Creature Feature: African Green Pigeon.

For those of you curious: No, I do not have a Facebook account. I do, however, have a Twitter account. While I was checking said Twitter account earlier today, a link to the plight of this not-so-little bird found its way into my feeds:

Yep. It's time for another pigeon. This is an African green pigeon (Treron calvus), who once again proves that we take pigeons for granted.  It can be found throughout all of Africa, pretty much. That said, this bird has to be one of the least-filmed animals on the savannah.

Despite its seeming lack of press, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that this is a very pretty pigeon.  Its body may be all green, but, like many green parrots, it has splashes of color elsewhere. The eyes are also quite striking. Whoever thinks pigeons cannot possibly be beautiful cannot think of pigeons beyond the "feathered rats" that are slowly taking over the world.

So, how did the green pigeon get into my Tweets? In some parts of Africa, the green pigeons are in peril. Specifically, the forests in the Congo region are slowly being stripped of their multicolor pigeons. Considering almost everything else is under threat in that particular area, nobody should be surprised. The pigeons, however, are trapped alive, skewered through the stomach, and plucked to roast alive. We are not surprised that people are eating pigeons; that, however, sounds like the sadistic fantasy of a commuter after receiving a coat of whitewash from a certain city bird.

There are, however, plenty of other areas with green pigeons. TH pigeons are almost all that's left, and they're being harvested like it's nobody's business.  It's just awful that Congo has suffered so many ecological losses that the pigeon might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.  A lot of people would say that large mammals like, say, bonobos and elephants are far more important, but this is an ecosystem. Every little piece of the puzzle matters.

Or, y'know? If you like bonobos and green pigeons, donate here.

"They Actually Eat That:" Cat.

But it isn't like this. No, this was a lucky photo I snapped with my phone. Styx conveniently decided a frying pan was a good place to try and take a nap. We did not intend to make her into kitty bacon, she just so happened to be in the pan for it.

That said, there are places that eat cats as food. No, it is not just restricted to China. It looks like quite a lot of people enjoy cat meat, even in "civilized" places. Unlike dog, this is a taboo food that a lot of people eat. Let's look at a list, shall we?

THIS is what cat meat looks like. Or, well, it's not nearly as cute as Styx in a frying pan.

For starters, yes, cat is a common food in the more rural parts of China. You will not find it by going into restaurants in Beijing or any other major city. Supposedly, cats are illegal to sell as food, but the laws are not as strict in the countryside. Guangdong is particularly notorious for a dish called "dragon tiger phoenix," which contains snake, cat, and rooster meat, respectively. The dish is, as with most Chinese food, medicine.If the name Guangdong sounds familiar for another reason, it's because a billionaire was poisoned by the cat meat there. Ceiling Cat was watching him twitch in agony.

Eating cat is also not limited to China. Cat was legal in Japan until the 19th century. We like to think that Hello Kitty helped make it even more disliked after that point. Korea still eats cat as they do dog. All three of the major "WTF food" Asian countries are slowly moving away from eating cat as more furballs find their way into homes, however, so expect it to be restricted to rural areas by the end of the decade.

The other big area famous for cat meat is, supposedly, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Now, we aren't saying that this place serves cat in five-star restaurants - far from it. Street meat is commonly accused of being cat meat. There have been busts on Brazilian slaughterhouses selling cat and dog meat. We have reason to believe that the name "cat meat skewers" has some basis in fact, here. Nobody likes the concept, even in Brazil, so please don't jump to conclusions. Just sayin', if your barbeque tastes a little off...

Australian aborigines also hunt feral cats. Now, let's be fair in this instance; the domestic cat wrecked the Australian ecosystem. Remember, the rule of thumb with Oz is, "If it has a placenta, it's not from around here." Cats are no exception to that rule. In the case of Australia, turning cats into food is pest control. After all, what happened with rabbits was terrifying.

Basically, if there is a rural area, there is a high chance that someone, somewhere has tried to turn cat into cuisine. Europe has it. South America has it. The internet doesn't say that hicks in North America eat cat, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Creature Feature: Alligator Gar.

