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Beaver

Beaver


Fossil Range: Late Miocene - Recent

C. canadensis
C. fiber Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents native to North America and Europe. They are the only members of the family Castoridae, which contains a single genus, Castor. Genetic research has shown the European and North American beaver populations to be distinct species and that hybridization is unlikely. Beavers are best known for their natural trait of building dams in rivers and streams, and building lodges in the eventual artificial pond. They are the second largest rodents, after the capybara. Adult specimens weighing over 25kg are not uncommon.

Species

The European Beaver (Castor fiber) was hunted almost to extinction in Europe, both for fur, and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties. However, the beaver is now being re-introduced throughout Europe. Several thousands live on the Elbe, the Rhone and in parts of Scandinavia. They have been reintroduced in Bavaria and The Netherlands and are tending to spread to new locations. The beaver finally became extinct in Great Britain in the sixteenth century: Giraldus Cambrensis reported in 1188 (Itinerarium ii.iii) that it was to be found only in the Teifi in Wales and in one river in Scotland, though his observations are clearly first-hand. In October 2005, six European beavers were re-introduced to Britain in Lower Mill Estate in Gloucestershire, and there are plans for re-introductions in Scotland and Wales.[http://www.msn.co.uk/htx/returnofthebeaver/] The American Beaver (C. canadensis) is the national animal of Canada; in fact, it is depicted on the Canadian five-cent piece and was on the first Canadian postage stamp, the Three Penny Beaver. However, in several areas of that country, it is considered a pest. It is also the state animal of Oregon, the state mammal of New York (after the historical emblem of New Netherland) and the mascot of Oregon State University. It is also a common school emblem for engineering schools, including the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is also an emblem for London School of Economics and the name of its student newspaper - The Beaver. The extinct North American Giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) was one of largest rodents that ever evolved. It disappeared, with other large mammals in the Holocene extinction event, about 10,000 ybp.

Dams

Holocene extinction event The dams are created both as a protection against predators (bear is the only natural predator) and to provide easy access to food during winter. It is the sound of water in motion that stimulates the beavers to build[http://dep.state.ct.us/burnatr/wildlife/factshts/beaver.htm], and if for example a pipe is placed under the dam to drain it the beavers will not do anything about it. However they repair any damage to the dam and build it higher as long as the sound is there. Conversely, beavers will attempt to build dams in response to recordings of water flowing even in the absence of water. The ponds created by well-maintained dams help isolate the beavers' home, their lodge, also created from severed branches and other natural sources. The lodge has an underwater entrance to make entry nearly impossible for any other animal (however, muskrats have been seen living inside beaver lodges with the beavers who made it). Destroying a beaver dam without removing the beavers takes a lot of effort.

Fur Trade

Beaver pelts were used as barter by Native Americans in the 17th century to gain European goods. They were then shipped back to Great Britain and France where they were made into clothing items. Widespread hunting and trapping of beavers lead to their endangerment. Eventually, the fur trade fell apart due to declining demand in Europe and the take over of trapping grounds to support the growing agriculture sector.

Popular culture

Popular western culture typically depicts the animal positively as a good natured and industrious character such as Mr. and Mrs Beaver who are important heroic characters in the classic fantasy novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Since the animal in a national symbol of Canada, the animal is a favourite choice for depicting Canadians as furry characters.

1911 encyclopedia text

Beaver, the largest European aquatic representative of the mammalian order RODENTIA, easily recognized by its large trowel-like, scaly tail, which is expanded in the horizontal direction. The word is descended from the Aryan name of the animal, cf. Sanskrit babhru's, brown, the great ichneumon, Lat. fiber, Ger. Biber, Swed. bäver, Russ. bobr'; the root bhru has given "brown," and, through Romanic, "bronze" and "burnish." The true beaver (Castor fiber) is a native of Europe and northern Asia, but it is represented in North America by a closely-allied species (C. canadensis), chiefly distinguished by the form of the nasal bones of the skull. 1911 encyclopedia] Beavers are nearly allied to the squirrels (Sciuridae), agreeing in certain structural peculiarities of the lower jaw and skull. In the Sciuridae the two main bones (tibia and fibula) of the lower half of the leg are quite separate, the tail is round and hairy, and the habits are arboreal and terrestrial. In the beavers or Castoridae these bones are in close contact at their lower ends, the tail is depressed, expanded and scaly, and the habits are aquatic. squirrel] Beavers have webbed hind-feet, and the claw of the second hind-toe double. They have poor eyesight, but a keen sense of hearing, smell, and touch. In length beavers--European and American--measure about 2 ft. exclusive of the tail, which is about 10 inches long. They are covered with a fur to which they owe their chief commercial value; this consists of two kinds of hair--the one close-set, silky and of a greyish colour, the other much coarser and longer, and of a reddish brown. Beavers are essentially aquatic in their habits, never travelling by land unless driven by necessity. Formerly common in England, the European beaver has not only been exterminated there, but likewise in most of the countries of the continent, although a few remain on the Elbe, the Rhone and in parts of Scandinavia. The American species is also greatly diminished in numbers from incessant pursuit for the sake of its valuable fur. Beavers are sociable animals, living in streams, where, so as to render the water of sufficient depth, they build dams of mud and of the stems and boughs of trees felled by their powerful incisor teeth. In the neighbourhood they make their "lodges," which are roomy chambers, with the entrance beneath the water. The mud is plastered down by the fore-feet, and not, as often supposed, by the tail, which is employed solely as a rudder. They are mainly nocturnal, and subsist chiefly on bark and twigs or the roots of water plants. Rhone] Rhone] The dam differs in shape according to the nature of particular localities. Where the water has little motion it is almost straight; where the current is considerable it is curved, with its convexity towards the stream. The materials made use of are driftwood, green willows, birch and poplars; also mud and stones intermixed in such a manner as contributes to the strength of the dam; but there is no particular method observed, except that the work is carried on with a regular sweep, and that all the parts are made of equal strength. "In places," writes Hearne, "which have been long frequented by beavers undisturbed, their dams, by frequent repairing, become a solid bank, capable of resisting a great force both of ice and water; and as the willow, poplar and birch generally take root and shoot up, they by degrees form a kind of regular planted hedge, which I have seen in some places so tall that birds have built their nests among the branches." Their houses are formed of the same materials as the dams, with little order or regularity of structure, and seldom contain more than four old, and six or eight young beavers. It not unfrequently happens that some of the larger houses have one or more partitions, but these are only posts of the main building left by the builders to support the roof, for the apartments have usually no communication with each other except by water. birch] The beavers carry the mud and stones with their fore-paws and the timber between their teeth. They always work in the night and with great expedition. They cover their houses late every autumn with fresh mud, which, freezing when the frost sets in, becomes almost as hard as stone, so that neither wolves nor wolverines can disturb their repose. The favourite food of the American beaver is the water-lily (Nuphar luteum), which bears a resemblance to a cabbage-stalk, and grows at the bottom of lakes and rivers. Beavers also gnaw the bark of birch, poplar and willow trees; but during the summer a more varied herbage, with the addition of berries, is consumed. When the ice breaks up in spring they always leave their embankments, and rove about until a little before the fall of the leaf, when they return to their old habitations, and lay in their winter stock of wood. They seldom begin to repair the houses till the frost sets in, and never finish the outer coating till the cold becomes severe. When they erect a new habitation they fell the wood early in summer, but seldom begin building till towards the end of August. Castoreum is a substance contained in two pear-shaped pouches situated near the organs of reproduction, of a bitter taste and slightly foetid odour, at one time largely employed as a medicine, but now used only in perfumery. Fossil remains of beavers are found in the peat and other superficial deposits of England and the continent of Europe; while in the Pleistocene formations of England and Siberia occur remains of a giant extinct beaver, Trogontherium cuvieri, representing a genus by itself.

