Misplaced Pages

#853146

103-415: About 800, see text Ficus ( / ˈ f aɪ k ə s / or / ˈ f iː k ə s / ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees , shrubs , vines , epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae . Collectively known as fig trees or figs , they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The common fig ( F. carica )

206-557: A species : see Botanical name and Specific name (zoology) . The rules for the scientific names of organisms are laid down in the nomenclature codes , which allow each species a single unique name that, for animals (including protists ), plants (also including algae and fungi ) and prokaryotes ( bacteria and archaea ), is Latin and binomial in form; this contrasts with common or vernacular names , which are non-standardized, can be non-unique, and typically also vary by country and language of usage. Except for viruses ,

309-418: A syconium , derived from an arrangement of many small flowers on an inverted, nearly closed receptacle. The many small flowers are unseen unless the fig is cut open. The fruit typically has a bulbous shape with a small opening (the ostiole ) at the outward end that allows access to pollinators . The flowers are pollinated by very small wasps such as Pegoscapus that crawl through the opening in search of

412-517: A "species flock" of up to 1000 endemic species. Only seven cichlid species in Lake Malawi are not a part of the species flock: the Eastern happy ( Astatotilapia calliptera ), the sungwa ( Serranochromis robustus ), and five tilapia species (genera Oreochromis and Coptodon ). All of the other cichlid species in the lake are descendants of a single original colonist species, which itself

515-403: A constant source of inspiration and wonder to biologists. Notably, three vegetative traits together are unique to figs. All figs present a white to yellowish latex , some in copious quantities; the twig shows paired stipules —or circular scars if the stipules have fallen off; the lateral veins at the base of the leaf are steep, forming a tighter angle with the midrib than the other lateral veins,

618-596: A distinctive shape or habit, and their fruits distinguish them from other plants. The fruit of Ficus is an inflorescence enclosed in an urn-like structure called a syconium , which is lined on the inside with the fig's tiny flowers that develop into multiple ovaries on the inside surface. In essence, the fig fruit is a fleshy stem with multiple tiny flowers that fruit and coalesce. The unique fig pollination system, involving tiny, highly specific wasps, known as fig wasps that enter via ostiole these subclosed inflorescences to both pollinate and lay their own eggs, has been

721-417: A feature referred to as "triveined". Current molecular clock estimates indicate that Ficus is a relatively ancient genus, being at least 60 million years old, and possibly as old as 80 million years. The main radiation of extant species, however, may have taken place more recently, between 20 and 40 million years ago. Some better-known species that represent the diversity of the genus include, alongside

824-514: A fibrous cloth used for clothing. Figs have figured prominently in some human cultures. There is evidence that figs, specifically the common fig ( F. carica ) and sycamore fig ( Ficus sycomorus ), were among the first – if not the very first – plant species that were deliberately bred for agriculture in the Middle East, starting more than 11,000 years ago. Nine subfossil F. carica figs dated to about 9400–9200 BCE were found in

927-685: A fresh fig, individual fruit will appear as fleshy "threads", each bearing a single seed inside. The genus Dorstenia , also in the fig family (Moraceae), exhibits similar tiny flowers arranged on a receptacle but in this case the receptacle is a more or less flat, open surface. Fig plants can be monoecious ( hermaphrodite ) or gynodioecious (hermaphrodite and female). Nearly half of fig species are gynodioecious, and therefore have some plants with inflorescences (syconium) with long styled pistillate flowers, and other plants with staminate flowers mixed with short styled pistillate flowers. The long-styled flowers tend to prevent wasps from laying their eggs within

1030-443: A key resource for some frugivores including fruit bats , and primates including: capuchin monkeys , langurs , gibbons and mangabeys . They are even more important for birds such as Asian barbets , pigeons , hornbills , fig-parrots and bulbuls , which may almost entirely subsist on figs when these are in plenty. Many Lepidoptera caterpillars feed on fig leaves, for example several Euploea species (crow butterflies),

1133-651: A later homonym of a validly published name is a nomen illegitimum or nom. illeg. ; for a full list refer to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants and the work cited above by Hawksworth, 2010. In place of the "valid taxon" in zoology, the nearest equivalent in botany is " correct name " or "current name" which can, again, differ or change with alternative taxonomic treatments or new information that results in previously accepted genera being combined or split. Prokaryote and virus codes of nomenclature also exist which serve as

SECTION 10

#1732772608854

1236-628: A long time and redescribed as new by a range of subsequent workers, or if a range of genera previously considered separate taxa have subsequently been consolidated into one. For example, the World Register of Marine Species presently lists 8 genus-level synonyms for the sperm whale genus Physeter Linnaeus, 1758, and 13 for the bivalve genus Pecten O.F. Müller, 1776. Within the same kingdom, one generic name can apply to one genus only. However, many names have been assigned (usually unintentionally) to two or more different genera. For example,

