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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: I finished the description of the southern screamer's descendant. Crowned screamer (Chauna coronata) Many biomes changed in the Neocene. In South America, the great wetlands of the Pantanal disappeared, being replaced by savannas. The species that lived here were forced to adapt or would become extinct. The Southern screamer (Chauna torquata) became adapted to these changes. Its descendant, the crowned screamer, is now capable of surviving in the savannas of Central South America, while occasionally visiting shallow lakes and rivers. The crowned screamer is one of the largest flying birds of southern South America, measuring 95 cm in length. Their flat wing measures 60 cm and the tail is 26 cm. They are stout bodied with a disproportionately small head and a "chicken-like" grayish brown bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Their head and upperparts are black with a velvety white "collar" around the base of the neck. Their wings and tail are dark brown and the wing has two sharp spurs at its manus, which are longer than that of their ancestors. The front of their neck, their breast, and their sides are pale gray mottled and streaked with black. Their belly is unmarked white. Their legs and feet are red. Their main characteristic is a crown made up of long white feathers with black tips arising from the nape. This species feeds on leaves, stems and seeds that it collects in the grasslands of the savannas where it lives. Occasionally, they will also visit shallow lakes and rivers to eat aquatic plants. They usually graze like geese, but can also dig for food. Flocks of up to about 100 forage together in the non-breeding season. The crowned screamer forms long-term pair bonds that in some cases last for life. Males and females court with mutual preening and duet calling. They build a large nest of sticks and reeds on trees and often nest in about the same location for several years. The typical clutch size is three to five eggs but can be up to seven. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the young. The incubation period is 43 days, with the chicks leaving the nest immediately after hatching, jumping from the trees. The fleding occurs eight to ten weeks after hatch and the young are independent after about 12 weeks. This species reach sexual maturity with one year and have a lifespan of 13 years.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Welcome back (after a pause) and thanks for your new good species!
ëÿãóøêà: Good bird. Not very interesting or unusal, but realistic.
Áèîëîã: ëÿãóøêà Wow, thanks for your participation here! We are still too short of English-speaking participants to develop our English-language version.
JOrnitho: ëÿãóøêà ïèøåò: Good bird. Not very interesting or unusal, but realistic. Thanks! I try to not make an animal that is too unusual because it can end not plausible.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Unusual does not mean impossible, and that's where probability works
ëÿãóøêà: Okay. It's good direction of describing - I also use it (instead of electric salamander - it's very strange). But I think thar being very strict with that is also not very good - usual species thar likes modern too much are boeing.
Áèîëîã: ëÿãóøêà I think it's not bad: I made a social ant-like cockroach, based on real prerequisites to such development.
JOrnitho: I think that the most different animal that I proposed was the sea lion-like descendant of the American mink introduced in South America. To make it, I followed the logic of how the pinnipeds evolved from similar animals. By the way, do you think that there could be a shark being the top predator in the Southern ocean?
ëÿãóøêà: 1)Minks and otters can evolve in "pseudo-pinniped" forms, but i think that they'te won's spread wordwidely because of concurention with gannetwhales and orher seal-like beings - it will be small, local group. 2)Why not? A lot of small sharks survived exctinction. I thing some species of Triakidae are best ancestors - they're small, liveable and prosperious in Sourhern hemisphere. Ps: what happens with me??? This message isn't sending!
JOrnitho: ëÿãóøêà ïèøåò: Minks and otters can evolve in "pseudo-pinniped" forms, but i think that they'te won's spread wordwidely because of concurention with gannetwhales and orher seal-like beings - it will be small, local group. Yeah, this species is limited to the cold waters of Southern South America.
Àâòîð: JOrnitho ïèøåò: this species is limited to the cold waters of Southern South America So, don't forget about the existence of this one: http://www.sivatherium.narod.ru/enmammal.htm#pseudolutra_ayapuh_en Your species must have pronounced ecological differences with this aquatic rodent to evolve and fill its own ecological niche without any competition.
JOrnitho: Àâòîð ïèøåò: Your species must have pronounced ecological differences with this aquatic rodent to evolve and fill its own ecological niche without any competition. I'm aware of the ayapuh. This descendant of the mink would be larger and hunt at the open sea, seeking nectonic fish and squids. I was thinking that they would also eat the penguingulls and even the ayapuh, like how sea lions do it with penguins.
ëÿãóøêà: Okay
ëÿãóøêà: Good. Ayapuh is "otter", pinniped mink is "seal".
Áèîëîã: ëÿãóøêà Interesting discussion, guys! I agree with JOrnitho.
