pezosiren portelli is a basal sirenian from the early eocene of jamaica , 50 million years ago .

the type specimen is represented by a jamaican fossil skeleton , described in 2001 by daryl domning , a marine mammal paleontologist at howard university in washington , dc .

it is believed to have a hippopotamus-like amphibious lifestyle , and is a perfect example of a transitional form between land and sea mammals .

p. portelli had the typical skull and basic body shape shared by most modern sirenians , such as manatees and dugongs , but also had four limbs , not yet modified into flippers , with well-developed feet that were still adapted for walking on land .

pezosiren

pezosiren <EOT> carlos peredo marked " pezosiren " as hidden on the " pezosiren portelli domning , 2001 " page . reasons to hide : low quality

aniko toth added an association between " pezosiren portelli , artist rendition , calvert marine museum " and " pezosiren portelli domning , 2001 " .

carlos peredo added text to " environment " on " pezosiren portelli domning , 2001 " .

the sediments from seven rivers , jamaica ( where pezosiren portelli was recovered ) . . .

carlos peredo added text to " locomotion " on " pezosiren portelli domning , 2001 " .

carlos peredo added text to " text " on " pezosiren portelli domning , 2001 " .

with its heavy body structure , pezosiren portelli most likely spent most of its time in water .

a restoration of pezosiren the bones in grey represent parts of the skeleton that were recovered . from domning ( 2001 ) .

this is a very important transition fossil between pezosiren portelli and potamosiren magdalenensis . we found it in jamaica in 2013 and it is named after us .

pezosiren portelli , named after its discoverer roger portell , was first found in jamaica in 1990 . it filled the gap between sirenians and their ancestors that lived on land .

pezosiren portelli is an important fossil because it represents the earliest known member of sirenia that was still a quadruped ( walked on four legs ) . pezosiren portelli was fully capable of walking on land , despite seemingly spending the majority of its time in the water . this is a key feature because modern sirenians ( dugongs and manatees ) have no back legs whatsoever and have completely lost the capability of emerging on land . thus , pezosiren portelli can be seen as a very early transitional species in the sirenia line ( domning , 2001 ) .

in order to acquire more abundant food resources , pezosiren portelli developed body structrures that would enable it to live in the sea . its main food would be sea grass and algae .

it still lives in the jamaican and african waterways but does not come to land as often as the pezosiren portelli . it thrived in warm shallow water with an overall tropic environment .

first pezosiren portelli fossil was found from middle eocene rocks in jamaica . the eocene period was a period of global warming , with temperatures across the planet soaring . forests thrived and trees grew even in polar regions . jamaica in the eocene period was a coastal area on the equator . therefore , pezosiren portelli lived in tropical climate , spent most of its time in the sea but walked on land too .

pezosiren portelli is a species of extinct sirenia ( the group of animals that includes modern dugongs and manatees ) . it was named by domning in 2001 after fossils were found in seven rivers , jamaica . pezosiren portelli appeared in the early eocene ( about 53 - 49 million years ago ) and was roughly the size of the modern feral pig ( prista , estevens , agostinho , & cachão , 2013 ) .

pezosiren is the first known quadrupedal sirenian , and represents a transitional form between terrestrial and marine sirenians . pezosiren had four limbs perfectly adapted to walking instead of flippers but at the same time the typical skull , teeth and thickened ribs of the fully aquatic , â€˜normalâ€™ sirenians . its pachyosteotic ribs , providing ballast , indicate that it was semi - aquatic , perhaps filling a niche similar to that of the modern hippopotamus .

sea cows once walked on land . pezosiren leaves no doubt of that . this roughly 48 million year old mammal once trod over prehistoric jamaica , and looked akin to a hippo with the skull of a manatee . much like pakicetus in the history of early whales , pezosiren embodies a critical transitional period in the evolution of manatees and dugongs , yet the place where this amphibious sea cow was found did not match what paleontologists expected .

pezosiren was in every other respect , a modern manatee , except that it still had a definite , ( albeit reduced ) pelvis and four still fully - functional legs . the tail was missing and may have been heavier than indicated here as they evidently used them early on . otherwise , pezosiren must have occupied a similar niche to what hippos do now , spending almost all of its time walking the bottom of shallow waterways - which manatees today still do .

if you only saw the skull of pezosiren you might be fooled into thinking it was a fully aquatic form like modern sirenians . while it’s skull differs in some subtle ways , it is easily identifiable at first glance as being a relative of manatees and dugongs . the strange thing is , however , that pezosiren had four limbs and almost certainly was an amphibious creature . it could still walk on land and did not have the swimming adaptations seen in its later relatives .

the site is particularly noteworthy for the mammal fossils that it yields , which include the rhinoceros , hyrachyrus , and a new genus and species of fossil sea cow pezosiren portelli domning , the latter named in the 11th october edition of nature by daryl domning . this is the most complete , primitive sea cow yet discovered , and is unique to jamaica . pezosiren is a distant relation of the endangered manatee that has flippers , and lives in the shallow seas around jamaica .

could pezosiren , an eocene relative of modern manatees from the rock of jamaica and described by d . p . domnig in 2001 , have moved in a similar fashion ? today manatees and their relatives within the sirenia are adapted to a fully aquatic lifestyle ; their forefeet are stubby flippers , they lack hindlimbs , and they propel themselves with up - and - down oscillations of their broad tails . like whales , however , sirenians evolved from terrestrial ancestors , and pezosiren is a startling creature that helps illustrate how sirenians became adapted to aquatic life .

the bone is about 50 million years old . the researchers guess the animal it once belonged to resembled pezosiren more than the modern sea cow , though the bone also hints that the chambi manatee spent a lot of time in the water since the inner ear resembles that of whales .

for more on pezosiren portelli , see domning ( 2001 ) ; the diagram contrasting the prorastomid , protosirenid and crown - sirenian is from domning ( 2000 ) . the steller’s sea cow painting is by maurice wilson . sirenians were previous covered on tet zoo in when manatees crossed the atlantic .

pezosiren was a pig - sized animal with a length of 2 . 1 m . it had a short neck , a barrel - shaped trunk , a moderate - lengthed tail and four short legs . the skeleton will eventually be displayed in the geology museum at the university of the west indies * .

thanks for comments , brian . i would be happy to discuss pezosiren at length ( and desmostylians ) , given appropriate time and perhaps access to new images and data 🙂 as for enamel microstructure… histology of any kind doesn’t exactly push my buttons , but i know how important it can be as goes biology and evolution .

at left is an artists ' conception of moeritherium , one of the most basal members known of the order , proboscidea which includes elephants . on the right is an artist ' s conception of pezosiren , one of the most basal members yet known of order sirenia , the family of dugongs , " sea cows " , and manatees , even though no modern manatee has legs anymore . .

i’m intrigued by the diagram next to the pezosiren dot - point , suggesting that the relative positions of the center of mass and center of bouyancy have changed over the course of sirenian evolution . this is plausible enough , but are the remains of pezosiren and other eocene sirenians complete enough to allow calculation of their centers ? — i’ve also had a niggle for years about moeritherium . the most recent cladograms i’be seen put it closer to extant proboscidea than to sirenia or desmostylia , but its apparently aquatic life - style makes it seem like a good analogue , at least , for the ancestors of the sirenia . ( and the description of the likely life posture of desmostylia in post # 20 sounds like what embrithopoda might have evolved toward if they’d had a chance ! ) prediction : new discoveries will lead to major revision in our picture of the early evolution of the thethytheria !

since the chambi sea cow is only represented by a single skull piece , benoit and colleagues can’t say exactly what this animal looked like . based on the mammal’s early age and relationships , it was probably a legged sirenian that looked more like pezosiren than a modern manatee . and even though the sirenian probably had legs able to support the animal on land , the petrosal bone contains clues that the chambi sea cow was a proficient swimmer .

the only other closely related fossil sea cow is prorastomus sirenoides owen , which is known from a skull and atlas vertebra found loose in quashies river , trelawny , and attributed to the stettin formation of early eocene age . the details of the legs in this form are , however , unknown . the morphology of the skeleton of pezosiren is comparable to that of similar - sized land mammals and indicates that pezosiren was capable of supporting its body weight out of water . other characteristics ( such as , details of the nasal opening and the thick ribs ) , however , suggest that it spent much of its time in the water . this new species of sea cow represents a unique glimpse of a stage in their evolution when they made the transition from the land to the sea . * donations to the sea cow fund can be sent to dr . sherene james - williamson curator , department of geography and geology , university of the west indies , mona , kingston , jamaica .

going back to the post’s title – i was hoping to see more discussion about pezosiren… i’m working with daryl domning right now on that critter’s enamel microstructure , and noticed that virtually nowhere on scienceblogs is there any mention of enamel microstructure ( aside from one post by afarensis on humans , with no images of it there ) . i wonder , why not ? there is some really cool work on what amounts to the evolution of histology , and i bet lots of people would really get into it .

