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Northern Giant Hummingbird
The northern giant hummingbird (''Patagona peruviana'') is the largest species of hummingbird and one of two species of the genus ''Patagona''. It and the sympatric southern giant hummingbird (''P. gigas'') were once considered the same species, i.e., the giant hummingbird, though some researchers have already classified them as different species or subspecies in the past. Genomic analysis supports the separation of the two species which shows that they diverged between 2.1 and 3.4 million years ago, in the late Pliocene. Williamson and colleagues attributed the binomial name ''Patagona chaski'' to the northern giant hummingbird in 2024, but this taxon was already described as ''Patagona peruviana'' by Boucard in 1893, so ''P. chaski'' is a junior synonym of ''P. peruviana''. A single F1 male hybrid between the two species has been recorded in a study that collected a sample of 101 individuals, suggesting that hybridization occurs regularly between the species. However, high ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sympatry
In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sharing a common range exemplifies sympatric speciation. Such speciation may be a product of reproductive isolation – which prevents hybrid offspring from being viable or able to reproduce, thereby reducing gene flow – that results in genetic divergence. Sympatric speciation may, but need not, arise through secondary contact, which refers to speciation or divergence in allopatry followed by range expansions leading to an area of sympatry. Sympatric species or taxa in secondary contact may or may not interbreed. Types of populations Four main types of population pairs exist in nature. Sympatric populations (or species) contrast with parapatric populations, which contact one another in adjacent but not shared ranges and do n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Giant Hummingbird
The southern giant hummingbird (''Patagona gigas'') is one of two species in the genus '' Patagona'' and the second largest hummingbird species, after its close relative the northern giant hummingbird. Taxonomy In 2014, ''P. gigas'' was split into two species, the northern giant hummingbird (''P. chaski'') and the southern giant hummingbird (''P. gigas''). The subspecies ''P. g. peruviana'' became invalid as it was found to be a ''nomen dubium''. This is because the putative type series for the subspecies includes both giant hummingbird species: one Southern and three Northern giant hummingbirds. Description The subspecies are visually distinguishable. ''P. g. peruviana'' is yellowish brown overall and has white on the chin and throat, where ''P. g. gigas'' is more olive green to brown and lacks white on the chin and throat. Distribution and habitat The giant hummingbird is widely distributed throughout the length of the Andes on both the east and west sides. It typic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58See the 2014 version of the ICS geologic time scale million years ago. It is the second and most recent epoch of the Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch. Prior to the 2009 revision of the geologic time scale, which placed the fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
F1 Hybrid
An F1 hybrid (also known as filial 1 hybrid) is the first filial generation of offspring of distinctly different parental types. F1 hybrids are used in genetics, and in selective breeding, where the term F1 crossbreed may be used. The term is sometimes written with a subscript, as F hybrid. Subsequent generations are called F, F, etc. The offspring of distinctly different parental types produce a new, uniform phenotype with a combination of characteristics from the parents. In fish breeding, those parents frequently are two closely related fish species, while in plant and animal breeding, the parents often are two inbred lines. Gregor Mendel focused on patterns of inheritance and the genetic basis for variation. In his cross-pollination experiments involving two true-breeding, or homozygous, parents, Mendel found that the resulting F1 generation was heterozygous and consistent. The offspring showed a combination of the phenotypes from each parent that were genetically dominant. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fixation Index
The fixation index (FST) is a measure of population differentiation due to genetic structure. It is frequently estimated from genetic polymorphism data, such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) or microsatellites. Developed as a special case of Wright's F-statistics, it is one of the most commonly used statistics in population genetics. Definition Two of the most commonly used definitions for FST at a given locus are based on 1) the variance of allele frequencies between populations, and on 2) the probability of Identity by descent. If \bar is the average frequency of an allele in the total population, \sigma^2_S is the variance in the frequency of the allele between different subpopulations, weighted by the sizes of the subpopulations, and \sigma^2_T is the variance of the allelic state in the total population, FST is defined as : F_ = \frac = \frac Wright's definition illustrates that FST measures the amount of genetic variance that can be explained by population ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Introgression
Introgression, also known as introgressive hybridization, in genetics is the transfer of genetic material from one species into the gene pool of another by the repeated backcrossing of an interspecific hybrid with one of its parent species. Introgression is a long-term process, even when artificial; it may take many hybrid generations before significant backcrossing occurs. This process is distinct from most forms of gene flow in that it occurs between two populations of different species, rather than two populations of the same species. Introgression also differs from simple hybridization. Simple hybridization results in a relatively even mixture; gene and allele frequencies in the first generation will be a uniform mix of two parental species, such as that observed in mules. Introgression, on the other hand, results in a complex, highly variable mixture of genes, and may only involve a minimal percentage of the donor genome. Definition Introgression or introgressive hybridi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Backcrossing
Backcrossing is a crossing of a hybrid with one of its parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent, to achieve offspring with a genetic identity closer to that of the parent. It is used in horticulture, animal breeding, and production of gene knockout organisms. Backcrossed hybrids are sometimes described with acronym "BC"; for example, an F1 hybrid crossed with one of its parents (or a genetically similar individual) can be termed a BC1 hybrid, and a further cross of the BC1 hybrid to the same parent (or a genetically similar individual) produces a BC2 hybrid. Plants Advantages * If the recurrent parent is an elite genotype, at the end of the backcrossing programme, an elite genotype is recovered. * As no "new" recombination results, the elite combination is not lost. Disadvantages * It works poorly for quantitative traits. * It is more restricted for recessive traits. * In practice, sections of genome from the nonrecurrent parents are often still present ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apodiformes
Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts (Apodidae), the treeswifts (Hemiprocnidae), and the hummingbirds (Trochilidae). In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes. With nearly 450 species identified to date, they are the most diverse order of birds after the passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...s. Description As their name ("footless" in Greek language, Greek) suggests, their legs are small and have limited function aside from perching. The feet are covered with bare skin rather than the scales (scutes) that other birds have. Another shared characteristic is long wings with short, stout humerus bone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Described In 2024
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. Bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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