1.
Galidiinae
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Galidiinae is a subfamily of carnivorans that is restricted to Madagascar and includes six species classified into four genera. Together with the three species of indigenous Malagasy carnivorans, including the fossa, they are currently classified in the family Eupleridae within the suborder Feliformia. Galidiinae are the smallest of the Malagasy carnivorans, generally weighing about 600 to 900 g and they are agile, short-legged animals with long, bushy tails. The relationship of galidiines to other carnivorans has historically been controversial, accordingly, they were all reclassified into a single family, Eupleridae, which is most closely related to the mongooses of the family Herpestidae. Molecular evidence suggests that Galidia was the earliest to diverge of the four galidiine genera, morphological evidence, on the other hand, supports the relation between Mungotictis and Salanoia, but suggests that Galidictis was the earliest lineage to diverge. All are similar in form to mongooses, sharing with them an agile body supported by short legs, as well as a long, bushy tail. Most galidiines share a dental formula of 3.1.3.23.1.3.2, galidiines are generally found in forest, but the Grandidiers and narrow-striped mongooses live in open habitats. All species dig burrows for shelter, and several species may also use tree holes, all six species can be found on the ground, but the narrow-striped and ring-tailed mongooses also climb trees. Like true mongooses, galidiines are usually active during the day, breeding occurs during the summer, except in Grandidiers mongoose, which breeds year-round. Usually, only a young is born. The ring-tailed and brown-tailed mongooses are also known to eat fruit, list of mammals of Madagascar Albignac, R.1972. Pp. 667–682 in Battistini, R. & Richard-Vindard, G. Biogeography, investigations into the status of a new taxon of Salanoia from the marshes of Lac Alaotra, Madagascar. Systematics and Biodiversity, published online in advance of print,15 pp. Flynn, zehr, S. Hsu, J. & Nedbal, M. A.2005. Molecular phylogeny of the Carnivora, Assessing the impact of increased sampling on resolving enigmatic relationships, mammals of Madagascar, A Complete Guide. Yale University Press,304 pp. ISBN 978-0-300-12550-4 Gaubert, P. Wozencraft, cordeiro-Estrela, P. & Veron, G.2005. Mosaics of convergences and noise in morphological phylogenies, Whats in a viverrid-like carnivoran, part 1, Cats, civets, and mungooses. Johns Hopkins University Press,313 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-8032-2 Pocock, on some external characters of Galidia, Galidictis, and related genera. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 16, 351–356, mammal Species of the World, a taxonomic and geographic reference
2.
Oligocene
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The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present. As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start. The name Oligocene comes from the Ancient Greek ὀλίγος and καινός, the Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period, the Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included an expansion of grasslands. By contrast, the Oligocene–Miocene boundary is not set at an easily identified worldwide event, Oligocene faunal stages from youngest to oldest are, The Paleogene Period general temperature decline is interrupted by an Oligocene 7-million-year stepwise climate change. A deeper 8.2 °C,400, 000-year temperature depression leads the 2 °C, the stepwise climate change began 32.5 Ma and lasted through to 25.5 Ma, as depicted in the PaleoTemps chart. The Oligocene climate change was a increase in ice volume. The 7-million-year depression abruptly terminated within 1–2 million years of the La Garita Caldera eruption at 28–26 Ma, a deep 400, 000-year glaciated Oligocene Miocene boundary event is recorded at McMurdo Sound and King George Island. During this epoch, the continued to drift toward their present positions. Antarctica became more isolated and finally developed an ice cap, a brief marine incursion marks the early Oligocene in Europe. Marine fossils from the Oligocene are rare in North America, there appears to have been a land bridge in the early Oligocene between North America and Europe, since the faunas of the two regions are very similar. Sometime during the Oligocene, South America was finally detached from Antarctica and it also allowed the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to flow, rapidly cooling the Antarctic continent. Angiosperms continued their expansion throughout the world as tropical and sub-tropical forests were replaced by deciduous forests. Open plains and deserts became more common and grasses expanded from their habitat in the Eocene moving out into open tracts. However, even at the end of the period, grass was not quite enough for modern savannas. In North America, subtropical species dominated with cashews and lychee trees present, and temperate trees such as roses, beeches, the legumes spread, while sedges, bulrushes, and ferns continued their ascent. Even more open landscapes allowed animals to grow to larger sizes than they had earlier in the Paleocene epoch 30 million years earlier, marine faunas became fairly modern, as did terrestrial vertebrate fauna on the northern continents
3.
Meerkat
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The meerkat or suricate is a small carnivoran belonging to the mongoose family. It is the member of the genus Suricata. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, a group of meerkats is called a mob, gang or clan. A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members, in captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about half this in the wild. Meerkat is a loanword from Afrikaans, the name has a Dutch origin, but by misidentification. In Dutch, meerkat means the guenon, a monkey of the Cercopithecus genus, the meerkat is a small diurnal herpestid weighing on average about 0.5 to 2.5 kilograms. Its long slender body and limbs give it a length of 35 to 50 centimetres. The meerkat uses its tail to balance when standing upright, as well as for signaling and its face tapers, coming to a point at the nose, which is brown. The eyes always have black patches around them, and they have small black crescent-shaped ears, like cats, meerkats have binocular vision, their eyes being on the front of their faces. At the end of each of a meerkats fingers is a used for digging burrows. Claws are also used with muscular hindlegs to help climb trees, Meerkats have four toes on each foot and long slender limbs. The coat is usually peppered gray, tan, or brown with silver and they have short parallel stripes across their backs, extending from the base of the tail to the shoulders. The patterns of stripes are unique to each meerkat, the underside of the meerkat has no markings, but the belly has a patch which is only sparsely covered with hair and shows the black skin underneath. The meerkat uses this area to heat while standing on its rear legs. Meerkats are primarily insectivores, but also eat animals, plants. Meerkats are immune to certain types of venom, including the very strong venom of the scorpions of the Kalahari Desert. Baby meerkats do not start foraging for food until they are about 1 month old, Meerkats forage in a group with one sentry on guard watching for predators while the others search for food. Sentry duty is usually approximately an hour long, the meerkat standing guard makes peeping sounds when all is well
4.
Yellow mongoose
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The yellow mongoose, sometimes referred to as the red meerkat, is a member of the mongoose family averaging about 1 lb in weight and about 20 in in length. It lives in country, from semi-desert scrubland to grasslands in Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia. Cynictis penicillata is the member of its genus, but as many as twelve subspecies of yellow mongoose have been described. In general, the mongoose has lighter highlights on the underbelly and chin, a bushy tail. Southern yellow mongooses are larger, have yellow or reddish fur, longer fur, northern subspecies tend towards smaller size, grey colouration, a grey or darker grey tip to the tail, and shorter hair more appropriate to the hotter climate. The yellow mongoose is carnivorous, consuming mostly arthropods but also small mammals, lizards, snakes. The yellow mongoose is diurnal, though nocturnal activity has been observed. The tunnel system has many entrances, nearby which the yellow mongoose makes its latrines, the social structure of the yellow mongoose is hierarchical, based around a central breeding pair and their most recent offspring. There are also subadults, the elderly, or adult relatives of the central pair, male ranges tend to overlap, while females from other dens have contiguous non-overlapping ranges. Every day, the male will mark members of his group with anal gland secretions. The alpha male also rubs his back against raised objects, leaving behind hair as a marker of territory. Other members of the group mark their dens with cheek secretions, a colony can have 20-40 members. Predators of the mongoose are birds of prey, snakes. When frightened, the yellow mongoose will growl and secrete from its anal glands and it can also scream, bark, and purr, though these are exceptions, as the yellow mongoose is usually silent, and communicates mood and status through tail movements. The yellow mongooses mating season is between July and September, and it gives birth underground between October and December, with no bedding material, in a chamber of the burrow system. Usually, two offspring are produced per pregnancy, and they are weaned at 10 weeks, reaching adult size after 10 months, there is some concern about the role of Cynictis penicillata as a natural reservoir of rabies. Nel, Comparison of the diet of the yellow mongoose in a coastal, rasa, B. A. Wenhold, P. Howard, A. Marais, Reproduction in the yellow mongoose revisited in South African Journal of Zoology, Vol.27, No. Rasa, Territorial marking in the Yellow mongoose Cynictis penicillata, sexual advertisement for subordinates, in Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde, Vol.59, No.3, p.129
5.
