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46-511: Bustards , including floricans and korhaans , are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and in steppe regions. They range in length from 40 to 150 cm (16 to 59 in). They make up the family Otididae ( / oʊ ˈ t ɪ d ɪ d iː / , formerly known as Otidae ). Bustards are omnivorous and opportunistic, eating leaves, buds, seeds, fruit, small vertebrates , and invertebrates . There are 26 species currently recognised. The word bustard comes from

92-443: A few groups are carnivorous. Carnivorous gastropods usually feed on other gastropod species or on weak individuals of the same species; some feed on insect larvae or earthworms. Semi-terrestrial animals are macroscopic animals that rely on very moist environments to thrive, they may be considered a transitional point between true terrestrial animals and aquatic animals. Among vertebrates, amphibians have this characteristic relying on

138-434: A few months, they famously can enter suspended animation during dry or hostile conditions and survive for decades, which allows them to be ubiquitous in terrestrial environments despite needing water to grow and reproduce. Many microscopic crustacean groups like copepods and amphipods and seed shrimps are known to go dormant when dry and live in transient bodies of water too. This article incorporates CC-BY-2.0 text from

184-424: A film of water to live in, and are therefore considered semi-terrestrial. Flatworms, ribbon worms, velvet worms and annelids all depend on more or less moist habitats. The three remaining phyla, arthropods, mollusks, and chordates, all contain species that have adapted totally to dry terrestrial environments, and which have no aquatic phase in their life cycles. Labeling an animal species "terrestrial" or "aquatic"

230-510: A mild or tropical climate during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic , whereas few animals became fully terrestrial during the Cenozoic . If internal parasites are excluded, free living species in terrestrial environments are represented by the following eleven phyla: Roundworms, gastrotrichs, tardigrades, rotifers and some smaller species of arthropods and annelids are microscopic animals that require

276-511: A moist environment and breathing through their moist skin while reproducing in water. Many other animal groups solely have terrestrial animals that live like this: land planarians , land ribbon worms , roundworms (nematodes), and land annelids (clitellates) who are very primitive and breathe through skin . Clitellates or terrestrial annelids demonstrate many unique terrestrial adaptations especially in their methods of reproduction, they tend towards being simpler than their marine relatives,

322-549: A preferable alternative to traditional fins in extremely shallow water), and lungs which existed in conjunction with gills, Tiktaalik and animals like it were able to establish a strong foothold on land by the end of the Devonian period. In the Carboniferous , tetrapods (losing their gills) became fully terrestrialized, allowing their expansion into most terrestrial niches, though later on some will return to being aquatic and conquer

368-511: A scrape in the ground, and incubates them alone. Genetic dating indicates that bustards evolved c. 30 million years ago in either southern or eastern Africa from where they dispersed into Eurasia and Australia. Bustards are gregarious outside the breeding season, but are very wary and difficult to approach in the open habitats they prefer. Most species are declining or endangered through habitat loss and hunting, even where they are nominally protected. The birds were once common and abounded on

414-457: Is a smaller, slimmer-necked bustard overall, and its males have cheek-tufts of plumes with pennant -like tips rather than the crest, and a white band between neck and back. The females are similar, and young Bengal floricans can be easily mistaken for female lesser floricans. The latter has almost white wing coverts however, resembling the males' wing patch. The Bengal florican has two disjunct populations. One occurs from Uttar Pradesh through

460-399: Is an early aquatic form, either a nymph or larva . There are crab species that are completely aquatic, crab species that are amphibious, and crab species that are terrestrial. Fiddler crabs are called "semi-terrestrial" since they make burrows in the muddy substrate, to which they retreat during high tides. When the tide is out, fiddler crabs search the beach for food. The same is true in

506-662: Is apt to describe the typical walking style of the species. Some Indian bustards are also called floricans. The origin of the name is unclear. Thomas C. Jerdon writes in The Birds of India (1862) I have not been able to trace the origin of the Anglo-Indian word Florikin , but was once informed that the Little Bustard in Europe was sometimes called Flanderkin. Latham gives the word Flercher as an English name, and this, apparently, has

