behavior - Diurnal, crepuscular, nocturnal, matutinal, vespertine; what do these mean and how do they impact my pet's life? - Pets Stack Exchange Diurnal, crepuscular, nocturnal, matutinal, vespertine; what do these mean and how do they impact my pet's life? up vote 11 down vote favorite 1 A recent answer listed all of these and said the group a pet falls in could impact how they behave: diurnal, crepuscular, nocturnal, matutinal, vespertine. What do all of these mean and how do they impact my pets life and behavior? up vote 10 down vote accepted Diurnal by definition means of or during the day. Animals that are diurnal are active during the day. Though times of activity of an animal are in relevance to the animal, as in it is to its advantage, it can act against it when this animal is a pet. Pets are usually diurnal, which is generally great for them since mostly humans are also diurnal, so their carers will have time for them, at least partially during the day.

However, in the wild, diurnal animals have the advantage of, sometimes, direct sun exposure( for example turtles which use it for vitamin D3 synthesis) , and more importantly, a very good visibility. Animals that mainly rely on vision to hunt for food are usually diurnal. Diurnal prey have the advantage of easily spotting predators from a distance. Diurnal animals predominantly have colored and vivid vision. Crepuscular means of Twilight. Crepuscular animals are active during twilight. Twilight is the illumination of the earth's lower atmosphere when the sun itself is not directly visible. Usually Crepuscular predators are active during twilight because their prey is active during that time, and they still have a decent amount of light to hunt and forage(guinea pigs). On the other hand, crepuscular prey can use this light to easily spot and avoid predators(rabbits). In addition to the that, in the wild, predators are generally least occurring during those times. This creates a state of a self regulating oscillating equilibrium. When a prey population increases due to their crepuscular habit, predators will have more food thus increasing their population , which in turn decreases the prey, then the predators decrease, increasing the prey, and so on.

Being crepuscular serves them well as pets when their owners are rather busy during the day; the owners are unavailable when the pet itself is inactive. Below is a diagram to show the times and duration of a twilight. Nocturnal means done or active during the night. Nocturnal animals are usually more vulnerable to predation, so keeping active only during the night makes them somewhat "invisible"(mice). Nocturnal predators usually have a sensitive sight and/or do not rely on visible light to see(infrared vision). They can also have very well developed senses of smell and hearing.These animals are usually appropriate for pet owners who stay up late, and are ready to provide for them then. Usually you could only stay up late if you wake up late, which is quite a common trend. So a small number of these animals may prove to be surprisingly appropriate pets for some. Matutinal means of or occurring in the morning. Matutinal organisms wake up before diurnal organisms so they have the advantage of consuming resources without competition.

Matutinal animals are mostly bees, though lets just suppose a dog is Matutinal, then it'd be suitable for early wakers, who do not just wake up and rush to their job, but actually have time to care for them, at least briefly. Matutinal organisms become active during dawn, thus, they share active states with crepuscular animals at dawn. Vespertine means relating or occurring in the evening. Vespertine organisms are similar to Nocturnal organisms. Both are awake at similar times so some share very close relations, as some nocturnal species are active in the evening but continue throughout the night. Vespertine organisms get to be active before most Nocturnal organisms so they can consume some resources before competition from the latter. Vespertine animals as pets are suitable for people who are unavailable during the day and return at early night. Vespertine organisms become active at dusk, thus, they share the active states with crepuscular animals at dusk. vespertine and matutinal species are commonly considered as special cases of being crepuscular Note: the existence of pets of these activity times were assumed, some maybe void of pets or at least a very minute amount of them are considered pets.

The bottom line is that us humans have the capability of being either of those, and based on what we are (what are lifestyles are) we choose our pets accordingly. Though this may seem like a cluster of vectors that cancel out, it's actually a very intricate and accurate cycle that keeps this planet going, but then humans come in... up vote 5 down vote These terms all fall under various sleep clocks that animals may follow. Sleep patterns for almost all species are monitored by the light given off the by the sun. If you've ever woken up early in the winter and noticed you get tired much earlier than you do when waking up the same time in the summer, you've experienced the sun's effects on daily life. Since humans are generally diurnal, the sun sets our body clock. When the sun is out, we feel less groggy then we do when it goes down. Of course, all of these terms are general and many animals are hard to classify. Various animals illustrate multiple behaviors and there's numerous conflicts as to whether some animals are either x or y. Humans, for example, aren't always diurnal. Behavioral adaptation allows us to change our body clock when needed.

