Diario de arielamontagne

Phylogeny placement - Kea, Nestor notabilis
Commonly named the alpine parrot, it is no great surprise that the Kea owes its descendance to the Parrot family in the phylogenetic tree, where it separated from other familiar parrots, such as the parakeets and
cockatoo, about 55.6 million years ago. A greater surprise was to note its common ancestor to the royal python, Nile crocodile and kemp turtles, about 300 million years ago, descending from the Sauropsida family.

Common adaptation - Flying Creatures
The flying creatures in our group project had to adapt the properties of their flight depending on their very different local environments; to feed and protect themselves from predators.

Unique adaptation - Red-breasted Dotterel
It was extremely hard to observe the Red-breasted Dotterel, as it has developed a unique camouflage for its typical environment. The female dotterels lay their nests on sandy beaches and, therefore, over millions of years, adapted their plumage to the sandy colours of the beach, as a way to protect themselves and young ones.