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552-406: Is around 40 cm (16 in) long and weighs around 600 g (1.3 lb) on average. In most bustards, males are substantially larger than females, often about 30% longer and sometimes more than twice the weight. They are among the most sexually dimorphic groups of birds. In only the floricans is the sexual dimorphism the reverse, with the adult female being slightly larger and heavier than

598-519: Is due to physiological, behavioral, and morphological adaptations to water availability, as well as ionic and thermal balance. They are adapted to most of the habitats on Earth. The shell of a snail is constructed of calcium carbonate , but even in acidic soils one can find various species of shell-less slugs. Land-snails, such as Xerocrassa seetzeni and Sphincterochila boissieri , also live in deserts, where they must contend with heat and aridity. Terrestrial gastropods are primarily herbivores and only

644-465: Is larger than the male and weighs around 1.7–1.9 kg (3.7–4.2 lb) against a weight of 1.2–1.5 kg (2.6–3.3 lb) in males. They are normally silent but, when disturbed, utter a metallic chik-chik-chik call. Displaying males croak and produce a deep humming sound. The only bird even remotely similar to adult males of the Bengal florican is the lesser florican ( Sypheotides indica ). This

690-457: Is often obscure and becomes a matter of judgment. Many animals considered terrestrial have a life-cycle that is partly dependent on being in water. Penguins , seals , and walruses sleep on land and feed in the ocean, yet they are all considered terrestrial. Many insects, e.g. mosquitos , and all terrestrial crabs , as well as other clades, have an aquatic life cycle stage: their eggs need to be laid in and to hatch in water; after hatching, there

736-693: Is one of the few groups that have evolved fully terrestrial taxa during the late Cenozoic in the Japanese Archipelago only. Shifts from aquatic to terrestrial life occurred at least twice within two Japanese endemic lineages in Japanese Pomatiopsidae and it started in the Late Miocene . About one-third of gastropod species are terrestrial. In terrestrial habitats they are subjected to daily and seasonal variation in temperature and water availability. Their success in colonizing different habitats

782-562: Is one of the most important events in the history of life . Terrestrial lineages evolved in several animal phyla , among which arthropods, vertebrates and mollusks are representatives of more successful groups of terrestrial animals. Terrestrial animals do not form a unified clade ; rather, they are a polyphyletic group that share only the fact that they live on land. The transition from an aquatic to terrestrial life by various groups of animals has occurred independently and successfully many times. Most terrestrial lineages originated under

828-446: Is the only member of the genus Houbaropsis . The male Bengal florican has a black plumage from the head and neck to underparts. Its head carries a long lanky crest, and the neck has elongated display plumes. The upperside is buff with fine black vermiculations and black arrowhead markings, and there is a conspicuous large white patch from the wing coverts to the remiges . In flight, the male's wings appear entirely white except for

874-468: Is used to describe animals that live on the ground, as opposed to arboreal animals that live in trees. The term "terrestrial" is typically applied to species that live primarily on or in the ground, in contrast to arboreal species, who live primarily in trees, even though the latter are actually a specialized subgroup of the terrestrial fauna. There are other less common terms that apply to specific subgroups of terrestrial animals: Terrestrial invasion

920-482: The Early Devonian . Among arthropods, many microscopic crustacean groups like copepods and amphipods and seed shrimp can go dormant when dry and live in transient bodies of water. By approximately 375 million years ago the bony fish best adapted to life in shallow coastal/swampy waters (such as Tiktaalik roseae ). Thanks to relatively strong, muscular limbs (which were likely weight-bearing, thus making them

966-495: The Koshi River in the spring of 2011. The courtship display of males has been discussed by many naturalists travelling British India , and in the modern era attracts tourists who provide revenue to locals. Studies indicate that the Bengal florican is not a particularly shy or hemerophobic species, its apparent intolerance of human settlements being chiefly due to its intolerance of land clearance for agriculture. Pastures and

