Отправлено: 18.05.22 16:06. Заголовок: Fauna of North America

I decided to open a topic for this continent, since it was the only one that remained without one in the foreign section.
I was thinking about the possibility of the snakehead fish and the peacock bass, both introduced species in the USA, surviving in the Neocene. Does it seems plausible? Another animal that could live here is a descendant of the house sparrow. It was also introduced here.

 Отправлено: 06.12.24 10:22. Заголовок: JOrnitho пишет: Swe..

JOrnitho пишет:

цитата:

Sweet mesquite (Prosopis dulcissima)

Good plant!!! And who is pollinator: bees, flies or may be ants? Or may be lizards or bats, or rodents, ot birds?

 Отправлено: 06.12.24 11:44. Заголовок: Interesting plants!..

Interesting plants!

 Отправлено: 06.12.24 14:43. Заголовок: JOrnitho пишет: Oth..

JOrnitho пишет:

цитата:

Other animals such as small rodents also benefit from this.

For example? What rodents?

 Отправлено: 10.12.24 16:35. Заголовок: JOrnitho Good plant..

JOrnitho
Good plant, I'll add its description to the list.

 Отправлено: 07.12.24 00:53. Заголовок: wovoka пишет: For ..

wovoka пишет:

цитата:

For example? What are the parents?

Sigmodon arizonae would be the ancestor. They would eat the fruits that the antelopes drop.

 Отправлено: 07.12.24 09:33. Заголовок: JOrnitho пишет: Sig..

JOrnitho пишет:

цитата:

Sigmodon arizonae

Ok!

 Отправлено: 07.12.24 20:14. Заголовок: wovoka пишет: Ok! ..

wovoka пишет:

цитата:

Ok!

I'll write a description for this rodent. What interesting things we could add to it's ecology and morphology?

 Отправлено: 07.12.24 22:39. Заголовок: 346 / 5 000 I think ..

I think the ability to climb trees to eat stems, leaves and fruits and some specific structure of bristles protecting from heat, playing a sun-repellent function. Perhaps they will learn to climb herbivorous animals and look for parasites on their bodies. In the desert, any source of food is valuable and these rodents can use them.

 Отправлено: 08.12.24 00:33. Заголовок: wovoka пишет: I thi..

wovoka пишет:

цитата:

I think the ability to climb trees to eat stems, leaves and fruits and some specific structure of bristles protecting from heat, playing a sun-repellent function. Perhaps they will learn to climb herbivorous animals and look for parasites on their bodies. In the desert, any source of food is valuable and these rodents can use them.

This seems an interesting idea. Maybe they have fat tails to store lipids during shortages of food.

 Отправлено: 08.12.24 16:01. Заголовок: JOrnitho пишет: May..

JOrnitho пишет:

цитата:

Maybe they have fat tails to store lipids during shortages of food.

It is cool idea.

 Отправлено: 13.12.24 02:50. Заголовок: Finished the rat'..

Finished the rat's description:

Fat-tailed cotton rat (Sigmodon crassicaudatus)
Order:Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Habitat: Deserts and semi-arid regions of North America.
During the Holocene, the rodents were among the most adaptive species. They were able to survive in different habitats, including those heavily affected by human interference. Due to that, their descendants now live in the Neocene. The Arizona cotton rat (Sigmodon arizonae) was one of the rodents that survived and their descendant, the fat-tailed cotton rat, now lives in the deserts and semi-arid regions of North America.
An adult fat-tailed rat ranges from 250 to 360 mm in total length, including a 99 to 150 mm long tail. They weigh from 82 to 301 g. Males are slightly larger than females, but the two sexes are otherwise similar in appearance. It has yellowish-brown fur over most of its body, with pale buff underparts and white feet. This species stores fat in its tail in the same way that the Neocene camels stored fat in its hump. During times with little food, the fat of the tail is used as a source of energy.
This species is omnivorous, but the major portion of their diet consists of green vegetation. They occasionally consume insects and other invertebrates. Among the plants that they eat is the sweet mesquite. These rodents eat the seed pods that fall from the trees, being benefited when the humped oryxes are feeding and drop the seeds off the trees.
Fat-tailed cotton rats are preyed on by many birds and reptiles, and by other mammals. To avoid predation, they forage during the night. They have a bimodal breeding season, with peak litter production occurring in late spring and late summer-early fall. A nest is constructed by the female either on the ground surface or in a burrow. Nests are cup- to ball-shaped and woven of grasses. Gestation in fat-tailed cotton rats lasts about 27 days. Litter sizes range from one to 15 young, with larger litters more typical of northern populations and also of late-season litters. Neonates are well developed. They are mobile and lightly furred, but their eyes are not open. The eyes open around 18 to 36 hours after birth. They are weaned in 10 to 15 days and reach minimum adult size by about 41 days. Sexual maturity is reached within 60 days. This species has a lifespan of 4 years.

