1.
Conservation status
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The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Various systems of conservation status exist and are in use at international, multi-country, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system. Also included are species that have gone extinct since 500 AD, when discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term threatened is a grouping of three categories, critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category, Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora aims to ensure that trade in specimens of wild animals. Many countries require CITES permits when importing plants and animals listed on CITES, in the European Union, the Birds and Habitats Directives are the legal instruments that evaluate the conservation status within the EU of species and habitats. NatureServe conservation status focuses on Latin America, United States, Canada, and it has been developed by scientists from NatureServe, The Nature Conservancy, and the network of natural heritage programs and data centers. It is increasingly integrated with the IUCN Red List system and its categories for species include, presumed extinct, possibly extinct, critically imperiled, imperiled, vulnerable, apparently secure, and secure. The system also allows ambiguous or uncertain ranks including inexact numeric ranks, NatureServe adds a qualifier for captive or cultivated only, which has a similar meaning to the IUCN Red List extinct in the wild status. The Red Data Book of the Russian Federation is used within the Russian Federation, in Australia, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 describes lists of threatened species, ecological communities and threatening processes. The categories resemble those of the 1994 IUCN Red List Categories & Criteria, prior to the EPBC Act, a simpler classification system was used by the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. Some state and territory governments also have their own systems for conservation status, in Belgium, the Flemish Research Institute for Nature and Forest publishes an online set of more than 150 nature indicators in Dutch. In Canada, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada is a group of experts that assesses and designates which wild species are in danger of disappearing from Canada. Under the Species at Risk Act, it is up to the federal government, in China, the State, provinces and some counties have determined their key protected wildlife species. There is the China red data book, in Finland, a large number of species are protected under the Nature Conservation Act, and through the EU Habitats Directive and EU Birds Directive. In Germany, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation publishes red lists of endangered species, india has the Wild Life Protection Act,1972, Amended 2003 and the Biological Diversity Act,2002. In Japan, the Ministry of Environment publishes a Threatened Wildlife of Japan Red Data Book, in the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality publishes a list of threatened species, and conservation is enforced by the Nature Conservation Act 1998. Species are also protected through the Wild Birds and Habitats Directives, in New Zealand, the Department of Conservation publishes the New Zealand Threat Classification System lists
2.
IUCN Red List
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The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, founded in 1964, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the main authority on the conservation status of species. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, the IUCN Red List is set upon precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world, the aim is to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to try to reduce species extinction. Major species assessors include BirdLife International, the Institute of Zoology, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, collectively, assessments by these organizations and groups account for nearly half the species on the Red List. The IUCN aims to have the category of every species re-evaluated every five years if possible, the 1964 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants used the older pre-criteria Red List assessment system. Plants listed may not, therefore, appear in the current Red List, IUCN advise that is best to check both the online Red List and the 1997 plants Red List publication. The 2006 Red List, released on 4 May 2006 evaluated 40,168 species as a whole, plus an additional 2,160 subspecies, varieties, aquatic stocks, on 12 September 2007, the World Conservation Union released the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Russ Mittermeier, chief of Swiss-based IUCNs Primate Specialist Group, stated that 16,306 species are endangered with extinction,188 more than in 2006, the Red List includes the Sumatran orangutan in the Critically Endangered category and the Bornean orangutan in the Endangered category. The study shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction, and 836 are listed as Data Deficient. The Red List of 2012 was released 19 July 2012 at Rio+20 Earth Summit, nearly 2,000 species were added, the IUCN assessed a total of 63,837 species which revealed 19,817 are threatened with extinction. With 3,947 described as endangered and 5,766 as endangered. At threat are 41% of amphibian species, 33% of reef-building corals, 30% of conifers, 25% of mammals, the IUCN Red List has listed 132 species of plants and animals from India as Critically Endangered. Extinct – No known individuals remaining, extinct in the wild – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range. Critically endangered – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild, Endangered – High risk of extinction in the wild. Vulnerable – High risk of endangerment in the wild, near threatened – Likely to become endangered in the near future. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category, widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category. Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction, Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria
3.
CITES
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CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals. It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the convention was opened for signature in 1973 and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975. In order to ensure that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was not violated, as of 2015, Secretary-General of the CITES Secretariat is John E. Scanlon. CITES is one of the largest and oldest conservation and sustainable use agreements in existence, participation is voluntary, and countries that have agreed to be bound by the Convention are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties, it does not take the place of national laws, rather it provides a framework respected by each Party, which must adopt their own domestic legislation to implement CITES at the national level. Often, domestic legislation is either non-existent, or with penalties with the gravity of the crime, funding for the activities of the Secretariat and Conference of the Parties meetings comes from a Trust Fund derived from Party contributions. Trust Fund money is not available to Parties to improve implementation or compliance and these activities, and all those outside Secretariat activities must find external funding, mostly from donor countries and regional organizations such as the European Union. The Secretariat, when informed of an infraction by a Party, the Secretariat will give the Party time to respond to the allegations and may provide technical assistance to prevent further infractions. Other actions the Convention itself does not provide for but that derive from subsequent COP resolutions may be taken against the offending Party, infractions may include negligence with respect to permit issuing, excessive trade, lax enforcement, and failing to produce annual reports. As of 2013 the demand was massive and had expanded to thousands of species previously considered unremarkable. The text of the Convention was finalized at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington, united States, on 3 March 1973. It was then open for signature until 31 December 1974 and it entered into force after the 10th ratification by a signatory country, on 1 July 1975. Countries that signed the Convention become Parties by ratifying, accepting or approving it, by the end of 2003, all signatory countries had become Parties. States that were not signatories may become Parties by acceding to the Convention, as of October 2016, the Convention has 183 parties, including 182 states and the European Union. The CITES Convention includes provisions and rules for trade with non-Parties, UN observer the Holy See is also not a member. The Faroe Islands, a country in the Kingdom of Denmark, is also treated as a non-Party to CITES. The REIO can vote at CITES meetings with the number of votes representing the number of members in the REIO, at that time it entered into force only for those States that had accepted the amendment. The amended text of the Convention will apply automatically to any State that becomes a Party after 29 November 2013, for States that became party to the Convention before that date and have not accepted the amendment, it will enter into force 60 days after they accept it
4.
Taxonomy (biology)
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Taxonomy is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups. The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but the core of the remains, the conception, naming. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature is considered a part of taxonomy, the broadest meaning of taxonomy is used here. The word taxonomy was introduced in 1813 by Candolle, in his Théorie élémentaire de la botanique, the term alpha taxonomy is primarily used today to refer to the discipline of finding, describing, and naming taxa, particularly species. In earlier literature, the term had a different meaning, referring to morphological taxonomy, ideals can, it may be said, never be completely realized. They have, however, a value of acting as permanent stimulants. Some of us please ourselves by thinking we are now groping in a beta taxonomy, turrill thus explicitly excludes from alpha taxonomy various areas of study that he includes within taxonomy as a whole, such as ecology, physiology, genetics, and cytology. He further excludes phylogenetic reconstruction from alpha taxonomy, thus, Ernst Mayr in 1968 defined beta taxonomy as the classification of ranks higher than species. This activity is what the term denotes, it is also referred to as beta taxonomy. How species should be defined in a group of organisms gives rise to practical and theoretical problems that are referred to as the species problem. The scientific work of deciding how to define species has been called microtaxonomy, by extension, macrotaxonomy is the study of groups at higher taxonomic ranks, from subgenus and above only, than species. While some descriptions of taxonomic history attempt to date taxonomy to ancient civilizations, earlier works were primarily descriptive, and focused on plants that were useful in agriculture or medicine. There are a number of stages in scientific thinking. Early taxonomy was based on criteria, the so-called artificial systems. Later came systems based on a complete consideration of the characteristics of taxa, referred to as natural systems, such as those of de Jussieu, de Candolle and Bentham. The publication of Charles Darwins Origin of Species led to new ways of thinking about classification based on evolutionary relationships and this was the concept of phyletic systems, from 1883 onwards. This approach was typified by those of Eichler and Engler, the advent of molecular genetics and statistical methodology allowed the creation of the modern era of phylogenetic systems based on cladistics, rather than morphology alone. Taxonomy has been called the worlds oldest profession, and naming and classifying our surroundings has likely been taking place as long as mankind has been able to communicate
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Animal
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Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia. The animal kingdom emerged as a clade within Apoikozoa as the group to the choanoflagellates. Animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently at some point in their lives and their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later in their lives. All animals are heterotrophs, they must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance, most known animal phyla appeared in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, about 542 million years ago. Animals can be divided broadly into vertebrates and invertebrates, vertebrates have a backbone or spine, and amount to less than five percent of all described animal species. They include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, the remaining animals are the invertebrates, which lack a backbone. These include molluscs, arthropods, annelids, nematodes, flatworms, cnidarians, ctenophores, the study of animals is called zoology. The word animal comes from the Latin animalis, meaning having breath, the biological definition of the word refers to all members of the kingdom Animalia, encompassing creatures as diverse as sponges, jellyfish, insects, and humans. Aristotle divided the world between animals and plants, and this was followed by Carl Linnaeus, in the first hierarchical classification. In Linnaeuss original scheme, the animals were one of three kingdoms, divided into the classes of Vermes, Insecta, Pisces, Amphibia, Aves, and Mammalia. Since then the last four have all been subsumed into a single phylum, in 1874, Ernst Haeckel divided the animal kingdom into two subkingdoms, Metazoa and Protozoa. The protozoa were later moved to the kingdom Protista, leaving only the metazoa, thus Metazoa is now considered a synonym of Animalia. Animals have several characteristics that set apart from other living things. Animals are eukaryotic and multicellular, which separates them from bacteria and they are heterotrophic, generally digesting food in an internal chamber, which separates them from plants and algae. They are also distinguished from plants, algae, and fungi by lacking cell walls. All animals are motile, if only at life stages. In most animals, embryos pass through a stage, which is a characteristic exclusive to animals. With a few exceptions, most notably the sponges and Placozoa and these include muscles, which are able to contract and control locomotion, and nerve tissues, which send and process signals
6.
