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Fauna of Africa
JOrnitho: I'm making this new topic after Биолог mentioned some interesting ideas for descendants of the tree hyraxes with more adaptations for an arboreal lifestyle. I was also thinking that they could be adapted to jump between branches and even trees. Биолог, do you have more ideas about these animals?
Автор: JOrnitho пишет: adapted to jump between branches and even trees To make it, they must have gripping hands with opposable thumb or thumb-like finger.
Биолог: Автор I agree.
Биолог: JOrnitho I've already described my ideas briefly. Deeper development of sticky "glue" and sucking force on the soles seems the most interesting.
JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: Deeper development of sticky "glue" and sucking force on the soles seems the most interesting. Ok. Do you have ideas for how they would look morphologically? You mentioned that they could be like a squirrel or a weasel. I like the idea of them being slender and tailess animals that move through the trees.
Биолог: JOrnitho slender and tailess animals that move through the trees Yes, would be great! But it could still retain its dorsal gland and feed on tough plant material using its ruminant-like multichambered stomach.
Автор: Биолог пишет: it could still retain its dorsal gland and feed on tough plant material using its ruminant-like multichambered stomach Plant matter is hard to digest and contains a low amount of nutrients. So, the excusive plant-eater using fermentation for digesting of cellulose will be rather sluggish and large animal - it must have long intestines to digest plant matter. It means that this one will be large, and the ability of making long jumps means the great need in nutrients. Plants only will not cover this need. So, IMHO, specialized tree-climbing plant-eating hyraxes will look more like orangutan - with big belly and rather short hind legs. Their mental abilities will be predictably low. We have galagos, by the way. Maybe, they will evolve to anything interesting?
JOrnitho: Автор пишет: So, IMHO, specialized tree-climbing plant-eating hyraxes will look more like orangutan - with big belly and rather short hind legs. Their mental abilities will be predictably low. This gives me another idea. Maybe these hyraxes could be koala like animals, sleeping long periods of time to diggest the leaves. Also, would be possible for quadrupedal descendants of the hyrax to exist in the forests of Africa and Europe? In appearance, they could look like a tapir or of one of the extinct primitive ungulates, like the hyracotherium. They could be a sister group to the flathorns. Автор пишет: We have galagos, by the way. Maybe, they will evolve to anything interesting? Maybe some forms adapted to more insectivorous lifestyle could appear. Even one adapted to take larvae from trunks, like the aye‐aye.
Автор: JOrnitho пишет: Maybe these hyraxes could be koala like animals, sleeping long periods of time to diggest the leaves. Like koala eats gum leaves inedible for other mammals, these arboreal hyraxes may eat leaves of trees of plant families tend to experiments with poisons in their greenery - Solanaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Apocynaceae and so on. Talking about tree-climbing hyraxes, I must note: all described species inhabit Zinj Land. Largest of them for now is ngoloko (description is not translated into English), a small bear-sized beast. In African mainland, cercopithecoid monkeys still exist. They may be important competitors for hyraxes in their adaptation to arboreal lifestyle. So, I think, in African mainland, we may expect for the appearing of specialized monkey species having any strange adaptations to their ways of life to avoid competition.
JOrnitho: Автор пишет: They may be important competitors for hyraxes in their adaptation to arboreal lifestyle. Some tree hyraxes are nocturnal, maybe these descendants of leaf eating hyraxes could also be nocturnal. They would feed of leaves during the night, avoiding the competition with monkeys. By the way, I have a description for a monkey. Golden agile guenon (Eucinetopithecus chryseus) Order: Primates Family: Cercopithecidae Habitat: Tropical forests of the Congo Bassin During the Holocene, the destruction of many habitats by the humans caused the extinction of many species. In the Neocene, the fortunate species that survived give rise to new ones. The guenons (genus Cercopithecus) were one of the survivors and in the Neocene it gives rise to the genus Eucinetopithecus, the agile guenons. The type species of this genus is the golden agile guenon, which lives in the tropical forests of the Congo Bassin. The golden agile guenon has 47 cm of body length and a 60 cm long tail. It has a bright reddish orange pelage in the head, arms and upper back while their lower back, tail and legs are dark brown. The face is black and the underbelly is white. The body of the monkeys of this genus is slim with long arms, which gives them the agility when moving on trees. The male's scrotum is blue. These animals are predominantly frugivore, eating sometimes seeds and insects. It has no adaptation for leaf eating, consuming only young and easily digestible leaves. These monkeys find food on all areas of the canopy, rarely coming to the ground. All monkeys in the genus Eucinetopithecus lives in groups lead by a dominant male which mate with all the females of the group. These groups can have 25 individuals. The gestation of a female golden agile guenon is of 6 months, ending when the rainy season starts, this way they have more fruits available. The males will fight fiercely for the position of dominant. When another male drive the dominant of the group, he will kill all infants of the previous male. When the young reach sexual maturity with 5 years, the males will be expelled from the group while the females will stay. The young males form bachelor groups to survive until they are strong enough to fight for the dominance of a group. The lifespan of this species is of 14 years. Other species in the genus Eucinetopithecus: Grey agile guenon (Eucinetopithecus griseus) Living in the tropical forests of the western coast of Africa, this animal have 43 cm of body length and a tail with 57 cm. The fur of this species is mostly grey, with exception of the head which is reddish orange and the lower members and tail that are brown. Their throat and belly are white. The face is black. The male’s scrotum is blue. Brown agile guenon (Eucinetopithecus fuscus) Living in the forests of the eastern coast of Africa near the Tanganyika Strait, this animal have 45 cm of body length and a tail with 58 cm. The fur of this species is mostly brown, with a patch of reddish orange in the back. The tail and lower members are light brown. The throat and belly are white. The face is black and the males have a blue scrotum.