Reference


- [http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180211 ITIS 180211] 2002-12-14

External links


- [http://www.cgkids.ca/cgkids/animal/2005_01_beaver.asp Animal fact sheets] Canadian Geographic Kids
- [http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/o1_e.cfm Canadian Heritage - the beaver as a national symbol]
- [http://www.scotsbeavers.org A website about reintroducing the beaver to Scotland]
- [http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/QL737xR6xD84 The romance of the beaver;] being the history of the beaver in the western hemisphere, by A. Radclyffe Dugmore. Illustrated with photographs from life and drawings by the author. Publisher: Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott company; London, W. Heinemann 1914 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries) Category:Rodents Category:Fur trade ko:비버 ja:ビーバー

Miocene

The Miocene epoch is a period of time that extends from about 23 to 5.3 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the start and end are well identified, but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are uncertain. The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words meion (less) and ceno (new) and means "less recent" because it has 18% (less than the Pliocene) of modern sea invertebrates. The Miocene follows the Oligocene Epoch and is followed by the Pliocene Epoch. The Miocene is the first epoch of the Neogene period. The Miocene boundaries are not set at an easily identified worldwide event but rather at regional boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene.

Miocene Subdivisions

The Miocene faunal stages from youngest to oldest are: The subdivisions within the Miocene are defined by the relative abundance of different species of calcareous nanofossils (calcite platelets shed by brown single-celled algae) and foraminifera (single-celled protists with diagnostic shells).

Miocene Climate

Climates remained moderately warm although slow global cooling that eventual led to the Pleistocene glaciations continued. Although a long-term cooling trend was well underway, there is evidence for a warm period during the Miocene when the global climate rivalled that of the Oligocene. The Miocene warming began 21 million years ago and continued until 14 million years ago, when global temperatures took a sharp drop. By 8 million years ago, temperatures dropped sharply once again, and the Antarctic ice sheet was already approaching its present-day size and thickness. Greenland may have begun to have large glaciers as early as 7 to 8 million years ago, although the climate for the most part remained warm enough to support forests there well into the Pliocene.

Miocene Paleogeography

Continents continued to drift toward their present positions. Of the modern geologic features, only the land bridge between South America and North America was absent. Mountain building took place in Western North America and Europe. Both continental and marine Miocene deposits are common worldwide with marine outcrops common near modern shorelines. Well studied continental exposures occur in the American Great Plains and in Argentina.

Miocene Flora

Grasslands underwent a major expansion as forests fell victim to a generally cooler and drier climate overall. Grasses also diversified greatly into a number of species and also caused a major increase in the biodiversity of large herbivores, including ruminants (of which modern cattle and deer belong to).

Miocene Fauna

Both marine and continental fauna were fairly modern. Only in isolated South America and Australia did widely divergent fauna exist.

Mammals

Recognizable wolves, horses, beaver, deer, camels, whales, etc. existed in the Miocene.

Birds

Recognizable crows, ducks, and owls appear in the Miocene.

Miocene Oceans

The oceans continue cooling, and brown algae plants, called kelp, proliferate, supporting new species of sea life, including otters, fish and various invertebrates.

See also


- Geologic Time Scale

External References


- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/beasts/changing/miocene/index.shtml BBC Changing Worlds: Miocene]
- [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/change/deeptime/miocene.html PBS Deep Time: Eocene]
- [http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/tertiary/mio.html UCMP Berkeley Miocene Epoch Page] ja:中新世

American Beaver


The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to Canada, most of the United States and parts of northern Mexico. Its fur is dark brown. It has a rounded head, a large flat paddle-shaped tail and webbed hind feet. The unwebbed front paws are smaller, with claws. This is the largest rodent found in North America; the only larger rodent is the South American Capybara. Beavers are mainly active at night. They are excellent swimmers but are more vulnerable on land and tend to remain in the water as much as possible. They are able to remain submerged for up to 15 minutes. An scent gland near their genitals secretes an oily substance known as castoreum which is used to waterproof its fur. A thick layer of fat under its skin insulates the beaver from its cold water environment. The eyes are covered by a nictitating membrane which allows the beaver to see underwater. Their nostrils and ears are sealed while submerged. They sometimes make their home in a river bank, but they are best known for building dams across streams and constructing their "lodge" in the artificial pond which forms. The entrance to the lodge or burrow is located underwater. In the event of danger, a beaver slaps its tail on the water to warn other family members. Research has shown that dam-building behaviour and choice of dam location is triggered by the sound of flowing water. The dam is constructed using sections of deciduous trees, especially birch, aspen, willow and poplar. This vegetation is also an important part of the beaver's diet. The trees are cut down using their strong incisor teeth. Their front paws are used for digging and carrying and placing materials. During the summer, beavers also eat grasses, cattails, water lilies and other aquatic plants. Besides providing a safe home for the beaver, beaver ponds also provide habitat for waterfowl and other aquatic animals. Their dams help reduce soil erosion and can help reduce flooding. Beavers usually mate for life. The young beaver "kits" typically remain with their parents for up to two years.

