the painted wood turtle or spot-legged wood turtle ( rhinoclemmys punctularia ) is a species of turtle belonging to the genus rhinoclemmys of the family geoemydidae .

spot - legged wood turtle

( nymphaeaceae ) , is part of the diet of the spot - legged turtle .
buslady ( 2006 ) . house of the wood turtle – buslady’s ornate wood turtle haven . urltoken
rhinoclemmys pulcherrima manni are variously known as central american wood turtles , ornate wood turtles , painted wood turtles , atlantic wood turtles or combinations of these names , such as central american painted wood turtles . buslady ( 2006 ) calls them ornate wood turtles , however both highfield ( 1996 ) and weiss ( 2006 ) use the name painted wood turtle , so this is the one used here .
weiss ( 2006 ) . rhinoclemmys pulcherrima ( gray , 1855 . ornate wood turtle . urltoken
is distributed along the western coast of mexico and central america , from sonora to southern costa rica . there are actually four described subspecies of central american wood turtle : the guerrero wood turtle
the large - nosed wood turtle ( rhinoclemmys nasuta ) is a species of turtle in the family geoemydidae . it is found in colombia and ecuador .
carr , j . l . & a . giraldo . 2009 . rhinoclemmys nasuta ( boulenger 1902 ) large - nosed wood turtle , chocoan river turtle . conservation biology of freshwater turtles and tortoises 5 : 034 . 1 - 034 . 5 . [
the asian leaf turtle will squirt its digestive system contents when it feels threatened .
the asian leaf turtle ( cyclemys dentata ) is a species of turtle found in southeast asia . they are quite common in the pet trade ; their carapaces resemble that of a cuora amboinensis hybrid .
like most wood and box turtles , they are omnivorous , and will take a very wide range of food items . i feed adults about two or three times a week as follows :
are found throughout central and northern south america , from mexico and panama in the north to ecuador and brazil in the south . vetter ( 2005 ) lists nine species , three of which are also split into various subspecies . the different species vary quite considerably in their habits , with some being primarily aquatic ( such as the black wood turtle
boyer , d . r . 1965 . ecology of the basking habitat in turtle . ecology 46 : 99 - 118 . [
tortoise & freshwater turtle specialist group 1996 . rhinoclemmys nasuta . 2006 iucn red list of threatened species . downloaded on 29 july 2007 .
turtle taxonomy working group [ van dijk , p . p . , j . iverson , a . rhodin , h . shaffer , and r . bour ]
carr , j . l . and giraldo , a . 2009 . rhinoclemmys nasuta ( boulenger 1902 ) – large - nosed wood turtle , chocoan river turtle . in : rhodin , a . g . j . , pritchard , p . c . h . , van dijk , p . p . , saumure , r . a . , buhlmann , k . a . , iverson , j . b . , and mittermeier , r . a . ( eds . ) . conservation biology of freshwater turtles and tortoises : a compilation project of the iucn / ssc tortoise and freshwater turtle specialist group . chelonian research monographs no . 5 , pp . 034 . 1 - 034 . 6 , doi : 10 . 3854 / crm . 5 . 034 . nasuta . v1 . 2009 , urltoken
twice per week : mixed ‘turtle salad’ comprising around 60 % leafy greens including dandelions , chicory , water cress , leaf spinach , rocket , and ‘fancy‘ lettuces such as endive , escarole , frisee and lollo rosso . this is then supplemented with about 30 % fruit including mushrooms , cucumber , tomato , peas , sweetcorn , grapes , banana , melon , kiwi , apple , blueberries , banana and strawberries . the final 10 % is a proprietary turtle pellet food such as zoomed natural aquatic turtle diet , reptomin or hikari turtle sticks . this is all roughly chopped , mixed and dusted liberally with calcium carbonate powder or a calcium supplement containing vitamins and minerals , such as nutrobal .
ernst , c . h . 1978 . a revision of the neotropical turtle genus callopsis ( testudines : emydidae : batagurinae ) . herpetologica 34 : 113 - 134 . [
rashid , s . m . a & i . r . swingland . 1997 . on the ecology of some freshwater turtle in bangladesh , p . 225 - 245 .
j . van abbema ( ed . ) . proc . conservation restoration and management of tortoise and turtles . an int . conf . turtle and tortoise society , usa . [
artner , h . ( 2006 ) . keeping and breeding of pan’s box turtle cuora pani pani song , 1984 and cuora pani aurocapitata lou & zong , 1988 . in : artner , h . , farkas , b . & looehr , v . ( eds . ) turtles . proceedings : international turtle & tortoise sympoisim vienna 2002 . edition chimaira , frankfurt .
without a shadow of a doubt , the most fun part of keeping manni wood turtles is feeding them . they are voracious . at first glance , their terrarium can appear empty – at this stage they are buried in the substrate . as soon they see that food is coming they start climbing out , march across the terrarium and sit begging for food .
i utilise a 5 % uvb fluorescent tube overhead and a good quality 60 watt basking spot bulb for lighting , connected to a dimming thermostat ) . the lights then plug into a time switch to come on for approximately 12 ½ hours per day . no additional heating is required in my warm reptile room . there are options for providing extra warmth in colder rooms , including adding a low wattage aquarium heater to the water tray , sticking a heatmat to the outside of a vivarium wall , or having an extra light fitting with a red bulb ( the turtles can not see red light ) .
bodie , j . r . & r . d . semlistsch . 2000 . spatial and temporal use floodplain habitats by lentic and lotic species of aquatic turtle . oecologia 122 : 138 - 146 . [
klemens , m . w . 2000 . introduction , p . 1 - 4 . in m . w . klemens ( ed . ) . turtle conservation . smithsonian institution , washington , usa . [
browne , c . l . & s . j . hecnar . 2007 . species loss and shifting populations structure of freshwater turtle despite habitat protection . biol . conservat . 38 : 421 - 429 . [
yasukawa , y . , t . yabe & h . ota . 2008 mauremys japónica ( temminck and schlegel 1835 ) - japanese pond turtle . conservation biology of freshwater turtles and tortoises 5 : 1 - 6 . [
( lythraceae ) – is part of the diet of this turtle ( holloway 2003 ) , although no fruiting trees are found in the tidal channels of algodoal / maiandeua island . an additional factor that may have influenced the absence
souza , f . l . & a . s . abe . 1997 . populations structure , activity , and conservation of the neotropical freshwater turtle , hydromedusa maximiliani , in brazil . chel . conserv . biol . 2 : 521 - 525 . [
, together with the absence of fruit - bearing trees from the tidal channels , may have restricted the exploitation of the environment by this turtle ( dunson & mazzotti 1989 ) . like the tidal channels on algodoal - maiandeua island , the estuarine habitats occupied by
marchand , m . n . & j . a . litvaitis . 2004 . effects of features and landscape composition on the populations structure of a common aquatic turtle in a region undergoing rapid development . conservat . biol . 18 : 758 - 767 . [
spinks , p . q . , h . b . shaffer , j . b . iverson & w . p . mccord . 2004 . phylogenetic hypotheses for the turtle family geoemydidae . mol . phylogenet . evol . 32 : 164 - 182 . [
donaldson , b . m . & a . echternacht . 2005 . aquatic habitat use relative to home range and seasonal movement of eastern box turtle ( terrapene carolina carolina : emydidae ) in eastern tennessee . j . herpetol . 39 : 284 - 287 . [
kennett , r . m . & a . georges . 1990 . habitat utilization and its relationship to growth and reproduction of the eastern long - necked turtle , chelodina longicollis ( testudinata : chelidae ) , from australia . herpetologica 46 : 22 - 33 . [
the turtle can be found in north india , bangladesh , myanmar ( burma ) , thailand , cambodia , vietnam , west malaysia , indonesia ( sumatra , java , borneo , bali ) , philippines ( palawan : calamian islands etc . ) , and china .
spinks , p . q . , g . b . pauly , j . j . crayaon & h . b . shaffer . 2003 . survival of the western pond turtle ( emys mamorata ) in urban california environment . biol . conservat . 113 : 257 - 267 . [
le , m . & w . p . mccord . 2008 . phylogenetic relationships and biogeographical history of the genus rhinoclemmys ( fitzinger , 1835 ) and the monophyly of the turtle family geoemydidae ( testudines : testudinoidea ) . zool . j . linn . soc . 153 : 751 - 767 . [
burke , v . j . , j . e . lovich & j . w . gibbons 2000 . conservation of freshwater turtles , p . 156 - 179 . in m . w . klemens ( ed . ) . turtle conservation . smithsonian institution , washington d . c . , usa . [
rhodin , a . g . j . & j . l . carr . 2009 . a quarter millennium of uses and misuses of the turtle name testudo scabra : identification of the type specimens of t . scabra linnaeus 1758 ( = rhinoclemmys punctularia ) and t . scripta thunberg in schoepff 1792 ( =
no specimens were collected in this habitat during the present study . however , a local fisherman , who lives near an interdunal lake , provided us with a turtle captured on a beach in this area . while the dunes may represent barriers to dispersal , this environment may be used in a secondary fashion by the turtles . barreto
sarker , s . u . & l . hossain . 1997 . populations and habitat status of freshwater turtles and tortoises of bangladesh and their conservation aspects , p . 290 - 294 . in j . van abbema ( ed . ) . proc . conservation restoration and management of tortoise and turtles . an int . conf . turtle and tortoise society , usa . [
congdon , j . d . , t . e . graham , t . e . herman , j . w . lang , m . j . pappas & b . j . brecke . 2008 . emydoidea blandingii ( holbrook 1838 ) – blanding’s turtle . conservation biology of freshwater turtles and tortoises , chelonian research monographs 5 : 015 . 1 - 15 . 12 . [
our results reconfirm the occurrence of sexual dimorphism in body size in this species ( fretey 1977 , pritchard & trebbau 1984 ) . in some species of turtle , sexual dimorphism appears to play an important role in intraspecific interactions , primarily by reducing competition ( stephens & wiens 2009 ) . the larger size of the females may enhance reproductive success , in particular through the production of clutches of larger size ( bury 1979 , ruane
painted wood turtles are not at all shy , as long as they feel secure . i use a large all glass german - style terrarium , with built in ventilation and sliding glass doors ( i block off much but not all of the ventilation to increase humidity ) . large pieces of flat cork bark have been cut with a saw so that they can be wedged in vertically at the back , and in addition , a large number of plastic vivarium plants are attached to the back and side walls , so that they hang down . the combination of plants and cork is designed to increase the animals’ sense of security . on the outside , the back and sides of the terrarium is covered with a brownish textured wallpaper . this is surprisingly effective .
