An Animal A Day

last SG · 2005-03-09T00:11:15+00:00

Deepwater Arrowtooth Eel The Deepwater Arrowtooth Eel (Histiobranchus bathybius) is a cutthroat eel of the genus Histiobranchus, found around the world at d...

poon cho tang SG

American Eskimo Dog

The American Eskimo Dog is a breed of companion dog originating in the United States of America (probably in New York City) in the twentieth century. The breed was formerly called a "spitz" or an "American Eskimo spitz" or a "spitz dog," and it achieved a high degree of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s in the U.S. as a circus performer. The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1994 and set the current standard for the breed. The United Kennel Club had recognized the breed long before 1994, and there is no difference between the two breed standards.

American Eskimo Dog

Appearance

The standard for the American Eskimo Dog calls for them to be white, with brown eyes (blue eyes, such as those found on the Alaskan Malamute, are a disqualification and a sign of poor health or breeding), and a compact body. The dog's length should be only slightly greater than its height at the shoulder. The muzzle is long and lupine (in contrast to the muzzles of Pomeranians). The ears are held erect and alert, and the tail should be feathered and curled on the dog's back. These dogs look very much like smaller versions of the Samoyed, to which they are related, and come in three standard sizes. The toy is from 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 cm) at the withers; the miniature is from 12 to 15 inches (33 to 38 cm); the standard is from fifteen inches up to and including nineteen inches (39 to 48 cm).

American Eskimo braving wind and snow.

History

The American Eskimo Dog, or "Eskie" as it is often called, is derived from the German Spitz, the Finnish Spitz, and almost certainly the Pomeranian and Keeshond. The spitz family of Nordic dogs is one of the least altered by human husbandry and reflects most nearly the prototypical dog, from which stock all others have been derived. Archeology suggests that Neolithic dogs living with humans would today pass for spitzes.

Trivia

All of the Nordic breeds are marked by erect, triangular ears ("prick ears"), a tail that flips onto the dog's back in a spiral, and two coats of fur: an inner, downy coat, and an outer coat of guard hairs that act as weather protection.

Like many light-colored dogs, the fur beneath the eyes can become stained if not regularly cleaned.

Alternative name: American Eskimo spitz
Common nicknames: Eskie, Eskimo
Country of origin: United States

Issue #125

poon cho tang SG

Northern Short-tailed Shrew

The Northern Short-tailed Shrew, Blarina brevicauda, is a large shrew found in central and eastern North America from southern Saskatchewan to Atlantic Canada and south to Nebraska and Georgia. At one time, this species and the Southern Short-tailed Shrew, B. carolinensis, were considered to be a single species.

Northern Short-tailed Shrew, Blarina brevicauda

It is slate grey in colour with light underparts. Its body is about 10 cm in length including a 2 cm long tail. They weigh about 21 g, about the same as a house mouse.

These animals are found in damp hardwood and coniferous forests and wet open areas.

They eat insects, earthworms, snails, small rodents and plant material. These shrews dig through leaf litter and can also tunnel in moist ground. They have scent glands that release a musky secretion which repels some predators; males also use scent to mark their territory.

Mating begins in early spring and may occur until late fall. The female has 2 or 3 litters of 5 to 7 young in a nest in a tunnel or under a fallen log.

Glands in their mouth contain a neurotoxin which allows them to immobilize larger animals such as snakes and birds.

Issue #126

poon cho tang SG

American Black Oystercatcher

The American Black Oystercatcher, Haematopus bachmani, is a conspicuous black bird found on the shoreline of western North America. It ranges from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to the coast of the Baja California peninsula.

American Black Oystercatcher, Haematopus bachmani

The American Black Oystercatcher is the only representative of the oystercatcher family (Haematopodidae) over most of its range, overlapping slightly with the American Oystercatcher (H. palliatus) on the coast of Baja California. Within its range it is most commonly referred to as the Black Oystercatcher, although this name is also used locally for the Blackish Oystercatcher and the African Black Oystercatcher. Its scientific name is derived by John James Audubon from that of his friend John Bachman. The species is not considered threatened.

Description

The American Black Oystercatcher is a large entirely black shorebird, with a long (9 cm) bright red bill and pink legs. It has a bright yellow iris and a red eye-ring. Its plumage varies slightly from north to south, being darker further north.

Behavior

The American Black Oystercatcher is restricted in its range, never straying far from shores, in particular favoring rocky shorelines. It forages in the intertidal zone, feeding on marine invertebrates, particularly molluscs such as mussels, limpets and chitons. It will also take crabs, isopods and barnacles. It hunts through the intertidal area, searching for food visually, often so close to the water's edge it has to fly up to avoid crashing surf. It uses its strong bill to dislodge food and pry shells open.

The American Black Oystercatcher is a territorial bird during the nesting season, defending a foraging and nesting area in one territory. Some pairs have been recorded staying together for many years. Nests are small bowls or depressions close to the shore in which small pebbles and shell fragments are tossed in with a sideward or backard flick of the bill.