Chordate
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Chordates are deuterostomes, as during the embryo development stage the anus forms before the mouth. They are also bilaterally symmetric coelomates, in the case of vertebrate chordates, the notochord is usually replaced by a vertebral column during development, and they may have body plans organized via segmentation. There are also additional extinct taxa, the Vertebrata are sometimes considered as a subgroup of the clade Craniata, consisting of chordates with a skull, the Craniata and Tunicata compose the clade Olfactores. Of the more than 65,000 living species of chordates, the worlds largest and fastest animals, the blue whale and peregrine falcon respectively, are chordates, as are humans. Fossil chordates are known from at least as early as the Cambrian explosion, Hemichordata, which includes the acorn worms, has been presented as a fourth chordate subphylum, but it now is usually treated as a separate phylum. The Hemichordata, along with the Echinodermata, form the Ambulacraria, the Chordata and Ambulacraria form the superphylum Deuterostomia, composed of the deuterostomes. Attempts to work out the relationships of the chordates have produced several hypotheses. All of the earliest chordate fossils have found in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna. Because the fossil record of early chordates is poor, only molecular phylogenetics offers a prospect of dating their emergence. However, the use of molecular phylogenetics for dating evolutionary transitions is controversial and it has also proved difficult to produce a detailed classification within the living chordates. Attempts to produce family trees shows that many of the traditional classes are paraphyletic. While this has been known since the 19th century, an insistence on only monophyletic taxa has resulted in vertebrate classification being in a state of flux. Although the name Chordata is attributed to William Bateson, it was already in prevalent use by 1880, ernst Haeckel described a taxon comprising tunicates, cephalochordates, and vertebrates in 1866. Though he used the German vernacular form, it is allowed under the ICZN code because of its subsequent latinization, among the vertebrate sub-group of chordates the notochord develops into the spine, and in wholly aquatic species this helps the animal to swim by flexing its tail. In fish and other vertebrates, this develops into the spinal cord, the pharynx is the part of the throat immediately behind the mouth. In fish, the slits are modified to form gills, a muscular tail that extends backwards behind the anus. This is a groove in the wall of the pharynx. In filter-feeding species it produces mucus to gather food particles, which helps in transporting food to the esophagus and it also stores iodine, and may be a precursor of the vertebrate thyroid gland
7.
Mammal
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Mammals are any vertebrates within the class Mammalia, a clade of endothermic amniotes distinguished from reptiles by the possession of a neocortex, hair, three middle ear bones and mammary glands. All female mammals nurse their young with milk, secreted from the mammary glands, Mammals include the largest animals on the planet, the great whales. The basic body type is a quadruped, but some mammals are adapted for life at sea, in the air, in trees. The largest group of mammals, the placentals, have a placenta, Mammals range in size from the 30–40 mm bumblebee bat to the 30-meter blue whale. With the exception of the five species of monotreme, all modern mammals give birth to live young, most mammals, including the six most species-rich orders, belong to the placental group. The largest orders are the rodents, bats and Soricomorpha, the next three biggest orders, depending on the biological classification scheme used, are the Primates, the Cetartiodactyla, and the Carnivora. Living mammals are divided into the Yinotheria and Theriiformes There are around 5450 species of mammal, in some classifications, extant mammals are divided into two subclasses, the Prototheria, that is, the order Monotremata, and the Theria, or the infraclasses Metatheria and Eutheria. The marsupials constitute the group of the Metatheria, and include all living metatherians as well as many extinct ones. Much of the changes reflect the advances of cladistic analysis and molecular genetics, findings from molecular genetics, for example, have prompted adopting new groups, such as the Afrotheria, and abandoning traditional groups, such as the Insectivora. The mammals represent the only living Synapsida, which together with the Sauropsida form the Amniota clade, the early synapsid mammalian ancestors were sphenacodont pelycosaurs, a group that produced the non-mammalian Dimetrodon. At the end of the Carboniferous period, this group diverged from the line that led to todays reptiles. Some mammals are intelligent, with some possessing large brains, self-awareness, Mammals can communicate and vocalize in several different ways, including the production of ultrasound, scent-marking, alarm signals, singing, and echolocation. Mammals can organize themselves into fission-fusion societies, harems, and hierarchies, most mammals are polygynous, but some can be monogamous or polyandrous. They provided, and continue to provide, power for transport and agriculture, as well as commodities such as meat, dairy products, wool. Mammals are hunted or raced for sport, and are used as model organisms in science, Mammals have been depicted in art since Palaeolithic times, and appear in literature, film, mythology, and religion. Defaunation of mammals is primarily driven by anthropogenic factors, such as poaching and habitat destruction, Mammal classification has been through several iterations since Carl Linnaeus initially defined the class. No classification system is accepted, McKenna & Bell and Wilson & Reader provide useful recent compendiums. Though field work gradually made Simpsons classification outdated, it remains the closest thing to a classification of mammals
8.
Primate
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A primate is a mammal of the order Primates. In taxonomy, primates include two distinct lineages, strepsirrhines and haplorhines, Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests, many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment. Most primate species remain at least partly arboreal, with the exception of humans, who inhabit every continent except for Antarctica, most primates live in tropical or subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia. Based on fossil evidence, the earliest known true primates, represented by the genus Teilhardina, an early close primate relative known from abundant remains is the Late Paleocene Plesiadapis, c. Molecular clock studies suggest that the branch may be even older. The order Primates was traditionally divided into two groupings, prosimians and anthropoids. Prosimians have characteristics more like those of the earliest primates, and include the lemurs of Madagascar, lorisoids, simians include monkeys, apes and hominins. Simians are divided into two groups, catarrhine monkeys and apes of Africa and Southeast Asia and platyrrhine or New World monkeys of South, catarrhines consist of Old World monkeys, gibbons and great apes, New World monkeys include the capuchin, howler and squirrel monkeys. Humans are the only extant catarrhines to have spread successfully outside of Africa, South Asia, New primate species are still being discovered. More than 25 species were described in the decade of the 2000s. Considered generalist mammals, primates exhibit a range of characteristics. Some primates are primarily terrestrial rather than arboreal, but all species possess adaptations for climbing trees, locomotion techniques used include leaping from tree to tree, walking on two or four limbs, knuckle-walking, and swinging between branches of trees. Primates are characterized by large brains relative to other mammals, as well as a reliance on stereoscopic vision at the expense of smell. These features are developed in monkeys and apes and noticeably less so in lorises. Three-color vision has developed in some primates, most also have opposable thumbs and some have prehensile tails. Many species are dimorphic, differences include body mass, canine tooth size. Primates have slower rates of development than other similarly sized mammals and reach maturity later, depending on the species, adults may live in solitude, in mated pairs, or in groups of up to hundreds of members. The relationships among the different groups of primates were not clearly understood until relatively recently, for example, ape has been used either as an alternative for monkey or for any tailless, relatively human-like primate
9.
Strepsirrhini
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Collectively they are referred to as strepsirrhines. Adapiforms are sometimes referred to as being lemur-like, although the diversity of both lemurs and adapiforms does not support this comparison, today, Strepsirrhini excludes the tarsiers, which are now grouped in the other major primate suborder, Haplorhini, along with the monkeys and apes. Strepsirrhines are often referred to as living fossils. Instead, they have evolved for millions of years under natural selection, some of their traits may be derived from ancestral primates, while others are unique to strepsirrhines. Strepsirrhines are defined by their wet nose or rhinarium and they also have a smaller brain than comparably sized simians, large olfactory lobes for smell, a vomeronasal organ to detect pheromones, and a bicornuate uterus with an epitheliochorial placenta. Their eyes contain a layer to improve their night vision, and their eye sockets include a ring of bone around the eye. Strepsirrhine primates produce their own vitamin C, whereas haplorhine primates must obtain it from their diets, lemuriform primates are characterized by a toothcomb, a specialized set of teeth in the front, lower part of the mouth mostly used for combing fur during grooming. Often, the toothcomb is used to characterize all strepsirrhines. Instead, it is unique to lemuriforms and is not seen among adapiforms, lemuriforms groom orally, and also possess a grooming claw on the second toe of each foot for scratching in areas that are inaccessible to the mouth and tongue. It is unclear whether adapiforms possessed grooming claws, the taxonomy of strepsirrhines is controversial and has a complicated history. Strepsirrhines diverged from the haplorhine primates near the beginning of the primate radiation between 55 and 90 mya, older divergence dates are based on genetic analysis estimates, while younger dates are based on the scarce fossil record. Lemuriform primates may have evolved from either cercamoniines or sivaladapids, both of which were adapiforms that may have originated in Asia and they were once thought to have evolved from adapids, a more specialized and younger branch of adapiform primarily from Europe. Lemurs rafted from Africa to Madagascar between 47 and 54 mya, whereas the split from the African galagos around 40 mya. Both living and extinct strepsirrhines are behaviorally diverse, although all are primarily arboreal, most living lemuriforms are nocturnal, while most extinct adapiforms were diurnal. Both living and extinct groups primarily fed on fruit, leaves, many of todays strepsirrhines are endangered due to habitat destruction, hunting for bushmeat, and live capture for the exotic pet trade. The taxonomic name Strepsirrhini derives from the Greek στρεψίς and ῥινός, the name was first used by French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1812 as a subordinal rank comparable to Platyrrhini and Catarrhini. In his description, he mentioned Les narines terminales et sinueuses, following Pocock, many researchers continued to spell Strepsirrhini with a single r until primatologists Paulina Jenkins and Prue Napier pointed out the error in 1987. Strepsirrhines include the extinct adapiforms and the primates, which include lemurs
10.
Indriidae
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The Indriidae are a family of strepsirrhine primates. They are medium- to large-sized lemurs, with four teeth in the toothcomb instead of the usual six. Indriids, like all lemurs, live exclusively on the island of Madagascar, the 10 extant Indriidae species vary considerably in size. Not counting the length of their tails, the avahis are only 30 cm in length, the tail of the indri is only a stub, while avahi and the sifaka tails are as long as their bodies. Their fur is long and mostly from whitish over reddish up to grey and their black faces, however, are always bald. The hind legs are longer than their fore limbs, their hands are long and thin, all species are arboreal, though they do come to the ground occasionally. When on the ground, they stand upright and move with short hops forward, in the trees, though, they can make extraordinary leaps and are extremely agile, able to change direction from tree to tree. Like most leaf eaters, they adjust for the low nutrient content of their food by long rests, often, they can be seen lying stretched on trees sunning themselves. Indriidae live together in family federations up to 15 animals, communicating with roars, Indriidae are herbivores, eating mostly leaves, fruits, and flowers. Like some other herbivores, they have a large cecum, containing bacteria that ferment cellulose, allowing for more efficient digestion of plant matter. They have fewer teeth than other lemurs, with the dental formula of,2.1.2.32.1.2.3 Females and males usually mate monogamously for many years. Mostly at the end of the dry season, their four- to five-month gestation ends with the birth of a single offspring, the 19 living species in the family are divided into three genera
11.