painted wood turtles stay at quite a manageable size , with carapace lengths of up to circa 15cm in males and 20cm in females . they hail from humid forest and savannah type habitats , and although they are classed as terrestrial , rarely stray far from water . the background colour of their skin is a dark olive green , but this is decorated with an arrangement of various red to pinkish - red lines and stripes . the carapace is quite depressed in males , and domed in females . in both sexes , the brownish ground colour of the carapace is adorned with yellow and red concentric rings and black markings , giving a highly attractive overall appearance . hatchlings and juveniles are patterned in exactly the same way , and are particularly colourful and brightly marked . males seem to retain their colours well , but they do fade to a degree in females as they age . males have much longer , thicker tails than females .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 frameset / / en
urltoken
colombia , ecuador . confined to the chocoan rainforest area in pacific coastal drainages of northwestern ecuador and western colombia , and the middle and upper portion of the caribbean - draining río atrato basin in northwestern colombia .
continent : south - america distribution : w colombia ( pacific drainages of the quito , truando , san juan , docambado , and baudo rivers ) , nw ecuador ( near esmeraldas ) type locality :
bulun , 160 feet , and from the río durango , 350 feet ,
esmeraldas province , ecuador . elevation .
iucn 2009 red list status : near threatened ( lr / nt ) ( assessed 1996 , needs updating ) ; cites : not listed ; colombian red data book : data deficient .
phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2012 update : annotated checklist . extinct turtles not included .
eol content is automatically assembled from many different content providers . as a result , from time to time you may find pages on eol that are confusing .
to request an improvement , please leave a comment on the page . thank you !
continent : south - america distribution : e colombia , venezuela , trinidad , tobago , guyana , french guiana , surinam , ne brazil ( amazon as far upstream as the lower reaches of the tapajós river . ) type locality :
cayenne ,
french guiana . flammigera : s venezuela ( region of confluenceof the ventuari and orinoco rivers ) . type locality : caño maica , 10 km se of carmelitas , territorio federal amazonas , venezuela ( 4°4 ' n , 66°31 ' w ) .
the species is found in the lowlands of eastern venezuela , trinidad and the . . .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
. in terms of distribution , this is the southernmost of the subspecies . it is also the most colourful one .
for substrate , i have tried various options , alone or in combination , including bark mulch , sterilised top soil , coco fibre , play sand , sphagnum moss and leaf litter . for me , the perfect blend is a mixture of around one third bark chips ( proprietary brand used for terraria ) , one third live sphagnum moss ( sold in garden centres for use in hanging baskets ) and one third coco fibre ( comes in a dry brick and is soaked and expanded in water prior to use ) . this is about 12cm deep . the turtles love to bury themselves totally in this substrate , with just their heads poking out . it retains moisture well , and doesn’t stick to them too much , and so the water remains clearer for longer . i keep the substrate moist but not saturated .
in addition to the cork and hanging plastic plants around the sides of the terrarium , i use one or two robust live plants in pots and driftwood branches for extra security . it is very important that the animals feel sufficiently secure when using the basking area – otherwise they won’t use it . a degree of experimentation is required to get this right .
in my set up , the animals spend a lot of time in the water in spring and summer , and very little in autumn and winter . it is not known whether this behaviour is temperature related or relates to seasonal changes in behaviour in the wild .
once every two or three weeks i place the turtles in a large tub of water at approx . 26ºc and 25cm water depth . i then feed live feeder insects liberally – literally as much as they can eat in half an hour or so . insects used are primarily morio worms ( zoophobas morio , otherwise known as king or giant mealworms ) and half - grown argentine roaches ( blaptica dubia , which are cultured specifically for use as feeder insects ) . like their salad , insects are dusted liberally with calcium supplements .
when kept as described above , adult females will lay one or two very large , hard shelled , fertile eggs about every six weeks to eight weeks from october to april . the live food feeding protocol described is critical to obtaining fertile eggs because the deep warm water used for this is required for successful copulation . as important is the fact that the male does not attempt to copulate with the females outside of this time , and so , under this regimen , the females are not unduly stressed by his attentions and the sexes can be kept together . that said , other keepers have reported problems with the attentions of the male causing stress in females , and also with females producing infertile eggs . if either of these occurs , then keeping males separately may be advised , as is the case with asian box turtles in the genus
although it is tempting , i do not feed the females more when gravid or after egglaying . the above feeding programme is sufficient . extra feeding can promote more frequent egglaying and i prefer not to do this .
egg incubation can be straightforward , but it can be tricky . eggs are laid buried in the substrate . if oviposition is witnessed , the eggs are removed and placed in an incubator immediately . they are placed in washed plastic ‘cricket’ boxes , half buried in substrate from the main terrarium . incubation at approximately 28 ºc takes around three and a half months , or 105 days . however , if egg laying is not witnessed , and the eggs are not removed within say 24 or 48 hours , they can enter a diapause ( dormant ) state where their development is delayed for up to six months . thus , eggs can take up to nine and a half months to hatch . these eggs can look pretty awful by the time they reach the end of their incubation but , the trick is not to throw away any eggs that have not physically exploded or imploded !
as with the incubation of eggs , whilst this can be straightforward , it is not without its difficulties . hatchlings are not removed from the incubator until their yolk sac has been absorbed . then , they are placed in a small , shallow tray of water ( 25cm x 20cm ) at approximately 26ºc and 2cm deep . the tray has strands of aquatic plant ( i use
) to create a planted , secure environment . a small flat piece of rock is used to create a resting and basking area which is just at water level . a small halogen desk lamp is used to create a slightly warmed ( 28 ºc ) , bright basking area .
for at least the first few feeds , the hatchlings will only take live food . i have the best success if i have lesser mealworms ( buffalo worms ;
) to hand . these little beetle larvae are like tiny mealworms , but more wriggly , initiating a feeding response . they will take half grown mealworms ( mini - mealworms ;
) , especially white , freshly sloughed ones , but these don’t wriggle as much ! once they start feeding , other items , like defrosted bloodworm and newly born argentine roach nymphs are taken . at first , all feeding is done using stainless steel feeding forceps . at some point over the first few weeks , the hatchlings will get bored of waiting for feeding time , and start munching on the aquatic plants . from then on , they are really quite hardy . they will take pretty much anything edible , and will beg for food from that point on !
once they have outgrown their first tray , i upgrade to a cat litter tray and then progressively larger plastic tubs ( with warmer basking spots ) and then at some point , at perhaps twelve or eighteen months old , they can be switched to a more terrestrial set up as for the adults .
of course , this particular method of raising the hatchlings is quite labour intensive and can not be the only way which works , but it has proved successful .
highfield , a . ( 1996 ) . practical encyclopaedia of keeping and breeding tortoises and freshwater turtles . carapace press .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 01 transitional / / en
urltoken
iucn : not listed [ least concern 1996 ] . tftsg draft 2011 : least concern
disclaimer : itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available , and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties . however , it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes . while every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up - to - date information available , ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the united states is a party , wildlife statutes , regulations , and any applicable notices that have been published in the federal register . for further information on u . s . legal requirements with respect to protected taxa , please contact the u . s . fish and wildlife service .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
. of the physical - chemical variables measured , salinity appeared to be the only factor to have a significant negative effect on capture rates . the sex ratio was only slightly biased to females , and did not vary between habitats or seasons . straight carapace length was significantly larger in females , but did not vary between habitats . overall , the evidence indicates that both biotic and abiotic factors like food availability , low current and salinity , influence the habitats selection and use by
es un quelonio semi - acuático , con amplia distribución geográfica . el presente trabajo analiza la densidad relativa , proporción sexual y el uso de hábitat de esta especie en la isla de algodoal - maiandeua , en el litoral norte de brasil . cuatro hábitats distintos fueron muestreados durante los períodos de lluvias y seco de 2009 , en donde se utilizaron trampas de aro . muestras de 2008 ( marzo - agosto ) también se emplearon para el análisis de la estructura de la población . asimismo , fueron encontrados 169 ejemplares en el bosque inundado , lagunas de tierras bajas y , ocasionalmente , en lagunas temporales . las tasas de captura fueron más altas en las lagunas costeras , posiblemente debido a la mayor disponibilidad de frutos , que sirven de alimento para esta especie . de las variables físico - químicas , la salinidad fue el único factor que se correlaciona inversamente con las tasas de captura . la proporción de sexos fue ligeramente superior en las hembras , pero no varió entre los hábitats o período del año . el tamaño promedio de los individuos fue mayor en las hembras , pero no varió entre hábitats . los factores ambientales , como la disponibilidad de alimentos , la baja salinidad y la poca corriente , probablemente hayan favorecido la selección y el uso de estos hábitats por
the types of habitat used by an organism reflect a series of environmental variables , including food availability , protection from predators and the physical - chemical characteristics of the environment , which have a direct effect on the survival and reproductive success of the species . since distinct types of habitats may determine different survival rates and population structure , species will select those habitats that favor the highest survival and reproductive rates ( block & brennan 1993 , krausman 1999 ) . freshwater turtles ( testudines ) use a variety of habitats over the course of their life cycle , ranging from terrestrial sites for nesting and basking to aquatic environments for feeding and mating ( boyer 1965 , bury 1979 , portal
2002 ) . studies of habitat use and population structure are essential for understanding the ecology and life history of a species , which includes both ontogenetic development and seasonal variation ( bury 1979 ) .
in their extensive review , moll & moll ( 2004 ) demonstrated that the principal factors determining the decline of many freshwater chelonian populations are the loss of habitats that result from anthropogenic impacts , and the over - exploitation . the establishment of protected areas and the development of management plans are essential for mitigation of these impacts on chelonian populations and the habitats they occupy , particularly concerning recuperation of threatened species that are in decline ( klemens 2000 , litzgus & mosseau 2004 ) . understanding the ecology of a species is essential for the development of efficient measures for the mitigation of the effects of anthropogenic impacts on natural populations . these data are necessary for the establishment of conservation strategies and public policies that are not only effective , but also consistent with the ecological characteristics of the target species ( heppell & crowder 1996 , klemens 2000 ) .
2008 , yasukawa et al . 2008 ) . more often , the application of management practices in impacted habitats –both terrestrial and aquatic– is hampered by the fact that even minor alterations in the environment may have a pronounced effect over the relatively lengthy life cycle of the animals ( musick 1999 , plummer
. 2008 ) . while , some freshwater chelonian species are relatively tolerant of such impacts , others may suffer profound modifications in their population density or structure ( spinks et al . 2003 , marchand & litvaitis 2004 , hartwig & kiviat 2007 , yasukawa
2008 ) . studies of habitat use and population size structure in pristine or lightly - impacted habitats may thus provide important insights into the natural distribution patterns and impact tolerance of freshwater chelonians .
