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La Venta (Colombia)
La Venta is a fossil locality located in the modern departments of Tolima and Huila in Colombia. This site is one of the richest Neogene fossil assemblages in South America and represents the best-known Cenozoic fossil site outside of Argentina. It provides a glimpse of what life in the region was like before the main wave of the Great American Interchange. Geology The fossils occur in Middle Miocene rocks of the Honda Group, which is divided into the younger Villavieja Formation and the older La Victoria Formation. The La Venta fauna contained ancient species of animal genera and families still alive today, as well as some entirely extinct prehistoric lineages. These animals lived some 13.8 to 12 million years ago in the Laventan age, which was named after La Venta. At that time, the climate of the region was wetter than today and there was much forest of trees similar (and probably related) to the ''sapino'' ('' Goupia glabra'') of our time. List of fauna Fossil anima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the ''fossil record''. Though the fossil record is incomplete, numerous studies have demonstrated that there is enough information available to give a good understanding of the pattern of diversification of life on Earth. In addition, the record can predict and fill gaps such as the discovery of '' Tiktaalik'' in the arctic of Canada. Paleontology includes the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are sometimes considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years to 4.1 billion years old. Early edition, published online before prin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family (, : ) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family—or whether a described family should be acknowledged—is established and decided upon by active taxonomists. There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging a family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to a lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loricariidae
Loricariidae is the largest family (biology), family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with over 90 genus, genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and their suckermouths. Several genera are sold as "Plecostomus, plecos", notably the suckermouth catfish, ''Hypostomus plecostomus'', and are popular as aquarium fish. Common names Members of the family Loricariidae are commonly referred to as loricariids, suckermouth catfishes, armoured catfish (other), armoured catfish, or suckermouth armoured catfish. The name "plecostomus", and its shortened forms "pleco" and "plec", are used for many Loricariidae, since ''Plecostomus plecostomus'' (now called ''Hypostomus plecostomus'') was one of the first loricariid species imported for the fish-keeping hobby. Some loricariids are not normally considered "plecostomus", ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doradidae
The Doradidae are a family of catfishes also known as thorny catfishes, raphael catfishes or talking catfishes. These fish are native to South America, primarily the Amazon basin and the Guianas. Doradids are omnivorous. Taxonomy As of 2007, 31 genera and 78 species are in this family. '' Wertheimeria'' is considered to be the sister taxon to all other doradids. This family is monophyletic and contains the subfamilies Doradinae, Astrodoradinae and Wertheimerinae. The Astrodoradinae contain the genera '' Amblydoras'', '' Anadoras'', '' Astrodoras'', '' Hypodoras'', ''Merodoras'', ''Physopyxis'', and '' Scorpiodoras''. Distribution Doradids occur in most South American basins, though they are absent from the Pacific Coast drainages and from coastal drainages south of the Río de la Plata. About 70% of the valid species occur in the Amazon basin; the Orinoco basin harbors about 22 species and ranks second in species richness. Conversely, only two species of doradids have been des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ariidae
The Ariidae or ariid catfish are a family (taxonomy), family of catfish that mainly live in Marine (ocean), marine waters with many freshwater and brackish water species. They are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones. The family includes about 143 species. Fossilized pectoral spines and skull bone fragments of ariid catfish are known from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian and Maastrichtian) of Argentina, which are among the oldest known remains of Siluroidea, siluroid catfish. Taxonomy The relationships of this family are not yet clear. Two of the genus, genera, ''Gogo (fish), Gogo'' and ''Ancharius (fish), Ancharius'', have been moved to a separate family called Anchariidae. The Ariidae are divided into three subfamilies: ''Galeichthys'' is the only genus classified in the subfamily Galeichthyinae and similarly ''Bagre (fish), Bagre'' is the only genus in the subfamily Bagreinae, while the rest of the genera are classified in the subfamily Ariinae. Previously, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Callichthyidae
Callichthyidae is a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes), called armored catfishes due to the two rows of bony plates (or scutes) along the lengths of their bodies. It contains some of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish, such as many species in the genus ''Corydoras''. Taxonomy The family derives its name from the Greek words (, 'beautiful') and (, 'fish'). Callichthyidae is one of six families in the superfamily Loricarioidea, and is sister to a clade formed by Scoloplacidae, Astroblepidae, and Loricariidae. Within the family Callichthyidae, the two subfamilies have eight genera and about 177 species, accounting for about 7% of all catfish. Most of these species are in the genus ''Corydoras'', the largest catfish genus. The subfamily Corydoradinae includes about 90% of the species in the family Callichthyidae and is one of the most diverse siluriform assemblages in the Neotropics, with about 170 valid species. It includes two tribes, Aspidoradini and Corydoradini. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pimelodidae
