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Galliformes and other animals for South America
JOrnitho: Hello! I'm back with ideas for some new species for South America. I found in my computer an archive with some ideas for fauna and flora that I had some time ago and decided to show there to ask your opinion about them. The first is about a descendant of the domestic chicken. [more]Copper jacumitan (Jacumita cuprinus) Order: Galliformes Family: Phasianidae Habitat: Savannas and woodlands of Central South America. During the Holocene, the man introduced many species in other continents. The jacumitan is a descendant of domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) that are introduced in South America. It replaced the birds in the family Cracidae, which are extinct in the Neocene, in some areas. In a matter of fact, the name jacumitan is the junction of the words jacu, the popular name in Brazil for guans of the Genus Penelope, and the tupi word mitã (mitan) that means new, this way the name means “new guan”. The copper jacumitan is the type species of this genus and lives in the savannas and woodlands of Central South America. The copper jacumitan is sexually dysmorphic. The male measure 190 cm, due to the long tail, it has a bright coppery brown upperbody plumage and reddish-brown feathers below. They also have metallic dark green feathers on the tail and wings. Only males have a bright red naked skin on the face, with two wattles that conceal the sides of its head. This characteristic is shared by all males of the genus Jacumita. The males of the genus also have crests formed by white feathers with black tips. During courtship and panic moments, they rise the crests. The females have 75 cm of length and are cryptic brown and adapted to camouflage, its naked skin on the face is pale pink and don’t have flesh wattles. The young males are similar to the females until they reach 9 weeks, at this time the wattle begin to develop. Both sexes have long orange colored legs and grey beak. The males have spurs that they use in fights for dominance. The neck is long and slim. Copper jacumitans can fly, but prefer to run from the predators flying only as last resort. These birds are omnivorous and feed on insects, seeds, and fruits. Its forage for food by scratching the ground, usually near herbivores this way there is other animals observing for the presence of predators. Often the male sits on a high perch, to serve as a lookout for his group. He sounds an alarm call if predators are nearby. At night it will sleep perched on branches. Copper jacumitans are polygamous; the male will have a harem with 5 to 12 females and will guards the area where his females are nesting, and attack other males that enter his territory. To initiate courting, the males will dance in a circle around or near a female, raising their crests and lowering the wing which is closest to the hen. Then, he will vocalize and when she responds to his call, the male will mount her and proceed with the mating. The females make their nest in the ground, laying 6 to 14 red eggs which are incubated for 22 days. Chicks are precocious, leaving the nest shortly they are born. They fledge in about 4 to 5 weeks, and at 13 weeks old are chased out of the group by their mother, at which point the young males start to form a harem and the females join an existing one. Sexual maturity is reached at 6 months and the lifespan of this species is of 13 years, however is common for males to die early due to predation. Other species in the genus Jacumita are: Golden jacumitan (Jacumita aurea) Living in the forests of the Atlantic coast of South America, the males of this species has 200 cm of length, from beak to tail, while the females have 83 cm. The plumage of the male have a bright golden-yellow plumage in the upperparts, being scarlet in the chest and belly. They have dark metallic green wing feathers and tail while the female is cryptic brown. Red jacumitan (Jacumita amazonica) Living in the "terra firme" forests of the Amazon , the males of this species has 185 cm of length, from beak to tail, while females have 70 cm. The plumage of male is bright orange-red in the upperparts, while their chest and belly is yellow. The males also have dark metallic blue wing feathers and tail while the female is cryptic brown. Andean jacumitan (Jacumita andina) Living in the highland forests in the slopes of the Andes, the males of this species has 170 cm of length, from beak to tail, while females have 68 cm. The plumage of the males is white in the upperparts and yellowish-red in the belly and chest. The males also have dark metallic blue wing feathers and tail while the female is cryptic brown. This other one is about a descendant of the californian quail: Common austral grouse (Tetraoinus australis) Order: Galliformes Family: Odontophoridae Habitat: Forests of Southern South America During the Holocene, the man introduced many exotic species different habitats, the ancestor of the austral grouse was one of these species. Their ancestor was not a true grouse, but the Californian quail, due to evolutionary convergence they acquired characteristics similar to the true grouses of North America. Living in the forests of Southern South America, the male austral grouse are 55 cm long and the female have 44 cm of length. The male have a dark grey body plumage, black-and-white bridled head pattern, black back and a greyish-blue belly. They have a curving crest or plume, made of six feathers that droops forward (long and black in males /short and brown in females) and long forked blackish tail with white undertail coverts. Females and immature birds are mainly greyish-brown with a light-brown belly. Both sexes have