90-838: The jabiru ( / ˌ dʒ æ b ɪ ˈ r uː / or / ˈ dʒ æ b ɪ r uː / ; Jabiru mycteria ) is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes . It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas , but has also been reported in Mississippi , Oklahoma and Louisiana . It is most common in the Pantanal region of Brazil and the Eastern Chaco region of Paraguay. It
180-424: A mating plug which prevents further copulation. The plug is not necessary for pregnancy initiation, as this will also occur without the plug. The presence or absence of the plug will not affect litter size either. This plug stays in place for some 24 hours. The gestation period is about 19–21 days, and they give birth to a litter of 3–14 young (average six to eight). One female can have 5 to 10 litters per year, so
270-485: A muster of storks and a phalanx of storks. Storks tend to use soaring , gliding flight, which conserves energy. Soaring requires thermal air currents. Ottomar Anschütz 's famous 1884 album of photographs of storks inspired the design of Otto Lilienthal 's experimental gliders of the late nineteenth century. Storks are heavy, with wide wingspans : the marabou stork , with a wingspan of 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) and weight up to 8 kg (18 lb), joins
360-439: A wild animal , the house mouse has benefited significantly from associating with human habitation to the point that truly wild populations are significantly less common than the semi-tame populations near human activity. The house mouse has been domesticated as the pet or fancy mouse , and as the laboratory mouse , which is one of the most important model organisms in biology and medicine. The complete mouse reference genome
450-526: A behavior known as muricide. Despite this, free-living populations of rats and mice do exist together in forest areas in New Zealand, North America, and elsewhere. House mice are generally poor competitors and in most areas cannot survive away from human settlements in areas where other small mammals, such as wood mice , are present. However, in some areas (such as Australia), mice are able to coexist with other small rodent species. The social behavior of
540-400: A day. If several females are held together under crowded conditions, they will often not have an estrus at all. If they are then exposed to male urine, they will come into estrus after 72 hours. Male house mice court females by emitting characteristic ultrasonic calls in the 30 kHz–110 kHz range. The calls are most frequent during courtship when the male is sniffing and following
630-472: A decrease in body size and variation in body size. Since inbreeding is detrimental, it tends to be avoided. In the house mouse, the major urinary protein ( MUP ) gene cluster provides a highly polymorphic scent signal of genetic identity that appears to underlie kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance. Thus there are fewer matings between mice sharing MUP haplotypes than would be expected if there were random mating. Another mechanism for avoiding inbreeding
720-490: A farmer's field, with the moral that those who associate with wicked people can be held accountable for their crimes. The Fox and the Stork involves a fox who invites a stork for dinner and provides soup in a dish that the stork cannot drink from, and is in turn invited for dinner by the stork and given food in a narrow jug which he cannot access. It cautions readers to follow the principle of do no harm . The third fable involves
810-477: A group of frogs that are dissatisfied with the king that Zeus has given them, an inanimate log, and who are then punished with a new King Stork (a water-snake in some versions) who eats the frogs. King Stork has subsequently entered the English language as a term for a particularly tyrannical ruler. According to European folklore, the white stork is responsible for bringing babies to new parents. The legend
900-606: A light belly. The ears and tail have little hair. The hind feet are short compared to Apodemus mice, only 15–19 mm ( 9 ⁄ 16 – 3 ⁄ 4 in) long; the normal gait is a run with a stride of about 4.5 cm ( 1 + 3 ⁄ 4 in), though they can jump vertically up to 45 cm (18 in). The voice is a high-pitched squeak. House mice thrive under a variety of conditions; they are found in and around homes and commercial structures, as well as in open fields and agricultural lands. Newborn males and females can be distinguished on close examination as
990-505: A range of reptiles, small mammals, insects, fish, amphibians and other small invertebrates. Storks usually hunt for animals in shallow water. Any plant material consumed is usually by accident. Mycteria storks are specialists in feeding on aquatic vertebrates, particularly when prey is concentrated by lowering water levels or flooding into shallows. On marine mudflats and mangrove swamps in Sumatra , milky storks feed on mudskippers , probing
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#17327798036191080-627: A reduced chromosome count arising from Robertsonian fusion . Suzuki et al. , 2013 confirms the theory that M. musculus originates in Southwestern Asia and identifies 5 subspecies and their origins: musculus in northern Eurasia , castaneus in India and Southeast Asia , a previously unknown subspecies from Nepal , domesticus in western Europe , and gentilulus in Yemen . A recent study using 89 whole-genome sequences revealed that