re # 37 and # 38– enamel microstructure is one of the key pieces of evidence about mesozoic mammals ( hey , if all you’ve got is “the tooth , the sometimes broken and incomplete tooth , and nothing but the tooth” you look at it as closely as you can ! ) . the down side ( my impression from reading ) being that there are a limited number of possible microstructures , with the derived ones having evolved repeatedly all over the family tree ! but i’ll be interested to see what it tells us about pezosiren .

in the evolutionary history of aquatic mammals , sea cows , the group that includes manatees and dugongs , once walked into the sea . it was all the rage during the early tertiary as intermediate forms of mammals adapted to a marine life . but something was missing in the history of sea cows . none of the fossil evidence till now has shown a sea cow ancestor with four legs strong enough to support its weight on land . when did they make that critical transition from land to sea and what did the animal look like ? [ daryl domning with the 50 million - year - old sea cow skeleton of pezosiren portelli . photo by christina reed . ]

sea cows , also known as manatees , were not always the florida - dwelling gentle giants of the sea that they are today . in fact , they once walked on land . their 48 - million - year - old ancestor , pezosiren , ran all over prehistoric jamaica and resembled a hippo at first glance . but sea cows also share ancestry with elephants , which first appeared in africa around 66 million years ago . paleontologists , however , have always drawn a blank on the evolutionary link between the manatee ’s african and jamaican relatives—until now . researchers digging around in tunisia found a skill fragment that fills the missing piece of the puzzle . national geographic continues :

sirenian skulls even today are very similar to proboscidian skulls , especially basal forms like moeritherium . in addition , with sirenians we have a complete sequence of transitional forms from prorastomus , ( a pre - sirenian form ) to walking manatees like pezosiren to subsequent forms which still had all four legs , but weren ' t able to support their bodies out of water anymore . they had become obligate swimmers . we then we have others in which the rear limbs are so small as to be impossible to do anything with anymore . and these lead to a form where the pelvis is gone altogether , and the rear legs have dwindled to no more than a single bone .

indeed , pezosiren looked very hippo - like . it was short and barrel - bodied , and it also had osteoslerotic bones . this was not an animal that was just dipping its toes into the water but one that was already semi - aquatic . there is little doubt that it was spending considerable time in an aquatic environment . i do not know of any studies seeking to reconstruct the locomotion of this animal , but it would seem a fair inference to suggest that while its movements would be restricted on land it would have exhibited a wider range of movements under the water . it may have moved in ways analogous to , but not exactly like , the hippos studied by coughlin and fish .

in the big picture of mammalian evolution , sea cows are paenungulates – members of a group that also encompasses hyraxes , elephants , and extinct branches such as the double - horned arsinoitherium and the aquatic desmostylians . the earliest members of these lineages first appear in africa shortly after the end - cretaceous extinction of 66 million years ago , with the perplexing exception of the sea cows . the earliest , most archaic progenitors of today’s manatees and dugongs , such as pezosiren , have been found in jamaica . anatomical and genetic evidence is clear that sea cows must have shared an african origin with the other paenungulates , but , until now , no one has picked up the fossil trail of the earliest sirenians .

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( eds mazin , j . - m . & de buffrénil , v . ) 151–168 ( dr friedrich pfeil , munich , 2001 ) .

, new species ( mammalia , sirenia ) , from the late middle eocene of wadi hitan , egypt .

the role of phenacodontids in the origin of the modern orders of ungulate mammals .

fossil sirenia of the west atlantic and caribbean region . v . the most primitive known sirenian ,

functional significance of bone ballast in the evolution of buoyancy control strategies by aquatic tetrapods .

i thank j . bailey , b . beatty , d . da silva , h . dixon , s . k . donovan , r . j . emry , c . flemming , f . grady , h . and j . halvorson , j . herrera , k . hickey - commins , s . hutchens , s . jabo , d . jones , i . a . koretsky , j . kramer , b . j . macfadden , c . macgillivray , r . d . e . macphee , s . mitchell , r . w . portell , t . radenbaugh , k . s . schindler , t . a . stemann , c . terranova , and b . , r . and j . toomey . field work was funded by the national geographic society ; b . and r . toomey ; the potomac museum group ; the university of the west indies ; the american museum of natural history ; and r . liberman .

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full reference : d . p . domning . 2001 . the earliest known fully quadrupedal sirenian . nature 413 : 625 - 627

like the hippo today , the fossilized animal could live on land or in water .

" we think this animal spent much more of its time in the water . "

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have you ever tried to walk along the bottom of a pool while fully submerged ? it isn’t easy . keeping your feet on the bottom is enough of a task , and you would probably need a weight belt to take an underwater stroll . hippos ( hippopotamus amphibius ) , though , walk and even prance along the bottom of lakes and rivers with ease . how do they do it ?

when compared to a whale or even a manatee ( the latter of which i will address a bit later on ) a hippo does not look especially well - adapted to life in the water . it has a low , squat body and lacks a broad tail , flippers , or any other broad surface to help propel itself through the water . neither is this amphibious mammal well - suited to quick movements on land . hippos can trot a bit , but they are so cumbersome that while walking on dry land they always keep three of their feet in contact with the ground at a time .

the hippo is obviously a cumbersome animal , but it is not just because of their tubby physique . parts of the appendicular skeleton of hippos are osteosclerotic , meaning that their bones are extraordinarily dense due to the replacement of porous bone with more compact bone . ( hippos have extra , lighter bone material in the large medullary cavities within their limb bones , too . ) this means that their bones act as a kind of ballast to help them achieve neutral buoyancy underwater . without this added weight they would have to actively expend a lot of energy to remain underwater ( and , conversely , too much “bone ballast” would make it harder to surface when they needed to come up for air ) .

this adaptation to aquatic life allows hippos to exhibit a greater range of locomotion under the water than on land . since they do not have to actively hold themselves down , and the watery environment buoys them up , they can walk , prance , and even “fly” underwater . this range of movement was recently described by biologists brittany coughlin and frank fish in the journal of mammalogy after observing the two female hippos kept at adventure aquarium in camden , new jersey . *

* [ as a side note , these individual hippos often harass and even attempt to eat the birds kept within the enclosure . many captive birds have died from stress as a result . this raises questions about the ethics of attempting to create a “natural” setting for aggressive animals in zoos and aquariums . ]

a hippo moving underwater . note how it uses minimal movement of its forelimbs to push off from the bottom .

unfortunately the size of the hippo enclosure and the amount of time selected for study limited the observational data , but coughlin and fish still recorded 102 sequences of hippos moving underwater ( of which 32 were selected for analysis ) . the hippos did not perform their full locomotive repertoire , but they did often walk by the viewing window along the pool bottom . when they did so they moved in a sort of slow - motion gallop with only one foot ( vs . three on land ) in contact with the ground at any one time . it almost goes without saying that the hippos would not be able to move the same way on land as they did underwater .

coughlin , b . , & fish , f . ( 2009 ) . hippopotamus underwater locomotion : reduced - gravity movements for a massive mammal journal of mammalogy , 90 ( 3 ) , 675 - 679 doi : 10 . 1644 / 08 - mamm - a - 279r . 1 domning , d . ( 2001 ) . the earliest known fully quadrupedal sirenian nature , 413 ( 6856 ) , 625 - 627 doi : 10 . 1038 / 35098072

type specimen : usnm 511925 , a mandible . its type locality is seven rivers [ guys hill mbr , chapelton fm ] , which is in a lutetian estuary / bay sandstone / siltstone in the chapelton formation of jamaica .

moeritherium looks so much like a tapir because they ' re closely - related members of order , perissodactyla , animals with odd - numbered hooves . the tapir side of the family ( embrithopoda ) inherited three - toed feet ( on the hind legs ) , and led to things like the rhinoceras and the titanic indricathere . the five - toed side of the family ( tethytheria ) split into two major groups , proboscidea ( the elephant family ) and desmostylia , which include sea cows .

it turns out there is more than just superficial similarity here . jugding by comparing both their skulls and their genes , elephants and manatees have a surprisingly close ancestral relationship .