 Отправлено: 13.12.24 08:19. Заголовок: Good rodent!..

Good rodent!

 Отправлено: 13.12.24 12:04. Заголовок: Interesting rodent!..

Interesting rodent!

 Отправлено: 31.12.24 19:53. Заголовок: I made the descripti..

I made the description of this bird based in the picture of the beach screecher (Lacrimopsitta vocifer) in the bestiary, where it's holding a dead gull. So, the blue-billed gull would be that dead bird.
Here is the description:

Blue-billed gull (Larus cyanoramphus)
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Habitat: From the Pacific coast of North America to the Atlantic coast, nesting in lakes and marshes across the interior of the continent.
During the Holocene, the gulls had a mixed success in relation to human interference over the environment. Some species were able to thrive in areas modified by the man, resulting in the increase of their populations. Species with large numbers were able to survive the boundary between the Holocene and Neocene, giving rise to new forms. The blue-billed gull is one of these cases. A descendant of the successful and widespread ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis), this species can be found from the Pacific coast of North America to the Atlantic coast, nesting in lakes and marshes across the interior of the continent. Populations living in Northern areas migrate to southern latitudes during winter and it can be seen as a vagrant in Europe.
The blue-billed gull is a medium-sized gull, having an average length of 40 to 45 cm and a wingspan that ranges from 105 to 117 centimetres. Adults weigh from 300 to 700 grams. There is no sexual dimorphism between the sexes, but males can be a bit heavier than females. The head, back, neck and underparts are white. The wings are silver grey with black wingtips with white mirrors. The tail is also white, but has a distinctive black band at the base. The legs are yellow while the beak is blue colored, which gives the species their name. During breeding season, their beaks become bright colored and develop an equally bright purple tip.
They forage in flight or pick up objects while swimming, walking or wading. They also steal food from other birds and frequently scavenge. They are omnivorous, with their diet including insects, fish, grain, eggs, earthworms and rodents.
Blue-billed gulls are monogamous, forming pairs that come together during every nesting season, but divorces can happen, especially when there are many consecutive nesting failures. The pairs of young adults form during late spring, with a mating ritual that consists of a series of vocalizations and elaborate movements with the wings and head. The following spring the pair will meet again at the previous year's nest. If one of the birds does not appear, the other bird begins looking for a new mate.
They nest in small colonies, sometimes in the middle of colonies of other seabirds. They make a lined nest on the ground often on top of a rocky stack, fallen log or other obstructing object which can protect the eggs from the elements. Usually, several nest scrapes are made before the one deemed best by the parents is selected and then lined with grass, seaweed or moss.
The female lays three eggs sometime between the end of spring and early summer. It takes around one week for the female to produce the three eggs, and the incubation does not begin until all three eggs are laid, so all three chicks hatch on the same day. The birds are usually successful in bringing up all the three chicks.
The eggs are greenish-brown with dark speckles and blotches. Both parents participate in the incubation stage, which lasts for approximately 28 days. During this time, the birds attempt to avoid being noticed and stay silent. The breeding pair are devoted parents who both take shifts brooding the young, defending the nest and gathering food.
Young blue-billed gulls leave the nest area at 50 days of age and may remain with their parents for an overall period of around six months, though most fledglings choose to congregate with other immature gulls in the search for food by fall. These gulls reach breeding maturity when they obtain adult plumage at four years, though may not successfully breed until they are six years old. They have a lifespan of 25 years.

 Отправлено: 31.12.24 20:06. Заголовок: Interesting bird! On..

Interesting bird! Only:

цитата:

They make a lined nest on the ground often on top of a rocky stack, fallen log or other obstructing object which can protect the eggs from the elements.

Does its ancestor do that?

 Отправлено: 01.01.25 05:50. Заголовок: медведь пишет: Does..

медведь пишет:

цитата:

Does its ancestor do that?

Yes. If the place where they make nest have something that can protect the eggs from weather, the birds will use it.

 Отправлено: 01.01.25 11:07. Заголовок: Yes. If the place wh..

цитата:

Yes. If the place where they make nest have something that can protect the eggs from weather, the birds will use it.

Ok, thanks for explaining!

 Отправлено: 03.11.25 15:14. Заголовок: Made a description f..