Around 2 to 3 eggs are laid in this nest, these are hardy and can even survive being submerged by a high tide. The chicks are capable of leaving the nest after one day, and will stay in the territory for a long time after fledging (40 days). The fledged juveniles will stay in the territory until the next breeding season. If the parents migrate, that year's chicks will migrate with them; this happens more often in the north of the range.

Issue #127

poon cho tang SG

Blue-spotted Salamander

The Blue-spotted salamander, or Ambystoma laterale, is a mole salamander native to the Great Lakes states and northeastern United States, and parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Their range is known to extend to James Bay to the north, and southeastern Manitoba to the west.

Blue-spotted salamander, Ambystoma laterale, on a U.S. postage stamp of 2003.

Description

These salamanders are between 8 and 14 cm in length, of which the tail comprises 40%. Their skin is bluish-black, with characteristic blue and white flecks on its back, and bluish-white spots on the sides of its body and tail. They have an elongated body, though they are not nearly as slender as the Jefferson Salamander. The vent is typically black, which contrasts with the paler belly. Larvae which have transformed may have yellow splotches; these turn blue once the individual becomes terrestrial. Occasionally, a melanistic individual may be found in the wild.

They have long toes: four on the front feet, and five on the hind feet. Typically, specimens will have 12-14 costal grooves. Males tend to be smaller than females, though they have longer, flattened tails.

Habitat

The Blue-spotted Salamander are primarily found in moist, deciduous hardwood forests and swampy woodlands, though they can be found in coniferous forests too. They prefer vernal ponds that retain water into mid-summer, to ensure access to a suitable breeding habitat. Underbrush, leaf litter, rocks and logs are commonly used for shelter.

Reproduction

Eggs are laid in small agglomerations attached to twigs, rocks or plants at the edge of a woodland pond or ditch. Clutches average a dozen eggs, and females may lay up to 500 eggs yearly. Males and females first mate when two years old. Breeding occurs in early spring near ephemeral ponds.

Eggs take about one month to hatch. At hatching, larvae have a well-developed mouth and eyes. Front limbs form at two weeks, and hind limbs form at three weeks. It will fully transform to its terrestrial state by late summer.

This species is also known to hybridize with other salamanders, especially the Jefferson Salamander, Spotted Salamander and Tiger Salamander. The hybrid of Blue-spotted salamanders and Jefferson salamanders has the binomial taxon Ambystoma platineum. Hybrid offspring are clonal triploid females, which reproduce gynogenetically.

Issue #128

poon cho tang SG

Housefly

The housefly (also house-fly or house fly) (Musca domestica) is the most common fly occurring in homes and indeed one of the most widely distributed animals and the most familiar of all flies; it is a pest that can facilitate serious diseases.

Housefly, Musca domestica

Physical description

The adults are 5-8 mm long. Their thorax is greyish, with four dark longitudinal lines on the back. The underside of the abdomen is yellowish. The whole body is covered with hair. They have reddish compound eyes. The females are slightly larger than the males and have a much larger space between the eyes.

Like most Diptera, houseflies have only one pair of wings; the hind pair is reduced to small halteres that aid in flight stability. Characteristically, the fourth long vein of the wing shows a sharp upward bend.

Species that appear similar to the housefly include:

-- the lesser house fly (Fannia canicularis), somewhat smaller and more slender than M. domestica, fourth long vein of the wing is straight.
-- the stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) looks similar to M. domestica but has a longer piercing mouthpart, used to penetrate the skin of humans and animals in order to suck blood.

A dorsal comparison of adult stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (left), and house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus (right).

Life cycle

Each female fly can lay up to 500 eggs (in five batches of 100 eggs each). Within a day, the larvae (maggots) hatch from the eggs; they live and feed in (usually dead and decaying) organic material, such as garbage or feces. They are pale whitish and have no legs. After several molts, the maggots crawl to a dry cool place and transform into pupae, colored reddish or brown. The adult flies then emerge from the pupae. (This whole cycle is known as complete metamorphosis.) The adults live from half a month to a month. After having emerged from the pupae, the flies cease to grow. Small flies are not young flies but the result of little food during the maggot stage.

Some 36 hours after having emerged from the pupa, the female is receptive for mating. The male mounts her from the back to inject sperm. Normally the female mates only once, storing the sperm to use it repeatedly for several sets of eggs. Males are territorial: they defend a certain territory against other males and try to mount any female that enters.

Two copulating houseflies

The flies depend on warm temperatures; generally, the warmer the temperature the faster the flies will develop. In the winter, most of them survive in the larval or pupa stage in some protected warm location.

Some species of wasps can parasitize and kill the pupae.

Typical behaviors

Houseflies can only take in liquid foods. They spit out saliva on solid foods to pre-digest it, and then suck it back in. They also throw up partially digested matter and eat it again.

The flies can walk on vertical planes, and can even hang upside down from ceilings. This is accomplished with the surface tension of liquids secreted by glands near their feet.

Lacking eyelids, the flies continually clean their eyes with their forelegs. Most of their taste and smell sensor cells are on hairs on their legs, and that is why they also keep rubbing their legs together.

Flies and humans

Houseflies originated in Africa; it is quite possible that they entered America along with Christopher Columbus.

