Whats Your Favorite Organism from Natural History?

Natural history encompasses all living things that have ever existed. This can range from the dinosaurs to trees, from monkeys to lizards. Thats why I thought it would be interesting to see what are your favorite organism! Down below leave a comment to tell me what your favorite organism of all time is, it can be anything as long as its a real animal and not human. If you can maybe include a picture. So please leave a comment saying your favorite organism of all time!



Woody Biomass

Bio fuels are a popular topic these days and there is always new ones being developed. There is sugar-beets, corn, switch grass, algae, and one of newest is "woody biomass". Woody biomass is bio fuel derived from softwood and hardwood trees. One of the most promising for woody biomass is the Loblolly Pine, a softwood. Loblolly Pines is a type of pine in the south-east US, also grown in North Carolina. North Carolina generates around 3.3 million acres of Loblolly Pine each year in addition to naturally grown trees. Most of these trees go to be used for paper or construction but North Carolina still produces more timber then it needs. There are also other trees such as hardwoods that are good for bio fuels but because the Loblolly is a softwood it grows much faster which makes it better to harvest. Woody biomass is currently being researched by Oxford and NC State. In addition to other bio fuels, "woody biomass" could help the US lessen its dependence on fossil fuels while becoming more environmentally friendly.

 Video from Canada on Biomass

uploaded by AgriComm

http://www.biofuelscenter.org/index.php/feedstocks/woody-biomass?start=3

Mammal Dinosaur

On first instinct you might think that this is another type of dinosaur, but actually it is more closely related to mammals then dinosaurs or lizards. Dimetrodon is really a non-mammal synapsid that went extinct during the Permian extinction. Its "sail" is elongated vertebra that was filled with blood vessels. Dimetrodon could use the sail to change is body temperature by either facing into the sun to heat up or face away from the sun to cool down. Dimetrodon was not the only non-mammal synapsid; there were multiple different branches of non-mammal synapsids which are now extinct. Non-mammal synapsids were a dominating group before the Permian extinction.

Dimetrodon

Living Fossils

Living Fossils are organisms that are alive today that resemble organisms from the fossil record. There is a wide variety of living fossils still around these days, but these species have survived for millions of years before humans. They serve as reminders that we must protect our remaining species. Here are some examples of living fossils...

Cycad:

These plants range from the Permian to present. They have a short woody trunk with a large crown covered in evergreen leaves. They live for a long time, up to 1000 years, and are often mistaken for palms. They can be found in tropical and subtropical parts of the world.

Modern Cycad

Fossilized Cycad

Elephant Shrew:

Elephant shrews are small, insect eating, mammals that have relatives that date from the Oligocene to modern day. Even though they have "shrew" in their name, they are not related to shrews. Elephant shrews live in all over Africa. There are four different species of Elephant shrews.

Modern Day Giant Elephant Shrew

Relative of Elephant Shrew Fossil

Tuatara:

Tuataras are local onl  to New Zealand. They are from the Pleistocene and there are only two surviving species from the order Sphenodontia. They are nocturnal and spend most of their day sunbathing. They are not very active and grow very slowly so they can live up to 100 years.

Modern Tuatara

Hagfish:

Hagfish are jaw less, eel-like, slimy marine organisms that have been around since the Permian. This hermaphroditic organism is similar to lamprey and is the only living animal with a skull and no spine. Hagfish eat anything that floats down to the bottom of the ocean such as fish and whales.

Modern Hagfish

The Cute, the Weird, and the Ugly

The Cute...

Pygmy Falcon

The pygmy falcon, Polihierax semitorquatus, is a small 19-20 cm falcon that lives in eastern and southern Africa. They typically eat insects, small reptiles, and small mammals. Where they live is mostly dry brush and they are also the smallest raptors in their area. Pygmy Falcon typically use weaver-bird nests as nests.

The Weird...

Four-Eyed Fish

Four-Eyed Fish! That's right, Four-Eyed Fish. These weird fish don't actually have four eyes, but instead each eye is divided into two parts. Their eyes are like this so they can see above and below the water at the same time. These fish get at maximum 32 cm and spend their time at the surface. They live in freshwater and brackish water in Mexico, Honduras, and north South America.

And the Ugly...

Sea Pig

Its pink, squishy, and lives under the sea, what is it? Sea Pigs! Belonging to the genus Scotoplanes, Sea Pigs are deep-sea holothurian echinoderm. These "unique" creatures, live on the abyssal plains of the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. They move around by inflating and deflating their tube feet. Sea Pigs eat anything that floats down to the bottom of the ocean, often referred to as "snow". You may have a face that only a mother could love but your still an important species for decomposing organic material on the abyssal plains!

(video uploaded by neptunecanada)

New Elements

After being placed on the periodic chart around a year ago, man-made elements 114 and 116 have finally been named! 114 is now Flerovium, named after the laboratory it was created in (Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reaction). 116 is now Livermorium after the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Nature

Nature

O Nature! I do not aspire
To be the highest in thy choir, -
To be a meteor in thy sky,
Or comet that may range on high;
Only a zephyr that may blow
Among the reeds by the river low;
Give me thy most privy place
Where to run my airy race.


In some withdrawn, unpublic mead
Let me sigh upon a reed,
Or in the woods, with leafy din,

Whisper the still evening in:
Some still work give me to do, -
Only - be it near to you!


For I'd rather be thy child
And pupil, in the forest wild,
Than be the king of men elsewhere,
And most sovereign slave of care;
To have one moment of thy dawn,
Than share the city's year forlorn.


Henry David Thoreau


http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/nature-135/

Spanish Moth

(I took a picture of a Spanish Moth on the side of my house and thought I would share it)

Spanish Moth

The Spanish Moth, actually named Xanthopastis timais, are found in the south and central America in addition to the Caribbean. They are also found in North America ranging around Texas to New York down to Florida. The North American variety's larvae have black and white bands and are often referred to as "convict caterpillars". The adults however, have pink and black fore wings with orange along the veins; their body is covered with black and grey fuzz. The adults usually live for around 8-10 days.

Ancient Insect Pollination

80% of today's plants rely on insects for reproduction by carrying their pollen grains. Over time insects like bees and butterflies have co-evolved with plants to carry their pollen and in return receive food. Recently in a piece of Cretaceous amber from Spain six small insects ,now classified as a new genus (Gymnopollisthrips), had specialized hair rings to collect pollen grains. These insects are over a million years old which makes them the oldest record of insect pollination. It is suspected that the insects used the hairs to carry pollen back to their larvae.