It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I'm going to be overhauling the Bibliography section of the site soon, and putting a little more emphasis on all the materials I've been reading. So as a kickoff to all of that I'm going to try out one of these community blog type things.

This week I'm finishing up The Search for the Giant Squid: The Biology and Mythology of the World's Most Elusive Sea Creature by Richard Ellis. I don't want to get a full review up, since I haven't finished it yet, but so far it's been a really enjoyable book. It covers how the giant squid has affected Mythology and Cryptozoology, its long, shadowy history in the Biological Sciences, and our perception of the animal within our culture in movies and television. I gotta say, its really make me want to go back and watch The Beast. What a fun movie.

I've also ordered a whole mess of animal-related children's books through my library account, so I'm looking forward to having some fun with those.

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Short-tailed Chinchilla

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Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Rodentia
Family : Chinchillidae
Genus : Chinchilla 
Species : chinchilla

Length : 12-20in (30-50cm)
Weight : 400-800g

IUCN Status : Critically Endangered

You might just recognize today's animal, because they've become quite popular as pets in recent years. Did you know though, that both Short-Tailed and Long-Tailed Chinchillas are critically endangered in the wild? In the past they were hunted extensively for their pelts and for the pet trade, but now captive breeding has helped to alleviate some of the stress on the wild populations. Hunting was also made illegal during the early 20th century. Unfortunately, major damage has been done, with the species being extinct in certain areas.

Short-Tailed Chinchillas are medium sized rodents native to the Andes Mountains of South America. They live in colonies that can number up to a hundred individuals, and are most active at dusk and dawn. Short-Tailed Chinchillas are herbivores and will feed off of whatever vegetation is available to them.

Short-Tailed Chinchillas can live as long as ten years in the wild, and they reach sexual maturity at around 8 months. Females have a remarkably long gestation period for a small mammal, and are pregnant for about 110 days. Typically 2-3 young are born at a time, and two litters are produced each year.

Many captive Chinchillas are believed to be a cross of the two wild species, and reintroduction into the wild has been unsuccessful thus far. Short-Tailed Chinchillas were highly prized because of their larger size and extremely dense fur. 50-100 fine hairs can grow from each of their hair follicles, as opposed to just one in humans. Chinchillas are still bred for the fur industry, but it is illegal to take pelts from wild animals.

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Tawny Frogmouth

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Aves
Order : Caprimulgiformes
Family : Podargidae
Genus : Podargus 
Species : strigoides

Length : 9-21in (22.5-52.5cm)

IUCN Status : Least Concern

Tawny Frogmouths sure look like Owls, don't they? But they aren't! These birds, native to Australia, are actually more closely related to Nightjars and Whippoorwills. Tawny Frogmouths have a very large range across their home continent, and can be found in a multitude of woodland habitats.

Tawny Frogmouths are nocturnal, and nest in trees during they day. They have feathers that camouflage them, and make them difficult to see while on branches. When threatened, the straighten their bodies so that they resemble part of the tree. Young frogmouths are born in nests built in treeforms. They are covered in white down and will remain int he nest for about 4 weeks. Partners mate for life, and often reuse the same nest year after year.

Unlike Owls who hunt with their feet, Tawny Frogmouths hunt with their large mouths (their feet are actually pretty weak). They eat insects and other small invertebrates almost exclusively. Many birds hunt insects by flying around, but Frogmouths wait for their prey to come to them before pouncing down after it.

Tawny Frogmouths are one of my favorite birds, just based on their appearance alone. Do a Google Image Search for these guys, they have such awesome looking faces.

(Images are of the Tawny Frogmouth at the Milwaukee County Zoo, take by me.)