In colder climates, houseflies only occur together with humans. They have a tendency to aggregate and are difficult to dispel. They are capable of carrying over 100 pathogens, such as typhoid, cholera, Salmonella, bacillary dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax ophthalmia, and parasitic worms. Some strands have become immune to common insecticides.

In 2001, Garnet Hertz produced an art project in which a complete web server was implanted into a dead fly.

Conservation status: Secure

Issue #129

poon cho tang SG

Three-spined stickleback

The three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is native to much of northern Europe, northern Asia and North America. It has been introduced into parts of southern and central Europe.

Three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus

Three subspecies are currently recognised.

- Gasterosteus aculeatus aculeatus is found in most of the species range, and is the subspecies most strictly termed the three-spined stickleback; its common name in England is the tiddler.

- G. a. williamsoni, the unarmored threespine stickleback, is found only in North America; its recognised range is southern California, though there are isolated reports of it occurring in British Columbia and Mexico;

- G. a. santaeannae, the Santa Ana stickleback, is also restricted to North America.

The three-spined stickleback reaches a maximum length of 11 cm. Although most specimens do have three spines on their backs, some have two or four. Three-spined sticklebacks can live in fresh, brackish or salt water, but it is chiefly a fish of shallow inland ponds and streams. They feed on worms, crustaceans, the larvae and adult forms of aquatic insects, drowned aerial insects, and small fishes. They are in turn preyed on by larger fish, and also by fish-eating birds such as kingfishers.

In spring, males defend territories where they build nests on the bottom of the pond or other body of water; the sequence of territorial, courtship and mating behaviours was described in detail by Niko Tinbergen in a landmark early study in ethology. Territorial males develop a red chest colouration, and Tinbergen showed that the red colour acted as a simple sign stimulus, releasing aggression in other males and the first steps in the courtship sequence from gravid females. Only the males care for the eggs once they are fertilised.

Sticklebacks are easily maintained in the aquarium, and are not currently considered to be endangered. They are popular subjects for laboratory research.

The three-spined stickleback was featured on a 14-franc postage stamp issued by Belgium in 1990.

Issue #130

poon cho tang SG

Woodlouse

A woodlouse, also known as a pill bug (genus Armadillidium only), armadillo bug, sow bug, slater, ball bug, potato bug, doodlebug, or roley-poley/roly-poly, is a terrestrial crustacean with a rigid, segmented, calcareous exoskeleton and fourteen jointed limbs. They form the suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda, with over 3,000 known species.

The common pill bug, Armadillidium vulgare, a species of Woodlouse, suborder Oniscidea.

Woodlice need moisture and so are usually found in damp, dark places, such as under rocks and logs. They are usually nocturnal and are detritivores, feeding only on dead plant matter.

In the United Kingdom there are 37 native or naturalised species ranging in colour and in size (3-30 mm) of which only five are common: Oniscus asellus (the common shiny woodlouse), Porcellio scaber (the common rough woodlouse), Philoscia muscorum (the common striped woodlouse), Trichoniscus pusillus (the common pygmy woodlouse) and Armadillidium vulgare (the common pill bug).

The common striped woodlouse, Philoscia muscorum

Some woodlice are able to roll into a ball-like form when threatened by predators, leaving only their armoured back exposed. It is this ability which explains many of the woodlouse's common names.

A female woodlouse will keep fertilised eggs in a patch on the underside of her body until they hatch into small, pink offspring. The mother then appears to be "giving birth" to her offspring.

The common pill bug, Armadillidium vulgare

Linguistics

In linguistics, asking what a person calls a woodlouse is a common question used to determine what part of the United States a person is from based on the name the person uses for woodlice. For example, in the south, they are almost always called "roley-poleys." In the northeast and western states, they tend to be called "pillbugs." Other names may be used in other regions.

Woodlice in culture and cinema

Tuck and Roll were the woodlouse acrobats who appeared as supporting characters in the Pixar film A Bug's Life. They have been immortalized in a "Tuck and Roll's Drive'Em Buggies" ride at Disney's California Adventure.

Issue #131

poon cho tang SG

Irish Elk

The Irish Elk (Megaloceros giganteus) is an extinct deer that lived in Europe during the Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene epochs. It is famous for its formidable size (about two meters at the shoulders), and in particular for having the largest antlers of any known cervid (a maximum of 13 feet from tip to tip). The name giant deer is sometimes preferred; although large numbers of its skeletons have been found in Irish bogs, the animal was not exclusively Irish, and neither was it closely related to either of the living species currently called elk.

Irish Elk, Megaloceros giganteus, skeleton at the National Museum of Natural History

The latest known remains of the Irish elk have been carbon dated to about 5700 BC.

The size of the Irish Elk's antlers is remarkable, and some evolutionists have felt that their purpose demands an explanation. One theory was that the Elk's antlers, under constant sexual selection, increased in size because males were using them in combat for access to females; it was also suggested that they eventually became so unwieldy that the Elks could not carry on the normal business of life and so became extinct. However, Stephen Jay Gould's important essay on Megaloceros demonstrated that for deer in general, species with larger body size have antlers that are more than proportionately larger, a consequence of allometry, or differential growth rate of body size and antler size during development. In fact, Irish Elk had antlers of exactly the size one would predict from their body size and no special story of natural selection is required.

