| 翻訳と辞書 |
| horned gopher ： ウィキペディア英語版 |
horned gopher
Horned gophers are extinct rodents from the genus ''Ceratogaulus'', a member of the extinct fossorial rodent family Mylagaulidae. ''Ceratogaulus'' is the only known rodent genus with horns, and is the smallest known horned mammal. ''Ceratogaulus'' lived from the late Miocene〔〔 to the early Pleistocene epoch.
==Description==
The horned gopher had two horns; these were large (in comparison to body size), paired, and originated from the nose. Horned gophers are the smallest known mammals to ever have horns, and the only known species of horned rodents, and apart from one fossil species of armadillo, ''Peltephilus'', the only known fossorial horned mammals.〔 They were native to what is now the Great Plains of North America, most concentrated in Nebraska.
The role of the horns of ''Ceratogaulus'' is subject to much speculation. Possibilities include digging (although this has largely been ruled out by the horns' position and orientation; see below for a more detailed analysis), mating displays or combat, and defense from predators. Because the horns were not sexually dimorphic, their role in defense seems most likely.〔
In most other respects, the animals resembled modern marmots. They were approximately long, and had paddle-like forepaws with powerful claws adapted for digging. They also had small eyes, and probably had poor eyesight, similar to that of a mole. These features suggest that they were likely to be burrowing animals.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
■ウィキペディアで「horned gopher」の詳細全文を読む
スポンサード リンク
| 翻訳と辞書 : 翻訳のためのインターネットリソース |
Copyright(C) kotoba.ne.jp 1997-2016. All Rights Reserved.
|
|