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Ethiopian Vlei Rat
The Ethiopian vlei rat (''Otomys typus'') is a species of Otomys, vlei rat in the rodent family Muridae. It is found only in Ethiopia and is considered endemic. Taxonomy Heuglin (1877) initially described the species under the name ''Oreomys typus''. This species classification and that of the genus ''Otomys'' varied extremely throughout the years. Taylor et al. (2011) revised the history of this species and part of the genus in itself. ''Otomys typus'' previously contained, as subspecies or synonyms, numerous current-day species, such as: * ''Otomys fortior'' - Charada vlei rat (as a subspecies and later as a synonym) * ''Otomys darmouthi'' - Ruwenzori vlei rat (as a subspecies) * ''Otomys helleri'' - Heller's vlei rat (as a subspecies and later as a synonym) * ''Otomys jacksoni'' - Mount Elgon vlei rat (as a subspecies) * ''Otomys orestes'' - Afroalpine vlei rat (as a subspecies) * ''Otomys thomasi'' - Thomas's vlei rat (as a subspecies and later as a synonym of ''O. orestes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodor Von Heuglin
Martin Theodor von Heuglin (20 March 1824, Hirschlanden, Württemberg5 November 1876), was a German explorer and ornithologist. Biography Heuglin was born in Hirschlanden (now part of Ditzingen) in Württemberg. His father was a Protestant pastor, and he was trained to be a mining engineer. He was ambitious, however, to become a scientific investigator of unknown regions, and with that object studied the natural sciences, especially zoology. In 1850 he went to Egypt where he learnt Arabic, and visited the Red Sea and Sinai. In 1852 he accompanied Dr. Christian Reitz, Austrian consul at Khartoum, on a journey to Ethiopia, and after Reitz's death was appointed his successor in the consulate. While he held this post he travelled in Ethiopia and Kordofan, making a valuable collection of natural history specimens. In 1857 he journeyed through the coast lands of the African side of the Red Sea, and along the Somali coast. In 1860 he was chosen as leader of an expedition to search ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheesman's Vlei Rat
The Cheesman's vlei rat (''Otomys cheesmani'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is considered endemic to northwestern Ethiopia. Conservation It is possibly extinct and only known from two localities in Ethiopia, hence the assessment of the species as "Critically endangered" by the IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status .... Surveys done in 2012 and 2018 found no individuals of the species. References Mammals described in 2011 Mammals of Ethiopia {{Muridae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammals Described In 1877
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] |
Mammals Of Ethiopia
This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Ethiopia. There are 279 mammal species in Ethiopia, of which five are critically endangered, eight are endangered, twenty-seven are vulnerable, and twelve are near threatened. The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature: Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories: Order: Macroscelidea (elephant shrews) Often called sengis, the elephant shrews or jumping shrews are native to southern Africa. Their common English name derives from their elongated flexible snout and their resemblance to the true shrews. *Family: Macroscelididae (elephant-shrews) **Genus: ''Elephantulus'' *** Rufous elephant shrew, ''E. rufescens'' Order: Tubulidentata (aardvarks) The order Tubulidentata consists of a single species, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Fauna Of Ethiopia
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 becomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceous plant, herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica and are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. Furthermore, grasslands are one of the largest biomes on Earth and dominate the landscape worldwide. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural grasslands, and agricultural grasslands. They cover 31–69% of the Earth's land area. Definitions Included among the variety of definitions for grasslands are: * "...any plant community, including harvested forages, in which grasses and/or legumes make up the dominant vegetation." * "...terrestrial ecosystems dominated by herbaceous and shrub vegetation, and maintained by fire, grazing, drought and/or freezing temperatures." (Pilot Assessm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It may be the mature vegetation type in a particular region and remain stable over time, or it may be a transitional community that occurs temporarily as the result of a disturbance, such as fire. A stable state may be maintained by regular natural disturbance such as fire or browsing (predation), browsing. Shrubland may be unsuitable for human habitation because of the danger of fire. The term was coined in 1903. Shrubland species generally show a wide range of adaptations to fire, such as heavy seed production, lignotubers, and fire-induced germination. Botanical structural form In botany and ecology a shrub is defined as a much-branched woody plant less than 8 m high, usually with many plant stem, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montane Forest
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial factor in shaping plant community, biodiversity, metabolic processes and ecosystem dynamics for montane ecosystems. Dense montane forests are common at moderate elevations, due to moderate temperatures and high rainfall. At higher elevations, the climate is harsher, with lower temperatures and higher winds, preventing the growth of trees and causing the plant community to transition to montane grasslands and shrublands or alpine tundra. Due to the unique climate conditions of montane ecosystems, they contain increased numbers of endemic species. Montane ecosystems also exhibit variation in ecosystem services, which include carbon storage and water supply. Life zones As elevation increases, the alpine climate, climate becomes co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yalden's Vlei Rat
The Yalden's vlei rat (''Otomys yaldeni'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in the Bale Mountains, in southwestern Ethiopia. Conservation It is listed as " Vulnerable" by the IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ... due to being known from less than 10 locations and the reduction of the habitat of the species. References Mammals described in 2011 Mammals of Ethiopia {{Muridae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simien Vlei Rat
The Simien vlei rat (''Otomys simiensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in northern Ethiopia. Conservation The species is known from less than 10 locations in Ethiopia. However, it is thought to occur in a protected area, which justified the reasoning behind the "Least Concern" assessment by the IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status .... References Mammals described in 2011 Mammals of Ethiopia {{Muridae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Kilimanjaro Vlei Rat
Mount Kilimanjaro vlei rat (''Otomys zinki'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in north-eastern Tanzania, on Mount Kilimanjaro. Taxonomy Bohmann (1943) initially described this species as ''Otomys typus zinki''. It was kept under ''Otomys typus'' (Ethiopian vlei rat The Ethiopian vlei rat (''Otomys typus'') is a species of Otomys, vlei rat in the rodent family Muridae. It is found only in Ethiopia and is considered endemic. Taxonomy Heuglin (1877) initially described the species under the name ''Oreomys ...) by Bohmann in 1952 and moved under ''Otomys orestes'' ( Afroalpine vlei rat) in the classification of Musser and Carleton (2005). However, this species was considered to be distinct by Taylor et al. (2011). Threats It is known from only 1 location in Tanzania (Mt. Kilimanjaro). Although it occurs in a protected area, threats such as fires, climate change and habitat loss could lead the species to extinction in a short timespan. Reference ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otomys
African vlei rats (''Otomys''), also known as groove-toothed rats, live in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Most species live in marshlands, grasslands, and similar habitats and feed on the vegetation of such areas, occasionally supplementing it with roots and seeds. The name "vlei" refers to the South African term for intermittent, seasonal, or perennial bodies of standing water. ''Otomys'' are compact rodents with a tendency to shorter faces and legs than other types of rats. The tails also are shorter than most Muridae, typically between one third and two thirds of the body length. The coat colour varies according to species,The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals, Jonathan Kingdon (2004) Russel Friedman Books but generally they have the brown-to-grey agouti coats typical of mice and other small wild rodents. Species living in warm or temperate regions tend to have unusually large ears for murids (e.g. ''Otomys irroratus''), whereas some of the alpine species, such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
