10-14-2019, 07:18 PM
Mammals: Rodents
The first wave of Rodents to arrive on this continent, whose oldest fossils come from the second half of the Eocene epoch, came from a RL-like Earth and were all members of the members of the suborder Hystricognathi (The RL members of this include both families of Porcupines, a few small families in Africa & tropical Asia, and all the endemic rodent families of South America, Central America, & the West Indies.) They diversified here, similarly to how their relatives did in South America, to fill a range of ecological niches. Squirrels & their close relatives apparently entered the IDU’s northern continent at around the same time, and crossed into the south [in two waves, several million years apart] a bit later on, while Mouse-like rodents were a later arrival that followed the same basic route as the squirrels. Some roles that are filled by rodents on more RL-like Earths, however, are filled here by members of the next order that I’ll discuss instead.
(under work)
Hystricidae
This family includes not only some other IDUvian endemics but also the ‘Old World Porcupines’ of RL. ‘Hystrix’ , as used in the names of genera here as well as in the family's name, is the Latin word for Porcupine and is used [without any prefix] for the family's main RL. In this system of classification the family's RL current members form a subfamily 'Hystricinae' (which also has one or two species on the IDU's northern continent, although it is a fairly recent arrival there by palaeontologists’ standards) while all of the genera & species endemic to this continent form the subfamily 'Australohystrcinae'.
Australohystrix baranxtui** = (Western) Ground Porcupine
Basically comparable to the Rl ‘Crested Porcupine’. It belongs to the tribe ‘Australohystricini’, which includes all but two or three of this continent’s non-arboreal porcupines. The second part of its name comes from a “traditional” name for this continent’s western end, which OOC was the name of a now-CTEd nation there…
Macrohystrix terrens** = Giant Ground Porcupine
This is also a member of the tribe Australohystricini. It is a spiny herbivore that probably reaches around 5 feet long, excluding the tail, and to over 3 feet high at the shoulder! It browses in the more open areas of woodland, in scrub, and on wooded savannah.” with “It lives in the more open areas of woodland, in scrub, and on wooded savannah, where it supplements the Ground Porcupines’ usual diet (mainly roots & tubers, and berries & other fruit) by browsing: Its greater size houses a proportionately larger digestive system than those of other porcupines, within which — with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms — this foliage can be processed It is the sole surviving member of this genus. The prefix ‘Macro’ in its genus's name indicates large size, and ‘terrens’ is a translation of the discoverer’s chosen adjective ‘intimidating’ — “because I certainly wouldn’t try blocking one’s path” — but presumably comes from the same root as the English word ‘terrifying’. (Second name provided via NS forums, ‘Gameplay’ section, ‘Latin Motto Help’ thread.)
Dendrohyrax cikotoumii ** = Cikoutoumian Tree Porcupine
This is a member of the Australohystrinae’s other main tribe, the Dendrohystricini, and within that to a sub-tribe ‘Dendrohystriciti’ which includes all of the continent’s arboreal porcupines. It is roughly comparable in form & size to the arboreal porcupines that can be found in RL South America today. Its range here includes all of the lusher forests, along both coasts and up the eastern slopes of the mountains, and it is apparently endemic to this nation although precise classification of its relatives in the coastal forests to north-west & north-east remains to be determined and so it is possible that one or both of those other populations is actually conspecific with this one despite [minor] differences in appearance.
Sciuridae
This country has one species of ‘Giant Squirrel’, or maybe one in the rain-forests of the east but a separate one in the ‘tropical evergreen’ forests along the west coast. These are not on a comparable scale to the ‘Giant Ground Porcupine described above, they are just comparable to the ‘Giant Squirrels’ of RL southern & south-eastern Asia: Adults of the species from the latter group about which I have most information, the Indian (or ‘Malabar’] Giant Squirrel, reach lengths of around 28-42 inches, although normally with over half of that consisting just of [fluffy] tail, but rarely if ever exceed five pounds in weight. They are tree-dwellers, and are capable for leaping 20 feet or so between branches.
Others (under work)
The internal classification of this family has recently been undergoing significant reorganization in RL, and I’m still sorting out how the IDU’s endemic species fit into the pattern, so no scientific names here yet…
The first wave of Rodents to arrive on this continent, whose oldest fossils come from the second half of the Eocene epoch, came from a RL-like Earth and were all members of the members of the suborder Hystricognathi (The RL members of this include both families of Porcupines, a few small families in Africa & tropical Asia, and all the endemic rodent families of South America, Central America, & the West Indies.) They diversified here, similarly to how their relatives did in South America, to fill a range of ecological niches. Squirrels & their close relatives apparently entered the IDU’s northern continent at around the same time, and crossed into the south [in two waves, several million years apart] a bit later on, while Mouse-like rodents were a later arrival that followed the same basic route as the squirrels. Some roles that are filled by rodents on more RL-like Earths, however, are filled here by members of the next order that I’ll discuss instead.
(under work)
Hystricidae
This family includes not only some other IDUvian endemics but also the ‘Old World Porcupines’ of RL. ‘Hystrix’ , as used in the names of genera here as well as in the family's name, is the Latin word for Porcupine and is used [without any prefix] for the family's main RL. In this system of classification the family's RL current members form a subfamily 'Hystricinae' (which also has one or two species on the IDU's northern continent, although it is a fairly recent arrival there by palaeontologists’ standards) while all of the genera & species endemic to this continent form the subfamily 'Australohystrcinae'.
Australohystrix baranxtui** = (Western) Ground Porcupine
Basically comparable to the Rl ‘Crested Porcupine’. It belongs to the tribe ‘Australohystricini’, which includes all but two or three of this continent’s non-arboreal porcupines. The second part of its name comes from a “traditional” name for this continent’s western end, which OOC was the name of a now-CTEd nation there…
Macrohystrix terrens** = Giant Ground Porcupine
This is also a member of the tribe Australohystricini. It is a spiny herbivore that probably reaches around 5 feet long, excluding the tail, and to over 3 feet high at the shoulder! It browses in the more open areas of woodland, in scrub, and on wooded savannah.” with “It lives in the more open areas of woodland, in scrub, and on wooded savannah, where it supplements the Ground Porcupines’ usual diet (mainly roots & tubers, and berries & other fruit) by browsing: Its greater size houses a proportionately larger digestive system than those of other porcupines, within which — with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms — this foliage can be processed It is the sole surviving member of this genus. The prefix ‘Macro’ in its genus's name indicates large size, and ‘terrens’ is a translation of the discoverer’s chosen adjective ‘intimidating’ — “because I certainly wouldn’t try blocking one’s path” — but presumably comes from the same root as the English word ‘terrifying’. (Second name provided via NS forums, ‘Gameplay’ section, ‘Latin Motto Help’ thread.)
Dendrohyrax cikotoumii ** = Cikoutoumian Tree Porcupine
This is a member of the Australohystrinae’s other main tribe, the Dendrohystricini, and within that to a sub-tribe ‘Dendrohystriciti’ which includes all of the continent’s arboreal porcupines. It is roughly comparable in form & size to the arboreal porcupines that can be found in RL South America today. Its range here includes all of the lusher forests, along both coasts and up the eastern slopes of the mountains, and it is apparently endemic to this nation although precise classification of its relatives in the coastal forests to north-west & north-east remains to be determined and so it is possible that one or both of those other populations is actually conspecific with this one despite [minor] differences in appearance.
Sciuridae
This country has one species of ‘Giant Squirrel’, or maybe one in the rain-forests of the east but a separate one in the ‘tropical evergreen’ forests along the west coast. These are not on a comparable scale to the ‘Giant Ground Porcupine described above, they are just comparable to the ‘Giant Squirrels’ of RL southern & south-eastern Asia: Adults of the species from the latter group about which I have most information, the Indian (or ‘Malabar’] Giant Squirrel, reach lengths of around 28-42 inches, although normally with over half of that consisting just of [fluffy] tail, but rarely if ever exceed five pounds in weight. They are tree-dwellers, and are capable for leaping 20 feet or so between branches.
Others (under work)
The internal classification of this family has recently been undergoing significant reorganization in RL, and I’m still sorting out how the IDU’s endemic species fit into the pattern, so no scientific names here yet…