Threats

These animals are considered pests in some parts of their range because their dams can cause flooding in nearby areas. They are incredibly persistent in repairing any damage to the dam and the only way to make them stop is to remove them from the location. These animals are often trapped for their fur. During the early 19th century, trapping eliminated this animal from most of its original range. The beaver furs were used to make clothing and top-hats. Much of the early exploration of North America was driven by the quest for this animal's fur. Native peoples and early settlers also ate this animal's meat. The current beaver population has been estimated to be 10 to 15 million; there may have originally been ten times that many beavers in North America before the days of the fur trade. Other predators include the Coyote, the Grey Wolf, the Bobcat and the Red Fox.

The Beaver as Symbol

Red Fox This is the national animal of Canada; it is depicted on the Canadian five-cent piece and was on the first Canadian postage stamp, the Three Penny Beaver. It is also the state animal of Oregon and New York, and a common school emblem for engineering schools, including the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In parts of North America, fried dough pastries known as "Beavertails" are eaten at outdoor events.

External links


- [http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/o1_e.cfm Canadian Heritage - the beaver as a national symbol]
- [http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/QL737xR6xD84 The romance of the beaver;] being the history of the beaver in the western hemisphere, by A. Radclyffe Dugmore. Illustrated with photographs from life and drawings by the author. Publisher: Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott company; London, W. Heinemann 1914 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries) Category:Rodents Category:Fur trade

Rodent


Fossil Range: Paleocene - Recent
See Classification Section The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. Currently there are, depending on the authority consulted, between 2000 and 3000 species of rodent—roughly half of all mammal species. Rodents are found in vast numbers on all continents except Antarctica (they are the only placental order other than bats (Chiroptera) to reach Australia without human introduction), most islands, and in all habitats bar the oceans. Groups commonly confused with rodents, or erroneously thought to be rodents, include the aforementioned Chiroptera (bats), Scandentia (tree shrews), Insectivora (moles, shrews and hedgehogs), and Lagomorpha (hares, rabbits and pikas) and carnivore mink. Most rodents are small. The tiny African Pygmy Mouse is only 6 cm in length and 7 grams in weight. On the other hand, the Capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (100 pounds) and the extinct Phoberomys pattersoni is believed to have weighed 700 kg. Rodents have two incisors in the upper as well as in the lower jaw which grow continuously and must be kept worn down by gnawing; this is the origin of the name, from the Latin rodere, to gnaw. These teeth are used for cutting wood, biting through the skin of fruit, or for defence. These teeth have enamel on the outside and exposed dentine on the inside, so they self-sharpen during gnawing. Rodents lack canines, and have a space between their incisors and premolars. Nearly all rodents feed on plants, seeds in particular, but there are a few exceptions which eat insects or even fish. Rodents are important in many ecosystems because they reproduce rapidly, and can function as food sources for predators, mechanisms for seed dispersal, and as disease vectors. Humans use rodents as a source of fur, as a model organism in animal testing, for food, and even in detecting landmines[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/18/1084783512636.html?oneclick=true].

Natural History

The fossil record of rodents began after the extinction of the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago. The earliest rodents resembled squirrels and from these stem rodents, they diversified. By the end of the Eocene epoch, beavers and squirrels appeared in the fossil record. Their origins were from Laurasia, the joined continents of North America, Europe, and Asia. Some species colonized Africa, giving rise to the earliest hystricognaths. From there they rafted to South America, an isolated continent during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. By the Miocene, Africa collided with Asia, allowing rodents such as porcupines to spread intoEurasia. During the Pliocene, rodent fossils appeared in Australia. Even though marsupials are prominent residents in Australia, it is the rodents that dominate the mammalian fauna: making up almost 25% of the mammals on the continent. Meanwhile, the Americas collided. Rodents expanded into unknown territory: mice headed south and porcupines headed north. ;Some Prehistoric Rodents :Castoroides, a giant beaver :Ceratogaulus, a horned burrowing rodent :Flores Giant Rat, a rat that grew to large size alongside small elephants and humans on the island of Flores :Giant hutias, a group of rodents once found in the West Indies :Ischyromys, a primitive squirrel-like rodent :Leithia, a giant dormouse :Neochoerus pinckneyi, a giant North American capybara that weighed 110 pounds :Phoberomys pattersoni, the largest known rodent :Telicomys, a giant South American rodent

Classification

The rodents are part of the clades: Glires (along with lagomorphs), Euarchontoglires (along with lagomorphs, primates, tree shrews, and colugos), and Boreoeutheria (along with most other placental mammals). The order Rodentia may be divided into suborders, infraorders, superfamilies and families. This is a common classification scheme:
- ORDER RODENTIA
- Suborder Sciurognathi
  - Infraorder Sciurida
    - Family Sciuridae: squirrels, including chipmunks & prairie dogs
    - Family Aplodontiidae: mountain beaver
  - Infraorder Castorimorpha
    - Family Castoridae: beavers
  - Infraorder Anomaluromorpha
    - Family Anomaluridae: scaly-tailed squirrels
    - Family Pedetidae: springhares
  - Infraorder Ctenodactylomorpha
    - Family Ctenodactylidae: gundis
  - Infraorder Glirimorpha
    - Family Gliridae (also Myoxidae, Muscardinidae): dormice
  - Infraorder Geomorpha
    - Family Geomyidae: pocket gophers (true gophers)
    - Family Heteromyidae: kangaroo rats and kangaroo mice
  - Infraorder Myodonta
    - Superfamily Dipodoidea
      - Family Zapodidae: jumping mice
      - Family Dipodidae: jerboas
    - Superfamily Muroidea
      - Family Platacanthomyidae: spiny dormice
      - Family Spalacidae: mole rats, bamboo rats, and zokors
      - Family Calomyscidae: mouse-like hamsters
      - Family Nesomyidae: climbing mice, rock mice, white-tailed rat, Malagasy rats and mice
      - Family Cricetidae: hamsters, New World rats and mice, voles
      - Family Muridae: true mice and rats, gerbils, spiny mice, crested rat
- Suborder Hystricognathi
  - Family Laonastidae: Laotian rock rat
  - Family Hystricidae: Old World porcupines
  - Family Erethizontidae: New World porcupines
  - Family Thryonomyidae: cane rats
  - Family Petromuridae: dassie rat
  - Family Bathyergidae: African mole rats
  - Infraorder Caviomorpha
    - Family Octodontidae: octodonts
    - Family Echimyidae: spiny rats
    - Family Capromyidae: hutias
    - Family †Heptaxodontidae: giant hutias
    - Family Myocastoridae: nutria
    - Family Dasyproctidae: agoutis
    - Family Dinomyidae: pacaranas
    - Family Caviidae: cavies, including guinea pigs
    - Family Hydrochoeridae: Capybara
    - Family Chinchillidae: chinchillas and viscachas
    - Family Abrocomidae: chinchilla rats
    - Family Ctenomyidae: tuco-tucos

