Posts for 'Taxonomy' Category

And not so handsome has a fancy, Latin-sounding name, assigned by scientific specialists called "taxonomists."  But now ordinary people with winning auction bids can get species named after them Have you ever heard of "taxonomy"? Not "taxidermy," which is all about stuffing dead animals. Nor does "taxonomy" have anything to do with taxes.It's the process of scientifically categorizing organisms and giving new species official, Latin-sounding names. The person who discovers a creature gets to name it, which accounts for scientific names like Megapnosaurus Ivie. That's a dinosaur named after a fellow named Mike Ivie. According to Mark Isaac, who categorizes biological names on his Web site, "Megapnosaurus" translates to "big dead lizard." So the full name means "Big Dead Lizard Ivie."Sometimes new species are named for famous people. The Campsicnemius charliechaplini Evenhuis, for instance, is a fly, named after the silent-film comedian Charlie Chaplin. When this insect dies, it curls its middle legs under it in a fashion that resembles Charlie Chaplin's famous bowlegged walk with his cane.These days, you don't have to discover an organism to earn the privilege of naming it. Wildlife organizations are auctioning off the rights to name species. Two years ago, the Wildlife Conservation Society raised $650,000 in an online auction to name a new Bolivian monkey. And just last week, a group called Conservation International got two million dollars for naming rights to ten newly discovered species of fish.We don't yet know the winning bidders or the names chosen. But one of the fish is a freaky shark that crawls on the ocean floor using its pectoral fins. So we'd suggest the Latinized version of something like "There's gotta be an easier way than this to catch prey."

The Domestic Cat & Entire Cat Family

All Domestic Cats belong to the species of ‘Felis catus‘

One of the groups in Order Carnivores of Class Mammalia is the Cats. The scientific name of the Family of Cats is called ‘Felidae’. There are 38 species of Felidae. Some typical species commonly known include:

1.   Wild Cat
2.   Jungle Cat
3.   Sand Cat
4.   Andean Cat
5.   Serval
6.   Fishing Cat
7.   Flat-headed Cat
8.   Marbled Cat
9.   Margay
10.  Ocelot
11.  Bob Cat
12.  Eurasian Lynx
13.  Caracal
14.  African Golden Cat
15.  Jaguarundi
16.  Puma
17.  Clouded Leopard
18.  Snow Leopard
19.  Jaguar
20.  Leopard
21.  Black Panther (a species of leopard)
22.  Tiger
23.  Lion
24.  Cheetah  

Long ago dogs lived in packs. If a stranger came around, one dog would bark and warn the others, and they would attack the stranger. Your dog thinks of you as one of its pack.

If a stranger comes near you or your home your dog will bark to keep him away.

A dog that is chained up has a very small home ground and will guard it even more fiercely. That is why it barks so loudly at strangers.

Cats move around at night, so they must be able to see in the dark. Where humans can nothing at all, cats can still see. A cat’s eye take in the tiniest bit of light. Inside the eye the light is reflected backward and forward. That is the reason that their eyes glow brightly in the dark.

The pupil of cats’ eye change to control the amount of light that enters the eye. They narrow to tiny slits in bright sunlight but widen to large orbs when it is dark. That is why cats see so well in the dark. In addition there is an area behind the retina that reflects light, and that is why cats’ eye appear to glow in the dark.

Bat is the only flying mammal on planet earth. Ranging from minutest bat to large Flying Foxes of Africa, bats make up almost 1,000 species, which means one-quarter of all mammal species. Most bats belong to the suborder Microchiroptera and fly at night, using a sound-radar system to catch small aerial insects. In temperate regions they survive winter’s lack of food by hibernating. The suborder ‘Megachiroptera consists of the larger bats and the fruit bats. Nearly one-third of all bats live on fruits and the nectar of flowers, especially, the Egyptian Fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus).
 

Fruits such as figs and dates when fermented produce ethanol, or drinking alcohol. As these fruits ripen a small concentration of ethanol gets accumulated, which proves toxic for the bats. Even concentrations of less than one percent ethanol can make fruit bats sluggish against predators, and hamper their ability to avoid danger.

The scientist Sanchez told Live-Science how drunken bats sober up and how for some bats, " sugar taste proves better than others. The perception of sweetness versus bitterness may vary according the type of sugar and the amount of ethanol consumed. The combination of sucrose and ethanol may just have tasted better than either ethanol and fructose, or ethanol and glucose."

A racoon saved itself after a deadly fall when it  plunged from a bridge above a busy road in America.  The raccoon was spotted clinging onto the bridge and the emergency services rushed to its rescue.
They set up a blanket to catch him and tried to lure him away from the edge of the bridge, but the creature jumped and missed the blanket. The Rescuers were expecting the worst - but then the racoon was back on its paws soon after. After a check-up, the animal was found physically fit, and was released back into the wild in Sacramento, California.

"We see pretty amazing things so I guess I'm constantly prepared to be amazed. This racoon is pretty amazing." Said one of the Vets

Note: Racoons are mammals that belong to the order Carnivora of the class Mammalia. The total of 21 species of racoons make up the family Procyonidae.

The pygmy goat (capra hircus), also known as the “Cameroon Dwarf” is a special specie of goats from West Africa. As it is a domesticated breed many tribes in Africa have been raising them in their homes as livestock for centuries. The pygmy goats were first imported to the United States in the year 1950 and eversince then it is the most popular choice for children especially because of its incredibly small size and easy handling. 

