Brian Switek
Brian Switek is an ecology & evolution student at Rutgers University.
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Posts by this author
October 5, 2008
A flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), photographed at the Philadelphia zoo.
October 4, 2008
It doesn't include any clips produced since the vp debate, but it is a pretty good countdown of Palin's "greatest hits" (with a guest appearance by an overprotective and embarrassed John McCain!);
October 4, 2008
The skull of a wolf eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) from Orr's Circle of the Sciences.
For more weird fish, check out this post on Bioemphemera.
October 4, 2008
An Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), photographed at the Bronx zoo.
October 3, 2008
I'm a little bit behind starting up the DonorsChoose challenge, but I've finally got everything set up and ready to go. In case you haven't heard the buzz already, ScienceBloggers are banding together to raise money for classrooms across the United States so that elementary school children can get…
October 3, 2008
Profesor Paleozoic. From Buffalo Land.
Our leader, Professor Paleozoic, ordinarily existed in a sort of transition state between the primary and tertiary formations. He could tell cheese from chalk under the microscope, and show that one was full of the fossil and the other of the living…
October 3, 2008
About two weeks ago I mentioned that, in conjunction with Expelled, a book called Fossil Hunter was released. I had not heard anything about it until I stumbled upon it by accident, but the book's synopsis did not give me much reason for hope;
Fossil Hunter is an Indiana Jones-style thriller that…
October 3, 2008
A great blue heron (Ardea herodias), photographed at Cape May Point, New Jersey.
October 2, 2008
Supposed human footprints from the "Old Red Sandstone" of Missouri. From Voices From the Rocks.
I mention these facts to show how easy it is for one to be led astray, when every possible phase of the subject is not carefully studied. Let us, therefore, attend strictly to detailing facts of…
October 2, 2008
A Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis), photographed at the Philadelphia zoo.
October 1, 2008
A reconstruction of Megalosaurus from Life in the Primeval World.
Dinosaurs were in ample supply when I was a kid. There were enough documentaries, cartoons, books, trading cards, and misshapen plastic toys to keep me occupied for all my days. They were the ultimate brand; freely available to be…
October 1, 2008
An Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), photographed at the Bronx zoo.
September 30, 2008
Is it just me, or have some science blogs been running out of steam lately? I know earlier this year we had a number of people (either on their blogs or privately) express that they were considering giving up blogging to concentrate on other things. I haven't been paying attention for that long,…
September 30, 2008
The next edition of the paleo-themed blog carnival The Boneyard (#24) will be on exhibition next Tuesday, October 7th, at The Other 95%. It would be nice if, in honor of the host, we could get some cool invert posts in this one (ammonites, rudists, bryozoa, you name it). Whatever paleo posts you…
September 30, 2008
The Field Museum curator of mammals, Bruce Patterson, has recently returned from his field work in Tsavo, Kenya, and he has posted some of his excellent photography in a Kodak gallery. The shots are absolutely breathtaking; they almost make me want to sell all my stuff and take off for Kenya.
[…
September 30, 2008
This Sunday, October 5th, Drexel University paleontologist Ken Lacovara will be giving a lecture on Patagonian dinosaurs called "Giants at the End of the World." It will be at the recently re-opened New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, and it starts at 4 PM (and is free!).
I don't know whether I'm…
September 30, 2008
A California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), photographed at the Bronx zoo.
September 29, 2008
Two updates in one day? Well, I was productive enough for it. There are still a few more things I have to add, mainly fine details and a few more examples (i.e. pneumatization in dinosaur skeletons), but the meat of the chapter is now in place. Soon I'll have to undertake the more difficult task…
September 29, 2008
During the 19th century most discussions of the earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx, focused on its relationship to other fossil reptiles, whether or not it could fly, and what it indicated about the origins of flight. A bird would not be a bird without song, though, and at least two authors…
September 29, 2008
After a lot of work, I finally got to covering what happened during the 1960's and 1970's in the bird evolution chapter. There are basically three phases that dominate the section; 1860-1926, 1968-1980, and the explosion of research spurred by the discovery of feathered non-avian dinosaurs. The…
September 29, 2008
An Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), photographed at the Bronx zoo.
September 28, 2008
Sandpipers, photographed at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware.
September 27, 2008
moar funny pictures
Eliza and Madeline, two kittens I fostered over the summer. (They have good homes now.)
Given my fondness for cats, I guess the result of this quiz isn't all that surprising, either [hat-tip to John];
Your result for The Which Discworld Character Am I Test...
DEATH
You scored…
September 27, 2008
Whatever the hell it wanted. A few years ago, though, there were plenty of shows that played up the debate over whether the famous dinosaur was a scavenger or a predator, and below is one such program. Called "T-rex: Warrior or Wimp?" the show is full of dramatic music cues and interviews with…
September 27, 2008
A bit of shell on a sandy pedestal. Photographed at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware.
September 26, 2008
I haven't reviewed any bad movies lately, but this new cheese-fest is making me consider starting up again. For your viewing pleasure (?), Shark In Venice (warning: badly done blood & gore ahead);
Shark In Venice - Trailerby ohmygore
Stock footage, bad CGI, and a lesser Baldwin brother? How…
September 26, 2008
So far, the Rutgers football team has lost every single game it has played this season. It's not too late to give up hope for a major turnaround, boosters say, but the atrocious performance of the team is leading many to have serious doubts about whether the $102 million stadium expansion is a good…
September 26, 2008
The latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology is now available via BIOONE, and it's packed to the gills with neat stuff. Of particular interest are;
A paper on Georgiacetus that also establishes a new cladistic arrangement of ancient whales, the Pelagiceti.
A study of vertebral…
September 26, 2008
A Ceratosaurus attacks a Stegosaurus.
Most everyone who is interested in dinosaurs has either seen images of or heard of the famous Crystal Palace Dinosaurs in England, but not as many are familiar with the "antediluvian monsters" reconstructed at Carl Hagenbeck's Zoological Park at Hamburg. I…
September 26, 2008
A dead, sand-encrusted fish, photographed at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware.