Carnival of Evolution #19!

Well, it's 2010, and it's time for another edition of the Carnival of Evolution! Without further ado...

First up we have a fascinating discovery brought to us by GrrlScientist over at Living the Scientific Life. Scientists have recently discovered a new species of orchid. This one is definitely unique - it's TINY! Check out the minuscule newest addition to the plant kingdom!

Speaking of interesting species, our next submission documents an interesting creepy crawly species. Ted C. MacRae talks about the evolution of a "really" big-headed tiger beetle over at Beetles In The Bush.

Of course, interesting species come in all sizes. Just check out theplant trypanosomatids that Psi Wavefunction talks about at Skeptic Wonder. Still want more protists? Psi Wavefunction also talks about Paramyxids, which are kind of like a parasitic Russian Doll.

While we're looking small, Shuna Gould gives us a fascinating look at Bacterial evolution posted at Lab Rat. Which came first, the Gram positives or the Gram negatives? Good question!

While we're looking at evolution in tiny critter, Bjørn Ãstman has a great post about adaptation in a fungus. Check out his submission posted at Pleiotropy.

Evolution isn't just for the microbes: John from A DC Birding Blog tells us about evolution in birds, explaining how raptor talons fit their prey. Who knew?

John Suter from Kind of Curious found out that he was curious about the same thing as Darwin - giant caterpillars.

Often, conversations about our own behaviors look to aggressive species like chimps or gorillas for clues to our origins. But Andrew Bernardin's has some thoughts on the Bonobo posted at The Evolving Mind. Do the sexy primates reveal more about our nature than we think?

While we're turning the focus inward, we have to read Adam M. Goldstein's take on Philip Kitcher on the Evolution of Morality posted at Evolution: Education and Outreach.

Of course, what would the carnival of evolution be without sex? John fills the void by telling us about twisting genitals and forced copulation: the strange sex lives of ducks. And you thought your sex life was interesting...

And speaking of sex, Zen Faulkes from NeuroDojo has some simple advice for living a longer life - donât have kids! Well, at least if you're a lizard...

Looking at the bigger picture, Greg Laden has some Reflections on the Origin of Species posted at His Blog.

And lastly, be sure to follow good 'ole Charlie D. as he hops around at Southern Fried Science for 365 days of Darwin!

Well, that's about it! Next month there will be another fascinating edition of the Carnival, so submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of evolution using the carnival submission form. Until then, keep evolving!