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Myotragus
''Myotragus'' (Neo-Latin, derived from the Greek: , "mouse-goat") is an extinct genus of goat-antelope in the tribe Caprini which lived on the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca in the western Mediterranean until its extinction around 4,500 years ago. The fossil record of ''Myotragus'' on the Balearic Islands extends over 5 million years back to the early Pliocene on Mallorca, where it presumably arrived after the evaporation of the Mediterranean Sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (around 5.96-5.33 million years ago). ''Myotragus'' is represented by six sequential chronospecies representing gradual change in morphology''.'' The youngest and best known species, ''M. balearicus,'' is noted for a number of unusual morphological adaptions, including forward facing eyes suggestive of binocular vision, as well as a long lifespan, which developed in an unusual ecosystem where only a few other mammal species were present, terrestrial predators were absent, and ''Myotragus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caprini
The subfamily Caprinae, also sometimes referred to as the tribe Caprini, is part of the ruminant family Bovidae, and consists of mostly medium-sized bovids. A member of this subfamily is called a caprine. Prominent members include sheep and goats, with some other members referred to as goat antelopes. Some earlier taxonomies considered Caprinae a separate family called Capridae (with the members being caprids), but now it is usually considered either a subfamily within the Bovidae, or a tribe within the subfamily Antilopinae of the family Bovidae, with caprines being a type of bovid. Characteristics Although most goat-antelopes are gregarious and have fairly stocky builds, they diverge in many other ways – the muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'') is adapted to the extreme cold of the tundra; the mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus'') of North America is specialised for very rugged terrain; the urial (''Ovis orientalis'') occupies a largely infertile area from Kashmir to Iran, inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypnomys
''Hypnomys'', otherwise known as Balearic giant dormice, is an extinct genus of dormouse (Gliridae) in the subfamily Leithiinae. Its species are considered examples of insular gigantism. They were endemic to the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean from the Early Pliocene until their extinction around the 3rd millennium BC. They first appeared in the fossil record on Mallorca during the Early Pliocene (around 5 million years ago), presumably as a result to the evaporation of the Mediterranean sea during the Messinian salinity crisis (5.96-5.33 million years ago) connecting the Balearic Islands with mainland Europe. They later spread to Menorca, and a possible molar is also known from Ibiza. ''Hypnomys'' became extinct during the late Holocene (around 4500-4000 years ago) likely shortly after human arrival on the Balearics. They were one of only three native land mammals to the islands at the time of human arrival, alongside the shrew '' Nesiotites'' and goat-antelope '' M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nesiotites
''Nesiotites'' is an extinct genus of large red-toothed shrews belonging to the tribe Nectogalini that inhabited the Balearic Islands from the latest Miocene/Early Pliocene (from around 5.3 million years ago) up until the arrival of humans on the islands during the late Holocene (around 2500-2300 BC). It was present on Mallorca and Menorca. It represented one of only 3 native land mammals to the islands at the time of human arrival, alongside the goat-antelope '' Myotragus'' and the giant dormouse ''Hypnomys''. The genus is closely related to the also recently extinct Corsican-Sardinian shrews belonging to the genus '' Asoriculus'', with their closest living relatives being the Himalayan shrews of the genus '' Soriculus.'' Taxonomy ''Nesiotites'' was originally described by Dorothea Bate in 1945, with the type species being ''Nesiotites hidalgo.'' Originally, two species from the islands of Corsica and Sardinia (''N. corsicanus'' and ''N. similis'') were included in the genus, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mallorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands have been an autonomous region of Spain since 1983. There are two small islands off the coast of Mallorca: Cabrera, Balearic Islands, Cabrera (southeast of Palma) and Dragonera (west of Palma). The anthem of Mallorca is "La Balanguera". Like the other Balearic Islands of Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera, the island is a highly popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from the Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The international airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport, is one of the busiest in Spain; it was used by 28 million passengers in 2017, with use increasing ever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takin