a black bill and relatively long grey legs. Their diet consists mainly of seeds and leaves, but they also eat some berries and insects. In some regions their main source of food are the seeds of trees of the Genus Araucaria. These birds are not elegant fliers, however they sleep perched in branches. Given a choice, they will normally escape on foot. During the courtship, the male austral grouse do displays on a lek, each male have a “personal space”. The males strut around their chose space, doing a display. The display consists of the male posturing himself with the head near the ground. Then, they start to move it from right to left showing their crests, simultaneously they raising the tail feathers, showing their withe undertail coverts. After that, they will raise their heads abruptly and whilst make a highly distinctive mating call. When another male invade the personal space of other, a fight happens, in this case the male will try to take of the crest of the rival, this way they will not be capable to display for the females. The female usually lays approximately 12 spotted eggs. The nest is a shallow scrape lined with vegetation on the ground. Incubation lasts from 21–25 days, usually performed by the female and rarely by the male. The chicks are precocial, leaving the nest with their parents within hours of hatching. The male stay with the female until the young leave, with 3 months. The young reach sexual maturity with 1 year, with this age the young males acquire the coloration of an adult male. Their lifespan is of 27 years. In the forests of Tierra del Fuego another species lives, the Black boreal grouse (Tetraoinus nigrus). Their main difference to the other species is that the males have an all-black plumage, with only a faint shade of blue in the chest and brown undertail coverts. The females are similar to that of the common austral grouse. The males have 52 cm and the females 41 cm.[/more] I also have in this archive some names for possible species that I never developed bayond some few facts. Maybe someone could help me make their descriptions.
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: An albatross will have a wingspan of 3 m at a body length of about 1,5 m at most. So your stork should either be shorter in height or have larger wings to support its body. If it's not flightless, of course Ops, my bad! Does 180 cm and 230 cm of wingspan seems plausible?
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho 180 cm and 230 cm of wingspan seems plausible Yes, quite so.
JOrnitho: Is possible for a descendant of the cougar to live in the Andes and Andean Plateau with a niche similar to that of the snow leopard? Or the project already have something like that?
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho I believe I've mentioned all of the Andean mammals from Bestiary, so there is a free niche for the cougar, if it is not extinct in neocene. Extinction is possible, as with tigers and lions and leopards, and other large felines.
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: I believe I've mentioned all of the Andean mammals from Bestiary, so there is a free niche for the cougar, if it is not extinct in neocene. I was reading the Bestiary and found the Andean raptor cat, a descendant of the cougar living in the mountains. I think that it could be the feline predator of the chapter. Also, maybe the mountain tapirotherium could appear too.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Oops. I missed the cat! Maybe because it is an additional species to a main one within a new genus. But the tapirotherium already is placed in a chapter (namely, 52 "Shadow of Wings on the Grass"), so it is unlikely to be included by the Author in another one. But can be mentioned in the chapter's text. P.S. I've added the Andean raptor cat to the chapter's bestiary.
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: But can be mentioned in the chapter's text. Yes, I was thinking that could be this way. Also, I had some ideas for birds of the Andean Plateau: a descendant of the burrowing owl, a species of passerine and a hummingbird. Another animal that could appear is the Andean rapacious parrot, a species that I posted in the Psittacids topic.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Good ideas! I will add the Andean rapacious parrot to the bestiary.
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: Good ideas! I will add the Andean rapacious parrot to the bestiary. Thanks! I'll start to work on their description. Also, can I make a species of raptor cat that inhabits the Atlantic forests of South America, rather than the open areas? It could appear in the chapter.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Yes, you can, there are more felines in South American forests that do not yet have descendants in neocene.
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: Yes, you can, there are more felines in South American forests that do not yet have descendants in neocene. Then there could be a descendant of the jaguarundi. If the jaguarete also live on this area, these two felines could have the same relationship that the jaguar and puma had in South America, with the two avoiding each other by focusing in different food niches. This descendant of the jaguarundi could feed in smaller and agile prey.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Yes, why not. Also, the Leopardus genus (ocelot, oncilla etc.) can have descendants.
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: Yes, why not. Then, I'll also make this description. It could appear in Atlantic forest chapter, as one of the dangers that the Tamoio cat needs to avoid.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho OK.