Slender mongoose
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The slender mongoose, also known as the black-tipped mongoose or the black-tailed mongoose, is a very common species of mongoose of sub-Saharan Africa. The slender mongoose, with up to fifty subspecies, are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the black mongoose of Angola and they are adaptable and can live nearly anywhere in this wide range, but are most common in the savannah and semiarid plains. They are much rarer in densely forested areas and deserts, as the name suggests, the slender mongoose has a lithe body of 27. 5–40 cm and a long tail of 23–33 cm. Males weigh 640–715 g, while the females weigh 460–575 g. They also have silkier fur than the other African members of their family, the slender mongoose generally lives either alone or in pairs. It is primarily diurnal, although it is active on warm. It doesnt seem to be territorial, but will maintain stable home ranges that are often shared with members of related species. Indeed, the mongoose and these other species may even den together. Dens may be found anywhere sheltered from the elements, in crevices between rocks, in logs, and the like. A males range will include the ranges of females. The gestation period is believed to be 60 to 70 days, the male does not help care for them. Unusually, for a species, in the Kalahari the males are philopatric whereas the females disperse. This is thought to be due to the benefits of kin cooperation by males in defence of females, the slender mongoose is primarily carnivorous, though it is an opportunistic omnivore. Insects make up the bulk of its diet, but lizards, rodents, snakes, birds, amphibians, and it will also eat carrion and eggs. As befits the popular image of mongooses, the mongoose is capable of killing and subsequently eating venomous snakes. Slender mongooses are more adept at climbing trees than other mongooses, the slender mongoose has been targeted by extermination efforts in the past, due to its potential to be a rabies vector and the fact that it sometimes kills domestic poultry. These efforts have not been successful, although some subspecies may be threatened. Overall, the mongoose is in no immediate danger of extinction
6.
Indian grey mongoose
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The Indian grey mongoose or common grey mongoose is a mongoose species mainly found in West Asia and on the Indian subcontinent. In North Indian languages it is called Nevalaa, the grey mongoose is commonly found in open forests, scrublands and cultivated fields, often close to human habitation. It lives in burrows, hedgerows and thickets, among groves of trees and it is very bold and inquisitive but wary, seldom venturing far from cover. Usually found singly or in pairs and it preys on rodents, snakes, birds’ eggs and hatchlings, lizards and variety of invertebrates. Along the Chambal River it occasionally feeds on gharial eggs, the Indian grey mongoose has tawny grey or iron grey fur, which is more grizzled and stiffer and coarser than that of other mongooses. The ruddiness of the coat varies in different subspecies, but it is described as appearing more grey than other mongooses, the grizzled appearance comes from the individual hairs being ringed by creamy-white and black. The legs are brown and darker than the body, the hair around the muzzle and eyes is also brown but with a stronger rusty red colouring. The tail is bushy, whilst the tip of the tail and their tail length equals their body length. Body length, 36–45 cm Tail length,45 cm, weight,0. 9-1.7 kg, males are significantly larger than the females. Indian grey mongooses are unusual in that they can discriminate 4 colours, a 2007 study found specimens also in Turkey, and United Arab Emirates, thus extending the known range. Despite being an animal, the natural history of the Indian grey mongoose is not well known. They appear to be able to occupy a variety of habitats. Also eaten are ground birds, their eggs, grasshoppers, scorpions, centipedes, frogs, crabs, fish, and parts of plants, fruits, berries and it kills prey by delivering a bite to the neck or head. This species is known for its ability to combat venomous snakes and it primarily achieves this through tiring the snake out, by enticing it to make multiple strikes which it acrobatically avoids. When dealing with scorpions, no measures are taken to disable the sting, the Indian grey mongoose typically opens eggs by holding them between the paws and biting a hole in the little end. Smaller mongooses typically open eggs by throwing them between their legs against an object, so it has been speculated that the Indian grey mongoose should do likewise with large eggs. Indian grey mongooses are often kept as pets to keep free from rats. The Indian grey mongoose is the animal of Chandigarh
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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
10.
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
11.
Carnivora
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Carnivora is a diverse scrotiferan order that includes over 280 species of placental mammals. Its members are referred to as carnivorans, whereas the word carnivore can refer to any meat-eating organism.9 m in length. Some carnivorans, such as cats and pinnipeds, depend entirely on meat for their nutrition, carnivorans have teeth and claws adapted for catching and eating other animals. Many hunt in packs and are social animals, giving them an advantage over larger prey, carnivorans are split into two suborders, feliforms and caniforms. Carnivorans all share the same arrangement of teeth in which the last upper premolar, carnivorans have had this arrangement for over 60 million years with many adaptions, and these dental adaptions help identify carnivoran species and groupings of species. Carnivorans evolved in North America out of members of the family Miacidae about 42 million years ago and they soon split into cat-like and dog-like forms. Their molecular phylogeny shows the extant Carnivora are a monophyletic group, the last premolar of the upper jaw and first molar of the lower are termed the carnassials or sectorial teeth. These blade-like teeth occlude with an action for shearing and shredding meat. Carnassials are most highly developed in the Felidae and the least developed in the Ursidae, carnivorans have six incisors and two conical canines in each jaw. The only two exceptions to this are the sea otter, which has four incisors in the jaw, and the sloth bear. The number of molars and premolars is variable between species, but all teeth are deeply rooted and are diphyodont. Incisors are retained by carnivorans and the incisor is commonly large. Carnivorans have either four or five digits on each foot, with the first digit on the forepaws, also known as the dew claw, being vestigial in most species and absent in some. Most species are plain in coloration, lacking the flashy spotted or rosetted coats like many species of felids and viverrids have. This is because Canoidea tend to range in the temperate and subarctic biomes, most are terrestrial, although a few species, like procyonids, are arboreal. All families except the Canidae and a few species of Mustelidae are plantigrade, diet is varied and most tend to be omnivorous to some degree, and thus the carnassial teeth are less specialized. Canoidea have more premolars and molars in an elongated skull and this is because these species tend to range in tropical habitats, although a few species do inhabit temperate and subarctic habitats. Many are arboreal or semiarboreal, and the majority are digitigrade, diet tends to be more strictly carnivorous, especially in the family Felidae
12.
Feliformia
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Feliformia is the name of a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of cat-like carnivorans, including cats, hyenas, mongooses, civets, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the suborder of Carnivora, Caniformia. The separation of the Carnivora into the groups of feliforms and caniforms is widely accepted. The classification of feliforms as part of the Feliformia suborder or under separate groupings continues to evolve, systematic classifications dealing with only extant taxa include all feliforms into the Feliformia suborder, though variations exist in the definition and grouping of families and genera. Indeed, molecular phylogenies suggest that all extant Feliformia are monophyletic, the extant families as reflected in the taxa chart at right and the discussions in this article reflect the most contemporary and well-supported views. Systematic classifications dealing with both extant and extinct taxa vary more widely, some separate the feliforms as, Aeluroidea and Feliformia. Others include all feliforms into the Feliformia suborder, recent studies suggest this inclusion of possible ancestors into Feliformia may be spurious. The extinct families as reflected in the chart are the least problematic in terms of their relationship with extant feliforms. All extant feliforms share a common attribute, their auditory bullae and this is a key diagnostic in classifying species as feliform versus caniform. In feliforms, the auditory bullae are double-chambered, composed of two joined by a septum. Caniforms have single-chambered or partially divided auditory bullae, composed of a single bone and this feature, however, is problematic for the classification of the extinct Nimravidae as feliforms. Nimravid fossils show ossified bullae with no septum, or no trace at all of the entire bulla and it is assumed that they had a cartilaginous housing of the ear mechanism. The specific characteristics of extant feliform bullae suggest a common ancestor, there are other characteristics that differentiate feliforms from caniforms and probably existed in their stem taxa. But, due to speciation, these do not apply unambiguously to all extant species, Feliforms tend to have shorter rostrums than caniforms, fewer teeth, and more specialized carnassials. Feliforms tend to be carnivorous and are generally ambush hunters. Caniforms tend more toward omnivorous and opportunity-based feeders, many feliforms have retractile or semi-retractile claws and many are arboreal or semi-arboreal. Feliforms also tend to be more digitigrade, in contrast, most caniforms are terrestrial, have non-retractile claws and tend to be plantigrade. There are seven extant families, twelve subfamilies,56 genera and 114 species in the Feliformia suborder and they range natively across all continents except Australia and Antarctica
13.