1339-415: A new adaptive zone. Sources of ecological opportunity can be the loss of antagonists ( competitors or predators ), the evolution of a key innovation, or dispersal to a new environment. Any one of these ecological opportunities has the potential to result in an increase in population size and relaxed stabilizing (constraining) selection. As genetic diversity is positively correlated with population size

1442-605: A new environment might take place under the following conditions: A 2020 study found there to be no direct causal relationship between the proportionally most comparable mass radiations and extinctions in terms of "co-occurrence of species", substantially challenging the hypothesis of "creative mass extinctions". Darwin's finches on the Galapagos Islands are a model system for the study of adaptive radiation. Today represented by approximately 15 species, Darwin's finches are Galapagos endemics famously adapted for

1545-409: A reference for designating currently accepted genus names as opposed to others which may be either reduced to synonymy, or, in the case of prokaryotes, relegated to a status of "names without standing in prokaryotic nomenclature". An available (zoological) or validly published (botanical) name that has been historically applied to a genus but is not regarded as the accepted (current/valid) name for

1648-531: A single ancestor, this process results in the speciation and phenotypic adaptation of an array of species exhibiting different morphological and physiological traits. The prototypical example of adaptive radiation is finch speciation on the Galapagos (" Darwin's finches "), but examples are known from around the world. Four features can be used to identify an adaptive radiation: Adaptive radiations are thought to be triggered by an ecological opportunity or

1751-491: A specialized feeding behavior (although one species, the Cocos finch ( Pinaroloxias inornata ), is not found in the Galapagos but on the island of Cocos south of Costa Rica ). Darwin's finches are not actually finches in the true sense, but are members of the tanager family Thraupidae , and are derived from a single ancestor that arrived in the Galapagos from mainland South America perhaps just 3 million years ago. Excluding

1854-448: A suitable place to lay eggs. Without this pollinator service fig trees could not reproduce by seed. In turn, the flowers provide a safe haven and nourishment for the next generation of wasps. This accounts for the frequent presence of wasp larvae in the fruit, and has led to a coevolutionary relationship. Technically, a fig fruit proper would be only one of the many tiny matured, seed-bearing gynoecia found inside one fig – if you cut open

1957-427: A taxon; however, the names published in suppressed works are made unavailable via the relevant Opinion dealing with the work in question. In botany, similar concepts exist but with different labels. The botanical equivalent of zoology's "available name" is a validly published name . An invalidly published name is a nomen invalidum or nom. inval. ; a rejected name is a nomen rejiciendum or nom. rej. ;

2060-455: A total of c. 520,000 published names (including synonyms) as at end 2019, increasing at some 2,500 published generic names per year. "Official" registers of taxon names at all ranks, including genera, exist for a few groups only such as viruses and prokaryotes, while for others there are compendia with no "official" standing such as Index Fungorum for fungi, Index Nominum Algarum and AlgaeBase for algae, Index Nominum Genericorum and

2163-481: A wide range of ecological roles and morphological characteristics. Cichlids in these lakes fill nearly all of the roles typically filled by many fish families, including those of predators, scavengers, and herbivores, with varying dentitions and head shapes to match their dietary habits. In each case, the radiation events are only a few million years old, making the high level of speciation particularly remarkable. Several factors could be responsible for this diversity:

SECTION 20

#1732772608854

2266-526: Is a sura in Quran named "The Fig" or At-Tin (سوره تین). In Asia, figs are important in Buddhism and Hinduism . In Jainism , the consumption of any fruit belonging to this genus is prohibited. The Buddha is traditionally held to have found bodhi (enlightenment) while meditating for 49 days under a sacred fig . The same species was Ashvattha , the " world tree " of Hinduism. The Plaksa Pra-sravana

2369-494: Is a gynodioecious plant, as well as lofty fig or clown fig ( F. aspera ), Roxburgh fig ( F. auriculata ), mistletoe fig ( F. deltoidea ), F. pseudopalma , creeping fig ( F. pumila ) and related species. The hermaphrodite common figs are called "inedible figs" or "caprifigs"; in traditional culture in the Mediterranean region they were considered food for goats ( Capra aegagrus ). In

2472-464: Is a temperate species native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region (from Afghanistan to Portugal), which has been widely cultivated from ancient times for its fruit , also referred to as figs. The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood . However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout

2575-518: Is a unique egg-brooding species, with 15 cm-long males amassing collections of shells and guarding them in the hopes of attracting females (about 6 cm in length) to lay eggs in these shells. These dominant males must defend their territories from three types of rival: (1) other dominant males looking to steal shells; (2) younger, "sneaker" males looking to fertilize eggs in a dominant male's territory; and (3) tiny, 2–4 cm "parasitic dwarf" males that also attempt to rush in and fertilize eggs in

2678-696: Is also one of the traditional crops of Israel , and is included in the list of food found in the Promised Land, according to the Torah ( Deut. 8). Jesus cursed a fig tree for bearing no fruit. The fig tree was sacred in ancient Greece and Cyprus , where it was a symbol of fertility . Video Genus The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists . The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including

