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If it wasn't apparent already, I'm a sucker for monster movies, especially ones involving oversized crocodilians. The vast majority of them are absolutely horrible (like tomorrow's movie of the week, Supercroc), but next month (Nov. 8) a more promising feature from the director of Wolf Creek will be coming out. The film is called Rogue, and while it follows the basic killer croc formula (come on, how many original story lines about giant man-eating suchians can you come up with?) it seems like it's actually going to be scary and enjoyable, unlike the cheese-fest that was Primeval.
In fact…
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The intimidating skull of Prestosuchus, taken at the AMNH.
I've been trying for quite some time now to get some information about a predatory member of the Order Rauisuchia, Prestosuchus chiniquensis so that I could write something substantial about it, but most of the references I've been able to get a hold of only mention it in reference to similar animals (i.e. Postosuchus, Saurosuchus, etc.). If anyone has any papers or technical literature they could send me on this animal (my e-mail can be found via the "contact" tab on this blog), I would be more grateful.
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While the a number of my classmates spent their evening at the football stadium I hopped the train to New York to attend the "How various media outlets are used to popularize, communicate, and promote science" panel discussion, part of a series in the Science Communication Consortium. Even though the discussion didn't necessarily answer the questions posed at the beginning of the seminar (namely where is science communication going, although Christopher Mims had a bit to say about this, as we'll see), there were some interesting points made all around.
Kitta MacPherson of the Newark Star…
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Although I've been able to capture some good Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) pictures when the animals have been bright-eyed and busy-tailed (then again, aren't they always bushy-tailed?), I love this shot because I was able to make a "boring" sleeping subject seem more interesting. It was taken at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. this past spring at about 6 AM and the two red pandas sleeping in the trees did not move the entire day.
If you want to know more about these fascinating (and endangered) mammals, Jeremy at The Voltage Gate ran a multi-part series about them earlier this year; Part…
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Yesterday I put up v. 1 of PZ's patented Mutating Genre Meme that had been passed on from The Primate Diaries, but today I'll be passing on The Anterior Commissure version. In case anyone hasn't seen them, here are the rules again;
There are a set of questions below that are all of the form, "The best [subgenre] [medium] in [genre] is...". Copy the questions, and before answering them, you may modify them in a limited way, carrying out no more than two of these operations:
* You can leave them exactly as is.
* You can delete any one question.
* You can mutate either the genre, medium, or…
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I try to visit the AMNH in New York City as often as I can, but it looks like I'll be making a few extra trips this coming November. While the exhibits alone are worth a visit, the museum often plays host to various scientists and authors as well, and it appears that they'll be running at least three public talks next month focusing on conservation and extinction.
On November 13th, David S. Wilcove from Princeton University will be speaking about his book (just released this week) No Way Home which covers animal migrations and the pressures they're facing from human activities. While I haven'…
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This is one of the better shots of an African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) that I was able to get during my trip to the Disney Animal Kingdom Park last year (the ride that lets you view the elephants jolts you so much it's hard to get a decent shot). This variety of elephant, distinct from the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus), is the larger of what are perhaps two species of elephant inhabiting Africa at present. The second species is the African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), although the splitting of the forest group into a new species is still controversial. Regardless of…
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Me and the cats (Chase is the white one, Charlotte is the black one), taken one year ago.
It's October 18th, which means that I've been blogging about science for one year now. It all started over at ProgressiveU.org, where I started writing as a way to win a scholarship (which I did), but by the time the contest was over I decided to take my writing in a somewhat new direction on Wordpress. I recently posted a somewhat longer version of the various transitional forms this blog has assumed during the past year for those interested, although I'm not quite sure that I would say today truly…
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Hmmm...
I must admit that the attention this blog has been getting as of late has left me astonished (when I first started writing I wondered if anyone would ever read my posts), and Eric of The Primate Diaries has given my ego another boost by bestowing The Intellectual Blogger Award upon me (my only regret is that I can't give him the same award in return). Part of the joy of receiving such recognition is passing it on, however, and I've been thinking long and hard about which other bloggers really get my mental wheels turning when I read their work. Envelope, please...
The Anterior…
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As I noted earlier today I've actually been tagged for PZ's patented Mutating Genre Meme twice, so rather than rolling both into one I'll pass on one version today and the other tomorrow (would this mean that I have double the reproductive success of other bloggers?). The first comes from the always insightful Primate Diaries, but before I mutate the meme I should probably pass along the rules, as well;
There are a set of questions below that are all of the form, "The best [subgenre] [medium] in [genre] is...". Copy the questions, and before answering them, you may modify them in a limited…
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"Thinking again?" the Duchess asked, with another dig of her sharp little chin.