The health detriments of changing your natural clock, though, are probably not so good. Onto animals and pets. Like in the answer you reference in the question, the image below sets a general guideline of the various sleeping clocks, where the x-axis is time, defined by light in the environment. The location of the word defines during which time of day that the animal is most active. Species most active during dawn are matutinal. Not many pets exclusively follow this clock. In fact, mostly insects and plants are observed to follow this pattern Species most active during dusk are vespertine. As with matutinal species, mostly insects and plants follow this pattern. Species most active during both dawn and dusk (or twilight), are crepuscular. You could call crepuscular species both matutinal and vespertine. Some examples of crepuscular animals are skunks, fireflies, and deer. Pets generally considered crepuscular are dogs, cats, rabbits, and hamsters. As @Critters notes in the comments, sometimes hamsters are considered nocturnal. I again stress the difficulty in classifying some animals such as crepuscular versus nocturnal animals at some points. See the Wikipedia page for more examples.

Species most active during daytime are diurnal. Humans, for example, are diurnal. There's a bit of controversy over whether house cats/dogs are diurnal or crepuscular, as some are most active all day, and some only twilight. Species most active during nighttime are nocturnal. An example of a nocturnal pet might be a ferret. Though not in the diagram above, species whose activity is uniformly spread across the day are cathemeral. Generally, these sleep patterns are defined for each individual animal at an early age. This explains why a feral dog may have a hard time adjusting sleeping patterns such as a crepuscular and diurnal one, rather than a dog's natural pattern which is nocturnal. However, all animals can adjust due to adaptation. It's just important to recognize which type of sleep cycle your dog is naturally on and to provide your pet with enough sleep. People have various lifestyles, and as such, some have nocturnal dogs, some have diurnal dogs, and some have crepuscular dogs.

It's also worthy to note that "nocturnal dogs" aren't different than "diurnal dogs" in any way except for their sleeping pattern (i.e., one breed isn't considered more nocturnal than another). In terms of animal behavior, these sleep cycles affect each animal as you'd expect they would. Animals like dogs and cats are more adaptable than others, but most likely still require the same amount of sleep as other dogs and cats not on the same cycle as theirs. At this point it's worthwhile to point out the difference in behaviorism and ethology. Ethology is considered to be an animal's behavior in an observed setting, where behaviorism is changed. So (and I'm not 100% I'm using these terms correctly), dogs are ethologically nocturnal but they've adjusted to be generally crepuscular and diurnal animals. In nature, most animals adjust to what suits them best (i.e., there's an evolutionary reason owls and wolves are nocturnal compared to skunks which are crepuscular.

It mainly has to do with diet, predators, prey, etc...) Words of science: crepuscular | Inspiring Science Inspiring Science ~ Casting light on great ideas Words of science: crepuscular crepuscular , dawn , dusk , etymology , nature , Popular science , science , twilight , Words of Science Like many other fields, science has its own style of communication full of specific jargon and guided by unwritten rules. Most of the posts on this blog focus on breaching this barrier to the public’s understanding and appreciation of science. In this series, I’d like to take another approach by highlighting scientific words which have escaped the confines of jargon to reach a broader appeal because of their sound or their evocative power as metaphors. Today’s word is crepuscular. [Previous words of science were petrichor , alluvium , and nychthemeron ] Crepuscular is actually a very easy word to explain: it’s just an adjective for twilight. In fact, it comes from the Latin word for twilight, crepusculum.

Crepuscular is used to describe the many plants and animals that are active at dusk and dawn, including fireflies (which are actually beetles , not flies), moths, domestic cats, and rabbits. Not all crepuscular creatures are active at both dawn and dusk; some, like morning glory, are mainly active in the morning (matutinal) and others in the evening (vespertine), like evening primrose. A crepuscular lifestyle probably helps many animals escape the attention of predators, who are often nocturnal or diurnal; an obvious exception is house cats, which are probably responding to higher levels of human activity. Crepuscular plants evolved to take advantage of the plentiful pollinators at dusk and dawn; vespertine flowers, in particular, are often white but intensely fragrant, like the night-blooming jasmine (called “the scent of night” in Arabic). Incidentally, I learned the word ‘vespertine’ (from the Latin vesper=”evening star, evening”) while researching this post and immediately fell in love with it! It feels like the perfect word for all things evening — probably because of its resonance with ‘whispers’.