The takin (''Budorcas taxicolor''; ), also called cattle chamois or gnu goat, is a large species of ungulate of the subfamily Caprinae found in the eastern Himalayas. It includes four subspecies: the Mishmi takin (''B. t. taxicolor''), the golden takin (''B. t. bedfordi''), the Sichuan takin, Tibetan (or Sichuan) takin (''B. t. tibetana''), and the Bhutan takin (''B. t. whitei''). Whilst the takin has in the past been placed together with the muskox in the tribe Ovibovini, more recent mitochondrial DNA, mitochondrial research shows a closer relationship to ''Ovis'' (sheep). Its physical similarity to the muskox is therefore an example of convergent evolution. The takin is the national animal of Bhutan. Etymology The specific name ''taxicolor'' comes from and referring to badger-like coloration. Appearance The takin rivals the muskox as the largest and stockiest of the subfamily Caprinae, which includes goats, sheep, and similar species. Its short legs are supported by large, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Messinian Salinity Crisis
In the Messinian salinity crisis (also referred to as the Messinian event, and in its latest stage as the Lago Mare event) the Mediterranean Sea went into a cycle of partial or nearly complete desiccation (drying-up) throughout the latter part of the Messinian age of the Miocene epoch, from 5.96 to 5.33 Year#SI prefix multipliers, Ma (million years ago). It ended with the Zanclean flood, when the Atlantic reclaimed the basin. Sediment samples from below the deep seafloor of the Mediterranean Sea, which include evaporite minerals, soils, and fossil plants, show that the precursor of the Strait of Gibraltar closed about 5.96 million years ago, sealing the Mediterranean off from the Atlantic. This resulted in a period of partial desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea, the first of several such periods during the late Miocene. After the strait closed for the last time around 5.6 Ma, the region's generally dry climate at the time dried the Mediterranean basin out nearly completely within ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, with Palma de Mallorca being its capital and largest city. Formerly part of the Kingdom of Majorca, Kingdom of Mallorca, the islands were made a province in the 19th century provincial division, which in 1983 received a Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands, Statute of Autonomy. In its later reform of 2007, the Statute designates the Balearic Islands as one of the ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationalities'' of Spain. The official Languages of Spain, languages of the Balearic Islands are Catalan language, Catalan and Spanish language, Spanish. The archipelago islands are further grouped in western Pityusic Islands, Pytiuses (the largest being Ibiza and Formentera), and eastern Gymnesian Islands, Gymnesians (the largest bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothea Bate
Dorothea Minola Alice Bate (8 November 1878 – 13 January 1951), also known as Dorothy Bate, was a Welsh palaeontologist and pioneer of archaeozoology. Her life's work was to find fossils of recently extinct mammals with a view to understanding how and why Gigantism, giant and Dwarfism, dwarf forms evolved. Early and family life Born at Napier House, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Bate was the daughter of Police Superintendent Henry Reginald Bate (born in Co. Wexford, Ireland) and his wife Elizabeth Fraser Whitehill. She had an older sister and a younger brother.Shindler, Karolyn. (23 September 2004Bate, Dorothea Minola Alice (1878–1951), palaeontologist Dictionary of National Biography, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.'' Retrieved 23 November 2007. She had little formal education and once commented that her education "was only briefly interrupted by school". When she was 34 her brother broke his leg and she spent around 18 months looking after her parents. She was l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nesogoral
''Nesogoral'' was a genus of caprine from the Miocene epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b .... References Prehistoric bovids Caprids Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sister Group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and taxon B are sister groups to each other. Taxa A and B, together with any other extant or extinct descendants of their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), form a monophyletic group, the clade AB. Clade AB and taxon C are also sister groups. Taxa A, B, and C, together with all other descendants of their MRCA form the clade ABC. The whole clade ABC is itself a subtree of a larger tree which offers yet more sister group relationships, both among the leaves and among larger, more deeply rooted clades. The tree structure shown connects through its root to the rest of the universal tree of life. In cladistic standards, taxa A, B, and C may represent specimens, species, genera, or any other taxonomic units. If A and B are at the same taxono ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breccia
Breccia ( , ; ) is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or Rock (geology), rocks cementation (geology), cemented together by a fine-grained matrix (geology), matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of different origins, as indicated by the named types including sedimentary breccia, fault (geology), fault or tectonics, tectonic breccia, igneous breccia, Impact event, impact breccia, and Hydrothermal circulation, hydrothermal breccia. A megabreccia is a breccia composed of very large rock fragments, sometimes kilometers across, which can be formed by landslides, impact events, or caldera collapse. Types Breccia is composed of coarse rock fragments held together by cement or a fine-grained matrix. Like Conglomerate (geology), conglomerate, breccia contains at least 30 percent of gravel-sized particles (particles over 2mm in size), but it is distinguished from Conglomerate (geol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