Sifaka
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Sifakas are a genus of lemur from the family Indriidae within the order Primates. The name of their family is an onomatopoeia of their characteristic shi-fak alarm call, like all lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar. All species of sifakas are threatened, ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered, sifakas are medium-sized indrids with a head and body length of 40 to 55 centimetres and a weight of 3 to 6 kilograms. Their tail is just as long as their body, which differentiates them from the Indri and their fur is long and silky, with coloration varying by species from yellowish-white to black brown. The round, hairless face is always black, as with all lemurs, the sifaka has special adaptations for grooming, including a toilet-claw on its second toe and a toothcomb. Sifakas move by vertical clinging and leaping, meaning they maintain an upright position leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk and they are skillful climbers and powerful jumpers, able to make leaps of up to 10 m from one tree to the next. On the ground they move like all indrids with bipedal sideways hopping movements of the hind legs, sifakas are herbivores, eating leaves, flowers, and fruits. When not searching for food they spend a part of the day sunbathing. Sifakas live in groups than the other indrids. They have a territory, which they mark with scent glands. Edges of different sifaka territories can overlap, even though they defend their territory from invasion by others of their species, they may peacefully co-exist with other lemur species such as red-bellied lemur and the common brown lemur. Successful invasions are known to result in death of members, group takeover. Predators of the include the fossa, a puma-like mammal native to Madagascar. The sifaka usually avoids these attacks with its agile acrobatics through the high above the ground. However, they have known to attack by biting and scratching and have even been witnessed fighting off a boa constrictor. A four to five-month gestation period ends with the birth of a single offspring in July, the young holds fast to the mothers belly when small, but then later is carried on her back. Young are weaned after six months and reach full maturity at the age of two to three years. The life expectancy of the sifakas is up to 20 years, family Indriidae Genus Indri Genus Avahi Genus PropithecusP
12.
Binomial nomenclature
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Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name or a scientific name, more informally it is also called a Latin name. The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs, for example, humans belong to the genus Homo and within this genus to the species Homo sapiens. The formal introduction of system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus. But Gaspard Bauhin, in as early as 1623, had introduced in his book Pinax theatri botanici many names of genera that were adopted by Linnaeus. Although the general principles underlying binomial nomenclature are common to these two codes, there are differences, both in the terminology they use and in their precise rules. Similarly, both parts are italicized when a binomial name occurs in normal text, thus the binomial name of the annual phlox is now written as Phlox drummondii. In scientific works, the authority for a name is usually given, at least when it is first mentioned. In zoology Patella vulgata Linnaeus,1758, the original name given by Linnaeus was Fringilla domestica, the parentheses indicate that the species is now considered to belong in a different genus. The ICZN does not require that the name of the person who changed the genus be given, nor the date on which the change was made, in botany Amaranthus retroflexus L. – L. is the standard abbreviation used in botany for Linnaeus. – Linnaeus first named this bluebell species Scilla italica, Rothmaler transferred it to the genus Hyacinthoides, the ICN does not require that the dates of either publication be specified. Prior to the adoption of the binomial system of naming species. Together they formed a system of polynomial nomenclature and these names had two separate functions. First, to designate or label the species, and second, to be a diagnosis or description, such polynomial names may sometimes look like binomials, but are significantly different. For example, Gerards herbal describes various kinds of spiderwort, The first is called Phalangium ramosum, Branched Spiderwort, is aptly termed Phalangium Ephemerum Virginianum, Soon-Fading Spiderwort of Virginia. The Latin phrases are short descriptions, rather than identifying labels, the Bauhins, in particular Caspar Bauhin, took some important steps towards the binomial system, by pruning the Latin descriptions, in many cases to two words. The adoption by biologists of a system of binomial nomenclature is due to Swedish botanist and physician Carl von Linné. It was in his 1753 Species Plantarum that he first began using a one-word trivial name together with a generic name in a system of binomial nomenclature. This trivial name is what is now known as an epithet or specific name
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Synonym (taxonomy)
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For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies. This name is no longer in use, it is now a synonym of the current scientific name which is Picea abies, unlike synonyms in other contexts, in taxonomy a synonym is not interchangeable with the name of which it is a synonym. In taxonomy, synonyms are not equals, but have a different status, for any taxon with a particular circumscription, position, and rank, only one scientific name is considered to be the correct one at any given time. A synonym cannot exist in isolation, it is always an alternative to a different scientific name, given that the correct name of a taxon depends on the taxonomic viewpoint used a name that is one taxonomists synonym may be another taxonomists correct name. Synonyms may arise whenever the same taxon is described and named more than once, independently. They may also arise when existing taxa are changed, as when two taxa are joined to one, a species is moved to a different genus. To the general user of scientific names, in such as agriculture, horticulture, ecology, general science. A synonym is a name that was used as the correct scientific name but which has been displaced by another scientific name. Thus Oxford Dictionaries Online defines the term as a name which has the same application as another. In handbooks and general texts, it is useful to have mentioned as such after the current scientific name. Synonyms used in this way may not always meet the strict definitions of the synonym in the formal rules of nomenclature which govern scientific names. Changes of scientific name have two causes, they may be taxonomic or nomenclatural, a name change may be caused by changes in the circumscription, position or rank of a taxon, representing a change in taxonomic, scientific insight. A name change may be due to purely nomenclatural reasons, that is, based on the rules of nomenclature, the earliest such name is called the senior synonym, while the later name is the junior synonym. One basic principle of zoological nomenclature is that the earliest correctly published name, synonyms are important because if the earliest name cannot be used, then the next available junior synonym must be used for the taxon. Objective synonyms refer to taxa with the type and same rank. For example, John Edward Gray published the name Antilocapra anteflexa in 1855 for a species of pronghorn, however, it is now commonly accepted that his specimen was an unusual individual of the species Antilocapra americana published by George Ord in 1815. Ords name thus takes precedence, with Antilocapra anteflexa being a subjective synonym. Objective synonyms are common at the level of genera, because for various reasons two genera may contain the type species, these are objective synonyms
14.
Endangered species
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An endangered species is a species which has been categorized as likely to become extinct. In 2012, the IUCN Red List featured 3079 animal and 2655 plant species as endangered worldwide, the figures for 1998 were, respectively,1102 and 1197. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species, for example, population numbers, trends and species conservation status can be found in the lists of organisms by population. The conservation status of a species indicates the likelihood that it will become extinct, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best-known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system. Over 40% of the species are estimated to be at risk of extinction. Internationally,199 countries have signed an accord to create Biodiversity Action Plans that will protect endangered, in the United States, such plans are usually called Species Recovery Plans. Those species of Near Threatened and Least Concern status have been assessed and found to have relatively robust and healthy populations, though these may be in decline. The IUCN categories, with examples of animals classified by them, include, Extinct Extinct in the wild Captive individuals survive, critically endangered Faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future. Endangered Faces a high risk of extinction in the near future, vulnerable Faces a high risk of endangerment in the medium term. Near-threatened May be considered threatened in the near future, Least concern No immediate threat to species survival. A population size reduction of ≥ 50%, projected or suspected to be met within the next 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on any of to under A1. E) Quantitative analysis showing the probability of extinction in the wild is at least 20% within 20 years or five generations, there is data from the United States that shows a correlation between human populations and threatened and endangered species. Under the Endangered Species Act in the United States, species may be listed as endangered or threatened, the Salt Creek tiger beetle is an example of an endangered subspecies protected under the ESA. Some endangered species laws are controversial, also lobbying from hunters and various industries like the petroleum industry, construction industry, and logging, has been an obstacle in establishing endangered species laws. The Bush administration lifted a policy that required federal officials to consult an expert before taking actions that could damage endangered species. Under the Obama administration, this policy has been reinstated, being listed as an endangered species can have negative effect since it could make a species more desirable for collectors and poachers. This effect is potentially reducible, such as in China where commercially farmed turtles may be reducing some of the pressure to poach endangered species. Another problem with the species is its effect of inciting the use of the shoot, shovel
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Lemur
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Lemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. As with other primates, such as lorises, pottos. In this regard, lemurs are often confused with ancestral primates, when in actuality, lemurs did not give rise to monkeys and apes, due to Madagascars highly seasonal climate, lemur evolution has produced a level of species diversity rivaling that of any other primate group. Until shortly after humans arrived on the island around 2,000 years ago, ranging in weight from the 30-gram mouse lemur to the 9-kilogram indri, lemurs share many common, basal primate traits, such as divergent digits on their hands and feet and nails instead of claws. However, their brain-to-body size ratio is smaller than that of anthropoid primates, lemurs are generally the most social of the strepsirrhine primates and communicate more with scents and vocalizations than with visual signals. Many lemur adaptations are in response to Madagascars highly seasonal environment, lemurs have relatively low basal metabolic rates and may exhibit seasonal breeding, dormancy, or female social dominance. Most eat a variety of fruits and leaves, while some are specialists. Although many share similar diets, different species of lemur share the same forests by differentiating niches, Lemur research during the 18th and 19th centuries focused on taxonomy and specimen collection. Although field observations trickled in from early explorers, modern studies of lemur ecology, initially hindered by political instability and turmoil on Madagascar during the mid-1970s, field studies resumed in the 1980s and have greatly increased the understanding of these primates. Research facilities like the Duke Lemur Center have provided research opportunities under more controlled settings, lemurs are important for research because their mix of ancestral characteristics and traits shared with anthropoid primates can yield insights on primate and human evolution. However, many species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss. Although local traditions generally help protect lemurs and their forests, illegal logging, widespread poverty, Carl Linnaeus, the founder of modern binomial nomenclature, gave lemurs their name as early as 1758, when he used it in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae. He included three species under the genus Lemur, Lemur tardigradus, Lemur catta, and Lemur volans, although the term lemur was first intended for slender lorises, it was soon limited to the endemic Malagasy primates, which have been known as lemurs ever since. The name derives from the Latin term lemures, which refers to specters or ghosts that were exorcised during the Lemuria festival of ancient Rome, according to Linnaeus own explanation, the name was selected because of the nocturnal activity and slow movements of the slender loris. Being familiar with the works of Virgil and Ovid and seeing an analogy that fit with his naming scheme, Linnaeus adapted the term lemur for these nocturnal primates. However, Dunkel et al. noted in 2012 that it has been commonly and falsely assumed that Linnaeus was referring to the appearance, reflective eyes. Lemurs are primates belonging to the suborder Strepsirrhini, like other strepsirrhine primates, such as lorises, pottos, and galagos, they share ancestral traits with early primates. In this regard, lemurs are popularly confused with ancestral primates, however, lemurs did not give rise to monkeys, instead, they evolved independently in isolation on Madagascar