" this is the most primitive fossil found so far . we ' ve found others with legs that couldn ' t support the animal ' s body weight . but this is the first whole skeleton with legs that could support the animal ' s body weight out of water , yet has clear adaptations for aquatic life . we essentially have every stage now , from a terrestrial animal to one that is fully aquatic . "

" together with fossils of later sirenians elsewhere in the world , these new specimens document one of the most marked examples of morphological evolution in the vertebrate fossil record . ”

reduced sacroiliac articulation , but could probably still support its body weight out of the water .

proboscidian tails dwindled into little more than fly swatters , but sirenian tails developed broad and and flat like beaver ' s tails . this is how manatees ' tails still are today . dugongs ( sea cows ) are another member of that family , and they are more derived [ evolved ] in that their tails have flukes , a much more efficient crescent shape like whales or sharks have .

with the exception of sea cows , sirenians are exclusively tropical . their fossils are usually found in what used to be the tethys sea , an ancient ocean that once divided the supercontinents of laurasia and gondwana . both of these further divided eventually forming the continental masses we have today . but the tethys sea is now dry land .

evolution usually leads to a branching out of several distinct forms , rather than changing just one . that ' s how evolution theory explains biodiversity and the evident ancestry implied by taxonomy . sirenians diverged into several different families , some of which are now completely extinct , and known only from fossils . sadly , some of these species remain unnamed , and there are no available illustrations of them to show .

hooves are essentially just really thick fingernails that cover the whole tip of the finger . whales and sirenians both evolved from separate sets of hooved land mammals , but not from the same families . whales are descended from carnivorous artiodactyls , but sirenians are descended from herbivorous tapir - like things . the idea that anything could go from hooves to fins may be a difficult one to accept . but compelling evidence of this is the fact that sirenians still have hooves . and there is no other explanation for why anything with flippers should still have finger bones , much less fingernails , and especially not hooves !

ribs are round and thick unlike the light and thin ones of other land animals , which served as ballast .

it eats seagrass and algae and comes to land only to escape water predators . it uses its flippers and small hind legs to push itself onto land . its tail moved up and down , like modern water mammals today .

it was found in parts of modern day columbia . it is part of the family trichechidae , which is often considered an unusual form of a modern walrus

it lived during the late eocene epoch to early oligocene epoch . during this time , the water was still warm and the climate was still tropic .

it stayed in the warm shallow waters and ate seagrass . it was also more well equipped for life in water due to its longer tail .

the sirenian ( sea cow ) is split up into two family groups : trichechidae and dugongidae . its fossil record starts from the early eocene epoch to present day . the sirenian had the most diversity during the miocene epoch . this was due to the deep nutrient - rich waters during this period . the decline of diversity was caused by climate change , availability of aquatic vegetation , and competition with other marine mammals . their closest living relative today is proboscidea , or elephants .

i don’t have time for anything at the moment , it’s terrible . so here’s this , from one of my talks on marine mammal diversity and evolution…

domning , d . p . 2000 . the readaptation of eocene sirenians to life in water . historical biology 14 , 115 - 119 .

– . 2001 . the earliest known fully quadrupedal sirenian . nature 413 , 625 - 627 .

interesting . i wonder what sort of transitional stage sirenians went through between their terrestrial afrotherian ancestors and the highly derived crown - sirenians we all know and love . was it some sort of semi - aquatic freshwater hippo - like herbivore , or could it have been more marine . alternatively , it may have been semi - aquatic and freshwater dwelling , but it may not have been hippo - like .

i suppose the only way to determine for sure is to go find some more paleocene sites in africa .

also , the body of hydrodamalis gigas and other hydrodamalines is proportionately large relative to the head when compared to other dugongids ( and trichechids ) , an adaptation to life in colder waters .

anyone at all interested in fossil sirenians should take time to look at jorge’s blog – it’s one of my favourites , i congratulate you 🙂 one quick question you might like to answer , jorge : are sirenians particularly abundant and / or diverse in the caribbean region compared to elsewhere ( they certainly seem to be ) ? if so , any idea why ? centre of endemism ? i suspect this has already been answered in the literature but , as we all know , i’m lazy .

it’s such a tragedy that steller’s sea cow was hunted down so quickly after its discovery . it would have been interesting to see how it fit into its ecosystem . i’m particularly curious about finding out how it interacted with the marine predators of the region such as killer whales or sharks . i find it hard to believe a slow and fairly harmless sirenian could properly fight off or outrun these predators to protect itself or its offsprings…

how many fossils are still around ? if it was hunted by whalers , maybe they dragged the carcasses up on land to butcher them , leaving the bones on terra firma where parts of the bones may remain today . i ask , because of the success of svante pääbo and his team at max planck institute to sequence the genomes of extinct species from old bones . of course , to get enough diversity for a * living * species you need at least 300 individuals ( more than the number of individuals likely to be preserved as specimen in museums ) , which is why i ask about the numbers…

wow , thanks ! yes , indeed , sirenians , particularly dugongids , seem to be more diverse in the western atlantic - caribbean ( wac ) region specially from the oligocene through the pliocene , domning ( 2001 ) elaborates on this . so far there are about 14 species described from that region during that interval of time ( plus at least 4 more that will be described in the next two years or so ) . during that same time interval , in the tethys / paratethys region , there are about 10 species , and from the indian region 4 are known . the seagrasses seem to have been more diverse in the wac region , so there were enough resources to sustain three ( maybe even four ) sympatric species and drive speciation . there’s lots of endemism , specially when talking about dugongines ( which seem to have originated there ) . it is very likely that still more species will be discovered in the future , specially in the greater antilles . even taxa that had been thought ( for many years ) to have originated in the tethys region are showing up in earlier deposits in the caribbean !

mattioli , s . & d . p . domning . 2006 . an annotated list of extant skeletal material of steller’s sea cow ( hydrodamalis gigas ( sirenia : dugongidae ) from the commander islands . aquatic mammals 32 ( 3 ) : 273 - 288 .

we just made a cast copy of a steller’s sea cow for a museum in scotland . such a strange animal . it’s a shame the nhm in vienna has their skeleton jammed way back in a corner .

i’ve always wondered about the natural history of the steller’s sea cow and happened to come across a nice overview of what is currently seen by some to be the state of these seacows back in those days , in a 2007 book “steller’s island” by dean littlepage , in which the author suggests that these creatures inhabited only a couple of suitable off - shore environments on a handfull of islands which presented relatively warm water refuges following the submergence of beringia as the current inter - glacial proceded . previously the beringian land - mass prevented warm pacific waters from entering the arctic ocean and caused those warmer pacific waters to pool along the shores of the north pacific and it was then that their range extended from the shahkalin islands to northern california . the author suggested that at the time that the first europeans began to exploit the species they were already in reduced numbers and confined to a very limited range . here’s a link to the amazon page . urltoken

i’m reading a novel , and i believe that the sirenians origins can be traced to the demostylians . but , when did steller’s sea cow appear in history ? does anybody know ? i think it’s a shame that it went extinct because , like the dodo , it is an odd animal and it’s ecological niche is somewhat of a mystery . i recommend “neptune’s ark” by david rains wallace for paleo - marine biology , it’s very informative .

birger johansson : there are still tons of sea cow bones on commander islands beaches . valagos : it apparently avoided predation by staying in shallow bays protected by rocky reefs . it is unclear how it managed to colonize the islands . doug : at the time of european discovery the commander islands were the only island group in the north pacific without present or past human inhabitants . i think it’s a much better explanation of the fact that the sea cow survived only there .

1 ) as far as recent bones of hydrodamalis go – i read somewhere that most of them sitting around on bering island had already all been picked up . sorry , i can’t provide a reference right now , but that’s the situation as far as i’m aware .

2 ) sirenians did not evolve from desmostylians , and the inverse is also not the case . sirenians can be traced back into the eocene , while desmostylians have a fossil record only back to the oligocene , and presumably evolved in southern or east asia , and ( last i remember ) potentially share some relationship with anthracobunids . sirenians and desmostylians do share common ancestry , however , and are both marine clades of the tethytheria .

3 ) damn , i wasn’t aware that there were 27 skeletons ; that’s quite a bit more than i remember . 62 skulls , damn .

i’m reading a novel , and i believe that the sirenians origins can be traced to the demostylians .

you can believe that , but that’s not what the evidence says . desmostylia appears in the fossil record at least about 15 million years later than sirenia . the divergence between the common ancestor of sirenia - proboscidea likely happened sometime in the late paleocene or earliest eocene , whereas that of desmostylia - proboscidea ( or anthracobunidae ) by the late eocene or early oligocene . so , like bobby says , one cannot be the direct ancestor of the other .

speaking of desmostylids…what was their m . o . ? i have a paper in my archives that suggests they were doggie - paddlers in the way of modern bears , and that they grubbed up marine flora with their tusks . but the paper is quite old . any news on these strangest of potentially semi - aquatic herbivores ?

boesse : in the late 1980 - s finding a bone took about half an hour of walking on the beach . i would be surprised if the situation has changed that much . if you are interested , i can ask a friend of mine who works there every summer .

re subfossil bones on bering island : there may be a lot more than the ones you can easily pick up . nordenskiöld who was there in 1879 and collected quite a lot of bones noted that the best way to find them was to probe 1 - 2 feet deep in the beach ridges . however he noted that ribs were scarcer than other bones because the locals used them as runners for sledges !

i ask , because of the success of svante pääbo and his team at max planck institute to sequence the genomes of extinct species from old bones .

steller’s sea cow mitochondrial dna was extracted already in the 1990ies ( ozawa et al . , 1997 ) from bones collected on bering island . ( i am not aware of any more recent molecular studies of this species , however . )

ozawa , t . , hayashi , s . & mikhelson , v . m . 1997 . phylogenetic position of mammoth and steller’s sea cow within tethytheria demonstrated by mitochondrial dna sequences . journal of molecular evolution 44 , 406 - 413 .