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
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Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano, was a French biologist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Bonaparte was the son of Lucien Bonaparte and Alexandrine de Bleschamp, born in Paris, he was raised in Italy. On 29 June 1822, he married his cousin, Zénaïde, soon after the marriage, the couple left for Philadelphia in the United States to live with Zénaïdes father, Joseph Bonaparte. Before leaving Italy, Carlo had already discovered a new to science, the moustached warbler. On arrival in the United States, he presented a paper on this new bird, Bonaparte then set about studying the ornithology of the United States and updating Wilsons American Ornithology. The revised edition was published between 1825 and 1833, in 1824, Bonaparte tried to get the then unknown John James Audubon accepted by the Academy of Natural Sciences, but this was opposed by the ornithologist George Ord. At the end of 1826, Bonaparte and his family returned to Europe and he visited Germany, where he met Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar, and England, where he met John Edward Gray at the British Museum, and renewed his acquaintance with Audubon. In 1828, the family settled in Rome, in Italy, he was the originator of several scientific congresses, and lectured and wrote extensively on American and European ornithology and other branches of natural history. Between 1832 and 1841, Bonaparte published his work on the animals of Italy and he had also published Specchio Comparativo delle Ornithologie di Roma e di Filadelfia, presenting a comparison between birds of the latitude of Philadelphia and Italian species. He created the genus Zenaida, after his wife, for the mourning dove and he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1845. In 1849, he was elected to the Roman Assembly and participated in the creation of the Roman Republic and he participated in the defense of Rome against the 40,000 French troops sent by his cousin Louis Napoleon. He left Rome after the Republican army was defeated in July 1849 and he landed at Marseilles, but was ordered to leave the country by Louis Napoleon. He reaffirmed his political beliefs the following year in naming Wilsons bird-of-paradise in honor of the republican idea and he travelled to England, attending the meeting of the British Association in Birmingham. He then visited Sir William Jardine in southern Scotland, Charles then began work on preparing a methodical classification of all the birds in the world, visiting museums across Europe to study the collections. In 1850, he was allowed to return to France and made Paris his home for the rest of his life, in 1854, he became director of the Jardin des Plantes. In 1855, he was made a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He published the first volume of his Conspectus Generum Avium before his death, Bonaparte also studied amphibians and reptiles, and is the author of Vipera ursinii, commonly known as Orsinis viper
14.
Marsh mongoose
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The marsh mongoose or water mongoose is a medium-sized mammal, though large for a mongoose. Its weight can range from 2 to 5.5 kg, from the head to the base of the tail, these animals range from 44 to 62 cm, with the tail adding 25–36 cm. It is a member of the family and the only member of its genus. Atilax paludinosus is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with a preference for permanent freshwater habitats bordered by vegetation, such as marshes, reed beds. The marsh mongooses dark brown fur, with black-tipped guard hair, is long, the paws, unwebbed with underdeveloped pads, are soft and sensitive, resembling those of a raccoon, with the thumb passively enhancing grip on slippery surfaces. The claws are short and blunt and used for digging, there is little hair around the anus and on the upper lip. Typically, there are two pairs of mammae, the lower canines are well formed, while the premolar teeth are thick and used for crushing hard foods. The thick tail narrows shortly to a point, the marsh mongoose is a voracious omnivore, consuming any form of meat it can catch, as well as a wide variety of fruit. This mongoose will frequently swim along river banks, its head above the water, an intelligent creature, the marsh mongoose has been observed throwing crabs and snails against rocks in order to break open the shells. The marsh mongoose is solitary, spending most active time at night, an excellent swimmer, the marsh mongoose nonetheless prefers to keep its head above water, and frequently rests on patches of grass and floating vegetation. Regular in its habits, this mongoose follows smooth and well-defined paths near shorelines and other water bodies, the territories of marsh mongooses are rigidly enforced, exclusive, and usually spaced along the waters around which they dwell. When threatened, the marsh mongoose emits a low growl, which may explode into loud, if cornered or otherwise seriously frightened, this mongoose may shoot streams of foul, brown fluid from its anal sacs. When excited, the marsh mongoose may make a cry or an open-mouthed bleat. The breeding habits of the mongoose are little known. Two litters are produced a year, usually in the dry season, a hole, near water, with dry grass bedding is usually used for birth, though if a hole is unavailable near water, nests are made of reeds, grass, and sticks. Up to three offspring per litter have been recorded, and the young open their eyes in 9–14 days, a second adult may accompany the family. Soon after weaning, the young depart, in some parts of Africa, the marsh mongoose is kept as a pet, and is considered tame and very clean if raised from a young age. In captivity, this species has been recorded as living up to 17 years
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Crossarchus
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Crossarchus is a genus of mongoose, commonly referred to as kusimanse, mangue, or dwarf mongoose. Of three subfamilies of Herpestidae, dwarf mongooses belong to Herpestinae or Mungotinae, which are small and they are known in French as Mangouste brune and in German as Dunkelkusimanse. Members of this genus are found in the swamplands and forests of central and western Africa, in the countries of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia and they use their claws and snouts for digging in leaf litter, under rotted trees and stones for the insects and larvae. They will also wade in to shallow streams looking for freshwater crabs, in most areas where members of Crossarchus live, they are the numerically dominant members of the forest carnivore community. Females are polyestrus and if not mated will come into heat nine times in a year, litters range from 2-3 per year. The young can open their eyes in about twelve days, eating food in three weeks and have adult hair in five weeks. Crossarchus live in groups of 10 to 24, one to three families live in a group. The families are made up of the pair and the young. They are diurnal, and will wander throughout their territories constantly, in their wanderings they will create temporary shelters for themselves. As they do not occupy permanent den sites, the young are not able to keep up with the group for several weeks, individuals in the group take turns carrying the young from place to place and also help feed them. Since the sociable kusimanses do not live in open habitat, they maintain contact in the dense rainforest understory by giving constant whistling calls while traveling
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Dologale
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The Pousarguess mongoose, also known as the African tropical savannah mongoose, is the only species in the genus Dologale. Little is known about this species and its range is confined to an area within the south-eastern part of the Central African Republic, and as of 2015 there had been only 31 museum specimens and a handful of sightings in the wild. Pousarguess Mongoose has a length between 25 and 33 cm, a tail length between 16 and 23 cm, and weighs between 300 and 400 g. They are brown in colour with their underside and face being grey and they have a bushy tail and strong claws on their front feet. Field work carried out between 2011 and 2015 in the eastern part of Central African Republic revealed a population of Pousargues Mongoose animals in the Chinko Project Area. Observations from the Chinko show that Pousargues’s mongoose lives in groups ranging from three to 12 individuals which move between their favourite termite mounds on a regular basis. Breeding has been observed taking place in mid-May during the rainy season. A small group of three adults have been observed caring for an infant, carrying it around in their mouths, a first genetic survey based on collected scat samples, shows the Pousargues’s mongoose being a close relative of the forest dwelling Kusimanse crossarchus. The Pousargues mongoose is native to open areas of northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Uganda, South Sudan. The Pousarguess mongoose is listed as data deficient by International Union for Conservation of Nature, there have been limited sightings of this animal in the wild, and only a few museum specimens exist. While this may indicate that the species is rare or threatened, if so, the animal may be reclassified as Least Concern
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Helogale
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Helogale is a genus of the mongoose family. The distribution of the Ethiopian dwarf mongoose is more tropical, and overlaps completely with that of the dwarf mongoose. Both are social diurnal species, and due to their sizes they are vulnerable to predation. Both species live independently of open water, the Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals,1997, Jonathan Kingdon. ISBN 0-12-408355-2 Anne Rasa, Mongoose Watch, A Family Observed,1985, John Murray
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White-tailed mongoose