Beyond the world of biology, crepuscular is also used to describe rays of sunlight that stream through gaps in clouds or other obstacles. Crepuscular rays , which stand out against the unlit air around them, are most easily seen around twilight, when the contrast between light and dark is most obvious. Twilight is a very special time. The twelve hour day comes from the decision of ancient Egyptians to divide the day into ten sunlit hours and two extra twilight hours . There’s a certain quality of light at dusk and dawn, when the sun is still illuminating the atmosphere even though the surface is shrouded in darkness. Twilight is certainly a wonderful word, bringing to mind the quiet stillness of a fading day, but it doesn’t fully capture the secrets of those hours. Crepuscular, with its gentle, crackling sound and tinge of unfamiliarity has just the right qualities to evoke that mysterious pause between night and day. The different feelings of the two words is nicely captured in their etymology; crepuscular ultimately derives from the Latin word creper, meaning dark, dusky, doubtful and uncertain, while twilight comes from Germanic roots which mean something like ‘half light’.

“Crepuscular” is probably more common in scientific writing than elsewhere, but it’s hardly surprising that such an evocative word has refused those constraints, breaking free into metaphors and literature: “The story is told from a more joyous point of view — from a point of view comparatively humorous — and a number of objects and incidents touched with the light of the profane world — the vulgar, many-coloured world of actuality, as distinguished from the crepuscular realm of the writer’s own reveries — are mingled with its course.” Henry James Crepuscular | Define Crepuscular at Dictionary.com crepuscular of, relating to, or resembling twilight; dim; indistinct. 2. Zoology. appearing or active in the twilight, as certain bats and insects. Origin of crepuscular Examples from the Web for crepuscular Expand Contemporary Examples Italian Hours Henry James When my eyes unclosed the chamber of the moonstone walls was filled with a silvery, crepuscular light. British Dictionary definitions for crepuscular Expand of or like twilight; dim 2.

(of certain insects, birds, and other animals) active at twilight or just before dawn Word Origin C17: from Latin crepusculum dusk, from creper dark Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 appearing or active at twilight Word Origin Word Origin and History for crepuscular Expand adj. figurative use from 1660s; literal use from 1755, from Latin crepusculum "twilight, dusk," from creper "dusky," of unknown origin. Especially of evening twilight. Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper Crepuscular facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Crepuscular COPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. Crepuscular The term "crepuscular" refers to the hours of dawn and dusk.

Crepuscular animals include those species that are active at dawn, dusk, or both. Some animals are mistakenly considered to be nocturnal although they are actually crepuscular. Most crepuscular animals tend to be desert dwellers that remain at rest during the harsh heat of day and the bitter chill of night. Snakes, mice, lizards, and some rabbits use broad daylight and late-night hours for resting in their respective shelters. By mating and foraging for food during the more temperate hours, crepuscular animals are able to conserve precious energy and still pursue those activities that contribute to propagating the species. The saw-scaled adder (Echis carinatus) of North Africa, Syria , Iran , and India prospers in arid, sandy regions. During the day, it lies sheltered from the heat under fallen tree trunks or rocks, or flattens its body and digs into the sand by means of its keeled lateral scales. Not all crepuscular species call the desert their home. Certain deer, snakes, bats, rodents, and opossum tend to be active during early morning and twilight hours because of rhythms of behavior as opposed to environmental controls.

The forest musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) lives in the forests and brushlands from the Himalayas to central China . Active in the morning and evening hours, the animal feeds on grass, moss, shoots, twigs, and buds. Species that find food, avoid predators, and generally maintain body state more effectively during twilight obviously benefit from responding appropriately to different light levels. They may operate most efficiently if they can predict the changes during any twenty-four-hour period by means of an internal clock. Ann Guidry Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes © Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes 2007, originally published by Oxford University Press 2007.

crepuscular •ampulla, bulla, fuller, Müller, pula, puller •titular • Weissmuller • wirepuller •incunabula, tabular •preambular • glandular • coagula •angular, quadrangular, rectangular, triangular • Dracula , facula, oracular, spectacular, vernacular •cardiovascular, vascular •annular, granular •scapula • capsular • spatula •tarantula • nebula • scheduler •calendula •irregular, regular •Benbecula, molecular, secular, specular •cellular • fibula • Caligula • singular •auricular, curricula, curricular, diverticula, funicular, lenticular, navicular, particular, perpendicular, testicular, vehicular, vermicular •primula •insular, peninsula •fistula, Vistula •globular •modular, nodular •binocular, jocular, ocular •oscular •copula, popular •consular • formula • tubular • uvula •jugular •avuncular, carbuncular •crepuscular, majuscular, minuscular, muscular •pustular •c

ircular, semicircular, tubercular •Ursula Cite this article Are Hedgehogs Nocturnal, Crepuscular or Diurnal?

