Отправлено: 19.04.21 21:02. Заголовок: Neocene Florida expanded

I live in the southeastern USA (North Carolina to be exact) and I have read the article on Neocene Florida. In the present, Florida has a huge problem with invasive species, such as Burmese Pythons, Nile Monitors and Green Iguanas just to name a few. Despite attempts by the state to exterminate these animals, these creatures seem to be doing quite well, even surviving cold snaps and some scientists believe these invasive species are evolving to deal with the climate of Florida (there are many articles on this, I wasn't able to link them). Since Neocene Florida will be much warmer and wetter than it is today and be covered in Mangrove swamps, I think it is within the realm of possibility that these creatures could survive the human epoch, persevere through the ice age and mass extinction and evolve into new forms that would flourish in the warmer ecosystems of Florida 25 million years in the future. Your thoughts? I'm very interested to hear what some people on this forum think about the potential possibilities that these invasive species could have if they were to survive in Neocene Florida.

Hey btw, Have new organisms, but the website won't let me reply or edit my profile, can somebody help?

But yeah here's some of my ideas:
New World Pythons: Descendants of Burmese Pythons, they are found across the Gulf of Mexico, from Georgia to Mexico and the Caribbean. This genus consists of creatures of various sizes, with the largest reaching 9 meters.

Halpatta: Descendants of the invasive Nile Monitor that have taken the niche of the now extinct American Alligator.

North American Tegus: Descendants of Tegus, which in the present have expanded deep into the Southeast USA. Due to their ability to withstand colder temperatures, they are very widespread, with many diverse forms and lifestyles.

Carp: Introduced as a big game fish, these large fishes would thrive in Neocene North America, due to the climate and abundance of food. I can definitely see some larger forms evolving in the future.

Snakeheads: Another invasive species, snakeheads are a very successful invasive species and their amphibious lifestyle would be ideal for the mangrove swamps.

 Отправлено: 29.05.21 23:59. Заголовок: I organized my descr..

I organized my descriptions about North American swans:
Carunculated swan (Neocygnus carunculatus)
The anthropogenic interference in the nature during the Holocene caused the extinction of several species. These that survived were able to continue their evolution and their descendants appeared in the Neocene. The Carunculated swan is the descendant of one of these survivors. This species lives at rivers, lakes, estuaries and costal lagoons in the temperate regions of North America. The largest population of this bird is located at the Mishe-Nama Lake, which is also the Northernmost point of the distribution of this species. When the winter arrives at the Northern Hemisphere, the carunculated swan migrates to Southeastern and Southern South America, where it stays in freshwater and brackish habitats. The great distance covered by it during the migration is a result of the Ice Age that happened during the end of the Holocene, seeking to flee from the cold, the ancestor of these birds were forced to migrate to low latitudes, reaching South America. This migratory habit was passed to it descendants.
As their name says, the main characteristic of the carunculated swan is the pronounced reddish-pink caruncles at the base of the bill present in the males, the females lack this. Both sexes have nude reddish-pink faces, which together with the caruncle become bright red in the males during the mating season. This species have 130–165 cm in length and 185-250 cm in wingspan. The males are larger than the females. Carunculated swans are heavy birds, with weight ranging from 12 to 18 kg. This swan beak is red and its large webbed feet are dark grey, the same color of the legs. Like many species of swan of the Holocene, the carunculated swan is totally covered in pure white feathers. The cygnets are grey, and their bill is dull greyish-black, not red, for the first year.
These birds feed on various plant matter, small aquatic insects, small fish, fish eggs and small crustaceans. They will eat both the leaves and stems of submerged and emergent vegetation. To reach the submerged vegetation these birds use their long necks. They will also dig into muddy substrate underwater to extract roots and tubers. Carunculated swans use their beak to turn the mud in search of crustaceans. Grazing in land is more common while in their wintering areas. They will often feed at night as well as by day. Feeding activity and the birds' weights increase in the spring as they prepare for the breeding season.
Carunculated swans nest on large mounds that they build with waterside vegetation in shallow water on islands in the middle or at the very edge of a lake. They are monogamous and often reuse the same nest each year, restoring or rebuilding it as needed. The female lays 3–12 eggs and both she and the male share the care of the nest, and once the cygnets are fledged it is not uncommon to see whole families looking for food. The incubation period is of 35 days, and the young are able to swim within two days and usually are capable of feeding themselves after, at most, two weeks. The fledging stage is reached at roughly 3 to 4 months. While nesting, these birds are strongly territorial with just a single pair on smaller habitats, though in a few locations where a large area of suitable feeding habitat is found they can be colonial. Adults go through a summer moult when they temporarily lose their flight feathers. The females become flightless shortly after the young hatch; the males go through this process about a month later when the females have completed their moult. The youngs will remain with their parents during the migration and in the wintering grounds, only leaving them after having returned to the nesting areas.
The carunculated swan is a relatively vocal bird, having high-pitched honking calls. These calls are more common to be heard while these birds are flying in their migration, this way the communication between the birds in maintained. To communicate with the cygnets, the parents make a variety of grunting, hoarse whistling, and snorting noises. A loud hiss is used to intimidate predators and conspecifics, who enter the nesting area. If this is not sufficient to drive off the predator, the swans attack by smashing at their enemy with bony spurs in the wings, accompanied by biting with their large bill, while smaller waterbirds are normally grabbed with the swan's bill and dragged or thrown clear of the swan and its offspring.
The carunculated swan has the ability to grieve for a lost or dead mate or cygnet. Swans will go through a mourning process, and in the case of the loss of their mate, may either stay where its counterpart lived, or fly off to join a flock. Should one of the pair die while there are cygnets present, the remaining parent will take up their partner's duties in raising the clutch. The carunculated swan starts to form pairs with 7 years and have a lifespan of 24 years.
The Florida swan (Neocygnus floridanus) is a close relative of the carunculated swan. This bird lives in the freshwater reservoirs of the Florida Peninsula, Cuba and Great Antigua. In comparison to its Northern relative, the Florida swan is smaller, with 87-115 cm of length and a wingspan of 155-160 cm. The male is larger than the female, but morphologically they are similar. In both sexes the beak is totally black. A dark red knob can be seen at the bill base, which is similar in colour to the bare skin of the face. Although not migratory, individuals of this species can be seen as vagrants in freshwater habitats in Mexico.

