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Tractrac Chat
The tractrac chat (''Emarginata tractrac'') is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in southernmost Angola, western Namibia and western South Africa. Its habitat is Karoo and desert scrub, hummock dunes and gravel plains. Taxonomy The tractrac chat was illustrated and described by the French naturalist François Levaillant in Volume 4 of his ''Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique'' published in 1805. He named the bird, "Le tractrac", an onomatopoeia based on its call. The first formal description of the tractrac chat was by the English publisher John Wilkes in 1817 under the binomial name ''Motacilla tractrac''. The species was subsequently placed in the genus ''Cercomela'' introduced by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856. It was moved to its current genus, ''Emarginata'', after molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2010 and 2012 found that ''Cercomela'' was polyphyletic. There are 5 subspecie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wilkes (printer)
John Wilkes (1750 – March 31, 1810) was an English printer, bookseller and stationer. Life Wilkes was a Freeman of Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ... and proprietor of the '' Hampshire Chronicle''. With Peter Barfoot he ran the British Directory Office in London, which published the ''Universal British Directory'' from 1790 to 1798 after obtaining a royal patent. He "compiled, digested and arranged" the ''Encyclopaedia Londinensis; or, universal dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature'', which was published between about 1801 and 1828 in 24 volumes, with three volumes of copperplate engravings. Some extensive articles were also published separately, ''viz.'' ''Horology'' (1811). Wilkes took on the engraver John Pass, of Pentonville, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molecular Phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to determine the processes by which diversity among species has been achieved. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree. Molecular phylogenetics is one aspect of molecular systematics, a broader term that also includes the use of molecular data in taxonomy and biogeography. Molecular phylogenetics and molecular evolution correlate. Molecular evolution is the process of selective changes (mutations) at a molecular level (genes, proteins, etc.) throughout various branches in the tree of life (evolution). Molecular phylogenetics makes inferences of the evolutionary relationships that arise due to molecular evolution and results in the construction of a phylogenetic tree. History The theoretical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emarginata
''Emarginata'' is a genus of birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that occur in southern Africa. The three species in the genus were previously placed in the genus ''Cercomela''. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that ''Cercomela'' was polyphyletic and that the type species ''Cercomela melanura'' (the blackstart) lay in a clade containing members of '' Oenanthe''. A more comprehensive study published in 2012 confirmed the earlier results. In order to create monophyletic genera the species assigned to ''Cercomela'' were moved into other genera. Three species were placed in the resurrected genus ''Emarginata'' that had been introduced by the English ornithologist George Ernest Shelley in 1896. The three species in the genus are: * Sickle-winged chat The sickle-winged chat or sicklewing chat (''Emarginata sinuata'') is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae endemic to southern Africa. It is a common res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. Their blood is not totally contained in vessels; some circulates in an open cavity known as the haemocoel. Insects are the most diverse group of animals; they include more than a million described species and represent more than half of all known living organisms. The total number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million; In: potentially over 90% of the animal life forms on Earth are insects. Insects may be found in nearly all environments, although only a small number of species reside in the oceans, which are dominated by another arthropod group, crustaceans, which recent research has indicated insects are nested within. Nearly all insects hatch from eggs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sickle-winged Chat
The sickle-winged chat or sicklewing chat (''Emarginata sinuata'') is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae endemic to southern Africa. It is a common resident breeder in South Africa and Lesotho, and is also found in southernmost areas of Botswana and Namibia. Its habitat is Karoo scrub, short grassland, and barren sandy or stony areas. In western coastal areas, it also occurs on agricultural land. Taxonomy The first formal description of the sickle-winged chat was by the Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1858 under the binomial name ''Luscinia sinuata''. The species was subsequently placed in the genus ''Cercomela'' introduced by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856. It was moved to the current genus, '' Emarginata'', after molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2010 and 2012 found that ''Cercomela'' was polyphyletic. The specific epithet ''sinuata'' is the Latin for "curved". There are 3 subspecies: * ''E. s. hypernephela'' — L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Familiar Chat