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Frilled Shark

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Phylum : Chordata
Class : Chondrichthyes
Order : Hexanchiformes
Family : Chlamydoselachidae
Genus : Chlamydoselachus
Species : anguineus

Length : Male 38-46in (97-117cm); Female 53-59in (135-150cm)

IUCN Status : Near Threatened

Frilled Sharks are elusive, deep sea sharks that were first observed on camera in their natural habitat back in 2004. Prior to that, they had only been seen after being caught in trawls (and even these was a very rare occurrences). Frilled Sharks can be found in oceans worldwide, though the distribution is patchy. The North Sea, areas around South Africa, and waters near Japan are some of the confirmed locations for the species. They live at depths of 500-1,000m, though are sometimes observed in shallower waters.

Frilled Sharks have some pretty interesting anatomy. They are so named because of the "frills" that cover their six gill slits on each side. They have very eel-like bodies, and mouths filled with 300 trident-shaped teeth arranged into 25 rows. It is believed that they strike at prey in a snakish manner, and around 60% of their diet consists of deep-sea squid.

Frilled Sharks also have some pretty remarkable reproductive habits. They are, like many sharks, ovoviviparous. The litter size is quite small, rarely numbering over 12, and at birth the offspring can be as large as 60cm. The really interesting thing is that some scientists believe that their gestation period lasts for 3.5 years. That is almost twice as long as an elephant's. If correct, the Frilled Shark has the longest gestation period of any vertebrate species.

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Evolving Eden

New Bibliography Entry:

Turner, Alan and Mauricio Anton. Evolving Eden : Evolving Eden: An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large Mammal Fauna. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.

For the past 35 million years, the continent of Africa has been host to a plethora of evolving mammals of all shapes and sizes. This book, written by Alan Turner and illustrated by Mauricio Anton, outlines the natural histories of specific mammal groups, highlighting both extinct and extant species. After these outlines and an analysis of valuable dig sites on the continent, the book closes with an excellent summary that captures the rise and fall of the continent's various mammal families. This book is definitely accessible to the layperson, though I would recommend some background knowledge in the topic.

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Gray Fox

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Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Carnivora
Family : Canidae
Genus : Urocyon
Species: cinereoargenteus

Length : 30-45in (76-114cm)

Weight : 8-15lbs (3.6-6.8kg)

IUCN Status : Least Concern

The Gray Fox is a small canine found throughout North America, Central America, and parts of Venezuela and Colombia. They are most commonly found in deciduous woodland habitats.

Gray Foxes have the really neat distinction of being the only canine capable of climbing trees.They have hooked claws that let them accomplish this task, and do so in order to escape predators and also to search for food. Gray Foxes are omnivores that primarily eat birds and small mammals, but they will also forage for fruits.

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Gray foxes are nocturnal and crepuscular, spending their days in days that are often hollow trees. They are solitary throughout the winter, but during the early Spring breeding season males and females come together to mate. The average little size is about four kits, and both parents will feed and raise them until they are about six months old and able to make it on their own in Autumn. The family then disperses.

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Big Fin Squid

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Phylum : Mollusca
Class : Cephalopoda
Order : Teuthida
Family : Magnapinnidae
Genus : Magnapinna

Length : 5-23ft (1.5-7m)
Weight : Unknown

IUCN Status : Not listed

I'm afraid that this entry might be a short one, simply because these Squid are still so unknown to us. There are five identified species, but two are still unnammed, and all five still hang in a bit of taxonomic limbo, subject to change with any sort of breakthrough.

Big Fin Squid have been found in the deep waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As their name denotes, they have large fins that extend outward from the mantle (their main body segment.) Big Fin Squids also have ten arms, all of about equal length and thickness. Many other squid species, in contrast, have eight shorter arms with two longer tentacles.The arms of Big Fin Squids are also typically hung at right angles, as if they have elbows.

Only larval and juvenile Big Fin Squids have actually been physically studied. Videos and images of adults have been picked up by underwater cameras and ROV's (Remotely Operated Vehicle), but because these are just images it is difficult to properly study them and even establish them as specific species. A few years ago, in 2007, an ROV owned by the Shell oil company in the Gulf of Mexico picked up an image of one of these Magnapinna species.

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