- Millermeade Farm's Critterconnection Information » Activity Levels » Are Hedgehogs Nocturnal, Crepuscular or Diurnal? Are Hedgehogs Nocturnal, Crepuscular or Diurnal? Jun 6, 2013 by Millermeade Farms Nocturnal vs. Crepuscular vs. Diurnal The time of day during which animals are awake are generally described as nocturnal, crepuscular or diurnal. These terms can basically be defined as follows: Nocturnal – Animals that are awake primarily at night Crepuscular- Animals that are awake during late evening and early morning Diurnal – Animals that are awake during the day Some hedgehogs may exhibit crepuscular activity, meaning they are active in early morning and early evening, but hedgehogs are generally considered to be primarily nocturnal in nature. No matter how the hedgehog is technically defined or described, each hedgehog is going to have his or her own schedule of activity or routine. Built for the Dark Many hedgehog experts and enthusiasts agree that hedgehog senses are adapted to work best at night.

Whether naturally active at night only or dawn and dusk, the point is that hedgehogs are active when the levels of light are very low or even pitch black. Hedgehog activity typically is not determined by the hour of the day, but rather by the level of light. Hedgehogs have very poor eyesight so their other senses are sharper to compensate for this weakness. Generally speaking, the world is much more calm and quiet during the night. Hedgehogs are known to be naturally timid and afraid of new things, such as strange smells or sounds. There is less noise, movement, and distraction on the part of humans at night, which is more comfortable for pet hedgehogs. One of the simplest ways to observe hedgehog activity is to use a red or black night-light. This type of light will allow human observation but does not seem as offensive to creatures of the night. Some people believe that a hedgehog is a perfect pet for them because they themselves are awake at night. Keep in mind that a hedgehog’s activity is more closely related to light rather than the time of day.

Unless you are awake in the dark or low light, you might be surprised how much your hedgehog will sleep at night and that you may not see night time activity. Hedgehogs need daylight to maintain their circadian rhythms so please do NOT keep them in a dark room, closet or someplace that does not have a day and night cycle. More on this topic can be found at the bottom of this article. For more information on this topic check out our Activity Levels article. Diurnal Defined In Detail In animal behavior , diurnality indicates an animal that is active during the daytime and rests during the night . Animals that are not diurnal are either nocturnal (active at night) or crepuscular (active primarily during twilight , i.e., at dusk and dawn) (“Diurnality”, n.d.) Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals , insects and birds . The diurnal pattern is often controlled internally by the circadian rhythm ( endogenous rhythm) of the animal. In some animals, especially insects , external patterns of the environment control the activity ( exogenous rhythms) (“Diurnality, n.d.).

Some animals, mainly nocturnal or crepuscular ones, have been domesticated as pets and have changed into diurnal animals to coincide with the cycle of human life. Examples include pet dogs and cats , which are derived from the wolf and the wild cat . However, these animals may exhibit their species’ original behavior when they are born feral . Crepuscular Defined In Detail The word crepuscular is derived from the Latin crepusculum, meaning “twilight”. [1] Its sense accordingly differs from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, which respectively peak during hours of daylight and dark. The distinction is not absolute however, because crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright moonlit night or on a dull day. The use of the terms often is vague; for example, some animals that are casually described as nocturnal are in fact crepuscular. [2] ^ a b Winn, Philip (2001). Dictionary of Biological Psychology. Taylor & Francis. p. 194. ISBN 0-415-13606-7 ^ “Crepuscular Summary” . BookRags.com. 2010-11-02.