1170-505: A species of least concern by the IUCN , an improvement from a status of near threatened in 1988. Jabiru gained protected status in Belize in 1973. Since then, their numbers in that area have slowly risen. They have been granted protected status by the U.S. Migratory Bird Act. Stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills . They belong to
1260-420: A switch from territorial behaviour to a hierarchy of individuals. When populations have an excess of food, there is less female-female aggression, which usually occurs to gain access to food or to prevent infanticide. Male-male aggression occurs in commensal populations, mainly to defend female mates and protect a small territory. The high level of male-male aggression, with a low female-female aggression level
1350-461: A thin covering of hair as it is the main peripheral organ of heat loss in thermoregulation along with—to a lesser extent—the hairless parts of the paws and ears. Blood flow to the tail can be precisely controlled in response to changes in ambient temperature using a system of arteriovenous anastomoses to increase the temperature of the skin on the tail by as much as 10 °C (10 K; 18 °F) to lose body heat. Tail length varies according to
1440-435: A very diverse diet when living on human modified habitats such as agricultural landscapes. The foraging method used by the generalists is to stalk or walk across grassland or shallow water, watching for prey. Storks range from being solitary breeders through loose breeding associations to fully colonial . The jabiru, Ephippiorhynchus storks and several species of Ciconia are entirely solitary when breeding. In contrast
1530-502: Is also more common in larger populations than smaller populations, because there is a larger number of mates and more diverse mates to choose from. Within a population, males and females show different levels of multiple mating. Females show bias toward unrelated males rather than related males during sexual selection, resulting in more genetically diverse offspring and a reduction of inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression increases genetic incompatibilities, levels of homozygosity, and
1620-593: Is an opportunistic feeder. In one instance, when house mice experienced a population explosion in an agricultural area, several hundred jabirus could be seen in each field feeding on the rodents (unusual for a bird that's rarely seen in large numbers anywhere). On rare occasions, jabirus have been seen attempting to kleptoparasitize the two smaller storks it co-exists with, the wood and maguari storks . Jabirus are solitary nesters, building massive nest platforms that are used repeatedly in successive seasons. Unlike many other storks, these species are often seen in pairs in
1710-603: Is another migrant, albeit one that migrates within the tropics. It breeds in northern Africa, from Senegal to the Red Sea, during the wet season, and then migrates to Southern Africa. Many species that are not regular migrants will still make smaller movements if circumstances require it; others may migrate over part of their range. This can also include regular commutes from nesting sites to feeding areas. Wood storks have been observed feeding 130 km (80 mi) from their breeding colony. Storks are carnivorous predators, taking
1800-407: Is basically similar to that of humans but differs in that they are dichromats and have only two types of cone cells whereas humans are trichromats and have three. This means that mice do not perceive some of the colors in the human visual spectrum. However, the ventral area of the mouse retina has a much greater density of ultraviolet -sensitive cones than other areas of the retina, although
1890-407: Is black and broad, slightly upturned, ending in a sharp point. Among other standard measurements, the tail measures 20–25 cm (7.9–9.8 in), the tarsus measures 28.5–39 cm (11.2–15.4 in) long and the wing chord measures 58.5–73 cm (23.0–28.7 in). The plumage is mostly white, but the head and upper neck are featherless and black, with a featherless red stretchable patch at
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#17327798036191980-464: Is common in polygamous populations. The social unit of commensal house mouse populations generally consists of one male and two or more females, usually related. These groups breed cooperatively, with the females communally nursing. This cooperative breeding and rearing by related females helps increase reproductive success. When no related females are present, breeding groups can form from non-related females. In open areas such as shrubs and fields,
2070-475: Is evident when a female house mouse mates with multiple males. In such a case, there appears to be egg-driven sperm selection against sperm from related males. A region of mouse chromosome 16 is associated with thyroid function in mice. However, mice with a knockout of 16 genes - 550kb - in this region produced a normal phenotype, excluding these genes in particular from the dysfunction being pursued in that study. House mice usually live less than one year in
2160-616: Is found in Australasia. Storks are more diverse and common in the tropics, and the species that live in temperate climates for the most part migrate to avoid the worst of winter. They are fairly diverse in their habitat requirements. Some species, particularly the Mycteria "wood storks" and Anastomus openbills, are highly dependent on water and aquatic prey, but many other species are far less dependent on this habitat type, although they will frequently make use of it. Species like
