Ôîðóì » Foreign section » Galliformes and other animals for South America » Îòâåòèòü
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: So, a large predatory bat (like holocenic greater bulldog bat, or the fishing bat) has more chances! Then it'll be bat. I already have a name for it: Jurupari, a nocturnal demon from the indigenous people of Brazil
ìåäâåäü: The nightjar's beak and claws seem too weak to catch, kill and tear apart a prey. Even so small as your bat. And nightjars are too deeply speciaized on small insects. But there already are large predatory nightjars in the Neocene- merlette and the hawk potoo.
JOrnitho: ìåäâåäü ïèøåò: But there already are large predatory nightjars in the Neocene- merlette and the hawk potoo. Yes. I thought that the hawk potoo could be a predator of the tiny bat. Int this case it would be a predatory nyctibid.
Áèîëîã: ìåäâåäü OK, but making something new is more interesting than repeating or remaking pre-existing things, eh?
ìåäâåäü: Of course! I just said that it is not completely impossible.
JOrnitho: I finished the description of the predatory bat. Jurupari, or Demonic spectral bat (Vampyrum jurupari) The human actions during the Holocene caused the decline of many species. Those that survived could continue with their evolution. The jurupari is a direct descendant of the spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum), one of the survivors of the anthropogenic onslaught of the Holocene. Their name is that of a nocturnal demonic entity of several South American mythologies. This species of bat inhabits the tropical regions of South America. The jurupari can be considered one of the largest bats of South America, with 30 cm of length and a wingspan of 125 cm. Each of its thumbs has a large, recurved claw that is grooved, similar to those of cats. Its back fur is reddish-brown, long, and soft, while its belly fur is shorter and paler. The forearm is furred on the half closer to the body, but naked on the half closer to the wrist and fingers. It has a robust skull and teeth, with which it delivers a powerful bite to kill its prey. The jurupari is exclusively carnivorous, consuming birds, rodents, and other species of bat. Additionally, it consumes some insects such as beetles. It carries prey items back to its roost to consume, discarding unwanted parts such as bird feathers, bat wings, and rodent tails. They use echolocation to navigate, creating short pulses of ultrasound at relatively low frequencies. Such characteristics are suited for maneuvering around obstacles while flying low to the ground. It stalks the prey and then lands on it from above, securing the prey by hooking it with its sharp thumb claws. It kills its prey by delivering a forceful bite to the skull. Like their ancestors, the jurupari are monogamous. Colonies consist of an adult male and female and their offspring. The adult male will bring food back to the roost to provision them. Colonies generally roost in tree hollows, though individuals may roost in caves. It is a seasonal breeder, with females giving birth at the end of the dry season or the beginning of the rainy season. The litter size is one individual, with offspring called "pups." The mother is very attentive and gentle with her offspring. The male is often in attendance as well and will frequently sleep with both the female and their young completely wrapped up in his wings. They reach sexual maturity with 8 months and have a lifespan of 6 years.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Good bat!
ìåäâåäü: Interesting! But modern spectral bats prey primarily on birds that have a strong odor, such as trogons, cuckoos and motmots. Therefore, it may have stronger sense of smell than most other bats. I think its descendant will retain that ability.
Áèîëîã: ìåäâåäü I think you can be right, but remember that bats catch odorless insects using the echolocation only. Just as dolphins do underwater - dolphins lack olfaction (smell sense) at all!
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: I think you can be right, but remember that bats catch odorless insects using the echolocation only. Just as dolphins do underwater - dolphins lack olfaction (smell sense) at all! I think that this bat could use both these senses to hunt prey. It would depend of what they are hunting.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Yes, sure! I agree.
ìåäâåäü: Áèîëîã I think you can be right, but remember that bats catch odorless insects using the echolocation only. But the spectral bat is a fairly large bat, and I have read that there is an upper size limit for terrestrial echolocators. As the spectral bat is close to that limit, its echolocation is not so effective as with smaller bats you mentioned. For that reason, they supplement their echolocation with good sense of smell. Besides, I did not say that the jurupari would lose its ability to echolocate. I just said that it would be useful for it to retain its ancestor´s sense of smell.
Áèîëîã: ìåäâåäü Of course, the olfaction is a good additive to echolocation. I can also add that oilbirds (guacharo) use echolocation in their caves, but feed on fruit found in the woods at night by olfaction.
JOrnitho: Besides these species, do you have more ideas for other animals that could appear in the chapter?
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Speaking of oilbirds (guacharo), do you think they will survive holocene and give descendants in neocene?
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: Speaking of oilbirds (guacharo), do you think they will survive holocene and give descendants in neocene? I think that it's possible. Maybe they could survive in inaccessible parts of the Amazon rainforest.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Quite so, but they will still need caves.
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: but they will still need caves. Of course. I think that they would not be much different from their ancestors.
JOrnitho: Do you think that would be possible for the screamers (Chauna) develop a less aquatic lifestyle? They would forage in open areas of savannas and occasionally visiting freshwater reservoirs.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Why not? Quite possible.
ïîëíàÿ âåðñèÿ ñòðàíèöû