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The white-tailed mongoose is the largest species in the mongoose family. It is the member of the genus Ichneumia. The white-tailed mongoose lives in most of Africa south of the Sahara, and they live in a wide range of habitats, from semi-desert to savanna woodland, but avoid moist areas like the Congo River basin or extremely arid areas. They prefer areas of cover, such as the edges of forests. The white-tailed mongoose attains a weight range of 6. 4-9.2 lb, has a length of 21-28 in. Its legs are long for a mongoose. The head is long and narrow and tapers to a point. Its large, rounded ears are set low on the sides of the head and it has a yellow to tan coloration on its body, with long black guard hairs, giving it an overall grizzled grey appearance. The legs and arms are black from the elbow/knee down, the base of the large, bushy tail is brownish yellow, and is white on the latter half. The tail may make up to 40% of the body length and they lack hair on their upper lip and their hands from the palms to the wrists. The genus name, Ichneumia, is derived from the Greek ichneumon and this name also happens to be the species and common name for the Egyptian mongoose. The species name, albicauda, is derived from the Latin words albus, meaning white, and cauda, the white-tailed mongoose feeds mostly on insects, but will feed on a wide variety of other foods as well. Locusts, beetles, and mole crickets make up the majority of their diet, rats, mice, shrews, lizards, snakes, small birds are also eaten, along with the occasional fruits and berries. The eggs of birds are eaten, they will break open the egg by throwing it between its hind legs against a rock or other hard object. They have been known to raid chicken houses in areas where domestic poultry is raised, Ichneumia albicauda is primarily nocturnal and terrestrial. By day they will rest in a burrow, termite mound. The average home range is 0.97 km² for males and 0.64 km² for females, ranges of males do not overlap, but ranges of opposite sexes overlap significantly. Females either live alone with their own offspring or in a group with other females and their offspring
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Liberian mongoose
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The Liberian mongoose is a small carnivoran belonging to the mongoose family. It is the member of the genus Liberiictis. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that the Liberian mongoose is closely related other small, social mongooses and it was discovered in Liberia in 1958. Little was known about the animal, except what local natives related and they typically forage in packs consisting of 3-8 individuals, but larger groups have been observed. Their diet consists of earthworms and various insects, the exact distribution is unknown, but may extend from Sierra Leone to Côte dIvoire. Confirmed sightings are restricted to forests in Liberia and the Tai National Park in Côte dIvoire, human activity such as mining, agriculture, hunting and logging has displaced the Liberian mongoose from its previous range. A live specimen was exhibited at the Toronto Zoo, but civil war in Liberia has prevented further study, due to its limited range and the fact that it is heavily hunted, the Liberian mongoose is considered endangered. The Liberian mongoose has a dark brown body, with a darker stripe on the neck. This stripe is bordered by smaller stripes that are white, compared with other mongoose species, the Liberian mongoose has rather long claws and an elongated snout with small teeth relative to the size of the skull. It has a tapering tail, that is less than half of the length of the head. This is likely and adaptation of their diet of earthworms. One of the few specimens ever seen alive was found in a close to a termite nest. The animals physical characteristics, and its locality to insects, has led experts to suggest that the Liberian mongoose is primarily insectivorous. The few observers that have witnessed this species in the wild have reported that the animal lives primarily in the trunks of trees, indeed, some of the better-known mongoose species live in tree during the rainy season and occupy burrows only during hotter weather. This species is rare, and has been listed by the IUCN as endangered. Human destruction of their habitat and human hunting are the threats to Liberian mongooses. Owing to their rarity, they were not described until 1958, an attempt to study them in 1988 yielded only one animal, which had already been killed by a hunter. The specimen that lived at the Toronto Zoo has since died and this rarity also limited what is understood about the Liberian mongooses interaction with other aspects of the ecosystem
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Paracynictis
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Selous mongoose /səˈluːz/ is a carnivore of southern Africa. It is the member of the genus Paracynictis in the mongoose family. Subspecies, Paracynictis selousi bechuanae Paracynictis selousi ngamiensis Paracynictis selousi selousi Paracynictis selousi sengaani The species of mongoose is endemic to Southern Africa and its range includes Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. The Selous’s mongoose has a length of 63–90 cm and a tail length of 28–43 cm. The body of the ranges from pale speckled grey to tawny grey with a pale underside. The tail of the mongoose is white at the tip, making it identifiable from the white-tailed mongoose, the Selous’s mongoose is also smaller and more slender than the white-tailed mongoose. The mongoose has four digits on each limb and long, slightly curved claws that are associated with digging, the main difference between the sexes is that the female Selous’s mongoose has three pairs of nipples on her underside, while the male does not. The Selous’s mongoose is a species, but has been observed above ground during the day. Although usually solitary, mongooses will sometimes form pairs, and it is not uncommon to see females with young, the Selous’s mongoose digs its own burrows, but may opportunistically use those of other animals. The Selous’s mongoose lives primarily in scrub and woodland. It does not inhabit either forests or arid areas, the species lives in labyrinthine, underground burrows of its own construction. The Selous’s mongoose’s primary source of food is invertebrates and it also feeds on small rodents, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. The front claws of the mongoose are ideally adapted to search for subterranean beetle larvae, the species will dig through tufts of grass or leaf litter to find food. The Selous’s mongoose is classified as being of least concern, there are no known threats to the species, and the population is widely distributed. Litters are usually made up of two to four young, which are born from August to March, the Selous’s mongoose can defend itself by expelling strong-smelling secretion from its anal gland. Its white-tipped tail may be an indication of this ability, a group can also be called “mongeese” or a “mongaggle, ” although the traditionally accepted plural form is mongooses. Both Selous’s mongoose and Selous’ mongoose are accepted spellings of the name, the Selous’s mongoose has other names in native African language, as follows, Afrikaans, Kleinwitstertmuishond Zulu, Nsengane Tswana, Kgano Shona, Jerenyenje
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Meller's mongoose
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Mellers mongoose is a species of mongoose found in Africa. It occurs in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and it is the only member of the genus Rhynchogale. Meller’s mongoose is a medium to large-size mongoose with a light to dark brown body and it measures about 80 cm in length overall and weighs 2–3 kg. The tail is less than half the overall length. The tail is variable in colour and may be black, brown or white, at close quarters the upper parts of Meller’s mongoose are coarsely grizzled. The lower parts of the limbs are darker than the parts of the body. The under parts are lighter in colour than the upper parts. Meller’s mongoose may be confused with the mongoose, however it is smaller and blacker overall than this species. It may also be confused with Selous’s and bushy-tailed mongooses, Meller’s Mongoose ranges from central Tanzania south through Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, to Swaziland and northeastern South Africa. It has been recorded to 1, 850m asl in Tanzania, Meller’s mongoose is a savanna species, mainly associated with open woodland and grassland and marshy areas with termitaria. It is found in woodlands in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. It appears to require dense cover throughout the year and is seen in areas where fires are extensive. Meller’s mongoose is nocturnal, solitary and terrestrial and they do not appear until well after sunset and continue to be active until about midnight. Listed as Least Concern by IUCN, it is uncommon to rare. Meller’s mongoose feeds mainly on termites, particularly termites and the larger Macrotermes. They also eat grasshoppers, small reptiles, centipedes, beetles and they appear to breed at the beginning of the wet season. 2-3 young are born in burrows or rock crevices, females have two pairs of abdominal mammae. There are no known threats to the species
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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
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Species