Alternate Classifications

The above taxonomy uses the shape of the lower jaw (sciurognath or hystricognath) as the primary character. This is the most commonly used approach for dividing the order into suborders. Many older references emphasize the zygomasseteric system (suborders Protrogomorpha, Sciuromorpha, Hystricomorpha, and Myomorpha). Several molecular phylogenetic studies have used gene sequences to determine the relationships among rodents, but these studies are yet to produce a single consistent and well-supported taxonomy. Some clades have been consistently produced such as:
- Ctenohystrica contains:
  - Ctenodactylidae (gundis)
  - Hystricognathi containing:
    - Hystricidae
    - An unnamed clade containing:
      - Phiomorpha
      - Caviomorpha
- An unnnamed clade contains:
  - Gliridae
  - Sciuroidea containing:
    - Aplodontiidae
    - Sciuridae
- Myodonta includes:
  - Dipodoidea
  - Muroidea The positions of the Castoridae, Geomyoidea, Anomaluridae, and Pedetidae are still being debated.

References


- Adkins, R. M. E. L. Gelke, D. Rowe, and R. L. Honeycutt. 2001. Molecular phylogeny and divergence time estimates for major rodent groups: Evidence from multiple genes. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 18:777-791.
- Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London.
- Steppan, S. J., R. A. Adkins, and J. Anderson. 2004. Phylogeny and divergence date estimates of rapid radiations in muroid rodents based on multiple nuclear genes. Systematic Biology, 53:533-553. Category:Mammals ko:설치류 ja:ネズミ目

North America

North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean. It covers an area of 24,497,994 km² (9,458,728 sq mi), or about 4.8% of the Earth's surface. As of July 2002, its population was estimated at more than 514,600,000. It is the third largest continent in area, after Asia and Africa, and is fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. Both North and South America are named after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a previously undiscovered (by Europeans) New World. North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, or simply America. North America's only land connection is to South America at the narrow Isthmus of Panama. (For geopolitical reasons, all of Panama – including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is often considered a part of North America alone.) According to some authorities, North America begins not at the Isthmus of Panama but at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with the intervening region called Central America and resting on the Caribbean Plate. Most, however, tend to see Central America as a region of North America, considering it too small to be a continent on its own. Greenland, although a part of North America geographically, is not considered to be part of the continent politically.

Physical features

Greenland, plutonic, metamorphic rock types of North America. ]] Plate tectonics recognizes the vast majority of North America as being the surface of the North American Plate. Parts of California and western Mexico are known for being the edge of the Pacific Plate, with the two plates meeting along the San Andreas fault. The continent can be divided into four great regions (each of which contains many sub-regions): the Great Plains stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Arctic; the geologically young, mountainous west, including the Rocky Mountains, the Great Basin, California and Alaska; the raised but relatively flat plateau of the Canadian Shield in the northeast; and the varied eastern region, which includes the Appalachian Mountains, the coastal plain along the Atlantic seaboard, and the Florida peninsula. Mexico, with its long plateaus and cordilleras, falls largely in the western region, although the eastern coastal plain does extend south along the Gulf. The western mountains are split in the middle, into the main range of the Rockies and the coast ranges in California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia with the Great Basin – a lower area containing smaller ranges and low-lying deserts – in between. The highest peak is Denali in Alaska. Since 1931, Rugby, North Dakota, has officially been recognized as being at the geographic center of North America. The location is marked by a 4.5 metre (15 foot) field stone obelisk. Image:North america terrain 2003 map.jpg|North America bedrock and terrain. Image:North america basement rocks.png|North American cratons and basement rocks. Image:North America Tectonic Elements.jpg|Tectonic elements of North America Image:North america craton nps.gif|North American craton.

Territories and regions

craton On the main continent landmass, there are three large and relatively populous countries:
- Canada - many large islands off the shore of North America belong to Canada, including Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands on the west, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island on the east, and the Canadian Arctic islands (including Ellesmere Island, Baffin Island, and Victoria Island) in the north
- Mexico - the Revillagigedo archipelago and numerous smaller islands off its coast belong to Mexico
- The United States - the 48 contiguous states and Alaska are part of North America, while the state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean is not; the Aleutian Islands south of Alaska also belong to the U.S. At the southern end of the continent, in a relatively small area known as Central America, are the countries of:
- Belize
- Costa Rica
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
- Panama 1 At the southeastern end of the continent lies a chain of islands territories called the Antilles, the Caribbean or the West Indies, which include the countries:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Grenada
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago 1 And the dependencies:
- Anguilla (British overseas territory)
- Aruba 2 (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Cayman Islands (British overseas territory)
- Guadeloupe (French région d'outre-mer)
- Martinique (French région d'outre-mer)
- Montserrat (British overseas territory)
- Navassa Island (U.S. territory)
- Netherlands Antilles 1 (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Puerto Rico (U.S. commonwealth)
- Turks and Caicos Islands (British overseas territory)
- British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory)
- U.S. Virgin Islands (territory of the USA) Lying in the Atlantic Ocean but considered part of the continent are the dependencies:
- Bermuda, a British overseas territory found about 1,072 km (670 mi.) southeast of New York City
- Greenland, the largest island in the world and a self-governing dependency of Denmark, which is located in the far north of the continent to the east of Nunavut.
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French collectivité d'outre-mer off the south coast of Newfoundland, is the last of France's once vast possessions in America north of the Caribbean. 1 These states and dependencies have territory both in North and South America.
2 These dependencies lie in South America, but are considered North American because of cultural and historical reasons.
See here for details.