2781-685: Is also the site of a separate major floral adaptive radiation event: the Hawaiian lobelioids . The Hawaiian lobelioids are significantly more speciose than the silverswords, perhaps because they have been present in Hawaii for so much longer: they descended from a single common ancestor who arrived in the archipelago up to 15 million years ago. Today the Hawaiian lobelioids form a clade of over 125 species, including succulents, trees, shrubs, epiphytes, etc. Many species have been lost to extinction and many of

2884-424: Is an example of mutualism , in which each organism (fig plant and fig wasp ) benefit each other, in this case reproductively. The intimate association between fig species and their wasp pollinators, along with the high incidence of a one-to-one plant-pollinator ratio have long led scientists to believe that figs and wasps are a clear example of coevolution . Morphological and reproductive behavior evidence, such as

2987-405: Is believed to have formed 9–12 million years ago, putting a recent cap on the age of the lake's cichlid fauna. Many of Tanganyika's cichlids live very specialized lifestyles. The giant or emperor cichlid ( Boulengerochromis microlepis ) is a piscivore often ranked the largest of all cichlids (though it competes for this title with South America's Cichla temensis , the speckled peacock bass). It

3090-427: Is believed to have originated in Hawaii no more than 6 million years ago, making this one of Hawaii's youngest adaptive radiation events. This means that the silverswords evolved on Hawaii's modern high islands, and descended from a single common ancestor that arrived on Kauai from western North America. The closest modern relatives of the silverswords today are California tarweeds of the family Asteraceae . Hawaii

3193-567: Is by far the largest genus in the Moraceae, and is one of the largest genera of flowering plants currently described. The species currently classified within Ficus were originally split into several genera in the mid-1800s, providing the basis for a subgeneric classification when reunited into one genus in 1867. This classification put functionally dioecious species into four subgenera based on floral characters. In 1965, E. J. H. Corner reorganized

Ficus - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-612: Is discouraged by both the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants , there are some five thousand such names in use in more than one kingdom. For instance, A list of generic homonyms (with their authorities), including both available (validly published) and selected unavailable names, has been compiled by the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). The type genus forms

3399-540: Is famously home to many piscivorous cichlid species, some of which feed by sucking the contents out of mouthbrooding females' mouths. Victoria's cichlids constitute a far younger radiation than even that of Lake Malawi, with estimates of the age of the flock ranging from 200,000 years to as little as 14,000. Hawaii has served as the site of a number of adaptive radiation events, owing to its isolation, recent origin, and large land area. The three most famous examples of these radiations are presented below, though insects like

3502-409: Is frequently found as a pest on figs grown as potted plants and is spread through the export of these plants to other localities. For a list of other diseases common to fig trees, see List of foliage plant diseases (Moraceae) . Many fig species are grown for their fruits, though only Ficus carica is cultivated to any extent for this purpose. A fig "fruit" is a type of multiple fruit known as

3605-639: Is higher because not all wasp species were detected. On the other hand, species of wasps pollinate multiple host fig species. Molecular techniques, like microsatellite markers and mitochondrial sequence analysis, allowed a discovery of multiple genetically distinct, cryptic wasp species. Not all these cryptic species are sister taxa and thus must have experienced a host fig shift at some point. These cryptic species lacked evidence of genetic introgression or backcrosses indicating limited fitness for hybrids and effective reproductive isolation and speciation . The existence of cryptic species suggests that neither

3708-433: Is quite possibly the Hawaiian silverswords , named for alpine desert-dwelling Argyroxiphium species with long, silvery leaves that live for up to 20 years before growing a single flowering stalk and then dying. The Hawaiian silversword alliance consists of twenty-eight species of Hawaiian plants which, aside from the namesake silverswords, includes trees, shrubs, vines, cushion plants, and more. The silversword alliance

3811-460: Is somewhat arbitrary. Although all species within a genus are supposed to be "similar", there are no objective criteria for grouping species into genera. There is much debate among zoologists about whether enormous, species-rich genera should be maintained, as it is extremely difficult to come up with identification keys or even character sets that distinguish all species. Hence, many taxonomists argue in favor of breaking down large genera. For instance,

3914-474: Is the type species , and the generic name is permanently associated with the type specimen of its type species. Should the specimen turn out to be assignable to another genus, the generic name linked to it becomes a junior synonym and the remaining taxa in the former genus need to be reassessed. In zoological usage, taxonomic names, including those of genera, are classified as "available" or "unavailable". Available names are those published in accordance with

4017-424: Is the largest species of Darwin's finch and has the thickest beak for breaking open the toughest seeds, the small ground finch ( Geospiza fuliginosa ) has a smaller beak for eating smaller seeds, and the medium ground finch ( Geospiza fortis ) has a beak of intermediate size for optimal consumption of intermediately sized seeds (relative to G. magnirostris and G. fuliginosa ). There is some overlap: for example,

