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: 31.08.22 18:02. Заголовок: I was reading an art..

I was reading an article about how introduced pin-tailed whydah were thriving in California by parasiting nests of munias that were also introduced. It made me think if these two species could have descendants in the Neocene that also continued with this extraspecific relationship. Do you think that it could happen?

 Отправлено: 31.08.22 19:03. Заголовок: JOrnitho Yes, why n..

JOrnitho
Yes, why not.

 Отправлено: 14.09.22 17:39. Заголовок: I was reading how so..

I was reading how some species of Old World quails are migratory and it made me think if a new genus of migratory Galliformes could appear in North America. Perhaps the Ice Age could have influenced some of these birds to fly to the Mexican Plateau, with this becoming a seasonal practice of their descendants in the Neocene.

 Отправлено: 14.09.22 19:13. Заголовок: JOrnitho Good ideas..

JOrnitho
Good ideas! But what about a large flightless quail? Or poorly flying and migrating on foot, like rails.

 Отправлено: 14.09.22 23:13. Заголовок: Биолог пишет: But w..

Биолог пишет:

цитата:

But what about a large flightless quail? Or poorly flying and migrating on foot, like rails.

These are really good idea. Maybe this quail could have a migration in the two ways, by flying and walking. A flightless quail would need to live in a place without terrestrial predators.

 Отправлено: 15.09.22 15:24. Заголовок: JOrnitho Maybe this..

JOrnitho

цитата:

Maybe this quail could have a migration in the two ways, by flying and walking.

Quite so.

цитата:

A flightless quail would need to live in a place without terrestrial predators.

Yes, but it can retain the flight ability, only using to escape a danger. It can hide and disguise itself in the grass or bushes to stay invisible to the enemies.

 Отправлено: 15.09.22 16:19. Заголовок: Биолог пишет: Yes, ..

Биолог пишет:

цитата:

Yes, but it can retain the flight ability, only using to escape a danger. It can hide and disguise itself in the grass or bushes to stay invisible to the enemies.

I think that in this case it could be like a tinamou, a bird with a poor ability to fly.
Regarding the migratorious galliforme, I was thinking that it could be close related to the grouses of the Holocene. It would spend the summer in subartic regions, migrating to Mexico in the winter. What do you think?

 Отправлено: 16.09.22 10:22. Заголовок: JOrnitho Yes, quite..

JOrnitho
Yes, quite a good idea. Only I thought it would be like a poorly flying rail. But a tinamou-like bird is also OK.

 Отправлено: 16.09.22 15:40. Заголовок: Биолог пишет: Only ..

Биолог пишет:

цитата:

Only I thought it would be like a poorly flying rail. But a tinamou-like bird is also OK.

I said a tinamou because they have a similar lifestyle to the Galliformes.

 Отправлено: 16.09.22 18:30. Заголовок: JOrnitho OK, I agre..

JOrnitho
OK, I agree. No problem.

 Отправлено: 24.09.22 15:54. Заголовок: I'm working in t..

I'm working in the migratory Galliforme, but I can’t think in a good name for it. Do you have any suggestions? It would be close related to the grouses.

 Отправлено: 25.09.22 14:18. Заголовок: JOrnitho But what i..

JOrnitho
But what is the ancestor exactly?

 Отправлено: 25.09.22 15:41. Заголовок: Биолог пишет: But w..

Биолог пишет:

цитата:

But what is the ancestor exactly?

I thought that it could be the Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus).

 Отправлено: 25.09.22 17:48. Заголовок: JOrnitho OK. So, ma..

JOrnitho
OK. So, maybe, Neobonasa migratoria?

 Отправлено: 26.09.22 00:38. Заголовок: Биолог пишет: OK. S..

Биолог пишет:

цитата:

OK. So, maybe, Neobonasa migratoria?

I think that it's a good name. It could be the migratory grouse.

 Отправлено: 26.09.22 10:42. Заголовок: JOrnitho OK, I agre..

JOrnitho
OK, I agree.

 Отправлено: 01.10.22 16:05. Заголовок: I finished the descr..

I finished the description of the migratory grouse.

Migratory grouse (Neobonasa migratoria)
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Habitat: Forests and woodlands from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Beringia, migrating to the Mexican Plateau during winter.
The Ice Age during the end of the Holocene led many species to adapt to survive. Some developed migratory habits, moving to the South so they could escape the cold weather. The ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) was one of these species, with its descendant in the Neocene, the migratory grouse, becoming a fully migratory bird. During the summer, this bird forests and woodlands from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Beringia. During the winter, these birds migrate to the Mexican Plateau.

The migratory grouse are relatively slender, medium-sized birds that measure from 40 to 50 cm in length and span 80–100 cm across their strong wings. The head, neck, and back are grey-brown; the breast is light with barring. There is much white on the underside and flanks. Overall, the birds have a variegated appearance; the throat is often distinctly lighter. The tail is essentially the same brownish grey, with regular barring and a broad black band near the end. The ruffs are on the sides of the neck in both sexes. They also have a crest on top of their head, which sometimes lies flat. Both sexes are similarly marked and sized, making them difficult to tell apart, even in hand. The female often has a broken subterminal tail band. At the same time, males tend to have unbroken tail bands, though the opposite of either can occur. Females may also do a display similar to the male. Another fairly accurate sign is that during the displays, the males will inflate their throat, revealing a bright red patch of skin.

Like most grouse, they spend most of their time on the ground; mixed woodland rich in aspen seems to be particularly well-liked. These birds forage on the ground or in trees. They are omnivores, eating buds, leaves, berries, seeds, and insects.