JOrnitho: I finished the description of the descendant of the jaguarundi for the chapter about the Atlantic forest. Also I was thinking that there could be some herbivore in the chapter to be its prey. What could be more plausible, a descendant of the domestic sheep, or a relative of the giant paca (Megapaca)? Eyra (Eyrailurus pantheroides) The human actions during the Holocene caused the decline of many species. However some species survived and in the Neocene they gave rise to new species. The jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) proved to be resilient enough to survive the anthropogenic onslaught. In North America it gave origin to the balam and in South America they gave origin to the eyra. The name eyra was used by indigenous people of Brazil to name the jaguarundi, but was also associated with the tayra (Eira barbara). The eyra inhabits the Atlantic forests of South America, both lowland and highland. They also inhabit the areas of Araucaria forests. Part of their range is shared with the jaguarete, but they avoid competition by taking different prey. From nose to tail tip, the male eyra is 150 cm. The female is smaller, with 130 cm of length. If compared to the jaguarete, the eyra is less muscular and not as powerfully built. The coat is uniformly colored with at most a few faint markings on the face and the belly, though kittens are spotted for a short duration. Their fur is mostly dark gray with a grizzled look due to bright and dark rings on individual hairs. The eyra is a generalist, hypercarnivore. They prefer small to medium sized prey, avoiding the large prey that are prefered by the jaguarete. When these two species interact, the eyra will flee, even abandoning their prey. They will hunt reptiles, small rodents, fishes, monkeys, birds and deermaras. Although capable of sprinting, the eyra is typically an ambush predator. It stalks through brush and trees, across ledges, or other covered spots, before delivering a powerful leap onto the back of its prey and a suffocating neck bite. They are capable of breaking the neck of some of its smaller prey with a strong bite and momentum bearing the animal to the ground. Like almost all felines, the eyra is a mostly solitary animal. Only mothers and kittens stay together, with adults meeting rarely. While generally loners, they will reciprocally share kills with one another and organize themselves into small communities defined by the territories of dominant males. The animals within these areas socialize more frequently with each other than with outsiders. Male home ranges include or overlap with those of females but not with those of other males. Home ranges of females overlap slightly. Males create scrapes composed of leaves and duff with their hind feet, and mark them with urine and sometimes feces. The eyra can reproduce during the entire year. Females reach sexual maturity at the age of 18 months to three years and are in estrus for about eight days of a 23-day cycle and the gestation period is approximately 91 days. Both adult males and females may mate with multiple partners and a female's litter can have multiple paternities. Only females are involved in parenting. Litter size is between one and six cubs, with two being more common. Caves and other alcoves that offer protection are used as litter dens. Born blind, cubs are completely dependent on their mother at first, and begin to be weaned at around three months of age. As they grow, they begin to go out on forays with their mother, first visiting kill sites, and after six months beginning to hunt small prey on their own. Kitten survival rates are just over one per litter. Juveniles remain with their mothers for one to two years. When the females reaches estrous again, their offspring must disperse or the male will kill them. Males tend to disperse further than females. They have a lifespan of 16 years.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Good eyra! About its prey, there are large rodents there, it will not starve
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: About its prey, there are large rodents there, it will not starve I mean, for him to hunt in the chapter. I was thinking that the barbets that I mentioned for the War for the Hollows could have strong beaks and legs to dig the soil of cliffs to make their nest. They would partially fill the niche of toucans. What do you think?
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho I mean, for him to hunt in the chapter. Actually I was joking These include striped tree porcupine, myriyutherium, jakarawa and barocavia. Of these, the striped tree porcupine is in Bestiary, the other three are already in chapters. I was thinking that the barbets that I mentioned for the War for the Hollows could have strong beaks and legs to dig the soil of cliffs to make their nest. They would partially fill the niche of toucans. What do you think? I think they can. Also, they are very beautiful birds. Toucan-type birds living in cliff burrows? Sounds interesting!
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: I think they can. Also, they are very beautiful birds. Toucan-type birds living in cliff burrows? Sounds interesting! They are very beautiful! These descendants of the barbets could have colorful feathers with dull beaks, differently of ttue toucans. Also, I was thinking that the chapter "War of the Hollows" could introduce a subfamily trochilids that is heavily specialized to steal nectar. They would have beaks capable of doing small cirurgical holes in flowers and then introduce their long and thin tongue to extract it. What do you think? They can also have other adaptations for that criminal lifestyle.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Also, I was thinking that the chapter "War of the Hollows" could introduce a subfamily trochilids that is heavily specialized to steal nectar. They would have beaks capable of doing small cirurgical holes in flowers and then introduce their long and thin tongue to extract it. The hummingbirds (Trochilidae) have very weak beaks, too weak to drill through petals. Also, why would they need to drill? This would be OK for some type of entirely closed flowers that cannot be cross-pollinated in a way other than some animal drilling or gnawing through its petals (or self-pollinated). And this looks unlikely.
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