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Galliformes and other animals for South America (ïðîäîëæåíèå)
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) 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) 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.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Good hamster!
ìåäâåäü: Interesting animal!
ëÿãóøêà: Good hmsters!
JOrnitho: I made the description for another rodent. Araucaria nesting mouse (Sociomys agilis) Order: Cricetidae Family: Echimyidae Habitat: Araucaria forests of Southern South America The anthropogenic onslaught of the Holocene had damaged several habitats. With humanity's disappearance, these places slowly recovered, with new species appearing. The Araucaria forests of South America had returned the lands that were lost for human expansion. The Araucaria nesting mouse is an inhabitant of this biome. This rodent is part of the Echimyidae family and is adapted to survive in these forests. The Araucaria nesting mouse is a small rodent, with a body length of 16 cm of length and a tail of 14 cm. They have dark brown fur in their upperparts and white underparts. Their furred tails are black with white bellow. The ears are elongated and they have long whiskers. This species is mostly herbivorous, with their main food being the seeds of the Araucaria. During the period of fructification, large numbers of these rodents will gather around the pines to feast on the seeds. While they will not eat all of them, the Araucaria nesting mouse will bury seeds whole, favoring the germination. They will also eat fruits, flowers and occasionally insects. The Araucaria nesting mouse is nocturnal and lives in large colonies, with 30 to 100 individuals. They build their communal nests inside hollow araucaria trees. These nests are filled with leaves and grass. The breeding season is in the Southern Hemisphere spring, extending into late summer. The males will mate with several females inside the colony. There will be brief disputes between them for the right of mating, but rarely they end getting hurt during it. The gestation period is 16 days and the size of the litter ranges from three to 7 young, which are weaned when aged two weeks. The female can become pregnant again shortly after giving birth. In their large colonies, the females will help each other to take care of the young. Sexual maturity is reached when they are about 35 days old. The Araucaria nesting mouse have a lifespan of two years, but several fell prey to predators before even reaching three months.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Good mouse.
ëÿãóøêà: Good rodent!
ìåäâåäü: Interesting rodent!
JOrnitho: Would be possible for a large descendant of the pichi armadillo (Zaedyus pichiy) to survive in Patagonia? It would have the size of a black bear and would hibernate in the winter, like their ancestors.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Probably yes, but why becoming gigantic?
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: but why becoming gigantic? I thought that it could be different from their ancestors and to fill the niche of a large omnivorous. Perhaps it could have the size of a giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus) or slightly larger?
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Yes, this is more plausible. Or the size of capybara at most. The giant anteater is not an example: it does not dig the ground and does not dwell in burrows, as armadillos do.
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã Interesting enough, some South America ground sloths used to make large burrows. You can see it here: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/get-lost-in-mega-tunnels-dug-by-south-american-megafauna
JOrnitho: I finished the description of the armadillo Gran piche (Amplizaedyus armatus) Order: Cingulata Family: Chlamyphoridae Habitat: Patagonian plains and woodlands The anthropogenic onslaught over nature during the Holocene had damaged several ecosystems and brought several species to extinction. The disappearance of the humanity gave some respite to the survivors and they continue to evolve, allowing several new species to appear in the Neocene. The pichi (Zaedyus pichiy), also known as the dwarf armadillo, was one of these survivors. Their descendant is the gran piche, a large inhabitant of the Patagonian plains. Unlike their ancestor, the gran piche isn’t a dwarf. The adults can grow up to 134 cm in length, standing at 62 cm in the shoulder. Their tail adds another 45 cm to their full size. The carapace varies from light yellow to dark brown, and consists of heavy scapular and pelvic shields composed of rectangular osteoderms, and separated by six to eight movable bands. An additional "nuchal" band lies in front of the scapular shield, and there is also a triangular shield on top of the head, and further osteoderms along the tail. The underside of the animal has a coat of tan-coloured hair, which is thicker and longer in winter; there are also a few long hairs protruding through small holes near the posterior edge of some of the scales. Gran piches have extremely long front claws, including a sickle-shaped third claw up to 30 cm. The ears are short, and the eyes dark and relatively small. To locate food and predators they’ll use their well developed sense of smell. They are omnivorous, with the largest part of their diet consisting of invertebrates such as beetles, ants, and scorpions, though they will also eat small mammals or lizards, as well as plant material and fungi. Gran piches are solitary and nocturnal, spending the day in burrows. Like their ancestors, they hibernate during the winter. While they can do it inside hollows that are made by themselves, this armadillo will also seek caves and large rock crevices. Their mating season starts in the middle of austral autumn. Female gran piches have two teats and have a gestational period of about five months. They give birth every three years.The young are weaned by about seven to eight months of age, and the mother periodically seals up the entrance to burrows containing younger offspring, seeking to protect them from predators. This species have a lifespan of 16 years.
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho Good one again!
ëÿãóøêà: Good armadillo.
ìåäâåäü: Interesting!
JOrnitho: Thanks everyone! I plan to make descriptions for some small mammals for South America. What do you think of a rodent endemic to the mangroves of Southeastern South America?
ëÿãóøêà: JOrnitho Good ideas
Áèîëîã: JOrnitho rodent endemic to the mangroves of Southeastern South America? Good idea, but who is the ancestor?
JOrnitho: Áèîëîã ïèøåò: but who is the ancestor? A Cricetidae, still need to decide the species. Maybe an Akodon, they are very common in South America.
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