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Rainforest
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The monsoon trough, alternatively known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating the climatic conditions necessary for the Earths tropical rainforests. Around 40% to 75% of all species are indigenous to the rainforests. It has been estimated there may be many millions of species of plants, insects. Tropical rainforests have been called the jewels of the Earth and the worlds largest pharmacy, the undergrowth in some areas of a rainforest can be restricted by poor penetration of sunlight to ground level. If the leaf canopy is destroyed or thinned, the ground beneath is soon colonized by a dense, tangled growth of vines, shrubs and small trees, the term jungle is also sometimes applied to tropical rainforests generally. Tropical rainforests are characterized by a warm and wet climate with no dry season. Mean monthly temperatures exceed 18 °C during all months of the year, average annual rainfall is no less than 168 cm and can exceed 1,000 cm although it typically lies between 175 cm and 200 cm. Many of the tropical forests are associated with the location of the monsoon trough. The broader category of tropical moist forests are located in the zone between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. Tropical forests have been called the Earths lungs, although it is now known that rainforests contribute little net oxygen addition to the atmosphere through photosynthesis, Tropical forests cover a large part of the globe, but temperate rainforests only occur in few regions around the world. Temperate rainforests are rainforests in temperate regions and they occur in North America, in Europe, in East Asia, in South America and also in Australia and New Zealand. A tropical rainforest typically has a number of layers, each with different plants, examples include the emergent, canopy, understorey and forest floor layers. They need to be able to withstand the hot temperatures and strong winds that occur above the canopy in some areas, eagles, butterflies, bats and certain monkeys inhabit this layer. The canopy layer contains the majority of the largest trees, typically 30 metres to 45 metres tall, the densest areas of biodiversity are found in the forest canopy, a more or less continuous cover of foliage formed by adjacent treetops. The canopy, by some estimates, is home to 50 percent of all plant species, epiphytic plants attach to trunks and branches, and obtain water and minerals from rain and debris that collects on the supporting plants. The fauna is similar to found in the emergent layer. A quarter of all species are believed to exist in the rainforest canopy. Scientists have long suspected the richness of the canopy as a habitat, true exploration of this habitat only began in the 1980s, when scientists developed methods to reach the canopy, such as firing ropes into the trees using crossbows
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Madagascar
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Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar, and numerous smaller peripheral islands, consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot, over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The islands diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the growing human population. The first archaeological evidence for human foraging on Madagascar dates to 2000 BC, human settlement of Madagascar occurred between 350 BC and AD550 by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo. These were joined around AD1000 by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel from East Africa, other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is divided into 18 or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands. Until the late 18th century, the island of Madagascar was ruled by an assortment of shifting sociopolitical alliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, most of the island was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Madagascar by a series of Merina nobles, the monarchy collapsed in 1897 when the island was absorbed into the French colonial empire, from which the island gained independence in 1960. The autonomous state of Madagascar has since undergone four major constitutional periods, since 1992, the nation has officially been governed as a constitutional democracy from its capital at Antananarivo. However, in an uprising in 2009, president Marc Ravalomanana was made to resign. Constitutional governance was restored in January 2014, when Hery Rajaonarimampianina was named president following a 2013 election deemed fair, Madagascar is a member of the United Nations, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the Southern African Development Community. Madagascar belongs to the group of least developed countries, according to the United Nations, Malagasy and French are both official languages of the state. The majority of the population adheres to traditional beliefs, Christianity, ecotourism and agriculture, paired with greater investments in education, health, and private enterprise, are key elements of Madagascars development strategy. As of 2017, the economy has been weakened by the 2009-2013 political crisis, in the Malagasy language, the island of Madagascar is called Madagasikara and its people are referred to as Malagasy. The islands appellation Madagascar is not of origin, but rather was popularized in the Middle Ages by Europeans. On St. Laurences Day in 1500, Portuguese explorer Diogo Dias landed on the island, polos name was preferred and popularized on Renaissance maps. At 592,800 square kilometres, Madagascar is the worlds 47th largest country, the country lies mostly between latitudes 12°S and 26°S, and longitudes 43°E and 51°E. Neighboring islands include the French territory of Réunion and the country of Mauritius to the east, as well as the state of Comoros, the nearest mainland state is Mozambique, located to the west
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Malagasy language
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Malagasy is an Austronesian language and the national language of Madagascar. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere, the Malagasy language is the westernmost member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. Its distinctiveness from nearby African languages was noted in 1708 by the Dutch scholar Adriaan Reland and it is related to the Malayo-Polynesian languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and more closely to the East Barito languages spoken in Borneo except for its Polynesian morphophonemics. According to Roger Blench, the earliest form of language spoken on Madagascar could have had some non-Austronesian substrata, Madagascar was first settled by Austronesian peoples from Maritime Southeast Asia who had passed through Borneo. 1000, the original Austronesian settlers mixed with Bantus and Arabs, there is evidence that the predecessor of the Malagasy dialects first arrived in the southern stretch of the east coast of Madagascar. Malagasy has a tradition of arts and poetic histories and legends. The most well-known is the epic, Ibonia, about a Malagasy folk hero of the same name. The Malagasy language is the language spoken on the island of Madagascar. It is also spoken by Malagasy communities on neighboring Indian Ocean islands such as Réunion, large expatriate Malagasy communities speaking the language also exist in France, Québec, and to a lesser extent Belgium and Washington DC. The Merina dialect of Malagasy is considered the language of Madagascar. It is one of two official languages alongside French in the 2010 constitution putting in place the Fourth Republic, previously, under the 2007 constitution, Malagasy was one of three official languages alongside French and English. Ethnologue encodes a dozen varieties of Malagasy as distinct languages and they have about a 70% similarity in lexicon with Merina dialect. The two main dialects of Malagasy are easily distinguished by several phonological features, the language has a written literature going back presumably to the 15th century. When the French established Fort-Dauphin in the 17th century, they found an Arabico-Malagasy script in use and this Arabic Ajami script was mainly used for astrological and magical texts. The first bilingual renderings of religious texts are those by Étienne de Flacourt, who also published the first dictionary of the language. The Malagasy alphabet consists of 21 letters, a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, v, y, z. The orthography maps rather straightforwardly to the phonemic inventory, the letters i and y both represent the /i/ sound, while o is pronounced /u/. The affricates /ʈʂ/ and /ɖʐ/ are written tr and dr, respectively, while /ts/ and /dz/ are written ts, the letter h is often silent
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Snout
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A snout is the protruding portion of an animals face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals the equivalent structure is called a muzzle, rostrum or proboscis, the wet, naked surface around the nostrils of the nose of some animals is known as the rhinarium. The rhinarium is often associated with a sense of olfaction. The snout is considered a point on most animals, because of its structure. Snouts are found on other mammals in a variety of shapes. Some animals, including ursines and great cats, have box-like snouts, while others, pig snouts are flat and cylindrical. The muzzle begins at the stop, just below the eyes, in the domestic dog, most of the upper muzzle contains organs for detecting scents. The loose flaps of skin on the sides of the muzzle that hang to different lengths over the mouth are called flews. It is innervated by one of the pairs of cranial nerves. These nerves start in the brain and emerge through the skull to their target organs, other destinations of these nerves are eyeballs, teeth and tongue. The muzzle shape of a domestic dog ranges in shape depending upon the breed, from long and thin, as in the Rough Collie, to nearly nonexistent because it is so flat
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Diadem
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A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. The word derives from the Greek διάδημα diádēma, band or fillet, from διαδέω diadéō, I bind round, such ribbons were also used to crown victorious athletes in important sports games in antiquity. It was later applied to a crown, generally in a circular or fillet shape. For example, the worn by Juliana was a diadem. The ancient Celts were believed to have used a thin, semioval gold plate called a mind as a diadem. Some of the earliest examples of types of crowns can be found in ancient Egypt, from the simple fabric type to the more elaborate metallic type. A diadem is also a jewelled ornament in the shape of a crown, worn by women. In some societies, it may be a wreath worn around the head, the ancient Persians wore a high and erect royal tiara encircled with a diadem. Hera, queen of the Greek gods, wore a crown called the diadem. By extension, diadem can be used generally for an emblem of power or dignity. The head regalia worn by Roman Emperors, from the time of Diocletian onwards, is described as a diadem in the original sources and it was this object that the Foederatus general Odoacer returned to Emperor Zeno after his expulsion of the usurper Romulus Augustus from Rome in 476 CE. Civic crown Tainia Fillet Tiara Diadem
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Nape
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The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is referred to by the word nucha, an English and French word for the nape of the neck is nuque. In many mammals, the nape is the site of the scruff, in traditional Japanese culture, the nape was one of the few areas of the body left uncovered by womens attire. The nape of a neck held a strong attraction for many Japanese men. The nape is sometimes a target of body piercing
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Neck
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The neck is the part of the body, on many vertebrates, that separates the head from the torso or trunk. It contains blood vessels and nerves that supply structures in the head to the body. These in humans include part of the esophagus, the larynx, trachea, and thyroid gland, major blood vessels including the arteries and jugular veins. In anatomy, the neck is called by its Latin names, cervix or collum, although when used alone, in context, the word cervix more often refers to the uterine cervix. Thus the adjective cervical may refer either to the neck or to the uterine cervix, the neck contains vessels that links structures in the head to the body. In humans these structures include part of the esophagus, larynx, trachea, thyroid and parathyroid glands, lymph nodes, major blood vessels present include the carotid arteries and the jugular veins. Cervical lymph nodes surround the blood vessels, the thyroid gland and parathyroid gland are endocrine glands involved in the regulation of cellular metabolism and growth, and blood calcium levels. The shape of the neck in humans is formed from the part of the vertebral column at the back. Around these sit soft tissues, including muscles, and between and around these sit the other structures mentioned above, muscles of the neck attach to the base of the skull, the hyoid bone, the clavicles and the sternum. The large platysma, sternocleidomastoid muscles contribute to the shape at the front, a number of other muscles attach to and stem from the hyoid bone, facilitating speech and playing a role in swallowing. Sensation to the front areas of the neck comes from the roots of nerves C2-4, the cervical region of the human spine is made up of seven cervical vertebrae referred to as C-1 to C-7, with cartilaginous discs between each vertebral body. The spinal cord sits within the part of the vertebral column. The spinal column carries nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body, from top to bottom the cervical spine is gently curved in convex-forward fashion. In addition to coming from and within the human spine. In the middle line below the chin can be felt the body of the bone, just below which is the prominence of the thyroid cartilage called Adams apple. Still lower the cricoid cartilage is easily felt, while between this and the notch the trachea and isthmus of the thyroid gland may be made out. At the side the outline of the muscle is the most striking mark. The upper part of the former contains the submaxillary gland also known as the submandibular glands, the line of the common and the external carotid arteries may be marked by joining the sterno-clavicular articulation to the angle of the jaw