Usage

The United States, Canada, and the other English-speaking nations of the Americas (Belize, Guyana, and the Anglophone Caribbean) are sometimes grouped under the term Anglo-America, while the remaining nations of North and South America are grouped under the term Latin America. Alternatively, Northern America is used to refer to Canada and the U.S. together (plus Greenland and Bermuda), while Central America is mainland North America south of the United States. The West Indies generally include all islands in the Caribbean Sea. In this respect, Latin America generally includes Central America and South America and, sometimes, the West Indies. The term Middle America is sometimes used to refer to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean collectively. The term "North America" may mean different things to different people. The term in common usage is often taken to mean "the United States and Canada, only" by some people of the United States and Canada, excluding Mexico and the countries of Central America, unless the context makes it clear that they are to be included (such as with specific reference to Mexico, when talking about NAFTA). For example, guides to wild flora and fauna published by the National Audubon Society for "North America" frequently include only species found in Canada and the U.S. This may be attributed to the fact that culturally and economically, the U.S. and Canada are more alike to each other than they are to the rest of North America. Mexicans, however, are acutely aware that Mexico is a part of North America and object to this usage. Central Americans, however, are generally content to be called Central Americans – largely because of their shared history, which includes several attempts at supranational integration in the region and in which Mexico, their much larger northern neighbor, was never involved.

Political divisions and regions

Notes:
1 Continental regions as per UN categorisations/map.
2 Depending on definitions, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago have territory in one or both of North and South America.
3 Due to ongoing activity of the Soufriere Hills volcano beginning 1995, much of Plymouth, Montserrat's de jure capital, was destroyed and government offices relocated to Brades.

See also


- Discoverer of the Americas
- Economy of North America
- European colonization of the Americas
- History of North America
- Birds of North America

External links


- http://www.america-norte.com/america-norte-mapa.htm Category:Continents Category:North America zh-min-nan:Pak Bí-chiu ko:북아메리카 ja:北アメリカ simple:North America th:ทวีปอเมริกาเหนือ

Europe

:This article is about the continent. For other meanings, see Europe (disambiguation). Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula or subcontinent, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. It is conventionally considered a continent, which, in this case, is more of a cultural distinction than a geographic one. It is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and to the south by the Mediterranean and Black Seas and the Caucasus. Europe's boundary to the east is vague, but has traditionally been given as the Ural Mountains and Caspian Sea to the southeast: the Urals are considered by most to be a geographical and tectonic landmark separating Asia from Europe. :See also Continent, Bicontinental country, and Table of European territories and regions. Table of European territories and regions Table of European territories and regions Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area, covering around 10,790,000 km² (4,170,000 sq mi) or 2.1% of the Earth's surface, and is only larger than Australia. In terms of population, it is the third-largest continent (Asia and Africa are larger) with a population of more than 700,000,000, or about 11% of the world's population.

Etymology

Africa.]] In Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess who was abducted by Zeus in bull form and taken to the island of Crete, where she gave birth to Minos. For Homer, Europé (Greek: Ευρωπη; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later Europa stood for mainland Greece, and by 500 BC its meaning had been extended to lands to the north. The Greek term Europe has been derived from Greek words meaning broad (eurys) and face (ops) -- broad having been an epitheton of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion; see Prithvi (Plataia). A minority, however, suggest this Greek popular etymology is really based on a Semitic word such as the Akkadian erebu meaning "sunset" (see also Erebus). From the Middle Eastern vantagepoint, the sun does set over Europe, the lands to the west. Likewise, Asia is sometimes thought to have derived from the Akkadian word asu, meaning "sunrise", and is the land to the east from a Mesopotamian perspective.

History

Europe has a long history of cultural and economic achievement, starting as far back as the Palaeolithic, although this is true for the rest of the Old World as well. The recent discovery at Monte Poggiolo, Italy, of thousands of hand-shaped stones, tentatively carbon-dated to 800,000 years ago, may prove to be of particular importance. The origins of Western democratic and individualistic culture are often attributed to Ancient Greece, though numerous other distinct influences, in particular Christianity, can also be credited with the spread of concepts like egalitarianism and universality of law. The Roman Empire divided the continent along the Rhine and Danube for several centuries. Following the decline of the Roman Empire, Europe entered a long period of changes arising from what is known as the Age of Migrations. That period has been known as the "Dark Ages" to Renaissance thinkers. During this time, isolated monastic communities in Ireland and elsewhere carefully safeguarded and compiled written knowledge accumulated previously. The Renaissance and the New Monarchs marked the start of a period of discovery, exploration, and increase in scientific knowledge. In the 15th century Portugal opened the age of discoveries, soon followed by Spain. They were later joined by France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in building large colonial empires with vast holdings in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. After the age of discovery, the ideas of democracy took hold in Europe. Struggles for independence arose, most notably in France during the period known as the French Revolution. This led to vast upheaval in Europe as these revolutionary ideas propagated across the continent. The rise of democracy led to increased tensions within Europe on top of the tensions already existing due to competition within the New World. The most famous of these conflicts was when Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power and set out on a conquest, forming a new French empire that soon collapsed. After these conquests Europe stabilised, but the old foundations were already beginning to crumble. The Industrial Revolution started in the United Kingdom in the late 18th century, leading to a move away from agriculture, much greater general prosperity and a corresponding increase in population. Many of the states in Europe took their present form in the aftermath of World War I. From the end of World War II through the end of the Cold War, Europe was divided into two major political and economic blocks: Communist nations in Eastern Europe and capitalist countries in Western Europe. Around 1990, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Eastern bloc disintegrated.

Geography and extent

Eastern bloc Geographically Europe is a part of the larger landmass known as Eurasia. The continent begins at the Ural Mountains in Russia, which define Europe's eastern boundary with Asia. The southeast boundary with Asia isn't universally defined. Most commonly the Ural or, alternatively, the Emba river can serve as possible boundaries. The boundary continues with the Caspian Sea, and then the Araxes river in the Caucasus, and on to the Black Sea; the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. The Mediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean, but Iceland, much farther away than the nearest points of Africa and Asia, is also often included in Europe. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe is. At times "Europe" is defined with greater regard to political, economic, and other cultural considerations. This has led to there being several different Europes that are not always identical in size, including or excluding countries according to the definition of Europe used. Almost all European countries are members of the Council of Europe, the exceptions being Belarus, and the Holy See (Vatican City). The idea of the European continent is not held across all cultures. Some non-European geographical texts refer to the continent of Eurasia, or to the European peninsula, given that Europe is not surrounded by sea. In the past concepts such as Christendom were deemed more important. In another usage, Europe is increasingly being used as a short-form for the European Union (EU) and its members, currently consisting of 25 member states. A number of other European countries are negotiating for membership, and several more are expected to begin negotiations in the future (see Enlargement of the European Union).