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In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. While this definition is often adequate, looked at more closely it is problematic, for example, with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, or in a ring species, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear. Other ways of defining species include similarity of DNA, morphology, all species are given a two-part name, a binomial. The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs, the second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet. For example, Boa constrictor is one of four species of the Boa genus, Species were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as fixed kinds that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being. In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time, Charles Darwins 1859 book The Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection. Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal transfer, and species may become extinct for a variety of reasons. In his biology, Aristotle used the term γένος to mean a kind, such as a bird or fish, a kind was distinguished by its attributes, for instance, a bird has feathers, a beak, wings, a hard-shelled egg, and warm blood. A form was distinguished by being shared by all its members, Aristotle believed all kinds and forms to be distinct and unchanging. His approach remained influential until the Renaissance, when observers in the Early Modern period began to develop systems of organization for living things, they placed each kind of animal or plant into a context. Many of these early delineation schemes would now be considered whimsical, animals likewise that differ specifically preserve their distinct species permanently, one species never springs from the seed of another nor vice versa. In the 18th century, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus classified organisms according to shared physical characteristics and he established the idea of a taxonomic hierarchy of classification based upon observable characteristics and intended to reflect natural relationships. At the time, however, it was widely believed that there was no organic connection between species, no matter how similar they appeared. However, whether or not it was supposed to be fixed, by the 19th century, naturalists understood that species could change form over time, and that the history of the planet provided enough time for major changes. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in his 1809 Zoological Philosophy, described the transmutation of species, proposing that a species could change over time, in 1859, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace provided a compelling account of evolution and the formation of new species. Darwin argued that it was populations that evolved, not individuals and this required a new definition of species. Darwin concluded that species are what appear to be, ideas
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Genus
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A genus is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms in biology. In the hierarchy of classification, genus comes above species. In binomial nomenclature, the name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. Felis catus and Felis silvestris are two species within the genus Felis, Felis is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by a taxonomist, the standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. Moreover, genera should be composed of units of the same kind as other genera. The term comes from the Latin genus, a noun form cognate with gignere, linnaeus popularized its use in his 1753 Species Plantarum, but the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort is considered the founder of the modern concept of genera. The scientific name of a genus may be called the name or generic epithet. It plays a role in binomial nomenclature, the system of naming organisms. The rules for the names of organisms are laid down in the Nomenclature Codes. The standard way of scientifically describing species and other lower-ranked taxa is by binomial nomenclature, the generic name forms its first half. For example, the gray wolfs binomial name is Canis lupus, with Canis being the name shared by the wolfs close relatives. The specific name is written in lower-case and may be followed by names in zoology or a variety of infraspecific names in botany. Especially with these names, when the generic name is known from context. Because animals are typically only grouped within subspecies, it is written as a trinomen with a third name. Dog breeds, meanwhile, are not scientifically distinguished, there are several divisions of plant species and therefore their infraspecific names generally include contractions explaining the relation. For example, the genus Hibiscus includes hundreds of other species apart from the Rose of Sharon or common garden hibiscus, Rose of Sharon doesnt have subspecies but has cultivars that carry desired traits, such as the bright white H. syriaca Diana. Hawaiian hibiscus, meanwhile, includes several separate species, since not all botanists agree on the divisions or names between species, it is common to specify the source of the name using author abbreviations
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Family (biology)
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In biological classification, family is one of the eight major taxonomic ranks, it is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks above the rank of genus. In vernacular usage, a family may be named one of its common members, for example, walnuts and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae. What does or does not belong to a family—or whether a family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no rules for describing or recognizing a family. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions of taxa, and there may be no broad consensus across the community for some time. Some described taxa are accepted broadly and quickly, but others only rarely, if at all, the naming of families is codified by various international codes. In zoological nomenclature, the names of animals end with the suffix -idae. The concept of rank at time was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera. Carolus Linnaeus used the word familia in his Philosophia botanica to denote groups of plants, trees, herbs, ferns, palms. He used this term only in the section of the book. In zoology, the family as an intermediate between order and genus was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes. He used families in some but not in all his orders of insects, families can be used for evolutionary, palaeontological and generic studies because they are more stable than lower taxonomic levels such as genera and species
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Eurasia
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Eurasia /jʊˈreɪʒə/ is a combined continental landmass of Europe and Asia. The term is a portmanteau of its constituent continents, in geology, Eurasia is often considered as a single rigid megablock. However, the rigidity of Eurasia is debated based on the paleomagnet data, Eurasia covers around 55,000,000 square kilometres, or around 36. 2% of the Earths total land area. The landmass contains around 5.0 billion people, equating to approximately 70% of the human population, humans first settled in Eurasia between 60,000 and 125,000 years ago. Physiographically, Eurasia is a single continent, the concepts of Europe and Asia as distinct continents date back to antiquity and their borders are geologically arbitrary. Eurasia is connected to Africa at the Suez Canal, and Eurasia is sometimes combined with Africa as the largest contiguous landmass on Earth called Afro-Eurasia. Eurasia formed 375 to 325 million years ago with the merging of Siberia, Kazakhstania, and Baltica, chinese cratons collided with Siberias southern coast. Eurasia has been the host of ancient civilizations, including those based in Mesopotamia. In the Axial Age, a belt of civilizations stretched through the Eurasian subtropical zone from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This belt became the mainstream of world history for two millennia, originally, “Eurasia” is a geographical notion, in this sense, it is simply the biggest continent, the combined landmass of Europe and Asia. However, geopolitically, the word has different meanings, reflecting the specific geopolitical interests of each nation. “Eurasia” is one of the most important geopolitical concepts, as Zbigniew Brzezinski observed, how America manages Eurasia is critical. A power that dominates “Eurasia” would control two of the three most advanced and economically productive regions. About 75 per cent of the people live in “Eurasia”. “Eurasia” accounts for about three-fourths of the known energy resources. ”At the moment one of the most prominent projects of the European Union is the Russia - EU Four Common Spaces Initiative. A political and economic union of former Soviet states named the Eurasian Economic Union was established in 2015, the Russian concept of “Eurasia” corresponded initially more or less to the land area of Imperial Russia in 1914, including parts of Eastern Europe. One of Russias main geopolitical interests lies in ever closer integration with those countries that it considers part of “Eurasia. ”Every two years since 1996 a meeting of most Asian and European countries is organised as the Asia-Europe Meeting. In ancient times, the Greeks classified Europe and Asia as separate lands, where to draw the dividing line between the two regions is still a matter of discussion
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Africa
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Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
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Eupleridae
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Eupleridae is a family of carnivorans endemic to Madagascar and comprising 10 known living species in seven genera, commonly known as euplerids, or malagasy mongooses. The best known species is the fossa, in the subfamily Euplerinae, all species of Euplerinae were formerly classified as viverrids, while all species in the subfamily Galidiinae were classified as herpestids. Recent molecular studies indicate that the 10 living species of Madagascar carnivorans evolved from one ancestor that is thought to have rafted over from mainland Africa 18-24 million years ago and this makes Malagasy carnivorans a clade. They are closely allied with the true herpestid mongooses, their closest living relatives, the fossa and the Malagasy civet are believed to be the most ancient surviving species within this group. All Eupleridae are considered threatened due to habitat destruction, as well as predation and competition from non-native species. Historically, the relationships of the Madagascar carnivorans have been contentious, the hyena family, Hyaenidae, is a sister taxon of the euplerid and herpestid clade, and when grouped together with the viverrids and felids, as well as some smaller groups, forms the feliform clade. The evolutionary divergence between the herpestids and the dates back to the Oligocene. At that time, feliforms shared many similarities, particularly between the cats and the viverrids, species in Euplerinae have auditory regions similar to those of viverrids, while those in Galidiinae have auditory regions similar to those of herpestids. Based on this trait, Robert M. Hunt Jr. proposed in 1996 that Madagascar was colonized twice, once by viverrids and once by herpestids. However, the studies by Yoder and colleagues in 2003 suggested that a single colonization event occurred by a primitive herpestid ancestor. The common ancestor arrived from Africa, probably by rafting, during the late Oligocene or early Miocene, though Philippe Gaubert and Veron estimated a divergence date of 19.4 Mya