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Skin
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Skin is the soft outer tissue covering vertebrates. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton have different developmental origin, structure, the adjective cutaneous means of the skin. In mammals, the skin is an organ of the system made up of multiple layers of ectodermal tissue. Skin of a different nature exists in amphibians, reptiles, all mammals have some hair on their skin, even marine mammals like whales, dolphins, and porpoises which appear to be hairless. The skin interfaces with the environment and is the first line of defense from external factors, for example, the skin plays a key role in protecting the body against pathogens and excessive water loss. Its other functions are insulation, temperature regulation, sensation, severely damaged skin may heal by forming scar tissue. This is sometimes discoloured and depigmented, the thickness of skin also varies from location to location on an organism. The skin on the palms and the soles of the feet is 4 mm thick, the speed and quality of wound healing in skin is promoted by the reception of estrogen. Primarily, fur augments the insulation the skin provides but can serve as a secondary sexual characteristic or as camouflage. On some animals, the skin is hard and thick. Reptiles and fish have hard scales on their skin for protection. Amphibian skin is not a barrier, especially regarding the passage of chemicals via skin and is often subject to osmosis. For example, a sitting in an anesthetic solution would be sedated quickly. Amphibian skin plays key roles in everyday survival and their ability to exploit a range of habitats. Keratinocytes are the cells, constituting 95% of the epidermis, while Merkel cells, melanocytes. Keratinocytes from the stratum corneum are eventually shed from the surface, the epidermis contains no blood vessels, and cells in the deepest layers are nourished by diffusion from blood capillaries extending to the upper layers of the dermis. The epidermis and dermis are separated by a sheet of fibers called the basement membrane. The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress
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Gland
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A gland is an organ in an animals body that synthesizes substances for release into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface. Every gland is formed by an ingrowth from an epithelial surface and this ingrowth may in the beginning possess a tubular structure, but in other instances glands may start as a solid column of cells which subsequently becomes tubulated. As growth proceeds, the column of cells may divide or give off offshoots, in many glands, the number of branches is limited, in others a very large structure is finally formed by repeated growth and sub-division. As a rule, the branches do not unite with one another, but in one instance, the liver, glands are classified according to their shape. If the gland retains its shape as a tube throughout it is termed a tubular gland, in the second main variety of gland the secretory portion is enlarged and the lumen variously increased in size. These are termed alveolar or saccular glands, glands are divided based on their function into two groups, Endocrine glands secrete substances that circulate through the blood stream. These glands that secrete their products through the basal lamina into the blood stream and these glands often secrete hormones, and play an important role in maintaining homeostasis. The pineal gland, thymus gland, pituitary gland, thyroid gland, exocrine glands secrete their products through a duct onto an outer surface of the body, such as the skin or the gastrointestinal tract. Secretion is directly onto the apical surface, the glands in this group can be divided into three groups, Apocrine glands a portion of the secreting cells body is lost during secretion. E. g. mammary gland, sweat gland of arm pit, pubic region, skin around anus, lips, holocrine glands the entire cell disintegrates to secrete its substances, meibomian and zeis glands. Merocrine glands cells secrete their substances by exocytosis, E. g. max sweat gland of humans, goblet cells, salivary gland, tear gland, intestinal glands. The type of product of exocrine glands may also be one of three categories, Serous glands secrete a watery, often protein-rich, fluid-like product, e. g. sweat glands. Mucous glands secrete a viscous product, rich in carbohydrates, e. g. goblet cells, sebaceous glands secrete a lipid product. These glands are known as oil glands, e. g. Fordyce spots. Adenosis is any disease of a gland, the diseased gland has abnormal formation or development of glandular tissue which is sometimes tumorous. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
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Throat
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In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, positioned in front of the vertebra. It contains the pharynx and larynx, an important section of it is the epiglottis, which is a flap separating the esophagus from the trachea preventing food and drink being inhaled into the lungs. The throat contains various blood vessels, pharyngeal muscles, the nasopharyngeal tonsil, the tonsils, the uvula, the trachea, the esophagus. Mammal throats consist of two bones, the bone and the clavicle. The throat is sometimes thought to be synonymous for the isthmus of the fauces and it works with the mouth, ears and nose, as well as a number of other parts of the body. Its pharynx is connected to the mouth, allowing speech to occur and it is joined to the nose by the nasopharynx at the top of the throat, and to ear by its Eustachian tube. The throats trachea carries inhaled air to the bronchi of the lungs, the esophagus carries food through the throat to the stomach. Adenoids and tonsils help prevent infection and are composed of lymph tissue, the larynx contains vocal chords, the epiglottis, and an area known as the subglottic larynx—the narrowest section of the upper part of the throat. In the larynx, the vocal cords consist of two membranes that act according to the pressure of the air, the Jugulum is a low part of the throat, located slightly above the breast. The term Jugulum is reflected both by the internal and external jugular veins, which pass through the Jugulum, strep throat Tracheotomy Tonsilloliths Throat singing
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Madagascar lowland forests
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They are included in the Global 200 list of outstanding ecoregions. The ecoregion constitutes a narrow strip of lowland forests between Madagascars east coast and the central highlands, from sea level to 800 metres elevation. It covers an area of approximately 112,600 square kilometres, the lowland forests extend from Marojejy in the north to the southeast corner of the island. At the northern edge of ecoregion around Vohemar, the moist forests transition to the drier Madagascar dry deciduous forests ecoregion, to the east, at approximately 800 metres elevation, the lowland forests transition gradually to the Madagascar subhumid forests ecoregion. The lowland forests are characterized by evergreen forests, 82% of which is endemic species. Typical canopy species include Dalbergia, Diospyros, Ocotea, Symphonia, and Tambourissa, emergents of Canarium, Albizia, the lowland forests have a rich diversity of Pandanus, palm, bamboo, and epiphytic orchid species. At higher elevations the trees become shorter and have a denser undergrowth, the lowland forests represent a great reservoir of diversity and endemism. Nearly all of Madagascars endemic mammal genera are represented there, including all five families of lemurs, as well as lemurs, the forest are home to seven endemic genera of rodents, six endemic genera of carnivorans and several species of bat. Rare animals include the brown-tailed mongoose, of the 165 bird species found here 42 are endemic to the region, such as the rare red-tailed newtonia. The freshwater fish population, with more than 100 endemic species, is also unique, a famous extinct species is Delalandes coua which has not been seen since the 19th century. Madagascars lowland rainforests have been preserved better than the high central plateau. Widespread slash-and-burn activity in the lowland rainforests is one of the major reasons, slash-and-burn is a method sometimes used by shifting cultivators to create short term yields from marginal soils. When practiced repeatedly, or without intervening fallow periods, the soils may be exhausted or eroded to an unproductive state. Another threat is the exploitation of some species, such as palms
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Global 200
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The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by WWF, the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. So, for example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, the WWF assigns a conservation status to each ecoregion in the Global 200, critical or endangered, vulnerable, and relatively stable or intact. Over half of the ecoregions in the Global 200 are rated endangered, the WWF has identified 867 terrestrial ecoregions across the Earths land surface, as well as freshwater and marine ecoregions. The goal of classification system is to ensure that the full range of ecosystems will be represented in regional conservation. Of these ecoregions, the WWF selected the Global 200 as the ecoregions most crucial to the conservation of global biodiversity, the Global 200 list actually contains 238 ecoregions, made up of 142 terrestrial,53 freshwater, and 43 marine ecoregions. Several habitats, such as Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, were determined to be more threatened than tropical rain forests, historically, zoologists and botanists have developed various classification systems that take into account the worlds plant and animal communities. Two of the classification systems most commonly used today were summarized by Miklos Udvardy in 1975. The biome system classifies the world into ecosystem types based on climate, each biogeographical realm contains multiple biomes, and biomes occur across several biogeographical realms. The WWF system represents a refinement of the system of biomes, biogeographical realms. Based on a comprehensive list of ecoregions, The Global 200 includes all major types, all ecosystem types. It focuses on each major type of every continent. It uses ecoregions as the unit of scale for comparison, WWF say ecoregions could be considered as conservation units at regional scale because they meet similar biological communities. Some ecoregions were selected over other ecoregions of the major habitat type or ecozone. Selection of the Global 200 relied on studies of 19 terrestrial, freshwater. Selection of the ecoregions was based on analyses of species richness, species endemism, unique higher taxa, unusual ecological or evolutionary phenomena, and global rarity of major habitat type. Global 200 ecoregion list is most helpful to conservation efforts at a scale, local deforestation, destruction of swamp habitats, degradation of soils. However, certain phenomena, such as bird or whale migration, depend on more complex parameters not used to define the current database, such as atmospheric currents and these would require gathering more information, and co-ordination of efforts between multiple ecoregions. However, the Global 200 ecoregions can help these efforts by identifying habitat sites and it may also help identify the origin of invasive species, and offer insights for slowing down or stopping their intrusion
28.
Mananara River
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The Mananara River is one of the main rivers in eastern Madagascar. Its mouth is located at the Indian Ocean near the city of Vangaindrano in the Atsimo-Atsinanana region, the Mananara is formed by the merger of the Menarahaka, Itomampy, and Ionaivo. The Ionavio rises on the slopes of Tsimahamory peak, at an elevation of 1500m. The Itomampy rises not far from the Ionaivo, about 40 km from the Indian Ocean, at approximately 1600m, the Menarahaka rises in the Andringitra massif, at approximately 2000m elevation. It is joined by the Sahambano before joining the Ionaivo
29.
Cline (biology)
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In biology and ecology, an ecocline or simply cline is an ecotone in which a series of biocommunities display a continuous gradient. The term was coined by the English evolutionary biologist Julian Huxley in 1938, genetically, clines result from the change of allele frequencies within the gene pool of the group of taxa in question. Clines may manifest in time and/or space, in ecology, spatial clines have led to gradient analysis where the abundance and distribution of organisms is rendered by sinusoidal curves on the plane. From these curves can be extracted that populations occupy zones of maximum and minimum presence, according to their special needs and tolerances imposed by their environment. Typically, a well-marked cline does not allow for a delineation of subspecies, as it is impossible, by definition. Regardless, in neither case will such a variation yield different species, as long as the populations, though geographically spread, the populations elsewhere along the cline interbreed with their geographically adjacent populations as in a standard cline. Ring species present a problem for those who seek to divide the living world into discrete species. However a recent study has provided evidence that this example is far more complicated than presented here. Allometric engineering Ecotype Human skin color Isolation by distance Polymorphism Race
30.