Retrieved 2011-07-11. Twilight Defined In Detail Twilight is the time before sunrise or after sunset when sunlight scattered in the upper atmosphere illuminates the lower atmosphere, and the surface of the Earth is between light and dark. Often confused with dusk (the darker stage before or after twilight when it is dark enough to need a light to see ) , twilight is specifically defined as the period either side of night -time during which it is possible to conduct outdoor activities without the aid of artificial light. The collateral adjective of “twilight” is crepuscular (for daylight it is “diurnal” and for night, “nocturnal”). The term is most frequently encountered when applied to certain species of insects and mammals that are most active during that time (“Twilight”, n.d.). As an animal behavior , nocturnality describes sleeping during the daytime and being active at night – the opposite of the diurnal human lifestyle and that of those animals with which we are most familiar. The intermediate crepuscular schedule (twilight activity) is also common. Some species are active both during the day and night.

Living at night can be seen as a form of niche differentiation , where a species’ niche is partitioned not by resources but by time itself, i.e. temporal division of the ecological niche . It can also be viewed as a form of crypsis , in other words an adaptation to avoid or enhance predation . There are other reasons for nocturnality as well, such as keeping out of the heat of the day. This is especially true in deserts , where many animals’ nocturnal behavior prevents them from losing precious water during the hot, dry daytime. This is an adaptation that enhances osmoregulation . Many species which are otherwise diurnal exhibit some nocturnal behaviour; for example, many seabirds and sea turtles attend breeding sites or colonies nocturnally to reduce the risk of predation (to themselves or their offspring) but are otherwise diurnal. Some animals are not really nocturnal and are instead crepuscular , being mostly active in twilight. Nocturnal animals generally have highly developed senses of hearing and smell , and specially adapted eyesight .

In zoos , nocturnal animals are usually kept in special night-illumination enclosures to reverse their normal sleep-wake cycle and to keep them active during the hours when visitors will be attempting to see them. (“Nocturnality”, n.d.) Nocturnal Defined – In Detail Importance of Circadian Rhythms in Animals Circadian rhythms are important in determining the sleeping and feeding patterns of all animals, including human beings. There are clear patterns of core body temperature, brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration and other biological activities linked to this daily cycle. In addition, photoperiodism , the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night, is vital to both plants and animals, and the circadian system plays a role in the measurement and interpretation of daylength. Timely prediction of seasonal periods of weather conditions, food availability or predator activity is crucial for survival of many species. Although not the only parameter, the changing length of the photoperiod (‘daylength’) is the most predictive environmental cue for the seasonal timing of physiology and behavior, most notably for timing of migration, hibernation and reproduction. (“Circadian Rhythm”, n.d.) The rhythm is linked to the light-dark cycle.

Animals kept in total darkness for extended periods eventually function with a freerunning rhythm. Each “day,” their sleep cycle is pushed back or forward, depending on whether the endogenous period is shorter or longer than 24 hours. The environmental cues that each day reset the rhythms are called Zeitgebers (from the German, Time Givers). [4] It is interesting to note that totally-blind subterranean mammals (e.g., blind mole rat Spalax sp.) are able to maintain their endogenous clock in absence of the external stimuli. Freerunning organisms that normally have one consolidated sleep episode will still have it when in an environment shielded from external cues, but the rhythm is, of course, not entrained to the 24-hour light/dark cycle in nature. Some say that sleep/wake may, in these circumstances, become out of phase with other circadian or ultradian rhythms such as temperature and digestion . This research has influenced the design of spacecraft environments, as systems that mimic the light/dark cycle have been found to be highly beneficial to astronauts (“Circadian Rhythm”, n.d.).

The morning songs of birds, the foraging behavior of the squirrels in autumn, and the human tendency to get a little blue in the winter all represent the natural rhythms of life. The presence of internal biological clocks, or circadian rhythms, is one of the most universal traits shared by all living things, from bacteria to fruit flies to humans. Dr. Shelley Tischkau, a researcher at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, explains, “Since the beginning of time on earth, these rhythms have been controlled by one consistent, essential force: the light/dark cycle” (Labak, 2005). Circadian rhythms dictate the daily and seasonal timing of many behaviors, and are most heavily influenced by exposure to light, be it natural sunlight or artificial light from lamps. This simple fact can pose a problem for pet owners who own nocturnal pets and pets whose breeding behavior is influenced by the light-dark cycle. Fortunately, pet owners can alter their animals’ exposure to light or change the timing of other influencing factors (such as feeding and playtime) to help their pets adjust to living in the human world. According to Dr.