"I've a right to think," said Alice sharply, for she was beginning to feel a little worried.
"Just about as much right," said the Duchess, "as pigs have to fly...."
[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 9]
It seems that creationists/ID advocates aren't the only folks discontented with Darwin's theory of natural selection, as I have been hearing murmurings that some scientists are considering genetic changes to be far more important to evolution. It's been difficult to find details about this "phantom menace…
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Normally I try to write something substantial for this blog every day, even if it can't be a thoroughly-researched mega post like some of my more notorious writings. Yesterday was no exception, especially in light of the fact that a Rutgers philosophy professor, Jerry Fodor, has recently published a rather incoherent piece that's critical of the role of natural selection in evolution (you can read "Why Pigs Don't Have Wings" at the LRB website, although it may induce migraines). In fact, I actually wrote up a lengthy response to Fodor's piece, but when I was finished I didn't feel quite right…
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This is Zeff, one of the Amur (or Siberian) Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) at the Bronx Zoo. She may look rather fierce in the above photo, but actually it's not so much a picture of a snarl but a yawn. The picture below directly preceded the one above, although somehow it isn't quite as impressive as the shot taken a split second after it;
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Some of you may have noticed some changes to the front page of Sb and some new photos in the category sections, and I'm proud to say that one of my photos made the cut for this week under the Life Science section. Hence, I've decided to post the "full" version of the photo here. In case anyone's unfamiliar with the animal, it's an Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, although not everyone could merely enjoy the aesthetics of the striking display of the male bird. Writing to Asa Gray, Charles Darwin once related;
...I remember well the time when the thought of the eye made me cold all over, but I…
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Welcome to the 10th edition of Oekologie, the best of what the blogosphere has to offer when it comes to the eponymous area of natural science. This edition is particularly special, however, in that it falls on Blog Action Day, so be sure to visit the event's main page to peruse the best of today's environmentally-focused posts.
Agriculture
Diversity is not only important to natural ecosystems, but it can be invaluable to agriculture as well. Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog fills us in on why it's better to encourage variety when you're growing rice.
If you're interested in organic growing…
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The WCS-run Bronx Zoo is one of my most favorite places to visit, their Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) making a visit worthwhile in and of itself. While you may hear "George" the lion roaring or any of the many tigers resident at the zoo calling to each other, they are veritable chatterboxes compared to Snow Leopards, which don't roar despite possessing the proper vocal equipment like other big cats. Such silence was part of the reason for placing the Snow Leopard within it's own genus, Uncia, but it now seems that the Himalayan cats really do belong within Panthera although their exact…
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In 1978, a paleoanthropological team including Mary Leakey, Richard Hay, and Tim White made a startling discovery at Laetoli, Tanzania; in a bed of volcanic ash that would later be dated to about 3.5 million years old were the footprints of ancient hominids. The preserved trackway, found to contain the footprints of three individuals of the same species walking in the same direction during a very short period of time (possibly walking together as a group), would become one of the most important and iconic of hominid fossils, the fact that hominids were walking upright 3.5 million years ago…
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It's a whole new week, so I'm moving away from the artiodactyl theme (for now, at least) and the PotD will probably take on a more random aspect for a while. Today's photo is of the tiger cubs Terney (center, with tire), Changbai (left), and Koosaka (right), born at the Philadelphia Zoo a few months ago. They are Amur (or Siberian) tigers, Panthera tigris altaica, the largest of the extant tigers and also critically endangered. While the zoo notes that they contribute to tiger conservation initiatives like the Tiger Conservation Fund, it seems that these cubs will remain in captivity and…
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Neil has got the latest edition of The Boneyard up at microecos, complete with some fantastic artwork by Dan McCarthy. The next edition will be up in two weeks at the HMNH.
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What do you get when you put dinosaurs, terrorists, and Navy SEALs all in one place? The answer in "A mess," and in this case such a disaster carries the title Raptor Island. Starring Lorenzo Lamas, the film continues the long standing tradition of putting guns and monsters in the same place in the hopes that something good will come out on film. Indeed, it seems that more effort is required to serve up a plate of Hamburger Helper than was put into the story and dialog of this slice of movie cheese, and its painfully apparent from the very first scene.
We meet our hero, "Hack" (Lamas) and his…