Lidth's Jay
- yamadorifactory
- 10月8日
- 読了時間: 1分
This is a species of Jay endemic to Amami Ōshima in Japan, renowned for its exceptional beauty. Under soft light, the contrast between its reddish-purple and bluish-purple two-tone colors is truly stunning. At first glance it may seem flashy, but in the dark forest it is surprisingly inconspicuous.
The “Lidth” in its English and scientific names honors the Dutch zoologist Theodoor Gerard van Lidth de Jeude.
On Amami Ōshima, it inhabits only deep forests, but during the breeding season it sometimes nests under the eaves of houses to avoid predators.
About 10 million years ago, Amami Ōshima was connected to the Eurasian continent. Around 2 million years ago, it became isolated from the continent. Between roughly 300,000 and 15,000 years ago, while related species in neighboring areas went extinct, this species survived only on islands separated by straits that new predators and competitors could not cross. Isolation led to speciation, and the species evolved to adapt to the unique environment of the island, becoming endemic.
コメント