Milne-Edwards' sifaka
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Milne-Edwards sifaka, or Milne-Edwards simpona, is a large arboreal, diurnal lemur endemic to the eastern coastal rainforest of Madagascar. Milne-Edwards sifaka is characterized by a body with a light-colored saddle on the lower part of its back. It is closely related to the sifaka, and was until recently considered a subspecies of it. Like all sifakas, it is a primate in the family Indriidae, Milne-Edwards sifaka is categorized as endangered by the IUCN. As of 2008 there were estimated to be approximately 28600 individuals left with only about 3500 of those remaining in protected areas and it remains threatened by habitat loss, hunting and may be sensitive to a changing climate. Milne-Edwards sifaka is the second largest species in Propithecus, and one of the larger lemur species overall. The average weight of a male Milne-Edwards sifaka is 5.90 kg, the body length excluding the tail is 47.6 cm for males and females measure 47.7 cm. The tail is shorter than the body, averaging 455 mm in length or about 94% of the total head. The Milne-Edwards sifaka has a typical Propithecus body shape with orange-red eyes, the shape and coloration of the saddle patch vary by individual. The Milne-Edwards sifaka exhibit neither sexual dimorphism nor sexual dichromatism, as with all lemurs, the Milne-Edwards sifaka has special adaptations for grooming, including a toilet-claw on its second toe, and a toothcomb. The hands and feet of the lemur have prehensile thumbs and big toes, the pads of its fingers and toes are rough and have a large contact area. Its nails are also sharp and pointed, which allows them to dig in if it slips, the big toe of the Milne-Edwards sifaka and indrids in general is longer and has a deeper cleft compared to that of lemurids. This is thought to reflect stronger grasping abilities, the arboreal lifestyle of P. edwardsi demands high coordination, a well-developed grip, and considerable acrobatics. This lemur moves by vertical clinging and leaping, meaning it maintains an upright position leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk and it leaping between trees, the Milne-Edwards sifaka performs a 180 degree twist in midair so that it is facing the incoming landing target. Primarily movements of the arms but also those of the tail are used to adjust the bodys rotation, when landing, the Milne-Edwards sifaka swings its tail and outstretched forearms downward to help keep the body forward much like a long-jumper. The tail and one arm is flung forward turing takeoff, Milne-Edwards sifakas can probably leap between 8 to 10 m. The lemur rarely descends from the safety of the canopy. P. edwardsi will solely use trees to traverse its habitat, the Milne-Edwards sifaka can hang from its hind legs upside-down
31.
Evolution
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Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. Evolutionary processes give rise to biodiversity at every level of organisation, including the levels of species, individual organisms. In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the LUCA of all living on Earth. The fossil record includes a progression from early biogenic graphite, to microbial mat fossils, existing patterns of biodiversity have been shaped both by speciation and by extinction. More than 99 percent of all species that lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct. Estimates of Earths current species range from 10 to 14 million, more recently, in May 2016, scientists reported that 1 trillion species are estimated to be on Earth currently with only one-thousandth of one percent described. In the mid-19th century, Charles Darwin formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection. This teleonomy is the quality whereby the process of natural selection creates and preserves traits that are fitted for the functional roles they perform. The processes by which the changes occur, from one generation to another, are called evolutionary processes or mechanisms, the four most widely recognized evolutionary processes are natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene migration. Natural selection and genetic drift sort variation, mutation and gene migration create variation, consequences of selection can include meiotic drive, nonrandom mating and genetic hitchhiking. In the early 20th century the modern evolutionary synthesis integrated classical genetics with Darwins theory of evolution by natural selection through the discipline of population genetics, the importance of natural selection as a cause of evolution was accepted into other branches of biology. Moreover, previously held notions about evolution, such as orthogenesis, evolutionism, evolutionary computation, a sub-field of artificial intelligence, involves the application of Darwinian principles to problems in computer science. The proposal that one type of organism could descend from another type goes back to some of the first pre-Socratic Greek philosophers, such as Anaximander, such proposals survived into Roman times. The poet and philosopher Lucretius followed Empedocles in his masterwork De rerum natura, in contrast to these materialistic views, Aristotelianism considered all natural things as actualisations of fixed natural possibilities, known as forms. This was part of a teleological understanding of nature in which all things have an intended role to play in a divine cosmic order. In the 17th century, the new method of modern science rejected the Aristotelian approach, however, this new approach was slow to take root in the biological sciences, the last bastion of the concept of fixed natural types. The biological classification introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1735 explicitly recognized the nature of species relationships. Other naturalists of this time speculated on the change of species over time according to natural laws
32.
DNA
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Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses. DNA and RNA are nucleic acids, alongside proteins, lipids and complex carbohydrates, most DNA molecules consist of two biopolymer strands coiled around each other to form a double helix. The two DNA strands are termed polynucleotides since they are composed of simpler units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is composed of one of four nitrogen-containing nucleobases—cytosine, guanine, adenine, or thymine —a sugar called deoxyribose, and a phosphate group. The nucleotides are joined to one another in a chain by covalent bonds between the sugar of one nucleotide and the phosphate of the next, resulting in an alternating sugar-phosphate backbone. The nitrogenous bases of the two polynucleotide strands are bound together, according to base pairing rules, with hydrogen bonds to make double-stranded DNA. The total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 1037, in comparison the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as 4 trillion tons of carbon. The DNA backbone is resistant to cleavage, and both strands of the double-stranded structure store the same biological information and this information is replicated as and when the two strands separate. A large part of DNA is non-coding, meaning that these sections do not serve as patterns for protein sequences, the two strands of DNA run in opposite directions to each other and are thus antiparallel. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of nucleobases and it is the sequence of these four nucleobases along the backbone that encodes biological information. RNA strands are created using DNA strands as a template in a process called transcription, under the genetic code, these RNA strands are translated to specify the sequence of amino acids within proteins in a process called translation. Within eukaryotic cells DNA is organized into structures called chromosomes. During cell division these chromosomes are duplicated in the process of DNA replication, eukaryotic organisms store most of their DNA inside the cell nucleus and some of their DNA in organelles, such as mitochondria or chloroplasts. In contrast prokaryotes store their DNA only in the cytoplasm, within the eukaryotic chromosomes, chromatin proteins such as histones compact and organize DNA. These compact structures guide the interactions between DNA and other proteins, helping control which parts of the DNA are transcribed, DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher in 1869. DNA is used by researchers as a tool to explore physical laws and theories, such as the ergodic theorem. The unique material properties of DNA have made it an attractive molecule for material scientists and engineers interested in micro-, among notable advances in this field are DNA origami and DNA-based hybrid materials. DNA is a polymer made from repeating units called nucleotides
33.
Andasibe-Mantadia National Park
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The parks elevation ranges from 800–1260 meters, with a humid climate. Average annual precipitation is 1700 mm, with rainfall on 210 days of each year and this rainforest is habitat to a vast species biodiversity, including many endemic rare species and endangered species, including 11 lemur species. The parks two component parts are Mantadia National Park and Analamazoatra Reserve, which is best known for its population of Madagascars largest lemur and this national park was nominated in 2007 to become part of the World Heritage Site of Rainforests of the Atsinanana. But these forests were not selected for the final list and this is one of the easiest parks in Madagascar to visit from the capital city, Antananarivo, with a 3-hour drive east on a paved road, Route Nationale 2. While Analamazaotra and park headquarters are short walks from Antsapanana on the RN2, hikes ranging from 1–6 hours are typically available in both parts of the park. A local guide is required for entering either part of the park. However logging and deforestation for farming has resulted in these parks now being isolated, the main threat to this park comes from the disappearance of adjoining habitat outside the park. In 2006 the Analamazaotra Re-introduction/Translocation project was initiated to reintroduce two endangered species of lemur back into the park, the aim was to take lemurs from threatened areas where habitat loss means the incumbent population is unsustainable, and relocate them to the relative safety of the Analamazaotra Special Reserve. The program followed the IUCN re-introduction/translocation guidelines, with family group monitoring before, by 2014, the ART project had reintroduced three group comprising 26 diademed sifaka and 8 black-and-white ruffed lemur into the park. The project has so far been successful, and visitors to this popular reserve have been lucky enough to see two generations of babies born at the park. The ART project also helps the community by education and provides two local guides
34.
Antananarivo
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Antananarivo, then temporarily French Tananarive, also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The larger urban area surrounding the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra, is the capital of Analamanga region. The city is located 1,280 m above the sea level in the center of the island, all 18 Malagasy ethnic groups, as well as residents of Chinese, Indian, European and other origins, are well represented in the city. Antananarivo is the political, economic, educational and cultural heart of Madagascar, the Presidency, National Assembly, Senate and Supreme Court are located here, as are 21 diplomatic missions and the headquarters of many national and international businesses and NGOs. Antananarivo also hosts the largest number of universities, nightclubs, art venues, medical services, several national and local sports teams, including the championship-winning national rugby team, the Makis, and several basketball and football teams, are based in Antananarivo. Declaring it the site of his capital, Andrianjaka built a rova that expanded to become the palaces of the Kingdom of Imerina. The city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Imerina from its founding until 1710 and his diplomatic and military successes extended Imerina far beyond its traditional borders, bringing the lands of neighboring ethnic groups under Merina control. Antananarivo remained the capital after Madagascar was colonized by the French in 1897. This neighborhood was developed under French rule and continues to serve as the capitals economic heart. The city is managed by the Commune Urbaine dAntananarivo under the direction of its President of the Special Delegation, Ny Havana Andriamanjato, Antananarivo was originally the site of a town called Analamanga, meaning Blue Forest in the central highlands dialect of the Malagasy language. Analamanga was established by a community of Vazimba, the islands first occupants, Andrianjaka, king of the Merina people who migrated to the region from the southeast coast, seized the location as the site of his capital city. According to oral history, he deployed a garrison of 1,000 soldiers to successfully capture, the hill and its city retained the name Analamanga until the reign of King Andriamasinavalona, who renamed it Antananarivo in honor of Andrianjakas soldiers. Unlike most capital cities in southern Africa, Antananarivo was already a city before the colonial era. The city was established in around 1610 or 1625 according to varying accounts, early Merina kings used fanampoana to construct a massive system of irrigated paddy fields and dikes around the city to provide adequate rice for the growing population. These paddy fields, of which the largest is called the Betsimitatatra, successive Merina sovereigns ruled over the Kingdom of Imerina from Analamanga through King Andriamasinavalonas reign. Andriamasinavalona designated specific territories for the hova and each andriana subcaste, numerous fady, including injunctions against the construction of wooden houses by non-nobles and the presence of swine within the city limits, were imposed. Upon Andriamasinavalonas death in 1710, Imerina split into four warring quadrants, during the 77-year civil war that followed, the eastern districts capital at Ambohimanga rose in prominence. The last king of Ambohimanga, Andrianampoinimerina, successfully conquered Antananarivo in 1793, he reunited the provinces of Imerina and he moved the kingdoms political capital back to Antananarivo in 1794, and declared Ambohimanga the kingdoms spiritual capital, a role it still maintains
35.
