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Sardinian Wildcat
The Sardinian wildcat (or, less commonly, the Sardinian lynx) is an isolated population of feral cats (''Felis catus'') on the island of Sardinia, introduced during the Roman Empire. It has historically been misidentified as a species of lynx or a subspecies of wildcat. Under the name ''Felis lybica sarda'', it is locally protected as a rare species. Taxonomic history The population was first described as a wildcat as ''Felis libyca sarda'' by Fernand Lataste in 1885, based on the skin and skull of a male cat from Sarrabus in Sardinia, which he wrote resembled an African wildcat but more reddish, grey, and brown, and with longer hairs on the back. Another name, ''Felis mediterranea'', was also proposed for wildcats from Sardinia in 1896. In 1910 it was reclassified as ''Felis ocreate sarda'', while in 1912 it was considered a full species ''Felis sarda'' by Miller. The Sardinian lynx with the scientific name ''Lynx lynx sardiniae'' was proposed by the Italian biologist Pasqua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villagrande Strisaili
Villagrande Strisaili (Biddamanna Istrisàili in Sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about northwest of Tortolì. Villagrande Strisaili borders the following municipalities: Arzana, Desulo, Fonni, Girasole, Lotzorai, Orgosolo, Talana, Tortolì Tortolì (; or ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia, in the Province of Nuoro. Geography Tortolì is situated on the eastern coast of Sardinia. Its port and greatest hamlet is Arbatax, which has also an airport that once connected it to con .... This area was identified as the first Blue Zone due to its exceptional life expectancy. One study found that, unlike global statistics, males in this region live as long as females. References Cities and towns in Sardinia {{Sardinia-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuoro
Nuoro ( ; ) is a city and (municipality) in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy, situated on the slopes of Mount Ortobene. It is the capital of the province of Nuoro. With a population of 36,347 (2011), it is the sixth-largest city in Sardinia. Its (borough) of Lollove is one of ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Birthplace of several renowned artists, including writers, poets, painters, sculptors, Nuoro hosts some of the most important museums in Sardinia. It is considered an important cultural center of the Regions of Italy, region and it has been referred to as the "Sardinian Athens". Nuoro is the hometown of Grazia Deledda, the only Italian woman to win (1926) the List of Nobel Laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature. History The earliest traces of human settlement in the Nuoro area (called " the Nuorese") are the so-called Domus de janas, rock-cut tombs dated at the third millennium BC. However, fragments of ceramics of the Ozieri culture have also been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretan Wildcat
The Cretan wildcat is a member of the genus ''Felis'' that inhabits the Greek island of Crete. Its taxonomic status is unclear at present, as some biologists consider it probably introduced, or a European wildcat (''Felis silvestris silvestris''), or a hybrid between European wildcat and domestic cat (''F. catus''). It was previously considered a separate subspecies of wildcat as ''Felis silvestris cretensis''. Crete has been isolated from the continent for about 6 million years. Palaeontological data indicate that the island was colonised during the Pleistocene by those mammalian taxa that were able to swim across the sea. Crete's Pleistocene endemic mammalian fauna comprised rodents and herbivores, but remains of predators were not found. Pleistocene mammals died out before the Holocene. More than 9,000 animal bones were excavated at the archaeological site Kavousi Kastro in eastern Crete in the late 1980s that date to the Late Geometric period at about 8th century BC. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corsican Wildcat
The Corsican wildcat is an isolated cat population of uncertain taxonomic status that has been variously regarded as a separate species of its own (as ''Felis reyi''), a subspecies of the African wildcat (as ''Felis lybica reyi''), or a population of feral house cats (''Felis catus'') that were introduced to Corsica around the beginning of the first millennium. In 2019, several newspapers reported on the supposed discovery of the Corsican wildcat as a previously unknown cat species, calling it "cat-fox" (). As of 2021, a description for this animal as a potential new species was being drafted, and other research was ongoing. History and taxonomy In February 1929, M. Rey-Jouvin collected the skin and skull of a female wildcat from the Aunes forest at the border of the Étang de Biguglia. In that same year, it was examined and described by Louis Lavauden, who named it the holotype of the new species ''Felis reyi'', the Corsican wildcat. The specific name ''reyi'' honored M. Rey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Cat
The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small Domestication, domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is commonly kept as a pet and working cat, but also ranges freely as a feral cat avoiding human contact. It is valued by humans for companionship and its ability to kill vermin. Its retractable claws are adapted to killing small prey species such as mice and rats. It has a strong, flexible body, quick reflexes, and sharp teeth, and its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. It is a social species, but a solitary hunter and a crepuscular predator. Cat intelligence is evident in their ability to adapt, learn through observation, and solve problems. Research has shown they possess strong memories, exhibit neuroplasticity, and display cognitive skil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hybrid (biology)