Tischkau, “birds, mammals, and reptiles have a biological clock located in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls basic biological functions such as respiratory rate, heart rate, and reproduction” (Labak, 2005). Light is sensed by the eyes and the pineal gland in birds, located in the top of the head, and this sensory input is sent to the biological clock. The clock communicates to other centers in the brain, indicating the time of day and time of year. Animals need to know when it’s day or night so they can fill their niche in nature. Rodents, for example, have a strong sense of smell and forage for food at night; they also serve as food for nocturnal owls and felines. Animals that rely heavily on vision to find food and communicate, such as songbirds, are typically active during the day. Some animals, such as squirrels, are most active at dawn and dusk. As presence of light signals day from night, day length indicates what season is approaching, so animals know when to migrate or hibernate. Animals also use their internal clocks to time their courting and mating.

This ensures that their young are born during a season when weather is mild and food is plentiful, maximizing the chance for survival. So what does this internal biological clock mean to the pet owner? In general, animals are much more reliant on their biological clocks than humans are, and if you own a nocturnal pet like a hamster, rat, or cat, your pet may be running around at night when you’re trying to sleep, or napping during the day when you want to spend quality time with them. An animal’s response to light can be overridden and its circadian rhythms altered if the timing of essential activities is altered. For example, Dr. Tischkau makes sure her kittens have playtime in the early evening so that they are tired out by late night, and she feeds them at night so they don’t bother her at 5 a.m. for food. This timing may not work the same for all pets, but Dr. Tischkau affirms that feeding and playtimes can have a huge impact on biological clocks (Labak, 2005). Contributor: Nicole Belval Diurnality. (n.d.). Retrieved January 9, 2008 from Crepuscular. (n.d.).

Retrieved January 11, 2008 from Twilight. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2008 from Nocturnality. (n.d.). Retrieved January 9, 2008 from Circadian Rhythm. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2008 from Related Posts Posted on May 27, 2013 Tags Crepuscular | Definition of Crepuscular by Merriam-Webster See crepuscular defined for kids Did You Know? The early Romans had two words for "twilight." "Crepusculum" was favored by Roman writers for the half-light of evening, just after the sun sets; it is a diminutive formation based on their word for "dusky," which is "creper." "Diluculum" was reserved for morning twilight, just before the sun rises - it is related to lucidus, meaning "bright." We didn't embrace either of these Latin nouns as substitutes for our Middle English "twilight," but we did form the adjective "crepuscular" in the 17th century.

At first, it only meant "dim" or "indistinct," often used in a figurative sense. In the 1820s, we added its special zoological sense, describing animals that are most active at twilight. Origin and Etymology of crepuscular Crepuscular Cats! – Conscious Companion A firefly (Photuris lucicrescens) or “lightning bug” is a crepuscular beetle Myth: Cats are nocturnal. Fact: The domestic house cat (Felis silvestris catus) is actually crepuscular, which means they are most active at dusk and dawn. Most indoor cats follow a very specific trend of dawn and dusk activity, rather than strictly at night. Crepuscular behavior is also one of the reasons why cats wake us up every morning at the Same. Darn. Time. Cats and fireflies are both crepuscular! Crepuscular Critters! Crepuscular animals are species that are active primarily during twilight (at dawn and dusk). They tend to sleep at night and lay low during midday, when the sun is at its peak, reserving their energy when it’s hottest.

The word crepuscular is derived from the Latin crepusculum, meaning “twilight”. Crepuscular behavior differs from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, which respectively peak during hours of daylight and darkness. However, crepuscular critters can also be active on a bright moonlit night, or on an overcast day. Some animals that are casually described as nocturnal are actually crepuscular. There are subdivisions of crepuscular animals. Matutinal animals are most active in the morning, while vespertine animals are most active at dusk. I hesitate to state that every house cat is crepuscular, but most indoor cats do fall under the crepuscular category. However, it’s important to note that companion cats have adapted to domestication so that each individual, whether a stray alley cat or pampered house cat, can change their activity level at will, choosing to become less nocturnal or more diurnal in response to their environment or the routine of their humans. The time of day when cats are most active may not be all hard-wired genetically, but may vary according to their lifestyle, which is greatly influenced by the human in their house. This was revealed in a scientific study .