( daudin 1801 ) , is a widely - distributed , semi - aquatic chelonian known locally in pará state as the “perema” or “aperema” . the species is found in the lowlands of eastern venezuela , trinidad and the guyanas , and in northern brazil ( fretey
2011 ) . relatively few data are available on r . p . punctularia ( fretey
at algodoal - maiandeua island , a protected area in state of pará , northern brazil . differences in the use of the available habitats were analyzed in the context of their physicalchemical characteristics ( salinity , ph , water temperature and air temperature ) , geomorphology , vegetation , and substrate type . the size structure and sex ratios of the
the island of algodoal - maiandeua , in the municipality of maracanã , with 32 . 5km2 , is located in the northeastern corner of the brazilian state of pará ( 00°34’s - 47°31’w ) . the island is a protection area since 1990 and it presents a variety of different habitats , including sandbanks or “restingas” ( recently - formed environments formed by plant communities influenced by marine and fluvial variables : freire 1990 , sugiyama 1998 ) , mangroves , dune fields , permanent and temporary lakes , igapó ( seasonally flooded or permanently flooded forest ) , as well as terra firme habitat ( well - developed forest on dry land in the center of the island ) . the climate is characterized by a marked rainy season between december and may , and much lower precipitation levels during the rest of the year , with mean annual precipitation of 3 000mm ( ruivo
two field trips were conducted to collect data on habitat use of r . p . punctularia on algodoal - maiandeua island . one excursion took place during the rainy season , in march and april , while the second was during the dry season ( august and september ) both in 2009 , with a total of 40 days in the field . during these excursions , four distinct habitats were surveyed : coastal plain lake , flooded forest ( igapó ) , interdunal lakes , and tidal channels (
) , taking care to ensure that both sites were similar in structure and representative of the habitat category . turtles were captured using hoop nets baited with dried fish ( vogt 1980 ) . the traps are made of three iron rings , with a funnel - type entrance , set in a 50mm mesh net . the rings varied in diameter from 600 - 1 500mm , according to the depth of the water in the habitat being surveyed , in order to guarantee that the trap remained partly above the surface of the water , to ensure that the trapped animals would not drown . the diameter of the entrance varied in size from 150 - 250mm .
the traps were set at a distance of approximately 30m from each other , along the principal axis of the habitat . the number of traps per habitat was proportional to its relative size , i . e . a proportional stratified sampling procedure ( andrew & mapstone 1987 ) . all traps were installed for a continuous period of approximately 49h , and were checked every 12h , at dawn and dusk . at each site , we recorded the salinity , ph ( with a multi - parameter ) , and the temperature of the water and the air , at 9h am , using a digital thermometer . the characteristics of each habitat , including the type of vegetation at the water’s edge , the presence of aquatic macrophytes and the type of substrate were recorded . for the analysis of population structure , additional data were included taken in march and august , 2008 , with a total of 20 days in the field , when the same type of hoop trap was used , but sampling effort was not standardized . additionally , in may , 2009 , hoop traps were installed in temporary pools formed during the rainy season .
the possible effects of physical - chemical factors on differences among samples were tested using an analysis of similarity ( anosim ) . following the identification of distinct groups , a similarity percentages analysis ( simper ) was applied for the identification of the relative importance of each factor in the formation of the groups . the samples were then plotted using multidimensional scaling ( mds ) , in which the distance between samples was proportional to their similarity . stress values of less than 0 . 2 were considered acceptable , and those lower than 0 . 1 ideal ( clarke & gorley 2005 ) . multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the possible relationship between environmental ( independent ) variables ( air and water temperature , salinity , and ph ) and capture rates ( dependent variable ) ( ayres
seasonal variation in habitat use was analyzed based on capture per unit of effort ( cpue ) . this capture rate ( number of individuals per hour ) was calculated by dividing the number of individuals captured in each trap by the duration of the period during which the trap was in the water . differences in capture rates between habitats ( comparing only the habitats in which the species was observed ) and seasons were assessed using the mann - whitney test ( ayres
the sex ratio was compared between habitats and seasons using chi - square ( contingency tables ) . the mann - whitney test was used to evaluate the difference in body size between males and females and between habitats ( ayres
2007 ) . univariate tests were run in the bioestat 5 . 0 program ( ayres
2007 ) , whereas the multivariate analyses were conducted in the primer 6 program ( clarke & gorley 2005 ) . in both cases , α < 0 . 05 was considered significant . the scl values were plotted in a dot density graph using systat 10 . 2 ( wilkinson 1990 ) .
, and occasionally , in the temporary pools that form in adjacent areas to the coastal plain lakes during the rainy season . the species was not captured in the tidal channels or interdunal lakes . despite this finding , some of local residents reported that individuals may be found sporadically in both habitats , and that a specimen had been captured in the tidal fishing weirs on one of the island’s beaches , in the vicinity of the tidal channels surveyed during the present study .
according to local residents , the turtles that inhabit the lakes of the coastal plain may disperse to the temporary pools formed around the lakes during the rainy season , travelling distances of 300 - 600m . some individuals may also be swept into the channels when the lakes overflow . movements between lakes of up to 500m have also been observed during the dry season , when some of these bodies of water dry up . the reports of the local residents were confirmed by the capture of seven turtles in the temporary pools during the rainy season . in addition , one individual that had been captured and marked in a lake on the coastal plain was recaptured in a neighboring lake during the dry season following the drying up of the former .
the composition of the vegetation surrounding the interdunal and coastal lakes is very similar . however , the vegetation of the tidal channels and
is quite distinct , with characteristic plant species . these habitats are also geomorphologically distinct (
the physical - chemical parameters varied significantly among habitats ( anosim , p = 0 . 0001 ) . the mds analysis ( stress = 0 . 1 ) separated the habitats into two main groups , one formed exclusively by the tidal channels , and the other by the remaining three habitats (
) , whereas all the other habitats were relatively similar with regard to these variables . capture rates were also affected only by salinity , and r . p . punctularia was not captured in areas in which salinity was greater than zero ( linear multiple regression : r = 0 . 18 , t = - 2 . 0295 , p = 0 . 04 ) .
were captured in 2008 and 2009 , of which 14 individuals had been recaptured in algodoal / maiandeua island . of the 162 individuals analyzed , 45 . 3 % were females , 43 . 2 % males and 11 . 5 % were juveniles . the sex ratio was lightly biased toward females , but not significantly ( x² = 0 . 06 , d . f . = 1 , p = 0 . 86 ) . there was also no significant difference in the sex ratio between igapós and coastal lakes ( x² = 0 . 028 , d . f . = 1 , p = 0 . 92 ) or between seasons ( x² = 2 . 62 , d . f . = 1 , p = 0 . 15 ) .
the mean straight carapace length ( scl ) of the individuals captured was 173 . 7±30 . 9 ( range 226 - 77 . 8mm , n = 162 ) . the mean value in females was 195 . 42±18mm ( range 143 - 226mm , n = 68 ) , while it was 167±12 . 7mm ( range 133 - 197mm , n = 64 ) in males , and 107 . 2±14 . 8 ( range 77 - 132mm , n = 17 ) in juveniles (
) . the females were significantly ( mann - whitney , u = 454 . 02 , p = 0 . 0001 ) larger in size than males . mean length in coastal plain lakes was 174 . 7±30 . 7mm ( range : 133 - 197mm , n = 130 ) . the majority ( 89 . 5 % ) of the individuals captured were adults . in the
mean scl was 166 . 59±33 . 2mm ( range 77 - 208mm , n = 20 ) , with a slightly reduced proportion of adults ( 85 . 0 % ) . the difference in scl between habitats was not significant ( mann - whitney , u = 1132 , p = 0 . 35 ) .
most individuals were caught in the coastal plain lakes ( 87 . 7 % , n = 142 ) . capture rates ere significantly higher in the coastal plain lakes ( 0 . 017ind / h ) in comparison with the igapós ( 0 . 0025 ind / h ) ( mann - whitney , u = 852 , p = 0 . 00012 , n = 162 ) . capture rates were apparently higher ( 0 . 0064ind / h ) during the dry season than the wet season ( 0 . 0042 ind / h ) but not significant ( mann - whitney , u = 4 829 , p = 0 . 76 , n = 199 ) .
( chrysobalanaceae ) were observed in the feces of captured specimens . all other items found in the feces were too decomposed to allow their identification . local inhabitants also reported that the water lily
, occurs in a variety of habitats . the species has been observed in coastal swamps , flooded savannas , bodies of water in primary and secondary forests , streams , marshes , lakes and lagoons , temporary pools and , occasionally , in areas far from water ( fretey 1977 , fretey
, coastal plain lakes , and the temporary pools that form in the vicinity of these lakes during the rainy season . this utilization of a variety of habitats may explain the relatively extensive distribution of the species , which is considered to be a generalist ( pritchard & trebbau 1984 , rueda - almonacid
while the species was not captured in tidal channels , it seems likely that at least some individuals may reach this habitat occasionally , according to reports from local residents . this indicates that , while the species prefers fresh water , it may have a certain tolerance for seawater , as observed in
( gray 1830 ) , a geoemydid found sporadically in estuarine habitats in bangladesh ( sarker & hossain 1997 ) . this tolerance is even more pronounced in the geoemydid
( gray 1831 ) , which is found exclusively in estuarine habitats in southeast asia ( sarker & hossain 1997 , holloway 2003 ) . on algodoal - maiandeua island , the coastal lakes expand during the rainy season , and part of the excess water flows into the tidal channels . it seems likely that , during this period , some individuals may dislocate to the tidal channels .
by ernst & barbour ( 1989 ) , who captured specimens in bodies of relatively acidic water . however , pritchard & trebbau ( 1984 ) captured specimens in both acidic and alkaline water . together with the results of the present study , this evidence indicates that
the interdunal lakes in the present study were surrounded by sandbank vegetation similar to that found in the vicinity of the coastal lakes , characterized by plant species such as annona sp . and
sp . , which were also found in most of the species fecal samples collected during the study . although the interdunal lakes appear to be a favorable environment for
( linnaeus 1758 ) , which moves to alternative habitats during periods of low precipitation and high temperatures ( donaldson & echternacht 2005 ) . however , while some individuals moved to new habitats during the dry season , others sought refuge by burying themselves in the muddy substrate of coastal plain lakes . a number of studies have recorded periods of inactivity , classified as aestivation , in freshwater chelonians ( bury 1979 , litzgus et al . 1999 , pereira et al . 2007 ) . in the northern hemisphere ,
the lack of seasonal variation in the present study may have been related to small variation in mean temperature , characteristic of equatorial environments , in contrast to a more temperate climate in other sites ( souza & abe 1997 , donaldson & echternacht 2005 ) . webb ( 1962 apud bury 1979 ) found that the activity of populations of
( lesueur 1827 ) at relatively high latitudes was restricted to only a few months each year , whereas those at lower latitudes were active throughout the year .
the use of different techniques for the capture of different species or sexes of freshwater chelonians and in different habitats may be reflected in distinct proportions of juveniles , varying from 0 % to 70 % ( bury 1979 ) . in general , however , most studies of freshwater chelonians have recorded a larger proportion of adults than juveniles ( fachín - terán
2008 ) . the population structure may also vary across habitats , resources , and seasonal gradients , as well as over the course of time ( bodie & semlitsch 2000 ) . in the specific case of r . p . punctularia , in addition to habitat selectivity , a factor that may account for the low capture rate of juveniles is the relative abundance of refuges with restricted access , which impede capture .
as for most other species , habitat selection and use may be influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors , such as the availability of dietary resources , salinity , and the presence of dunes ( macarthur & levins 1964 , block & brennan 1993 , kraussman 1999 ) . on algodoal - maiandeua island , r . p . punctularia was found in igapós , coastal plain lakes and , occasionally , in temporary pools . population density was higher in the coastal plain lakes . thus , this habitat seems to be a key habitat for the conservation of this species in the island .