Биолог: JOrnitho hyraxes could be koala like animals, sleeping long periods of time to diggest the leaves But they can easily feed on tough, may be even shelled fruit, not leaves exclusively. This will again decline the contradiction between my idea and what the Author said. By the way, I have a description for a monkey. Good one!
Биолог: Автор I agree, although I did not think of making them able to jump long gaps - it was JOrnitho's idea. I really thought they could be slow-moving and probably with big belly. So my idea does not contradict what you said. small bear-sized beast Sorry, but maybe "bear-like", but not "-sized"? Because the smallest bears are about 1,5 m long (I cut it down to minimum), which can hardly be called "small".
JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: But they can easily feed on tough, may be even shelled fruit, not leaves exclusively. really thought they could be slow-moving and probably with big belly. Автор said that they would face competition with monkeys, so I thought that they could be nocturnal to avoid it. What do you think? Also, this conversation gave the idea of a descendant of the colobine monkeys with the size and lifestyle of the orangutans living in Congo.
Биолог: JOrnitho competition with monkeys, so I thought that they could be nocturnal to avoid it. What do you think? Surely, they can be nocturnal. Just because tree hyraxes are already nocturnal in holocene! Wikipedia states that and describes their territory calls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_hyrax The call records can be found here: https://www.wildsolutions.nl/vocal-profiles/hyrax-vocalizations/ And finally: One of the commonest night noises was caused by an animal which I think was a tree hyrax. Gerald Durrell, The Overloaded Ark
JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: Just because tree hyraxes are already nocturnal in holocene! I know, I mentioned this fact in one of my previous posts. I only meant if you wanted this detail to be added to the description of the species. After all it's your idea.
Биолог: JOrnitho Thanks, but you will be the author of the description (as will be mentioned beneath the text when it appears on the site page), so it is up to you to decide. But I think yes, it should be added.
JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: Thanks, but you will be the author of the description (as will be mentioned beneath the text when it appears on the site page), so it is up to you to decide. Ok! I'm working on it and will be finished soon.
Биолог: JOrnitho OK. Waiting for it!
JOrnitho: I finished the description of the descendants of the hyraxes Slow dassy (Segnohyrax robustus) Order: Hyracoidea Family: Hiracidae Habitat: Rainforests of Western and Central Africa, including those in the Congo Basin 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. They took advantage of the niches that were left behind by the extinctions of the anthropogenic era. One of these species was the slow dassy, a descendant of the Hyraxes (Hyracoidea). They inhabit the rainforests of Western and Central Africa, including those in the Congo Basin. The slow dassy is a stocky animal with a large head and vestigial or non-existent tail. It has a body length of 75 cm and a weight of 15 kg. The males are larger than the females. The pelage is thick and coarse, with a few yellowish hairs scattered among the dark brown and blackish ones. Both the males and females have long tusk-like upper incisors. These animals are far more arboreal than their ancestors, rarely climbing down. To fit this lifestyle, the sole of their feet have more developed sucking force to climb. They also have large eyes, covered by tapetum lucidum. The slow dassy are herbivorous, with leaves being 90% of their diet. They became resistant to the toxins of some species. These mammals will also consume soft fruits, but more rarely. Since the leaves that they eat have a low level of energy, these animals are adapted to a low energy lifestyle, having slow movements and sleeping for 20 hours in a day. This species is solitary and nocturnal, spending the day sleeping in tree holes. Each individual has an established territory, with those of the females being found near that of a dominant male. They are territorial and aggressive, dominating others with their larger body size. The younger males are subordinate until they mature and reach full size. Among the males displays of dominance is a series of blood-curdling shrieks building up to a crescendo that they produce every night. Besides scent marks, these sounds are used to mark territory. The slow dassy does not have a fixed mating season, being able to mate during the entire year. Because of his much larger size, a male can usually force himself on a female, mounting her from behind, and in extreme cases, the male may pull the female out of the tree. A female may scream and vigorously fight off her suitors, but will submit to one that is dominant or is more familiar. The sounds that she emits can attract other males to the scene, obliging the incumbent to delay mating and