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Endemism
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The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, the word endemic is from New Latin endēmicus, from Greek ενδήμος, endēmos, native. Endēmos is formed of en meaning in, and dēmos meaning the people, the term, precinctive, has been suggested by some scientists, and was first used in botany by MacCaughey in 1917. It is the equivalent of endemism, precinction was perhaps first used by Frank and McCoy. That definition excludes artificial confinement of examples by humans in far-off botanical gardens or zoological parks, physical, climatic, and biological factors can contribute to endemism. The orange-breasted sunbird is found in the fynbos vegetation zone of southwestern South Africa. The glacier bear is found only in limited places in Southeast Alaska, political factors can play a part if a species is protected, or actively hunted, in one jurisdiction but not another. There are two subcategories of endemism, paleoendemism and neoendemism, paleoendemism refers to species that were formerly widespread but are now restricted to a smaller area. Neoendemism refers to species that have arisen, such as through divergence and reproductive isolation or through hybridization. Endemics can easily become endangered or extinct if their restricted habitat changes, particularly—but not only—due to human actions, there were millions of both Bermuda petrels and Bermuda cedars in Bermuda when it was settled at the start of the seventeenth century. By the end of the century, the petrels were thought extinct, cedars, already ravaged by centuries of shipbuilding, were driven nearly to extinction in the twentieth century by the introduction of a parasite. Bermuda petrels and cedars are now rare, as are species endemic to Bermuda
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Geography of Madagascar
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Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of southern Africa, east of Mozambique. It is the fourth largest island in the world, the highest point is Maromokotro, in the Tsaratanana Massif region in the north of the island, at 2,876 metres. The capital Antananarivo is in the Hauts Plateaux near the centre of the island, Madagascar has a total area of 587,040 square kilometres with 581,540 square kilometres of land and 5,500 square kilometres of water. Madagascar is 400 kilometres east of mainland Africa, Madagascar originated as part of the Gondwana supercontinent. Its west coast was formed when Africa broke off from Gondwana around 165 million years ago, Madagascar eventually broke off from India about 88 million years ago. Madagascar can be divided into five geographical regions, the east coast, the Tsaratanana Massif, the central highlands, the west coast. The highest elevations parallel the east coast, the coastal region extends roughly from north of Baie dAntongil, the most prominent feature on the Masoala Peninsula, to the far north of the island. The coastline is straight, with the exception of a bay, the beach slopes steeply into deep water. The east coast is considered dangerous for swimmers and sailors because of the number of sharks that frequent the shoreline. Madagascar also has many mountains, forests, rivers, and lakes, the Tsaratanana Massif region at the north end of the island contains, at 2,880 metres, the highest point on the island. Further north is the Montagne dAmbre, which is of volcanic origin, the central highlands extend from the Tsaratanana Massif in the north to the Ivakoany Massif in the south. They are defined rather clearly by the escarpments along the east coast, the central highlands include the Anjafy High Plateaux, the volcanic formations of Itasy and the Ankaratra Massif, reaching a height of 2,643 m. The Isalo Roiniforme Massif lies between the highlands and the west coast. Antananarivo, the capital, is located in the northern portion of the central highlands at 1,276 m above sea level. The lake is located 761 m above sea level and is bordered by two cliffs, rising 701 m to the west and 488 m to the east, which form the walls of a valley and this region has experienced geological subsidence, and earth tremors are frequent. The west coast, composed of sedimentary formations, is more indented than the east coast, thus offering a number of harbors sheltered from cyclones, such as the harbor at Mahajanga. Silting up of harbors on this coast, caused by sediment from the levels of erosion suffered inland in Madagascar, is a major problem. The giant oil fields of Tsimiroro and Bemolanga lie towards the west of the island, the southwest is bordered on the east by the Ivakoany Massif and on the north by the Isala Roiniforme Massif
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Felidae
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Felidae is the family of cats. A member of family is also called a felid. They are sometimes referred to as hypercarnivores because of the large proportion of protein they require in their diet. Of the 13 terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, they are the strictest carnivores, the first cats emerged during the Oligocene, about 25 million years ago. In prehistoric times, there was a subfamily, the Machairodontinae. Other superficially cat-like mammals, such as the metatherians Thylacosmilus and Thylacoleo, the 42 known cat species in the world today are all descended from a common ancestor. Cats originated in Asia and spread across continents by crossing land bridges, about 60% of the modern cat species are estimated to have developed within the last million years. Felidaes closest relatives are thought to be the Asiatic linsangs, together with the Viverridae, hyenas, mongooses, and Madagascar carnivores, they form the suborder Feliformia. Most cat species share a genetic anomaly that prevents them from tasting sweetness, most cat species have a haploid number of 18 or 19. New World cats have a number of 18, possibly due to the combination of two smaller chromosomes into a larger one. Domestic cats may either have a long or short tail, at one point, biologists had to consider whether the short tail also found in the lynx was the ancestral or derived trait. Without looking at the record, researchers were able to look at the character states found in their outgroups. Because all animals belonging to Felidae’s sister taxa, Viverridae, have long tails, some domestic cats display a rosette pattern on their coats. This character state, however, is not related to the rosettes found on big cats, domestic cats and big cats underwent convergent evolution for this trait. The most common ancestor to all cats had a flecked coat, the jaguarundi lost this character state secondarily. The most common recent ancestor of snow leopards, tigers, jaguars, lions, tigers and lions, however, do not display rosettes as adults. They both have lost this character state over time. Adult tigers actually display elongated rosettes that now appear as stripes, adult lions seem to lack any distinctive markings altogether
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Hyena
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Hyenas or hyaenas are any feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae /haɪˈɛnᵻdiː/. With only four extant species, it is the fifth-smallest biological family in the Carnivora, despite their low diversity, hyenas are unique and vital components of most African ecosystems. Both eat food quickly and may store it, and their feet with large, blunt. However, the grooming, scent marking, defecating habits, mating. Spotted hyenas may kill as many as 95% of the animals they eat, generally, hyenas are known to drive off larger predators, like lions, from their kills, despite having a reputation in popular culture for being cowardly. Hyenas are primarily nocturnal animals, but sometimes venture from their lairs in the early-morning hours, with the exception of the highly social spotted hyena, hyenas are generally not gregarious animals, though they may live in family groups and congregate at kills. Hyenas first arose in Eurasia during the Miocene period from viverrid-like ancestors, Although the dog-like hyenas thrived 15 million years ago, they became extinct after a change in climate along with the arrival of canids into Eurasia. Of the dog-like hyena lineage, only the insectivorous aardwolf survived, while the bone-crushing hyenas became the undisputed top scavengers of Eurasia, Hyenas feature prominently in the folklore and mythology of human cultures with which they are sympatric. Hyenas are commonly viewed as frightening and worthy of contempt, and are associated with witchcraft, in some cultures, hyenas are thought to influence people’s spirits, rob graves, and steal livestock and children. Hyenas originated in the jungles of Miocene Eurasia 22 million years ago, the lineage of Plioviverrops prospered, and gave rise to descendants with longer legs and more pointed jaws, a direction similar to that taken by canids in North America. The descendants of Plioviverrops reached their peak 15 million years ago, the doglike hyenas were very numerous, in some Miocene fossil sites, the remains of Ictitherium and other doglike hyenas outnumber those of all other carnivores combined. The decline of the doglike hyenas began 5–7 million years ago during a period of climate change, one species, Chasmaporthetes ossifragus, managed to cross the land bridge into North America, being the only hyena to do so. Chasmopothertes managed to survive for some time in North America by deviating from the cursorial and bone-crushing niches monopolised by canids, most of the doglike hyenas had died off by 1.5 million years ago. By 10–12 million years ago, the family had split into two distinct groups, dog-like hyenas and bone-crushing hyenas. The arrival of the ancestral bone-crushing hyenas coincided with the decline of the similarly built, by 5 million years ago, the bone-crushing hyenas had become the dominant scavengers of Eurasia, primarily feeding on large herbivore carcasses felled by sabre-toothed cats. One genus, Pachycrocuta, was a 200 kg mega-scavenger that could splinter the bones of elephants, with the decline of large herbivores by the late ice age, Pachycrocuta was replaced by the smaller Crocuta. The aardwolf can trace its lineage back to Plioviverrops 15 million years ago. Its success is attributed to its insectivorous diet, for which it faced no competition from canids crossing from North America
33.