. these data may provide an important baseline for the development of management strategies ( burke et al . 2000 ) for the species on algodoal / maiandeua island , which is a state conservation unit designated for the protection of local biological diversity and uphold the sustainability of the exploitation of natural resources .
we are grateful to the people who helped with data collection , and the residents of the community of fortalezinha . the pará state environment secretary authorized this study in the apa algodoal - maiandeua through license number 014 / 09 . we also thank the pit / pa project for financial support .
andrew , n . l . & b . d . mapstone . 1987 . sampling and the description of spatial pattern in marine ecology . oceanogr . mar . biol . , annu . rev . 25 : 39 - 90 . [
ayres , m . , m . ayres jr . , d . l . ayres & a . s . santos . 2007 . bioestat 5 . 0 aplicações estatísticas nas áreas das ciências biológicas e médicas . idsm / mct / cnpq , pará , brasil . [
barreto , l . , l . c . lima & s . barbosa . 2009 . observations on the ecology of trachemys adiutrix and kinosternon scorpioides on curupu island , brazil . herp . rev . 40 : 283 - 286 . [
barros , r . b . , m . m . sampaio , m . f . assis , m . ayres & o . cunha . 1975 . karyological study of geoemyda punctularia punctularia ( daudin , 1802 ) from the amazon region of brazil ( chelonia , emydidae ) . acta amaz . 5 : 95 - 96 . [
bickham , j . w . & r . j . baker . 1976 . karyotypes of some neotropical turtles . copeia 4 : 703 - 708 . [
block , w . m . & l . a . brennan . 1993 . the habitat concept in ornithology : theory and applications , p . 35 - 91 . in d . m . power ( ed . ) . current ornithology vol . 11 . plenum , new york , usa . [
bonini - domingos , c . r . , m . b . silva , r . m . romero , p . j . a . zamaro , l . s . ondei , c . e . s . zago , s . b . moreira & c . g . salgado . 2007 . description of electrophoretic and chromatographic hemoglobin profile of rhinoclemmys punctularia . genet . mol . res . 6 : 415 - 421 . [
bury , r . b . 1979 . population ecology of freshwater turtles , p . 571 - 602 . in m . harless & h . morlock ( eds . ) . turtles : perspectives and research . john , new york , usa . [
cagle , f . r . 1939 . a system of marking turtles for future identification . copeia 3 : 170 - 173 . [
clarke , k . r & r . n gorley . 2005 . primer v6 : user manual / tutorial . primer - e , plymouth , usa . [
dhn – departamento de hidrografia e navegação . 2004 . tábuas de marés para 1994 . costa do brasil e alguns portos estrangeiros . dhn , rio de janeiro , brasil . [
dornas , t . , a . malvasio & r . t . pinheiro . 2011 . reptilia , testudines , geoemydidae , rhinoclemmys punctularia ( daudin , 1802 ) : new geographical distribution and first record for the state of tocantins , brazil . check list 7 : 49 - 51 ( são paulo . online ,
dunson , w . a . & f . j . mazzotti . 1989 . salinity as a limiting factor in the distribution of reptiles in florida bay : a theory for the estuarine origin of marine snakes and turtles . bull . mar . sci . 44 : 229 - 244 . [
ernst , c . h . e . & r . w . barbour . 1989 . turtles of the world . smithsonian institute , washington , usa . [
fachín - terán , a . , r . c . vogt & j . b . thorbjarnarson . 2003 . estrutura populacional , razão sexual e abundância de podocnemis sextuberculata ( testudines , podocnemididae ) na reserva de desenvolvimento sustentável mamirauá , amazonas , brasil . phyllomedusa 2 : 43 - 63 . [
freire , m . s . b . 1990 . levantamento florístico do parque estadual das dunas de natal . acta botanica brasilica 4 : 41 - 59 . [
freitas , c . a . , f . r . scarano & d . d . biesboer . 2003 . consequences of habitat fragmentation on age structure and life history in a tortoise population . biotropica 35 : 550 - 555 . [
fretey , j . 1977 . les chelonies de guyane françoise : etude préliminaire . tese . université paris , paris , frança . [
fretey , j . , m . s . hoogmoed & j . lescure . 1977 . estude taxinomique de rhinoclemmys punctularia punctularia ( daudin ) ( testudinata , emydidae ) . zool . meded . 52 : 63 - 80 . [
gibbons , j . w . , d . e . scott , t . j . ryan , k . a . buhlmann , t . d . tuberville , b . s . metts , j . l . greene , t . mills , y . leiden , s . poppy & c . t . winne . 2000 . the global decline of reptiles , déjàvu amphibians . bioscience 50 : 653 - 666 . [
hartwig , t . s . & e . kiviat . 2007 . microhabitat association of blanding’s turtles in natural and constructed wetlands in southeastern new york . j . wildl . manag . 71 : 576 - 582 . [
heppell , s . s . & l . b . crowder . 1996 . models to evaluate headstarting as a management tool for long - lived turtles . j . appl . ecol . 6 : 556 - 565 . [
holloway , r . h . p . 2003 . natural history notes on the river terrapin batagur baska ( gray , 1831 ) in cambodia . research development program report . wildlife conservation society , new york , usa . [
kraussman , p . r . 1999 . some basic principles of habitat use , p . 85 - 90 .
k . launchbaugh , k . saunders & j . mosley ( eds . ) . grazing behaviour of livestock and wildlife . moscow , idaho , usa . [
) near the northern limit of their range . can . j . zool . 77 : 1348 - 1357
macarthur , r . & r . levins . 1964 . competition , habitat selection , and character displacement in a patchy environment . zoology 51 : 1207 - 1210 . [
moll , d . & e . o . moll . 2004 . the ecology , exploitation , and conservation of river turtles . oxford , new york , usa . [
musick , j . a . 1999 . ecology and conservation of long - lived marine animals . am . fish . soc . symp . 23 : 1 - 10 . [
pereira , l . a . , a . l . sousa , m . v . j . cutrim & e . g . moreira . 2007 . características ecológicas do habitat de kinosternon scorpioides scorpioides linnaeus , 1766 ( reptilia , chelonia , kinosternidae ) no município de são bento - baixada maranhense ( maranhão , brasil ) . boletim do laboratório de hidrobiologia 20 : 9 - 14 . [
plummer , m . v . , d . g . krementz , l . a . powell & n . e . mills . 2008 . effects of habitat disturbance on survival rates of softshell turtles ( apalone spnifera ) in urban stream . j . herpetol . 42 : 555 - 563 . [
portal , r . r . , m . a . s . lima , v . l . f . luz , y . s . l . b . bataus & i . j reis . 2002 . espécies vegetais utilizadas na alimentação de podocnemis unifilis , troschel 1948 ( reptilia , testudinae , pelomedusidae ) na região do pracuúba - amapá - brasil . ciência animal bras . 3 : 11 - 19 . [
pritchard , p . c . h . & p . trebbau . 1984 . the turtles of venezuela . society for the study of amphibians and reptiles , oxford , united kingdom . [
pritchard , p . c . h . 1979 . encyclopedia of turtles . t . f . h . , new jersey , usa . [
ruane , s . , s . a . dinkelacker & j . b . iverson . 2008 . demographic and reproductive traits of blanding’s turtles , emydoidea blandingii , at the western edge of the species range . copeia 4 : 771 - 779 . [
rueda - almonacid , j . v . , j . l . carr , r . a . mittermeier , j . v . rodríguez - mahecha , r . b . mast , r . c . vogt , a . g . j . rhodin , j . ossa - velásquez , j . n . rueda & c . g . mittermeier . 2007 . las tortugas y los cocodrilianos de los países andinos del trópico . serie de guías tropicales de campo nº6 . panamericana , bogotá , colombia . [
ruivo , m . l . p . , i . g . amaral , m . p . s . faro , e . l . c . ribeiro , a . l . s . guedes & m . m . l . s . santos . 2005 . caracterização química da manta orgânica leve em diferentes tipos de solo em uma topossequência na ilha de algodoal / maiandeua , pa . boletim do museu paraense emílio goeldi 1 : 227 - 234 . [
stephens , p . r . & j . j . wiens . 2009 . evolution of sexual size dimorphisms in emydid turtles : ecological dimorphism , rensch’s rule , and sympatric divergence . evolution 63 : 910 - 925 . [
sugiyama , m . 1998 . estudo de florestas da restinga da ilha do cardoso , cananéia , são paulo , brasil . boletim do instituto de botânica 11 : 119 - 159 . [
vogt , r . c . 1980 . new methods for trapping aquatic turtles . copeia : 368 - 371 . [
webb , r . g . 1962 . north american recent sot - shelled turtles ( family trionychidae ) . university of kansas publications , museum of natural history 13 : 429 - 611 . [
wilkinson , l . 1990 . systat : the system for statistics . systat inc . , evanston , illinois , usa . [
núcleo de altos estudos amazônicos , sala 01 , setor profissional , universidade federal do pará , campus universitário do guamá , rua augusto corrêa , nº 1 - cep : 66 . 075 - 110 , belém , pará , brasil ;
laboratório de biologia pesqueira e manejo de recursos aquáticos , instituto de ciências biológicas , universidade federal do pará , av . perimetral n° 2651 , cep 66077 - 830 , belém , pará , brasil ;
1 núcleo de altos estudos amazônicos , sala 01 , setor profissional , universidade federal do pará , campus universitário do guamá , rua augusto corrêa , nº 1 - cep : 66 . 075 - 110 , belém , pará , brasil ; manuwariss @ urltoken , juca @ urltoken 2 laboratório de biologia pesqueira e manejo de recursos aquáticos , instituto de ciências biológicas , universidade federal do pará , av . perimetral n° 2651 , cep 66077 - 830 , belém , pará , brasil ; biologiapesqueira @ urltoken
universidad de costa rica . escuela de biología , 2060 san josé , costa rica , san pedro , san josé , cr , 2060 , 2511 - 5500 , 2511 - 5550 rbt @ urltoken
this article is about the species . for the genus collectively known as ' asian leaf turtles ' , see cyclemys .
it is an omnivorous species that will feed upon vegetation , fish , insects , worms , and carrion .
fritz u . ; gaulke m . ; lehr e . ( 1997 ) .
revision der südostasiatischen dornschildkröten - gattung cyclemys bell 1834 , mit beschreibung einer neuen art
.
gaulke maren ( 1995 ) .
on the distribution of emydid turtles and the anuran genus microhyla in the philippines asiatic
.
gaulke maren ; fritz uwe ( 1998 ) .
distribution patterns of batagurid turtles in the philippines ( testudines : bataguridacuora , cyclemys , heosemys )
.
gray , j . e . 1857 notice of some indian tortoises ( including the description of a new species presented to the british museum by professor oldham ) . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 2 ) 19 : 342 - 344
gray , j . e . 1864 observations on the box tortoises , with the description of three new asiatic species . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 3 ) 13 : 105 - 111
gray , j . e . 1873 on the original form , development , and cohesion of the bones of the sternum of chelonians ; with notes on the skeleton of sphargis . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 4 ) 11 : 161 - 172
this article is issued from wikipedia - version of the 11 / 13 / 2016 . the text is available under the creative commons attribution / share alike but additional terms may apply for the media files .