The antlers do seem to have played a role in the animal's eventual extinction, however. Recent research has determined that due to the high amounts of calcium and phosphate compounds required to form these massive structures, the Irish Elk males had to deplete these compounds partly from their bones, replenishing them from foodplants when the antlers were grown. Thus, in the growth phase, males were suffering from a condition similar to osteoporosis. When the climate changed at the end of the last Ice Age, the vegetation in the animal's habitat also changed towards species that could not deliver sufficient amounts of the required minerals. Thus, the delicate balance between the animal and its environment was brokencoupled with hunting by humans (facilitated by the weakening of the males' bones during antler growth), this was the probable cause of this animal's extinction.

A significant collection of Irish Elk skeletons can be found at the Natural History branch of the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

Conservation status: Extinct (5000 BC)

Issue #132

poon cho tang SG

American Curl

The American Curl is a breed of cat with unusual ears. The ears curl back from the face in a smooth arc toward the center of the back of the skull; they are otherwise perfectly normal cats. The breed is the result of a spontaneous mutation which occurred in a cat in California in 1981.

American Curl

The first cat, a black female domestic cat, was found and taken in by the Ruga family who named her Shulamith. All American Curls descend from her, the foundation female. In 1983, the first American Curl was exhibited at a cat show, and in 1987, the longhair American Curl was given championship status by The International Cat Association (TICA). In 1993, the American Curl set a precedent in the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) by being the first breed to be admitted to the Championship Class as one breed with two coat lengths.

The American Curl is a medium size cat with no health handicaps associated with the curled ears. They are strong, healthy cats remarkably free of genetic defects that affect many purebred cats. The American Curl may have either curled ears or straight ears. The American Curl may have three degrees of curl - first degree, second degree, or third degree. The third degree is the preferred one. The straight ear American Curl has all of the loving personality of the curled ear American Curl but may not be shown.

The American Curl comes in two coat lengths - either long haired or short haired. The American Curl comes in all colors.

The American Curl, while still an uncommon breed, is found across the world from the United States to Spain, France, Japan, Russia, and many other countries.

Country of origin: United States

Issue #133

poon cho tang SG

Crab-eating Macaque

The Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is an arboreal macaque native to South-East Asia. It is also called the Cynomolgus Monkey or Long-tailed Macaque.

Crab-eating Macaque, Macaca fascicularis

It is used extensively in medical experiments, in particular those connected with neuroscience. It has also been identified as a possible vector for monkeypox. It is one of the types of monkeys that have been flown into space.

It is found throughout most of South-East Asia, including the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, as well as in the country of the Philippines. These monkeys are often unafraid of humans, and are found in many cities and villages. A population of Crab-eating Macaques, fed by locals, lives in the middle of the city of Lopburi in Thailand.

A Crab-eating Macaque at Batu Caves, Malaysia

Crab-eating Macaques are born with black fur, but the fur turns to a yellow-green, grey-green, or reddish-brown shade as they grow. They have dark snouts, and bluish abdominal skin. They live in groups of between 20 to 60 individuals. Generally there are about 2.5 adult females for every adult male. They live for about four years in the wild, but in captivity have been known to live for up to 38 years.

There is some significant diversity within the species and these differences are classified into 10 subspecies:

- Macaca fascicularis fascicularis
- Macaca fascicularis aurea
- Macaca fascicularis umbrosa
- Macaca fascicularis atriceps
- Macaca fascicularis condorensis
- Macaca fascicularis fusca
- Macaca fascicularis lasiae
- Macaca fascicularis tua
- Macaca fascicularis karimondjawae
- Macaca fascicularis philippinensis

Conservation status: Lower risk (nt)

Issue #134

poon cho tang SG

Laughing Gull

The Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla, is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. It breeds on the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, southern California, USA, and northern South America. Northernmost populations migrate further south in winter, and this species has occurred as a very rare vagrant to western Europe.

Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla

This species is easy to identify. The summer adult's body is white and its wings are much darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the smaller Franklin's Gull, and have black tips. Its bill is red. The hood is mostly lost in winter. The Laughing Gull's name is derived from its raucous call.

Laughing Gulls breed in coastal marshes and ponds as far north in large colonies. The large nest, made largely from grasses, is constructed on the ground. The 3 or 4 greenish eggs are incubated for about three weeks. These are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they will scavenge as well as seeking suitable small prey.

Laughing Gull in mid-May

A first winter Laughing Gull

A flock of Laughing Gulls on the beach at Atlantic City

A juvenile Laughing Gull on the beach at Atlantic City

Issue #135

the.raven SG

OMG hyacinth macaw, me likey!!!

poon cho tang SG

Coal Skink

The Coal Skink (Eumeces anthracinus) is a North-American lizard that grows to 13 to 18 cm (5-7 in) in length with a maximum snout to vent length of 7 cm (2.75 in). It is a four-lined skink whose light stripes extend onto the tail. The broad dark lateral stripe is 4-4.5 scales wide and there are no light lines on top of the head. The dorsolateral light stripe is on the edges of the 3rd and 4th scale rows, counting from midline of back. One postmental scale is present. The sides of the head of the male are reddish during spring breeding season, at least in some parts of the range.

