The mammals of Angola

Scientific investigations on the mammals of Angola started over 150 years ago, but information remains scarce and scattered, with only one recent published account. Here we provide a synthesis of the mammals of Angola based on a thorough survey of primary and grey literature, as well as recent unpublished records. We present a short history of mammal research, and provide brief information on each species known to occur in the country. Particular attention is given to endemic and near endemic species. We also provide a zoogeographic outline and information on the conservation of Angolan mammals. We found confirmed records for 291 native species, most of which from the orders Rodentia (85), Chiroptera (73), Carnivora (39), and Cetartiodactyla (33). There is a large number of endemic and near endemic species, most of which are rodents or bats. The large diversity of species is favoured by the wide range of habitats with contrasting environmental conditions, while endemism tends to be associated with unique physiographic settings such as the Angolan Escarpment. The mammal fauna of Angola includes 2 Critically Endangered, 2 Endangered, 11 Vulnerable, and 14 Near-Threatened species at the global scale. There are also 12 data deficient species, most of which are endemics or near endemics to the countryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An Analysis of Reinsurance and Firm Performance: Evidence from the Taiwan Property-Liability Insurance Industry

[[abstract]]This study investigates the relationship between reinsurance and firm performance by sourcing panel data from the 1999 to 2009 period of the property-liability insurance industry in Taiwan. The results of this investigation offer some insight that firm performance and reinsurance are interdependent. We find that insurers with higher return on assets (ROA) tend to purchase less reinsurance and insurers with higher reinsurance dependence tend to have a lower level of firm performance. Therefore, managers have to strike a balance between decreasing insolvency risk and reducing potential profitability. Other empirical results show that ROA, underwriting risks, liquidity ratio, business line concentration, return on investment (ROI) and financial holding dummy have a significant correlation with reinsurance. In addition, firm size, financial leverage, reinsurance, underwriting risks, liquidity ratio and ROI have a significant influence on firm performance. Our results have practical implications for the property-liability insurance industry and competent authorities in Taiwan.[[incitationindex]]SSCI[[booktype]]紙