In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties, subspecies, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two different organisms, whereas an individual where some cells are derived from a different organism is called a chimera. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents such as in blending inheritance (a now discredited theory in modern genetics by particulate inheritance), but can show hybrid vigor, sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of a hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics, attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes. In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species are. Species are reproductively isolated by strong barriers to hybridization, which include genetic and morph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near East
The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th century by modern Western geographers and was originally applied to the Ottoman Empire, but today has varying definitions within different academic circles. The term ''Near East'' was used in conjunction with the ''Middle East'' and the ''Far East'' (China and beyond), together known as the "three Easts"; it was a separate term from the ''Middle East'' during earlier times and official British usage. As of 2024, both terms are used interchangeably by politicians and news reporters to refer to the same region. ''Near East'' and ''Middle East'' are both Eurocentrism, Eurocentric terms. According to the National Geographic Society, the terms ''Near East'' and ''Middle East'' denote the same territories and are "generally accepted as comprisin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of effective sole rule in 27 BC. The Western Roman Empire, western empire collapsed in 476 AD, but the Byzantine Empire, eastern empire lasted until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. By 100 BC, the city of Rome had expanded its rule from the Italian peninsula to most of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and beyond. However, it was severely destabilised by List of Roman civil wars and revolts, civil wars and political conflicts, which culminated in the Wars of Augustus, victory of Octavian over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and the subsequent conquest of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt. In 27 BC, the Roman Senate granted Octavian overarching military power () and the new title of ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zooarchaeology
Zooarchaeology or archaeozoology merges the disciplines of zoology and archaeology, focusing on the analysis of animal remains within archaeological sites. This field, managed by specialists known as zooarchaeologists or faunal analysts, examines remnants such as bones, shells, hair, chitin, scales, hides, and proteins, such as DNA, to derive insights into historical human-animal interactions and environmental conditions. While bones and shells tend to be relatively more preserved in archaeological contexts, the survival of faunal remains is generally infrequent. The degradation or fragmentation of faunal remains presents challenges in the accurate analysis and interpretation of data. Characterized by its interdisciplinary nature, zooarchaeology bridges the studies of ancient human societies and the animal kingdom. Practitioners, from various scientific backgrounds including anthropology, paleontology, and ecology, aim primarily to identify and understand human interactions with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felis Lybica
The African wildcat (''Felis lybica'') is a small wildcat species with sandy grey fur, pale vertical stripes on the sides and around the face. It is native to Africa, West and Central Asia, and is distributed to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It inhabits a broad variety of landscapes ranging from deserts to savannas, shrublands and grasslands. The African wildcat is the ancestor of the domestic cat (''F. catus''). Some African wildcats were domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Near East. Interspecific hybrids between both species are common where their ranges overlap. Taxonomy ''Felis lybica'' was the scientific name proposed in 1780 by Georg Forster who based his description on a specimen from Gafsa on the Barbary Coast that had the size of a domestic cat, but a reddish fur, short black tufts on the ears, and a ringed tail. Between the late 18th and 20th centuries, several naturalists and curators of natural history museums described and proposed new names for w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alessandro Ghigi
Alessandro Ghigi (9 February 1875 – 20 November 1970) was an Italian zoologist, naturalist and environmentalist. Life Alessandro Ghigi was born in Bologna on 9 February 1875. He attended the University of Bologna, graduating with a degree in Natural Sciences. In 1900 he participated in founding the Emilian society ''Pro Montibus et Sylvis''. He was made a Doctor of Zoology in 1902, teaching at the Agricultural secondary school in Bologna and at the University of Ferrara. In 1922 he became professor of zoology at Bologna, where he directed the Institute of Zoology. He was rector of the University of Bologna from 1930 to 1943 . In 1911 he was one of the founders of the ''Italian Journal of Ornithology''. In the first two decades of the twentieth century Ghigi, Erminio Sipari Erminio Sipari (1 December 1879 – 28 January 1968) was an Italian politician and naturalist, author of studies on the preservation of nature and founder of Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, which he ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Sassari
The University of Sassari (, UniSS) is a public university located in Sassari, Italy. It was founded in 1562 and is organized in 13 departments. The University of Sassari earned first place in the rankings for the best “medium-sized” Italian university, in 2009–2010, by the Censis Research Institute, but in 2012 it fell to the 6th position among the best Italian universities. History and profile The University of Sassari was founded by Alessio Fontana, member of Imperial Chancellery of Emperor Charles V and a distinguished gentleman in the town of Sassari in 1558. The official opening dates back to the month of May 1562. It was first run by the Jesuits. Today, the University, which is of medium size, with a total number of over 18,000 students and about 700 teachers, comprises eleven faculties and over 40 departments, study centres and institutes. There are several specialist schools, research institutions, schools for special research and postgraduate schools. Corpora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
