of other amphibians. It is less genetically similar to any other amphibian compared to how genetically similar mammals such as the fruit bat, polar bear, killer whale, and human are to each other. Description The Mexican burrowing toad has a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Toad
The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a frog found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in the western part of North Asia, and in a small portion of Northwest Africa. It is one of a group of closely related animals that are descended from a common ancestral line of toads and which form a species complex. The toad is an inconspicuous animal as it usually lies hidden during the day. It becomes active at dusk and spends the night hunting for the invertebrates on which it feeds. It moves with a slow, ungainly walk or short jumps, and has greyish-brown skin covered with wart-like lumps. Although toads are usually solitary animals, in the breeding season, large numbers of toads converge on certain breeding ponds, where the males compete to mate with the females. Eggs are laid in gelatinous strings in the water and later hatch out int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotted Hyena
The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN on account of its widespread range and large numbers estimated between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals. The species is, however, experiencing declines outside of protected areas due to habitat loss and poaching. The species may have originated in Asia, and once ranged throughout Europe for at least one million years until the end of the Late Pleistocene. The spotted hyena is the largest known member of the Hyaenidae, and is further physically distinguished from other species by its vaguely bear-like build, its rounded ears, its less prominent mane, its spotted pelt, its more dual-purposed dentition, its fewer nipples and the presence of a pseudo-penis in the female. It is the only placental mammalian species where females lack an external ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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