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Red Ruffed Lemur
The red ruffed lemur (''Varecia rubra'') is one of two species in the genus ''Varecia'', the ruffed lemurs; the other is the black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata''). Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It occurs only in the rainforests of Masoala National Park, Masoala, in the northeast of the island. It is one of the largest primates of Madagascar with a body length of 53 cm, a tail length of 60 cm and a weight of 3.3–3.6 kg. Its soft, thick fur is red and black in color and sports a buff or cream colored spot at the nape, but a few are known to have a white or pink patch on the back of the limbs or digits and a ring on the base of the tail in a similar color. Physical characteristics Ruffed lemurs are the largest members of the family Lemuridae, with this species being the larger of the two. They weigh . They are about long, with a tail. Females are slightly larger than males. They have slender bodies and long legs. Red ruffed lemurs ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (; 15 April 177219 June 1844) was a French naturalist who established the principle of "unity of composition". He was a colleague of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and expanded and defended Lamarck's evolutionary theories. Geoffroy's scientific views had a transcendental flavor (unlike Lamarck's materialistic views) and were similar to those of German morphologists like Lorenz Oken. He believed in the underlying unity of organismal design, and the possibility of the transmutation of species in time, amassing evidence for his claims through research in comparative anatomy, paleontology, and embryology. He is considered as a predecessor of the evo-devo evolutionary concept. Life and early career Geoffroy was born at Étampes (in present-day Essonne), and studied at the Collège de Navarre, in Paris, where he studied natural philosophy under M. J. Brisson. He then attended the lectures of Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton at the College de France and Fourcroy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles, middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, from which their ancestors Genetic divergence, diverged in the Carboniferous Period over 300 million years ago. Around 6,640 Neontology#Extant taxon, extant species of mammals have been described and divided into 27 Order (biology), orders. The study of mammals is called mammalogy. The largest orders of mammals, by number of species, are the rodents, bats, and eulipotyphlans (including hedgehogs, Mole (animal), moles and shrews). The next three are the primates (including humans, monkeys and lemurs), the Artiodactyl, even-toed ungulates (including pigs, camels, and whales), and the Carnivora (including Felidae, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Fauna Of Madagascar
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or becomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lemurs
Lemurs ( ; from Latin ) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea ( ), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees and are active at night. Lemurs share resemblance with other primates, but evolved independently from monkeys and apes. Due to Madagascar's highly seasonal climate, lemur evolution has produced a level of species diversity rivaling that of any other primate group. Living lemurs range in weight from the mouse lemur to the indri. Since the arrival of humans on the island around 2,000 years ago, over a dozen species of " giant lemurs" larger than living lemur species have become extinct, including the gorilla-sized '' Archaeoindris''. Lemurs share many common basal primate traits, such as divergent digits on their hands and feet, and nails ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breeding Program
A breeding program is the planned breeding of a group of animals or plants, usually involving at least several individuals and extending over several generations. There are a couple of breeding methods, such as artificial (which is man made) and natural (it occurs on its own). According to the Dutch State Secretary of Economic Affairs the delivery of young animals is important for the natural behavior of the mother, the herd and is desirable from a veterinary perspective. Breeding programs are commonly employed in several fields where humans wish to change the characteristics of their animals' offspring through careful selection of breeding partners: * Dog and cat fanciers may coordinate a breeding program to raise the probability of an animal's litter producing a championship-caliber animal. *Horse breeders try to produce fast racehorses through breeding programs. *Conservationists use breeding programs to try to help the recovery of endangered species by preserving the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosewood
Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often called rosewood. Rosewood takes a high polish and is used for luxury furniture-making, flooring, musical instruments, and turnery. True rosewoods Genuine rosewoods belong to the genus '' Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in the Western world is the wood of '' Dalbergia nigra''. It is best known as "Brazilian rosewood", but also as "Bahia rosewood". This wood has a strong, sweet smell, which persists for many years, explaining the name ''rosewood''. Another classic rosewood comes from '' Dalbergia latifolia'', known as (East) Indian rosewood or ''sonokeling'' (Indonesia). It is native to India and is also grown in plantations elsewhere in Pakistan (Chiniot). Madagascar rosewood ('' Dalbergia maritima''), known as ''bois ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illegal Logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a protected area; the cutting down of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits. Illegal logging is a driving force for a number of environmental issues such as deforestation, soil erosion and biodiversity loss which can drive larger-scale environmental crises such as climate change and other forms of environmental degradation. Illegality may also occur during transport, such as illegal processing and export (through smuggling, fraudulent declaration to customs); the tax avoidance, avoidance of taxes and other charges, and fraudulent certification. These acts are often referred to as "wood laundering". Illegal logging is driven by a number of economic forces, such as demand for raw materials, land grabbing and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossa (animal)
The fossa (''Cryptoprocta ferox''; or ; ) is a slender, long-tailed, cat-like mammal that is endemic to Madagascar. It is a member of the carnivora, carnivoran family Eupleridae. The fossa is the largest mammalian carnivore on Madagascar and has been compared to a small cougar, as it has Convergent evolution, convergently evolved many cat-like features. Adults have a head-body length of and weigh between , with the males larger than the females. It has semi-retractable claws (meaning it can extend but not retract its claws fully) and flexible ankles that allow it to climb up and down trees head-first, and also support jumping from tree to tree. A larger relative of the species, ''Cryptoprocta spelea'', probably became extinct before 1400. The species is widespread, although population density, population densities are usually low. It is found solely in forested habitat, and actively hunts both by day and night. Over 50% of its diet consists of lemurs, the endemic primates f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pet Trade
Wildlife trade refers to the exchange of products derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tissues such as skins, bones or meat, or other products. Legal wildlife trade is regulated by the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which currently has 184 member countries called ''Parties''. Illegal wildlife trade is widespread and constitutes one of the major illegal economic activities, comparable to the traffic of drugs and weapons. Wildlife trade is a serious conservation problem, has a negative effect on the viability of many wildlife populations and is one of the major threats to the survival of vertebrate species. The illegal wildlife trade has been linked to the emergence and spread of new infectious diseases in humans, including emergent viruses. Global initia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scent Marking
In ethology, territory is the sociographical area that an animal consistently defends against conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against animals of other species) using agonistic behaviors or (less commonly) real physical aggression. Animals that actively defend territories in this way are referred to as being territorial or displaying territorialism. Territoriality is only shown by a minority of species. More commonly, an individual or a group of animals occupies an area that it habitually uses but does not necessarily defend; this is called its home range. The home ranges of different groups of animals often overlap, and in these overlap areas the groups tend to avoid each other rather than seeking to confront and expel each other. Within the home range there may be a ''core area'' that no other individual group uses, but, again, this is as a result of avoidance. Function The ultimate function of animals inhabiting and defending a territory is to increase the indiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Lemur Center
The Duke Lemur Center is a non-invasive research center housing over 200 lemurs and bush babies across 13 species. It is located at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. According to the Center, it houses the most diverse population of lemurs outside of their native Madagascar. The center is open to the public through tours, for which visitors must make an appointment. History In 1966, a prosimian colony of approximately 90 individuals, belonging to John Buettner-Janusch, was relocated from the Center for Prosimian Biology at Yale University to Duke University, creating the Duke Lemur Center (DLC). Through the 1970s, the colony grew to approximately 700 individuals representing 33 species. The current colony ranges between 200 and 250 animals, representing approximately 13 species. Originally called the Duke University Primate Center (DUPC), the center's name was changed in April 2006 after a refocusing of the scientific goals and overall mission. Specimens from its sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