4120-593: Is the site from which nearly all the cichlid lineages of East Africa (including both riverine and lake species) originated. Thus, the species in the lake constitute a single adaptive radiation event but do not form a single monophyletic clade . Lake Tanganyika is also the least speciose of the three largest African Great Lakes, with only around 200 species of cichlid; however, these cichlids are more morphologically divergent and ecologically distinct than their counterparts in lakes Malawi and Victoria, an artifact of Lake Tanganyika's older cichlid fauna. Lake Tanganyika itself

4223-499: Is thought that giant cichlids spawn only a single time, breeding in their third year and defending their young until they reach a large size, before dying of starvation some time thereafter. The three species of Altolamprologus are also piscivores, but with laterally compressed bodies and thick scales enabling them to chase prey into thin cracks in rocks without damaging their skin. Plecodus straeleni has evolved large, strangely curved teeth that are designed to scrape scales off of

Ficus - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-555: Is used to probe the wood underneath for insects. Meanwhile, the ʻiʻiwi ( Drepanis coccinea ) has a very long curved beak for reaching nectar deep in Lobelia flowers. An entire clade of Hawaiian honeycreepers, the tribe Psittirostrini , is composed of thick-billed, mostly seed-eating birds, like the Laysan finch ( Telespiza cantans ). In at least some cases, similar morphologies and behaviors appear to have evolved convergently among

4429-662: Is used to produce barkcloth in Uganda. Pou ( F. religiosa ) leaves' shape inspired one of the standard kbach rachana , decorative elements in Cambodian architecture. Indian banyan ( F. benghalensis ) and the Indian rubber plant, as well as other species, have use in herbalism . The inner bark of an unknown type of wild fig, locally known as urú , was once used by the Moré people  [ es ] of Bolivia to produce

4532-490: The Greater Antilles ( Cuba , Hispaniola , Puerto Rico , and Jamaica ) have adaptively radiated in separate, convergent ways. On each of these islands, anoles have evolved with such a consistent set of morphological adaptations that each species can be assigned to one of six " ecomorphs ": trunk–ground, trunk–crown, grass–bush, crown–giant, twig, and trunk. Take for example crown–giants from each of these islands:

4635-621: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ; the earliest such name for any taxon (for example, a genus) should then be selected as the " valid " (i.e., current or accepted) name for the taxon in question. Consequently, there will be more available names than valid names at any point in time; which names are currently in use depending on the judgement of taxonomists in either combining taxa described under multiple names, or splitting taxa which may bring available names previously treated as synonyms back into use. "Unavailable" names in zoology comprise names that either were not published according to

4738-824: The International Plant Names Index for plants in general, and ferns through angiosperms, respectively, and Nomenclator Zoologicus and the Index to Organism Names for zoological names. Totals for both "all names" and estimates for "accepted names" as held in the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) are broken down further in the publication by Rees et al., 2020 cited above. The accepted names estimates are as follows, broken down by kingdom: The cited ranges of uncertainty arise because IRMNG lists "uncertain" names (not researched therein) in addition to known "accepted" names;

4841-579: The common fig , whose fingered fig leaf is well known in art and iconography : the weeping fig ( F. benjamina ), a hemiepiphyte with thin, tough leaves on pendulous stalks adapted to its rain forest habitat; the rough-leaved sandpaper figs from Australia; and the creeping fig ( F. pumila ), a vine whose small, hard leaves form a dense carpet of foliage over rocks or garden walls. Moreover, figs with different plant habits have undergone adaptive radiation in different biogeographic regions, leading to very high levels of alpha diversity . In

4944-441: The plain tiger ( Danaus chrysippus ), the giant swallowtail ( Papilio cresphontes ), the brown awl ( Badamia exclamationis ), and Chrysodeixis eriosoma , Choreutidae and Copromorphidae moths . The citrus long-horned beetle ( Anoplophora chinensis ), for example, has larvae that feed on wood , including that of fig trees; it can become a pest in fig plantations. Similarly, the sweet potato whitefly ( Bemisia tabaci )

5047-404: The platypus belongs to the genus Ornithorhynchus although George Shaw named it Platypus in 1799 (these two names are thus synonyms ) . However, the name Platypus had already been given to a group of ambrosia beetles by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst in 1793. A name that means two different things is a homonym . Since beetles and platypuses are both members of the kingdom Animalia,

5150-403: The Cocos finch, each species of Darwin's finch is generally widely distributed in the Galapagos and fills the same niche on each island. For the ground finches, this niche is a diet of seeds, and they have thick bills to facilitate the consumption of these hard materials. The ground finches are further specialized to eat seeds of a particular size: the large ground finch ( Geospiza magnirostris )

5253-609: The Cuban Anolis luteogularis , Hispaniola's Anolis ricordii , Puerto Rico's Anolis cuvieri , and Jamaica's Anolis garmani (Cuba and Hispaniola are both home to more than one species of crown–giant). These anoles are all large, canopy-dwelling species with large heads and large lamellae (scales on the undersides of the fingers and toes that are important for traction in climbing), and yet none of these species are particularly closely related and appear to have evolved these similar traits independently. The same can be said of