Ever notice how people are oddly limited when it comes to terrifying fish? We have piranhas, sharks, and barracudas that have a track record of being merciless killers.By comparison, killer snakes get a million movies,

So, tell me: How come someone hasn't made a flick about this mean fish, yet?

 

For those of you who did not just run away screaming, that ugly mug belongs to an Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula). Alligator Gars are native to much of the United States, but can also be found in Asian aquaria, leading to horror stories after floods run through SE Asia. As a freshwater fish, however, there are oceans separating the two populations.

My first reaction upon looking up how terrifying the Alligator Gar could be: "MOSASAURS LIVE!" This thing is called an alligator gar for a reason. That snout and those teeth look like they belong on a crocodilian. Despite this, the alligator gar is actually a primitive fish, meaning that nature just really likes giving things pointy sharp teeth. As if we didn't know that already.

These fish are also huge. They get 8-10 feet long - over 2 meters for you metric people. That's a lotta fish, to quote the horrible Godzilla movie. This length, and the meat that comes with it, has led to restrictions on its fishing, but there are still a few restaurants with it if you know where to look.

Did we mention that  'gator gars' can last up to two hours above the surface of the water? How about their potential to seriously injure anyone who catches them by weight alone? Even their scales were sharp and hard enough to be used as arrowheads. The oldest of these fish just happens to be somewhere in the 50's-70's, so this terror will be around for quite a while.

Although usually illegal to keep as pets, it is possible to get a massive terror-gar for your pond. Yes, you need a pond to hold these guys. The "alligator gars" found in most pet stores will usually be a smaller species. Please do your research thoroughly; it may save you money and limbs.

Bio-Art: Moyashimon.

Ever wonder what it would be like to see the whole microscopic world with the naked eye? If you said "TERRIFYING," you're totally right. Several animated programs have featured some sort of "germ vision," and once you have it, you realize everything has germs.  No exceptions!

Enter Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture. The protagonist of the series, Tadayasu Sawaki, has been blessed/cursed with the ability to see microbes since birth. He and one of his friends from the countryside get into an agricultural university in Tokyo, only to find that one of the professors there knows about Sawaki's ability. After running a few tests, his talent proves legit. Bacteria- and fungus-related hijinks ensue.



Of course, this is Japan. It would be no fun to see microbes that, if expanded, would look like hey just came off an alien spaceship. They instead proceeded to make the microbes as adorable as humanly possible. Seriously, just look at this OP. This has got to be the most KAWAIIDESU show of microbes ever!
 
Then there are the little "Microbe Theatre" bits at the end. These introduce you to one of the main microbes in the episode - literally, they say their names and everything. For example, the spot on yeast microbes shows all the great things yeast does- from miso soup paste to alcohol. They don't mention bread, but that's there, too.

Is Moyashimon good as a series? I'm not 100% sure after only seeing two episodes. What I will say is that, if you're curious about the wonderful world of microbiology and want to see what athlete's foot would look like if it went Hello Kitty, please give it a watch.  These guys do a pretty good job, and now you, too, can have adorable yeast on your cell phone.

Creature Feature: Apatosaurus.

So I have this theory about the Brontosaurus...



...yeah, it's really Apatosaurus. Allow me to explain.

Apatosaurus was a giant sauropod from the Jurassic Period.  It was over 23 meters (75 feet) long from head to tail. It was a titanic herbivore that, aside from being gargantuan, could use its tail as a whip - either as a weapon or to warn others of danger. Its forelimbs also had strange thumb spikes that may have been used to make nasty marks in predators. Most of them have been found in the Morrison Formation, located in the Southwestern United States.

For those of you with no background in scientific nomenclature, Apatosaurus is a generic name. There are actually several species of Apatosaurus. Since we can't use the typical breeding litmus test to determine species, placing extinct things in the right genera can get tricky.  We have to go by things like size, bone count, and dentition. Given how a skeleton can change over time, this causes some major classification issues.

Old, OLD Apatosaurus assemblage.

