Download or read book Taxonomy of Fossil Eagles and Vultures Aves Accipitridae from Australia written by Ellen Mather and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Accipitridae are a family of predatory birds which comprise of species such as eagles, hawks, and Old-World vultures. They first appear in the fossil record in the late Eocene of Europe and North America, and today have a global distribution across all continents except Antarctica. Modern Australia is home to seventeen species of this family, including the iconic wedge-tailed eagle Aquila audax, but our understanding of the evolutionary and fossil history of these birds on this continent is severely lacking. -- The research presented within this thesis includes the first description of a late Oligocene accipitrid (~26-24 million years ago) from the Namba Formation of Lake Pinpa, South Australia. This new species is represented by a partial skeleton, allowing detailed analysis and comparison. Morphological comparisons revealed the fossil taxon was very similar to species of the forest-dwelling hawks and eagles Spizaetus and Spilornis, and phylogenetic analysis with living Accipitridae determined the taxon most likely belonged to a unique basal subfamily that was potentially endemic to Australia (presented in chapter 2). -- The Pleistocene fossil species “Taphaetus” lacertosus de Vis, 1905, had the original lectotype (a distal humerus) and associated material (a quadrate) redescribed. This determined that the original assessment of the humerus as a distinct species of accipitrid was valid, but the quadrate was in fact from a species of Ardeidae. In addition to this, undescribed fossil distal humeri from the Wellington Caves, New South Wales, were compared to the lectotype and determined to be referrable to “T.” lacertosus based on their morphology. A tarsometatarsus (AM F.58093) from Wellington Caves was also referred to the taxon due to its association with the humeri, and by proxy a tarsometatarsus from Leaena's Breath Cave due to its similarity to the Wellington specimen. Phylogenetic analysis of the humeri and tarsometatarsi supported a position within the Aegypiinae, a subfamily of Old World vultures. -- The fossil remains of large accipitrids from across southern Australia were assessed to determine the number of species they represented. These included the sites Leaena's breath Cave (Nullarbor, Western Australia), Mairs Cave (Flinders Ranges, South Australia), Victoria Fossil Cave (Naracoorte, South Australia), Green Waterhole Cave (Tantanoola district, South Australia), and the Wellington Caves (Wellington, New South Wales). It was determined that two species were present among the assemblages, which are described within as the Mairs Cave accipitrid and accipitrid GWC/VFC (Green Waterhole Cave/Victoria Fossil Cave). Phylogenetic analyses resolved accipitrid GWC as an aegypiine vulture despite its morphology being much more similar to active predators such as eagles. Accipitrid MC could not have phylogenetic analyses performed upon it due to a lack of material, but its morphology strongly supported a relationship with gypaetine vultures.
Download or read book Australasian Eagles and Eagle like Birds written by Stephen Debus and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2017-08 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eagles are awe-inspiring birds that have influenced much human endeavour. Australia is home to three eagle species, and in Melanesia there are four additional endemic species. A further three large Australian hawks are eagle-like. Eagles, being at the top of the food chain, are sensitive ecological barometers of human impact on the Earth’s ecosystem services, and all of the six Australian species covered in this book are threatened in at least some states (one also nationally). Three of the four Melanesian tropical forest endemics are threatened or near-threatened. In Australasian Eagles and Eagle-like Birds, Dr Stephen Debus provides a 25-year update of knowledge on these 10 species as a supplement to the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB) and recent global treatises, based partly on his own field studies. Included are the first nest or prey records for some Melanesian species. This book places the Australasian species in their regional and global context, reviews their population status and threats, provides new information on their ecology, and suggests what needs to be done in order to ensure the future of these magnificent birds. Australasian Eagles and Eagle-like Birds is an invaluable resource for raptor biologists, birdwatchers, wildlife rescuers and carers, raptor rehabilitators and zookeepers.
Download or read book Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds written by Les Christidis and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2008-01-25 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds presents an up-to-date classification of Australian birds. Building on the authors’ 1994 book, The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories, it incorporates the extensive volume of relevant systematic work since then. The findings of these studies are summarised and evaluated in the explanations for the taxonomic treatments adopted, and with the extensive citations, the book serves as a comprehensive introduction to the recent systematic literature of Australian birds. All species of birds that have been recorded from the Australian mainland, Tasmania, island territories and surrounding waters are treated and listed. Along with extant native species, all accepted vagrants, recently extinct (since 1800) native species and established introduced species are included.
Download or read book New World Vultures with Old World Affinities written by Patricia Vickers-Rich and published by S. Karger AG (Switzerland). This book was released on 1980 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds written by Les Christidis and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2008 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lists all those species of birds that have been recorded from the Australian mainland, Tasmania, island territories and surrounding waters. Based on theauthors' original book The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories, it includes any new species for which records have been accepted by the Records Appraisal Committee of Birds Australia. It also includes all extant and recently extinct (post-1800) native species, as well as new species, accepted vagrants and introduced species that have become established and continue to survive in the wild.
Download or read book Records of the Australian Museum written by Australian Museum and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Holocene Extinctions written by Sam Turvey and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-05-28 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This makes a detailed consideration of these extinctions a useful system for investigating the impacts of human activity over time.