SECTION 50

#1732772608854

5356-473: The French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) is considered "the founder of the modern concept of genera". The scientific name (or the scientific epithet) of a genus is also called the generic name ; in modern style guides and science, it is always capitalised. It plays a fundamental role in binomial nomenclature , the system of naming organisms , where it is combined with the scientific name of

5459-430: The Hawaiian drosophilid flies and Hyposmocoma moths have also undergone adaptive radiation. The Hawaiian honeycreepers form a large, highly morphologically diverse species group of birds that began radiating in the early days of the Hawaiian archipelago. While today only 17 species are known to persist in Hawaii (3 more may or may not be extinct), there were more than 50 species prior to Polynesian colonization of

5562-533: The Hawaiian honeycreepers; for example, the short, pointed beaks of Loxops and Oreomystis evolved separately despite once forming the justification for lumping the two genera together. The Hawaiian honeycreepers are believed to have descended from a single common ancestor some 15 to 20 million years ago, though estimates range as low as 3.5 million years. Adaptive radiation is not a strictly vertebrate phenomenon, and examples are also known from among plants. The most famous example of adaptive radiation in plants

5665-493: The Malawi species flock are mouth-brooders , meaning the female keeps her eggs in her mouth until they hatch; in almost all species, the eggs are also fertilized in the female's mouth, and in a few species, the females continue to guard their fry in their mouth after they hatch. Males of most species display predominantly blue coloration when mating. However, a number of particularly divergent species are known from Malawi, including

5768-422: The archipelago (between 18 and 21 species have gone extinct since the discovery of the islands by westerners). The Hawaiian honeycreepers are known for their beaks, which are specialized to satisfy a wide range of dietary needs: for example, the beak of the ʻakiapōlāʻau ( Hemignathus wilsoni ) is characterized by a short, sharp lower mandible for scraping bark off of trees, and the much longer, curved upper mandible

5871-515: The availability of a multitude of niches probably favored specialization, as few other fish taxa are present in the lakes (meaning that sympatric speciation was the most probable mechanism for initial specialization). Also, continual changes in the water level of the lakes during the Pleistocene (which often turned the largest lakes into several smaller ones) could have created the conditions for secondary allopatric speciation. Lake Tanganyika

5974-442: The base for higher taxonomic ranks, such as the family name Canidae ("Canids") based on Canis . However, this does not typically ascend more than one or two levels: the order to which dogs and wolves belong is Carnivora ("Carnivores"). The numbers of either accepted, or all published genus names is not known precisely; Rees et al., 2020 estimate that approximately 310,000 accepted names (valid taxa) may exist, out of

6077-479: The breba crop is often destroyed by spring frosts. Some parthenocarpic cultivars of common figs do not require pollination at all, and will produce a crop of figs (albeit sterile ) in the absence of caprifigs and fig wasps. Depending on the species, each fruit can contain hundreds or even thousand of seeds. Figs can be propagated by seeds, cuttings, air-layering or grafting. However, as with any plant, figs grown from seed are not necessarily genetically identical to

6180-559: The collective biomass of the Victoria cichlid species flock has decreased substantially and an unknown number of species have become extinct. However, the original range of morphological and behavioral diversity seen in the lake's cichlid fauna is still mostly present today, if endangered. These again include cichlids specialized for niches across the trophic spectrum, as in Tanganyika and Malawi, but again, there are standouts. Victoria

6283-573: The colubroid faunas in the rest of the world. These Madagascan examples are significantly older than most of the other examples presented here: Madagascar's fauna has been evolving in isolation since the island split from India some 88 million years ago, and the Mantellidae originated around 50 mya. Older examples are known: the K-Pg extinction event , which caused the disappearance of the dinosaurs and most other reptilian megafauna 65 million years ago,

SECTION 60

#1732772608854

6386-437: The correspondence between fig and wasp larvae maturation rates, have been cited as support for this hypothesis for many years. Additionally, recent genetic and molecular dating analyses have shown a very close correspondence in the character evolution and speciation phylogenies of these two clades. According to meta-analysis of molecular data for 119 fig species 35% (41) have multiple pollinator wasp species. The real proportion

6489-420: The dominant male's territory. These parasitic dwarf males never grow to the size of dominant males, and the male offspring of dominant and parasitic dwarf males grow with 100% fidelity into the form of their fathers. A number of other highly specialized Tanganyika cichlids exist aside from these examples, including those adapted for life in open lake water up to 200m deep. The cichlids of Lake Malawi constitute

6592-545: The early Neolithic village Gilgal I (in the Jordan Valley , 13 km, or 8.1 mi, north of Jericho ). These were a parthenogenetic type and thus apparently an early cultivar. This find predates the first known cultivation of grain in the Middle East by many hundreds of years. Numerous species of fig are found in cultivation in domestic and office environments, including: Fig trees have profoundly influenced culture through several religious traditions. Among