@ 5 birger : you may be able to buy the bones from steller sea cows . a company called dancing man knives in alaska is selling knives with handles reportedly made of that bone , and they have been for years ( urltoken ) . i don’t know where they’re getting it or if its real , but it can’t hurt to talk to them . their ulus are good tools , too .

as for sirenians and desmostylians , my take was that sirenians are to seals as desmostylians were to sea - lions . that might be overly simplistic , but my uneducated thought was that desmostylians seemed to be more agile , and perhaps adapted to high energy environments , such as the kelp beds of the pacific , estuaries , and similar environments that demand a modicum of athleticism to keep from being smashed by the waves . sirenians seemed adapted more for efficient cruising than at agility .

i like that last comparison ! it also seems reasonable to me . a few questions regarding desmostylians : – were desmostylians truly marine or were they more semi - aquatic and coasthugging creatures ? their absence beyond the northern pacific might be an indication there . - on the other hand , is it likely that they also occurred in the southern pacific or even the indian ocean ? - also , do we have any idea why demostylians went extinct ? - i recall demostylians being depicted with very short trunks ( or at least elongated noses ) . is this realistic ? – do we have any clues about the natural history of these creatures , beyond their habitat and diet ?

it appears that i was wrong then about the abundance of bones – good ! i’m glad i am , in this case . i wonder where i had heard that…

re : desmostylians – oxygen / carbon / strontium isotope data places desmostylians as feeding within somewhat fresh water ( or less saline water anyway ) . the delta o18 is marine , while the sr isotope signal appears terrestrial . so , whatever they were doing , they were doing it close to the shoreline . that being said , desmostylian fossils have only been found in marine deposits , and never in terrestrial deposits ( although it is important to recognize that many of the terrestrial deposits in california are pretty far inland – then again , so are some marine desmostylian - bearing deposits ) .

last i recall , desmostylians are thought to have fed upon algae or kelp ; otherwise , their posture during terrestrial locomotion is thought to have been pretty bizarre ( domning 2002 ) , with a digitigrade , chalicothere - like stance for its feet , a near vertially oriented pelvis and habitually dorsiflexed vertebral column . additionally , a paper by phil gingerich ( 2005 ) indicates that in terms of swimming style and skeletal proportions , desmostylus was most similar to the polar bear ( which is not surprising , looking at the skeleton of desmostylians ) . i don’t think there’s much evidence or need to invoke a trunk for desmostylians .

otherwise – they disappear sometime during the late miocene , and some of their youngest fossils ( in california , anyway ) are ~ 10 - 12 ma . this is roughly the same time that hydrodamaline sea cows start getting gigantic , and there is quite a bit of turnover in the ne pacific marine mammal fauna from the tortonian into the messinian . i can’t recall of the top of my head , but there have definitely been some hypotheses proposed – perhaps jorge can help me out here , or maybe brian beatty will see this .

i thought brian beatty had proposed that their extinction might relate to marine productivity moving farther offshore beyond the foraging range of desmostylians . alternatively , i am just imagining that .

i think it’s looking increasingly likely that the common ancestor for elephants and sirenians was aquatic . however , iirc , stable isotope analysis actually supports embrithopods being terrestrial ( or at least as terrestrial as modern elephants and such ) .

morgan churchill ( # 22 ) – thanks , didn’t know about the stable isotope stuff . i was going on the tradition of interpreting various skeletal features of arsinoitherium as suggesting aquatic tendencies .

i’m not sure if its entirely clear why the desmostylians went extinct . it does however correlate with the proliferation of hydrodamalines . were desmostylians outcompeted by hydrodamalines ? or did they went extinct because of increase in cold climate drove the seagrasses away from their range ? i really don’t know .

were the desmostylians eating sea - grasses ? sorry for the question , but i didn’t realize that one could tell the isotopic difference between sea grasses ( angiosperms ) green algae , and kelps .

i guess i was thinking about desmostylians eating kelp . being on the west coast of the us , one thing i do know is that kelps fluctuate enormously both within the year and between years . they’re fast growing , but they also get shredded by storms , as does sea grass .

in such a seasonal environment , i’d expect any grazer to have to both endure strong seasonality ( summer feast , winter famine ) and have to move as their food plants changed . manatees in the amazon have to deal with this type of environment now .

since desmostylians were big , i’d guess that simple environmental stochasticity drove them extinct . they may have simply gotten caught in a situation where they couldn’t find big enough patches of food plants to allow them to reproduce , or they may not have been as good at surviving bad seasons as the hydrodamalines . obviously i don’t know either , but i do know that the north pacific definitely does not live up to its name . it’s a very unstable place .

yes , desmostylians were eating seagrasses and yes , you can tell the difference between seagrasses and kelp . it is even possible to tell , in the case of sirenians , if they preferred large or small seagrasses , which i think its really cool !

clementz , m . t . , k . a . hoppe & p . l . koch . 2003 . a paleoecological paradox : the habitat and dietary preferences of the extinct tethythere desmostylus , inferred from stable isotope analysis . paleobiology 29 : 506 - 519 .

clementz , m . t . , s . sorbi & d . p . domning . 2009 . evidence of cenozoic environmental and ecological change from stable isotope analysis of sirenian remains from the tethys - mediterranean region . geology 37 : 307 - 301 .

right now , seagrasses are rare along the california coast , and their biomass appears to be strongly seasonal ( based on my frequent walks near a seagrass bed , and the amount that washes up over time . i’d still hypothesize that contraction of seagrass range may have doomed the desmostylians .

i guess the question is , what were the miocene hydrodamalines eating ? i know that manatees eat seagrass , but steller’s sea cow reportedly ate kelp . were the hydrodamalines simply more catholic in their dietary preferences ?

indeed , hydrodamalines seem to have been eating mainly kelp , hence the trend towards reducing the dentition ( to none in hydrodamalis spp . ) and rostral deflection .

previously the beringian land - mass prevented warm pacific waters from entering the arctic ocean and caused those warmer pacific waters to pool along the shores of the north pacific and it was then that their range extended from the shahkalin islands to northern california .

hard to believe that only the commander islands maintained warm enough water for this species to survive–warmer than northern california ? –especially when given the proven ease with which the sea cows were hunted to extinction . i can totally see the commanders as a last refuge for their population–from people , all too temporarily .

that is not a hard - and - fast rule , there are many examples of viable populations being established from fewer individuals . if you’re speculating about recreating a species from dna , trying to clone hundreds of separate individuals would probably not be the way to go . better to assemble the best possible consensus genome and fiddle with mhc genes and whatever is likely to affect viability ( but that assumes some greater hurdles can be cleared in this sf scenario , such as where to find a womb to incubate these things ! )

before we could attempt to use a dugong as a surrogate mother , we would first need to know how to successfully breed dugongs under captive conditions ; afaik , dugongs have never reproduced in captivity ( and only a handful of individuals have ever even been kept in zoos and aquaria ) .

manatees , on the other hand , have been bred in captivity – but they are of course far more distantly related to hydrodamalis than the dugong is .

