Organisms
pharyngula | June 27, 2012
Yeah, it's true: the most phallic fruit of them all is pretty much sexless, and is an abomination produced by cruel human manipulation. Sorry, Ray.
pharyngula | June 24, 2012Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island Tortoises, died on Sunday. He left no survivors that are known.
His death marks the extinction of Chelonidis nigra abingdoni.
pharyngula | June 20, 2012Given the catastrophic flooding in Minnesota right now, I thought everyone would appreciate a summary of good flowers for the Minnesota floodplain, and a nice picture of a columbine.
pharyngula | June 18, 2012
All I want to know is…who instigated this unholy coupling? Was it the dolphin getting kinky? Was it the octopus feeling amorous? Or was it possibly a mutually agreed-upon exploration of new sexual frontiers?
pharyngula | June 13, 2012
Exciting news! Scientists are working on identifying the biochemical pathways that produce a miniscule component of this plant's chemical defenses!
pharyngula | June 11, 2012In honor of a recently banned creationist pest, I give you…Chaetopterus pugaporcinus.
It seems appropriate, somehow.
(via The Featured Creature)
pharyngula | June 4, 2012
In this video, I discover that baby puffins are called "pufflings"…which I find totally adorable.
(via Iceland Islande)
pharyngula | May 7, 2012No, dinosaurs did not fart themselves to death. This is what happens when you get your information from Fox News.
Dinosaurs may have farted themselves to extinction, according to a new study from British scientists.
The researchers calculated that the prehistoric beasts pumped out more than 520 million tons (472 million tonnes) of methane a year -- enough to warm the planet and hasten their own eventual demise.
Until now, an asteroid strike and volcanic activity around 65 million years ago had seemed the most likely cause of their extinction.
So I read the paper. The researchers didn't…