Coal Skink, Eumeces anthracinus

Taxonomy

There are two subspecies of the Coal Skink:

- Northern Coal Skink (E.a. anthracinus)
- Southern Coal Skink (E.a. pluvialis)

The (Northern) Coal Skink has first been described by Baird in 1850; the southern subspecies E.a. pluvialis was identified by Cope in 1880.

The Southern Coal Skink as a subspecies has posterior supralabials with light centers and dark edges, producing a spotted appearance. There are 26 or more rows of scales around the middle of the body.

Reproduction

The Coal Skink mates in spring or early summer, laying a clutch of 8 or 9 eggs. The young hatch after four to five weeks and are about 5 cm (2 in) long. The hatchlings have a blue tail; those of the Northern Coal Skink are striped like the adults, but young Southern Coal Skinks have black bodies with at the utmost faint traces of stripes.

Habitat and Range

The more humid portions of wooded hillsides with abundant leaf litter or loose stones are favorite habitats. Coal Skinks' habitat may also include areas around springs and rocky bluffs overlooking creek valleys. If pursued, they will not hesitate to take refuge in shallow water, going to the bottom and hiding under stones or debris.

Coal Skink Distribution

The Northern Coal Skink (blue in the figure) occurs in western New York and central Pennsylvania and in isolated colonies in the Appalachians. The Southern Coal Skink (orange) can be found on the eastern Gulf coast from the Florida panhandle to Louisiana as well as west of the Mississippi from eastern Kansas and central Missouri to eastern Texas and northern Louisiana. Scattered intermingled occurrences of both species (green in the figure) occur in Alabama and in Georgia.

Issue #136

poon cho tang SG

Peacock Butterfly

The Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io) is a well-known colourful butterfly, found in temperate Europe and Asia. The species is resident in much of its range, often wintering in buildings or trees. It therefore often appears quite early in spring.

Peacock butterfly, Inachis io, on heather flowers

The butterfly measures about 5 cm (2 in) from wingtip to wingtip and is easily identified by its striking eye pattern on a ruddy background, although with wings closed the cryptically coloured underwings make it look like a dead leaf. The eyespots are reminiscent of those on the feathers of the peacock, hence the name. They are believed to be used to frighten predators (such as birds) by creating a false perception of a another predator (note how a glance at the image can give the impression of a cat staring).

The butterfly hibernates over winter before laying its eggs in early spring, in batches of up to 500 at a time. The caterpillars, which are shiny black with six rows of barbed spikes and a series of white dots on each segment, hatch after about a week and feed on nettles and hops. The adult butterflies feed on a wide variety of flowering plants, including buddleia, sallows, dandelions, wild marjoram, danewort, hemp agrimony, and clover; they also utilize tree sap and rotten fruit.

Peacock caterpillars feeding on nettles

The Peacock can be found in woods, fields, meadows, pastures, parks, and gardens, and from lowlands up to 8,200 feet elevation. It is the commonest butterfly seen in parks and gardens in Europe.

Issue #137

poon cho tang SG

Grayling

The grayling (Thymallus thymallus) is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family (family Salmonidae) of order Salmoniformes. It is the type species of its genus. Native to the Palearctic ecozone, the grayling is widespread throughout northern Europe, from the United Kingdom and France to the Ural Mountains in Russia. While it was introduced to Morocco in 1948, it does not appear to have become established there.

Grayling, Thymallus thymallus, in the river Seine.

The grayling grows to a maximum recorded length of 60 cm (24 in) and a maximum recorded weight of 6.7 kg (15 lb). Of typical Thymallus appearance, the grayling proper is distinguished from the similar Arctic grayling (T. arcticus arcticus) by the presence of 58 dorsal and 34 anal spines, which are absent in the other species; T. thymallus also has a smaller number of soft rays in these fins. Individuals of the species have been recorded as reaching an age of 14 years.

The grayling prefers cold, running riverine waters, but also occurs in lakes and, exceptionally, in brackish waters around the Baltic Sea. Omnivorous, the fish feeds on vegetable matter as well as crustaceans, insects and spiders, molluscs, zooplankton, and smaller fishes, including Eurasian minnows and yellow perch. Graylings are also prey for larger fish, including the huchen (Hucho hucho).

With the Arctic grayling, T. thymallus is one of the economically important Thymallus species, being raised commercially and fished for sport.

The grayling is a protected species listed in appendix III of the Bern Convention.

The term "grayling" is often used to refer generically to the Thymallus species, and T. thymallus is sometimes called the European grayling for clarity. There are many obsolete synonyms for the species.

The several United States Navy submarines and patrol boats named USS Grayling have presumably been named for the Arctic grayling native to North America rather than this European fish.