The African Pygmy Goat is a cute, playful, and an affectionate pet. Their diminutive size makes them easy to contain and they prefer to sleep indoors. A small size barn can make a perfect home for the African Pygmy. They graze only on grass due to their size and can be fed hay and commercial pellets. Care must be taken not to overfeed them with grains as too much can ferment in the stomach and cause a painful death. African Pygmies are somewhat picky eaters choosing their food by taste and smell. The pygmy goats mostly frolic and can be mischievous and curious. But the good thing about them is that these goats can be tamed and trained to a point very easily. Thus taking a few precautions to "goat-proof" your house can be saved from a lot of mess.

The African pygmy goat is around 18 inches tall, and weighs 40-60 pounds approximately.  They have silver-gray with black markings on the head and black and white markings throughout their bodies. The hair is always smooth and short. Both males and females are horned although female African Pygmies have much shorter horns than males and the shape of the male goat's horns are spiral. The life span of the African Pygmy Goat is usually from 10 to 15 years.

The Star-nosed Mole ( the only member of family: Condylurini; genus: Condylura)

The “Star-nosed Mole”, a type of water shrew is a small mole native to North-eastern United States.  It lives in wet lowland areas and eats small invertebrates, aquatic insects, worms and molluscs. It is a good swimmer and can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds. It digs shallow surface tunnels, which exit underwater. It remains active day and night in all seasons even in winters. The star-nosed mole has been observed tunneling through the snow and swimming in ice-covered streams.  Like other water shrews, the star-nosed mole can follow underwater scents by rapidly blowing and inhaling bubbles according to new research.
The Star-nosed Mole is covered in thick blackish brown water-repellent fur and has large scaled feet and a long thick tail, which appears to function as a fat storage reserve for the spring breeding season. Adults are 15 to 20 cm in length, weigh about 55 g, and have 44 teeth. The mole's most distinctive feature is a circle of 22 mobile, pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of the snout. These are used to identify food by touch, such as worms, insects and crustaceans.The incredibly sensitive nasal tentacles are covered with almost one hundred thousand minute touch receptors called Eimer’s organs in the scientific term.
The star of nasal tentacles is formed in a unique way so far not seen in any other animal of the world. Instead of growing in the same way fingers grow outward on a hand, they start as swellings on the face around the nose, and some days after birth they break free and move forward as is observed in the peeling of banana. The Star-nosed Mole mates in late winter or early spring, and the female has one litter of typically 4 or 5 young in early summer. The common predators threatening star-mole existance include: skunks, owl, hawk, mustelids and large fish under water.

The Hoofed Mammals

The hoofed quadrupeds are the mammals which belong to a large and important order of the class mammalia called 'Ungulata'. These hoofed mammals or ungulates include horse, rhinoceros, pig etc in the one section; and the ox, sheep, deer and all other ruminants in the other. (ungla means hoof).
All Ungulates or hoofed mammals are divided into two kinds depending on the kind of hoofs they have.

They are:
1. Odd-toed Ungulates
2. Even-toed Ungulates

Odd-toed Ungulates  (order: perissodactyla)

This group comprises all the ten species of the family ‘Equidae’ including horses, zebras and asses. The odd-toed ungulates of other families, which although belonging to the same order Perissodactyla are the hoofed mammals with toes odd in number including rhinoceros, tapir etc. But 'Equids' as horses, zebras, and asses are singled out as hoofed mammals of this order with just one toe on each foot capped by a hard, horny hoof.

Zebra

Zebra is the only hoofed mammal who has the most distinctive coat on its body. The stripes on the coat are as unique as fingerprints in humans, because no two zebras have these stripes exactly alike, although each of the three species has its own general pattern.

The stripes on zebra, the scientists assert, are as some form of camouflage. The patterns may make it difficult for predators to identify a single animal from a running herd and distort distance at dawn and dusk. Also because of their uniqueness, stripes may also help zebras recognize one another. Zebras are social animals that are accustomed to living in herds. They graze together, primarily on grasslands. Zebras of plains are the most common species. They live in small family groups consisting of a stallion male, several females, and their young. These units may combine with others to form splendid herds but family members will remain close within the herd.

Zebras are constantly aware of lions and hyenas. Some zebras within a herd remain alert to danger. If a zebra is attacked, the other members of its family will immediately come to its defense, attempting to drive off predators and by encircling the wounded zebra.

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Civets – (family-Viverridae)
The 76 species of civets including linsangs, genets and binturongs belong to the viverridae family, while mangoose, meerkats, suricats and fossas are categorized under Herpestidae family. The viverrids are the species of Carnivores, which resemble a combination of cat (felid) and stoat (mustelid). They are, however, more primitive and have a longer snout and extra teeth..
Viverrids are found from Southern Europe, across Africa to southern Asia, in forest, desert and savanna. They are mainly terrestrial, but some are good climbers. The Binturong is almost wholly arboreal, while the otter and genets are semiaquatic. Civets and genets tend to have spots in longitudinal rows along their bodies for camouflage, while the mongoose species are either plain or striped.

Meerkats:     Meerkats, which belong to Herpestidae family are used to Standing Tall in face of danger. They watch their enemy very carefully, and quietly while standing in a group formation, and on their toes to the tallest possible height their bodies can reach. Therefore, tunneled into the strange social life you will often come across meerkats, often considered the beloved carnivores of African desert in this multimedia feature.
Meerkats can also take on a dangerous snake like ‘puff adder’ that encroaches on their territory. Thus the mob of meerkats rule and survive, even against the threat of an approaching ‘Puff Adder’.