|
Large Ground Finch
The large ground finch (''Geospiza magnirostris'') is a species of bird in the genus Geospiza. One of Darwin's finches, it is now placed in the tanager family Thraupidae and was formerly in the Emberizidae. It is the largest species of Darwin's finch. Description The large ground finch weighs about 27-39 g, and its length ranges slightly 15-16 cm. It is the largest species of Darwin's finch both in total size and size of beak. The feather and bill colors vary between males and females. The adult male is mostly black, with slightly browner wings and tail; the cloaca is white-streaked; the eyes are dark brown. It also has blackish legs. The tail is relatively short. An adult female has browner feathers compared to a male, sometimes with yellow-brown or grey outer edges; scaled patterns are found going up the body; most parts of the torso and the head are streaked with brown and pale yellow shades. Beak It has a large beak, having a thick base of lower mandibles and curved cul ... [...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] |
Española Island
Española or Espanola Island () is the most southerly of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, about a 10 to 12-hour trip by boat from Santa Cruz. Names ''Española'', Spanish for "Little Spain", is named for Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea owing to its discovery by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage. The name was changed with several other islands in 1892 during the celebration of the quadricentennial of Columbus's voyage. The English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley named the island King Charles's Island in 1684 in honor of the then-reigning monarch CharlesII of England. However, the British captain James Colnett later misunderstood Cowley's maps and accidentally transferred that name to what is now Floreana Island. Thinking Española undiscovered until that point, he renamed it Hood Island in 1793 in honor of Admiral Samuel Hood, Baronet of Catherington and 1st Baron Hood, later created 1st Viscount Hood for his success in the Napoleonic Wars. Geography Es ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Birds Of The Galápagos Islands
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] |
Bursera Graveolens
''Bursera graveolens'', known in Spanish as palo santo ('sacred wood'), is a wild tree native to the Yucatán Peninsula and also found in Peru and Venezuela. ''Bursera'' ''graveolens'' is found in the seasonally dry tropical forests of Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, and on the Galápagos Islands. The tree belongs to the same family (Burseraceae) as frankincense and myrrh. It is widely used in ritual purification and as folk medicine for stomach aches, as a sudorific, and as liniment for rheumatism. Aged heartwood is rich in terpenes such as limonene and α-terpineol. Conservation In 2006, the government of Peru listed ''Bursera graveolens'' as "In Critical Danger" (En Peligro Critico (CR)) under Decree 043-2006-AG, banning the cutting of live trees and allowing only for the collection of naturally fallen or dead trees. However, in 2014, it was removed from the SERFOR (National Forest and Wildlife Service ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tribulus Cistoides
''Tribulus cistoides'', also called wanglo (in Aruba), the Jamaican feverplant or puncture vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae, which is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Habitat ''Tribulus cistoides'', known locally in Mexico as “Abrojo de tierra caliente” (thistle of the hot country), grows in Central, South, and the southern part of North America. It survives well in arid low land close to the shore and where sand or loose soil is present. This is also why it may survive in urban environments in or by the gutters of roads, as there may be loose soil nearby.Abbott, I., Abbott, L. K., & Grant, P. R. (1977). Comparative ecology of Galápagos ground ginches (Geospiza Gould): Evaluation of the importance of floristic diversity and interspecific competition. Ecological Monographs, 47, 151–184. https://doi. org/10.2307/1942615 References Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Mexico Tribulus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opuntia
''Opuntia'', commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are native to the Americas, and are well adapted to arid climates; however, they are still vulnerable to alterations in precipitation and temperature driven by climate change. The plant has been introduced to parts of Australia, southern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa. ''Prickly pear'' alone is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''sabbar'', '' nopal'' (pads, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word , nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word , and paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus. The fruit and leaves are edible. The most common culinary species is the "Barbary fig" ('' Opuntia ficus-indica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Fe Island
Santa Fe Island (), also known as Barrington Island, is a small island of which lies in the middle of the Galápagos Archipelago in Ecuador. Visitor access is by a wet landing in Barrington Bay on the northeastern side of the island. Names The name is Spanish for "Holy Faith" in reference to Roman Catholic Christianity. The English name ''Barrington Island'' was bestowed in 1794 by James Colnett in honor of Admiral Samuel Barrington, noted for his kindness to the sailors under his commands. Geography Santa Fe lies in the middle of the Galápagos Archipelago in Ecuador. It is southeast of Santa Cruz Island. Environment Geologically, the island is one of the oldest of the archipelago; volcanic rocks of about 4 million years old have been found. The vegetation of the island is characterized by brush, palo santo trees and stands of a large subvariety of the Galápagos prickly pear cactus, '' Opuntia galapageia'' subvar. ''barringtonensis''. Santa Fe is home to two e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Cristóbal Island
San Cristóbal Island (), also known as Chatham Island, is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, as well as one of the oldest geologically. It is administratively part of San Cristóbal Canton, Ecuador. Names ''San Cristóbal'' is Spanish for Saint Christopher, reckoned in Catholicism as the patron saint of sailors. The English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley named it Dassigney's Island in 1684, later shortened to Dassigney or Dassigny Island, in honor of Philip Dassigny, the member of Bartholomew Sharp's crew who translated the Spanish atlas that saved the captain from being hanged for piracy. The British captain James Colnett renamed it Lord Chatham Island in 1793 after John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham and First Lord of the Admiralty, on the specious claim it had never been previously charted. Colnett also named Kicker Rock, which lies in Stephens Bay, on the western side of the island. That name is thought to be a reference to two English navigationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floreana Island
Floreana Island () is a southern island in Ecuador's Galápagos Archipelago. The island has an area of . It was formed by volcanic eruption. The island's highest point is Cerro Pajas at , which is also the highest point of the volcano like most of the smaller islands of Galápagos. The island has a population of about 100. Names Floreana, sometimes written as Floriana, is named in honor of Juan José Flores, the first president of Ecuador. It was during Flores's presidency that Ecuador took possession of the archipelago. The island was previously known in Spanish as Mercedes Island (), sometimes corrupted to Mascarenas,. in honor of Flores's wife Mercedes Jijón. It was also known as Santa Maria, after the Virgin Mary and the '' Santa María'', one of Christopher Columbus's ships during his initial voyage. Pinta Island similarly remembers another one of his ships. The English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley did not apparently chart or name this island in his 17th-century ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight Bird skeleton, skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 Order (biology), orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have Bird wing, wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the Flightless bird, loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemism, endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic
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 bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
