Brian Switek
Brian Switek is an ecology & evolution student at Rutgers University.
laelaps
Posts by this author
Alright 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…
The skull of a restored Giganotosaurus skeleton (cast), photographed at the Maryland Science Center.
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…
The skull of a restored Albertosaurus skeleton (cast), photographed at the Maryland Science Center.
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…
The skull of a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), photographed at the National Museum of Natural History.
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…
A gull attempting to make a meal out of a crab. Photographed in Cape May, New Jersey.
Original image.
A saiga (Saiga tatarica), photographed at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Bromeliads, photographed at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.
By the spring of 2008 Rutgers University was overflowing with undergraduates. In an attempt to lessen the sting of the budget crisis Rutgers admitted more students than it had room for even though everyone knew this was not a permanent solution. Hotels acted as makeshift dorms, and the few buses…
Over at Dinosaur Tracking I have an interview with paleontologist extraordinaire David Hone. Among other things he talks about working in the field, science blogging, and why large predatory dinosaurs might have preferred tasty young herbivores at mealtime. This interview has been a long time…
A green heron (Butorides virescens), photographed in Cape May, New Jersey.
I will try to keep this short, especially since the combined length of all the reviews of Unscientific America probably outstrips the length of the book itself.*
I did not particularly like Unscientific America. Running a scant 132 pages, it is a scattershot survey of how scientists (according to…
A mother mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and her three ducklings, photographed in Cape May, New Jersey.
I have been writing a lot about extinct proboscideans lately, but when it comes to essays about elephants and their extinct relatives John McKay can't be beat. His latest is about various representations of mammoths locked in ice and is a must-read. (He even references one of the worst movies I…
A great egret (Ardea alba), photographed in Cape May, New Jersey.
Today Greg Laden mentioned a paleontology-based creationist novel that was bundled in with the Expelled marketing campaign called Fossil Hunter. Some of you may recall that I mentioned the book about a year ago but never got around to reading it/posting about it. Since I went to all the trouble of…
A black skimmer (Rynchops niger), photographed in Cape May, New Jersey.
After a number of false starts, I have finally started work on a "best of Laelaps" anthology. I am going to call it Tales From Deep Time, and it is going to be a sort of "b-sides" compilation that will complement my other, professional book-in-progress about paleontology and evolution. This blog…
An osprey (Pandion haliaetus), photographed while I was kayaking in Cape May, New Jersey.
An osprey (Pandion haliaetus), photographed while [I was] kayaking in Cape May, New Jersey.
The skeleton of a black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), photographed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. [H/T to Thomas Holtz for the correction.]
I'm going to be quite busy this weekend (what with two papers to write, an anthology to edit, packing for the big camping trip, and a much-delayed trip to Cape May), so I've decided to open this de-lurking thread. Who are you, and what do you like about Laelaps? I have a general idea of how many…
The remains of a fish in a tree, photographed near High Point, New Jersey. Damned if I know how it got there.
A restoration of the head of Pyrotherium. From W.B. Scott's A History of Land Mammals in the Western Hemisphere.
I do not remember much from my elementary school education, but there are a few fragments that have stuck with me. One day in 6th grade geography, for example, Mr. McCutcheon asked…
A red eft (Notophthalmus viridescens), photographed near High Point, New Jersey.
Color-coded diagram of a small bone bed containing at least twelve individuals of the Permian synapsid Suminia. From Frobisch and Reisz (2009)
When I hear the phrase "early human relative" I cannot help but think of an ape-like creature. Something like Sahelanthropus fits the bill nicely; it…
Another purple organism I saw growing on the forest floor near High Point, NJ. Does anyone know what it might be?
Thanks for the responses in the comments! The photo is of an Amethyst Coral (Clavulina amethystina), which appears to be some sort of mushroom.
When I was a kid the movie Alligator seemed to be on television almost every other weekend. It was one of the first movies I can remember seeing, although truth be told I probably should not have been allowed to watch it. The pool scene alone was enough to give me nightmares.
For those who have…