Download or read book Collecting Patterns of Six Species of Vultures Aves Accipitridae written by Ina Plug and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Fossil Birds from the Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation Fayum Province Egypt written by D. Tab Rasmussen and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fossils from fluvial deposits of early Oligocene age in Egypt document the earliest known diverse avifauna from Africa, comprising at least 13 families and 18 species. Included are the oldest fossil records of the Musophagidae (turacos), Pandionidae (ospreys), Jacanidae (jacanas), and Balaenicipitidae (shoebilled storks). Other families represented are the Accipitridae (hawks and eagles), Rallidae (rails), Gruidae (cranes), Phoenicopteridae (flamingos), Ardeidae (herons), Ciconiidae (storks), and Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants). A highly distinctive rostrum is described as a new family, Xenerodiopidae, probably most closely related to herons. A humerus lacking the distal end is tentatively referred to the same family. Two new genera and three species of large to very large jacanas are described from the distal ends of tarsometatarsi. This Oligocene avifauna resembles that of modern tropical African assemblages. The habitat preferences of the constituent species of birds indicate a tropical, swampy, vegetation-choked, fresh-water environment at the time of deposition.
Download or read book Taxonomy of the birds of the world written by fotolulu and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2018-10-30 with total page 701 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do you come up with the idea to list all the birds in the world including the subspecies and to give all birds English names? There is a reason for it - my favorite saying, whose author is unknown: "Everyone said that ́s not possible - then there was one who did not know that and just did it!" I am an animal photographer and probably a little bit crazy. Ive built a complete animal database for mammals and birds over the last decade. This facilitates my work in determining and archiving images and assigning keywords, especially among the many subspecies. With this book, I would like to give all birding friends and ornithologists a complete overview in English. For this I have given unique English names to all subspecies. The naming should not meet any scientific requirements. The names are based on translations from the Latin name, geographical distribution areas and the names of the discoverers. The entries consist of the scientific name, the English name, the distribution areas and the author. I wish you a lot of fun with this book, but especially while watching the fascinating birdlife. fotolulu
Download or read book Paleogene Fossil Birds written by Gerald Mayr and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-04-21 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the present book the Paleogene fossil record of birds is detailed for the first time on a worldwide scale. I have developed the idea for such a project for several years, and think that it is an appropriate moment to present a summary of our c- rent knowledge of the early evolution of modern birds. Meanwhile not only is there a confusing diversity of fossil taxa, but also significant progress has been made concerning an understanding of the higher-level phylogeny of extant birds. Hypotheses which were not considered even a decade ago are now well supported by independent analyses of different data. In several cases these group together morphologically very different avian groups and allow a better understanding of the mosaic character distribution found in Paleogene fossil birds. The book aims at bringing some of this information together, and many of the following data are based on first-hand examination of fossil specimens.
Download or read book The Birds of Africa Volume VIII written by Roger Safford and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09-17 with total page 1025 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Universally recognised as by far the most authoritative work ever published on the subject, The Birds of Africa is a superb multi-contributor reference work, with encyclopaedic species texts, stunning paintings of all species and numerous subspecies, informative line drawings, detailed range maps, and extensive bibliographies. Each volume contains an Introduction that brings the reader up to date with the latest developments in African ornithology, including the evolution and biogeography of African birds. Diagnoses of the families and genera, often with superspecies maps, are followed by the comprehensive species accounts themselves. These include descriptions of range and status, field characters, voice, general habits, food, and breeding habits. Full bibliographies, acoustic references, and indexes complete this scholarly work of reference. This eighth and final volume covers the Malagasy region which comprises Madagascar and the various islands and archipelagos of the Indian Ocean including the Seychelles, the Comoros, Mauritius and Réunion. Every resident and migrant species is covered in full detail, comparable to other volumes in the series, and with a colour map for each species. Vagrants are treated in less detail. All species are illustrated on a beautiful series of 64 colour plates, with original artwork from John Gale and Brian Small. This is a major work of reference on the birds of the region and will remain the standard text for many years to come.
Download or read book Birds of Prey written by José Hernán Sarasola and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-06-30 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book will provide the state-of-the-art on most of the topics involved in the ecology and conservation of birds of prey. With chapters authored by the most recognized and prestigious researchers on each of the fields, this book will become an authorized reference volume for raptor biologists and researchers around the world.
Download or read book Biogeography of Australasia written by Michael Heads and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating analysis of the main patterns of distribution and evolution of the Australasian biota.
Download or read book Bird Migration written by Eberhard Gwinner and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: E. GWINNER! The phenomenon of bird migration with its large scale dimensions has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries. Worldwide billions of birds leave their breeding grounds every autumn to migrate to areas with seasonally more favor able conditions. Many of these migrants travel only over a few hundred kilo meters but others cover distances equivalent to the circumference of the earth. Among these long-distance migrants are several billion birds that invade Africa every autumn from their West and Central Palaearctic breeding areas. In the Americas and in Asia the scope of bird migration is of a similar magnitude. Just as impressive as the numbers of birds are their achievements. They have to cope with the enormous energetic costs of long-distance flying. particularly while crossing oceans and deserts that do not allow replenishment of depleted fat reserves. They have to appropriately time the onset and end of migrations. both on a daily and annual basis. And finally. they have to orient their migratory movements in space to reach their species- or population-specific wintering and breeding grounds, irrespective of the variable climatic conditions along their migratory routes.
Download or read book Handbook of the Birds of the World Ostrich to ducks written by and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All manner of information about birds is presented. Following each lengthy description are full-color plates of typical members of each species with range-pattern maps for each family's genus and species.
Download or read book Wildlife in a Changing World written by Jean-Christophe Vié and published by IUCN. This book was released on 2009 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Wildlife in a Changing World" presents an analysis of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Beginning with an explanation of the IUCN Red List as a key conservation tool, it goes on to discuss the state of the world s species and provides the latest information on the patterns of species facing extinction in some of the most important ecosystems in the world, highlighting the reasons behind their declining status. Areas of focus in the report include: freshwater biodiversity, the status of the world s marine species, species susceptibility to climate change impacts, the Mediterranean biodiversity hot spot, and broadening the coverage of biodiversity assessments."