6695-407: The expanded population will have more genetic diversity compared to the ancestral population. With reduced stabilizing selection phenotypic diversity can also increase. In addition, intraspecific competition will increase, promoting divergent selection to use a wider range of resources. This ecological release provides the potential for ecological speciation and thus adaptive radiation. Occupying

6798-410: The family Agaonidae for pollination. Adult plants vary in size from Ficus benghalensis which may cover a hectare (2.5 acres) or more of ground to Ficus nana of New Guinea which never exceeds one meter (forty inches) in height and width. Specific identification of many of the species can be difficult, but members of the genus Ficus are relatively easy to recognize. Many have aerial roots and

6901-688: The family Vangidae are marked by very distinct beak shapes to suit their ecological roles. Madagascan mantellid frogs have radiated into forms that mirror other tropical frog faunas, with the brightly colored mantellas ( Mantella ) having evolved convergently with the Neotropical poison dart frogs of Dendrobatidae , while the arboreal Boophis species are the Madagascan equivalent of tree frogs and glass frogs . The pseudoxyrhophiine snakes of Madagascar have evolved into fossorial, arboreal, terrestrial, and semi-aquatic forms that converge with

7004-420: The female fig trees, the male flower parts fail to develop; they produce the "'edible figs". Fig wasps grow in common fig caprifigs but not in the female syconiums because the female flower is too long for the wasp to successfully lay her eggs in them. Nonetheless, the wasp pollinates the flower with pollen from the caprifig it grew up in. In many situations, the wasp pollinator is unable to escape and dies within

7107-446: The form "author, year" in zoology, and "standard abbreviated author name" in botany. Thus in the examples above, the genus Canis would be cited in full as " Canis Linnaeus, 1758" (zoological usage), while Hibiscus , also first established by Linnaeus but in 1753, is simply " Hibiscus L." (botanical usage). Each genus should have a designated type , although in practice there is a backlog of older names without one. In zoology, this

7210-455: The fruit. When the wasp dies, it is broken down by enzymes ( Ficain ) inside the fig. Fig wasps are not known to transmit any diseases harmful to humans. When a caprifig ripens, another caprifig must be ready to be pollinated. In temperate climes, wasps hibernate in figs, and there are distinct crops. Caprifigs have three crops per year; common figs have two. The first crop ( breba ) is larger and juicier, and usually eaten fresh. In cold climates

7313-737: The generic name (or its abbreviated form) still forms the leading portion of the scientific name, for example, Canis lupus lupus for the Eurasian wolf subspecies, or as a botanical example, Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus . Also, as visible in the above examples, the Latinised portions of the scientific names of genera and their included species (and infraspecies, where applicable) are, by convention, written in italics . The scientific names of virus species are descriptive, not binomial in form, and may or may not incorporate an indication of their containing genus; for example,

7416-420: The genus on the basis of breeding system, uniting these four dioecious subgenera into a single dioecious subgenus Ficus . Monoecious figs were classified within the subgenera Urostigma , Pharmacosycea and Sycomorus . This traditional classification has been called into question by recent phylogenetic studies employing genetic methods to investigate the relationships between representative members of

7519-447: The ground finches that serve the dual purpose of allowing them to feed on Opuntia cactus nectar and pollen while these plants are flowering, but on seeds during the rest of the year. The warbler-finches ( Certhidea sp.) have short, pointed beaks for eating insects. The woodpecker finch ( Camarhynchus pallidus ) has a slender beak which it uses to pick at wood in search of insects; it also uses small sticks to reach insect prey inside

7622-432: The idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: Moreover, genera should be composed of phylogenetic units of the same kind as other (analogous) genera. The term "genus" comes from Latin genus , a noun form cognate with gignere ('to bear; to give birth to'). The Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus popularized its use in his 1753 Species Plantarum , but

7725-633: The largest component, with 23,236 ± 5,379 accepted genus names, of which 20,845 ± 4,494 are angiosperms (superclass Angiospermae). By comparison, the 2018 annual edition of the Catalogue of Life (estimated >90% complete, for extant species in the main) contains currently 175,363 "accepted" genus names for 1,744,204 living and 59,284 extinct species, also including genus names only (no species) for some groups. The number of species in genera varies considerably among taxonomic groups. For instance, among (non-avian) reptiles , which have about 1180 genera,

7828-509: The lizard genus Anolis has been suggested to be broken down into 8 or so different genera which would bring its ~400 species to smaller, more manageable subsets. Adaptive radiation In evolutionary biology , adaptive radiation is a process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment makes new resources available, alters biotic interactions or opens new environmental niches . Starting with

7931-513: The more famous species are the sacred fig tree (Pipal, bodhi, bo, or po, Ficus religiosa ) and other banyan figs such as Ficus benghalensis . The oldest living plant of known planting date is a Ficus religiosa tree known as the Sri Maha Bodhi planted in the temple at Anuradhapura , Sri Lanka by King Tissa in 288 BCE. The common fig is one of two significant trees in Islam , and there