JOrnitho: Here is the animal's description: Lobo-marino (Paraotaria odontoacuta) During the Holocene, humans had caused several impacts on the environment. Among their actions was the introduction of exotic species. The American mink (Neogale vison) was one of the species that were introduced from their ancestral land in North America to several other continents, among them was South America. These animals were used in the fur industry, but a great number of individuals fled or were released. They were not only capable of surviving the transition of the Holocene to the Neocene, but also to evolve into new species, taking advantage of the demise of other animals to fill their niches. The lobo-marino is a descendant of the American mink that were introduced to South America. Their name means "sea wolf" in Spanish and was used in the Holocene as a common name of the fur seals. This species is a semi-aquatic predator that has filled the niche left by the sea lions and fur seals. It inhabits Southern South America, from Tierra del Fuego to Northern Chile in the Pacific coast, to Southern Brazil in the Atlantic coast. These mammals are sexually dysmorphic. The male is larger and more robust than the female. He has an average size of 185 cm, with some reaching nearly 200 cm. The female barely surpasses 160 cm. The male also has long upper canines, which can protrude from the upper lips in older individuals. Their body is elongated and flexible, with a dog-like head with small ears. They have strong jaws with sharp teeth, which are capable of leaving great wounds in their prey. This species has limbs modified into flippers, similar to that of an Otariidae of the Holocene. Like them, the lobo-marino is also more mobile on land. When swimming, these animals use their four flippers to give propulsion underwater. All these characteristics could pass them as a descendant of the pinnipeds, but these are only cases of convergent evolution. The only characteristic that differs from true seals is the presence of a stubby, 15 cm long tail. The pelage is thick and luxuriant, being light tawny on the females and young males, becoming dark brown in older males. Both sexes have pale underparts. The lobo-marino is carnivorous, feeding on fish, squid and krill. They take long, offshore foraging trips, but sometimes can hunt near the coast. They can also eat seabirds, such as penguingulls, and the rodent Ayapuh. The females and young males prefer to hunt smaller prey, while the adult males hunt mostly the large ones. When hunting penguingulls, the lobo-marino patrols the waters near the breeding colonies, almost completely submerged, waiting for the birds to enter the ocean. It kills the swimming bird by grabbing its feet, then shaking it vigorously and beating its body against the surface of the water repeatedly until the bird is dead. The Ayapuh is killed by these mammals with a bite on their necks. The largest of the males is also capable of killing a newborn algocetus. While they spend most of their time on the sea, these animals establish territories at the coast where they rest. The males will have a large territory. They are very territorial, fighting fiercely against males that try to invade. These fights can be violent, with deep wounds being left due to their large canines. The females don’t have a fixed territory, being able to move around the territory of the males. They are more sociable, even forming small groups in beaches or rocky areas. Such agglomerations are more common when they have cubs and during the winter. In the winter, the dominant male will occasionally participate in these groups to get warm. The mating season of the lobo-marino starts at the end of the autumn. During this period, the females will start to reunite in groups to get warmer during the night due to the temperature falling. Such groups are usually formed in the center of the territory of a dominant male. With most of the females together in only one place, the male will come in search of those that are fertile. The male will do it for 3 weeks, copulating with most of the receptive females that he can find. Is during this period that other males that don’t have territories try to approach females, resulting in fights. The gestation lasts from the end of the autumn to the beginning of the spring. During this period the females disperse in search of safe locations where they can give birth. These places usually are caves or large rock crevices, any place where the females can enter and the predators will not be able to have access to the cubs. Some females can enter estuaries, reaching freshwater in search of such locations. The female gives birth to one or two cubs. They are born with closed eyes that open one day after birth. The ears take a bit longer, opening three days after they are born. The females remain with the cubs for ten days, after that they start to go forage at the sea. After one month, the pups already are capable of swimming and the mother will guide them out of the den where they were born toward the groups of females that start to form during these periods. Differently of the groups formed during the winter, these are smaller and only have mothers and their pups. While the females go search for food, the young remain together in crèches. Pups are weaned after a year, at this point they are already capable of living alone. If they are female, their mother will tolerate their presence. However, the males are aggressively expelled by the mother, being forced to have an errant life until they are able to secure their own territory in the coast. The sexual maturity of this species is reached with 5 years and they have a lifespan of 36 years. However, few reach this age. Many males are killed in territorial fights, while individuals of both sexes are eaten by large sharks, such as the sea onza
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho But lobo-marino is already present in the catalogue, you posted it back in June this year: http://sivatherium.borda.ru/?1-7-1654509817110-00000014-000-100-0#024
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: But lobo-marino is already present in the catalogue, you posted it back in June this year: My bad! I forgot that I had posted it already, there are too many things in my mind these days. I'll compensate by thinking in a new species, one that I didn’t post already. Maybe an insular species of deermara? Besides Great Antigua and Fernando de Noronha, there is any other island close to Neocenic South America where such animal could live?
ëÿãóøêà: Very good!
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