Search Results for: Leo

Opossum

Opossum — Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. A sister group is Paucituberculata (shrew opossums). They are commonly also called “possums,” though that term is also applied to Australian fauna of the suborder Phalangeriformes. The Virginia Opossum is the …

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Mandrill

Mandrill — The Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) is a primate of the Cercopithecidae (Old-world monkeys) family, closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the Drill. Both the Mandrill and the Drill were once classified as baboons in genus Papio, but recent research has determined that they should be separated into their own genus, Mandrillus. The Mandrill is the …

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Lion

Lion — The lion (Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four “big cats” in the genus Panthera. With exceptional large males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with a critically endangered remnant population in …

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Lemur

Lemur — Lemurs make up the infraorder Lemuriformes and are members of a group of primates known as prosimians. The term “lemur” is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning “spirits of the night” or “ghosts”. This likely refers to their large, reflective eyes and the wailing cries of some species (the Indri in particular). The term is generically used …

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Fossa

Fossa — The Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) (pronounced “FOO-sa” or Fah-suh) is a mammal endemic to Madagascar. A member of family Eupleridae, it is closely related to the mongoose. It is the largest mammalian carnivore on the island. (The largest carnivore on Madagascar is the Nile crocodile.) Fossa males are 75–80 centimetres (29–31 in) long, plus a tail which is 70–90 …

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Baboon

Baboon — The five baboon species are some of the largest non-hominid members of the primate order; only the Mandrill and the Drill are larger. In modern scientific use, only members of the genus Papio are called baboons, but previously the closely related Gelada (genus Theropithecus) and two species of Mandrill and Drill (genus Mandrillus) were grouped in the same …

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Aardvark

Aardvark — The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) (“Digging foot”), sometimes called “ant bear” is a medium-sized mammal native to Africa. The name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch for “earth pig” (aarde earth, varken pig), because early settlers from Europe thought it resembled a pig. However, the aardvark is not closely related to the pig, being placed in its own order. Nor is …

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