Conservation status: Secure

Issue #138

poon cho tang SG

Crab spider

The true crab spiders are a group of spiders constituting the family Thomisidae or thomisids. Thomisids are non-web-building ambush predators whose coloration often matches the substrates they are found upon. They are called crab spiders because of their first two pairs of legs, which are held out to the side giving them a crab-like appearance. These are termed laterigrade legs.

A Crab Spider, family Thomisidae, uses camouflage to gain a meal on a Black-Eyed-Susan.

True crab spiders differ from philodromid crab spiders in usually having numerous hair-like setae on their bodies and in having the first pair of legs the longest. Philodromid crab spiders have scale-like setae and the second pair of legs is usually the longest. True crab spiders include the flower spiders in the genera Misumena, Misumenops, and Misumenoides in North America, as well as the nominate Thomisius in the Old World. The bark and ground-dwelling genus Xysticus is widespread in distribution, with many species in North America. Members of the strange genus Tmarus looks much like a small knot on a branch. Other odd thomisids include those that live in carnivorous pitcher plants and those that appear to mimic orchid flowers.

Crab spiders often live on flowers.

Genera

Misumena
Misumenops
Misumenoides
Thomisius
Xysticus
Tmarus

Goldenrod crab spider, Misumena vatia

Issue #139

poon cho tang SG

Brachiosaurus

For many decades, Brachiosaurus (brack-ee-oh-SORE-us) was the largest dinosaur known. It has since been exceeded in sheer mass by a number of giant titanosaurids like the Argentinosaurus and it was finally surpassed in height by another brachiosaurid, the Sauroposeidon. It was, however, still the largest dinosaur known from a relatively complete skeleton.

A Brachiosaurus, genus Brachiosaurus, from the movie Jurassic Park

However, even that may no longer be true, since the largest known specimens are now considered to be part of the new Giraffatitan genus. This new genus includes the famous mounted Brachiosaurus in the Humboldt Museum of Berlin, which is the tallest mounted skeleton in the world.

Brachiosaurus is estimated to weigh from 30 to 80 tonnes (35 to 90 tons), to reach 13 meters (42 feet) in height, and 25 meters (82 feet) in length. Higher estimates are usually based on the Ultrasauros, which was originally considered to be an extremely large Brachiosaurus. However, Ultrasauros is now believed to be a chimera, composed of neck bones from a Supersaurus, and a shoulder bone (scapulacoracoid) from a Brachiosaurus smaller than the largest Giraffatitan specimens.

Description and environment

Brachiosaurus was a sauropod, one of a group of four-legged, plant-eating dinosaurs with long necks and tails, and tiny brains. Unlike other families of sauropods, it had a giraffe-like build, with long forelimbs and a raised neck, which it probably used to graze in the tops of trees. It had teeth like chisels (spatulate), and nostrils on the top of its head, which may indicate it had a good sense of smell. It had a number of holes in its skull to reduce weight. The first toe on its front foot, and the first three on its hind feet had claws. They may have traveled in herds.

It used to be theorized that it used the nostrils on the top of its head like a snorkel, and spent most of its time submerged in water to help support its great mass. However, it is now believed that it was a fully terrestrial animal. Studies have shown that the water pressure would be too great for it to breathe while submerged, and its feet are too narrow, and would sink into the mud.

Like all of the other "long-necked" dinosaurs, the Brachiosaurus neck was heavy and when it held it in a upright position for too long time, it would not get any blood to the brain. It might have stood at the edge of the forests and waved the head up and down, while it systematically removed all the eatable food on the trees.

If the Brachiosaurus was warm-blooded, it is estimated that it would take ten years to reach full size. If it was cold-blooded, then it would take over 100 years to do so. If it was warm-blooded, it would have to eat more than 400 lbs. (200 kg) a day, but a lot less if it was not.

Berlin's brancai and Chicago's high flyer

The mounted skeleton of a B. brancai (or Giraffatitan) in the Humboldt Museum in Berlin is 4 stories tall, reaching 12 meters (39 feet) into the air, and is 23 meters (74 feet) long. It is the tallest mounted skeleton in the world, though the bones come from several different specimens.

A Brachiosaurus is also mounted in the B Concourse of United Airlines' Terminal One in O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, courtesy of the Field Museum of Chicago. It is a model, not a collection of fossils.

Classification

Brachiosaurus has three known species:

-- B. alataiensis de Lapparent & Zbyszewski, 1957: Is known from back bones (vertebrae), and parts of the hip and limbs, which were recovered in Estremadura, Portugal. It lived about 150 million years ago, during the Kimmeridgian age of the late Jurassic period.
-- B. altithorax Riggs, 1903: The type species is known from two partial skeletons recovered in Colorado and Utah in the United States. It lived from 145 to 150 million years ago, during the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian ages.
-- ?B. nougaredi de Lapparent, 1960: While it may not be a distinct species (nomen dubium?) it is known from set of fused bones over the hip (sacrum), and parts of a forelimb, which were recovered in Wargla, Algeria in Africa. It lived 100 to 110 million years ago, during the Albian to Cenomanian ages of the middle Cretaceous period.