Civet
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A civet /ˈsɪvᵻt/ is a small, lithe-bodied, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different mammal species, most of the species diversity is found in southeast Asia. The best-known civet species is the African civet, Civettictis civetta, the word civet may also refer to the distinctive musky scent produced by the animals. A minority of writers use the name civet to cover Civettictis, Viverra, but in more common usage in English the name also covers Chrotogale, Cynogale, Diplogale, Hemigalus, Arctogalidia, Macrogalidia, Paguma, and Paradoxurus civets. The common name is used for a variety of mammalian species. The African palm civet is genetically distinct and belongs in its own monotypic family, civets are also called toddycats in English and musang in Malay. Civets have a broadly cat-like general appearance, though the muzzle is extended and often pointed and they range in length from about 43 to 71 cm and in weight from about 1.4 to 4.5 kg. The civet produces a highly valued as a fragrance and stabilizing agent for perfume. Both male and female civets produce the strong-smelling secretion, which is produced by the civets perineal glands and it is harvested by either killing the animal and removing the glands, or by scraping the secretions from the glands of a live animal. The latter is the preferred method today, Animal rights groups, such as World Animal Protection, express concern that harvesting musk is cruel to animals. Between these ethical concerns and the availability of substitutes, the practice of raising civets for musk is dying out. Chanel, maker of the popular perfume Chanel No,5, claims that natural civet has been replaced with a synthetic substitute since 1998. Viverrids are native to sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, the Iberian Peninsula, southern China, South, favoured habitats include woodland, savanna, and mountain biomes and, above all, tropical rainforest. In consequence, many are faced with loss of habitat, several species are considered vulnerable. In Sri Lanka, the Asian palm civet species is known as uguduwa by the Sinhala speaking community, the terms uguduwa and kalawedda are used interchangeably by the Sri Lankan community to refer to the same animal. However, the term kalawedda is mostly used to refer to species in the civet family. Sri Lanka also has an endemic civet species called golden palm civet, recently this species was split into 3 separate endemic species as Paradoxurus montanus, P. aureus, and P. stenocephalus. In Bangladesh and in Bangla speaking areas of India this animal is known as khatash and is now rare in all parts of Bangladesh
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Marathi language
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Marathi is an Indian language spoken predominantly by the Marathi people of Maharashtra. It is the language and co-official language in the Maharashtra and Goa states of Western India, respectively. There were 73 million speakers in 2001, Marathi ranks 19th in the list of most spoken languages in the world, Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India, after Hindi, Bengali and Telugu in that order. Marathi has some of the oldest literature of all modern Indo-Aryan languages, the major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and the Varhadi dialect. Malvani Konkani has been influenced by Marathi varieties. Marathi has several features that set it aside from most other Indian languages, Marathi distinguishes inclusive and exclusive forms of we and possesses a three-way gender system that features the neuter in addition to the masculine and the feminine. In its phonology it contrasts apico-alveolar with alveopalatal affricates and, in common with Gujarati, Marathi is primarily spoken in Maharashtra and parts of neighbouring states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, union-territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The cities of Baroda, Surat, and Ahmedabad, Belgaum, Karwar, Nipani, Indore, Gwalior, Adoni, Hyderabad, Marathi is also spoken by Maharashtrian emigrants worldwide, especially in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Mauritius, and Canada. Marathi is the language of Maharashtra and co-official language in the union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra. In Goa, Konkani is the official language, however. Marathi is included among the languages which stand a part of the Eight Schedule of the Constitution of India, the contemporary grammatical rules described by Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad and endorsed by the Government of Maharashtra are supposed to take precedence in standard written Marathi. Traditions of Marathi Linguistics and the rules give special status to tatsamas. This special status expects the rules for tatsamas to be followed as in Sanskrit and this practice provides Marathi with a large treasure of Sanskrit words to cope with demands of new technical words whenever needed. Jawaharlal Nehru University has announced plans to establish a department for Marathi. Marathi Day is celebrated on 27 February, the birthday of poet Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, Indian languages, including Marathi, that belong to the Indo-Aryan language family are derived from early forms of Prakrit. Marathi is one of languages that further descend from Maharashtri Prakrit. Marathi literature began and grew owing to the rise of the Seuna dynasty of Devgiri, further growth and usage of the language was because of two religious sects – the Mahanubhava and Varkari panthans – who adopted Marathi as the medium for preaching their doctrines of devotion. Marathi had attained a place in court life by the time of the Seuna kings
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Telugu language
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Telugu is a Dravidian language native to India. It is also spoken by significant minorities in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and it is one of six languages designated a classical language of India by the Government of India. Telugu ranks third by the number of speakers in India. It is one of the scheduled languages of the Republic of India. Approximately 10,000 inscriptions exist in the Telugu language, the speakers of the language call it Telugu or Tenugu. The older forms of the name include Teluṅgu, Tenuṅgu and Teliṅga, the etymology of Telugu is not certain. Some historical scholars have suggested a derivation from Sanskrit triliṅgam, as in Trilinga Desa, tradition holds that Shiva descended as a lingam on three mountains, Kaleshwaram, Srisailam, and Bhimeswaram, which are said to have marked the boundaries of the Trilinga Desa. Atharvana Acharya in the 13th century wrote a grammar of Telugu, Appa Kavi in the 17th century explicitly wrote that Telugu was derived from Trilinga. Scholar Charles P. Brown comments that it was a strange notion as all the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation. George Abraham Grierson and other linguists doubt this derivation, holding rather that Telugu was the older term, another view holds that tenugu is derived from the proto-Dravidian word ten– south to mean the people who lived in the south/southern direction. The name telugu then, is a result of n -> l alternation established in Telugu, according to the natve tradition Telugu grammar has a hoary past. Sage Kanva was said to be the first grammarian of Telugu, a Rajeswara Sarma discussed the hisoricity and content of Kanvas grammar written in Sanskrit. He cited twenty grammatical aphorisms ascribed to Kanva, and concluded that Kanva wrote an ancient Telugu Grammar which was lost, according to the Russian linguist M. S. Andronov, Telugu split from the Proto-Dravidian languages between 1500 and 1000 BC. According to linguist Bhadriraju Krishnamurti, Telugu, as a Dravidian language, descends from Proto-Dravidian, linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the third millennium BC, possibly in the region around the lower Godavari river basin in peninsular India. The material evidence suggests that the speakers of Proto-Dravidian were of the associated with the Neolithic societies of South India. A legend gives the Lepakshi town a significant place in the Ramayana — this was where the bird Jatayu fell, when Sri Rama reached the spot, he saw the bird and said compassionately, “Le Pakshi” — ‘rise, bird’ in Telugu. This indicates the presence of Telugu Language during Ramayana period, there is a mention of Telugu people or Telugu country in ancient Tamil literature as Telunka Nadu. Telugu words were found in Hebrew literature, inscriptions with Telugu words dating back to 400 BC to 100 BC have been discovered in Bhattiprolu in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh
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Kannada
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The language has roughly 40 million native speakers who are called Kannadigas, and a total of 50.8 million speakers according to a 2001 census. It is one of the languages of India and the official. The Kannada language is written using the Kannada script, which evolved from the 5th-century Kadamba script, Kannada is attested epigraphically for about one and a half millennia, and literary Old Kannada flourished in the 6th-century Ganga dynasty and during the 9th-century Rashtrakuta Dynasty. Kannada has a literary history of over a thousand years. Based on the recommendations of the Committee of Linguistic Experts, appointed by the ministry of culture, in July 2011, a centre for the study of classical Kannada was established as part of the Central Institute of Indian Languages at Mysore to facilitate research related to the language. Kannada is a Southern Dravidian language, and according to Dravidian scholar Sanford B, steever, its history can be conventionally divided into three periods, Old Kannada from 450–1200 CE, Middle Kannada from 1200–1700, and Modern Kannada from 1700 to the present. Kannada is influenced to an extent by Sanskrit. Influences of other such as Prakrit and Pali can also be found in the Kannada language. Literary Prakrit seems to have prevailed in Karnataka since ancient times, the vernacular Prakrit-speaking people may have come into contact with Kannada speakers, thus influencing their language, even before Kannada was used for administrative or liturgical purposes. Kannada phonetics, morphology, vocabulary, grammar and syntax show significant influence from these languages, some examples