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Scops Owl
Scops owls are typical owls in family Strigidae belonging to the genus ''Otus'' and are restricted to the Old World. ''Otus'' is the largest genus of owls with 59 species. Scops owls are colored in various brownish hues, sometimes with a lighter underside and/or face, which helps to camouflage them against the bark of trees. Some are polymorphic, occurring in a greyish- and a reddish-brown morph. They are small and agile, with both sexes being compact in size and shape. Female scops owls are usually larger than males. For most of the 20th century, this genus included the American screech owls, which are now again separated in ''Megascops'' based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphological and DNA sequence data. Taxonomy The genus ''Otus'' was introduced in 1769 by the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant for the Indian scops owl (''O. bakkamoena''). The name is derived from the Latin word ' and the Greek word ''ōtos'' meaning horned or eared owl (cf. οὖς, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Scops Owl
The Eurasian scops owl (''Otus scops''), also known as the European scops owl, common scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Himalayas. It is migratory, wintering in Africa south of the Sahara. Taxonomy The Eurasian scops owl was formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Linnaeus cited the 1599 description by the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, placed it with all the other owls in the genus '' Strix'' and coined the binomial name ''Strix scops''. The Eurasian scops owl is now placed in the genus '' Otus'' that was introduced in 1769 by Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. The genus name is derived from the Latin ' meaning "eared owl". The specific epithet ''scops'' is from the Ancient Greek word ''skōps'' for a little eared owl. The term is believed to be of Pre-Greek or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megascops
Screech owls are typical owls (Strigidae) belonging to the genus ''Megascops'' with 22 living species. For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops owls in ''Otus'', but nowadays it is again considered separately based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphology (biology), morphological, and DNA sequence data. Screech owls are restricted to the Americas. Some species formerly placed with them are now considered more distinct (see #The splitting of Otus sensu lato, below for details). Description Similar to other owls, the screech owl females are larger than the males of their species. They have a compact size and shape. They are small and agile, and about 7 to 10 inches tall and have a wingspan around 18 to 24 inches. They have prominent, wide-set feather tufts with bright yellow/green eyes. They have different brownish hues with whitish, patterned underside. This coloration helps them get camouflage against the tree bark. Ecology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-throated Screech Owl
The white-throated screech owl (''Megascops albogularis'') is a small owl found in the Andes of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The white-throated screech owl was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1849 and given the binomial name ''Syrnium albo-gularis''. The title page is dated 1848 but the volume was not published until the following year. Five subspecies are currently recognized: *''M. a. obscurus'' Phelps & Phelps Jr. (1953) *''M. a. meridensis'' Chapman (1923) *''M. a. macabrus'' Bonaparte (1850) *''M. a. albogularis'' Cassin (1849) *''M. a. remotus'' Bond & Meyer de Schauensee (1941) However, its taxonomy is not certain. The species has sometimes been placed in the monotypic genus ''Macabra'', but DNA studies show it is closely related to several other ''Megascops'' owls. At the subspecies level, ''M. a. obscurus'' is sometimes considered a color morph of ''M. a. meridensis'' or ''M. a. remotus''. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apomorph
In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have evolved in their most recent common ancestor. ) In cladistics, synapomorphy implies homology. Examples of apomorphy are the presence of erect gait, fur, the evolution of three middle ear bones, and mammary glands in mammals but not in other vertebrate animals such as amphibians or reptiles, which have retained their ancestral traits of a sprawling gait and lack of fur. Thus, these derived traits are also synapomorphies of mammals in general as they are not shared by other vertebrate animals. Etymology The word —coined by German entomologist Willi Hennig—is derived from the Ancient Greek words (''sún''), meaning "with, together"; (''apó''), meaning "away from"; and (''morphḗ''), meaning "shape, form". Determining ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-faced Owl
''Ptilopsis'' is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae, that inhabits Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac .... Its members are: References * Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ''Birds of The Gambia'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q1070928 Ptilopsis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junior Synonym
In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that now goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name (under the currently used system of scientific nomenclature) to the Norway spruce, which he called '' Pinus abies''. This name is no longer in use, so it is now a synonym of the current scientific name, '' Picea abies''. * In zoology, moving a species from one genus to another results in a different binomen, but the name is considered an alternative combination rather than a synonym. The concept of synonymy in zoology is reserved for two names at the same rank that refers to a taxon at that rank – for example, the name ''Papilio prorsa'' Linnaeus, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genitive Case
In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can also serve purposes indicating other relationships. For example, some verbs may feature arguments in the genitive case; and the genitive case may also have adverbial uses (see adverbial genitive). The genitive construction includes the genitive case, but is a broader category. Placing a modifying noun in the genitive case is one way of indicating that it is related to a head noun, in a genitive construction. However, there are other ways to indicate a genitive construction. For example, many Afroasiatic languages place the head noun (rather than the modifying noun) in the construct state. Possessive grammatical constructions, including the possessive case, may be regarded as subsets of the genitive construction. For example, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Language
Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), southern Albania, and other regions of the Balkans, Caucasus, the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor, and the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the list of languages by first written accounts, longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system is the Greek alphabet, which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with the epics of Homer, ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting importance in the European canon. Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. It has greatly influenced many languages, Latin influence in English, including English, having contributed List of Latin words with English derivatives, many words to the English lexicon, particularly after the Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England, Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons and the Norman Conquest. Latin Root (linguistics), roots appear frequently in the technical vocabulary used by fields such as theology, List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names, the sciences, List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes, medicine, and List of Latin legal terms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Scops Owl
The African scops owl (''Otus senegalensis'') is a small owl which is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy William Swainson first described the species in 1837 from a specimen collected in Senegal, and initially assigned it to the now defunct genus ''Scops''. Today the species is assigned to the genus ''Otus''. There are three subspecies currently recognised: *''Otus senegalensis senegalensis'': Widespread in sub-Saharan Africa *''Otus senegalensis nivosus'': Found in south-eastern Kenya from the lower Tana River to the Lali Hills *''Otus senegalensis feae'': Endemic to Annobón island in the Gulf of Guinea (regarded by Birdlife International as a separate species, the Annobón scops owl) The African scops owl was formerly regarded as the African subspecies of the European scops owl. It was grouped with the Arabian scops owl, Socotra scops owl, and the Annobón scops owl into ''Otus senegalensis''; however, these species are now considered to be separate. Descri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DNA Sequence
A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the nucleotides. By convention, sequences are usually presented from the 5' end to the 3' end. For DNA, with its double helix, there are two possible directions for the notated sequence; of these two, the sense strand is used. Because nucleic acids are normally linear (unbranched) polymers, specifying the sequence is equivalent to defining the covalent structure of the entire molecule. For this reason, the nucleic acid sequence is also termed the primary structure. The sequence represents genetic information. Biological deoxyribonucleic acid represents the information which directs the functions of an organism. Nucleic acids also have a secondary structure and tertiary structure. Primary structure is sometimes mistakenly referred to as "prim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