@ vladimir dinets # 11 : interesting ! if they were confined to the commander islands because they had been hunted out everywhere else , then the present potential habitat of the sea cow might extend all the way to california . presumably it would be somewhat patchy . perhaps the sea cows would migrate seasonally between sheltered bays where they could escape the winter storm season and the more exposed coasts where the kelp forests grow . i wonder whether they could coast along on their fat reserves for a long period like migratory whales .

fjord country might be ideal for such a creature . imagine winter herds of sea cows like so many knobbly half - sunk logs in the quiet waters of the inner parts of puget sound .

i wonder how they avoided orcas off the commanders . or anywhere else for that matter .

in summary : here is an english translation of steller’s work on the sea cow . urltoken he based it on almost a year of continual observation of the animals in the wild .

i infer from his account that the population in the commander islands was in marginal habitat . the animals did most of their eating in north pacific kelp forests , but hung out mainly at river mouths . they were killed regularly by sea ice and by storms coming in off the bering and they were visibly emaciated at the end of the winter . imo , this implies that they would have done better ( bred more successfully , grown bigger , grown more quickly , lived longer ? ) someplace with estuaries and kelp that was more sheltered and also warmer , possibly with more plant species . this would put their largest areas of present potential north american habitat in a range from the inside passage to puget sound and south to the golden gate . their refugium during glacial intervals might be off baja california , or for all i know the coastline that is now underwater provided more habitat . distribution on the opposite coast of the pacific would be similar , with some island herds in marginal habitat between the two main ranges .

i’m sorry i missed all this discussion , especially the part about desmostylia . i think all the salient points were made , though i would urge that a distinction between algae eating and seagrass eating is important to make . as is the difference between what isotopes and other methods can discern about diets . animal diets are unfortunately very plastic and complex , as is the nature of the data we use to study it ( isotopes , microwear , morphology ) – we all need to be cautious about understanding the nature of the data we are using . that anyone can be certain about hypotheses about competition between hydrodamalines and desmostylians without really statistically knowing what they ate or how their temporal and spatial distributions overlapped should make us all uncomfortable . moreover , modern competition studies start with systems like that and then study how resource limitation , if it exists , may play a part . we haven’t established any notion about how algae or seagrasses were limited over the period of time of hydrodamaline / desmostylian spatial and temporal ranges , so how can we know it was competition ?


epermenia septicodes is a moth in the family epermeniidae .

it was described by meyrick in 1917 .

it is found in sri lanka .

the wingspan is about 14 mm .

the forewings are deep yellow-ochreous , the base of the costa suffused with blackish-grey , and with some scattered scales along it to the middle .

there is a narrow irregular blackish-grey fascia from the middle of the dorsum towards the middle of the costa , but not reaching it , as well as a transverse blackish-grey spot from the tornus not reaching the costa , and another crossing the wing midway between this and the apex , connected with it by a terminal streak .

the hindwings are grey .

epermenia septicodes

epermenia septicodes <EOT> this is the place for septicodes definition . you find here septicodes meaning , synonyms of septicodes and images for septicodes copyright 2017 © urltoken

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epermenia insecurella , the chalk - hill lance - wing , is a moth of the family epermeniidae .

epermeniidae occur worldwide in both temperate and tropical regions where especially in montane areas ( robinson et al . , 1994 ) , but are sparsely known from the afrotropics . gnathifera occurs from australia to new caledonia ; epermenia ranges from the palaearctic to indo - australia and the pacific islands ( holloway et al . , 2001 ) .

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phaulernis fulviguttella , the yellow - spotted lance - wing , is a moth of the family epermeniidae .

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. the group has been extensively revised and catalogued by dr reinhard gaedike ( e . g . gaedike , 1977 , 1979 ) .

disambiguation notes : gnathifera ahlrichs , 1995 ( gnathiferans ) is also the name of a superphylum . chauliodus bloch & schneider , 1801 is a genus of viperfish .

epermeniidae are small narrow - winged moths , 7 - 20 mm . in wingspan , with conspicuous whorls of bristles on their legs , lacking spines on the abdomen unlike some similar moths . the smoothly scaled head bears no [ 2 ] is the easiest field character ( common , 1990 ) .

the cocoon ( robinson et al . , 1994 ) and may be found in its fine open - network cocoon on the plant or amongst debris on the ground ( common , 1990 ) .

common , i . f . b . ( 1990 ) . moths of australia . brill academic publishers , leiden . 535 pages .

dugdale , j . s . , kristensen , n . p . , robinson , g . s . and scoble , m . j . ( 1999 ) [ 1998 ] . the smaller microlepidoptera grade superfamilies , ch . 13 . , pp . 217 - 232 in kristensen , n . p . ( ed . ) . lepidoptera , moths and butterflies . volume 1 : evolution , systematics , and biogeography . handbuch der zoologie . eine naturgeschichte der stämme des tierreiches / handbook of zoology . a natural history of the phyla of the animal kingdom . band / volume iv arthropoda : insecta teilband / part 35 : 491 pp . walter de gruyter , berlin , new york .

gaedike , r . ( 1977 ) . revision der nearktischen und neotropischen epermeniidae ( lepidoptera ) . beiträge zur entomologia , 27 ( 2 ) : 301 - 312 .

gaedike , r . ( 1979 ) . katalog der epermeniidae der welt ( lepidoptera ) . beiträge zur entomologia , 29 : 201 - 209 .

holloway , j . d . , kibby , g and peggie , d . ( 1997 ) . the families of malesian moths and butterflies . fauna malesia handbooks . 455 pp . brill academic publishers , leiden .

robinson , g . s . , tuck , k . r . , shaffer , m . and cook , k . ( 1994 ) . the smaller moths of south - east asia . malaysian nature society , kuala lumpur .

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the pale-capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) also known as the purple wood pigeon is a species of large pigeon that is found patchily distributed in parts of the indian subcontinent and southeast asia .

it has a slow flight and spends a lot of time sitting still in the foliage of large fruiting trees , often in riverine forest on the plains .

it is mainly brown above and chestnut below with the a sheen of green or amethyst .

males have a whitish grey cap while females have a brownish grey cap and less gloss on the feathers .

they are frugivores , foraging in small groups in the canopy of trees but sometimes descending to the ground for seeds and fallen fruit .

pale - capped pigeon

pale - capped pigeon <EOT> select an image : 1 . pale - capped pigeon 2 . pale - capped pigeon 3 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 4 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 5 . pale - capped pigeon 6 . pale - capped pigeon 7 . pale - capped pigeon 8 . pale - capped pigeon 9 . pale - capped pigeon 10 . pale - capped pigeon 11 . pale - capped pigeon 12 . pale - capped pigeon > > adults 13 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 14 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 15 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 16 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 17 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 18 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 19 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 20 . pale - capped pigeon 21 . pale - capped pigeon 22 . pale - capped pigeon 23 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 24 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 25 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult and juvenile 26 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 27 . pale - capped pigeon > > flock 28 . pale - capped pigeon > > adults 29 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 30 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 31 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult male in flight from below 32 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 33 . pale - capped pigeon > > adult 34 . pale - capped pigeon > > pair 35 . pale - capped pigeon > > pair 36 . pale - capped pigeon 37 . pale - capped pigeon 38 . pale - capped pigeon 39 . pale - capped pigeon 40 . pale - capped pigeon > > female 41 . pale - capped pigeon > > male 42 . pale - capped pigeon > > male

pale - capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) is a species of bird in the columbidae family .

another threat to the pale - capped pigeon is hunting by humans . in many of the countries in which the pale - capped pigeon occurs , pigeon hunting is a popular sport and part of a traditional way of life ( 4 ) .

the pale - capped pigeon is classified as vulnerable ( vu ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) .

pale - capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) is a local resident in eastern ghats and north - east india . more

the pale - capped pigeon species are moderately forest dependent . these species occur in altitudes from 0 to 1600 meters . the pale - capped pigeons inhabit artificial ecosystems like arable lands , agricultural fields and plantations .

scientific name : columba punicea blyth , 1842 common names : english – pale - capped pigeon , purple wood - pigeon , chestnut pigeon french : pigeon marron german : kupfertaube spanish : paloma purpúrea taxonomy : columba ( alsocomus ) puniceus blyth , 1842 , chyebassa .

pale - capped pigeon , purple wood pigeon common names in french : pigeon marron common names in german : kupfertaube description - family columbidae stout - bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere . more

the pale - capped pigeon is classified as vulnerable ( vu ) , considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild .

embed this arkive thumbnail link ( " portlet " ) by copying and pasting the code below . < a href = " urltoken " title = " arkive species - pale - capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) " > < img src = " urltoken " alt = " arkive species - pale - capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) " title = " arkive species - pale - capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) " border = " 0 " / > < / a >

historical records indicate that the pale capped pigeon was once also found in china , but there are no recent records of this species occurring there ( 3 ) .

some conservation measures are already in place to protect the pale - capped pigeon . it is protected by law in india and myanmar , and it is known to occur in many reserves and conservation areas ( 4 ) . however , due to the pale - capped pigeon’s nomadic habits , it is not known how well these reserves help to protect this species . it is likely that protected areas will only help to increase pale - capped pigeon numbers if populations are able to follow the seasonal ripening of fruit within these protected sites ( 3 ) .

original file name : columba . punicea . pigeons - pale - capped pigeon , purple wood pigeon ( columba punicea ) . jpg resolution : 706x1032 file size : 86959 bytes upload time : 2017 : 02 : 21 16 : 18 : 07

further conservation measures for the pale - capped pigeon have been recommended , including protecting key sites where this species occurs , and improving management of exsting protected areas ( 3 ) . hunting bans also need to be enforced within protected sites , while education campaigns are needed to reduce hunting levels by highlighting the importance of the pale - capped pigeon ( 3 ) ( 4 ) .

a strong , swift flier ( 2 ) , the pale - capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) was once common throughout much of southeast asia , but is now in decline ( 3 ) .