2250-626: Is named after the Arabic word for holy man, murābiṭ , due to the perceived holy nature of the species. The adjutants are named after the military rank , referring to their stiff, military-like gait. A DNA study found that the families Ardeidae , Balaenicipitidae , Scopidae and the Threskiornithidae belong to the Pelecaniformes . This would make Ciconiidae the only group. Storks were distinct and possibly widespread by
2340-503: Is sometimes labeled "jabiru" in hieroglyph lists. The Ephippiorhynchus is believed to be the jabiru's closest living cousin, indicating an Old World origin for the species. The proposed Late Pleistocene fossil stork genus Prociconia from Brazil might actually belong in Jabiru . A fossil species of jabiru was found in the early Pliocene Codore Formation near Urumaco , Venezuela, and named Jabiru codorensis . In Portuguese,
2430-437: Is sometimes reported that storks lack syrinxes and are mute, they do have syrinxes, and are capable of making some sounds, although they do not do so often. The syrinxes of storks are "variably degenerate" however, and the syringeal membranes of some species are found between tracheal rings or cartilage, an unusual arrangement shared with the ovenbirds . Storks have a nearly cosmopolitan distribution , being absent from
2520-504: Is superficially similar to the herons, with long legs and necks, but they are more heavy-set. There is some sexual dimorphism (differences between males and females) in size, with males being up to 15% bigger than females in some species (for example the saddle-billed stork), but almost no difference in appearance. The only difference is in the colour of the iris of the two species in the genus Ephippiorhynchus . The bills of storks are large to very large, and vary considerably between
2610-465: Is the act of breeding with several males in the same season. Variation in number of males that females mate with occurs among a population. Polyandrous behavior is a common mating pattern in the subspecies Mus musculus musculus as well as its relative Mus musculus domesticus . Polyandry occurs in 30% of all wild populations of house mice. Litters from multiple sires tend to be more genetically diverse than litters of single sires. Multiple paternity
2700-663: Is the only member of the genus Jabiru . The name comes from the Tupi–Guaraní language and means "swollen neck". Hinrich Lichtenstein described the jabiru in 1819. The name jabiru has also been used for two other birds of a distinct genus: black-necked stork ( Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus ), commonly called "jabiru" in Australia; and sometimes also for the saddle-billed stork ( Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis ) of Sub-Saharan Africa . In particular, Gardiner 's Egyptian hieroglyph G29 , believed to depict an E. senegalensis ,
2790-425: Is vacant. If two or more males are housed together in a cage, they often become aggressive unless they have been raised together from birth. House mice primarily feed on plant matter, but are omnivorous . They eat their own faeces to acquire nutrients produced by bacteria in their intestines. House mice, like most other rodents, do not vomit. Mice are generally afraid of rats which often kill and eat them,
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2880-451: Is very ancient, but was popularised by an 1839 Hans Christian Andersen story called "The Storks". German folklore held that storks found babies in caves or marshes and brought them to households in a basket on their backs or held in their beaks. These caves contained adebarsteine or "stork stones". The babies would then be given to the mother or dropped down the chimney. Households would notify when they wanted children by placing sweets for
2970-540: The Ancient Greek word pelargos for stork, required citizens to take care of their aged parents. The Greeks also held that killing a stork could be punished with death. Storks feature in several of Aesop's Fables, most notably in The Farmer and the Stork , The Fox and the Stork , and The Frogs Who Desired a King . The first fable involves a stork who is caught with a group of cranes who are eating grain in
3060-686: The Andean condor in having the widest wingspan of all living land birds. Their nests are often very large and may be used for many years. Some nests have been known to grow to over 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in diameter and about 3 metres (9.8 ft) in depth. All storks were once thought to be monogamous , but this is only partially true. While storks are generally socially monogamous, some species exhibit regular extra-pair breeding. Popular conceptions of storks' fidelity, serial monogamy , and doting parental care contribute to their prominence in mythology and culture, especially in western folklore as
3150-482: The Mycteria storks have sensitive tips that allow them to detect prey by touch (tactilocation) where cloudy conditions would not allow them to see it. The most specialised bills of any storks are those of the two openbills ( Anastomus ), which as their name suggests, is open in the middle when their bill is closed. These bills have evolved to help openbills feed on their primary prey item, aquatic snails. Although it