rhenanorallus is a genus of prehistoric rail which existed in mainz basin , germany during the late oligocene or early miocene .

it was described by gerald mayr in 2010 , from a humerus .

the type species is rhenanorallus rhenanus .

rhenanorallus

mousebirds ( coliiformes ) , parrots ( psittaciformes ) , and other sma . . . : ingenta connect
neues jahrbuch für geologie und paläontologie continuously publishes current original contributions from all fields of geology , ever since its foundation in 1807 . all published contributions are in the english language .
ingenta . article copyright remains with the publisher , society or author ( s ) as specified within the article .
website makes use of cookies so as to keep track of data that you have filled in .
for full functionality of researchgate it is necessary to enable javascript . here are the instructions how to enable javascript in your web browser .
. . . another early oligocene species , rupelramphastoides knopfi , was also found in southern germany , but whether this species belongs within crown - group pici is uncertain ( mayr 2005mayr , 2006 ) . further undisputed members of the pici , all based on incomplete tarsometatarsi , have been reported from the late oligocene ( mp 29 ) and late oligocene / early miocene of germany ( mayr 2001 mayr , 2010 ) . the miocene record of pici in europe is mostly restricted to the ramphastidae ( toucans and barbets ) , and more explicitly to the extinct taxon capitonides , from the early and middle miocene of germany ( ballmann 1969ballmann , 1983 ) . . . .
. . . fish , frogs , reptiles , and mammals are also represented ( worthy et al . , 2006worthy et al . , , 2011 jones et al . , 2009 ; lee et al . , 2009 ; schwarzhans et al . , in press ) . the fossil record of parrots is depauperate globally ( waterhouse , 2006 ; mayr , 2009 mayr , , 2010a ) . despite a good record of eocene stem - group psittaciforms ( mayr and daniels , 1998 ; mayr , 2002 mayr , , 2007 waterhouse et al . , 2008 ; mayr et al . , 2010 ) , crown - group psittaciforms are surprisingly rare , and are miocene or younger in age ( waterhouse , 2006 ) . . . .
. . . despite a good record of eocene stem - group psittaciforms ( mayr and daniels , 1998 ; mayr , 2002 mayr , , 2007 waterhouse et al . , 2008 ; mayr et al . , 2010 ) , crown - group psittaciforms are surprisingly rare , and are miocene or younger in age ( waterhouse , 2006 ) . exclusive of pleistocene and younger taxa , these crown - group fossil psittaciforms include five miocene taxa from europe , one miocene species from north america , and one from the pliocene of argentina ( mayr and g ¨ ohlich , 2004 ; waterhouse , 2006 ; mayr , 2010a ) . despite a rich neogene fossil record and a large diversity of recent parrots , australia has an extremely sparse fossil record of parrots ( boles , 2006 ) . . . .
. . . nelepsittacus shows no affinity to cacatuids , melopsittacus , or any other australian taxon and so a post - oligocene dispersal of this genus from australia is not supported . european taxa—nelepsittacus minimus can be compared to the five known crown - group fossil psittaciforms from europe ( mayr and g ¨ ohlrich , 2004 ; mayr , 2010a ) , as four are based on the . . .
two new parrot species ( psittaciformes ) from the early pliocene of langebaanweg ( south africa ) and their paleoecological implications .
phylogenetic affinities of the enigmatic avian taxon zygodactylus based on new material from the ear . . .
until now , the avian taxon zygodactylus has been known only from distal tibiotarsi and tarsometatarsi from the early miocene of europe . although the tarsometatarsus exhibits derived similarities to that of extant pici ( barbets , toucans , woodpeckers and their allies ) , it differs in many aspects and the phylogenetic affinities of zygodactylus were uncertain . here , a well‐preserved skeleton with . . . [ show full abstract ]
the age of the crown group of passerine birds and its evolutionary significance - molecular calibrat . . .
based on calibrations of molecular phylogenies and biogeographic considerations , it has been argued that the basal divergences of crown group passeriformes occurred in the late cretaceous , following the break - up of eastern gondwana . some implications of this hypothesis have , however , not yet been adequately addressed . in particular , a cretaceous divergence of crown group passerines would imply . . . [ show full abstract ]
two - phase extinction of “southern hemispheric” birds in the cenozoic of europe and the origin of the . . .
a considerable number of fossil birds from the cenozoic of europe belong to taxa whose extant representa - tives are only found in the southern hemisphere . this study presents the first detailed analysis of the stratigraphic occurrences of these groups . two well - separated extinction phases can be distinguished : one in the paleogene , which concerned birds with crown group representatives in south . . . [ show full abstract ]
a new skeleton of the late oligocene “enspel cormorant”—from oligocorax to borvocarbo , and back agai . . .
a new specimen of the cormorant species from the late oligocene ( mp 28 ) fossil site enspel in germany—the third to be discovered at this site—is described . previously unknown or controversial features bearing on the taxonomic and phylogenetic affinities of this bird are identified , which do not support the assignment of the enspel cormorant to the taxon borvocarbo . the species is therefore . . . [ show full abstract ]
family of small to medium - sized , ground - living birds . they vary in length from 12
g . some species have long necks and in many cases are laterally compressed .
is the most variable feature within the family . in some species it is longer than the head ( like the
, which is a fleshy , rearward extension of the upper bill . the most complex frontal shield is found in the
, a characteristic that has led them to colonize many isolated oceanic islands . furthermore , these birds often prefer to run rather than fly , especially in dense habitat . some are also flightless at some time during their
in the animal kingdom . of the ~ 150 historically known rail species , 31 extant or recently extinct species evolved flightlessness from volant ancestors .
this process created the endemic populations of flightless rails that we see on pacific islands today .
many island rails are flightless because small island habitats without mammalian predators eliminate the need to fly or move long distances .
and flight muscles taking up to a quarter of a bird ' s weight in flying rallidae species . reducing the flight muscles , with a corresponding lowering of
for this reason , flightlessness makes it easier to survive and colonize an island where resources may be limited .
this also allows for the evolution of multiple sizes of flightless rails on the same island as the birds diversify to find niches .
in addition to energy conservation , certain morphological traits also affect rail evolution . rails have relatively shortened wings to begin with , which , in combination with their terrestrial habits and behavioral flightlessness , lends speed to the evolution of flightlessness , making it remarkably fast ;
to lose the power of flight and evolve the reduced , stubby wings only useful to keep balance when running quickly .
indeed , some argue that it might be possible to measure the evolution of flightlessness in rails in generations rather than millennia .
another factor that contributes to the occurrence of the flightless state is a climate that does not necessitate seasonal long - distance migration ; this is evidenced by the tendency to evolve flightlessness at a much greater occurrence in tropical islands than in temperate or polar islands .
it is paradoxical , since rails appear loath to fly , that the evolution of flightless rails would necessitate high dispersal to isolated islands .
though only the latter two gave rise to flightless endemic species throughout the pacific basin .
, it becomes clear that although the species is polyphyletic , it is not the ancestor of most of its flightless descendants , revealing that the flightless condition evolved in rails before speciation was complete .
a consequence of lowered energy expenditure in flightless island rails has also been associated with evolution of their
tolerance
and
approachability
.
the resulting kin - selecting altruistic phenomena reallocates resources to produce fewer young that are more competitive and would benefit the population as an entirety , rather than many young who would exhibit less fitness .
unfortunately , with the human occupation of most islands in the past 5 , 000 to 35 , 000 years , selection has undoubtedly reversed the tolerance into a wariness of humans and predators , causing species unequipped for the change to become susceptible to extinction .
of rallidae species vary and are often quite loud . some are whistle - like or squeak - like , while others seem un - birdlike .
loud calls are useful in dense vegetation , or at night where it is difficult to see another member of the species . some calls are
the most typical family members occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes , swamps , or rivers . reed beds are a particularly favoured habitat . they are omnivorous , and those that migrate do so at night .
most nest in dense vegetation . in general , they are shy , secretive , and difficult to observe . most species walk and run vigorously on strong legs , and have long toes that are well adapted to soft , uneven surfaces . they tend to have short , rounded wings and although they are generally weak fliers , they are , nevertheless , capable of covering long distances . island species often become flightless , and many of them are now extinct following the introduction of terrestrial predators such as cats , rats and pigs .
species are normally called rails irrespective of bill length . the smallest of these is the
the rails have suffered disproportionally from human changes to the environment , and it is estimated that several hundred species of island rail have become extinct because of this . several island species of rail remain endangered , and conservation organisations and governments continue to work to prevent their extinction .
the breeding behaviors of many rallidae species are poorly understood or unknown . most are thought to be
egg clutches may not always hatch at the same time . chicks become mobile after a few days . they often depend on their parents until fledging , which happens at around one month .
the guam rail is an example of an island species that has been badly affected by introduced species .
, many island species have been unable to cope with introduced species . the most dramatic human - caused extinctions occurred in the
, during which an estimated 750 - 1800 species of bird became extinct , half of which were rails .