the pale - capped pigeon occurs in scattered populations in southeast asia . its range includes parts of northern india , bangladesh , myanmar , thailand , laos , cambodia and vietnam ( 3 ) .

the iba of the pale - capped pigeon species in vietnam are tuyen lam , phuoc binh , ea so , dak dam , bi dup and a yun pa . the iba in thailand are thung kha , mu ko similan , ko phra thong and hat nopharat thara - mu ko phi phi . the iba of pale - capped pigeon in myanmar are hlawga wildlife park and hlawga lake .

these pigeon species are distributed in india , bangladesh and southeast asian countries . the current population of the pale - capped pigeon species is estimated to be less than 10 , 000 birds and is under decline . these pigeon species are listed as " vulnerable " to extinction by the iucn . these birds are monotypic species .

the pale - capped pigeon species are distributed in india , bangladesh , myanmar , thailand , cambodia , laos , vietnam , sri lanka and malaysia . the population in mainland china is possibly extinct .

the important bird and biodiversity areas ( iba ) of the pale - capped pigeon species in bangladesh are lawachara and west bhanugach reserved forest . the iba in china are diaoluoshan , jianfengling and yinggeling .

the pale - capped pigeon occurs in a large variety of habitats , from coastal lowland areas , to high mountainous regions at elevations of up to 1 , 600 metres above sea level ( 4 ) .

as the pale - capped pigeon is a forest inhabitant , heavy deforestation has been a major factor in this species’ scarcity . huge areas of forest have disappeared throughout its range , which has reduced and fragmented this species’ population . threats to the habitat of the pale - capped pigeon include commercial and illegal logging , clearance for tea cultivation , encroachment of settlements into the forest , and fuel wood collection ( 4 ) .

in india , these pale - capped pigeon species occur in the states of maharashtra , telangana , andhra pradesh , odisha , jharkhand , west bengal , meghalaya , assam , arunachal pradesh , nagaland and manipur .

the iucn ( international union for conservation of nature ) has categorized and evaluated the pigeon species and has listed it as " vulnerable " . cites ( the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora ) status is ‘not evaluated’ for the pale - capped pigeon (

the female pale - capped pigeon is smaller than the male and , like the juvenile , is much duller . the plumage is browner all over , and the head is a much darker brown - grey ( 2 ) .

the site supports a population of the globally threatened pale - capped pigeon columba punicea . it also supports the globally near - threatened nicobar pigeon caloenas nicobarica , which in thailand is restricted to a few archipelagos in the andaman sea . in addition , the site supports populations of several nationally threatened and near - threatened species , including pied imperial pigeon ducula bicolor , green imperial pigeon d . aenea , roseate tern sterna dougallii and white - bellied sea eagle haliaeetus leucogaster .

the natural ecosystems of pale - capped pigeon include primary or secondary evergreen forests , tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forests , tropical and subtropical mangrove vegetation , tropical and subtropical moist lowlands , tropical and subtropical montane forests and tropical and subtropical moist shrublands .

the diet of these pale - capped pigeon species is mostly fruits . wild fruits , berries , figs , bamboo seeds and grains are their primary food . these species forage in the mornings and evenings and rest in the heat of the day .

of small numbers of pale - capped pigeon roosting on the islands . we arrived by car and as i was waiting for srasri to change into her swimsuit i watched the ubiquitous eurasian tree sparrows jumping around in the company of a few common mynas . more

the pale - capped pigeon species have purplish - maroon plumage on the upperparts . the underparts , ear - coverts and throat are pinkish chestnut in color . the side of the neck is slaty gray and has faint green gloss . the undertail is slaty gray .

) has approached the thresholds for being vulnerable , under the range size criterion , under the population trend criterion and also under the population size criterion . loss of habitat and hunting pressure are the main threats that may endanger the survival of these pale - capped pigeon species .

foraging for food both in the trees and on the ground , the main component of the pale - capped pigeon’s diet is fruit found within the forest , such as figs and berries ( 4 ) . seeds and grain are also important ( 3 ) , and it can be seen feeding in rice fields after the harvest ( 2 ) . it has also been known to eat grit , which helps to grind up food in the stomach ( 4 ) . the pale - capped pigeon is typically observed individually , or in very small flocks ( 2 ) .

the plumage of the male pale - capped pigeon includes the pale grey crown that gives rise to this species’ common name . the upperparts are generally deep purplish - maroon , changing to a faint green on the neck . the wings and tail are largely blackish , and the underparts are light brown . the eyes and the base of the bill are ringed with vibrant red ( 3 ) .

throughout much of its range , the pale - capped pigeon is thought to be seasonally nomadic , living in some regions for only part of the year before migrating elsewhere to breed ( 4 ) . this could be due to the seasonal availability of food in different areas throughout the year ( 3 ) .

the irises are yellowish and the eye ring is red . the base of the bill and legs are crimson . the male pale - capped pigeon have whitish gray crown . the rump , flight feathers and uppertail are dark blackish gray . the females have more grayish crown . their call is a repetitive " rhuhu " sound .

post breeding , the juvenile pale - capped pigeons may disperse and establish in new locations within the range . they may make local movements for feeding and breeding within their range . in response to food availability sometimes they become nomadic .

pale - capped pigeon is by no means the only species of note here . as at many coastal locations in southern thailand , both white - bellied sea eagle and brahminy kite are commonly seen and are both spectacular sights . collared kingfisher can be found calling from coastal vegetation and provides a splash of colour as it flies away . more

the breeding season of these pale - capped pigeon species is from may to august in india . peak breeding takes place in july . the nest is a flimsy platform made of twigs . it is usually located on lower branches of trees or on tall bushes . the typical clutch contains one egg . very rarely two eggs have been observed .

the iba of pale - capped pigeon in india are chandaka - dampara wildlife sanctuary , dibru - saikhowa complex , upper dihing ( west ) complex , upper dihing ( east ) complex , dichu reserve forest , simlipal national park , namsangmukh - borduria , kaziranga national park , nameri national park , magu thingbu , nagzira wildlife sanctuary and mehao wildlife sanctuary .

) is a large pigeon , measuring about 35 to 40 cm in length and weighing 370 to 510 grams .

the population of pale - capped pigeons is estimated to be less than 10 , 000 individuals ( birdlife international 2001 , 2014 ) , probably continuing to decline and consequently classified as vulnerable ; today it is one of the more sought - after asian pigeons .

the pale - capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) is a local resident bird in the eastern ghats and north - east india . it is a 36 - 40 . 5 cm long , large , all - dark pigeon with a contrasting pale crown . the male has whitish - grey crown , purplish - maroon upperparts with faint green gloss on neck , more strongly iridescent mantle and back , dark slate - coloured rump and uppertail - coverts , vinous - brown ear - coverts , throat and underparts , slaty - grey undertail - coverts , blackish tail and flight feathers . red eye - ring and base of bill . female has more greyish crown . more

pale - capped pigeon almost a stake - out for this species . oriental plover was high on our wish list , and the reason why we choose march rather than february for this trip . it is almost guaranteed south - east of the village of roluos ( kompong thom ) . other targets should be easy to score . the trip we arrived at siem reap on 5 march at 4 . 00 pm after endless flights . more

the pale - capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) is a locally resident species in india that largely inhabits forest habitats , chiefly , primary or secondary evergreen forests , and bamboo and agricultural fields in close proximity to forests , its range extending from lowlands to 1600 msl . it had a wide distribution in the past but is now reported as uncommon and rare throughout much of its range ( read detailed species account ) . it is listed as vulnerable by iucn and birdlife international .

this pigeon has a small population , which is inferred to be in decline owing to habitat destruction and hunting pressure . it therefore qualifies as vulnerable .

the pale - capped pigeon lays eggs between may and june in india and myanmar , and a few months earlier in laos and vietnam ( 4 ) . the nest is constructed in a small bush or tree , about two to three metres off the ground , and is made from twigs and sticks picked from the forest floor ( 2 ) . only a single egg is normally laid , occasionally there may be two ( 2 ) . both the male and female bird incubate the eggs ( 4 ) .

this article is part of project columbiformes , a all birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each pigeon and dove , including made - up species .

baptista , l . f . , trail , p . w . , horblit , h . m . & boesman , p . ( 2018 ) . pale - capped pigeon ( columba punicea ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .

