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Somali Golden Mole
The Somali golden mole (''Calcochloris tytonis'') is a golden mole endemic to Somalia. In 1964, Dr. Alberto Simonetta of the University of Florence discovered the mole's jaw and ear bone fragments in a barn owl pellet in Jowhar, Somalia. The Somali golden mole differs from the other species in its family (Chrysochloridae Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals Endemism, endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae (the only family in the suborder Chrysochloridea) and as such they are Taxonomy (biology), taxonomically dis ...) because the shape of its jaw is distinct; although the length of the lower jaw fits within the size range of the skulls of species '' Amblysomus leucorhinus'' and '' Amblysomus sclateri'', the width of the ascending parts of the jaw is much bigger (2mm) than that of the species it most closely matches ('' Amblysomus leucorhinus''). Simonetta, A. M. (1968). A New Golden Mole From Somalia With an Appendix on the Taxo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Mole
Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae (the only family in the suborder Chrysochloridea) and as such they are taxonomically distinct from the true moles, family Talpidae, and other mole-like families, all of which, to various degrees, they resemble as a result of evolutionary convergence. There are 21 species. Some (e.g., ''Chrysochloris asiatica'', ''Amblysomus hottentotus'') are relatively common, whereas others (e.g., species of ''Chrysospalax'', ''Cryptochloris'', ''Neamblysomus'') are rare and endangered. Taxonomy Despite their extreme evolutionary convergence with moles, their closest relatives are the otter shrews and tenrecs. They are more distantly related to other insectivorous African mammals such as aardvarks and elephant shrews, and even more distantly related to elephants and sirenians. Characteristics and affinities Like most burrowing mammals with similar habits, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the east. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland. Somalia has an estimated population of 18.1 million, of which 2.7 million live in the capital and largest city, Mogadishu. Around 85% of Somalia's residents are ethnic Somali people, Somalis. The official languages of the country are Somali language, Somali and Arabic, though Somali is the Languages of Somalia, primary language. Somalia has historic and religious ties to the Arab world. The people in Somalia are mainly Muslims, following the Sunni Islam, Sunni branch.. In antiquity, Somalia was an important commercial center. During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Florence
The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The first university in Florence was the which was established by the Florentine Republic in 1321. The Studium was recognized by Pope Clement VI in 1349, and authorized to grant regular degrees. The Pope also established that the first Italian faculty of theology would be in Florence. The Studium became an imperial university in 1364, but was moved to Pisa in 1473 when Lorenzo the Magnificent gained control of Florence. Charles VIII moved it back from 1497 to 1515, but it was moved to Pisa again when the Medici family returned to power. The modern university dates from 1859, when a group of disparate higher-studies institutions grouped together in the Istituto di Studi Pratici e di Perfezionamento, which a year later was recognized as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jowhar
Jowhar (, , Italian: ''Giohar'') is the capital city of Hirshabelle state of Somalia. Jowhar is also the administrative capital of Middle Shabelle region of Somalia. Along with Baidoa, it used to form the joint administrative capital of the Transitional Federal Government, which it captured from the Islamic Courts Union. The city lies 90 km (50 mi) along a major road north of the national capital of Mogadishu. Etymology Jowhar, (also ''Jawharad'' or ''Johoorad'') is the word for a precious stone in Somali, and the city may have been named after the lush lands it's situated on, near the Shabelle river. Originally from Persian, this word is also used in Arabic and other languages to describe gemstones and other jewels. History During the Middle Ages, Jowhar and much of the surrounding area in southern Somalia was governed by the Ajuran Empire.Lee V. Cassanelli, ''The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900'', (Uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysochloridae
Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals Endemism, endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae (the only family in the suborder Chrysochloridea) and as such they are Taxonomy (biology), taxonomically distinct from the mole (animal), true moles, family Talpidae, and other Mole (animal), mole-like families, all of which, to various degrees, they resemble as a result of Convergent evolution, evolutionary convergence. There are 21 species. Some (e.g., ''Chrysochloris asiatica'', ''Amblysomus hottentotus'') are relatively common, whereas others (e.g., species of ''Chrysospalax'', ''Cryptochloris'', ''Neamblysomus'') are rare and endangered. Taxonomy Despite their extreme evolutionary convergence with moles, their closest relatives are the Potamogalidae, otter shrews and Tenrec, tenrecs. They are more distantly related to other insectivorous African mammals such as Aardvark, aardvarks and Elephant shrew, elephant shrews, and even more distant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amblysomus Sclateri
Sclater's golden mole (''Chlorotalpa sclateri'') is a species of mammal in the family Chrysochloridae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry and high-altitude shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate grassland, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, and urban areas. This species is locally common, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". Description This is a small, stocky golden mole, growing to a head-and-body length of about , males being slightly larger than females. The chin and face have creamy-yellow markings, including over the sub-dermal eyes and across the bridge of the nose. The upper parts are clad in glossy, reddish-brown fur with a darker streak running along the spine. The underparts are dull grey with a reddish tinge. The forefeet are slender, and there is no tail. Distribution and habitat Sclater's golden mol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Fauna Of Somalia
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] |
Afrosoricida
The clade Afrosoricida (a Latin-Greek compound name which means "looking like African shrews") contains the golden moles of Southern Africa, the otter shrews of equatorial Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar. These three groups of small mammals were for most of the 19th and 20th centuries regarded as a part of the Insectivora or Lipotyphla, but both of those groups, as traditionally used, are polyphyletic. Naming Some biologists use Tenrecoidea or Tenrecomorpha as the name for the tenrec-golden mole clade and regard Afrosoricida as a junior synonym (even though the rules of the ICZN do not apply above the Linnean rank of family). This is based on the principles of Simpson, summarized by Asher & Helgen to mean that "priority and stability should comprise the overriding principles by which new, high-level taxa are named. Established names for any given clade should not be altered unless the name with precedent unambiguously threatens stability." When "Afrosoricida" was first nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammals Of Somalia
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, from which their ancestors diverged in the Carboniferous Period over 300 million years ago. Around 6,640 extant species of mammals have been described and divided into 27 orders. The study of mammals is called mammalogy. The largest orders of mammals, by number of species, are the rodents, bats, and eulipotyphlans (including hedgehogs, moles and shrews). The next three are the primates (including humans, monkeys and lemurs), the even-toed ungulates (including pigs, camels, and whales), and the Carnivora (including cats, dogs, and seals). Mammals are the only living members of Synapsida; this clade, together with Sauropsida (reptiles and birds), constitutes the large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species Known From A Single Specimen
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour, or ecological niche. In addition, palaeontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. About 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomen". The first part of a binomen is the name of a genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes in zoological nomenclature). For ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
