Description The species Didelphis virginiana had been known to Native Americans for millennia before the first Western settlers arrived, but in the early 1600s, John Smith of Jamestown, Virginia, gave the genus its common name, the opossum, which he derived from “apasam,” the Algonquin term for the animal[4]. Today, the species Smith encountered is commonly called the Virginia opossum in honor of where he found it. However, it was not until much later that the Virginia opossum’s scientific name was determined. Carl Linnaeus, who developed binomial nomenclature, derived the genus Didelphis, which includes most opossums, from the Greek prefix “di” (two) and word “delphys” (uterus/womb), alluding to the fact that the entire female reproductive system is paired. It was Robert Kerr who finally gave the species its scientific name Didelphis virginiana in 1972[4]. When people refer to opossums, they are most likely thinking about the Virginia opossum and envision what is essentially a big rat. This is …show more content…
Didelphis virginiana is part of the order Didelphimorphia, which is the largest order of marsupials in the Americas and contains most of the opossum species. Scientists believe that Didelphis virginiana evolved from a marsupial similar to Didelphis marsupialis. That particular species migrated from South to North America during the Pliocene Epoch during which the two continents joined together[4] [7]. This close relationship between Didelphis virginiana and Didelphis marsupialis can be seen in Figure 3, though Didelphis marsupialis is more closely related to Didelphis albiventris[8]. This is not surprising however, since Didelphis virginiana is the only member of the genus Didelphis – indeed, the only member of the marsupial family – that can be found north of Mexico.
Caesar Rodney was born in Dover, Delaware on October 7, 1728. He was the son of Caesar Rodney and Judy Crawford. In his younger years he was tutored by his parents, but he never received any formal education. When he was only 17, his father died and he was put under the care of Nicholas Ridgely. Ridgely was the clerk of the peace in Kent County and this is where Caesar's life in politics began. In 1755 The royal government named Rodney the High Sheriff of Kent County. He did very well in this position to climb up the political ladder and eventually became justice of the peace. When he was 30 years old he was elected as a representative in the legislature of Newcastle. He then took the seat as a representative to the upper house
Their tails of short-tailed opossums are prehensile which allows them to wrap their tails around items such as branches to hold on to them. A short-tailed opossum can hang from its tail which allows it to use all four hands at once which also makes it a great climber.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an autobiography of Frederick Douglass which depicts the hardships and abuse he witnessed and felt as a slave, gives the reader insight into what it was like to be a slave in America. The type of slavery Frederick Douglass endured as an in-house slave for many years in Maryland was not as harsh or difficult as being a slave in another state such as Tennessee which is farther away from the North, or on a different plantation being used as a field hand. Frederick Douglass had the luxury of living in the city for a while, where “a slave is almost a freeman, compared with those on a plantation” and where “there is a vestige of decency” and “a sense of shame” which makes the city slave owners kinder, since they do not want to seem like an unkind slave owner to their non-slave owner neighbors. Even with this fact in mind, the reader is still able to understand the types of punishments that occurred, how the slaves were treated, and what it was like to live life as a slave because of the detail that Frederick Douglass writes in his book about the experiences he went through all those years that he was a slave and what it was like to become a free man.
Cleopatra's family were the rulers of Egypt for more than 100 years before she was born around 69 B.C. The stories and myths surrounding Cleopatra's life inspired people to write a number of books, movies and plays, including Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare. Cleopatra has become one of the most well known ancient Egyptians.
John G. Fee, a Christian leader and abolitionist, founded Berea College in 1855 (Baskin 109). His basic goal for the school was for it to be an interracial, Christian school where the white and Negro communities could be equal (Nelson 64). However, in 1892, President William G. Frost shifted Berea College’s original and primary goal in reaction to the realities of power and demand. Before coming to Berea, Frost was indeed not racist, in which we saw through early evidence. Yet, it was noticed through certain decisions his position had changed on the topic. But first, you must know the history of Berea before you can clearly understand President Frost.