The results showed that there was a “high influence of human presence, and human care on the amount of activity in cats”. This means that many companion cats will adapt their activity levels according to how they are cared for by their person, and the routines that the person has in their home. It seems that many house cats are more “in sync” with their people than previously believed! Feral cats’ daily activity patterns—sleeping during the day and being active at night, which likely reflects the behavior of their prey, small mammals, as well as lets them better avoid humans—was very different from kitties with homes. Those animals were most active in the morning and evening, when their owners were likely home and awake. ~ The Secret Lives of Feral Cats Knox, our youngest cat is a perfect example of a crepuscular kitty – most active at dawn and dusk, and sleeping mostly during the day and night. Fast Feline Fact: Most cats will sleep up to 16 hours a day, and older cats will sleep as much as 20 hours a day! These sleeping times vary in individual cats and in each home, but most sleep is during the daytime.

When cats are most active is dependent on the home environment and how in sync they are with the sun, or their human’s schedule. Some people live with felines that hide away all day in their secretive, quiet spots in the house while the humans or other animals are awake and moving about. If this is the case, then chances are your Secretive Kitties will creep out at night when the coast is clear. One of my feline companions, Samantha, loved to explore the house when the people and the annoying Kitty Boys were asleep. She would wait until the house was “sleeping”, then romp around, playing with toys and jumping about when she thought no one was watching. She loved to explore every nook and cranny of the house when she knew it was safe. The prime real-estate window that was claimed during the day became her throne at night. Samantha and the kitty boys are much like the average cat that sleeps between 12 and 20 hours every day, but they had very different schedules that fit their feline needs. While this varies from cat to cat, most of a cat’s sleep takes place during the daytime. This daytime hiding and sleeping behavior tends to make humans believe that cats are nocturnal.

If we rarely see them during the day and then see them come out at night when they are most comfortable, we assume they are nocturnal. However, true nocturnal animals hunt, forage, eat, bathe, etc. at night. Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by activity during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is “nocturnal”. Nocturnal animals are more active at night than during the day. These animals sleep during the day, often in a burrow or den. Many animals, like desert animals, are nocturnal in order to escape extreme daytime heat. Hedgehogs, red-eyed treefrogs and barn owls are true nocturnal species Older Cats and Outdoor Cats Outdoor cats tend to display more nocturnal behaviors, due to their natural hunting instinct, and their ability to follow through on this powerful need to hunt, capture, and kill prey. Scientists believe that nighttime is when cats’ prey is most active outdoors. Therefore hunting is best at this time. This behavior stems from their lineage as desert cats, where nighttime temperatures were cooler, and prey was more available. Panthers are also crepuscular (most active at dusk and dawn)!

They tend to rest during the daytime, then travel long miles to hunt during the cooler hours of the evening and early morning. Younger cats tend to stay up at night, because they instinctively know that this is “prime hunting time”. But as cats grow older, they will adapt to the sleeping patterns of their home environment. Eventually these cats will become more crepuscular. I have seen this happen with our two older male cats. They sleep most of the day, are very active early in the morning (dawn), very active at dusk, but sleep again when the rest of the humans (and dog) are asleep at night. Our youngest cat stays up later than the older boys, but he does eventually come to bed after he is done exploring the quiet house. Scottish wildcats are active at dawn and dusk when hunting or marking territory Fun Feline Facts: Cats’ night time vision is far superior to that of humans, however they can’t see in total darkness. The structure of a cat ’s eye allows them to see well in low light. Cats only need 1/6 of the light humans do in order to decipher shapes.

The muscles of the cat’s iris surrounding the pupils are constructed to allow the eye to narrow to a vertical slit in bright light and to open fully in very dim light, to allow maximum illumination. These special feline features developed for survival purposes, as wild cats are nocturnal and do much of their hunting at night. Cat night vision is far superior to humans, but they cannot see in total darkness A reflective layer behind the cat’s retina called the tapetum lucidum reflects incoming light and bounces it back off the cones, making more use of the existing light. The tapetum is what we see in action when light hits a cat’s eyes at night, you see shiny green orbs. Felis silvestris catus Sundials Cats are such great examples of sundials. They naturally define their life by the sun. Most cats who are in sync with the sun’s movement will be active at dawn and dusk. This is because it’s part of their natural feline biology. It’s instinctive! I encourage you to be a Conscious Companion and start to observe how your cat moves with the sun around the house throughout the day. See if your cat is more in sync with your human schedule, or with the sun’s movement.