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1012-608: The Paleozoic or Mesozoic . Gastropods are especially unique due to several fully terrestrial and epifaunal lineages that evolved during the Cenozoic . Some members of rissooidean families Truncatellidae , Assimineidae , and Pomatiopsidae are considered to have colonized to land during the Cenozoic. Most truncatellid and assimineid snails amphibiously live in intertidal and supratidal zones from brackish water to pelagic areas. Terrestrial lineages likely evolved from such ancestors. The rissooidean gastropod family Pomatiopsidae

1058-727: The Salisbury Plain . They had become rare by 1819 when a large male, surprised by a dog on Newmarket Heath , sold in Leadenhall Market for five guineas . The last bustard in Britain died in approximately 1832, but the bird is being reintroduced through batches of chicks imported from Russia. In 2009, two great bustard chicks were hatched in Britain for the first time in more than 170 years. Reintroduced bustards also hatched chicks in 2010. Terrestrial animal Alternatively, terrestrial

1104-606: The Terai of Nepal to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in India, and historically to Bangladesh . The other occurs in Cambodia and perhaps adjacent southern Vietnam . It is mostly resident on its breeding grounds; around Tonlé Sap in Cambodia however, the birds use grasslands near the lake to breed, and move away from the water in the wet season when the breeding grounds are flooded. Similarly,

1150-750: The bristleworms , lacking many of the complex appendages the latter have. Velvet worms are prone to desiccation not due to breathing through their skin but due to their spiracles being inefficient at protecting from desiccation, like clitellates they demonstrate extensive terrestrial adaptations and differences from their marine relatives including live birth. Many animals live in terrestrial environments by thriving in transient often microscopic bodies of water and moisture, these include rotifers and gastrotrichs which lay resilient eggs capable of surviving years in dry environments, and some of which can go dormant themselves. Nematodes are usually microscopic with this lifestyle. Although eutardigrades only have lifespans of

1196-577: The mollusca . Many hundreds of gastropod genera and species live in intermediate situations, such as for example, Truncatella . Some gastropods with gills live on land, and others with a lung live in the water. As well as the purely terrestrial and the purely aquatic animals, there are many borderline species. There are no universally accepted criteria for deciding how to label these species, thus some assignments are disputed. Fossil evidence has shown that sea creatures, likely arthropods, first began to make forays onto land around 530 million years ago, in

1242-756: The Bengal florican is the world's rarest bustard . It is known to have become increasingly threatened by land conversion for intensive agriculture, particularly for dry season rice production. Poaching continues to be a problem in Southeast Asia, while the South Asian population is down to less than 350 adult birds, about 85% of which are found in India. Though more threatened, birds in Southeast Asia may number as many as in South Asia but more probably closer to or even less than 1,000 adults. The population has decreased dramatically in past decades. It may be that in India

1288-837: The Chitwan population has declined. In 2001, 20–28 birds were estimated in Shuklaphanta, 6–10 birds in Bardia, and 6–22 birds in Chitwan. It has been absent from Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve , since 1990, and has not been sighted around the Koshi Barrage since the 1980s. In spring 2007, 8–9 males were recorded in Sukla Phanta and 16–18 birds estimated; one male was sighted in Bardia and 2–4 estimated; five males were sighted in Chitwan and 10–14 estimated. The overall Nepalese population declined by 30% between 2001 and 2007. 17 individuals were recorded along

1334-561: The Early Cambrian . There is little reason to believe, however, that animals first began living reliably on land around that time. A more likely hypothesis is that these early arthropods' motivation for venturing onto dry land was to mate (as modern horseshoe crabs do) or to lay eggs out of the reach of predators. Three groups of arthropods had independently adapted to land by the end of the Cambrian: myriapods , hexapods and arachnids . By

