laelaps | August 17, 2009
Osborn's view of the progressive evolution of the brontotheres. Notice the references to the "geneplasm" at left, which Osborn interpreted as spontaneously giving rise to new adaptations. From Osborn (1935).
Every now and then I like taking a break from the latest technical papers and conference volumes to read some vintage scientific work. Oftentimes this is an enjoyable experience, I love the history of science, but the evolutionary work of H.F. Osborn is frustratingly opaque. While Osborn certainly was one of the most prominent figures in early 20th century paleontology he cultivated…
laelaps | August 16, 2009
An eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus), photographed in Cape May, NJ.
laelaps | August 15, 2009
The skull of a restored Tyrannosaurus skeleton (cast), photographed at the Maryland Science Center.
laelaps | August 14, 2009An urgent dispatch from Mike of Tangled Up in Blue Guy;
Bing Haubrich has made new friends in Japan, but they want to keep him there. In fact, they have threatened to hold him for ransom unless his American friends and family do two things:
1. Answer questions about Japan/Nippon culture and cuisine.
2. Donate money to help his mother pay the plane fare for his trip.
It's tempting for a young man to stay in Japan, because so far he has found the food to be awesome and the shopping (even in vending machines) to be, let's say, "unique." In fact, the Japanese students think that if he stays long…
laelaps | August 14, 2009
A male western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
The origin of human bipedalism has long been a hot topic among paleoanthropologists. At the very least it is seen as something of a marker for the emergence of the first hominin, yet it remains unclear whether the earliest hominins evolved from a terrestrial, knuckle-walking ancestor or a more arboreal ape. A common interpretation is that since our closest living relatives, gorillas and chimpanzees, are both knuckle-walkers then the first hominins, too, evolved from a knuckle-walking ancestor. As Tracy Kivell and…
laelaps | August 14, 2009
The skull of a restored Tarbosaurus skeleton (cast), photographed at the Maryland Science Center.
laelaps | August 13, 2009Alright folks, I've got a few more things to pack and some last-minute blog posts to finish, but otherwise I'm all set for the big trip to Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho. Fossil Butte, Dinosaur National Monument, Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park, Craters of the Moon... it's going to be one hell of a vacation. At least I will have plenty to write about when I get back!
I won't return until late on August 30th, but I may pop in to share a few photos if I stop by somewhere that's wired. There will still be plenty going on here at Laelaps, though. I have scheduled a bunch of posts for while I am…
laelaps | August 13, 2009
The skull of a restored Giganotosaurus skeleton (cast), photographed at the Maryland Science Center.
laelaps | August 12, 2009
True to my word I have been reading John Olson's creationism-infused novel Fossil Hunter. I am at approximately the halfway point, but I can't say I have been enjoying it very much (though it is much better than Frank Peretti's Monster). This is not so much because of the book's creationist themes, which have yet to fully manifest themselves, but because I do not care for Olson's writing style.
Olson is not very good when it comes to description. It takes a lot of effort to imagine where his characters are and what their surroundings look like during any given scene. Even worse, though, are…
laelaps | August 12, 2009
The skull of a restored Albertosaurus skeleton (cast), photographed at the Maryland Science Center.
laelaps | August 11, 2009
The skeleton of an orangutan and a human compared. From Richard Owen's The Principal Forms of the Skeleton and of the Teeth.
I have developed something of a bad habit. Whenever I am reading a book, paper, or article and I spot a bit of unattributed "received wisdom" I immediately get the urge to track down the reference to see if the author is in error. The task might consume only a few minutes or it may take many hours, but I cannot help my compulsion.
An op-ed by Karl Giberson and Darrel Falk, co-creators of the Biologos website, set me to work this afternoon. The pair wrote;
But the…
laelaps | August 11, 2009
The skull of a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), photographed at the National Museum of Natural History.
laelaps | August 10, 2009
Photography was strictly forbidden. It did not matter that the objects I was about to see had been photographed many, many times before. Security demanded that I leave my camera bag behind. I was in their house and had to play by their rules.
Once inside, I took my time as I walked through the gallery of religious artifacts. There was no hurry. Outside of myself, my two friends, and two or three other visitors, no one was around to jostle or push for a better view of the bibles, ceremonial clothes, or pottery. They were interesting, but they were not what I had come to see.
She was laid out…
laelaps | August 10, 2009
A gull attempting to make a meal out of a crab. Photographed in Cape May, New Jersey.
Original image.
laelaps | August 9, 2009
A saiga (Saiga tatarica), photographed at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
laelaps | August 8, 2009
Bromeliads, photographed at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.