fight off the intruders. These fights allow the female to assess which is dominant. Older males have deep scars of these events. Their gestation lasts for five months, with the female giving birth to one or two cubs inside a tree hole. They will remain here until after their second week of life, when they start to follow the female to forage. The young begin to take solid food after their fourth week. They reach sexual maturity with 3 years and have a lifespan of 18 years Western false tapir (Paratapirus occidentalis) Order: Hyracoidea Family: Paratapiroideae Habitat: Rainforests of Western and Central Africa, including those that are part of the Congo Basin. The human actions during the Holocene caused the decline of many species. However some species survived. The hyraxes (Hyracoidea) were among the animals that were able to survive. In the Neocene several new families descending from them appeared. One of these groups was the Paratapiroideae, a sister family to the Flathorns (Platyceratheriidae). The Genus Paratapirus is the one with the largest number of representatives, with four species. The type species is the Western false tapir, a species that inhabits the rainforests of Western and Central Africa, including those that are part of the Congo Basin. The Western false tapir has 190 m of length and 95 cm of height at the shoulder, with a 7 cm short stubby tail. The body of this animal resembles their South American name saker. They have dark brown short fur, which is paler in the face. Their ears are round and dark. What makes them different from the tapir is that they lack the trunk, which is present on them. Their upper lip is flexible, but isn’t broad enough to form such an extructure. The males have large, tusk-like upper incisors that are used in fights between them. They are fast, having long and slender limbs to help them flee from predators. False tapirs are also good swimmers, being able to dive in rivers when danger approaches. They are able to stay underwater for 5 minutes. This animal is an herbivore, feeding on leaves, buds, shoots, fruit, grasses, aquatic plants, and small branches it tears from trees by standing on its hind legs. They also feed on the vast majority of seeds found in the rainforest. Western false tapirs are shy and solitary animals, only being seen together when they visit clearings with mineral licks. At these moments, the animals interact with each other through several different whistles and grunts. Female false tapirs have a 30-day estrous cycle, and typically breed only once every other year. During courtship, the male chases the female and uses soft bites, grunts, and whistles to get her attention, while the female responds with frequent squealing. During this period, the once shy males become violent. They will fight against each other for the right to mate with a female. Their incisors are used to inflict deep wounds on their rivals. After a gestation period of 392 days, the female gives birth to a single young and occasionally two. They are born with pale fur, if compared with that of adults. Weaning begins at around three months of age. The immature coloration becomes darker after about a year, but the mother continues to care for her young for around 18 months. Western false tapirs reach sexual maturity with 2 years and can live up to 24 years. Other species in the genus Paratapirus are: Eastern false-tapir (Paratapirus orientalis) Living in the forests and woodlands of Eastern Africa, this species has 170 cm of body length and 80 cm of shoulder height. Their fur is similar to that of the western species, but lacks the pale in the face. Nile false tapir (Paratapirus niloticus) This species inhabits Northern Africa, mainly in the region of the Nile and close to other freshwater reservoirs. They have 175 cm of body length and 87 cm of shoulder height. Their fur is dark brown, with pale markings on the face below and around the eyes. They can stay more time underwater than other relatives, having an appreciation for aquatic plants. Dwarf false tapir, or Zinj false tapir (Paratapirus minor) Living in the forests and savannas of Zinj Land, this species is the smallest representative of the Genus. They have 140 cm of length and 60 cm of shoulder height. Their fur is reddish-brown, with a dark brown face. This species is more nocturnal than the others, being more active after dusk. European false tapir (Paratapirus europaeus) Living in the forests and woodlands of Western and Central Europe, this species has 190 cm of length and 90 cm of shoulder height. They are the northernmost representative of the Genus. This species has a long and wholly fur when compared to its African relatives. It’s dark brown, with a white stripping pattern in the back. The belly is pale brown.
Биолог: JOrnitho Very good! Added them to the catalogue!
JOrnitho: Would be plausible for a genus of generuk-like harelopes to exist? They could reach higher branches and twigs that other harelopes couldn’t by standing erect on its hindlegs and elongating its neck, like the gerenuk.
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