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Meerkats are also known as Suricates or slender-tailed mongooses.
The Honolulu Zoo houses only male meerkats. This is to ensure no possibility of an escaped group to establish a breeding population. If this were to occur, they could seriously damage the natural ecosystem (Honolulu Zoo, 2001).
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The meerkat or suricate (Suricata suricatta) is a small carnivoran belonging to the mongoose family (Herpestidae). It is the only member of the genus Suricata.[2] Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about half this in the wild.
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Etymology[edit]
"Meerkat" is a loanword from Afrikaans (pronounced [ˈmeə̯rkɐt]).[3] The name has a Dutch origin, but by misidentification. Dutch meerkat refers to the "guenon", a monkey of the Cercopithecus genus.[4] The word "meerkat" is Dutch for "lake cat", but although the suricata is a feliform, it is not of the cat family;[5] the word possibly started as a Dutch adaptation of a derivative of Sanskrit markaţa मर्कट = "ape",[6] perhaps in Africa via an Indian sailor on board a Dutch East India Company ship.[7]
Anatomy[edit]
The meerkat is a small diurnal herpestid (mongoose)[8] weighing on average about 0.5 to 2.5 kilograms (1.1 to 5.5 lb).[9][10] Its long slender body and limbs give it a body length of 35 to 50 centimetres (14 to 20 in) and an added tail length of around 25 centimetres (9.8 in).[11] The meerkat uses its tail to balance when standing upright, as well as for signaling.[12] Its face tapers, coming to a point at the nose, which is brown. The eyes always have black patches around them, and they have small black crescent-shaped ears.[13] Like cats, meerkats have binocular vision, their eyes being on the front of their faces.[14]
At the end of each of a meerkat's "fingers" is a claw used for digging burrows and digging for prey.[11] Claws are also used with muscular hindlegs to help climb trees. Meerkats have four toes on each foot and long slender limbs. The coat is usually peppered gray, tan, or brown with silver.[13] They have short parallel stripes across their backs, extending from the base of the tail to the shoulders.[12] The patterns of stripes are unique to each meerkat. The underside of the meerkat has no markings, but the belly has a patch which is only sparsely covered with hair and shows the black skin underneath. The meerkat uses this area to absorb heat while standing on its rear legs, usually early in the morning after cold desert nights.[15]
Diet and foraging behaviour[edit]
Meerkats are primarily insectivores, but also eat other animals (lizards, snakes, scorpions, spiders, plants, eggs, small mammals, millipedes, centipedes and, more rarely, small birds) and fungi (the desert truffle Kalaharituber pfeilii[16]). Meerkats are immune to certain types of venom, including the very strong venom of the scorpions of the Kalahari Desert, unlike humans.[17]
Meerkats forage in a group with one "sentry" on guard watching for predators while the others search for food. Sentry duty is usually approximately an hour long. A meerkat can dig through a quantity of sand equal to its own weight in just seconds.[18] Baby meerkats do not start foraging for food until they are about 1 month old, and do so by following an older member of the group who acts as the pup's tutor.[19] The meerkat standing guard makes peeping sounds when all is well.[20]
Predators[edit]
The main animals that prey on meerkats are martial eagles, tawny eagles and jackals.[21] Meerkats sometimes die of snakebite in confrontations with snakes (puff adders and Cape cobras).[22]
Reproduction[edit]
Meerkats become sexually mature at about two years of age and can have one to four pups in a litter, with three pups being the most common litter size. Meerkats are iteroparous and can reproduce any time of the year.[13] The pups are allowed to leave the burrow at two to three weeks old.[23]
There is no precopulatory display; the male may fight with the female until she submits to him and copulation begins. Gestation lasts approximately 11 weeks and the young are born within the underground burrow and are altricial (undeveloped). The young's ears open at about 10 days of age, and their eyes at 10–14 days. They are weaned around 49 to 63 days.[13]
Usually, the alpha pair reserves the right to mate and normally kills any young not its own, to ensure that its offspring has the best chance of survival. The dominant couple may also evict, or kick out the mothers of the offending offspring.[24] New meerkat groups are often formed by evicted females joining a group of males.[25]
Behavior[edit]