The Venus of Willendorf is one of the earliest sculptures of the body made by humans during the Paleolithic era. She was made from limestone native to her location and covered with red orche. Despite standing only 4.4 inches, the purpose of the Venus of Willendorf is widely debated. Some will say the exaggerated breasts, navel, and vulva connects her to fertility as a representation of a mother goddess. Others, such as those in my class, believe her to be a figure of body image. The stumpy female figure features hanging breasts, an obese middle and belly, and distinct buttocks in all, represents a realistic form of a severely overweight woman. Due to the hash ice-age environment of where she’s from leads one to believe fatness and fertility would have been highly desirable. Whether the sculpture was based on a fantasy or a real life model the infatuations with the idea of self-acceptance through body
Fossil evidence suggests that the Cathartid (New World) vultures have been around for quite some time with two fossil species dated from the early Oligocene (about 35 million years ago). During the Pliocene and Pleistocene (about 2 million years ago) th...
Kofi Annan (1938), a former secretary-general once said, “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” Knowledge is a source for progress and a tool for power. In his story as a slave, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass, a boy born into slavery, learns how to read and write. As a child, Douglass had no knowledge about his age, the date, or his biological father. During his early childhood, he had little to no contact with his mother. Soon after she died, he had no choice but to work on the plantation as a slave for the rest of his life without knowing his family. Throughout his life as a slave, multiple menacing slaveholders hold back Fredrick Douglass from his freedoms. They keep him from knowing the truth about slavery and restrict him from all learning. Douglass’ uses the power of knowledge to gain his freedom.
Lemelin, Pierre, Daniel Schmitt, and Matt Cartmill. “Footfall Patterns and Interlimb Co-Ordination in Opossums (Family Didelphidae): Evidence for the Evolution of Diagonal-Sequence Walking Gaits in Primates.” Journal of Zoology 260.4 (2003): 423–429.
Much of the debate over whether species should be separated into different groups arises from the morphological differences between individuals of the same species. For example, Australopithecus Afarensis fossils express high sexual dimorphism, which proposes two individual species (Reno et al., 2003). While Australopithecus Africanus, in comparison, shows more realistic size ratios between males and females suggesting one species (Lockwood, 1999). A study performed by Richmond and Jungers looked at the size variation in Australopithecus Afarensis compared to living hominoids to answer the following question: whether it is possible to see such high differences in size between genders of the same species or whether it makes more sense to divide the species into two (1995). In this study, a conclusion of two separate species for the Australopithecus Afarensis was made based on comparisons of fossils such as the humorous and femur with modern gorillas (Richmond & Jungers, 1995). This study compared the size of postcranial fossils. While most of the research has focused on making interpretations based on only cranial fossils, research by Harmon agrees that by looking at postcranial evidence we can gain better insight into the real variations between and within species (2009). Most research assumes high dimorphism wi...
Belle opens into a crowded dock in 1769 England at the height of the British Colonial Empire, the slave trading capital of the world. This sets the tone for the rest of the movie, informing the audience that this culture is very different from our own. Slavery is a cultural norm and people are ranked due to ethnicity, gender, family relations, financial status, and their professional career. This not only the normal state for these people’s lives, this is considered justified and right in the eyes of many people. Majority of this society believes that the system works, and those who question its’ validity quickly become social outcasts and are thrown to the bottom of this system.
The Great Discovery of Marie Curie Radium is the 88th element on the periodic table, its family group is Alkaline Earth Metal. Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra. Pure radium metal is bright white when freshly prepared, but blackens once it is exposed to air. Radium has been used to produce neutron sources, luminous paints, and medical radioisotopes. Marie Curie is known to be the mother of science, due to Marie's several discoveries, Mrs. Curie made up most of the Earth's metals in the periodic table.
Gear, Kathleen O’Neal and Gear, W. Michael. “A Brief Look at the Evolution of Bison” lindnerbison. August 2010. Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. Web. March 30, 2014.
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.