3240-444: The Mycteria storks, Abdim's stork, openbills and Leptoptilos storks breed in colonies which can range from a couple of pairs to thousands. Many of these species breed in colonies with other waterbirds, which can include other species of storks, herons and egrets, pelicans, cormorants and ibises. White storks, Oriental storks and Maguari storks are all loosely colonial, and may breed in nests that are within visual range of others of
3330-751: The Oligocene . Like most families of aquatic birds, storks seem to have arisen in the Palaeogene , maybe 40–50 million years ago (mya). For the fossil record of living genera, documented since the Middle Miocene (about 15 mya) at least in some cases, see the genus articles. No species or subspecies of stork is known to have gone extinct in historic times. A systematic literature review uncovered nearly 1,000 papers on storks, but showed most stork species to lack scientific understanding suggesting that many species should be classified as Data Deficient on
3420-618: The Whitten effect ). Odours of unfamiliar male mice may terminate pregnancies, i.e. the Bruce effect . Mice can sense surfaces and air movements with their whiskers which are also used during thigmotaxis . If mice are blind from birth, super-normal growth of the vibrissae occurs presumably as a compensatory response. Conversely, if the vibrissae are absent, the use of vision is intensified. Female house mice have an estrous cycle about four to six days long, with estrus itself lasting less than
3510-430: The anogenital distance in males is about double that of the female. From the age of about 10 days, females have five pairs of mammary glands and nipples ; males have no nipples. When sexually mature, the most striking and obvious difference is the presence of testicles on the males. These are large compared to the rest of the body and can be retracted into the body. The tail, which is used for balance, has only
3600-410: The family Ciconiidae , and make up the order Ciconiiformes / s ɪ ˈ k oʊ n i . ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibises , but those families have been moved to other orders. Storks dwell in many regions and tend to live in drier habitats than the closely related herons , spoonbills and ibises ; they also lack
3690-476: The marabou and Abdim's stork will frequently be found foraging in open grasslands of savannah. Preferred habitats include flooded grasslands, light woodland, marshes and paddyfields, wet meadows , river backwaters and ponds. Many species will select shallow pools, particularly when lakes or rivers are drying out, as they concentrate prey and make it harder for prey to escape, or when monsoonal rainfall increases water depth of larger waterbodies. Some species like
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3780-402: The powder down that those groups use to clean off fish slime. Bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Many species are migratory . Most storks eat frogs , fish , insects , earthworms , small birds and small mammals . There are 20 living species of storks in six genera . Various terms are used to refer to groups of storks, two frequently used ones being
3870-635: The vomeronasal organ (Jacobson's organ), located at the bottom of the nose. The urine of house mice, especially that of males, has a characteristic strong odor. At least 10 different compounds, such as alkanes , alcohols , etc., are detectable in the urine. Among them, five compounds are specific to males, namely 3-cyclohexene-1-methanol, aminotriazole (3-amino-s-triazole), 4-ethyl phenol, 3-ethyl-2,7-dimethyl octane and 1-iodoundecane. Odours from adult males or from pregnant or lactating females can speed up or retard sexual maturation in juvenile females and synchronise reproductive cycles in mature females (i.e.
3960-1655: The IUCN Red List. A Ciconia bone found in a rock shelter on the island of Réunion was probably of a bird taken there as food by early settlers; no known account mentions the presence of storks on the Mascarene Islands . The following phylogeny is recognized by the International Ornithological Congress, partially based on de Sousa et al (2023): African openbill ( Anastomus lamelligerus ) Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans ) Marabou stork ( Leptoptilos crumenifer ) Lesser adjutant ( Leptoptilos javanicus ) Greater adjutant ( Leptoptilos dubius ) Wood stork ( Mycteria americana ) Yellow-billed stork ( Mycteria ibis ) Painted stork ( Mycteria leucocephala ) Milky stork ( Mycteria cinerea ) Jabiru ( Jabiru mycteria ) Saddle-billed stork ( Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis ) Black-necked stork ( Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus ) Abdim's stork ( Ciconia abdimii ) Asian woolly-necked stork ( Ciconia episcopus ) Storm's stork ( Ciconia stormi ) Black stork ( Ciconia nigra ) Maguari stork ( Ciconia maguari ) African woolly-necked stork ( Ciconia microscelis ) White stork ( Ciconia ciconia ) Oriental stork ( Ciconia boyciana ) The fossil genera Eociconia (Middle Eocene of China) and Ciconiopsis (Deseado Early Oligocene of Patagonia, Argentina) are often tentatively placed with this family. A "ciconiiform" fossil fragment from
4050-592: The Japanese house mouse ( M. m. molossinus ). A notable region of hybridization is a region in general Europe where M. m. domesticus and M. m. musculus are often found to hybridize. However, male hybrid mice typically experience hybrid sterility, which maintains reproductive separation between the two subspecies. The standard species karyotype is composed of 40 chromosomes . Within Western Europe there are numerous populations – chromosomal races – with