36 - 40 . 5 cm . large , all - dark pigeon with contrasting pale crown . male has whitish - grey crown , purplish - maroon upperparts with faint green gloss on neck , more strongly iridescent mantle and back , dark slate - coloured rump and uppertail - coverts , vinous - brown ear - coverts , throat and underparts , slaty - grey undertail - coverts , blackish tail and flight feathers . red eye - ring and base of bill . female has more greyish crown . juvenile initially has crown colour as with mantle , duller wing - coverts and scapulars with rufous fringes , much reduced gloss on upperparts and greyer underparts .

it is a 36 - 40 . 5 cm long , large , all - dark pigeon with a contrasting pale crown . the male has whitish - grey crown , purplish - maroon upperparts with faint green gloss on neck , more strongly iridescent mantle and back , dark slate - coloured rump and uppertail - coverts , vinous - brown ear - coverts , throat and underparts , slaty - grey undertail - coverts , blackish tail and flight feathers . red eye - ring and base of bill . female has more greyish crown . juvenile initially has crown colour as with mantle , duller wing - coverts and scapulars with rufous fringes , much reduced gloss on upperparts and greyer underparts .

“i spent my weekend with a wonderful ‘flock’ of 8 - 10 mugimaki flycatchers ( ficedula mugimaki ) ( above , below ) . i am certain of two adult males , two adult females , two 1st winter males and two other very pale 1st winter birds . “feeding was & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >

destructive fishing practices , including use of explosives , are one of the main threats to biodiversity at the site . another source of threat is tourism development , including pollution , unsustainable use of freshwater resources and damage to coral reefs from anchoring boats . dogs are also perceived to be a threat to the population of nicobar pigeon on the islands .

2016 ] ) , to clarify its current distribution , seasonal movements and population status . conduct research into its ecological requirements and the relative effects of various threats operating across its range . identify and protect , where appropriate , sites supporting key populations . promote improved management and establish / increase buffer zones around protected areas supporting key populations . enforce strict hunting controls within all protected areas and devise awareness campaigns to reduce pigeon hunting wherever this is possible .

baptista , l . f . , trail , p . w . , horblit , h . m . & boesman , p . ( 2018 ) . afep pigeon ( columba unicincta ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .

baptista , l . f . , trail , p . w . , horblit , h . m . , kirwan , g . m . , boesman , p . & garcia , e . f . j . ( 2018 ) . spot - winged pigeon ( patagioenas maculosa ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .

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probably related to c . pulchricollis and allied species , and perhaps also to c . argentina . monotypic .

e & ne india in ne ghats , w bengal , assam valley and s assam hills # r ; locally in myanmar , thailand , laos , cambodia and vietnam . formerly in se tibet and hainan .

36–41 cm ; 370–510 g . forehead , crown and nape silvery grey , forehead notably sloping in profile ; throat and neck brown with coppery iridescence merging into . . .

voice almost unknown . in groups , individuals give very faint contact calls rendered “rhuhuhuhu” .

a forest species , occurring from the plains up to 1600 m ; in se asia recorded only up to 1280 m . . . .

, bamboo seeds and various kinds of grain . usually observed as single . . .

may–aug , with a peak in jul . nest is a flimsy structure of twigs placed low down , usually less than 6 m above ground , in a tall bush . . .

habits not well understood ; species appears essentially to be resident , though may make seasonal . . .

vulnerable . widespread but extremely locally distributed ; always reported as being uncommon and is now rare throughout much of range . appears still to be locally frequent in . . .

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a few individuals still reported from tripura ( from hills south of brahmaputra ) .

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phylogenetic study of species genera columba and streptopelia led to extensive reorganization ; all new world species traditionally included within present genus were transferred to a separate genus , patagioenas # r , a split supported by previously described differences in morphology , serology and behaviour # r .

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del hoyo , j . , collar , n . j . , christie , d . a . , elliott , a . and fishpool , l . d . c . 2014 . hbw and birdlife international illustrated checklist of the birds of the world . volume 1 : non - passerines . lynx edicions birdlife international , barcelona , spain and cambridge , uk .

benstead , p . , bird , j . , davidson , p . , peet , n . , taylor , j . , tobias , j . , allinson , t , westrip , j .

( birdlife international 2001 ) . it appears to have been locally abundant in the early 20th century , but has declined markedly in many areas . scattered recent records indicate that it now only occurs rarely and erratically throughout its range , although a roosting flock of 174 individuals was recorded at don mamuang , thailand in 2002

. 2002 ) . there are no recent records from china , where it was previously recorded on hainan island and in south - east tibet , and it has occurred as a vagrant in peninsular malaysia . in vietnam it is very rare and local with small numbers recently reported from mang den / kon plong , kontum province in 2010 and from magrove forest at ho tram , approx 100 km south - east of ho chi minh city , in 2011 ( r . craik

. 2012 ) . however , large flocks were reported in the past from near da lat ( c . robson

2012 ) and it is regarded as uncommon but resident on some islands in bai tu lam bay ( s . mahood

. 2012 ) . in cambodia most records come from southern mondolkiri and an individuals site in preah vihear ( goes 2013 ) . in india , it is a rare resident in odisha and northeast india , with most recent records from the similipal hills . here birds have been encountered throughout the year with the highest count involving a flock of 17 birds in the upper barakamura range ( m . nair

in ekamra kanan , bhubaneswar , and elsewhere in odisha ( panda 2013 , sreenivasan 2014 , p . m . ukil

the population is estimated to number fewer than 10 , 000 individuals by birdlife international ( 2001 ) , based on available records and surveys . it is placed in the band 2 , 500 - 9 , 999 mature individuals , equating to 3 , 750 - 14 , 999 individuals , rounded here to 3 , 500 - 15 , 000 individuals . trend justification : although this species ' s population trends are poorly known , it is suspected to be declining at a moderate rate , owing to the on - going conversion of habitat .

it frequents a wide variety of habitats from the lowlands up to 1 , 600 m , chiefly primary or secondary evergreen forest , but also open , deciduous dipterocarp forest , bamboo , and agricultural fields , particularly in close proximity to forest . recent records from deciduous dipterocarp forest in cambodia indicate an association with riverine corridors of bamboo forest (

. 2007 ) . some records also originate from small forested islands and other coastal habitats . it is mainly frugivorous , although seeds and grain form important dietary components in some areas . its breeding range and seasonal movements are poorly understood , but in places it appears to be semi - nomadic , perhaps in response to food availability .

its decline is poorly understood but is suspected to be the result of hunting and habitat loss and fragmentation owing to commercial logging , small - scale timber collection , and clearance of forests for plantation agriculture , cash - crops , charcoal production and shifting cultivation .

although it has been recorded from numerous protected areas , their contribution to its conservation is not known , especially given its seasonal and nomadic movements . indeed , site - based conservation strategies are unlikely to be successful unless populations are able to follow seasonal patterns of fruit - ripening within secure protected sites .

, india ; myanmar ; and areas where it is known to have occurred in reasonable numbers at certain times of year ( e . g .

edited geographic range and conservation actions information text , with a subsequent change to the ' research needed ' box . new references were added as well as new contributors and a new facilitator / compiler .

( amended version of 2016 assessment ) . the iucn red list of threatened species 2017 : e . t22690191a110100779 .

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it occurs mainly in primary and secondary evergreen forest ( 4 ) , although it has also been seen in deciduous forest , bamboo and agricultural fields ( 3 ) . it has been recorded close to rivers ( 5 ) , in mangrove forest , and on small forested islands ( 3 ) .

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deciduous forest forest consisting mainly of deciduous trees , which shed their leaves at the end of the growing season . evergreen forest forest consisting mainly of evergreen trees , which retain leaves all year round . this is in contrast to deciduous trees , which completely lose their leaves for part of the year . incubate to keep eggs warm so that development is possible . nomadic a species which roams irregularly from place to place in search of food and water , without returning to a fixed location . primary forest forest that has remained undisturbed for a long time and has reached a mature condition . secondary forest forest that has re - grown after a major disturbance , such as fire or timber harvest , but has not yet reached the mature state of primary forest .

stuart parker , m . j . ( 1913 ) indian pigeons and doves . witherby and co . , london , uk .

birdlife international ( november , 2011 ) http : / / 83 . 138 . 144 . 95 / datazone / speciesfactsheet . php ? id = 2466

birdlife international ( 2001 ) threatened birds of asia : the birdlife international red data book . birdlife international , cambridge , uk .

jerdon , t . c . ( 1864 ) the birds of india , vol iii . george wyman and co . , calcutta .

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columba punicea : s tibet to e india , myanmar , thailand and hainan i . ( s china )

howard and moore 4th edition ( incl . corrigenda vol . 1 - 2 ) :

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) is estimated to be around 3 , 500 to 15 , 000 individual birds . the overall population trend of these species is considered to be under decline . throughout its range it is reported to be uncommon to rare . the generation length is 5 . 6 years . their distribution size is about 3 , 050 , 000 sq . km .