8034-403: The most (>300) have only 1 species, ~360 have between 2 and 4 species, 260 have 5–10 species, ~200 have 11–50 species, and only 27 genera have more than 50 species. However, some insect genera such as the bee genera Lasioglossum and Andrena have over 1000 species each. The largest flowering plant genus, Astragalus , contains over 3,000 species. Which species are assigned to a genus

8137-406: The most robust medium ground finches could have beaks larger than those of the smallest large ground finches. Because of this overlap, it can be difficult to tell the species apart by eye, though their songs differ. These three species often occur sympatrically , and during the rainy season in the Galapagos when food is plentiful, they specialize little and eat the same, easily accessible foods. It

8240-428: The name could not be used for both. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published the replacement name Ornithorhynchus in 1800. However, a genus in one kingdom is allowed to bear a scientific name that is in use as a generic name (or the name of a taxon in another rank) in a kingdom that is governed by a different nomenclature code. Names with the same form but applying to different taxa are called "homonyms". Although this

8343-398: The number of symbionts nor their evolutionary relationships are necessarily fixed ecologically. While the morphological characteristics that facilitate the fig-wasp mutualisms are likely to be shared more fully in closer relatives, the absence of unique pairings would make it impossible to do a one-to-one tree comparison and difficult to determine cospeciation. With over 800 species, Ficus

8446-540: The other five ecomorphs across the Caribbean's four largest islands. Much like in the case of the cichlids of the three largest African Great Lakes, each of these islands is home to its own convergent Anolis adaptive radiation event. Presented above are the most well-documented examples of modern adaptive radiation, but other examples are known. Populations of three-spined sticklebacks have repeatedly diverged and evolved into distinct ecotypes. On Madagascar , birds of

8549-582: The ovules, while the short-styled flowers are accessible for egg laying. All the native fig trees of the American continent are hermaphrodites, as well as species like Indian banyan ( F. benghalensis ), weeping fig ( F. benjamina ), Indian rubber plant ( F. elastica ), fiddle-leaved fig ( F. lyrata ), Moreton Bay fig ( F. macrophylla ), Chinese banyan ( F. microcarpa ), sacred fig ( F. religiosa ) and sycamore fig ( F. sycomorus ). The common fig ( Ficus carica )

8652-526: The parent and are only propagated this way for breeding purposes. Each species of fig is pollinated by one or a few specialised wasp species, and therefore plantings of fig species outside of their native range results in effectively sterile individuals. For example, in Hawaii , some 60 species of figs have been introduced, but only four of the wasps that fertilize them, so only those species of figs produce viable seeds there and can become invasive species . This

8755-506: The piscivorous Nimbochromis livingtonii , which lies on its side in the substrate until small cichlids, perhaps drawn to its broken white patterning, come to inspect the predator - at which point they are swiftly eaten. Lake Victoria's cichlids are also a species flock, once composed of some 500 or more species. The deliberate introduction of the Nile Perch ( Lates niloticus ) in the 1950s proved disastrous for Victoria cichlids, and

8858-541: The provisions of the ICZN Code, e.g., incorrect original or subsequent spellings, names published only in a thesis, and generic names published after 1930 with no type species indicated. According to "Glossary" section of the zoological Code, suppressed names (per published "Opinions" of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature) remain available but cannot be used as the valid name for

8961-425: The rest of the monoecious species, and all of the dioecious species. These remaining species are divided into two main monophyletic lineages (though the statistical support for these lineages is not as strong as for the monophyly of the more derived clades within them). One consists of all sections of Urostigma except for section Urostigma s. s. . The other includes section Urostigma s. s. , subgenus Sycomorus , and

9064-429: The sides of other fish, scales being its main source of food. Gnathochromis permaxillaris possesses a large mouth with a protruding upper lip, and feeds by opening this mouth downward onto the sandy lake bottom, sucking in small invertebrates. A number of Tanganyika's cichlids are shell-brooders, meaning that mating pairs lay and fertilize their eggs inside of empty shells on the lake bottom. Lamprologus callipterus

9167-854: The species of subgenus Ficus , though the relationships of the sections of these groups to one another are not well resolved. As of April 2024, there are 880 accepted Ficus species according to Plants of the World Online . The following species are typically spreading or climbing lianas : The wood of fig trees is often soft and the latex precludes its use for many purposes. It was used to make mummy caskets in Ancient Egypt . Certain fig species (mainly F. cotinifolia , F. insipida and F. padifolia ) are traditionally used in Mesoamerica to produce papel amate ( Nahuatl : āmatl ). Mutuba ( F. natalensis )

9270-497: The specific name particular to the wolf. A botanical example would be Hibiscus arnottianus , a particular species of the genus Hibiscus native to Hawaii. The specific name is written in lower-case and may be followed by subspecies names in zoology or a variety of infraspecific names in botany . When the generic name is already known from context, it may be shortened to its initial letter, for example, C. lupus in place of Canis lupus . Where species are further subdivided,