of naturalised words of Prakrit origin in Kannada are, baṇṇa derived from vaṇṇa, hunnime from puṇṇivā. Examples of naturalized Sanskrit words in Kannada are, varṇa, arasu from rajan, paurṇimā, Kannada has numerous borrowed words such as dina, kopa, surya, mukha, nimiṣa and anna. Pre-old Kannada was the language of Banavasi in the early Common Era, the Ashoka rock edict found at Brahmagiri has been suggested to contain words in identifiable Kannada. According to Jain tradition, Brahmi, the daughter of Rishabhadeva, the first Tirthankara of Jainism, invented 18 alphabets, including Kannada, which points to the antiquity of the language. Supporting this tradition, an inscription of about the 9th century CE, containing specimens of different alphabets and it has been claimed that the Greek dramatists of the 5th–4th century BCE were familiar with the Kannada country and language. This would show a far more intimate contact of the Greeks with Kannada culture than with Indian culture elsewhere, the palm manuscripts contained texts written not only in Greek, Latin and Hebrew, but also in Sanskrit and Kannada. In the 150 CE Prakrit book Gaathaa Saptashati, written by Haala Raja, Kannada words like tIr, tuppa, on the Pallava Prakrit inscription of 250 CE of Hire Hadagalis Shivaskandavarman, the Kannada word kOTe transforms into koTTa. In the 350 CE Chandravalli Prakrit inscription, words of Kannada origin like punaaTa, in one more Prakrit inscription of 250 CE found in Malavalli, Kannada towns like vEgooraM, kundamuchchaMDi find a reference. Pliny the Elder was a naval and army commander in the early Roman Empire and he writes about pirates between Muziris and Nitrias
37.
Asia
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Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres, about 30% of Earths total land area and 8. 7% of the Earths total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Asia is notable for not only its large size and population. In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, the western boundary with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains, China and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 A. D. The accidental discovery of America by Columbus in search for India demonstrates this deep fascination, the Silk Road became the main East-West trading route in the Asian hitherland while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, given its size and diversity, the concept of Asia—a name dating back to classical antiquity—may actually have more to do with human geography than physical geography. Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties, the boundary between Asia and Africa is the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Suez Canal. This makes Egypt a transcontinental country, with the Sinai peninsula in Asia, the border between Asia and Europe was historically defined by European academics. In Sweden, five years after Peters death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Urals as the border of Asia, the Russians were enthusiastic about the concept, which allowed them to keep their European identity in geography. Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg, the latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century, the border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects. The border between the Black Sea and the Caspian is usually placed along the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, the border between Asia and the loosely defined region of Oceania is usually placed somewhere in the Malay Archipelago. The terms Southeast Asia and Oceania, devised in the 19th century, have had several different geographic meanings since their inception. The chief factor in determining which islands of the Malay Archipelago are Asian has been the location of the possessions of the various empires there. Lewis and Wigen assert, The narrowing of Southeast Asia to its present boundaries was thus a gradual process, Asia is larger and more culturally diverse than Europe. It does not exactly correspond to the borders of its various types of constituents. From the time of Herodotus a minority of geographers have rejected the three-continent system on the grounds there is no or is no substantial physical separation between them
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Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
39.
Fiji
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Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealands North Island. Fiji is an archipelago of more than 330 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 860,000. The capital, Suva on Viti Levu, serves as Fijis principal cruise port, about three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levus coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres like Nadi or Lautoka. Viti Levus interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain, Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific due to an abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources. Today, the sources of foreign exchange are its tourist industry. The countrys currency is the Fijian dollar, Fijis local government, in the form of city and town councils, is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development. The majority of Fijis islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago, today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC, and was settled first by Austronesians and later by Melanesians, Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century, and, after a brief period as an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as a Commonwealth realm, a republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups détat. In a coup in 2006, Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power, later in 2009, Iloilo was replaced as President by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. After years of delays, an election was held on 17 September 2014. Bainimaramas FijiFirst party won with 59. 2% of the vote, Fijis main island is known as Viti Levu and it is from this that the name Fiji is derived, though the common English pronunciation is based on that of their island neighbours in Tonga. Its emergence can be described as follows, Fijians first impressed themselves on European consciousness through the writings of the members of the expeditions of Cook who met them in Tonga. They were described as warriors and ferocious cannibals, builders of the finest vessels in the Pacific. They inspired awe amongst the Tongans, and all their Manufactures, especially bark cloth and clubs, were highly valued and much in demand. They called their home Viti, but the Tongans called it Fisi, and it was by this foreign pronunciation, Fiji, first promulgated by Captain James Cook, that these islands are now known. Feejee, the Anglicised spelling of the Tongan pronunciation, was used in accounts and other writings until the late 19th century, by missionaries and other travellers visiting Fiji. Pottery art from Fijian towns shows that Fiji was settled before or around 3500 to 1000 BC, the first settlements in Fiji were started by voyaging traders and settlers from the west about 5000 years ago
40.
Puerto Rico
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Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea. It is an archipelago that includes the island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones such as Mona, Culebra. The capital and most populous city is San Juan and its official languages are Spanish and English, though Spanish predominates. The islands population is approximately 3.4 million, Puerto Ricos rich history, tropical climate, diverse natural scenery, renowned traditional cuisine, and attractive tax incentives make it a popular destination for travelers from around the world. Four centuries of Spanish colonial government transformed the ethnic, cultural and physical landscapes primarily with waves of African captives, and Canarian. In the Spanish imperial imagination, Puerto Rico played a secondary, in 1898, following the Spanish–American War, the United States appropriated Puerto Rico together with most former Spanish colonies under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. Puerto Ricans are natural-born citizens of the United States, however, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. As a U. S. territory, American citizens residing on the island are disenfranchised at the level and may not vote for president. However, Congress approved a constitution, allowing U. S. citizens on the territory to elect a governor. A fifth referendum will be held in June 2017, with only Statehood, in early 2017, the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis posed serious problems for the government. The outstanding bond debt that had climbed to $70 billion or $12,000 per capita at a time with 12. 4% unemployment, the debt had been increasing during a decade long recession. Puerto Ricans often call the island Borinquen – a derivation of Borikén, its indigenous Taíno name, the terms boricua and borincano derive from Borikén and Borinquen respectively, and are commonly used to identify someone of Puerto Rican heritage. The island is also known in Spanish as la isla del encanto. Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista, in honor of Saint John the Baptist, eventually traders and other maritime visitors came to refer to the entire island as Puerto Rico, while San Juan became the name used for the main trading/shipping port and the capital city. The islands name was changed to Porto Rico by the United States after the Treaty of Paris of 1898, the anglicized name was used by the US government and private enterprises. The name was changed back to Puerto Rico by a joint resolution in Congress introduced by Félix Córdova Dávila in 1931, the ancient history of the archipelago known today as Puerto Rico is not well known. The scarce archaeological findings and early Spanish scholarly accounts from the colonial era constitute the basis of knowledge about them. The first comprehensive book on the history of Puerto Rico was written by Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra in 1786, the first settlers were the Ortoiroid people, an Archaic Period culture of Amerindian hunters and fishermen who migrated from the South American mainland
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Media related to Herpestidae at Wikimedia Commons
"Ichneumon". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
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