Physical features

In terms of shape, Europe is a collection of connected peninsulas. The two largest of these are "mainland" Europe and Scandinavia to the north, divided from each other by the Baltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulas (Iberia, Italy and the Balkans) emerge from the southern margin of the mainland into the Mediterranean Sea, which separates Europe from Africa. Eastward, mainland Europe widens much like the mouth of a funnel, until the boundary with Asia is reached at the Ural Mountains. Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions, however, are more mountainous, while moving north the terrain descends from the high Alps, Pyrenees and Carpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. This extended lowland is known as the Great European Plain, and at its heart lies the North German Plain. An arc of uplands also exists along the northwestern seaboard, beginning in the western British Isles and continuing along the mountainous, fjord-cut spine of Norway. This description is simplified. Sub-regions such as Iberia and Italy contain their own complex features, as does mainland Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys and basins that complicate the general trend. Iceland and the British Isles are special cases. The former is a land unto itself in the northern ocean which is counted as part of Europe, while the latter are upland areas that were once joined to the mainland until rising sea levels cut them off. Due to the few generalisations that can be made about the relief of Europe, it is less than surprising that its many separate regions provided homes for many separate nations throughout history.

Biodiversity

Having lived side-by-side with agricultural peoples for millennia, Europe's animals and plants have been profoundly affected by the presence and activities of man. With the exception of Scandinavia and northern Russia, few areas of untouched wilderness are today to be found in Europe, except for different natural parks. The main natural vegetation cover in Europe is forest. The conditions for growth are very favourable. In the north, the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift warm the continent. Southern Europe could be described as having a warm, but mild climate. There are frequent summer droughts in this region. Mountain ridges also affect the conditions. Some of these (Alps, Pyrenees) are oriented east-west and allow the wind to carry large masses of water from the ocean in the interior. Others are oriented south-north (Scandinavian Mountains, Dinarides, Carpathians, Apennines) and because the rain falls primarily on the side of mountains that is oriented towards sea, forests grow well on this side, while on the other side, the conditions are much less favourable. Few corners of mainland Europe have not been grazed by livestock at some point in time, and the cutting down of the pre-agricultural forest habitat caused disruption to the original plant and animal ecosystems. Eighty to ninety per cent of Europe was once covered by forest. It stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Ocean. Though over half of Europe's original forests disappeared through the centuries of colonisation, Europe still has over one quarter of the world's forests - spruce forests of Scandinavia, vast pine forests in Russia, chestnut rainforests of the Caucasus and the cork oak forests in the Mediterranean. During recent times, deforestation has been stopped and many trees were planted. However, in many cases conifers have been preferred over original deciduous trees, because these grow quicker. The plantations and monocultures now cover vast areas of land and this offers very poor habitats for European forest dwelling species. The amount of original forests in Western Europe is just two to three per cent (in the European part of Russia five to ten per cent). The country with the smallest forest-covered area is Ireland (eight per cent), while the most forested country is Finland (72 per cent). In "mainland" Europe, deciduous forest prevails. The most important species are beech, birch and oak. In the north, where taiga grows, a very common tree species is the birch tree. In the Mediterranean, many olive trees have been planted, which are very well adapted to its arid climate. Another common species in Southern Europe is the cypress. Coniferous forests prevail at higher altitudes up to the forest boundary and as one moves north within Russia and Scandinavia, giving way to tundra as the Arctic is approached. The semi-arid Mediterranean region hosts much scrub forest. A narrow east-west tongue of Eurasian grassland—the steppe—extends eastwards from Ukraine and southern Russia and ends in Hungary and traverses into taiga to the north. Glaciation during the most recent ice age and the presence of man affected the distribution of European fauna. As for the animals, in many parts of Europe most large animals and top predator species have been hunted to extinction. The woolly mammoth and aurochs were extinct before the end of the Neolithic period. Today wolves (carnivores) and bears (omnivores) are endangered. Once they were found in most parts of Europe. However, deforestation caused these animals to withdraw further and further. By the Middle Ages the bears' habitats were limited to more or less inaccessible mountains with sufficient forest cover. Today, the brown bear lives primarily in the Balkan peninsula, in the North and in Russia; a small number also persist in other countries across Europe (Austria, Pyrenees etc.), but in these areas brown bear populations are fragmented and marginalised because of the destruction of their habitat. In the far North of Europe, polar bears can also be found. The wolf, the second largest predator in Europe after the brown bear, can be found primarily in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans. Other important European carnivores are Eurasian lynx, European wild cat, foxes (especially the red fox), jackal and different species of martens, hedgehogs, different species of snakes (vipers, grass snake...), different birds (owls, hawks and other birds of prey) Important European herbivores are snails, amphibians, fish, different birds, and mammals, like rodents, deers and roe deers, boars, and living in the mountains, marmots, steinbocks, chamoises among others. Sea creatures are also an important part of European flora and fauna. The sea flora is mainly phytoplankton. Important animals that live in European seas are zooplankton, molluscs, echinoderms, different crayfish, squids and octopuses, fish, dolphins, and whales. Some animals live in caves, for example proteus and bats.

Demographics

Almost all of Europe was possibly settled before or during the last ice age ca. 10,000 years ago. Neanderthal man and modern man coexisted during at least some of this time. Roman road building helped with the interbreeding of the native Europeans' genetics. In contemporary times Europe has one of the lowest inbreeding rates in the world because of an extensive transport network paired with open borders. Europe passed well over 600 million people before the turn of the 20th century, but now is entering a period of population decline, for a variety of social factors.

Territories and divisions

Political divisions

Independent states

interbreeding on this map.]] :See also: Table of European territories and regions The following independent states have territory in Europe: 2 Azerbaijan and Georgia lie partly in Europe according to the usual definition which consider the crest of the Caucasus as the boundary with Asia.
3 Kazakhstan's European territory consists of a portion west of the Ural and Emba Rivers.
4 The name of this state is a matter of international dispute. See Republic of Macedonia for details.
5 Those territories of Russia lying west of the Ural Mountains are considered as part of Europe.
6 State union of Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro.
7 European Turkey comprises territory to the west and north of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles straits.
2, 3, 5, 7 See Countries in both Europe and Asia for details.

Dependent territories

The European territories listed below are recognised as being culturally and geographically defined. Most have a degree of autonomy. In the list below, each territory is followed by its legal status.
- Faroe Islands (autonomous region of Denmark)
- Gibraltar (UK overseas territory)
- Guernsey (British crown dependency)
- Jersey (British crown dependency)
- Man, Isle of (British crown dependency)
- Svalbard (autonomous region of Norway) Note that this is not a list of all dependencies of all European countries. Dependencies located on other continents are not listed.