, but some of the last remaining individuals were taken into captivity and are breeding well , though attempts to reintroduce it met with mixed results .
the family rallidae has traditionally been grouped with two families of larger birds , the cranes and bustards , as well as several smaller families of usually
primitive
mid - sized amphibious birds , to make up the order gruiformes . the alternative sibley - ahlquist taxonomy , which has been widely accepted in america , raises the family to ordinal level as the ralliformes . given uncertainty about gruiform monophyly , this may or may not be correct ; it certainly seems more justified than most of the sibley - ahlquist proposals . on the other hand , such a group would probably also include the heliornithidae ( finfoots and sungrebes ) , an exclusively tropical group that is somewhat convergent with grebes , and usually united with the rails in the ralli .
additionally , there are many prehistoric rails of extant genera , known only from fossil or subfossil remains , such as the ibiza rail ( rallus eivissensis ) . these have not been listed here ; see the genus accounts and the articles on fossil and late quaternary prehistoric birds for these species .
genus cabalus - chatham rail ( sometimes included in gallirallus ; extinct c . 1900 )
the undescribed fernando de noronha rail , genus and species undetermined , probably survived to historic times .
genus ludiortyx ( late eocene ) - includes
tringa
hoffmanni ,
palaeortyx
blanchardi ,
p .
hoffmanni
dozens of mostly broken isolated skull and limb bones of a rail or crake the size of a slaty - breasted or small buff - banded rail : worthy et al . ( 2007 )
quadrate ( mnz s . 40957 ) and 2 femora ( mnz s . 42658 , s . 42785 ) of a rail or crake the size of a large buff - banded rail : worthy et al . ( 2007 )
several limb bones of a smallish rail : gál et al . ( 1998–99 )
worthy , t . h . 1997 : a mid - pleistocene rail from new zealand .
specimen qm f40203 . a left carpometacarpus piece of a bird about the size of lewin ' s rail . probably from a rail , but it is too damaged to determine its affiliations more precisely : boles ( 2005 )
ballmann , peter ( 1969 ) : les oiseaux miocènes de la grive - saint - alban ( isère ) [ the miocene birds of grive - saint - alban ( isère ) ] .
birdlife international ( bli ) ( 2007 ) : wake island rail birdlife species factsheet . retrieved 2007 - 07 - 04 .
boles , walter e . ( 2005 ) : a new flightless gallinule ( aves : rallidae : gallinula ) from the oligo - miocene of riversleigh , northwestern queensland , australia . ( 2005 ) records of the australian museum 57 ( 2 ) : 179–190 . odf full text
dinkins , walter ( 2014 ) : the rail bird hunter ' s bible . a history of rail bird hunting in the usa . urltoken publishing .
gál , erika ; hír , jános ; kessler , eugén & kókay , józsef ( 1998–99 ) : középsõ - miocén õsmaradványok , a mátraszõlõs , rákóczi - kápolna alatti útbevágásból . i . a mátraszõlõs 1 . lelõhely [ middle miocene fossils from the sections at the rákóczi chapel at mátraszőlős . locality mátraszõlõs i . ] . folia historico naturalia musei matraensis 23 : 33–78 . [ hungarian with english abstract ] pdf fulltext
granjon , l . , and g . cheylan ( 1989 ) : the fate of black rats ( rattus - rattus , l ) introduced on an island , as revealed by radio - tracking . comptes rendus de l academie des sciences serie iii - sciences de la vie - life sciences 309 : 571 - 575 .
horsfall , joseph a . & robinson , robert ( 2003 ) : rails . in : perrins , christopher ( ed . ) : firefly encyclopedia of birds . firefly books .
hugueney , marguerite ; berthet , didier ; bodergat , anne - marie ; escuillié , françois ; mourer - chauviré , cécile & wattinne , aurélia ( 2003 ) : la limite oligocène - miocène en limagne : changements fauniques chez les mammifères , oiseaux et ostracodes des différents niveaux de billy - créchy ( allier , france ) [ the oligocene - miocene boundary in limagne : faunal changes in the mammals , birds and ostracods from the different levels of billy - créchy ( allier , france ) ] [ french with english abstract ] .
kirchman , j . j . ( 2012 ) .
speciation of flightless rails on islands : a dna - based phylogeny of the typical rails of the pacific
.
livezey , b . ( 2003 ) : evolution of flightlessness in rails ( gruiformes : rallidae ) : phylogenetic , ecomorphological , and ontogenetic perspectives . ornithological monographs no . 53 . ( book )
mcnab , b . k . ( 1994 ) : energy conservation and the evolution of flightlessness in birds . am . nat . 144 ( 4 ) : 628 - 642 . html abstract and first page image
mcnab , b . k . ( 2002 ) : minimizing energy expenditure facilitates vertebrate persistence on oceanic islands . ecology letters 5 : 693 - 704 .
mcnab , b . k . & ellis , h . i . ( 2006 ) : flightless rails endemic to islands have lower energy expenditures and clutch sizes than flighted rails on islands and continents .
mlíkovský , jirí ( 2002 ) : cenozoic birds of the world , part 1 : europe . ninox press , prague . isbn 80 - 901105 - 3 - 8 pdf fulltext
perret , p . , and j . blondel ( 1993 ) : experimental - evidence of the territorial defense hypothesis in insular blue tits . experientia 49 : 94 - 98 .
olson , storrs l . ( 1985 ) : section x . d . 2 . b . scolopacidae . in : farner , d . s . ; king , j . r . & parkes , kenneth c . ( eds . ) : avian biology 8 : 174 - 175 . academic press , new york .
& fleischer , r . c . ( 2002 ) : rapid , independent evolution of flightlessness in four species of pacific island rails ( rallidae ) : an analysis based on mitochondrial sequence data .
steadman , david william ( 2006 ) : extinction and biogeography of tropical pacific birds . university of chicago press . isbn 0 - 226 - 77142 - 3 .
; tennyson , a . j . d . ; jones , c . ; mcnamara , j . a . & douglas , b . j . ( 2007 ) : miocene waterfowl and other birds from central otago , new zealand .
this article is issued from wikipedia - version of the 10 / 11 / 2016 . the text is available under the creative commons attribution / share alike but additional terms may apply for the media files .
the rails , or rallidae , are a large cosmopolitan family of small - to medium - sized ground - living birds . the family exhibits considerable diversity and also includes the crakes , coots , and gallinules . many species are associated with wetlands , although the family is found in every terrestrial habitat except dry deserts , polar regions , and alpine areas above the snow line . members of the rallidae occur on every continent except antarctica . there are numerous island species . the most common rail habitats are marshland or dense forest . they are especially fond of dense vegetation . [ 1 ]
the rails are a fairly homogeneous family of small to medium - sized , ground - living birds . they vary in length from 12 to 63 cm ( 4 . 7 to 24 . 8 in ) and in weight from 20 to 3 , 000 g ( 0 . 71 to 105 . 82 oz ) . some species have long necks and in many cases are laterally compressed .
the bill is the most variable feature within the family . in some species it is longer than the head ( like the clapper rail of the americas ) , in others it may be short and wide ( as in the coots ) , or massive ( as in the purple gallinules ) . [ 2 ] a few coots and gallinules have a frontal shield , which is a fleshy , rearward extension of the upper bill . the most complex frontal shield is found in the horned coot . [ 3 ]
the wings of all rails are short and rounded . the flight of those rallidae able to fly , while not powerful , can be sustained for long periods of time , and many species migrate annually . the weakness of their flight , however , means they are easily blown off course and thus are common vagrants , a characteristic that has led them to colonize many isolated oceanic islands . furthermore , these birds often prefer to run rather than fly , especially in dense habitat . some are also flightless at some time during their moult period . [ 4 ]
flightlessness in rails is one of the best examples of parallel evolution in the animal kingdom . of the approximately 150 historically known rail species , 31 extant or recently extinct species evolved flightlessness from volant ( flying ) ancestors . [ 5 ] this process created the endemic populations of flightless rails that we see on pacific islands today .
many island rails are flightless because small island habitats without mammalian predators eliminate the need to fly or move long distances . flight makes intense demands , with the keel and flight muscles taking up to a quarter of a bird ' s weight in flying rallidae species . reducing the flight muscles , with a corresponding lowering of metabolic demands , reduces the flightless rail ' s energy expenditures . [ 6 ] for this reason , flightlessness makes it easier to survive and colonize an island where resources may be limited . [ 7 ] this also allows for the evolution of multiple sizes of flightless rails on the same island as the birds diversify to find niches . [ 8 ]
in addition to energy conservation , certain morphological traits also affect rail evolution . rails have relatively shortened wings to begin with , which , in combination with their terrestrial habits and behavioral flightlessness , lends speed to the evolution of flightlessness , making it remarkably fast ; [ 9 ] it took as little as 125 , 000 years for the laysan rail to lose the power of flight and evolve the reduced , stubby wings only useful to keep balance when running quickly . [ 10 ] indeed , some argue that it might be possible to measure the evolution of flightlessness in rails in generations rather than millennia . [ 7 ]
another factor that contributes to the occurrence of the flightless state is a climate that does not necessitate seasonal long - distance migration ; this is evidenced by the tendency to evolve flightlessness at a much greater occurrence in tropical islands than in temperate or polar islands . [ 11 ]
it is paradoxical , since rails appear loath to fly , that the evolution of flightless rails would necessitate high dispersal to isolated islands . [ 12 ] nonetheless , three species of small - massed rails , gallirallus philippensis , porphyrio porphyrio , and porzana tabuensis , exhibit a persistently high ability to disperse long - distance among tropic pacific islands , [ 12 ] though only the latter two gave rise to flightless endemic species throughout the pacific basin . [ 13 ] in examining the phylogeny of g . philippensis , it becomes clear that although the species is polyphyletic , it is not the ancestor of most of its flightless descendants , revealing that the flightless condition evolved in rails before speciation was complete . [ 13 ]
in general , members of rallidae are omnivorous generalists . many species eat invertebrates , as well as fruit or seedlings . a few species are primarily herbivorous . [ 1 ] the calls of rallidae species vary and are often quite loud . some are whistle - like or squeak - like , while others seem un - birdlike . [ 16 ] loud calls are useful in dense vegetation , or at night where it is difficult to see another member of the species . some calls are territorial . [ 2 ]
many reedbed species are secretive ( apart from loud calls ) , crepuscular , and have laterally flattened bodies . in the old world , long - billed species tend to be called rails and short - billed species crakes . north american species are normally called rails irrespective of bill length . the smallest of these is the swinhoe ' s rail , at 13 cm ( 5 . 1 in ) and 25 grams . the larger species are also sometimes given other names . the black coots are more adapted to open water than their relatives , and some other large species are called gallinules and swamphens . the largest of this group is the takahe , at 65 cm ( 26 in ) and 2 . 7 kg ( 6 . 0 lb ) .
the rails have suffered disproportionally from human changes to the environment , and it is estimated [ citation needed ] that several hundred species of island rail have become extinct because of this . several island species of rail remain endangered , and conservation organisations and governments continue to work to prevent their extinction .