4140-690: The Straits of Gibraltar or east across the Bosphorus and through Israel and the Sinai. Studies of young birds denied the chance to travel with others of their species have shown that these routes are at least partially learnt, rather than being innate as they are in passerine migrants. Migrating black storks are split between those that make stopovers on the migration between Europe and their wintering grounds in Africa, and those that do not. The Abdim's stork
4230-610: The Touro Passo Formation found at Arroio Touro Passo ( Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil ) might be of the living wood stork M. americana ; it is at most of Late Pleistocene age, a few 10,000s of years. Storks range in size from the marabou, which stands 152 cm (60 in) tall and can weigh 8.9 kg ( 19 + 1 ⁄ 2 lb), to the Abdim's stork, which is only 75 cm (30 in) high and weighs only 1.3 kg ( 2 + 3 ⁄ 4 lb). Their shape
4320-476: The absence of persecution several stork species breed close to people, and species such as the marabou, greater adjutant, and white stork feed at landfill sites. Storks vary in their tendency towards migration. Temperate species like the white stork, black stork and Oriental stork undertake long annual migrations in the winter. The routes taken by these species have developed to avoid long distance travel across water, and from Europe this usually means flying across
4410-433: The authority of Alexander of Myndus , noted in his De natura animalium (book 3, chapter 23) that aged storks flew away to oceanic islands where they were transformed into humans as a reward for their piety towards their parents. Storks were also thought to care for their aged parents, feeding them and even transporting them, and children's books depicted them as a model of filial values. A Greek law called Pelargonia , from
4500-512: The base. The sexes are similar in appearance but the male is larger, which can be noticeable when the sexes are together. While it can give the impression of being an ungainly bird on the ground, the jabiru is a powerful and graceful flier. The jabiru lives in large groups near rivers and ponds and eats prodigious quantities of frogs, fish, snakes, snails , insects, and other invertebrates . It will even eat fresh carrion and dead fish, such as those that die during dry spells, and thus help maintain
4590-501: The biological significance of this structure is unknown. In 2007, mice genetically engineered to produce the third type of cone were shown to be able to distinguish a range of colors similar to that perceived by tetrachromats . House mice also rely on pheromones for social communication, some of which are produced by the preputial glands of both sexes. The tear fluid and urine of male mice also contains pheromones, such as major urinary proteins . Mice detect pheromones mainly with
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#17327798036194680-595: The bird is called tuiuiu , tuim-de-papo-vermelho ("red-necked tuim ", in Mato Grosso ) and cauauá (in the Amazon Basin ). The name jabiru is used for the wood stork ( Mycteria americana ). The jabiru is the tallest flying bird found in South America and Central America, often standing nearly the same height as the flightless and thus much heavier greater rhea . For the continent, it also has
4770-426: The burrow with the bill and even the whole head into the mud. The characteristic feeding method involves standing or walking in shallow water and holding the bill submerged in the water. When contact is made with prey the bill reflexively snaps shut in 25 milliseconds, one of the fastest reactions known in any vertebrate. The reaction is able to distinguish between prey items and inanimate objects like branches, although
4860-418: The care of their parents. Because of this long length of time spent brooding, pairs have difficulty breeding in successive years. Less than half of active pairs in one season are active the next season. Only 25% of successful pairs are successful the next season. The lifespan average is 36 years. The Jabiru has a diploid number of 2n = 56. Jabirus are widespread but not abundant in any area. They are considered
4950-416: The chance of expression of deleterious recessive alleles. Polyandry has been shown to increase offspring survival compared to monandry. The fitness of females increases in polyandrous lines due to more genetic diversity and greater litter size. Due to polyandry, males can be confused by the identity of new offspring. Multiple mating by females and paternity confusion can decrease rates of infanticide. If
5040-460: The closest relatives of humans other than lagomorphs , treeshrews , flying lemurs and other primates . The three widely accepted subspecies are increasingly treated as distinct species by some: Two additional subspecies have been recognized more recently: Many more subspecies' names have been given to house mice, but these are now regarded as synonyms of the five subspecies. Some populations are hybrids of different subspecies, including
5130-451: The clutch of two to five white eggs and are known to be more territorial than usual against other jabirus during the breeding period. Raccoons and other storks (including their own species) are occasional predators of jabiru eggs, but most nest predators appear to avoid these huge-billed birds and there are no known predators of healthy adult jabirus. Although the young fledge around 110 days old, they often spend around another 3 months in