Does your feline fit in the crepuscular category, or do they hideaway during the day and release their inner wildcat at night? Please share in the comment section below! Share this with others! Magically Surprising Examples of Crepuscular Animals Follow Us Magically Surprising Examples of Crepuscular Animals Despite there being several examples of crepuscular animals on the planet, this concept is not as popular as diurnal or nocturnal behavior. That might have something to do with the fact that several crepuscular species are often confused for nocturnal species. Advertisement Fast fact The term crepuscular is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning twilight. On the basis of the time of the day when they are active, animals are classified into three categories: (i) nocturnal (active at night), (ii) diurnal (active during the daytime), (iii) crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk). Of the three, crepuscular is perhaps the least-popular category, which comes as a surprise, considering that it has some of the most popular animals to its credit; the domestic cat being one of them.

Crepuscular Species Crepuscular animals are species that are primarily active at dawn and dusk, i.e., the twilight hours. These animals are often confused for nocturnal animals, as their activity peaks in the evening, which is roughly about the same time when nocturnal species are preparing themselves for hunting, or early morning, which is when their nocturnal counterparts are returning from hunting. Crepuscular animals do not stay out after nightfall. Nor are they seen active during the daytime, like diurnal animals. These animals sleep at night, and lie low during the daytime. Within the crepuscular group, there are matutinal animals, which are active at dawn, and vespertine animals, which are active at dusk. While the term matutinal is derived from the Latin word mātūtīnus, meaning 'pertaining to the morning', vespertine is derived from the Latin word vesper, meaning evening. Mongolian Gerbil Examples of matutinal animals include bees, gerbils, etc. On the other hand, the vespertine group mainly comprises insects, such as moths and flies, and species of bats and owls that primarily feed on these insects.

Most crepuscular species, however, are active both at dawn and dusk. They are known to have a bimodal activity pattern. These include rabbits, chinchillas, ferrets, etc. Crepuscular behavior in animals is believed to be an anti-predator adaption. As most predators are active during the wee hours of the night or peak hours of the day, it's safe to step out at dusk or dawn when predators are either back into their dwelling or are yet to get at their active best. Diurnal animals, which are used to broad daylight, have a tough time trying to spot prey in low light conditions typical to twilight. That makes it easier for crepuscular animals to evade them. Hamsters are known to display crepuscular traits in the wild, spending the entire day underground to avoid predators, leaving their burrows only about an hour before sunset, and returning to safety at nightfall. Some species display crepuscular or diurnal behavior, depending on factors like competition with other species in their habitat, prey availability, etc. Short-eared Owl An apt example in this case is the short-eared owl found on the Galapagos Islands.

On islands where it shares its native habitat with Galapagos hawks and buzzards, the species displays crepuscular behavior. In contrast, on islands on which its competitors are absent, it displays a diurnal behavior. The common nighthawk hunts at dusk, retires to its nest at night, and resumes hunting at dawn. The crepuscular behavior of this species can be attributed to the fact that, most insects that it preys on are themselves crepuscular in nature. Similarly, species like American woodcocks and owls are most active at dawn and dusk. Bobcat Another example of a crepuscular predator will be the bobcat. This species is known to be active for about 3 - 4 hours in the evening, and 3 - 4 hours in morning. Even jaguars, which are usually classified as nocturnal species, are most active around dawn and dusk because of easy prey availability. In deserts, crepuscular behavior is an adaptation that helps different species survive the soaring temperatures during the day and freezing conditions prevailing at night. Black-tailed Jackrabbit The list of crepuscular animals in the desert includes species like desert cottontails, black-tailed jackrabbits, Mongolian gerbils, etc.

The western diamondback rattlesnake, which is nocturnal in summer, switches to crepuscular or diurnal behavior in spring and fall. Also interesting is the case of kangaroo rats, which are known to display crepuscular activity on a full moon night. Crepuscular Plants Not just animals, but even plants are crepuscular in nature. With so many examples of crepuscular animals, we shouldn't be surprised by species of plants evolving to make the most of the pollination opportunities these animals bring along. Morning Glory In plants, the morning glory and primrose are apt examples of crepuscular species; the former being a matutinal plant, while the latter, a vespertine plant. The fact that cats are crepuscular may come as a surprise for some people, especially because we are used to seeing them active throughout the day. This behavior of cats can be attributed to the presence of humans around them, as they are known to adjust their sleeping habits in accordance to that of their owners'. Abhijit Naik

Question: Crepuscular creatures are mainly active in?
Answer: Twilight