mammals are the animal that live both on land and in water.
animal that live both on land and in water?
mammals
the hill at sitabani was subjected to years of slash and burn agriculture by the villagers. as a result, the land got degraded and the moisture profile of the soil dropped majorly. originally this land was a natural man-animal conflict zone. the surrounding forests had so much of deer, nilgai and wild-boar presence that the crops would regularly be destroyed by the ungulates. also a lot of domestic animals like cows, buffaloes, goats and dogs would be often picked up by tigers and leopards. also, since a natural stream was flowing on one side of the hill, wildlife had no choice but to cross the hill to drink water, thereby coming in direct confrontation with farmers and cattle-grazers. this agricultural hill was gradually bought over from the villagers who owned it and then methodically converted it into prime habitat over the next few years . the first step was rain-water harvesting to improve the moisture content of the soil followed by the intricate process of removing weeds like lantana, spraying the soil with 7 species of indigenous grass seeds and planting lots of indigenous bamboo. some higher barren parts of the estate were gradually made green by planting lots of fruiting trees like many species of indian figs, jamun, wild mango, bhimal, rohini, jackfruit etc. these started attracting birds and wild herbivores. waterbodies were dug out to store excess rainwater and with time these became like natural ponds in the forest harbouring fish, amphibians, insects and turtles.there was very little natural water left in the surrounding hills and most water sources were monopolised by humans.so in drier months, all the wild animals from the neighbouring hills started coming to these perennial waterbodies to quench their thirst and soon sitabani became a magnet for free-ranging wildlife. a lot of endemic bamboo species were planted after eradicating weeds which became a favourite amongst deer and passing elephants. soon tigers and leopards started frequenting the reserve following the wild ungulates and automatically the man-animal conflict in the surrounding forest villages diminished. also a lot of local villagers were inducted and employed at the reserve by the founder abhishek ray thereby generating revenue through eco-tourism and creating a sustainable economic model thriving essentially on conservation.
sitabani wildlife reserve
the existing specimens of "orthosuchus" were found in the lower jurassic red bed formation in south africa in 1963. it was hypothesized that "orthosuchus" lived main on terrestrial land, but some key factors contribute to the fact that it is spent the time mostly in water. the first notable evident is on the palate, which was covered by soft tissues, not bone. the choanae are on the back of the palate and a valve was used to help close the glottis. these features help "orthosuchus" keep breathing when submerging in the aquatic system. the ears are protected by earflaps, which prevent water inflow to the otic recess when this animal is in water. modern crocodiles also have earflaps to decreasing water entry. the shape of the skull, especially the snout, is similar to an indian gharial, "gavialis gangeticus", who prey on small fish. it is possible that "orthosuchus" has the same predation, by slowly move toward schools of small fish and swallow from the side. the aquatic environment provides plenty of food for the animal, besides small fish, the animal could also feed on lake invertebrates. "orthosuchus" has a small salt-secreting gland, which indicates that it is not a marine animal. and because the pubis articulates with the front region of the ischium, it is believed to be a basal animal that lived in swamps and lakes. the animal is probably quadrupedal because the fore limbs are approximately 91% the length of the hind limb, which also makes the walking on land easier. unlike modern crocodiles, "orthosuchus" does not creep on its belly; it probably walks at a high position with its femur vertical to the ground. according to parrish, primitive crocodylomorph did not have a crawling stance because it was more used to the terrestrial environment. however, "orthosuchus" may not be a good swimmer, since it has amphicoelous vertebrae, whereas modern crocodiles have procoelous vertebrae, which increase the mobility of the tail.
orthosuchus