Laelaps

Where the Wild Things Are

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:01:29 -0500

I have been feeling a little down this afternoon, so rather than blog something new I thought that I would share something that has cheered me up a little bit: the trailer for the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. Enjoy.

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The New "Giant's Shoulders" is Here!

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:57:22 -0500

Yesterday the 13th edition of The Giant's Shoulders was posted over at Skulls in the Stars. It is an excellent edition in a "guided tour" format. The next iteration will go on display next month at The Dispersal of Darwin.

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Photo of the Day #643: Red fox

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:54:38 -0500

A red fox (Vulpes vulpes), photographed at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware.
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The Mystery of the "Shovel-Tuskers"

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:36:33 -0500

A traditional restoration of Platybelodon as seen in H.F. Osborn's 1936 elephant monograph. From Lambert (1992).

Whenever I visit the American Museum of Natural History in New York I make sure to at least pass through the fourth-floor fossil halls before I leave, and one of my favorite displays features the shovel-mouthed proboscidean Platybelodon. In a glass case in the shadow of a mammoth skeleton is a growth series showing the development of the Platybelodon jaw, from juvenile to adult. Like many AMNH displays, however, this series was not a product of the renovation of the fossil halls in the 1990's but came out of much earlier research.

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Photo of the Day #642: Japanese macaques

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:11:20 -0500

Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), photographed at the Central Park Zoo.

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Hanging with Viktor Deak

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:03:10 -0500

If you are going to be around Brooklyn, New York tomorrow night and don't already have plans you might want to stop by JLA Studios to check outGeeking Out, hosted by Gelf Magazine. Among the guests will be paleoartist Viktor Deak, the man responsible for the beautiful hominid restorations in the "Lucy's Legacy" exhibition and the book The Last Human. Even if you cannot make it, though, you can still check out this interview with Deak.

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Happy anniversary to us

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:40:58 -0500

If it were not for my wife, Tracey, this blog would probably not exist.

What you see here every day are the end-products of my efforts. What you do not see are the hours of research and writing that go into producing that material, and I could not do it without Tracey. She usually hears my ideas first, be it about an exciting new discovery or some scientific statement that has ruffled my feathers, and I truly cherish the fact that we can "speak geek" to one another. She also gives me the space to write and has not tried to discourage me from turning our apartment into a small library.

More importantly, though, Tracey has always encouraged my writing. Even though the tangible returns for the time, money, and effort I have put into writing have so far been relatively minimal her support for my efforts has been unwavering. This has been particularly important on those days when I feel stuck or that my attempts at science popularization are inconsequential. Throughout my life I have often been told that I should just give up on science, words that still sometimes haunt me, but Tracey's faith in the modicum of talent I possess helps to keep me going back to the keyboard. You can thank her for this blog's continued existence.

I don't know what I would do without Tracey. When I met her five years ago I had no idea that she would change me so profoundly. Her ceaseless encouragement and affection have given me the courage to chase after my dreams, and I treasure the life we share. Today marks three wonderful years of marriage together, and I look forward to many more.

(And "Happy anniversary!" to Julia and Paul, too!)

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Photo of the Day #641: Japanese macaque

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:53:30 -0500

A Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), photographed at the Central Park Zoo.
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And deliver us from carnivorous elephants, amen.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:22:55 -0500

An illustration of Albert Koch's reconstructed "Missourium", or an American mastodon with a few extra bones.

Even though I find modern creationism to be intensely aggravating I occasionally like to browse older creationist texts. It is amusing to see how old creationist arguments have been recycled ad naseum, refitted for new uses (i.e. acceptance of evolution is responsible for [insert social ill here]), or given up entirely over time. In this latter category falls the assertion of the 19th century biblical literalist Mary Roberts that God had purposefully created, and subsequently destroyed, enormous carnivorous elephants.

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Photo of the Day #640: Nicobar pigeon

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:52:17 -0500

A Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica), photographed at the Central Park Zoo.

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Hippos and Pezosiren: Walking Under the Water

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:45:49 -0500

Hippopotamus amphibius, photographed at the Philadelphia Zoo.

Have you ever tried to walk along the bottom of a pool while fully submerged? It isn't easy. Keeping your feet on the bottom is enough of a task, and you would probably need a weight belt to take an underwater stroll. Hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius), though, walk and even prance along the bottom of lakes and rivers with ease. How do they do it?

When compared to a whale or even a manatee (the latter of which I will address a bit later on) a hippo does not look especially well-adapted to life in the water. It has a low, squat body and lacks a broad tail, flippers, or any other broad surface to help propel itself through the water. Neither is this amphibious mammal well-suited to quick movements on land. Hippos can trot a bit, but they are so cumbersome that while walking on dry land they always keep three of their feet in contact with the ground at a time.

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Photo of the Day #639: Bullfrog

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:22:37 -0500

A bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeiana), photographed in Westchester County, NY.

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Photo of the Day #638: Mallard

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:03:18 -0500

A mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos), photographed in Westchester County, NY.

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Photo of the Day #637: Cormorant

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:04:43 -0500

A double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) (?), photographed in Westchester County, NY.

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Armadillosuchus: One bad crocodyliform

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:10:04 -0500

Life restoration of the head of Armadillosuchus. From Marinho and Carvalho (2009).

When I was trying to come up with a title for this post I almost went with "Armadillosuchus: An armored crocodyliform you wouldn't want to mess with." Obviously I changed my mind. Not only was the title too long, but it was redundant to boot. All crocodyliformes (which includes living crocodylians) are "armored" in that they have little bony plates called osteoderms (primarily on the dorsal, or top, side of their bodies) beneath their scales, which in turn overlay a layer of bony plates called osteoscutes. Crocodyliformes are tough!

The newly-described crocodyliform Armadillosuchus from the Late Cretaceous deposits of Brazil, however, was carrying a more bizarre complement of armor. Right behind its head was an armored dome of hexagonal plates. This bony buckler was rigid, but could be moved independently of the head so that the neck was not always locked in one position. Now comes the really interesting part. Behind this "cervical shield" was a series of about seven mobile armored bands. (What the researchers call "mobile-banded body armor.") This is very similar to what is seen in living armadillos, hence the croc's name Armadillosuchus. This crocodyliform had "armadillo-like" armor even before the mammals did!

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