5220-623: The deliverers of newborn humans. All 20 stork species have been assessed by the IUCN and carry a confident Red List status. However, the assessment for several species were based on incorrect assumptions and a general absence of sound information on stork habits. The word "stork " was first used in its current sense by at least the 12th century in Middle English . It is derived from the Old English word "storc", which itself comes from
5310-432: The diseases of aging. In another study, two types of DNA damage (8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine and DNA-protein crosslinks) were found to increase with age in mouse brain and liver. House mice usually live in proximity to humans, in or around houses or fields. They are native to India , and later they spread to the eastern Mediterranean about 13,000 BC, only spreading into the rest of Europe around 1000 BC. This time lag
5400-415: The environmental temperature of the mouse during postnatal development, so mice living in colder regions tend to have shorter tails. The tail is also used for balance when the mouse is climbing or running, or as a base when the animal stands on its hind legs (a behaviour known as tripoding ), and to convey information about the dominance status of an individual in encounters with other mice. In addition to
5490-420: The exact mechanism is unknown. Openbills are specialists in freshwater molluscs, particularly apple snails. They feed in small groups, and sometimes African openbills ride on the backs of hippos while foraging. Having caught a snail it will return to land or at least to the shallows to eat it. The fine tip of the bill of the openbills is used to open the snail, and the saliva has a narcotic effect, which causes
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#17327798036195580-489: The female; however, the calls continue after mating has begun, at which time the calls are coincident with mounting behaviour. Males can be induced to emit these calls by female pheromones. The vocalizations appear to differ between individuals and have been compared to bird songs because of their complexity. While females have the capability to produce ultrasonic calls, they typically do not do so during mating behaviour. Following copulation, female mice will normally develop
5670-481: The frequency of polyandrous events and fertilizations. Polyandry has evolved to increase reproductive success. Male mating behavior is also affected in response to the practice of polygamous behavior. Compared to monogamous house mice, polygamous house mice mate for longer periods of time. This behaviour allows for an increase in both the transfer of sperm and paternity success, which in turn increases male fitness. As opposed to polygyny, polyandrous behavior in females
5760-653: The genera. The shape of the bills is linked to the diet of the different species. The large bills of the Ciconia storks are the least specialized. Larger are the massive and slightly upturned bills of the Ephippiorhynchus and the jabiru. These have evolved to hunt for fish in shallow water. Larger still are the massive daggers of the two adjutants and marabou ( Leptoptilos ), which are used to feed on carrion and in defense against other scavengers, as well as for taking other prey. The long, ibis-like downcurved bills of
5850-638: The house mouse is not rigidly fixed into species-specific patterns but is instead adaptable to the environmental conditions, such as the availability of food and space. This adaptability allows house mice to inhabit diverse areas ranging from sandy dunes to apartment buildings. House mice have two forms of social behaviour, the expression of which depends on the environmental context. House mice in buildings and other urbanized areas with close proximity to humans are known as commensal . Commensal mice populations often have an excessive food source resulting in high population densities and small home ranges. This causes
5940-501: The house mouse population is known as noncommensal. These populations are often limited by water or food supply and have large territories. Female-female aggression in the noncommensal house mouse populations is much higher, reaching a level generally attributed to free-ranging species. Male aggression is also higher in noncommensal populations. In commensal populations, males come into contact with other males quite frequently due to high population densities and aggression must be mediated or
6030-647: The hypothesised Proto-Germanic * stork and ultimately the Proto-Indo-European *sr̥ǵos . The name refers to the rigid posture of storks, a meaning reflected in the related word stark , which is derived from the Old English "stearc". Several species of storks are known by other common names. The jabiru is named after the Tupí-Guarani words meaning "that which has" and "swollen", referring to its thickset neck. The marabou stork
6120-406: The males are uncertain if the offspring are theirs, they are less likely to kill the offspring. Intrauterine insemination causes an evolutionary consequence resulting from polyandrous behavior. When multiple males mate with one female, there are multiple sets of sperm gametes in a female mouse. Offspring fertilized by multiple males can compete more strongly for mother's resources and can lead to