Made a description for a predatory bat:

Kanontsistóntie’, or Appalachian predatory mastiff bat (Macromolossus appalachiensis)
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Molossidae (Subfamily Carnomolossinae)
Habitat: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of Northeastern North America, present throughout the Appalachian Mountains, migrating to the tropical forests of the Atlantic coast of Mexico.
In the Neocene, new species of bats evolved. While some didn’t diversify their niches, some are far cry compared to their ancestors. One of these examples is the Kanontsistóntie’, or Appalachian predatory mastiff bat, a descendant of the mastiff bats that became a predator of small vertebrates. It inhabits the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of Northeastern North America, present throughout the Appalachian Mountains. During winter, this species migrates to the tropical forests of the Panama Peninsula. The name Kanontsistóntie’ comes from Iroquois and Wyandot mythology. It’s a fearsome monster depicted as a giant, disembodied head, often covered in thick hair, with long black wings and sharp claws, said to be a cannibal.
The kanontsistóntie’ is a large bat, with a body length of 13–14 mm and a wingspan of 65-85 cm, while the tail is between 6-8 cm long. This species has large forward-pointing ears connected to each other by a membrane over the forehead. The face is naked and the nostril pad is large and prominent. The hair is short and velvety. It’s a rich chestnut on the crown of the head and back, becoming dark brown in the rump. There is a thin white border on each flank, extending from the armpit to the groin, and on the membranes of the forearms. The shoulders and the nape of the neck are a pale greyish white. The ventral surface is a dull brown, but with a contrasting black collar, which extends onto the chin and upper chest. It has robust jaws and skull, with well developed masseters. In a case of convergent evolution with the Necromantis from the Eocene, the kanontsistóntie’ have carnassial-like M1 and M2.
This species eats lizards, rodents, small birds and smaller bats. The kanontsistóntie’ hunts via a 'sit and wait' technique while suspended from a tree or doing low surveys over vegetation. It’s also able to detect the echolocation signals of the smaller bats on which its prey. The bat has good vision, and echolocation is also utilised to directly locate approaching prey. The kanontsistóntie’ is able to visually locate birds roosting in trees. Once located, an animal is held down via the thumb claws and killed by a single bite to the neck. The prey is killed at the ground or in flight, and taken to a perch to be consumed, at an overhanging rock or smaller cave for this purpose. During migration, this bat follows the migratory patterns of passerines, hunting them through the migration.
The kanontsistóntie’ lives in colonies, whose number of members depends on the size of the roost. During the daytime they roost in caves, sheltered rock crevices and hollowed trees. The largest colonies are those that roost in caves, reaching more than 100 individuals. In the roost, these colonies are separated in smaller groups formed by closely related females, with males moving between these groups. During migration, these groups come together in large groups. Migration is done during the night, with bats stopping in temporary roosts to rest during the day. They will also take breaks to hunt during the night. Their migratory movements match those of small birds and other bats, which become their prey.
Mating occurs with the male controlling the female's movements, keeping her away from the other bats in the roost. This species is a promiscuous breeder and both sexes copulate with multiple partners. Females become sexually mature at about 9 months, while males take even longer, at two years. Females enter estrus once a year, which typically lasts five weeks in the spring. The gestation period of the bat lasts 11–12 weeks, with only one young being born. Pups are left in "creches", while their mothers hunt. The female uses vocalizations and scent to identify her pup. The mother imprints her scent on the young early on. However, young try to steal a suckle from any female that passes through the cluster. After 3 weeks, the female starts to bring pieces of meat for the pup, starting the weaning process. A mother will nurse her young daily, and by 4–7 weeks old they are full grown, fully weaned, and independent. The lifespan is 25 years, but many individuals die due to predation by owls.
Another species in the genus Macromolossus is the Columbian predatory mastiff bat (Macromolossus columbi), an inhabitant of the temperate coniferous forests found throughout the Columbia River watershed and nearby areas. It’s similar in size and fur coloration to the kanontsistóntie’, but lacks the thin white border on each flank that extends from the armpit to the groin, and on the membranes of the forearms. The djabani’, or Diné predatory mastiff bat (Macromolossus arizonensis), inhabits the deserts of Central North America, south to the Mexican Plateau. The name djabani’ is bat in the Diné people's language. This species is smaller than the others, with a body length of 12–13 mm and a wingspan of 55-75 cm, while the tail is between 4-6 cm long. This species is mostly brown in color, with a gray head. It also hunts smaller vertebrates, but has a preference for insects such as large grasshoppers. This species is non migratory.

 Отправлено: 03.11.25 19:48. Заголовок: Interesting bat!..

Interesting bat!