The best specimens of Brachiosaurus were from the species B. brancai, which was found in the Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania, in Africa. In 1991, George Olshevsky placed them in a new genus, Giraffatitan because they share no derived characteristics with Brachiosaurus. Giraffatitan has withers over its shoulder, and a rounded crest over its nostrils.

-- Giraffatitan brancai Janensch, 1914 (formerly B. brancai): The new type species, it is known from five partial skeletons, including at least three skulls, and some limb bones, which were recovered in Mtwara, Tanzania, in Africa. It lived from 145 to 150 million years ago, during the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian ages of the late Jurassic period.

Discovery

The first Brachiosaurus was discovered in 1900 by Elmer S. Riggs, in the Grand River Canyon of western Colorado, in the United States. He named the new species and genera in 1903 after its long front limbs Brachiosaurus means "arm lizard", from the Greek brachion ("arm") and sauros ("lizard").

Starting in 1909, Werner Janensch found many new specimens in Tanzania, Africa, including some nearly complete skeletons, which were widely used in Brachiosaurus reconstructions. These are now considered to be Giraffatitan fossils.

Conservation status: Fossil

Issue #140

poon cho tang SG

Australian Kelpie

The Kelpie is an Australian breed of sheep dog that has proven very successful at herding sheep in the mountainous areas of New Zealand. They are medium-sized dogs and come in a variety of colours. Kelpies have been exported throughout the world and are used for herding sheep, cattle, goats, ducks, and other livestock.

Red and tan Australian Kelpie

Appearance

The Kelpie's short double coat has a thick undercoat and a weather-resistent outer coat. The coat comes in many colours, including black, red (from dark chocolate to a light red), blue (gray or slate), and tan (from dark brown through fawn to a light cream)--each either solid or with tan, and occasionally with small white markings. Different kennel clubs' breed standards have preferences for certain colours, so what is acceptable for show dogs in some venues might not be acceptable in others. The colour has no relationship to the dog's working ability, so ranchers looking for capable working dogs usually disregard the dog's colour.

Black and tan Kelpie

Kelpies stand between 17 and 23 inches (43-58.5 cm) at the withers and generally weigh from 24 to 45 lbs (11 to 30 kg).

Temperament

They are clever, loyal, and friendly and typically have an abundunce of energy, often working sixty kilometers (37 miles) and upwards in extremes of climates and conditions. They are renowned for running along the backs of sheep when moving them through chutes.

Health

Kelpies are a hardy breed with few health problems.

History

Some people claim that Kelpies have some Dingo blood. A possible reason for this belief is that, in areas where it is illegal to keep dingoes as pets, some dingo owners register their animals as Kelpies or Kelpie crosses. The breed is most likely a cross between Scottish sheepdogs and smooth-haired collies of the past.

Breed standards

As is the case with many breeds of dogs that are still used for their original purposes, breed standards vary depending on whether the registry is more interested in a dog who performs his job superbly or a dog whose appearance meets an ideal standard. It is possible for a dog to do both, but his options for competition in dog shows might be limited depending on his ancestry and on the opinions of the various kennel clubs or breed clubs involved.

For example, in Australia, there are two separate registries for Kelpies. The Working Kelpie Council encourages breeding for herding ability, and allows a wider variety of coat colors than does the Australian National Kennel Council, which encourages breeding for a certain appearance and limits dogs to certain colors, apparently promoting solid colors over others.

Solid-color chocolate (or red) Kelpie

As another example, in the United States, the Kelpie was recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club for a while, but currently the AKC (which promotes standards based on the dog's appearance) does not recognize the breed, and the North American Australian Kelpie Registry, which promotes the dog as a working breed, does not appear to want the breed to be promoted by the AKC.

Alternative names: Australian Sheep Dog, Barb, Kelpie
Country of origin: Australia

Issue #141

dsnake1 SG

This is a very informative thread.
Great work. will be back for more. Very Happy

poon cho tang SG

Fin Whale

The Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is a mammal which belongs to the baleen whales suborder. It is the second largest whale and also the second largest animal ever to have lived, after the Blue Whale. It has a world wide distribution, and in Europe is readily seen in the Bay of Biscay. The Fin Whale was hunted more than any other whale during the twentieth century.

Fin Whale, Balaenoptera physalus

Taxonomy

The Finback has long been known to taxonomists. It was first described by Frederick Martens in 1675 and then again by Paul Dudley in 1725. These descriptions were used as the basis of Carolus Linnaeus' Balaena physalus (1758). The Comte de Lacepede reclassified it as Balaenoptera physalus early in the nineteenth century. The specific name comes from the Greek physa, meaning bellows.

The Fin Whale is a close relative of the Blue Whale taxonomically speaking. Evolutionary divergence occurred between 3 and 5 million years ago. Hybrids between the two species are quite common - for every 1,000 Fin Whales there is a hybrid Blue-Fin Whale.

Population groups have split into north-south groups. On account of their migatory patterns (see below), the northern and southern groups do not meet and hence do not interbreed. There has been some genetic drifting and some sources recognise two sub-species B. p. physalus (Northern Fin Whale) and B. p. quoyi (Southern Fin Whale).

