Organisms
pharyngula | September 21, 2012Yeah, sorry, but at the vertex of all those slimy tentacular columns lies this hard, knife-edged, pointy, shiny, muscular beak.
(via Naturetrek)
pharyngula | September 21, 2012Beneath the mysterious waters of the Sea of Japan, strange symbolic artworks have been spontaneously appearing — intricate mandalas, six feet in diameter, dot the sandy bottom. What could they mean?
Perhaps the aliens have been making these all along, at the same time they've been sending secret messages in crop circles. Perhaps they are manifestations of the Universal Consciousness, erupting into expressions of cosmic beauty. Maybe their meaning is their mystery, telling us to appreciate more what we do not know.
Nah, I don't go for any of that mumbo-jumbo. Scientists put video cameras…
pharyngula | September 19, 2012Nice name: the Resurrection Plant.
Also nice that it looks rather Cthulhoid.
pharyngula | September 7, 2012To mate many times, see the eggs laid in droves, and to swim among the mighty accomplishments of fecund females!
(via Moss Landing Marine Labs)
pharyngula | August 30, 2012In my post bashing that silly article claiming to have figured out how endoskeletons evolved from exoskeletons, there was a good question buried in the comments, and I thought I'd answer it.
Are there any models pulled out of arses which explain the turtle's unique skeleton?
Yes! I mean, no, not pulled out of arses, but there is a lot of really good and persuasive research that uses evidence to show how the turtle skeleton evolved.
First, I can see how this question popped up in a discussion of the evolution of endo/exoskeletons: the turtle shell is an excellent example of an exoskeleton…
pharyngula | August 22, 2012A recent meeting of neuroscientists tried to define a set of criteria for that murky phenomenon called "consciousness". I don't know how successful they were; they've come out with a declaration on consciousness that isn't exactly crystal clear. It seems to involve the existence of neural circuitry that exhibits specific states that modulate behavior.
The neural substrates of emotions do not appear to be confined to cortical structures. In fact, subcortical neural networks aroused during affective states in humans are also critically important for generating emotional behaviors in animals.…