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Koalas
The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family '' Phascolarctidae''. Its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the island's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, dark nose. The koala has a body length of and weighs . Its fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations are possibly separate subspecies, but not all researchers accept this. Koalas typically inhabit open ''Eucalyptus'' woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. This eucalypt diet has low nut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phascolarctidae
The Phascolarctidae (''φάσκωλος (phaskolos)'' - pouch or bag, ''ἄρκτος (arktos)'' - bear, from the Greek ''phascolos'' + ''arctos'' meaning pouched bear) is a family of marsupials of the order Diprotodontia, consisting of only one extant species, the koala, and six well-known fossil species, with another six less well known fossil species, and two fossil species of the genus ''Koobor'', whose taxonomy is debatable but are placed in this group. The closest relatives of the Phascolarctidae are the wombats, which comprise the family Vombatidae. The fossil record of the family dates back to the Middle Miocene or Late Oligocene. Classification Family Phascolarctidae * Genus '' Nimiokoala'' **'' Nimiokoala greystanesi'' * Genus '' Invictokoala'' **''Invictokoala monticola'' * Genus '' Madakoala'' **''Madakoala robustus'' **''Madakoala wellsi'' **''Madakoala devisi'' * Genus '' Litokoala'' **''Litokoala garyjohnstoni'' **''Litokoala kutjamarpensis'' **''Litokoala kanunk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koala Retrovirus
Koala retrovirus (KoRV) is a retrovirus that is present in many populations of koalas. It has been implicated as the agent of koala immune deficiency syndrome (KIDS), an HIV/AIDS, AIDS-like immunodeficiency that leaves infected koalas more susceptible to infectious disease and cancers. The virus is thought to be a recently introduced exogenous virus that is also integrating into the koala genome (Endogenous retrovirus, becoming endogenous). Thus the virus can transmit both Horizontal transmission, horizontally (from animal to animal in the classic sense) and Vertically transmitted infection, vertically (from parent to offspring as a gene). The horizontal modes of transmission are not well defined but are thought to require close contact. Koala retrovirus was initially described as a novel endogenous retrovirus found within the koala genome and in tissues as free virions. Viral DNA sequencing, DNA sequence analysis showed intact open reading frames and pathogenic DNA sequence moti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pouch (marsupial)
The pouch is a distinguishing feature of female marsupials and monotremes, and rarely in males as well, such as in the yapokNogueira, José Carlos, et al.Morphology of the male genital system of Chironectes minimus and comparison to other didelphid marsupials. Journal of mammalogy 85.5 (2004): 834-841. and the extinct thylacine. The name marsupial is derived from the Latin ''marsupium'', meaning "pouch". This is due to the occurrence of epipubic bones, a pair of bones projecting forward from the pelvis. Marsupials give birth to a live but relatively undeveloped foetus called a joey. When the joey is born it crawls from inside the mother to the pouch. The pouch is a fold of skin with a single opening that covers the teats. Inside the pouch, the blind offspring attaches itself to one of the mother's teats and remains attached for as long as it takes to grow and develop to a juvenile stage. Variations Pouches are different amongst different marsupials, two kinds distinguish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in 2009 by the International Union of Geological Sciences, the cutoff of the Pleistocene and the preceding Pliocene was regarded as being 1.806 million years Before Present (BP). Publications from earlier years may use either definition of the period. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period and also with the end of the Paleolithic age used in archaeology. The name is a combination of Ancient Greek () 'most' and (; Latinized as ) 'new'. The aridification and cooling trends of the preceding Neogene were continued in the Pleistocene. The climate was strongly variable depending on the glacial cycle, oscillating between cold Glacial period, glacial periods and warmer Interglacial, int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including ''Corymbia'' and ''Angophora'', they are commonly known as eucalypts or "gum trees". Plants in the genus ''Eucalyptus'' have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard, or stringy and leaves that have oil Gland (botany), glands. The sepals and petals are fused to form a "cap" or Operculum (botany), operculum over the stamens, hence the name from Greek ''eû'' ("well") and ''kaluptós'' ("covered"). The fruit is a woody Capsule (botany), capsule commonly referred to as a "gumnut". Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are Indigenous (ecology), native to Australia, and every state and territory has representative species. About three-quarters of Australian forests are eucalypt forests. Many eucalypt species have adapted to wildfire, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vulnerable Species