Putting dinosaur skeletons together is a lot like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. You have a bunch of pieces before you and they all have to fit together to make one final image. You don't know what it'll look like in the end, but it'll be something.

Now, imagine that you don't have just one jigsaw puzzle on the table. No, instead there are several jigsaw puzzles that have all been mixed together. If you're lucky, some of the pieces have remained stuck together from the last person who assembled them. With no picture to guide you, it is your duty to put the pieces together into something plausible. Kinda makes you feel sorry for paleontologists,  doesn't it?

Brontosaurus excelsius was first classed as Apatosaurus excelsius in 1903. Since then, paleontologists have dismissed Brontosaurus entirely. If Dinosaurs Alive! was correct, the first Brontosaurus specimen was a chimera with Camarasaurus as well. Talk about a mistaken identity.

Now that we actually have the dinosaur named properly, Apatosaurus has become rather popular in film and video games. Littlefoot from the Land Before Time was an Apatosaurus. The first image I posted was from Primeval, whose Wikia makes note of the confusion with Brontosaurus. Basically, if it doesn't have the lumpy head of a Brachiosaurus, the creators probably had Apatosaurus in mind.

Belated Bio-Art: Dinosaurs Alive!

Phew.

The trip to Ohio completely exhausted me. I got my first roller coaster headache; the nephews, put together, were a real hassle; the drives there and back were long and tiring. I was tired for DAYS on end.

Y'know what made it worth it? DINOSAURS.  Kings Island had a whole sub-park full of them! Here, have some! (Warning: Pic-heavy.)



 This fellow was right inside the gate to Kings Island. It's either a Dilophosaurus or a Monoloph - either way, cool!

Carnotaurus- my favorite giant theropod. Look at the horns, not the useless arms.

 Ah, Stegosaurus - one of the few dinosaurs in Jurassic Park that was actually from the Jurassic.

Anhinguera, one of the freakier pterosaurs out there. They had another, smaller one suspended later on the park.

I have a theory about the Brontosaurus. Unfortunately, these are proper Apato's, so it doesn't really count.

Finally, the exhibit ended with a T-rex VS Triceratops showdown. OK, technically not - the sign rightfully pointed out that adult preds usually don't go after healthy adult herbivores. After seeing "Rex VS Triceratops" on the map, it still felt a little bit like a cheat.

Now, should you make a trip to Ohio just to see a park full of robot dinosaurs? I'm going to be honest and say that this one's entirely your call. Is it cool to see that many robot dinosaurs in one place? Sure. Have I seen better? Yes (the Kokoro ones at the Sue exhibit were awesome). If you're going to Kings Island anyways, by all means shell out the extra 5 bucks to see Dinosaurs Alive!. I'm just not 100% sure if it's worth going far out of your way to see. Peace, and more pics tomorrow!

Fun Video at the Shedd + Delay Notice.

This was awesome when I saw it. My favorite group of snake people took a trip to one of my favorite places in Chicago! Seriously, majorly cool that the Shedd got pimped. I love that place -not as much as the Field Museum, but still. Brian, you get to go such cool place. No matter how much work snake breeding is, things like behind-the-scenes trips to the Shedd must make it worthwhile.

You're probably wondering why a snake person wanted to go see a place more known for fish and dolphins than for reptiles. To be perfectly fair, snakes and fish tend to be lumped together in the "exotic" moshpit. They're both "tank pets" of sorts. Some, like the anaconda, spend a lot of time in the water. Even if herps aren't necessarily water-bound, it makes sense to find some at an aquarium.

By the way, the "invasive species" issue they touched upon really is awful. The Great Lakes have, so far, been invaded by a multitude of species, including Asian carp and zebra mussels. The invasion just so happens to be going down in the world's largest reservoir of fresh water. Have fun thinking about what that might mean for the supply of drinkable water.

Also, a different piece of news: I will be on a little bit of a vacation with my brother's side of the family from Sunday to Wednesday. During this time, entries may happen later than usual or not at all. At least one will probably happen during the trip.