Meerkats are small burrowing animals, living in large underground networks with multiple entrances which they leave only during the day, except to avoid the heat of the afternoon.[26] They are very social, living in colonies.[13] Animals in the same group groom each other regularly.[20] The alpha pair often scent-mark subordinates of the group to express their authority.[27] There may be up to 30 meerkats in a group.[13]
To look out for predators, one or more meerkats stand sentry, to warn others of approaching dangers.[28] When a predator is spotted, the meerkat performing as sentry gives a warning bark or whistle, and other members of the group will run and hide in one of the many holes they have spread across their territory.[29]
Meerkats also babysit the young in the group. Females that have never produced offspring of their own often lactate to feed the alpha pair's young.[13] They also protect the young from threats, often endangering their own lives. On warning of danger, the babysitter takes the young underground to safety and is prepared to defend them if the danger follows.[30]
Meerkats are also known to share their burrow with the Yellow Mongoose and ground squirrel.[30]
Like many species, meerkat young learn by observing and mimicking adult behaviour, though adults also engage in active instruction. For example, meerkat adults teach their pups how to eat a venomous scorpion: they will remove the stinger and help the pup learn how to handle the creature.[31]
Despite this altruistic behaviour, meerkats sometimes kill young members of their group. Subordinate meerkats have been seen killing the offspring of more senior members in order to improve their own offspring's position.[32]
Vocalization[edit]
Meerkat calls may carry specific meanings, with particular calls indicating the type of predator and the urgency of the situation. In addition to alarm calls, meerkats also make panic calls, recruitment calls, and moving calls. They chirrup, trill, growl, or bark, depending on the circumstances.[33] Meerkats make different alarm calls depending upon whether they see an aerial or a terrestrial predator. Moreover, acoustic characteristics of the call will change with the urgency of the potential predatory episode. Therefore, six different predatory alarm calls with six different meanings have been identified: aerial predator with low, medium, and high urgency; and terrestrial predator with low, medium, and high urgency. Meerkats respond differently after hearing a terrestrial predator alarm call than after hearing an aerial predator alarm call. For example, upon hearing a high-urgency terrestrial predator alarm call, meerkats are most likely to seek shelter and scan the area. On the other hand, upon hearing a high-urgency aerial predator alarm call, meerkats are most likely to crouch down. On many occasions under these circumstances, they also look towards the sky.[34]
Subspecies[edit]
There are three subspecies of meerkat:[2]
- Suricata suricatta siricata
- Suricata suricatta iona
- Suricata suricatta majoriae
Domestication[edit]
Meerkats make poor pets. They can be aggressive especially toward guests and may bite. They will scent-mark their owner and the house (their "territory").[35][36]
Popular culture[edit]
- Meerkat Manor, a British television program.
- The advertising campaign, Compare the Meerkat, is popular in the UK and Australia.
- Timon from The Lion King franchise is a meerkat.
- In the 2012 movie Life of Pi, the floating island is inhabited by tens of thousands of meerkats, in an environment and grouping unlike real meerkats.
- Billy from the film Animals United is a meerkat.
See also[edit]
- Kalahari Meerkat Project, a long-term research project
- The Meerkats, a 2008 documentary feature film
References[edit]
- ^ Macdonald D.; Hoffmann, M. (2008). Suricata suricatta. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 22 March 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
- ^ a b Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). "Suricata". Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Durkin, Philip (2014). Borrowed Words: A History of Loanwords in English. OUP Oxford. p. 359. ISBN 978-0-19-166707-7.
- ^ Aertsen, Henk; Jeffers, Robert J. (1993). Historical Linguistics 1989: Papers from the 9th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, New Brunswick, 14–18 August 1989. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 315. ISBN 978-90-272-7705-3.
- ^ New International Encyclopedia. Dodd, Mead. 1916. p. 348.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "meerkat". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Mitrani, Judith L. (2014). Psychoanalytic Technique and Theory: Taking the Transference. Karnac Books. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-78220-162-5.