Physical description and behaviour

Fin Whales are enormous animals. The longest specimens - typically females found in Southern Hemisphere populations can be up to 26 m in length and weigh 120,000 kg. Males are typically a metre shorter. Northern specimens are between 21 m and 23 m long. Even at birth Fin Whales weigh in excess of 3,000 kg - more than half the weight of a fully grown Indian elephant. They reach their full size at about 10 years old and can live for over 80 years. The gestation period is eleven months to one year. Calves stay close to their mother for about six months.

Fin Whales are usually distinguished by their gigantic size. From this fact only, the only possibilities for confusion when making an identification at size are with the Blue Whale, the Sei Whale, or, in warmer waters, Bryde's Whale. The Fin Whale has a large white patch on its right jaw (and right jaw only, the left jaw is grey) and the baleen at the tip of the right jaw is also white. This type of asymmetry can be seen occasionally in Minke whales, but the fin whales's asymmetry is universal and thus is unique to the amongst cetaceans and is the key to making a full identification. Although it was hypothesized to probably have arisen because the whale swims on its right side when surface lunging and circles to the right often while at the surface, presumably above a prey patch (circle feeding), the whales just as often circle to the left. To date, we have no successful hypothesis to explain the asymmetry (Tershy, B. R. 1992. MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, 8(3):315-318). The belly and underside of the flippers are white. The rest of the body is grey - with lighter patches on the head roughly demarced from the dark back in V-shapes (chevrons) which also assist in identification. 50-100 ventrical pleats or grooves run from the tip of the chin to the navel.

A surfacing Fin Whale

This rorqual is a filter-feeder, using its baleen to strain small schooling fish, squid and crustaceans. An adult has between 260 and 480 baleen plates on each side of the mouth for filtering.

It is a long slim whale with a prominent dorsal fin about three-quarters of the way along the back. The fin is visible soon after the blow when the whale surfaces. It has a 5 m vertical single column blow. The whale will blow one to several times on each visit to the surface, staying close to the surface for about one and a half minutes each time. The tail remains submerged during the dive sequence. It can dive to depths of 250 m and dives last between 10 and 15 minutes.

The Fin Whale is a very fast swimmer amongst whales of its size. Speeds of 20 mph are common, and bursts in excess of 25 mph have been recorded, which labeled it with the nickname "greyhound of the sea". Breaching is seen but is not common. Fin Whales appear to have an ambivalent attitude to boats.

Like Blue Whales, Fin Whales have been recorded making long, loud, low-frequency noices. Under water, these vocalizations can be detected hundreds of miles from their source. It is undetermined whether the vocalization is used for communication and/or shows of machismo from breeding males.

Population and distribution

Like many of the large rorquals, the Fin Whale is a cosmopolitan species. It is found in all the world's major oceans, and in waters ranging from the polar to the tropical. It is absent only from waters close to the ice pack at both the North and South extremities and relatively small areas of water away from the large oceans, such as the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the eastern part of the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea. The highest population density occurs in temperate and cool waters. It is less densely populated in the hottest, equatorial regions. Deep waters beyond the continental shelf are preferred to shallow waters.

Fin Whale range

The total population is estimated to be just in excess of 100,000. The largest populations include 24,000 in the Southern Ocean and 14,000 in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Greenland.

Fin Whales are migratory species. A north-south pattern has been proposed for populations in both the northern and southern hemispheres. For southern populations this pattern is believed to be well understood. Animals travel south for the summer and back north for the winter. The precise route of migration appears to be governed by the strength of geo-magnetic fields - Fin Whales preferring low and constant fields strengths to high and variable ones. The northern migration is less well-understood and is probably more patchy particularly in the North Atlantic. There are three suggested reasons for this. One is that the Atlantic Gulf Stream lessens the north-south temperature gradient making migration a less attractive option. Thirdly food may be available in the cold north all year round, again lessening the need for travel. Finally in winter, Fin Whales prefer to stick to deeper colder waters, further from the shore and thus less easily detected by humans wanting to measure their movement.

Human interaction

In the early days of whaling, Fin Whales were safe from the hunters. Their rapid speed enabled them to become a low priority for whalers. However the advent of steam-powered boats and harpoons that exploded on impact took the upper hand away from the Fin Whale. It went on to become the most hunted cetacean in history. 725,000 recorded kills of Fin Whales were made in the twentieth century, causing them to become endangered around the world, and in particular in the Southern and Atlantic Oceans. Whaling of the species reached its peak between 1935 and 1970 when in excess of 30,000 animals were taken annually. Following a morartorium on hunting of Fin Whales enforced since 1985, the Northern and Southern Pacific Oceans populations have recovered somewhat. There may also be some recovery in Antarctic waters. However all populations worldwide remain listed as endangered species on the International Conservation Union Red List. Today about 10 Fin Whales are killed each year by whalers on the west coast of Greenland, under an agreement with the International Whaling Commission to allow subsistence whaling in the area.

Other cetacean dangers caused by humans, including catching in fishing nets, collisions with ships and pollution, are relatively rare in Fin Whales on account of their size, speed and position high in the food chain.

Conservation status: Endangered

Issue #142

« Previous Page Next Page »