Scent gland
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Scent glands are exocrine glands found in most mammals. They produce semi-viscous secretions which contain pheromones and other semiochemical compounds and these odor-messengers indicate information such as status, territorial marking, mood, and sexual power. The odor may be subliminal—not consciously detectable, though it is not their primary function, the salivary glands may also function as scent glands in some animals. The even-toed ungulates have many specialized skin glands, the secretions of which are involved in semiochemical communication and these glands include the sudoriferous glands, the preorbital glands, the nasal glands, the interdigital glands, the preputial gland, the metatarsal glands, and the tarsal glands. Like many other species of Artiodactyla, deer have seven major external scent glands distributed throughout their bodies, deer rely heavily on these scent glands to communicate with other members of their species, and possibly even with members of other species. For example, male white-tailed deer are seen working over a scrape. First, the animal scrapes at the dirt with its hooves, after that, he may bite the tip off an overhanging branch, depositing secretions from his salivary glands onto the branch. He may then rub his face on the branch, depositing secretions from the sudoriferous. The tarsal gland appears to operate by a different mechanism than the other external scent glands, a behavior called rub-urination is central to this mechanism. During rub-urination, the animal squats while urinating so that urine will run down the insides of its legs, the tarsal glands have a tuft of hair which is specially adapted to extract certain chemical compounds from the animals urine. For example, in the deer, the major constituent of the tarsal gland secretion is a lipid. This compound does not originate in the gland itself. In white-tailed deer, the presence and concentration of chemical compounds in the urine depend on the season, gender, reproductive status. This fact, along with the observation of behavior in this animal indicates that urine probably plays a role in olfactory communication in deer
36.
Territory (animal)
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In ethology, territory is the sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics. Animals that defend territories in this way are referred to as territorial, territoriality is only shown by a minority of species. More commonly, an individual or a group of animals has an area that it habitually uses but does not necessarily defend, this is called the home range. The home ranges of different groups of animals often overlap, or in the overlap areas, within the home range there may be a core area that no other individual group uses, but, again, this is as a result of avoidance. The ultimate function of animals inhabiting and defending a territory is to increase the fitness or inclusive fitness of the animals expressing the behaviour. Fitness in this biological sense relates to the ability of an animal to survive, the proximate functions of territory defense vary. For some animals, the reason for such behaviour is to acquire and protect food sources, nesting sites, mating areas. Territories have been classified as six types, Type A, An all-purpose territory in which all activities occur, e. g. courtship, mating, nesting and foraging Type B, A mating and nesting territory, not including most of the area used for foraging. Type C, A nesting territory which includes the nest plus an area around it. Type D, A pairing and mating territory, the type of territory defended by males in lekking species. Type F, Winter territory which typically includes foraging areas and roost sites, may be equivalent to the Type A territory, or for a migratory species, may be on the wintering grounds. Reports of territory size can be confused by a lack of distinction between home range and the defended territory, the size and shape of a territory can vary according to its purpose, season, the amount and quality of resources it contains, or the geography. The size is usually a compromise of resource needs, defense costs, predation pressure, some species of squirrels may claim as much as 10 hectares of territory. For European badgers, a home range may be as small as 30 hectares in a rural habitat. On average, a territory may be approximately 50 hectares, with main setts normally at least 500 metres apart. In urban areas, territories can be as small as 5 hectares, if they can obtain food from bird tables. Spotted hyenas have highly variable territory sizes, ranging from less than 4,000 hectares in the Ngorongoro Crater to over 100,000 hectares in the Kalahari, sanderlings forage on beaches and sandflats. When on beaches, they feed either in flocks or individual territories of 10 to 120 metres of shoreline, the time to develop territories varies between animals
37.
Red-bellied lemur
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The red-bellied lemur is a medium-sized strepsirrhine primate with a luxuriant chestnut brown coat. This lemur is endemic to eastern Madagascan rainforests and is distinguished by patches of skin below the eyes, giving rise to a teardrop effect. The species, first identified in the year 1850, exhibits diurnal behaviour, the red-bellied lemur has been studied extensively since the mid-1980s, primarily in Ranomafana National Park. This lemur species is designated as vulnerable according to the IUCN Red List, there are various Malagasy tribal names for the red-bellied lemur including tongo, tagona, halomena, kirioka and soamiera. In the French scientific literature the species is called Lémur à ventre rouge, being sexually dimorphic, the male of the species exhibits a medium-long dense dorsal coat of intense chestnut brown. Ventrally he is lighter and redder in hue, while his tail, muzzle, for the female, the dorsal area and tail resemble the male, whereas the ventral fur is a contrasting white-cream colour. Facial markings are similar to the male, except that tear drops are less exaggerated, typical body mass of a mature individual ranges from 1.6 to 2.4 kilograms. The male has scent glands atop his head, lifespans may easily exceed twenty years for both sexes. Eulemur rubriventer occurs as far north as the Tsaratanana Massif at an elevation of 2,400 metres, in previous eras the range extended further south to the Mananara River. This species is distributed thinly and is restricted only to intact rainforest, E. rubriventer is however easily distinguished from these relatives by the males distinctive white eye tear drops and the rich darkness of the fur of both sexes. A distinction of appearance occurs within E. rubriventer in that northern range males have a distinctive reddish belly than the southern range counterparts. The forest type within the red-bellied lemurs range is characterized by dense evergreen vegetation, typical canopy species include Dalbergia sp. Symphonia sp. and Tambourissa sp. emergents of Canarium sp, albizia sp. and Brochoneura acuminata are also present. The eastern lowland forests also have a diversity of Pandanus sp. bamboo. The red-bellied lemur aggregates in monogamous groups ranging from two to ten individuals and it is one of the few lemurs to be recognized as cathemeral, having both diurnal and nocturnal activity patterns. The home range is estimated to be 25 to 35 acres with a density of five animals per acre. Groups are typically cohesive as they move within their home range, considered by some to be a frugivore, it also feeds on leaves, nectar and flowers of many plant species, this lemur is believed to be a useful and efficient seed disperser. A typical and maximum frequency of births is one offspring per female per year, births normally occur in October and November
38.
Common brown lemur
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The Brown Lemur, is a species of lemur in the family Lemuridae. It is found in Madagascar and Mayotte and they also live on the island of Mayotte, although this population is believed to have been introduced there by man. The common brown lemur has a length of 84 to 101 centimeters. Weight ranges from 2 to 3 kilograms, the short, dense fur is primarily brown or grey-brown. The face, muzzle and crown are dark grey or black with paler patches. Similar lemur species within their range include the mongoose lemur, E. mongoz, in the west and they can be distinguished from these species by the fact that E. mongoz is more of a grey color and E. rubriventer is more reddish. There is also overlap with the black lemur in northeast Madagascar in the Galoko, Manongarivo. There is also overlap and hybridization with the white-fronted brown lemur, E. albifrons, the common brown lemurs diet consists primarily of fruits, young leaves, and flowers. In some locations it eats invertebrates, such as cicadas, spiders and it also eats bark, sap, soil and red clay. It can tolerate levels of toxic compounds from plants than other lemurs can. Consistent with its range, the common brown lemur occupies a variety of forest types, including lowland rainforests, montane rainforests, moist evergreen forests. They spend about 95% of their time in layers of the forest. They normally live in groups of 5 to 12, but group size can be larger, groups occupy home ranges of 1 to 9 hectares in the west, but more than 20 hectares in the east. Groups include members of both sexes, including juveniles, and there are no dominance hierarchies. They are primarily active during the day, but can exhibit cathemeral activity and continue into the night, especially during full moons, in the western part of its range, the common brown lemur overlaps that of the mongoose lemur, and the two species sometimes travel together. In the areas of overlap, the two species also adapt their activity patterns to avoid conflict, for example, the Mongoose Lemur can become primarily nocturnal during the dry season in the areas of overlap. At Berenty there is a population of introduced E. fulvus rufus x collaris and these lemurs show linear hierarchy, adult female dominance, and the presence of conciliatory behavior after aggressions. Additionally, stress levels decrease at the increase of the position of individuals within the social group
39.
Diurnality
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Diurnality is a form of plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day, with a period of sleeping, or other inactivity, at night. The common adjective used for daytime activity is diurnal, the timing of activity by an animal depends on a variety of environmental factors such as the temperature, the ability to gather food by sight, the risk of predation, and the time of year. Diurnality is a cycle of activity within a period, cyclic activities called circadian rhythms are endogenous cycles not dependent on external cues or environmental factors. Animals active at dawn or dusk are crepuscular, those active at night are nocturnal, plants that open their flowers during the day are referred to as diurnal, while those that bloom at night are nocturnal. The timing of opening is often related to the time at which preferred pollinators are foraging. For example, sunflowers open during the day in order to attract bees, many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds. In some animals, especially insects, external patterns of the environment control the activity, diurnality is descriptive, it refers to an observed 24-hour pattern, as opposed to ~24-hour circadian rhythms which are self-sustaining within the organism. In many species, the switches from nocturnal to diurnal foraging depending on the environmental temperature. This allows the individual to maximize its feeding efficiency during the summer and lower its risk of predation during the winter. Diurnal insects include some bees, such as Anthidium maculosum and these carder bees are diurnal and active only when the temperatures are above freezing. They are also most active when there are plenty of such as flowers, from which they can extract pollen. Some primarily nocturnal or crepuscular animals, like dogs and cats, have been domesticated and have become diurnal to coincide with the cycle of human life, however, these animals may exhibit their species original behavior when they are born feral. Other animals have been forced from their normal cycle to a one as a means of avoiding predators. Many plants are diurnal or nocturnal, depending on the period when the most effective pollinators, i. e. insects. Most angiosperm plants are visited by insects, so the flower adapts its phenology to the most effective pollinators. For example, the baobab is pollinated by bats and starts blooming in late afternoon. Services that alternate between high and low utilization in a daily cycle are described as being diurnal, many web sites have the most users during the day and little utilization at night, or vice versa. Operations planners can use this cycle to plan, for example, maintenance that needs to be done when there are fewer users on the web site
40.