- ^ Feldhamer, George A.; Drickamer, Lee C.; Vessey, Stephen H.; Merritt, Joseph F.; Krajewski, Carey (2007). Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology. JHU Press. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-8018-8695-9.
- ^ Unwin, Mike (2011). Southern African Wildlife. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-84162-347-4.
- ^ Karlin, Adam (2010). Botswana & Namibia. Lonely Planet. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-74104-922-0.
- ^ a b Animals: A Visual Encyclopedia (Second Edition): A Visual Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. 2012. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-7566-9896-6.
- ^ a b Marshall Cavendish Reference (2010). Mammals of the Southern Hemisphere. Marshall Cavendish. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-7614-7937-6.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Suricata suricatta". animaldiversity.org.
- ^ Miller, Sara Swan (2007). All Kinds of Eyes. Marshall Cavendish. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-7614-2519-9.
- ^ "Meerkat". theanimalfiles.com. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
- ^ Trappe, James M.; Claridge, Andrew W.; Arora, David; Smit, W. Adriaan (2008). "Desert truffles of the Kalahari: ecology, ethnomycology and taxonomy". Economic Botany 62 (3): 521–529. doi:10.1007/s12231-008-9027-6.
- ^ David Attenborough's World Of Wildlife 9 – Meerkats United (1999). Video
- ^ "LadyWildLife". LadyWildLife. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ^ "Mighty Masked Meerkat Mobs". Lifeinthefastlane.ca. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- ^ a b Ciovacco, Justine (2008). Meerkats. Gareth Stevens Pub. pp. 28, 37 ff. ISBN 978-0-8368-9098-3.
- ^ Kingdon, Jonathan; Happold, David; Butynski, Thomas; Hoffmann, Michael; Happold, Meredith; Kalina, Jan (2013). Mammals of Africa. A&C Black. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-4081-8996-2.
- ^ Skyrms, Brian (2010). Signals: Evolution, Learning, and Information. Oxford University Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-19-161490-3.
- ^ "Meerkat". zooatlanta.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ^ Allman, Toney (2009). Animal Life in Groups. Infobase Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-4381-2606-7.
- ^ Armitage, Kenneth B. (2014). Marmot Biology: Sociality, Individual Fitness, and Population Dynamics. Cambridge University Press. p. 351. ISBN 978-1-139-99300-5.
- ^ Carnivores. Britannica Educational Publishing. 2010. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-61530-385-4.
- ^ Martin, Vonne (2013). Southern Africa Safari. Author House. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-4817-1258-3.
- ^ Kalat, James (2015). Biological Psychology. Cengage Learning. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-305-46529-9.
- ^ Ganeri, Anita (2011). Meerkat. Heinemann Library. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-4329-4773-6.
- ^ a b Moore, Heidi (2004). A Mob of Meerkats. Heinemann Library. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-4034-4694-7.
- ^ Thornton, Alex; McAuliffe, Katherine (2006). "Teaching in wild meerkats". Science 313 (5784): 227–229. doi:10.1126/science.1128727. PMID 16840701.
- ^ Norris, Scott (15 March 2006). "Murderous meerkat moms contradict caring image, study finds". National Geographic News. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ Manser, Marta; Fletcher, Lindsay (2004). "Vocalize to localize: A test on functionally referential alarm calls". Interaction Studies 5 (3): 327–344. doi:10.1075/is.5.3.02man.
- ^ Manser, Marta B.; Bell, Matthew B.; Fletcher, Lindsay B. (7 December 2001). "The information that receivers extract from alarm calls in suricates". Proceedings B (The Royal Society) 268 (1484). doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1772.
- ^ "Meerkat adverts lead to surge in unwanted pets". BBC. 2 June 2010.
- ^ "Meerkat info". meerkats.net. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
Further reading[edit]
- David Macdonald (Photography by Nigel Dennis): Meerkats. London: New Holland Publishers, 1999.
- "Meerkat pups go to eating school". BBC News. 13 July 2006.