6210-556: The maternal investment is similar between female mice that have mated once versus multiply. The polygamous behavior of female house mice promotes sperm competition , which affects both male and female evolutionary fitness . Females who mate with multiple males tend to produce both pups in greater numbers, and with higher survival rates, increasing female fitness. Sperm competition that arises from polygamy favors males with faster, more motile sperm in higher numbers, increasing male fitness. The competitive aspect of insemination increases
6300-542: The modern day Mus musculus castaneus emerged from an ancestral Mus musculus population in Indian subcontinent some time around 700 kya. From there, this ancestral population migrated to Iran around 360 kya to form Mus musculus domesticus and then to Afghanistan around 260 kya to form Mus musculus musculus . House mice usually run, walk, or stand on all fours, but when eating, fighting, or orienting themselves, they rear up on their hind legs with additional support from
6390-419: The modern folk culture of many Slavic countries, in the simplified child story that "storks bring children into the world". House mouse Mus abbotti The house mouse ( Mus musculus ) is a small mammal of the order Rodentia , characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus Mus . Although
6480-555: The most powerful animals and were used to represent the ba , the Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul, during the Old Kingdom . Bennu , an Egyptian deity that was later the inspiration for the phoenix , may also have been inspired by a stork, although it was more likely an ibis or heron. Greek and Roman mythology portrays storks as models of parental devotion. The 3rd century Roman writer Aelian , citing
6570-1054: The mouse population can increase very quickly. Breeding occurs throughout the year. (However, animals living in the wild do not reproduce in the colder months, even though they do not hibernate .) The pups are born blind and without fur or ears. The ears are fully developed by the fourth day, fur begins to appear at about six days and the eyes open around 13 days after birth; the pups are weaned at around 21 days. Females reach sexual maturity at about six weeks of age and males at about eight weeks, but both can copulate as early as five weeks. Although house mice can be either monogamous or polygamous, they are most commonly polygamous . They generally show characteristics of mate-defense polygyny in that males are highly territorial and protective of their mates, while females are less agonistic . The communal nursing groups that result from these behaviors lead to lower numbers of infanticide since more females are able to protect greater numbers of offspring. Both evolutionary and behavioral consequences result from
6660-582: The nonbreeding season, suggesting a lifelong pair bond. The nest of sticks is built by both parents around August–September (in the Southern Hemisphere ) on tall trees, and enlarged at each succeeding season, growing to several meters in diameter. Nests are often deeper than they are wide; they can be up to 1 m (3.3 ft) wide and 1.8 m (5.9 ft) deep. Half a dozen nests may be built in close proximity, sometimes among nests of herons and other birds. The parents take turns incubating
6750-586: The poles, most of North America and large parts of Australia. The centres of stork diversity are in tropical Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with eight and six breeding species respectively. Just three species are present in the New World: wood stork , maguari stork and jabiru , which is the tallest flying bird of the Americas. Two species, white and black stork , reach Europe and western temperate Asia, while one species, Oriental stork , reaches temperate areas of eastern Asia, and one species, black-necked stork ,
6840-464: The polygamous nature of the house mouse. One consequence is the paternal investment , which is lower in polygamous mice than in mice that are monogamous. This occurs due to the fact that males spend more time involved in sexual competition than do females, leaving less time for paternal care. Polygamous male house mice spend less time alone with pups. They are also less likely and slower to retrieve lost pups than males of monogamous mice. In contrast,
6930-554: The quality of isolated bodies of water. They feed in flocks and usually forage by wading in shallow water. Jabirus detect prey more through tactile sensation than vision. They feed by holding their open bill at a 45-degree angle to the water. When prey is contacted, the storks close their bill, draw it out of the water, and throw their head back to swallow. Fish around 8 to 20 cm (3.1 to 7.9 in) are typically taken, though larger fish weighing up to at least 500 g (1.1 lb) and eels up to 80 cm (31 in) can be taken. It
7020-530: The rainforest habitat sought by Storm's stork in South East Asia. They generally avoid marine habitats, with the exception of the lesser adjutant , milky stork and wood stork , all of which forage in mangroves, lagoons and estuarine mudflats. A number of species, especially woolly-necked storks, black-necked storks, Asian openbills and lesser adjutant Storks in south Asia, have adapted to highly modified human habitats, for foraging and breeding. In
7110-459: The regular pea-sized thymus organ in the chest, house mice have a second functional pinhead-sized thymus organ in the neck next to the trachea. Rodentia (rodents) Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, pikas) Scandentia (treeshrews) Dermoptera (flying lemurs) Primates († Plesiadapiformes , Strepsirrhini , Haplorrhini ) Mice are mammals of the Glires clade , which means they are amongst
