Thursday, 16 March 2023
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8-3-2023 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - FOREST SITATUNGA (Tragelaphus spekii ssp. gratus)
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The Sitatunga, a swamp-dwelling antelope, exhibits great elongation of the hooves, which have a wide splay and naked padlike pattern. They possess unique flexibility of the joints at the feet, representing structural adaptations for walking on boggy and marshy ground.
Coloration varies geographically and individually. Males are gray-brown to chocolate-brown, females are brown to bright chestnut, and calves are bright rufous-red, woolly coated, spotted, and striped. Adults are long coated and have characteristic whiteish marks on the face, ears, cheeks, body, legs, and feet.
Males are considerably larger than females (100 cm tall vs. 75-90 cm tall). Males possess horns ranging in length from 508-924 mm. Horns are characterized by two twists and are ivory tipped.
Wednesday, 15 March 2023
9-3-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SCLEROSOMATID HARVESTMAN (Cosmobunus granarius)
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/533412-Cosmobunus-granarius
Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Monday, 13 March 2023
Sunday, 12 March 2023
8-3-2023 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - SPOTTED NECKED OTTER (Hydrictis maculicollis)
The spotted-necked otter inhabits lakes and larger rivers throughout much of Africa south of 10°N. It is common in Lake Victoria and across Zambia, but is absent in the Zambezi below Victoria Falls, Zambia. It does not venture into salt water.
The spotted-necked otter is very vocal, uttering high, thin whistles and rapid, shrill chatters. It sometimes lives in family groups, but appears to be social only under certain conditions. Males and females are separated for at least part of the year. They normally hunt alone, except when mothers are training their young, and are not territorial, sheltering through the night in short burrows, rock crevices, or patches of dense vegetation. On land, they travel mainly over regular paths, and rarely move more than 10 m (33 ft) from river or lake banks. Both mark these paths by "sprainting" sites, in which they habitually defecate and urinate.
The spotted-necked otter is diurnal and appears to hunt entirely by sight using short dives of less than 20 seconds each in clear water with good visibility. It carries larger prey ashore, but eats smaller prey while treading water. It primarily eats fish, typically less than 20 cm (7.9 in) in length, but also frogs and small crustaceans, especially when fish is in short supply.
The female bears a litter of up to three young after a gestation period around two months. The young are born blind and helpless, and the mother cares for them for almost a year.
Known predators of the spotted-necked otter include lions, crocodiles and African fish eagles.
The spotted-necked otter is in decline, mostly due to habitat destruction and pollution of its clear-water habitats. It is hunted as bushmeat.
12-3-2023 RIO SERPIS VILLALONGA, VALENCIA - COMMON CHIFFCHAFF (Phylloscopus collybita)
The common chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic.
It is a migratory passerine which winters in southern and western Europe, southern Asia and north Africa. Greenish-brown above and off-white below, it is named onomatopoeically for its simple chiff-chaff song. It has a number of subspecies, some of which are now treated as full species. The female builds a domed nest on or near the ground, and assumes most of the responsibility for brooding and feeding the chicks, whilst the male has little involvement in nesting, but defends his territory against rivals, and attacks potential predators.
A small insectivorous bird, it is subject to predation by mammals, such as cats and mustelids, and birds, particularly hawks of the genus Accipiter. Its large range and population mean that its status is secure, although one subspecies is probably extinct.
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Saturday, 11 March 2023
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