A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnerability is mainly caused by habitat loss or destruction of the species' home. Vulnerable habitat or species are monitored and can become increasingly threatened. Some species listed as "vulnerable" may be common in captivity (animal), captivity, an example being the military macaw. In 2012 there were 5,196 animals and 6,789 plants classified as vulnerable, compared with 2,815 and 3,222, respectively, in 1998. Practices such as cryoconservation of animal genetic resources have been enforced in efforts to conserve vulnerable breeds of livestock specifically. Criteria The International Union for Conservation of Nature uses several criteria to enter species in this category. A taxon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gould
John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Matthew Hart. Because of his 1840s seven-volume series ''The Birds of Australia (Gould), The Birds of Australia'' and its updates he has been considered the father of bird study in Australia, and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould's work is referenced in Charles Darwin's book, ''On the Origin of Species''. Early life John Gould was born in Lyme Regis, the first son of a gardener. Both father and son probably had little education. After working on Dowager Lady Poulett's glass house, his father obtained ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Brown (Scottish Botanist From Montrose)
Robert Brown (21 December 1773 – 10 June 1858) was a Scottish botanist and paleobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope. His contributions include one of the earliest detailed descriptions of the cell nucleus and cytoplasmic streaming; the observation of Brownian motion; early work on plant pollination and fertilisation, including being the first to recognise the fundamental difference between gymnosperms and angiosperms; and some of the earliest studies in palynology. He also made numerous contributions to plant taxonomy, notably erecting a number of plant families that are still accepted today; and numerous Australian plant genera and species, the fruit of his exploration of that continent with Matthew Flinders. Early life Robert Brown was born in Montrose, Scotland on 21 December 1773, in a house that existed on the site where Montrose Library currently stands. He was the son of James Brown, a mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Perry (naturalist)
George Perry (1771-1823) was a 19th-century England, English naturalist, artist, and malacologist. He is the son of the industrialist George Perry (engineer), George Perry. He lived in Liverpool for some time, authoring ''The History of Liverpool'' with John Corry (writer), John Corry before moving back to London. He died in Chelsea, London, Chelsea in 1823. Perry is known for two natural history works: *''Arcana; or the museum of natural history'', published monthly from January 1810 to September 1811 *''Conchology, or the natural history of shells'', published in 1811 See also *:Taxa named by George Perry (naturalist) References * J. H. Gatliff, 1902. Notes on Perry's “Conchology”. Victorian Naturalist 19(5):75-76 * C. Hedley, 1902. On Perry's Australian shells. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 27(1): 24-28 * G. M. Mathews & T. Iredale, 1913. “Perry’s Arcana” – an overlooked work. Victorian Naturalist 29: 7-16 * A. T. Hopwood, 1946. Miscellan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Aboriginal Mythology
Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology is the sacred spirituality represented in the stories performed by Aboriginal Australians within each of the language groups across Australia in their ceremonies. Aboriginal spirituality includes the Dreamtime (''the Dreaming''), songlines, and Aboriginal oral literature. Aboriginal spirituality often conveys descriptions of each group's local cultural landscape, adding meaning to the whole country's topography from oral history told by ancestors from some of the earliest recorded history. Most of these spiritualities belong to specific groups, but some span the whole continent in one form or another. Antiquity An Australian linguist, R. M. W. Dixon, recording Aboriginal myths in their original languages, encountered coincidences between some of the landscape details being told about within various myths, and scientific discoveries being made about the same landscapes. In the case of the Atherton Tableland, myths tell of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups, which include many ethnic groups: the Aboriginal Australians of the mainland and many islands, including Aboriginal Tasmanians, Tasmania, and the Torres Strait Islanders of the seas between Queensland and Papua New Guinea, located in Melanesia. 812,728 people Aboriginality, self-identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the 2021 Australian Census, representing 3.2% of the total population of Australia. Of these Indigenous Australians, 91.4% identified as Aboriginal, 4.2% identified as Torres Strait Islander, and 4.4% identified with both groups. The term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or the person's specific cultural group, is often preferred, though the term ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kangaroo
Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. The Australian government estimates that 42.8 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2019, down from 53.2 million in 2013. As with the terms " wallaroo" and "wallaby", "kangaroo" refers to a paraphyletic grouping of species. All three terms refer to members of the same taxonomic family, Macropodidae, and are distinguished according to size. The largest species in the family are called "kangaroos" and the smallest are generally called "wallabies". The term "wallaroos" refers to species of an intermediate size. There are also the tree-kangaroos, another type of macropod which inhabit the upper branches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
