Wild+Turkey+-+Past+Californian+Turkey

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=Past - Californian Turkey:=

The Californian Wild Turkey became extinct recently enough to have been hunted by early human settlers and it is believed its demise was due to the combined pressures of climate change at the end of the last glacial period and hunting.

The modern species and the Californian Turkey seem to have separated approximately one million years ago.

Other mammals that are extinct now include the Miacis and the Aves Linnaeus.

Scientific Classification:
Table retrieved from: [] Binomial Name: Meleagris Californicus
 * Kingdom || Animalia ||
 * Phylum || Chordata ||
 * Class || Aves ||
 * Order || Galliformes ||
 * Family || Phasinidae ||
 * Subfamily || Meleagridinae ||
 * Genus || Meleagris ||
 * Species || M. Californica ||

Habitat:
Habitat: The Californian Turkey was aptly named because all of the known fossils have been found in the vicinity of today’s Los Angeles, meaning that the range that they inhabited was rather narrow and that area was completely encompassed by the Californian state.

The Californian Turkey is believed to have evolved from populations of turkeys that got isolated in California. However,because the bone structure of the Meleagris Californica is so similar totoday’s Wild Turkey, many believe that they must have lived in similar conditions. The conditions that today’s wild turkeys endure vary greatly from the frigid cold of winter to the baking heat of summer. Wild turkeys generally populate environments that range from softwood forests to hardwood forests and farms or pastures.

Because their structure is similar to the turkeys of today, they may have eaten the same kinds of foods. However, some predict that the Californian turkey consumed more nuts and hard foods as their beak is slightly wider. Generally though, they probably fed on a lot of plant material such as shrubs and leaves and berries and maybe even nuts which may provide an explanation as to the difference in the beak widths.

It is unsure what animals lived in the Californian State during the time Californian turkeys roamed; approximately 10000 years ago. However, their main predators were humans which drove them to extinction. But seeing as there are so many similarities in the body structure, many believe that most of the animals that live with wild turkeys lived with Californian turkeys 10000 years ago as both species have adapted the same way and are similar in appearance with like traits.

Structural Adaptation 1:

 * Strong and robust bones which protected the animal from predators.[[image:Californian_Turkey.png align="right" caption="Adaptations of the Californian Turkey: Image Retrieved from: http://www.jesseshunting.com/images/turkey-Meliagris-californica.jpg"]]
 * This helped the turkey survive and reproduce as otherwise the species might be hunted to extinction.
 * The environmental pressure that caused this change was primarily due to the predators that hunted it, such as wolves or other carnivores. Stronger bones would have protected the turkey from predators and allowed a better chance of survival.

Structural Adaptation 2:

 * Lots of feathers that acted as a coat to protect the turkey in winter.
 * This adaptation helped the species to survive and reproduce otherwise the species would have frozen.
 * The environmental pressure that caused this was probably the harsh winters the species had to survive in. The feathers that they developed could have been used as material for building nests and having warm feathers could protect the poults from dying at a young age.

Structural Adaptation 3:

 * The Californian turkey had legs which were probably used to carry the bird around in its search for food.
 * Probably allowed the birds to scavenge for food and survive and also escapefrom predators
 * The environmental pressure that caused this adaptation was probably the need to be mobile to evade predators and find food in different places. Legs could have also been used as weapons for defence; protecting them if and when they are attacked by predators or other turkeys.

[[image:turkey-male.jpg align="left" caption="Californian Turkey: Retrieved from: http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/turkey-in-CA.html "]]Structural Adaptation 4:

 * The Californian Turkey had a wider beak which possibly allowed the turkey to pick up worms and crack thick nuts.
 * It helped the bird survive by allowing it to get at food which might not have been possible without a wide beak such as nuts or tougher grasses
 * The environmental pressure could have possibly been the harsh winter conditions which left only hard foods to get at. Only birds with sturdier beaks could get to the food which produced a whole species that had the wide-beak-trait. This could also possibly have been used as protection from predators and other turkeys and a wider beak would have been more effective than a thin beak.

Structural Adaptation 5:

 * The Californian Turkey had eyes which were probably used to help distinguish friends from foes and to detect predators and escape if necessary.
 * It helped the species survive by detecting movement which allows them to spot harm that comes their way as well as enabling them to determine the difference between hostile and friendly animals.
 * The environmental pressure that caused this adaptation was possibly due to the numerous predators that hunted them; gaining eyes would have been a priceless adaptation. It would no longer have to rely purely on its sense of smell or hearing to avoid predators and eyes would enable it to find food a lot easier

Environmental Pressure:
The main pressure that drove the species to extinction was the extensive hunting by early humans and the last ice age.These turkeys were unable to adapt quickly enough and could not produce offspring quickly enough to repopulate their species as they were being hunted too quickly by humans.The decrease in temperature also limited the amount of plants that the birds could use as nesting material which led to the rapid decrease in turkey populations all over North America.

Bibliography:

 * 1) Californian Turkey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from []
 * 2) Facts about TURKEYS ***. (n.d.). //Facts About Everything! Arts, Literature, Science, History, Events, Entertainment, People, Places and the Natural World//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from []
 * 3) Turkey (bird) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from [])
 * 4) Wild Turkey a Calif native. (n.d.). //Creagrus home Don Roberson//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from []
 * 5) Yip, J. (n.d.). Californian Turkey. //Californian Turkey//. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from http://designeranimals.wikispaces.com/California+Turkey+%28Ancient+Animal%29