Unilaterally seceded territories

Following are breakaway regions of independent states. These regions have declared and de facto achieved independence, but this is not recognised de jure by their home state or by the other independent states.
- Abkhazia (from Georgia)
- Nagorno-Karabakh (disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan)
- South Ossetia (from Georgia)
- Transnistria (from Moldova)

Territories under United Nations administration


- Kosovo and Metohia (province of Serbia)

Table of European territories and regions

Notes:
1 Continental regions as per UN categorisations/map. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below (notes 2-6, 8, 9) may be in one or both of Europe and Asia.
2 Armenia is sometimes considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and Western Asia (as per UN categorisations/map).
3 Azerbaijan is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion only.
4Cyprus is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Southern Europe; population and area figures are for de jure Greek-administered portion only.
5Georgia is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion only.
6Kazakhstan is sometimes considered a transcontinental country in Central Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe.
7Netherlands population for July 2004; Amsterdam is the de facto capital, while The Hague is the country's administrative seat.
8Russia is generally considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe (UN region) and Asia; population and area figures are for European portion only.
9Turkey is generally considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Southern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion only, including all of Istanbul.

Linguistic and cultural regions

The sub-division in several linguistic and cultural regions is much less subjective than the geographical sub-division, since they correspond to people's cultural connections. There are three main groups:

Germanic Europe

Germanic Europe, where Germanic languages are spoken. This area corresponds more or less to north-western Europe and some parts of central Europe. The main religion of the region is Protestantism, even if there are also some countries with Catholic majority (particularly Austria). This region consists of: United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands, German-speaking Switzerland, the Flemish part of Belgium, the Swedish-speaking municipalities of Finland, and the South Tyrol part of Italy.

Latin Europe

Latin Europe, where the Romance languages are spoken. This area corresponds more or less to south-western Europe, with the exception of Romania and Moldova which are situated in Eastern Europe. The major religion is Catholicism, except in Romania and Moldova. This area consists of: Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Romania, Moldova, French-speaking Belgium and French speaking Switzerland, and Italian and Romansh speaking Switzerland as well.

Slavic Europe

Slavic Europe, where Slavic languages are spoken. This area corresponds, more or less, to Central and Eastern Europe. The main religions are Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism, with large Muslim populations in some parts formerly ruled by the Ottoman Empire. This area consists of: Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

Others

Outside of these three main groups we can find:
- The Celtic nations: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall (within the United Kingdom); the Isle of Man (a British Crown dependency); the Republic of Ireland; Brittany (within France). These are all nations where a Celtic language is spoken, or was spoken into modern times, and there is a degree of shared culture (see Pan Celticism). Also considered Celtic nations, by some, are both Galicia (Spain) and Asturias, (within Spain), whose own Celtic language died out several hundred years ago.
- Greece, the only country of "Hellenic Europe".In Hellenic Europe we can consider also the Greek Cypriot community It is sometimes associated with the Latin countries, due to the geographical and cultural ties to the Mediterranean Sea, and sometimes to the Slavic-Orthodox part of Europe due to the importance or Orthodoxy in Greece.
- Armenia has a language that constitutes a separate branch of Indo-European family of languages. The Armenian language is spoken in Armenia and other European countries with Armenian communities (such as France, Greece, Belgium, Russia, Germany etc.).
- Ibero-Caucasian, a group that includes ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus region (both North and South). Ibero-Caucasian languages are not linked to the Indo-European languages. This group includes Georgians, Abkhaz, Chechens, Balkars, and a number of other smaller ethnic groups that reside in the Caucasus.
- Turkey, having an Altaic language not of Indo-European origin, and mainly a Muslim country, unlike the main regions' different versions of Christianity.
- Hungary, having a language related to Finnish and Estonian. Due to its location Hungary is normally grouped with Central or Eastern European countries.
- Finland and Estonia, whose languages are related to Hungarian. Despite this connection (not a close one), Finland and Estonia are normally associated with northern European countries (of an even farther connection).

See also


- Eurasia
- Culture of Europe
- Economy of Europe
- Geography of Europe
- History of Europe
- Politics of Europe
- Transport in Europe
- Eurozone
- European Union
- Euroregion
- Europium

Lists and tables


- General
  - Table of European territories and regions
- Demographics
  - Area and population of European countries
  - European Union Statistics
  - The most populous metropolitan areas in Europe
  - The most populous urban areas of the European Union
- Economy
  - Economy of the European Union
  - Financial and social rankings of European countries
  - GDP of European Countries
- Political
  - Alternative names of European cities
  - Date of independence of European countries
  - International Organisations in Europe (table of membership)
- Other
  - List of Europe-related topics

External links


-
- [http://www.democracyineurope.com Democracy in Europe]
- [http://www.holidayhomeseuro.com European holiday homes]
- [http://phoenicia.org/europa.html Europa, the Phoenician Princess] - overwhelmed Zeus with love
- [http://www.europestartpage.com EUROPEstartpage.com, travel and city guide to Europe]
- [http://www.limitlesseurope.com LimitlessEurope.com : information guide to Europe]
- [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=13266 Europe at Night] at NASA Earth Observatory
- [http://www.geog.tamu.edu/~prout/GVmidtermTwo.html Regions of Europe]
- [http://p086.ezboard.com/balbanau Evropa / Europa / Europe]
- [http://www.eufpc.org EUFPC European Foreign Policy Council]
- [http://www.itmaps.com/?modul=map Map of Europe]
- [http://www.freeworldmaps.net/europe/index.html Physical Map of Europe]
- [http://www.parks.it/europa/Eindex.html Parks in Europe] - National parks, nature parks, reserves and other protected areas. Category:Continents als:Europa roa-rup:Evropa zh-min-nan:Europa ko:유럽 ms:Eropah ja:ヨーロッパ simple:Europe th:ทวีปยุโรป

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is one of the most important ranks, next only to species and genus. See:
- rank (botany)
- rank (zoology)
- Virus classification rank13 rank13 rank13 als:Familie (Biologie) ms:Famili

Genus

In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a grouping in the classification of living organisms having one or more related and morphologically similar species. In the common binomial nomenclature, the name of an organism is composed of two parts: its genus (always capitalized) and a species modifier. An example is Homo sapiens, the name for the human species which belongs to the genus Homo. See scientific classification for more details of this system. The type genus of a taxon is usually the first genus to be named and described. Families, and in plants all taxa up to division, are named after the type genus. The genus and these higher taxa are typified by a specimen that shows the characteristics of the genus. The specimen used to describe this species is preserved as the holotype and designated as a generitype in a zoological museum or a herbarium to be available for further study. A generic name in one kingdom is allowed to bear the same name as a genus or other taxon name in another kingdom (though this is discouraged by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature). For instance, Anura is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae and the order of frogs; Aotus is the genus of golden peas and night monkeys; Oenanthe is the genus of wheatears and water dropworts, and Prunella is the genus of accentors and self-heal. It is, however, not allowed for two genera within the same kingdom to have the same name. This explains why the platypus genus is Ornithorhynchus — although the name Platypus was chosen by George Shaw in 1799, that name had already been given to the ambrosia beetle by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst in 1793. Since beetles and platypuses are both member of the kingdom Animalia, the name Platypus could not be used for both. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published the replacement name Ornithorhynchus in 1800.