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Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Meerkat&oldid=652119144 |
遍布我国东部及东南部。黑龙江、吉林、辽宁、内蒙古、甘肃、陕西石泉、华北、长江中下游为夏候鸟或旅鸟;宁夏泾源为旅鸟;云南潞西、耿马为留鸟;四川、福建、广东、台湾为旅鸟或冬候鸟
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Systems
- Terrestrial
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Population
Population Trend
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Suricata suricatta was first described by Schreber in 1776.Meerkats belong to the Feliformia, a sub-order of the Carnivora, which broadly includes:
- cats
- hyenas
- fossa
- civets
- kusimanses
- genets
- mongooses
Within the Feliformia they are further grouped in the family Herpestidae with other mongooses, where their close relatives number around 30 and include the following mongoose species:
- slender mongoose (Galerella sp.)
- dwarf mongoose (Helogale sp.)
- banded mongoose (Mungos mungo)
- yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata)
Meerkats are carnivores, though sometimes people mistake them for rodents because of their size. A simple way to tell the difference is to look at their pronounced canine teeth - these allow them to have a carnivorous diet and lifestyle, in contrast to the pronounced incisors of rodents.
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Reports from captivity indicate that there is no elaborate precopulatory display. Males initiate copulation by fighting with the female. If the female resists his attempts to mount her, the male will grip her by the nape until she is submissive. During mating, the male grips the female around the middle to maintain his position until copulation has ended (van Staaden, 1994).
Mating System: cooperative breeder
Females typically breed at about 24 months of age (Clutton-Brock et al., 1999). The breeding season is extended in meerkats when conditions are favorable. In addition, females exhibit no synchrony of estrous, mating, or birth (van Staaden 1994). Therefore, the pack can produce young throughout the year. In the wild, however, births occur most often during the rainy, warmer part of the year from August through March (Estes, 1991; van Staaden, 1994). Breeding may stop during times of drought (Clutton-Brock et al., 1999). Gestation has been reported to be approximately 11 weeks (van Staaden, 1994). In captivity, Meerkats have been known to give birth to 11 litters in 31 months (van Staaden, 1994). In the wild, the average litter size is 3 offspring and females can have up to 3 litters per year (Estes, 1991).
Young are altricial, with ears and eyes closed. They are unable to urinate or defecate without stimulation from their mother. Ears open at about 10 days of age, and eyes at 10-14 days. Young are weaned between 49 and 63 days of age. Meerkats become sexually mature around 1 year of age (van Staaden, 1994).
Breeding season: Although individual females are highly seasonal breeders, within any population of meerkats there are always reproductive females to be found.
Average number of offspring: 3.
Average gestation period: 11 weeks.
Range weaning age: 49 to 63 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); viviparous
Average birth mass: 29 g.
Average gestation period: 77 days.
Average number of offspring: 4.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 365 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 365 days.
As in all mammals, the mother provides the offspring with milk. Young mothers carry their young by picking them up any which-way, whereas older, experienced mothers always carry young by the nape of the neck. The father meerkat may take an active role in parental care by guarding the young. Because of the highly social nature of meerkats, nonbreeding individuals are often part of the pack. These nonbreeders act as helpers, guarding and provisioning the young (van Staaden, 1994).
Parental Investment: altricial ; male parental care ; female parental care
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Suricata_suricatta/ |
印度,伊朗,欧洲南部,非洲及马达加斯加岛等地
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Red List Criteria
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Contributor/s
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The northern red-billed hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus) is a species of hornbill in the Bucerotidae family. It is found from southern Mauritania through Somalia and northeast Tanzania. All five red-billed hornbills were formerly considered conspecific.
References[edit]
- Kemp, A.C. and W. Delport. 2002. Comments on the status of subspecies in the red-billed hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus) complex (Aves: Bucerotidae), with the description of a new taxon endemic to Tanzania. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 39: 1–8.
- Delport, W., A.C. Kemp, and J.W.H. Ferguson. 2004. Structure of an African Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus rufirostris and T. e. damarensis) hybrid zone as revealed by morphology, behavior, and breeding biology. Auk 121: 565-586.