|
Sandhill Crane
The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large Crane (bird), cranes of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to its habitat, such as the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills (Nebraska), Sandhills on the American Great Plains. Sandhill cranes are known to frequent the edges of bodies of water. The central Platte River Valley in Nebraska is the most important stopover area for the Nominate subspecies, nominotypical subspecies, the lesser sandhill crane (''A. c. canadensis''), with up to 450,000 of these birds bird migration, migrating through annually. Taxonomy In 1750, English naturalist George Edwards (naturalist), George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the sandhill crane in the third volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "The Brown and Ash-colour'd Crane". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Pleistocene
The Early Pleistocene is an unofficial epoch (geology), sub-epoch in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, representing the earliest division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently estimated to span the time between 2.580 ± 0.005 annum, Ma (million years ago) and 0.773 ± 0.005 Ma. The term Early Pleistocene applies to both the Gelasian, Gelasian Age and the Calabrian (stage), Calabrian Age. While the Gelasian and the Calabrian have officially been defined by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) to effectively constitute the Early Pleistocene, the succeeding Chibanian and Tarantian ages have yet to be ratified. These proposed ages are unofficially termed the Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene respectively. The Chibanian provisionally spans time from 773 ka to 126 ka, and the Tarantian from then until the definitive end of the whole Pleistocene, c. 9700 BC in the 10th millennium BC. Notes {{Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Migration
Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Animal migration, Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The Arctic tern holds the long-distance migration record for birds, travelling between Arctic breeding grounds and the Antarctic each year. Some species of Procellariiformes, tubenoses, such as albatrosses, circle the Earth, flying over the southern oceans, while others such as Manx shearwaters migrate between their northern breeding grounds and the southern ocean. Shorter migrations are common, while longer ones are not. The shorter migrations include altitudinal migrations on mountains, including the Andes and Himalayas. The timing of migration seems to be controlled primarily by changes in day length. Migrating birds navigate using celestial cues from the Sun and stars, the Earth's magnetic field, and mental maps. Histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ludwig Reichenbach
Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (8 January 1793 – 17 March 1879) was a German botanist, ornithologist and illustrator. It was he who first requested Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, Leopold Blaschka to make a set of glass marine invertebrate models for scientific education and museum showcasing, the successful commission giving rise to the creation of the Blaschkas' Glass sea creatures and, subsequently and indirectly, the more famous Glass Flowers. Early life Born in Leipzig and the son of Johann Friedrich Jakob Reichenbach (the author in 1818 of the first Greek-German dictionary) Reichenbach studied medicine and natural science at the University of Leipzig in 1810, becoming a professor and, eight years later in 1818, an instructor. In 1820, he was appointed the director of the Dresden natural history museum and a professor at the Surgical-Medical Academy in Dresden, where he remained for many years. Together with Carl Friedrich Heinrich Schubert he started in 1822 to edit and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antigone (genus)
''Antigone'' is a genus of large birds in the crane (bird), crane family. The species in this genus were formerly placed in the genus ''Grus (genus), Grus''. Taxonomy The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus to be used for the sarus crane (known then by its Latin name ''Grus major Indica)'' because he confused the Greek princess Antigone of Troy, who turned into a stork, with Gerana, the Pygmy (Greek mythology), pygmy queen, who turned into a crane. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus ''Grus (genus), Grus'' was polyphyletic. In the subsequent rearrangement four species were placed in the resurrected genus ''Antigone''. The genus had initially been erected in 1853 by German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. The type species is the sarus crane (''Antigone antigone''). Species The genus includes four species: References External links * * Antigone (genus), Bird genera Taxa named by Ludwig Reichenbach {{Gruiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population), i.e. excludes non-descendants of that common ancestor # the grouping contains all the descendants of that common ancestor, without exception Monophyly is contrasted with paraphyly and polyphyly as shown in the second diagram. A ''paraphyletic'' grouping meets 1. but not 2., thus consisting of the descendants of a common ancestor, excepting one or more monophyletic subgroups. A '' polyphyletic'' grouping meets neither criterion, and instead serves to characterize convergent relationships of biological features rather than genetic relationships – for example, night-active