the breeding behaviors of many rallidae species are poorly understood or unknown . most are thought to be monogamous , although polygyny and polyandry have been reported . [ 17 ] most often , they lay five to ten eggs . clutches as small as one or as large as fifteen eggs are known . [ 17 ] egg clutches may not always hatch at the same time . chicks become mobile after a few days . they often depend on their parents until fledging , which happens at around one month . [ 3 ]
some larger , more abundant rails are hunted and their eggs collected for food . [ 18 ] the wake island rail was hunted to extinction by the starving japanese garrison after the island was cut off from supply during world war ii . [ 19 ] at least two species , the common moorhen and the american purple gallinule , have been considered pests . [ 18 ]
the family rallidae was introduced ( as rallia ) by the french polymath constantine samuel rafinesque in 1815 . [ 21 ] [ 22 ] the family has traditionally been grouped with two families of larger birds , the cranes and bustards , as well as several smaller families of usually
primitive
mid - sized amphibious birds , to make up the order gruiformes . the alternative sibley - ahlquist taxonomy , which has been widely accepted in america , raises the family to ordinal level as the ralliformes . given uncertainty about gruiform monophyly , this may or may not be correct ; it certainly seems more justified than most of the sibley - ahlquist proposals . on the other hand , such a group would probably also include the heliornithidae ( finfoots and sungrebes ) , an exclusively tropical group that is somewhat convergent with grebes , and usually united with the rails in the ralli .
new caledonian rail , gallirallus lafresnayanus - probably extinct ( c . 1990 ? )
genus cabalus – chatham rail ( sometimes included in gallirallus ; extinct c . 1900 )
the undescribed fernando de noronha rail , genus and species undetermined , probably survived to historic times .
genus vitirallus – viti levu rail . the holotype of vitirallus watlingi is in the collection of the museum of new zealand te papa tongarewa . [ 25 ]
genus pleistorallus ( mid - pleistocene new zealand ) . [ 33 ] the holotype of pleistorallus flemingi is in the collection of the museum of new zealand te papa tongarewa . [ 34 ]
genus ludiortyx ( late eocene ) – includes
tringa
hoffmanni ,
palaeortyx
blanchardi ,
p .
hoffmanni
the presumed scolopacid wader limosa gypsorum ( montmartre late eocene of france ) is sometimes considered a rail and then placed in the genus montirallus . [ 36 ]
. bulletin of the american museum of natural history . number 222 . new york : american museum of natural history . pp . 136 , 252 .
worthy , t . h . ( 1997 ) .
a mid - pleistocene rail from new zealand
.
ballmann , peter ( 1969 ) : les oiseaux miocènes de la grive - saint - alban ( isère ) [ the miocene birds of grive - saint - alban ( isère ) ] . geobios 2 : 157–204 . [ french with english abstract ] doi : 10 . 1016 / s0016 - 6995 ( 69 ) 80005 - 7 ( html abstract )
granjon , l . , and g . cheylan ( 1989 ) : the fate of black rats ( rattus - rattus , l ) introduced on an island , as revealed by radio - tracking . comptes rendus de l académie des sciences , série iii sciences de la vie 309 : 571–575 .
hugueney , marguerite ; berthet , didier ; bodergat , anne - marie ; escuillié , françois ; mourer - chauviré , cécile & wattinne , aurélia ( 2003 ) : la limite oligocène - miocène en limagne : changements fauniques chez les mammifères , oiseaux et ostracodes des différents niveaux de billy - créchy ( allier , france ) [ the oligocene - miocene boundary in limagne : faunal changes in the mammals , birds and ostracods from the different levels of billy - créchy ( allier , france ) ] [ french with english abstract ] . geobios 36 ( 6 ) : 719–731 . doi : 10 . 1016 / j . geobios . 2003 . 01 . 002 ( html abstract )
mcnab , b . k . ( 1994 ) : energy conservation and the evolution of flightlessness in birds . am . nat . 144 ( 4 ) : 628–642 . jstor 2462941 .
mcnab , b . k . ( 2002 ) .
minimizing energy expenditure facilitates vertebrate persistence on oceanic islands
.
mcnab , b . k . & ellis , h . i . ( 2006 ) : flightless rails endemic to islands have lower energy expenditures and clutch sizes than flighted rails on islands and continents . comparative biochemistry and physiology a – molecular & integrative physiology 145 ( 3 ) : 295–311 . doi : 10 . 1016 / j . cbpa . 2006 . 02 . 025 ( html fulltext )
mlíkovský , jirí ( 2002 ) : cenozoic birds of the world , part 1 : europe . ninox press , prague . template : listed invalid isbn pdf fulltext
perret , p . ; blondel , j . ( 1993 ) .
experimental - evidence of the territorial defense hypothesis in insular blue tits
.
olson , storrs l . ( 1985 ) : section x . d . 2 . b . scolopacidae . in : farner , d . s . ; king , j . r . & parkes , kenneth c . ( eds . ) : avian biology 8 : 174–175 . academic press , new york .
slikas , b . ; olson , storrs l . & fleischer , r . c . ( 2002 ) : rapid , independent evolution of flightlessness in four species of pacific island rails ( rallidae ) : an analysis based on mitochondrial sequence data . j . avian biol . 33 ( 1 ) : 5–14 . doi : 10 . 1034 / j . 1600 - 048x . 2002 . 330103 . x ( html fulltext )
steadman , david william ( 2006 ) : extinction and biogeography of tropical pacific birds . university of chicago press . template : isbn .
worthy , trevor h . ; tennyson , a . j . d . ; jones , c . ; mcnamara , j . a . & douglas , b . j . ( 2007 ) : miocene waterfowl and other birds from central otago , new zealand . j . syst . palaeontol . 5 ( 1 ) : 1–39 . doi : 10 . 1017 / s1477201906001957 ( html abstract )
this article is part of project bird families , a all birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each bird family , including made - up families .
this article is part of project bird taxonomy , a all birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every order , family and other taxonomic rank related to birds .
this page uses creative commons licensed content from wikipedia ( view authors ) . please help by writing it in the style of all birds wiki !
can ' t find a community you love ? create your own and start something epic .
the rails , or rallidae , are a large cosmopolitan family of small - to medium - sized ground - living birds . the family exhibits considerable diversity and also includes the crakes , coots , and gallinules . many species are associated with wetlands , although the family is found in every terrestrial habitat except dry deserts , polar regions , and alpine areas above the snow line . members of the rallidae occur on every continent except antarctica . there are numerous island species . the most common rail habitats are marshland or dense forest . they are especially fond of dense vegetation .
the rails are a fairly homogeneous family of small to medium - sized , ground - living birds . they vary in length from 12 cm to 63 cm and in weight from 20 g to 3000 g . some species have long necks and in many cases are laterally compressed .
the bill is the most variable feature within the family . in some species it is longer than the head ( like the clapper rail of the americas ) , in others it may be short and wide ( as in the coots ) , or massive ( as in the purple gallinules ) . a few coots and gallinules have a frontal shield , which is a fleshy , rearward extension of the upper bill . the most complex frontal shield is found in the horned coot .
the wings of all rails are short and rounded . the flight of those rallidae able to fly , while not powerful , can be sustained for long periods of time , and many species migrate annually . the weakness of their flight , however , means they are easily blown off course and thus are common vagrants , a characteristic that has led them to colonize many isolated oceanic islands . furthermore , these birds often prefer to run rather than fly , especially in dense habitat . some are also flightless at some time during their moult period .
flightlessness in rails is one of the best examples of parallel evolution in the animal kingdom . of the ~ 150 historically known rail species , 31 extant or recently extinct species evolved flightlessness from volant ancestors . this process created the endemic populations of flightless rails that we see on pacific islands today .
many island rails are flightless because small island habitats without mammalian predators eliminate the need to fly or move long distances . flight makes intense demands , with the keel and flight muscles taking up to a quarter of a bird ' s weight in flying rallidae species . reducing the flight muscles , with a corresponding lowering of metabolic demands , reduces the flightless rail ' s energy expenditures . for this reason , flightlessness makes it easier to survive and colonize an island where resources may be limited . this also allows for the evolution of multiple sizes of flightless rails on the same island as the birds diversify to find niches .
in addition to energy conservation , certain morphological traits also affect rail evolution . rails have relatively shortened wings to begin with , which , in combination with their terrestrial habits and behavioral flightlessness , lends speed to the evolution of flightlessness , making it remarkably fast ; it took as little as 125 , 000 years for the laysan rail to lose the power of flight and evolve the reduced , stubby wings only useful to keep balance when running quickly . indeed , some argue that it might be possible to measure the evolution of flightlessness in rails in generations rather than millennia .
it is paradoxical , since rails appear loath to fly , that the evolution of flightless rails would necessitate high dispersal to isolated islands . nonetheless , three species of small - massed rails , gallirallus philippensis , porphyrio porphyrio , and porzana tabuensis , exhibit a persistently high ability to disperse long - distance among tropic pacific islands , though only the latter two gave rise to flightless endemic species throughout the pacific basin . in examining the phylogeny of g . philippensis , it becomes clear that although the species is polyphyletic , it is not the ancestor of most of its flightless descendants , revealing that the flightless condition evolved in rails before speciation was complete .
in general , members of rallidae are omnivorous generalists . many species eat invertebrates , as well as fruit or seedlings . a few species are primarily herbivorous . the calls of rallidae species vary and are often quite loud . some are whistle - like or squeak - like , while others seem un - birdlike . loud calls are useful in dense vegetation , or at night where it is difficult to see another member of the species . some calls are territorial .
the most typical family members occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes , swamps , or rivers . reed beds are a particularly favoured habitat . they are omnivorous , and those that migrate do so at night .
most nest in dense vegetation . in general , they are shy , secretive , and difficult to observe . most species walk and run vigorously on strong legs , and have long toes that are well adapted to soft , uneven surfaces . they tend to have short , rounded wings and although they are generally weak fliers , they are , nevertheless , capable of covering long distances . island species often become flightless , and many of them are now extinct following the introduction of terrestrial predators such as cats , rats and pigs .
many reedbed species are secretive ( apart from loud calls ) , crepuscular , and have laterally flattened bodies . in the old world , long - billed species tend to be called rails and short - billed species crakes . north american species are normally called rails irrespective of bill length . the smallest of these is the swinhoe ' s rail , at 13 cm ( 5 . 1 in ) and 25 grams . the larger species are also sometimes given other names . the black coots are more adapted to open water than their relatives , and some other large species are called gallinules and swamphens . the largest of this group is the takahē , at 65 cm ( 26 in ) and 2 . 7 kg ( 6 . 0 lb ) .
the rails have suffered disproportionally from human changes to the environment , and it is estimated that several hundred species of island rail have become extinct because of this . several island species of rail remain endangered , and conservation organisations and governments continue to work to prevent their extinction .
the breeding behaviors of many rallidae species are poorly understood or unknown . most are thought to be monogamous , although polygyny and polyandry have been reported . most often , they lay five to ten eggs . clutches as small as one or as large as fifteen eggs are known . egg clutches may not always hatch at the same time . chicks become mobile after a few days . they often depend on their parents until fledging , which happens at around one month .
some larger , more abundant rails are hunted and their eggs collected for food . the wake island rail was hunted to extinction by the starving japanese garrison after the island was cut off from supply during world war ii . at least two species , the common moorhen and the american purple gallinule , have been considered pests .