The familiar chat (''Oenanthe familiaris'') is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara in rocky and mountainous habitat and around human habitation. Taxonomy The familiar chat was illustrated and described by the French naturalist François Levaillant in Volume 4 of his ''Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique'' published in 1805. He named the bird, "Le Traquet Familier" but did not give the species a binomial name. The binomial name ''Motacilla familiaris'' was introduced by the English publisher John Wilkes in 1817. The species was subsequently placed in the genus ''Cercomela'' introduced by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856. Molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2010 and 2012 found that the genus ''Cercomela'' was polyphyletic with five species, including the familiar chat, phylogenetically nested within the genus '' Oenanthe''. As part of a reorganization of the specie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wheatear
The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus ''Oenanthe''. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family, Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but the northern wheatear has established a foothold in eastern Canada and Greenland and in western Canada and Alaska. Etymology The name "wheatear" is not derived from " wheat" or any sense of " ear", but is a folk etymology of "white" and " arse", referring to the prominent white rump found in most species. The genus name ''Oenanthe'' is derived from the Greek ''oenos'' (οἶνος) "wine" and ''anthos'' (ἄνθος) "flower". It refers to the northern wheatear's return to Greece in the spring just as the grapevines blossom. Taxonomy The genus ''Oenanthe'' was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816 with ''Oenanthe leucura'', the black wheatear, as the type species. The genus formerly includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phillip Clancey
Phillip Alexander Clancey (26 September 1917 – 18 July 2001) was a leading authority on the ornithology of South Africa. Background and education Phillip Clancey was born, brought up and educated in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art where his artistic skills were developed. Military service Clancey served in the 51st (Highland) Division with the Allied forces in Sicily and Italy during World War II, narrowly escaping death and being deafened in one ear by an artillery explosion. Following his death in 2001, Clancey's military medals, together with his "Gill Memorial Medal" were auctioned by City Coins, Cape Town, in 2006, on behalf of the Clancey Estate. These medals, including the Gill Memorial Medal were purchased on the auction by David R. Bennett - Chairman of the Durban Natural Science Museum Trust, and the medals now form part of the Bennett Military Medal Collection. Clancey's group of six military medals are to (Service Number) 913613 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin Roberts (zoologist)
Austin Roberts (3 January 1883 – 5 May 1948) was a South African zoologist. He is best known for his ''Birds of South Africa'', first published in 1940. He also studied the mammalian fauna of the region: his work ''The mammals of South Africa'' was published posthumously in 1951. The 7th edition of ''Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa'' which appeared in 2005, is the standard work on the region's birds. Biography Roberts, son of Alfred Roberts (church minister) and Marianne Fannin (naturalist and flower artist), was born in Pretoria and grew up in Potchefstroom, South Africa. He gained much of his early knowledge of zoology from Thomas Ayres (1828–1913), one of South Africa's first amateur ornithologists. Ayres taught Roberts to skin birds and small mammals as well as the importance of keeping accurate records on every specimen. He also encouraged Roberts to study birds systematically. Roberts worked as a clerk in the Potchefstroom branch of Standard Bank from 1901 to 1903 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johan August Wahlberg
Johan August Wahlberg (9 October 1810, in Lackarebäck, Sweden – 6 March 1856, in Lake Ngami, Bechuanaland) was a Swedish naturalist and explorer. Wahlberg started studying chemistry at the University of Uppsala in 1829, and later forestry, agronomy and natural science, graduating from the Swedish Forestry Institute in 1834. In 1832 he joined Professor Carl Henrik Boheman, a famous entomologist, on a collecting trip to Norway. In 1833 and 1834 he travelled in Sweden and Germany on forestry research projects. He joined the Office of Land Survey and was appointed an engineer in 1836, becoming an instructor at the Swedish Land Survey College. He travelled in southern Africa between 1838 and 1856, sending thousands of natural history specimens back to Sweden. He was exploring the Okavango area when he was killed, along the Thamalakane river about 10 km northwest of Maun in today's Botswana, by a wounded elephant. Before his death was known in Sweden, on October 8, 1856 he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species have subspecies, but for those that do there must be at least two. Subspecies is abbreviated subsp. or ssp. and the singular and plural forms are the same ("the subspecies is" or "the subspecies are"). In zoology, under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the subspecies is the only taxonomic rank below that of species that can receive a name. In botany and mycology, under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, other infraspecific ranks, such as variety, may be named. In bacteriology and virology, under standard bacterial nomenclature and virus nomenclature, there are recommendations but not strict requirements for recognizing other important infraspecific ranks. A taxonomist decides w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