These birds are polygynous, and males may mate with several females during the breeding season. The migratory grouse relies mostly entirely on a non-vocal acoustic display, known as drumming, unlike other grouse species. The drumming itself is a rapid, wing-beating display that creates a low-frequency sound, starting slow and speeding up. The male will also inflate their throats during the ritual. Hens build nests and lay and incubate their eggs under the cover of brushes. The hen uses grass and forbs between patches of brushes for additional cover. During incubation, female migratory grouse undertake recesses, where they leave the nest to undertake self-maintenance activities, thought these recess activities are typically within 250 m of the nest. They lay four to six eggs that are incubated for 21 days. Chicks can walk as soon as they are hatched and are able to fly short distances within two weeks. Within five weeks they are able to fly longer distances.
They spend most of their time quietly on the ground, and when surprised, may explode into flight, beating its wings very loudly. During the autumn, the migratory grouse will fly to the South. Their migration will happen both by flight and walking. These birds use long patches of grass in the prairies regions that they cross to hide their terrestrial movements from predators. The average lifespan of a migratory grouse is one year, although some birds can live for eleven years.

 Отправлено: 01.10.22 19:14. Заголовок: JOrnitho Very good ..

JOrnitho
Very good one! Thanks!

 Отправлено: 22.02.23 16:24. Заголовок: I had an idea for a ..

I had an idea for a descendant of rodents of the genus Zapus that evolved to be fast and run through the grasslands. They are adapted for speed because they are hunted by the jumping shrews. It would be interesting to see a predator-prey relationship with so small animals.

 Отправлено: 23.02.23 14:43. Заголовок: I made the descripti..

I made the description for a small jumping rodent.

Grassland jumping mouse (Halmazapus rufescens)
Order: Rodentia
Family: Halmazapodidae
Habitat: Plains and grasslands of Central North America
The interactions between predator and prey are an important factor in evolution. When one develops a characteristic that gives them the upperhand, the other will be pressured to overcome it with a characteristic of their own. Even with the arrival of the Neocene, such evolutionary mechanisms continued to exist. An example is the appearance of the genus Halmazapus in North America. These rodents are direct descendants of the North American jumping mouse (Zapodidae), but their jumping ability surpasses that of their ancestors, getting closer to that of a jerboa. This happened due to the appearance of faster predators: the jumping shrew (Saltasoricidae).

To escape these new predators, the jumping mice had developed far more specialized hind feet than that of their ancestors. The hind feet have three toes, the central three metatarsal bones having fused to form a single structure, similar to jerboa. However, different from them, the Halmazapus jumping mice are capable of sustaining hopping over long periods of time.

The type species of this genus is the grassland jumping mouse, an inhabitant of the Great Plains. It's a small rodent, with a body length ranging from 12 to 16 cm and with a tail measuring between 18 and 20 cm. The tail is used to balance when hopping, and as a prop when sitting upright. The fore limbs are short and are useless for locomotion, being only used to hold food. The pelage of this animal is short, and with somewhat dense, coarse hair. The color of the pelage is reddish-brown, with a thin dorsal black strip. The underbody is white. The tail is bicolored, showing a darker color from above and a lighter color below. It is lightly covered with hair, which gets longer as it approaches the tip, and different from their ancestors does form a small dark brown bushy in the tip. The head is small, and narrow. The nose is short, yet it is pointy, and the eyes are relatively big.

The food preference of the grassland jumping mouse consists of seeds, but they also eat berries, fruit and insects. Usually right after emerging from hibernation they will eat the larvae of insects such as butterflies, and beetles.

These rodents are crepuscular, leaving their dens during dawn and dusk. They live in groups of at least 60 individuals that share the same den. When foraging, the group would split into smaller ones. While feeding, these rodents will stay watching their surroundings. Given their small size, the mice are prey of several different predators such as large birds, serpents and larger mammals. However, their nemesis is the jumping shrew (Saltasoricidae). These small predators are fast and capable of hunting down the rodents. To alert the group, the mice will produce several whistling vocalizations and raise their tail.

The grassland jumping mouse shares the Great Plains with the striped jumping shrew. When one of these shrews is hunting a pack of grassland jumping mice, it’s as if a cheetah is hunting antelopes in the Holocene, but in this case in miniature. To escape, the rodents are capable of maintaining their jumps for a long time, but they also use sharp turns and great vertical leaps to confuse predators.

Their hibernation begins during the middle of autumn, the moment of entering hibernation there is a decrease in metabolism. Hibernation lasts until about early spring, with males emerging slightly earlier than females. From the time that the mice goes into hibernation to the time it comes out there is a significant amount of weight loss. When the male emerges from hibernation it starts feeding and is immediately reproductively active. Once the female emerges, which is only a short time after the males, they begin mating, and only about two weeks after emergence all the females are pregnant and gestation begins. Gestation lasts about eighteen days, although this can be a bit longer if the female is still nursing her previous litter. The average litter size is of 5 young, but can range anywhere from two to nine young. The jumping mouse is capable of having two to three litters per year. The young are weaned and fully independent within twenty-eight to thirty-three days. They reach sexual maturity with two months, but most will only reproduce after hibernation. They have a lifespan of four years, but many are killed by predators early.

The Pacific jumping mouse (Halmazapus fuscus) is another representative of the genus. Inhabiting the forests of the Pacific coast of North America. Like their relatives, it's a small rodent, with a body length ranging from 13 to 17 cm and with a tail measuring between 19 and 21 cm. The color of the pelage is slate gray, with white underparts. The tuft in their tail is light gray. The Mexican jumping mouse (Halmazapus mexicanus) is an inhabitant of the Mexican Plateau. They have a body length ranging from 12 to 15 cm and with a tail measuring between 19 and 21 cm. The color of the pelage is light brown, with white underparts. The tuft in their tail is dark gray.