due to their tendencies towards flightlessness , many island species have been unable to cope with introduced species . the most dramatic human - caused extinctions occurred in the pacific ocean as people colonised the islands of melanesia , polynesia and micronesia , during which an estimated 750–1800 species of bird became extinct , half of which were rails . some species that came close to extinction , such as the lord howe woodhen , and the takahē , have made modest recoveries due to the efforts of conservation organisations . the guam rail came perilously close to extinction when brown tree snakes were introduced to guam , but some of the last remaining individuals were taken into captivity and are breeding well , though attempts at reintroduction have met with mixed results .
the family rallidae was introduced ( as rallia ) by the french polymath constantine samuel rafinesque in 1815 . the family has traditionally been grouped with two families of larger birds , the cranes and bustards , as well as several smaller families of usually
primitive
mid - sized amphibious birds , to make up the order gruiformes . the alternative sibley - ahlquist taxonomy , which has been widely accepted in america , raises the family to ordinal level as the ralliformes . given uncertainty about gruiform monophyly , this may or may not be correct ; it certainly seems more justified than most of the sibley - ahlquist proposals . on the other hand , such a group would probably also include the heliornithidae ( finfoots and sungrebes ) , an exclusively tropical group that is somewhat convergent with grebes , and usually united with the rails in the ralli .
genus vitirallus – viti levu rail . the holotype of vitirallus watlingi is in the collection of the museum of new zealand te papa tongarewa .
genus pleistorallus ( mid - pleistocene new zealand ) . the holotype of pleistorallus flemingi is in the collection of the museum of new zealand te papa tongarewa .
the presumed scolopacid wader limosa gypsorum ( montmartre late eocene of france ) is sometimes considered a rail and then placed in the genus montirallus .
rail is derived from french râle , from old french rasle . it is named from its harsh cry , in vulgar latin * rascula , from latin rādere ( “to scrape” ) . [ 2 ]
the bill is the most variable feature within the family . in some species it is longer than the head ( like the clapper rail of the americas ) , in others it may be short and wide ( as in the coots ) , or massive ( as in the purple gallinules ) . [ 3 ] a few coots and gallinules have a frontal shield , which is a fleshy , rearward extension of the upper bill . the most complex frontal shield is found in the horned coot . [ 4 ]
the wings of all rails are short and rounded . the flight of those rallidae able to fly , while not powerful , can be sustained for long periods of time , and many species migrate annually . the weakness of their flight , however , means they are easily blown off course and thus are common vagrants , a characteristic that has led them to colonize many isolated oceanic islands . furthermore , these birds often prefer to run rather than fly , especially in dense habitat . some are also flightless at some time during their moult period . [ 5 ]
flightlessness in rails is one of the best examples of parallel evolution in the animal kingdom . of the approximately 150 historically known rail species , 31 extant or recently extinct species evolved flightlessness from volant ( flying ) ancestors . [ 6 ] this process created the endemic populations of flightless rails seen on pacific islands today .
many island rails are flightless because small island habitats without mammalian predators eliminate the need to fly or move long distances . flight makes intense demands , with the keel and flight muscles taking up to a quarter of a bird ' s weight in flying rallidae species . reducing the flight muscles , with a corresponding lowering of metabolic demands , reduces the flightless rail ' s energy expenditures . [ 7 ] for this reason , flightlessness makes it easier to survive and colonize an island where resources may be limited . [ 8 ] this also allows for the evolution of multiple sizes of flightless rails on the same island as the birds diversify to find niches . [ 9 ]
in addition to energy conservation , certain morphological traits also affect rail evolution . rails have relatively shortened wings to begin with , which , in combination with their terrestrial habits and behavioral flightlessness , lends speed to the evolution of flightlessness , making it remarkably fast ; [ 10 ] it took as little as 125 , 000 years for the laysan rail to lose the power of flight and evolve the reduced , stubby wings only useful to keep balance when running quickly . [ 11 ] indeed , some argue that it might be possible to measure the evolution of flightlessness in rails in generations rather than millennia . [ 8 ]
another factor that contributes to the occurrence of the flightless state is a climate that does not necessitate seasonal long - distance migration ; this is evidenced by the tendency to evolve flightlessness at a much greater occurrence in tropical islands than in temperate or polar islands . [ 12 ]
it is paradoxical , since rails appear loath to fly , that the evolution of flightless rails would necessitate high dispersal to isolated islands . [ 13 ] nonetheless , three species of small - massed rails , gallirallus philippensis , porphyrio porphyrio , and porzana tabuensis , exhibit a persistently high ability to disperse long - distance among tropic pacific islands , [ 13 ] though only the latter two gave rise to flightless endemic species throughout the pacific basin . [ 14 ] in examining the phylogeny of g . philippensis , it becomes clear that although the species is polyphyletic , it is not the ancestor of most of its flightless descendants , revealing that the flightless condition evolved in rails before speciation was complete . [ 14 ]
in general , members of rallidae are omnivorous generalists . many species eat invertebrates , as well as fruit or seedlings . a few species are primarily herbivorous . [ 1 ] the calls of rallidae species vary and are often quite loud . some are whistle - like or squeak - like , while others seem un - birdlike . [ 17 ] loud calls are useful in dense vegetation , or at night where it is difficult to see another member of the species . some calls are territorial . [ 3 ]
many reedbed species are secretive ( apart from loud calls ) , crepuscular , and have laterally flattened bodies . in the old world , long - billed species tend to be called rails and short - billed species crakes . north american species are normally called rails irrespective of bill length . the smallest of these is the swinhoe ' s rail , at 13 cm ( 5 . 1 in ) and 25 grams . the larger species are also sometimes given other names . the black coots are more adapted to open water than their relatives , and some other large species are called gallinules and swamphens . the largest of this group is the takahē , at 65 cm ( 26 in ) and 2 . 7 kg ( 6 . 0 lb ) .
the breeding behaviors of many rallidae species are poorly understood or unknown . most are thought to be monogamous , although polygyny and polyandry have been reported . [ 18 ] most often , they lay five to ten eggs . clutches as small as one or as large as fifteen eggs are known . [ 18 ] egg clutches may not always hatch at the same time . chicks become mobile after a few days . they often depend on their parents until fledging , which happens at around one month . [ 4 ]
some larger , more abundant rails are hunted and their eggs collected for food . [ 19 ] the wake island rail was hunted to extinction by the starving japanese garrison after the island was cut off from supply during world war ii . [ 20 ] at least two species , the common moorhen and the american purple gallinule , have been considered pests . [ 19 ]
due to their tendencies towards flightlessness , many island species have been unable to cope with introduced species . the most dramatic human - caused extinctions occurred in the pacific ocean as people colonised the islands of melanesia , polynesia and micronesia , during which an estimated 750–1800 species of bird became extinct , half of which were rails . [ 21 ] some species that came close to extinction , such as the lord howe woodhen , and the takahē , have made modest recoveries due to the efforts of conservation organisations . the guam rail came perilously close to extinction when brown tree snakes were introduced to guam , but some of the last remaining individuals were taken into captivity and are breeding well , though attempts at reintroduction have met with mixed results .
the family rallidae was introduced ( as rallia ) by the french polymath constantine samuel rafinesque in 1815 . [ 22 ] [ 23 ] the family has traditionally been grouped with two families of larger birds , the cranes and bustards , as well as several smaller families of usually
primitive
mid - sized amphibious birds , to make up the order gruiformes . the alternative sibley - ahlquist taxonomy , which has been widely accepted in america , raises the family to ordinal level as the ralliformes . given uncertainty about gruiform monophyly , this may or may not be correct ; it certainly seems more justified than most of the sibley - ahlquist proposals . on the other hand , such a group would probably also include the heliornithidae ( finfoots and sungrebes ) , an exclusively tropical group that is somewhat convergent with grebes , and usually united with the rails in the ralli .
the undescribed fernando de noronha rail , genus and species undetermined , survived to historic times .
reedman , ray ( 15 august 2016 ) .
lapwings , loons and lousy jacks : the how and why of bird names
. pelagic publishing ltd – via google books .
rafinesque , constantine samuel ( 1815 ) . analyse de la nature ou , tableau de l ' univers et des corps organisés ( in french ) . palermo : self - published . p . 70 .
bock , walter j . ( 1994 ) . history and nomenclature of avian family - group names . bulletin of the american museum of natural history . number 222 . new york : american museum of natural history . pp . 136 , 252 .
olson , storrs l . ( 1974 ) .
a new species of nesotrochis from hispaniola , with notes on other fossil rails from the west indies ( aves : rallidae )
. proceedings of the biological society of washington . 87 ( 38 ) : 439–450 . hdl : 10088 / 8374 .
worthy , t . h . ( 1997 ) .
a mid - pleistocene rail from new zealand
. alcheringa : an australasian journal of palaeontology . 21 ( 1 ) : 71–78 . doi : 10 . 1080 / 03115519708619186 .
kirchman , j . j . ( 2012 ) .
speciation of flightless rails on islands : a dna - based phylogeny of the typical rails of the pacific
. the auk . 129 ( 1 ) : 56–69 . doi : 10 . 1525 / auk . 2011 . 11096 . jstor 10 . 1525 / auk . 2011 . 11096 .
mcnab , b . k . ( 1994 ) : energy conservation and the evolution of flightlessness in birds . am . nat . 144 ( 4 ) : 628–642 . doi : 10 . 1086 / 285697 . jstor 2462941 .
mcnab , b . k . ( 2002 ) .
minimizing energy expenditure facilitates vertebrate persistence on oceanic islands
. ecology letters . 5 : 693–704 . doi : 10 . 1046 / j . 1461 - 0248 . 2002 . 00365 . x .
mcnab , b . k . & ellis , h . i . ( 2006 ) : flightless rails endemic to islands have lower energy expenditures and clutch sizes than flighted rails on islands and continents . comparative biochemistry and physiology a – molecular & integrative physiology 145 ( 3 ) : 295–311 . doi : 10 . 1016 / j . cbpa . 2006 . 02 . 025 . pmid 16632395 . ( html fulltext )
perret , p . ; blondel , j . ( 1993 ) .
experimental - evidence of the territorial defense hypothesis in insular blue tits
. experientia . 49 : 94–98 . doi : 10 . 1007 / bf01928800 .
slikas , b . ; olson , storrs l . & fleischer , r . c . ( 2002 ) : rapid , independent evolution of flightlessness in four species of pacific island rails ( rallidae ) : an analysis based on mitochondrial sequence data . j . avian biol . 33 ( 1 ) : 5–14 . doi : 10 . 1034 / j . 1600 - 048x . 2002 . 330103 . x . jstor 3677486 . ( html fulltext )
this page is based on a wikipedia article written by authors ( here ) . text is available under the cc by - sa 3 . 0 license ; additional terms may apply . images , videos and audio are available under their respective licenses .