primates, fruit trees, or aquatic insects. As such, these characteristic features of a polyphyletic grouping ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies, which are explained as a result of convergent evolution. The arrangement of the members of a polyphyletic group is called a polyphyly .. [Source for pronunciation.] It is contrasted with monophyly and paraphyly. For example, the biological characteristic of warm-bloodedness evolved separately in the ancestors of mammals and the ancestors of birds; "warm-blooded animals" is therefore a polyphyletic grouping. Other examples of polyphyletic groups are algae, C4 photosynthesis, C4 photosynthetic plants, and Xenarthra#Evolutionary relationships, edentates. Many taxonomists aim to avoid homoplasies in grouping taxa together, with a goal to identify and eliminate groups that are found to be polyphyletic. This is often the stimulus for major re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molecular Phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to determine the processes by which diversity among species has been achieved. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree. Molecular phylogenetics is one aspect of molecular systematics, a broader term that also includes the use of molecular data in taxonomy and biogeography. Molecular phylogenetics and molecular evolution correlate. Molecular evolution is the process of selective changes (mutations) at a molecular level (genes, proteins, etc.) throughout various branches in the tree of life (evolution). Molecular phylogenetics makes inferences of the evolutionary relationships that arise due to molecular evolution and results in the construction of a phylogenetic tree. History The theoretical fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grus (genus)
''Grus'' is a genus of large birds in the crane family. The genus ''Grus'' erected by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The name ''Grus'' is the Latin word for "crane". The German ornithologist Peter Simon Pallas was sometimes credited with erecting the genus in 1766 but the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled in 1956 that Brisson should have priority. The genus formerly included additional species. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus ''Grus'', as then defined, was polyphyletic. In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, the sandhill crane, the white-naped crane, the sarus crane and the brolga were moved to the resurrected genus ''Antigone'' that had been erected by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1853. The Siberian crane was moved to the resurrected monotypic genus ''Leucogeranus''. Species The genus contains eight species: The HBW/BirdLife and Clements checklis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Binomial Name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages. Such a name is called a binomial name (often shortened to just "binomial"), a binomen, name, or a scientific name; more informally, it is also called a Latin name. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), the system is also called nomenclature, with an "n" before the "al" in "binominal", which is a typographic error, meaning "two-name naming system". The first part of the name – the '' generic name'' – identifies the genus to which the species belongs, whereas the second part – the specific name or specific epithet – distinguishes the species within the genus. For example, modern humans belong to the genus ''Homo'' and within this genus to the species ''Hom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ardea (bird)
''Ardea'' is a genus of herons. These herons are generally large in size, typically 80–100 cm or more in length. These large herons are associated with wetlands where they prey on fish, frogs, and other aquatic species. Most members of this almost worldwide group breed Bird colony, colonially in trees, building large stick nests. Northern species such as great blue heron, great blue, grey heron, grey, and purple herons may bird migration, migrate south in winter, although the first two do so only from areas where the waters freeze. Description These are powerful birds with large spear-like bills, long necks and long legs, which hunt by waiting motionless or stalking their prey in shallow water before seizing it with a sudden lunge. They have a slow steady flight, with the neck retracted as is characteristic of herons and bitterns; this distinguishes them from storks, crane (bird), cranes, flamingos, and spoonbills, which extend their necks. Taxonomy The genus ''Ard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. Phylogeneti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Systema Naturae
' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomenclature, was partially developed by the Bauhin brothers, Gaspard Bauhin, Gaspard and Johann Bauhin, Johann, Linnaeus was the first to use it consistently throughout his book. The first edition was published in 1735. The full title of the 10th edition (1758), which was the most important one, was ', which appeared in English in 1806 with the title: "A General System of Nature, Through the Three Grand Kingdoms of Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals, Systematically Divided Into their Several Classes, Orders, Genera, Species, and Varieties, with their Habitations, Manners, Economy, Structure and Peculiarities". The 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tenth edition of this book (1758) is considered the starting point of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