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most recent indian records are from odisha where birds have been seen year - round in the simlipal hills , a 2750 sq km tiger reserve in mayurbhanj district . indian forestry service officer manoj nair has reported the species extensively in the park ( m . nair in litt . 2012 ) with the highest count being a flock of 17 birds in the upper barakamura range . the birds pictured here were found in the chahala area , and a group of 37 birds were counted at a salt lick in the sal forest ( shorea robusta ) that predominates in the area . it was thought that some birds had already left the lick and there were more birds still in the surrounding trees . it is believed that there were several individual groups that congregated in the vicinity at dawn and dusk .

i had earlier looked for this bird in several parts of eastern odisha ( bhubaneswar city and satkosia tiger reserve ) as well as northeast india . of late , the bird has been seasonally sighted in the regional plant resources centre ( rprc ) campus in bhubaneswar city .

ci is a non - profit , non - commercial portal that aims to facilitate wildlife and nature conservation by providing reliable information and the tools needed to campaign effectively . we define conservation as knowledge - driven actions that lead to the effective management and recovery of wildlife . that means giving priority to meeting the ecological needs of wildlife populations in decline , and to the recovery and expansion of their habitats . read more »

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the iba comprises mu ko similan national park , in the andaman sea , c . 70 km off the west coast of peninsular thailand . the site encompasses nine small islands plus several smaller islets and semi - submerged rocks . the islands are composed of coarse - grained crystalline rocks on a north - south axis ; the highest point , ko similan ( 244 m asl ) , is in the north . sandy beaches occur along the northern and eastern coasts of some of the islands . the vegetation at the site is dominated by relatively species - poor lowland forest formations , with few large trees . the site includes a marine component of c . 12 , 800 ha , and supports a rich diversity of coral reefs .

recommended citation birdlife international ( 2018 ) important bird areas factsheet : mu ko similan . downloaded from urltoken on 09 / 07 / 2018 .

recommended citation birdlife international ( 2018 ) species factsheet : columba punicea . downloaded from urltoken on 09 / 07 / 2018 . recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species : birdlife international ( 2018 ) iucn red list for birds . downloaded from urltoken on 09 / 07 / 2018 .

odisha has emerged as a stronghold for this vulnerable species and regular sightings in bhubaneswar are encouraging . however the species is under constant threat due to depleting forest cover and habitat fragmentation .

recent sightings have been reported from assam , arunachal pradesh , odisha ( simlipal and satkosia tiger reserves ) , and significantly from the regional plant resource centre ( rprc ) in bhubaneswar , odisha .

the bhubaneswar bird walks have been reporting regular sightings since 2013 at ekamra kanan in regional plant resource centre ( rprc ) campus adjoining the chandaka forest in bhubaneswar . ekamra kanan is an urban park in the densely populated nayapalli area of bhubaneswar . it is a favourite haunt of morning walkers and approximately 200 morning walkers frequent this park every morning . in ekamra kanan , the birds usually perch on ornamental trees like glircidia sepium . they feed on the berries of fruiting trees like litsea glutonisa and trema orientalis . rprc campus has many such fruiting trees that fruit at different times of the year , thereby seeming to provide substantial feeding opportunities for this forest - dwelling species . this may be the reason why the shy forest birds have chosen to inhabit the campus despite hectic human activity . the birds have been observed in the campus from august to march in 2013 and 2014 .

odisha has emerged as a stronghold for this vulnerable species and regular sightings in bhubaneswar are encouraging . however the species is under constant threat due to depleting forest cover and habitat fragmentation . while it is a protected species under schedule iv of the wildlife protection act , 1972 , any recommended site - based conservation strategies cannot be successfully implemented unless there is a constant monitoring of the movement of the species across seasons in the ibas , protected areas , and other habitats where the species is found . this needs a habitat - specific planned strategy and combined effort by government departments and ngos who are actively involved in documentation of avian species .

panchami manoo ukil panchami is a birdwatcher from bhubaneswar , odisha , who initiated the concept of community birdwatching in odisha with her group , the bhubaneswar bird walks ( tbbw ) .

this article is part of project aves , a all birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each bird , including made - up species .

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hitherto treated as conspecific with p . albipennis but here given species status since it lacks the broad white wingband of albipennis formed by broad white edges to outer wing - coverts ( 3 ) ; has darker brown - grey wing - coverts with more pronounced white spotting ( 2 ) ; shorter bill , effect size 2 . 39 ( 2 ) ; in addition , iris may be darker ( nhmuk label data ) . the two probably also differ in ecology since maculosa only occurs below 1000 m . and this species is only encountered above 2000 m . related to p . picazuro . monotypic .

se bolivia ( santa cruz , tarija ) , paraguay , s brazil ( s rio grande do sul ) and uruguay s to sc argentina .

32–33 cm ; 308–347 g . forehead , crown , nape , hindneck and breast predominantly dull purplish pink ; rest of head and underparts grey , slightly tinged purplish pink . . .

, but more ‘throaty’ . song is a rhythmic series of very . . .

feeds mostly on seeds , including rice ; one observer reported seeing birds eat fruit and greenery ; in argentina regarded as a pest of . . .

in brazil recorded in oct , nov , feb and may , but probably nests year - round , as in argentina ; late sept in paraguay . male performs display - . . .

isolated records in s brazil , from santa catarina and cw paraná , hint at some dispersal or . . .

not globally threatened . may be increasing . widespread and common in lowland s of range . in argentina , is currently expanding its range and is considered a pest to . . .

recently split from columba on basis of genetic differences # r , supporting previously described differences in morphology , serology and behaviour # r .

part of the c . palumbus species - group also including c . trocaz and c . bollii , and probably c . junoniae . monotypic .

sierra leone to ghana , and se nigeria to gabon , congo and n angola , whence e through drcongo to uganda .

35–36 cm ; 356–490 g . crown and hindneck silvery grey ; upperparts and wings slate grey ; feathers of mantle , back and rump have silver grey edges , narrower on outer . . .

advertising call a series of some 7–14 low - pitched , drawn - out , cooing notes at flat pitch . . .

inhabits forest , typically in canopy , but sometimes forages along the forest edge ; occupies montane . . .

limited data available suggest breeding in the dry season jan–sept . nest of sticks is placed high in a tree . single white egg . no . . .

not globally threatened . details on population lacking for most of range , and biology remains very poorly known . in w african portion of range , populations appear to be . . .

threatened birds of maharashtra is the third in the threatened birds series published by the bnhs and oup . threatened birds of maharashtra brings information about the globally threatened bird species that are presently reported from maharashtra state . threatened birds of maharashtra will help to assess the present status and distribution of the threatened bird species found in maharashtra , and the recommendations for each species show the way ahead .

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it ' s @ solitarybeeweek - a week of action and education , raising awareness about solitary bees . if you ' d like to lea… urltoken

“i paid a visit to australian mulberry ( pipturus argenteus ) trees that i posted some time back to look for new visitors link . observed the asian brown flycatcher ( muscicapa dauurica ) feeding on the fruit . tried to get image documentation for 45 & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >

“went back to observe the native / australian mulberry ( pipturus argenteus ) and watch which birds feed on the fruit . i saw more species of birds feeding on the fruit and have suspicions about other birds that were harder to watch . “birds & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >

“on 31st august 2017 , i witnessed a joint mobbing by 4 bird species on a male wrangler pit viper ( tropidolaemus wagleri ) at dairy farm nature park ( below ) . the 4 bird species were the crimson sunbird ( aethopyga siparaja ) , olive - backed sunbird ( cinnyris & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >

“i was watching birds feed at one of my favourite trees , the blue mahang ( macaranga heynei , formerly known as m . javanica ) . the fruit of this tree is favourite of a number of species ( see list below ) , especially the plain sunbird . & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >

johnny wee documented a pair of adult ashy tailorbirds ( orthotomus ruficeps ) feeding a recently fledged plaintive cuckoo ( cacomantis merulinus ) at singapore’s pasir ris farmway1 in mid - july 2013 . it must have been a strange sight to witness a pair of small & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >

we have accumulated a collection of more than 200 bird calls and songs link since our earlier posts urging for birdsound documentation link 1 and link 2 . even then only a small number of bird species found in singapore and & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >

& # 8220 ; a flock of four pin - striped tit - babblers ( macronus gularis ) was encountered foraging together in dense foliage . the unfavourable lighting condition under heavy shade , obscured view due to vegetation , and the birds & # 8217 ; constant flitting movement from stem to stem , was quite a & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >

the drongo cuckoo ( surniculus lugubris ) is a nest parasite , with the female laying her eggs in the nest of the pin - striped tit - babbler ( macronus gularis ) . the former is about twice the size of the latter . within a few days of hatching , & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >

many species of birds exhibit ‘mobbing’ tendencies , especially when they find predator birds resting alone or in small groups . even those that are predominantly scavengers or fish - eaters are similarly mobbed . such harassing behaviour is aimed at driving the predators off & # 8230 ; < a href = " urltoken " > continued < / a >