 Отправлено: 30.05.21 09:30. Заголовок: JOrnitho Very good!..

JOrnitho
Very good! And I've updated the link to it in the catalogue.

 Отправлено: 30.05.21 18:15. Заголовок: I was thinking, with..

I was thinking, with the climate being more warmer in North America during the Neocene, would be plausible for the trogons to expand their range? In the Holocene we already have the eared quetzal (Euptilotis neoxenus) and the elegant trogon ( Trogon elegans) that live in Mexico and can reach Arizona and New Mexico. Perhaps even descendants of more tropical species could expand their range to the North when the climate became more warmer.

 Отправлено: 30.05.21 19:00. Заголовок: JOrnitho would be p..

JOrnitho

цитата:

would be plausible for the trogons to expand their range?

Why not? Absolutely possible, if they do not encounter competition from other birds.

 Отправлено: 01.06.21 00:02. Заголовок: I made descriptions ..

I made descriptions for the predarory descendants of the great kiskadee that I mentioned:

Butcher-kiskadee (Confectorarius venator)
Human interference during the Holocene caused the extinction of many species. However some creatures were capable of surviving, one case was the great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus). These birds survive and in the Neocene they give rise to the Genus Confectorarius (Confectorarius means slaughter; butcher in latin). The type species of this genus is the butcher-kiskadee, which lives in tropical areas of South America, forests and savannas.
These birds have 34 cm of length and a wingspan of 50 cm. The head is black with a strong white supercilium and a concealed bright red crown stripe, which is less bright in the females. The birds can make their crown stripe visible during certain ocasions. The upperparts are greenish brown; the throat and breast are rufus. The belly is yellow. The black beak is thick, long and has a sharp hooked tip, a characteristic common to all species of the Genus. Their feet are pale grey.
These birds feed on insects, arachnids, frogs, lizards, rodents and even other birds. Butcher-kiskadees will also attack nests of other birds to eat their chicks. The prey is caught in the middle of the vegetation. To kill the prey, they use the strong beak to knock them against branches or rock. Small prey is eaten whole, while large prey is eaten in small pieces which the bird take from it by using their sharp beak while holding it with its legs. These bird will store food by dismembering the prey in pieces and hidding it in tree holes and rock crevices, sometimes distant from each other, to be eaten another time, similar to what the shrikes (Laniidae) do with its prey. Is rare, but sometimes the butcher-kiskadee can feed on fruits.
It lives in couples, during the breeding season the males sing intensely to attract the female. If she becomes interested, she will fly to where he is singing. Then, the male will vocalize while opening his wings and bowing his head to the female, showing his red crown to her. If she accepts him, the female will imitate the male. After that the birds will fly together while they vocalize. These birds are aggressive, attacking other butcher-kiskadees in its territory. Most of the construction of the nest is work of the female, which uses plant fibers in the making of an open and deep bowl, coated with mosses. The nest is well secured in a fork of trees with the aid of spider webs. She lays white-red eggs with purple speckles. The male and female take turns incubating for about 19 days and feed the chicks. The young fledge with 21 days and reach sexual maturity with 2 years. The lifespan of this animal is 13 years.
Other species in the Genus Confectorarius:

Streaked butcher-kiskadee (Confectorarius cirratus)
Living in the tropical and subtropical forests from the Panama Strait to the Florida Peninsula, this bird has 30 cm of length and a wingspan of 46 cm. The head is dark brown with a concealed bright yellow crown patch, white supercilium and dusky eye mask. The crown in the females is less bright. The upperparts are greenish-brown with darker brown streaks on the back and rufous edges on the wings, and wide white edges on the rump and tail. The underparts are yellow streaked with brown.

Migratory butcher-kiskadee (Confectorarius migratorius)
This species lives in the temperate areas of North America, including the Great Plains. The Northernmost point of its distribution are the forests near the Mishe-Nama lake. The migratory butcher-kiskadee has 32 cm of length and a wingspan of 48 cm. The head is grey with a concealed bright reddish yellow crown patch, white supercilium and dark brown eye mask. The crown in the females is less bright. The upperparts are greenish-brown with dark grey streaks on the back and rufous edges on the wings, and chestnut edges on the rump and tail. The underparts are pale yellow streaked with rusty brown. During the winter, this species migrates to Cuba, Great Antigua, Panama Peninsula and the tropical forests of Northern South America.

 Отправлено: 01.06.21 10:25. Заголовок: JOrnitho Good ones!..

JOrnitho
Good ones! Added to the catalogues as well.

 Отправлено: 03.06.21 23:01. Заголовок: I was working in the..

I was working in the descriptions for trogons of North America when I thought about other thing. With Cracidae extinct in the Neocene, other species started to fill its niche. So I thought what if a new group of birds (perhaps a new family) evolved from a Trogonidae ancestor to partially fill the niche of the Cracidae as a bird feeding of fruits and insects in the canopy? These birds could have originated in the tropical forests of Mexico and spread to Florida, Caribean Islands and with a representative in Northern South America. These birds could have the size of a guan and some species could have lifestyles similar to the turacos (Musophagidae) of Africa.

 Отправлено: 04.06.21 05:56. Заголовок: JOrnitho пишет: The..

JOrnitho пишет:

цитата:

These birds could have the size of a guan

Trogons nest in hollows, so their sizes would be limited by sizes of appropriate tree-trunk hollows. Large hollows are rather rare.
Can large pigeons fit this ecological niche better?

 Отправлено: 04.06.21 16:42. Заголовок: Автор I thought that..

Автор
I thought that they could evolve to use not only tree holes, but also in large rock crevices and holes in the gorund of slopes, like how some psittacids do. These birds could have developed strong legs and beak to excavate the ground to build nests.
Pigeons are good candidates to fill part of the cracids niches. Perhaps there is a sister group of the Neocene Peafowl pigeon from South America living in tropical and subtropical areas of the Panama Peninsula and North America.

 Отправлено: 11.06.21 16:10. Заголовок: I made some descript..

I made some descriptions inspired in the ideas of Автор about macaw-like parakeets. I think that I'll make a new thread to post it, because it can make this thread go off topic.

 Отправлено: 11.06.21 18:03. Заголовок: JOrnitho Well, if y..

JOrnitho
Well, if your new parakeets are of Florida, you can post them here. But for other regions - yes, it is better to make a new topic.