1380-575: The English to be the English in India, and Flercher to be a clerical error for some form of floriken. The family Otididae was introduced (as Otidia) by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. Otididae and before that Otidae come from the genus Otis given to the great bustard by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758, it comes from

1426-1154: The Greek word ὠτίς ōtis . L. hartlaubii ( Hartlaub's bustard ) L. melanogaster ( black-bellied bustard ) A. nuba ( Nubian bustard ) A. ludwigii ( Ludwig's bustard ) A. denhami ( Denham's bustard ) A. heuglinii ( Heuglin's bustard ) A. arabs ( Arabian bustard ) A. kori ( Kori bustard ) A. nigriceps ( Great Indian bustard ) A. australis ( Australian bustard ) Tetrax tetrax ( little bustard ) Otis tarda ( great bustard ) C. macqueenii ( MacQueen's bustard ) C. undulata ( houbara bustard ) Sypheotides indicus ( lesser florican ) Houbaropsis bengalensis ( Bengal florican ) L. ruficrista ( red-crested bustard ) L. savilei ( Savile's bustard ) L. gindiana ( buff-crested bustard ) H. humilis ( little brown bustard ) H. rueppelii ( Rüppell's korhaan ) H. vigorsii ( karoo korhaan ) A. afra ( southern black korhaan ) A. afraoides ( northern black korhaan ) E. senegalensis ( white-bellied bustard ) E. caerulescens ( blue korhaan ) Family Otididae Bustards are all fairly large with

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1472-725: The Old French bistarda and some other languages: abetarda ( pt ), abetarda ( gl ), avutarda ( es ) used for the great bustard . The naturalist William Turner listed the English spelling "bustard" and "bistard" in 1544. All of the common names above are derived from Latin avis tarda or aves tardas given by Pliny the Elder , these names were mentioned by the Pierre Belon in 1555 and Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1600. The word tarda comes from tardus in Latin meaning "slow" and "deliberate", which

1518-592: The Terai population seems to move to warmer lowland locations in winter. Migrations are not long-distance, however, and probably are restricted to a few dozen kilometers. Bengal floricans live in open tall grassland habitats with scattered bushes. The most important grass species are satintails Imperata , in particular Cogongrass I. cylindrica ), sugarcane ( Saccharum , in particular Kans Grass S. spontaneum ), munj grass ( Tripidium bengalense ), as well as Desmostachya bipinnata . The birds are usually encountered in

1564-695: The air also. Gastropod mollusks are one of the most successful animals that have diversified in the fully terrestrial habitat. They have evolved terrestrial taxa in more than nine lineages. They are commonly referred to as land snails and slugs . Terrestrial invasion of gastropod mollusks has occurred in Neritopsina , Cyclophoroidea , Littorinoidea , Rissooidea , Ellobioidea , Onchidioidea , Veronicelloidea , Succineoidea , and Stylommatophora , and in particular, each of Neritopsina, Rissooidea and Ellobioidea has likely achieved land invasion more than once. Most terrestrialization events have occurred during

1610-476: The dark primary remiges. The feet and legs are yellow, the bill and irides are dark. The female is buff-brown similar to the males' back with a dark brown crown and narrow dark streaks down the side of the neck. Her wing coverts are lighter than the remiges and covered in fine dark barring. Immature Bengal floricans look like a female. Adult Bengal floricans range from 66–68 cm (26–27 in) in length and stand around 55 cm (22 in) tall. The female

1656-783: The decline is coming to a halt and that stocks in Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga National Parks and Dudhwa Tiger Reserve are safe at very low levels. Still, its global status is precarious and it was consequently uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered in the 2007 IUCN Red List . In Cambodia , it is mostly found in Kampong Thom Province ; lesser numbers are found in Siem Reap Province and remnants might persist in Banteay Meanchey , Battambang and Pursat Provinces . Its rate of decline there has accelerated in