The Pimelodidae, commonly known as the long-whiskered catfishes, are a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes). Taxonomy The family Pimelodidae has undergone much revision. Currently, it contains about 30 genera and about 90 recognized and known but unnamed species. Wikipedia lists 109 species in this family. The low-eye catfish (previously family Hypophthalmidae), and thus the genus '' Hypophthalmus'', which contains four species, was reclassified with the pimelodids. This family previously included fish that are now classified under Pseudopimelodidae (previously subfamily Pseudopimelodinae) and Heptapteridae (previously subfamily Rhamdiinae). This family also previously included '' Conorhynchos conirostris'', currently ''incertae sedis''. However, a molecular analysis has shown unequivocal support for monophyly of the individual families and the genus ''Conorhynchos'' into a clade called Pimelodoidea, including Pimelodidae + Pseudopimelodidae and Heptapteridae + ''Conorhynch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Characidae
Characidae, the characids, is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish belonging to the order Characiformes. They are found throughout much of Central and South America, including such major waterways as the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers.Nelson (2006) These fish vary in length; many are less than . The name " characins" is a historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their status as a, by and large, monophyletic group (at family rank). This family includes some of the first characiforms to be described to science, such as '' Charax'' and '' Tetragonopterus'', and thus lend their name to the order, as well as to common names such as "characin" and " tetra". Past taxonomic treatments had a much more expansive definition of the family, including numerous South American fish families such as the piranhas and dorados, as well as the African alestids. Following multiple taxonomic revisions, this was eventually restricted to just the Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osteoglossidae
Osteoglossidae is a family of large-sized freshwater fish, which includes the arowanas. They are commonly known as bonytongues. The family has been regarded as containing two extant subfamilies Arapaiminae and Osteoglossinae, with a total of five living genera, but these are regarded as valid families in '' Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes'' The extinct Phareodontinae are known from worldwide during the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene; they are generally considered to be crown group osteoglossids that are more closely related to one of the extant osteoglossid subfamilies than the other, though their exact position varies. Evolution Osteoglossids are basal teleosts that originated during the Cretaceous, and are placed in the actinopterygian order Osteoglossiformes. The traditionally defined wider family includes several extant species from South America, one from Africa, two from Asia, and two from Australia. The earliest known osteoglossid is '' Cretophareodus'' from the mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anostomidae
The Anostomidae are a family of ray-finned fishes that belong to the order Characiformes. Closely related to the Chilodidae and formerly included with them, the Anostomidae contain about 150 described species. Commonly known as anostomids, they are found in freshwater habitats from the Río Atrato in northernmost South America to warm-temperate central Argentina; they are of Amazon origin, with few found west of the Andes (mainly in Colombia and Venezuela). Their scientific name approximately means "mouth on top", from Ancient Greek ''áno-'' (ἄνω) "up" (as an adverb) + ''stóma'' (στόμᾶ) "mouth", in reference to the arrangement of these fishes' mouth opening.FishBase (2004), Sidlauskas & Vari (2008) Description Anostomids have elongated bodies ranging from in length; their shape varies between fusiform and deeper-bodied, but even the latter are only moderately laterally. They have elongated, tapering heads with rather long, straight snouts, and small apical to uptu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goupia Glabra
''Goupia glabra'' (goupie or kabukalli; syn. ''G. paraensis, G. tomentosa'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Goupiaceae (formerly treated in the family Celastraceae). It is native to tropical South America, in northern Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.Lacostea, J. F., & Alexandre, D. Y. (1991). Le goupi (Goupia glabra Aubl), essence forestière d'avenir en Guyane : analyse bibliographique. ''Ann. For. Sci''. 48: 429-441. Availablonline (pdf file; in French)/ref>Richter, H. G., & Dallwitz, M. J. (2000). Commercial timbersWatson, L., & Dallwitz, M. J. (2000). The Families of Flowering PlantsCirad database''Goupia glabra'' Other names include Saino, Sapino (Colombia), Kopi (Surinam), Kabukalli (Guyana), Goupi, bois-caca (French Guiana), Pasisi (Wayampi language), Pasis (Palikur language), Kopi (Businenge language), Cupiuba (Brazil), yãpi mamo hi (Yanomami language), Venezuela. Description It is a large, fast-growing tree growing up to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorological variables that are commonly measured are temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, and precipitation. In a broader sense, climate is the state of the components of the climate system, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere and biosphere and the interactions between them. The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, longitude, terrain, altitude, land use and nearby water bodies and their currents. Climates can be classified according to the average and typical variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most widely used classification scheme is the Köppen climate classification. The Thornthwaite system, in use since 1948, incorporates evapotranspiration along ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