Alkaloid
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Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that mostly contain basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties, some synthetic compounds of similar structure are also termed alkaloids. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, alkaloids may also contain oxygen, sulfur and, more rarely, other such as chlorine, bromine. Alkaloids are produced by a variety of organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants. They can be purified from crude extracts of these organisms by acid-base extraction, many have found use in traditional or modern medicine, or as starting points for drug discovery. Other alkaloids possess psychotropic and stimulant activities, and have used in entheogenic rituals or as recreational drugs. Although alkaloids act on a diversity of systems in humans and other animals. The boundary between alkaloids and other nitrogen-containing natural compounds is not clear-cut, Compounds like amino acid peptides, proteins, nucleotides, nucleic acid, amines, and antibiotics are usually not called alkaloids. Natural compounds containing nitrogen in the position are usually classified as amines rather than as alkaloids. Some authors, however, consider alkaloids a special case of amines, the name alkaloids was introduced in 1819 by the German chemist Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Meißner, and is derived from late Latin root Latin, alkali and the suffix Greek, -οειδής – like. However, the term came into use only after the publication of a review article by Oscar Jacobsen in the chemical dictionary of Albert Ladenburg in the 1880s. There is no method of naming alkaloids. Many individual names are formed by adding the suffix ine to the species or genus name, for example, atropine is isolated from the plant Atropa belladonna, strychnine is obtained from the seed of Strychnine tree. If several alkaloids are extracted from one plant then their names often contain suffixes idine, anine, aline, inine etc. There are also at least 86 alkaloids whose names contain the root vin because they are extracted from plants such as Vinca rosea. Alkaloid-containing plants have been used by humans since ancient times for therapeutic, for example, medicinal plants have been known in the Mesopotamia at least around 2000 BC. The Odyssey of Homer referred to a given to Helen by the Egyptian queen. It is believed that the gift was an opium-containing drug, a Chinese book on houseplants written in 1st–3rd centuries BC mentioned a medical use of Ephedra and opium poppies
41.
Arboreal locomotion
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Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them, some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Furthermore, many of these principles may be applied to climbing without trees. The earliest known tetrapod with specializations that adapted it for climbing trees was Suminia, some invertebrate animals are exclusively arboreal in habitat, such as the tree snail. Arboreal habitats pose numerous mechanical challenges to animals moving in them and these challenges include moving on narrow branches, moving up and down inclines, balancing, crossing gaps, and dealing with obstructions. Moving along a narrow surface poses special difficulties to animals, additionally, foot placement is constrained by the need to make contact with the narrow branch. This narrowness severely restricts the range of movements and postures an animal can use to move, branches are frequently oriented at an angle to gravity in arboreal habitats, including being vertical, which poses special problems. As an animal moves up a branch, they must fight the force of gravity to raise their body. Conversely, as the animal descends, it must also fight gravity to control its descent and prevent falling, descent can be particularly problematic for many animals, and highly arboreal species often have specialized methods for controlling their descent. Due to the height of many branches and the disastrous consequences of a fall. On horizontal and gently sloped branches, the problem is tipping to the side due to the narrow base of support. The narrower the branch, the greater the difficulty in balancing a given animal faces, on steep and vertical branches, tipping becomes less of an issue, and pitching backwards or slipping downwards becomes the most likely failure. In this case, large-diameter branches pose a challenge, since the animal cannot place its forelimbs closer to the center of the branch than its hindlimbs. Branches are not continuous, and any arboreal animal must be able to move between gaps in the branches, or even between trees and this can be accomplished by reaching across gaps, by leaping across them or gliding between them. Arboreal habitats often contain many obstructions, both in the form of branches emerging from the one being moved on and other branches impinging on the space the animal needs to move through and these obstructions may impede locomotion, or may be used as additional contact points to enhance it. While obstructions tend to impede limbed animals, they benefit snakes by providing anchor points, arboreal organisms display many specializations for dealing with the mechanical challenges of moving through their habitats. Arboreal animals frequently have elongated limbs that help them cross gaps, reach fruit or other resources, test the firmness of support ahead, however, some species of lizard have reduced limb size that helps them avoid limb movement being obstructed by impinging branches. Many arboreal species, such as porcupines, chameleons, silky anteaters, spider monkeys
42.
Terrestrial animal
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Terrestrial invertebrates include ants, flies, crickets, grasshoppers and snails. The term terrestrial is typically applied for species that live primarily on the ground, in contrast to arboreal species, there are other less common terms that apply to specific groups of terrestrial animals, Saxicolous are rock dwelling creatures. Saxicolus is derived from the Latin word Saxum which means Rocks, arenicolous creatures live in the sand. Terrestrial invasion is one of the most important events in the history of life, Terrestrial lineages evolved in several animal phyla, among which vertebrates, arthropods, and mollusks are representatives of more successful groups of terrestrial animals. Terrestrial animals do not form a clade, rather, they share only the fact that they live on land. The transition from an aquatic to terrestrial life has evolved independently and successfully many times by groups of animals. Most terrestrial lineages originated under a mild or tropical climate during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, roundworms, tardigrades, and rotifers are microscopic animals that require a film of water to live in, and are not considered truly terrestrial. Flatworms, ribbon worms, velvet worms and annelids all depend on more or less moist habitats, labeling an animal species terrestrial or aquatic is often obscure and becomes a matter of judgment. Many animals considered terrestrial have a life-cycle that is dependent on being in water. Penguins, seals, and walruses sleep on land and feed in the ocean, there are crab species that are completely aquatic, crab species that are amphibious, and crab species that are terrestrial. Fiddler crabs are called semi-terrestrial since they make burrows in the muddy substrate, when the tide is out, fiddler crabs search the beach for food. The same is true in the Mollusca, many hundreds of genera and species live in intermediate situations, such as for example. Some gastropods with gills live on land, and others with a live in the water. As well as the terrestrial and the purely aquatic animals. There are no universally accepted criteria for deciding how to label these species, fossil evidence has shown that sea creatures, likely related to arthropods, first began to make forays on to land around 530 million years ago. There is little reason to believe, however, that animals first began living reliably on land around this time period. A more likely hypothesis is that these early arthropods motivation for venturing on to dry land was to mate or lay out of the reach of predators. As such, they are likely the most recent common ancestor of all modern tetrapods, gastropod mollusks are one of the most successful animals that have diversified in the fully terrestrial habitat
43.
Predation
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In an ecosystem, predation is a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey. Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on it, but the act of predation often results in the death of the prey, thus predation is often, though not always, carnivory. Other categories of consumption are herbivory, fungivory, and detritivory, all of these are consumer-resource systems. It can often be difficult to separate various types of feeding behaviors. For example, some parasites prey on their host and then lay their eggs on it, for their offspring to feed on it while it continues to live, the key characteristic of predation is the predators direct impact on the prey population. Selective pressures imposed on one another leads to an evolutionary arms race between prey and predator, resulting in various antipredator adaptations. Ways of classifying predation include grouping by trophic level or diet, by specialization, Predators can be classified by their interactions with their prey. Two factors are considered here, how close the predator and prey are, and whether the prey is killed by the predator. A true predator is one that kills and eats another living thing, Predators may hunt actively for prey in pursuit predation, or sit and wait for prey to approach within striking distance, as in ambush predators. Some predation entails venom that subdues a prey before the predator ingests it, as in the box jellyfish, or disables it, in some cases, the venom contributes to the digestion of the prey, as in rattlesnakes and some spiders. In contrast, baleen whales eat millions of microscopic plankton at once, seed and egg predation are true predation, as seeds and eggs are potential organisms. Predators need not eat prey entirely, for example, some predators cannot digest bones, some may eat only part of an organism, but still consistently cause its death. Grazing organisms do not often kill their prey, while some herbivores like zooplankton live on unicellular phytoplankton and therefore, by the individualized nature of the organism, kill their prey, many others only eat a small part of the plant. Grazing livestock may pull some grass out at the roots, but most is simply grazed upon, kelp is frequently grazed in subtidal kelp forests, but regrows at the base of the blade continuously to cope with browsing pressure. Animals may also be grazed upon, female mosquitos land on hosts briefly to gain sufficient proteins for the development of their offspring, starfish may be grazed on, being capable of regenerating lost arms. Parasites can at times be difficult to distinguish from grazers and their feeding behavior is similar in many ways, however they are noted for their close association with their host species. This close living arrangement may be described by the symbiosis, living together. Parasitic organisms range from the mistletoe, a parasitic plant
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Fossa (animal)
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The fossa is a cat-like, carnivorous mammal endemic to Madagascar. It is a member of the Eupleridae, a family of closely related to the mongoose family. Its classification has been controversial because its physical traits resemble those of cats and its classification, along with that of the other Malagasy carnivores, influenced hypotheses about how many times mammalian carnivores have colonized Madagascar. The fossa is the largest mammalian carnivore on the island of Madagascar and has compared to a small cougar. Adults have a length of 70–80 cm and weigh between 5.5 and 8.6 kg, with the males larger than the females. It has semi-retractable claws and flexible ankles that allow it to climb up and down trees head-first, the fossa is unique within its family for the shape of its genitalia, which share traits with those of cats and hyenas. The species is widespread, although densities are usually low. It is found solely in forested habitat, and actively hunts both by day and night, over 50% of its diet consists of lemurs, the endemic primates found on the island, tenrecs, rodents, lizards, birds, and other animals are also documented as prey. Mating usually occurs in trees on horizontal limbs and can last for several hours, litters range from one to six pups, which are born blind and toothless. Infants wean after 4.5 months and are independent after a year, sexual maturity occurs around three to four years of age, and life expectancy in captivity is 20 years. The fossa is listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and it is generally feared by the Malagasy people and is often protected by their fady. The greatest threat to the species is habitat destruction, the generic name Cryptoprocta refers to how the animals anus is hidden by its anal pouch, from the Ancient Greek words crypto- hidden, and procta anus. The species name ferox is the Latin adjective fierce or wild and its common name is spelled fossa in English or fosa in Malagasy, the Austronesian language from which it was taken, but some authors have adopted the Malagasy spelling in English. The word is similar to posa in the Iban language from Borneo, however, an alternative etymology suggests a link to another word that comes from Malay, pusa refers to the Malayan weasel. The Malay word pusa could have become posa for cats in Borneo, the fossa was formally described by Edward Turner Bennett on the basis of a specimen from Madagascar sent by Charles Telfair in 1833. The common name is the same as the name of the Malagasy civet. Because of shared traits with civets, mongooses, and cats, its classification has been controversial. Bennett originally placed the fossa as a type of civet in the family Viverridae and its compact braincase, large eye sockets, retractable claws, and specialized carnivorous dentition have also led some taxonomists to associate it with the felids
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