1702-420: The early 21st century. The government of Cambodia has taken a significant step towards protecting important habitat for the Bengal florican. Along with 350 square kilometres being designated as "Integrated Farming and Biodiversity Areas", where land-use practices are adapted to also benefit the Bengal florican, a public education program to inform schoolchildren about the bird has also been undertaken. At present,

1748-466: The early mornings and evenings and are most easily spotted in the breeding season from March to August, which is when most censuses of the population are conducted. Particular between March and May, when they give their stunning courtship display , males are far more conspicuous than the cryptically -coloured females, which moreover prefer high grassland rich in sugarcane. Restricted to tiny fragments of grassland scattered across South and Southeast Asia,

1794-652: The florican's habitat in Nepal, and its decline in Bardia National Park is probably chiefly due to insufficient use of trees that overgrow grassland. A sustainable land management technique that will bolster Bengal florican stocks consists of harvesting grass and particularly wood from changing tracts of land, leaving some areas unharvested each year and setting aside a few additional ones as reserve land, where grasses can grow tall for years until they are harvested. Controlled burning may be necessary when woodland encroachment

1840-504: The late Ordovician , they may have fully terrestrialized. There are other groups of arthropods, all from malacostracan crustaceans, which independently became terrestrial at a later date: woodlice , sandhoppers , and terrestrial crabs . Additionally, the sister panarthropodan groups Onychophora (velvet worms) are also terrestrial, while the Eutardigrada are also adapted for land to some degree; both groups probably becoming so during

1886-695: The male. The wings have 10 primaries and 16–24 secondary feathers. There are 18–20 feathers in the tail. The plumage is predominantly cryptic. Bustards are omnivorous , feeding principally on seeds and invertebrates . They make their nests on the ground, making their eggs and offspring often very vulnerable to predation. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. Most prefer to run or walk over flying. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips, and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays, such as inflating throat sacs or elevating elaborate feathered crests. The female lays three to five dark, speckled eggs in

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1932-637: The reference and CC-BY-2.5 text from the reference and CC-BY-3.0 text from the reference Bengal florican Eupodotis bengalensis (Gmelin, 1789) The Bengal florican ( Houbaropsis bengalensis ), also called the Bengal bustard , is a bustard species native to the Indian subcontinent , Cambodia , and Vietnam . It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List because fewer than 1,000 individuals were estimated to be alive as of 2017. It

1978-622: The same origin as Florikin. The Hobson-Jobson dictionary, however, casts doubt on this theory stating that We doubt if Jerdon has here understood Latham correctly. What Latham writes is, in describing the Passarage Bustard, which, he says, is the size of the Little Bustard: Inhabits India. Called Passarage Plover. ... I find that it is known in India by the name of Oorail; by some of the English called Flercher. (Suppt. to Gen. Synopsis of Birds, 1787, 229). Here we understand

2024-491: The species may persist in the Ang Trapaing Thmor Crane Sanctuary and perhaps Vietnam 's Tràm Chim National Park , but the South Asian population is not known with certainty from any protected areas . In Nepal , it is essentially restricted to protected areas, namely Shuklaphanta , Bardia and Chitwan National Parks . Since 1982, the Shuklaphanta and Bardia populations appear to have been stable, but

2070-410: The traditional use of common land for villagers' tall-grass harvest (for construction and handicraft) actually seem to be tolerated quite well by the birds. If firewood and timber is collected from grassland rather than from forests, human land use will even benefit the species. In particular, sal ( Shorea robusta ) and saj ( Terminalia elliptica ) have been identified as trees that encroach upon

2116-438: The two largest species , the kori bustard ( Ardeotis kori ) and the great bustard ( Otis tarda ), being frequently cited as the world's heaviest flying birds. In both the largest species, large males exceed a weight of 20 kg (44 lb), weigh around 13.5 kg (30 lb) on average and can attain a total length of 150 cm (59 in). The smallest species is the little brown bustard ( Eupodotis humilis ), which

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