#vertebrate
I am thrilled to introduce Madagascar’s newest frog species, Rhombophryne ellae! This new diamond frog is presumed to be endemic to Montagne d’Ambre National Park in the far north of Madagascar. Its uniquely orange legs and large black hip markings set it apart from all other Rhombophryne species so far. I have the great pleasure of dedicating the new species to my partner, Dr Ella Z. Lattenkamp, in appreciation of her support of my work, and celebration of her recent PhD defence! You can read about the new species and get a link to the #OA paper published in Zoosystematics and Evolution on my blog at http://www.markscherz.com/archives/4598 (link in bio)
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#frogs #Madagascar #newspecies #diamondfrog #Rhombophryne #science #taxonomy #systematics #research #herpetology #wildlife #animals #zoology #Microhylidae #rainforest #frog #diversity #vertebrate #Malagasy #amphibian #beautiful #cute #animal #amphibians #naturalworld #herping #fieldwork #wildlifephotography #species
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBdpa_pMplR/?igshid=5vo2pwu4ug5g
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Some more nice CGI sauropod models by David West, from David and Oliver West’s Dinosaurs of… book series.
- Atlasaurus and Spinophorosaurus from Dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic
- Europasaurus and yet another Mesozoic beach scene from Dinosaurs of the Upper Jurassic
- Aragosaurus and Amargasaurus from Dinosaurs of the Lower Cretaceous
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Aberrant sauropods from Bob Korpella’s Dinosaur Dictionary For Kids.
TOP: Another gorgeously bizarre depiction of Amargasaurus. I wonder if this is the same model as
http://thomastapir.tumblr.com/…/more-weirdevocative-cgi-sau…
The “leaf-like” profile created by the high, laterally compressed neck feature here puts me in mind of phasmid or chameleon-style camouflage….I can almost see it rocking in the breeze.
BOTTOM: Speaking of chameleons–beautifully chameleon-like color and textures applied to the anomalous short-necked sauropod Brachytrachelopan.
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Species:W. problematicus
Etymology:“Wapiti Lake reptile,” after a lake near the fossil site where it was discovered.
Age and Location: Early Triassic of North America
Classification:Vertebrata: Gnathostomata: Eugnathostomata: Teleostomi: Euteleostomi incertae sedis
This poorly-known species, known from only part of a skull, may be a large, flightless relative of the gliding reptile Coelurosauravus,and if so, would indicate that weigeltisaurs survived the Permo-Triassic Extinction. However, because of its incomplete preservation, it’s hard to prove that it’s a weigeltisaurid, so it’s largely ignored. Supposedly, it might just be a poorly-preserved fish.
Sources:
Brinkman DB. 1988. A weigeltisaurid reptile from the Lower Triassic of British Columbia. Palaeontology31:951–955.
Bulanov V V., Sennikov a. G. 2010. New data on the morphology of Permian gliding weigeltisaurid reptiles of Eastern Europe. Paleontological Journal44:682–694.
Species:U. kroehleri(type),U. schneideri(referred)
Etymology: “Uatchit tooth,” after an Egyptian cobra goddess.
Age and Location: Late Triassic of North America
Classification: Vertebrata: Gnathostomata: Euteleostomi: Tetrapoda: Amniota: Sauropsida: Sauria: ?Archosauromorpha: ?Archosauriformes
Uatchitodonis the only known venomous archosauriform. Both species have deep grooves along each side of each tooth, which were closed into tubes in the later, more specialized species U. schneideri. Other than this, however, their teeth look very much like normal carnivorous archosauriform teeth. Uatchitodonis the oldest known venomous reptile, and unlike the only distantly related modern snakes, which have a single venom canal in each fang, Uatchitodonhad serrated teeth with two canals in every tooth. Uatchitodonwas relatively widespread, as fossils have been found in Virginia, North Carolina, and Arizona.
Unfortunately,Uatchitodonis only known from these bizarre teeth, so we know nothing about what the animal as a whole looked like, other than that it was likely reptilian.
Sources:
Mitchell JS., Heckert AB., Sues H-D. 2010. Grooves to tubes: evolution of the venom delivery system in a Late Triassic “reptile”. Die Naturwissenschaften97:1117–21.
Sues H-D. 1991. Venom-conducting teeth in a Triassic reptile. Nature351:141–143.
The defining feature of our nearly 3000 species of snake is their conspicuous lack of legs, leaving the simple, worm-like bodies that we know so well. But uncovering the reasons why they have evolved this way has proven far from straightforward. While some scientists suggest that the ancestors of modern snakes lost their legs to improve their swimming ability as they moved into the sea, others have argued that they were terrestrial like many of the species we see today. Exciting new research has finally exposed the true story by examining a tiny but revealing detail in the snakes’ bodies - the shape of their inner ear. This little organ is responsible for hearing and balance, and as such, its structure is strongly linked to a snake’s habitat use. In the new study, researchers used CT scanning to show that a fossilised species from the Cretaceous period, Dinilysia patagonica - which is agreed to be closely related to the ancestor of modern snakes - shared specific structures in its inner ear with modern-day burrowing snakes. These features make the snakes more sensitive to vibrations in the ground, and importantly, are absent from all aquatic snakes and terrestrial species that do not burrow (or only do so when they’ve been disturbed). Based upon these fascinating results, the researchers predict that the hypothetical ancestor of all modern snakes was most likely a burrower - not a swimmer.
Ref: Yi H. et al., 2015. The burrowing origin of modern snakes. Science Advances 1: e1500743 [link]
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Red panda (Ailurus fulgens)byzoo-logic
ailurus- from Greek ‘aílouros’, meaning cat
fulgens- bright, splendid
Variously compared to raccoons, bears, and cats, genetic analyses have shown that red pandas are in fact the only living representatives of an independent musteloid family, the Ailuridae, which is most closely related to skunks. Their rich reddish coats provide excellent camouflage amongst the branches of fir trees in their mountainous forest habitat, which are covered in a similarly coloured moss.
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While climate change will challenge the fitness of many species, others will benefit from new environmental conditions that are better suited to their needs. For example, recent research suggests that Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) have been benefitting from glacial retreat in Antarctica since the last ice age, with populations increasing by an astonishing 135 times over the past 14,000 years. As Adélies nest on bare ice-free ground, warming temperatures have provided them with much more space in which to breed. Interestingly, although glacial retreat has been the main driver of changes in population at scales over thousands of years, short-term studies over years or decades have found the most important factor to be sea ice extent, which affects the penguins’ ability to feed. When we are trying to predict how populations might respond to climate change, we should therefore think about not only drivers of immediate fluctuations in survival rates, but also long-term population trends.
Ref: Younger J. et al., 2015. Proliferation of East Antarctic Adélie penguins in response to historical deglaciation. BMC Evolutionary Biology 15: 236 [link]
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Banded mongoose (Mungos mungo)byzoo-logic
The African savannah can be a dangerous place, so it always pays to have someone watching your back. Banded mongooses live in closely-knit social groups averaging around 20 individuals, which allows them to be more vigilant against predators, as well as providing other benefits such as cooperative defending of resources and raising of young.
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The rarely seen semi-aquatic Northern Eyelash Boa,Trachyboa boulengeri. This small tropidophiid “dwarf boa” is known to feed on amphibians and fish. They are found in Panama, Colombia, and We. Ecuador.
photographs by Dick Bartlett (used with permission)
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Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei) at Woodland Park Zoo (5) by Nick Michalski