9373-412: The standard format for a species name comprises the generic name, indicating the genus to which the species belongs, followed by the specific epithet, which (within that genus) is unique to the species. For example, the gray wolf 's scientific name is Canis lupus , with Canis ( Latin for 'dog') being the generic name shared by the wolf's close relatives and lupus (Latin for 'wolf') being

9476-556: The surviving species endangered. Anole lizards are distributed broadly in the New World, from the Southeastern US to South America. With over 400 species currently recognized, often placed in a single genus ( Anolis ), they constitute one of the largest radiation events among all lizards. Anole radiation on the mainland has largely been a process of speciation, and is not adaptive to any great degree, but anoles on each of

9579-403: The taxon is termed a synonym ; some authors also include unavailable names in lists of synonyms as well as available names, such as misspellings, names previously published without fulfilling all of the requirements of the relevant nomenclatural code, and rejected or suppressed names. A particular genus name may have zero to many synonyms, the latter case generally if the genus has been known for

9682-498: The tropics, Ficus commonly is the most species-rich plant genus in a particular forest. In Asia, as many as 70 or more species can co-exist. Ficus species richness declines with an increase in latitude in both hemispheres. A description of fig tree cultivation is set out in Ibn al-'Awwam 's 12th-century agricultural work titled, Book on Agriculture . Figs are keystone species in many tropical forest ecosystems . Their fruit are

9785-442: The tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses. Ficus is a pantropical genus of trees, shrubs, and vines occupying a wide variety of ecological niches ; most are evergreen , but some deciduous species are found in areas outside of the tropics and to higher elevations. Fig species are characterized by their unique inflorescence and distinctive pollination syndrome , which uses wasp species belonging to

9888-576: The values quoted are the mean of "accepted" names alone (all "uncertain" names treated as unaccepted) and "accepted + uncertain" names (all "uncertain" names treated as accepted), with the associated range of uncertainty indicating these two extremes. Within Animalia, the largest phylum is Arthropoda , with 151,697 ± 33,160 accepted genus names, of which 114,387 ± 27,654 are insects (class Insecta). Within Plantae, Tracheophyta (vascular plants) make up

9991-432: The various sections of each subgenus. Of Corner's original subgeneric divisions of the genus, only Sycomorus is supported as monophyletic in the majority of phylogenetic studies. Notably, there is no clear split between dioecious and monoecious lineages. One of the two sections of Pharmacosycea , a monoecious group, form a monophyletic clade basal to the rest of the genus, which includes the other section of Pharmacosycea ,

10094-429: The virus species " Salmonid herpesvirus 1 ", " Salmonid herpesvirus 2 " and " Salmonid herpesvirus 3 " are all within the genus Salmonivirus ; however, the genus to which the species with the formal names " Everglades virus " and " Ross River virus " are assigned is Alphavirus . As with scientific names at other ranks, in all groups other than viruses, names of genera may be cited with their authorities, typically in

10197-453: The wood, making it one of the few animals that use tools . The mechanism by which the finches initially diversified is still an area of active research. One proposition is that the finches were able to have a non-adaptive, allopatric speciation event on separate islands in the archipelago, such that when they reconverged on some islands, they were able to maintain reproductive isolation . Once they occurred in sympatry, niche specialization

10300-416: Was descended from Tanganyikan ancestors. The common ancestor of Malawi's species flock is believed to have reached the lake 3.4 million years ago at the earliest, making Malawi cichlids' diversification into their present numbers particularly rapid. Malawi's cichlids span a similarly range of feeding behaviors to those of Tanganyika, but also show signs of a much more recent origin. For example, all members of

10403-637: Was favored so that the different species competed less directly for resources. This second, sympatric event was adaptive radiation. The haplochromine cichlid fishes in the Great Lakes of the East African Rift (particularly in Lake Tanganyika , Lake Malawi , and Lake Victoria ) form the most speciose modern example of adaptive radiation. These lakes are believed to be home to about 2,000 different species of cichlid, spanning

10506-475: Was not well-understood why their beaks were so adapted until Peter and Rosemary Grant studied their feeding behavior in the long dry season, and discovered that when food is scarce, the ground finches use their specialized beaks to eat the seeds that they are best suited to eat and thus avoid starvation. The other finches in the Galapagos are similarly uniquely adapted for their particular niche. The cactus finches ( Geospiza sp.) have somewhat longer beaks than

10609-686: Was said to be a fig tree between the roots of which the Sarasvati River sprang forth; it is usually held to be a sacred fig but more probably is Ficus virens . According to the Kikuyu people , sacrifices to Ngai were performed under a sycomore tree (Mũkũyũ) and if one was not available, a fig tree (Mũgumo) would be used. The common fig tree is cited in the Bible , where in Genesis 3:7, Adam and Eve cover their nakedness with fig leaves. The fig fruit

#853146