7200-553: The risk of injury becomes too great. Both commensal and noncommensal house mouse males aggressively defend their territory and act to exclude all intruders. Males mark their territory by scent marking with urine. In marked territories, intruders showed significantly lower aggression than the territory residents. House mice show a male-biased dispersal; males generally leave their birth sites and migrate to form new territories whereas females generally stay and are opportunistic breeders rather than seasonal. The visual apparatus of mice
7290-422: The same species, but have little to do with one another. They also may nest solitarily, and the reasons why they choose to nest together or apart are not understood. Storks use trees in a variety of habitats to breed including forests, cities, farmlands, and large wetlands. Many ancient mythologies feature stories and legends involving storks. In Ancient Egypt , saddle-billed storks were seen as being amongst
7380-662: The second largest wingspan, after the Andean condor (that is, excluding the great albatross occasionally found off the coast of southern South America). The adult jabiru is 120–140 cm (47–55 in) long, 2.3–2.8 m (7.5–9.2 ft) across the wings, and can weigh 4.3–9 kg (9.5–19.8 lb). Sexual dimorphism is high, possibly the highest of any stork, with males being about 25% larger than females. Males weigh an average of 6.89 kg (15.2 lb) whereas females weigh an average of 5.22 kg (11.5 lb). Large males may stand as tall as 1.53 m (5.0 ft). The beak, which measures 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in),
7470-412: The snail to relax and simplifies the process of extraction. The other genera of storks are more generalised. Ciconia storks are very generalised in their diets, and some species including Abdim's stork and marabous will feed in large flocks on swarms of locusts and at wildfires. This is why white storks and Abdim's storks are known as "grasshopper birds". Ephippiorhynchus are carnivorous though have
7560-548: The stork on the window sill. Subsequently, the folklore has spread around the world to the Philippines and countries in South America . Birthmarks on the back of the head of newborn babies, nevus flammeus nuchae , are sometimes referred to as stork-bite. In Slavic mythology and pagan religion , storks were thought to carry unborn souls from Vyraj to Earth in spring and summer. This belief still persists in
7650-693: The tail – a behavior known as "tripoding". Mice are good jumpers, climbers, and swimmers, and are generally considered to be thigmotactic , i.e. usually attempt to maintain contact with vertical surfaces. Mice are mostly crepuscular or nocturnal ; they are averse to bright lights. The average sleep time of a captive house mouse is reported to be 12.5 hours per day. They live in a wide variety of hidden places near food sources, and construct nests from various soft materials. Mice are territorial, and one dominant male usually lives together with several females and young. Dominant males respect each other's territories and normally enter another's territory only if it
7740-404: The wild, due to a high level of predation and exposure to harsh environments. In protected environments, however, they often live two to three years. The Methuselah Mouse Prize is a competition to breed or engineer extremely long-lived laboratory mice. As of 2005 , the record holder was a genetically engineered mouse that lived for 1,819 days (7 days short of 5 years). Another record holder that
7830-456: The woolly-necked storks and lesser adjutant storks have adapted to changing crops of tropical agricultural landscapes that enables them to remain resident despite the transformations brought about by seasonal crops. In South Africa, the woolly-necked storks have adapted to artificial feeding and now largely nest on trees in gardens with swimming pools. Less typical habitats include the dense temperate forests used by European black storks , or
7920-536: Was sequenced in 2002. House mice have an adult body length (nose to base of tail) of 7.5–10 centimetres (3–4 in) and a tail length of 5–10 cm (2–4 in). The weight is typically 11–30 g ( 3 ⁄ 8 –1 oz). In the wild they vary in color from grey and light brown to black (individual hairs are actually agouti coloured), but domesticated fancy mice and laboratory mice are produced in many colors ranging from white to champagne to black. They have short hair and some, but not all, sub-species have
8010-475: Was attributed to an age related increase in the sensitivity of these tissues to oxidative stress . Dietary restriction is known to increase the lifespan of rodents and to retard aging . Dietary restriction was found to significantly reduce the age-related accumulation of 8-oxo-dG levels in nuclear DNA of all tissues studied in mice. Thus it was suggested that oxidative DNA damages that arise from normal cellular metabolism could be highly relevant to aging and
8100-462: Was kept in an enriched environment but did not receive any genetic, pharmacological, or dietary treatment lived for 1,551 days (4 years, 90 days). In several different mouse strains, a significant increase was observed with age in 8-Oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) levels in nuclear DNA from liver , heart , brain , kidney , skeletal muscle and spleen . This increase in DNA damage
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