See also


- Linnaean taxonomy
- Cladistics rank17 rank17 rank17 als:Gattung (Biologie) ms:Genus th:สกุล (ชีววิทยา)

Hybrid

:This article is about a biological term. See hybrid (disambiguation) for other meanings. In biology, hybrid has three meanings.
- The first meaning is either the offspring of two different species, or of two different genera.
  - Hybrids between different species within the same genus are sometimes known as interspecific hybrids or crosses.
  - Hybrids between different sub-species within a species are known as intra-specific hybrids.
  - Hybrids between different genera are sometimes known as intergeneric hybrids.
- The second meaning of "hybrid" is crosses between populations, breeds or cultivars ("cultivated varieties") of a single species. This second meaning is often used in plant breeding.
- The third meaning is in molecular biology, see Hybridization (molecular biology). Ernst Mayr wrote of Gregor Mendel, "He was uncertain about the nature of the kinds of peas he crossed, and, like most plant breeders, he called heterozygotes "hybrids". When he tried to confirm the laws he had found by using "other hybrids" that were actually real species hybrids, he failed. The use of the same term "hybrid" for two entirely different biological phenomena thwarted his later efforts." (This is Biology, 1997, p58f). Some dog hybrids (used in sense two, above), are becoming increasingly popular and are being bred selectively. In cats, the erroneous term feral-domestic hybrid is often used to mean a hybrid between the domestic cat and a wild cat species (a "feral" animal is a domestic animal that has reverted to the wild state). An example of an intra-specific hybrid is a hybrid between a Bengal tiger and an Amur (Siberian) Tiger. Plant hybrids, especially,are often stronger than either parent variety, a phenomenon which when present is known as hybrid vigour (heterosis). Plant breeders make use of a number of techniques to produce hybrids. The lonicera fly is the first known animal species that was created by hybridization. Until then, this process was known among plants only.

Interspecific hybrids

Interspecific hybrids are bred by mating two species, normally from within the same genus. The offspring display traits characterisitc of both parents. The offspring of an interspecific cross may be sterile. Sterility is attributed to the different number of chromosomes the two species have, for example donkeys have 62 chromosomes, while horses have 64, mules have 63. Mules and other sterile interspecific hybrids cannot produce viable gametes because the extra chromosome cannot make a homologous pair at meiosis, meiosis is disrupted and viable sperm and eggs are not formed. Hybrids are often named by the portmanteau method, combining the names of the two parent species. For example, a zeedonk is a cross between a zebra and a donkey. Since the traits of hybrid offspring often vary depending on which species was mother and which was father, it is traditional to use the father's species as the first half of the portmanteau. For example, a liger is a cross between a male lion and a female tiger, while a tigon is a cross between a male tiger and a female lion. Some animal interspecies hybrids are:
- Mule, a cross of female horse and a male donkey.
- Hinny, a cross between a female donkey and a male horse.Hinny
- Zeedonk/zonkey, a zebra/donkey cross.
- Zorse or zebroid, a zebra/horse cross
- Zony/zetland, a zebra/pony cross ("zony" is a generic term; "zetland" is specifically a hybrid of the Shetland pony breed with a zebra)
- Dzo or zo: a cross between a domestic cow/bull and a yak. See also Bovid hybrid.
- Beefalo/cattalo, a cross of an American Bison and a domestic cow. This is a fertile breed, although the two species are in different genera (Bison and Bos, respectively). See also Bovid hybrid.
- Hybrids between sheep and goat, such as the Toast of Batswana .
- Hybrids between black bears, brown bears, Kodiak and polar bears ursinae hybrids.
- Wolfdog, the cross between a domestic dog and a Wolf. Fertile Canid hybrids occur between coyotes, wolves, dingos, jackals and domestic dogs. Dogs and wolves may be considered the same species, making wolfdogs a non-hybrid.
- Hybrids between spotted owls and barred owls
- Liger (or Tigon, depending on the parents' genders), a cross between a Lion and a Tiger. Various other wild cat crosses are known involving the Lynx, Bobcat, Leopard, Serval, etc (Felid_hybrids).
- Hybrids between the domestic cat and wild cat species. The domestic cat, African wild cat and European wildcat may be considered variant populations of the same species (F libyca), making such crosses non-hybrids.
- Congolese Spotted Lion
- Cama, a cross between a Camel and a Llama, also an intergeneric hybrid.
- Wolphin, a fertile but very rare cross between a False Killer Whale and a Bottlenose Dolphin.
- A fertile cross between an albino King Snake and an albino Corn Snake.
- At Chester Zoo in England, a cross between African elephant (male) and Indian elephant (female). The calf was named Motty. It died of gut infection after a few days.
- Cagebird breeders sometimes make hybrids between species of finch, such as goldfinch x canary. Links to more hybrid animals, or more specific details:
- [http://www.greenapple.com/~jorp/amzanim/crossesa.htm Amazing Animals]
- [http://www.messybeast.com/genetics/hybrid-mammals.html Hybrid Mammals] Some plant hybrids include:
- Leyland Cypress, a hybrid between Monterey Cypress and Nootka Cypress.
- Loganberry, a hybrid between raspberry and blackberry.
- London Plane, a hybrid between Oriental Plane and American Plane (American Sycamore).
- Tangelo, a hybrid of a mandarin orange and a pomelo or a grapefruit which may have been developed in Asia about 3,500 years ago.
- Triticale, a wheat-rye hybrid.
- Wheat, Most modern and ancient wheat breeds are themselves hybrids. Hybrids should not be confused with chimaeras such as the chimera between sheep and goat known as the geep.

Mythological and legendary hybrids

In ancient and modern local folktales, there exist hybrid