rekordy: Kākāpō

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

The kākāpō (Māori: [ˈkaːkaːpɔː]; pl.: kākāpō; Strigops habroptilus), sometimes known as the owl-parrot, is a species of large, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the superfamily Strigopoidea. It is endemic to New Zealand. Kākāpō can be up to 64 cm (25 in) long. They have a combination of unique traits among parrots: finely blotched yellow–green plumage, a distinct facial disc, owl-like forward-facing eyes with surrounding discs of specially textured feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large blue feet, relatively short wings and a short tail. It is the world's only flightless parrot, the world's heaviest parrot, and also is nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body si…

Evidence: 36 • authority: 72

Evolutionary anachronism, also known as "ecological anachronism", is a term initially referring to attributes of certain plant species that possess traits seemed best explained as having been favorably selected in the past due to their coevolution with plant-eating megafauna that are now extinct. By far the most famous of these is the avocado, which is native to the Tropical Americas, but contains pits too large for even the largest currently living native frugivore, certain tapirs, but is readily consumed by Pleistocene megafaunal analogs (elephants, rhinos) if introduced to Africa and India. The concept was formulated by Costa Rican-based American ecologist Daniel H. Janzen and carried br…

Evidence: 32 • authority: 92

Genetic Links to Gut Microbiome Variation in the Yellow-Rumped Warbler Hybrid Zone.. The gut microbiome is a dynamic ecosystem wherein microbes can exert beneficial, neutral or harmful effects on their host organism. Previous research has supported a large role for the environment in shaping avian gut microbiome diversity, but host-specific factors that regulate gut microbiome variation remain elusive. In hybrid zones, genetic recombination shuffles divergent alleles among backcrossed individuals allowing associations between genomic regions and specific traits to be identified. In this study, we use an association mapping approach to investigate the contribution of host alleles in shaping…

Evidence: 32 • authority: 92

Wing morphology of Anchiornis huxleyi and the evolution of molt strategies in paravian dinosaurs.. As one of the most diverse terrestrial amniote clades, Aves has attracted enormous interest regarding its Jurassic origins and the evolutionary transition from terrestrial to volant in theropod dinosaurs. While abundant research has focused on the skeletal transformations associated with the emergence of flight ability, fewer studies have documented the changes to the soft tissues forming the airfoil itself. Newly emerging information concerning the wing structure in pennaraptorans highlights unexpected complexity in the evolution of wing-like structures in non-volant theropods that complicate…

Evidence: — • authority: 88

Feet and legs. Moving from the interior to the exterior, the book continues with the fifth chapter, Feet and legs , body parts that, as our connection to the earth and our way of navigating through the world, are perhaps our most direct link to the landscapes in which we live. How do our feet and legs, as well as the shoes and canes that accompany them, connect us to, negotiate us through, and redefine how we know the built environment? How do our bodies redefine the topography of our worlds? This chapter considers the importance of these seemingly simple body parts and the influence that they have on the ways in which we move, dress and travel. Anya has muscular dystrophy and the muscles i…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Flight feathers (Pennae volatus) are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail are called rectrices ( or ), singular rectrix (). The primary function of the flight feathers is to aid in the generation of both thrust and lift, thereby enabling flight. The flight feathers of some birds perform additional functions, generally associated with territorial displays, courtship rituals or feeding methods. In some species, these feathers have developed into long showy plumes used in visual courtship displays, while in others they create a sou…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate. It can also refer to a space used by displaying males to defend their own share of territory for the breeding season. A lekking species is characterised by male displays, strong female mate choice, and the conferring of indirect benefits to males and reduced costs to females. Although most prevalent among birds such as black grouse, lekking is also found in a wide range of vertebrates including some bony fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and arthropods including crustaceans and i…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

The broad-billed parrot or raven parrot (Lophopsittacus mauritianus) is a large extinct parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It was endemic to the Mascarene island of Mauritius. The species was first referred to as the "Indian raven" in Dutch ships' journals from 1598 onwards. Only a few brief contemporary descriptions and three depictions are known. It was first scientifically described from a subfossil mandible in 1866, but this was not linked to the old accounts until the rediscovery of a detailed 1601 sketch that matched both the subfossils and the accounts. It is unclear what other species it was most closely related to, but it has been classified as a member of the tribe Psittaculini,…