Superb Fruit Dove

Male

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Aves
Order : Columbiformes
Family : Columbidae
Genus : Ptilinopus
Species : superbus

Length : 9in (23cm)

IUCN Status : Least Concern

As the resident of a large city, I am insanely jealous of the beautiful pigeons and dove found in Australia and New Guinea. Sure, our good old Rock Pigeons can be sort of neat looking sometimes, but overall they can't hold a candle to the Victoria Crowned Pigeon, or today's animal, the Superb Fruit Dove. This species, found in New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, and various other islands, has striking coloration in both males an females, though the male has an absolutely fantastic color palette.

Female

Superb Fruit Doves live up in the canopy, and the females are predominantly green in order to remain camouflaged. They do however, have speckles of other colors, including a purple crown. Males take that crown to a whole new level, mixing it with a bright orange neck, blue breast, and green feathers and bands elsewhere. Juveniles resemble females, though they lack the purple crown.

Superb Fruit Doves live alone or sometimes in pairs, and they feed primarily off of fruits. They build nests out of twigs a few meters from the ground, and lay one egg at a time. This egg is watched over by the female at night and the male by day. Many birds migrate between New Guinea and areas in Australia each year.

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Eastern Coral Snake

Eastern Coral Snake

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Reptilia
Order : Squamata
Family : Elapidae
Genus : Micrurus
Species : fulvius

Length : 20-30in (51-76cm)

IUCN Status : Least Concern

The Eastern Coral Snake is found in the southeastern areas of the United States, as well as in parts of eastern and central Mexico. They have a very distinctive body coloration, with large rings of red and black with thinner, yellow rings in between.

Eastern Coral Snakes are venomous, and because of that there are two other species in their range that mimic their coloration. Both the Scarlet Snake and Scarlet Kingsnake are marked with similar bands. This confuses predators into thinking that these non-venomous species are actually dangerous Coral Snakes, and should thus be avoided.

Eastern Coral Snakes are reclusive and really only attack humans when stepped on or handled. When they bite down on their target, be it a human ankle or a frog, they often have to chew a bit to get the venom in. Their bites don't really cause much pain or swelling, but if left unattended the toxin will cause nerve damage and eventually, paralysis. Eastern Coral Snakes are venomous right after hatching.

There is antivenin for Eastern Coral Snakes, and their have been no reported deaths since its introduction in 1967.

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Microraptor

Gliding Microraptor

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Reptilia
Order : Saurischia
Family : †Dromaeosauridae
Genus : †Microraptor

Length : 2ft (61cm)

Status : Extinct since the Early Cretaceous, 120 million years ago.

Microraptors were tiny, predatory dinosaurs that most likely fed on insects and small vertebrates, including small mammals. They are some of the smallest Dinosaurs ever discovered.

Around two dozen nearly complete specimens have been uncovered in China during the last decade or so, and what makes these Dinosaurs so remarkable is that we know for a fact that they had feathers. And not only that, but they basically had two full sets of wings, one set on the front arms, and the second on the hind legs. These feathers were similar to the flight feathers that we see on our modern birds, and because of them Microraptor was most likely able to glide. These long flight feathers are a contrast to several other Dinosaurs, where feathers were present, but only as a covering and not for flight.

There is debate within paleontology regarding the origin of birds. Did they evolve directly from dinosaurs, or did they evolve independently through an as yet undiscovered species? Feathered Dinosaurs like Microraptor can help us to one day solve that mystery.

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Sei Whale

Sei Whale

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Cetacea
Family : Balaenopteridae
Genus : Balaenoptera
Species : borealis

Length : 65ft (20m)
Weight : 99,000lbs (45,000kg)

IUCN Status : Endangered

Sei Whales (pronounced "say") are named after the Norwegian word for pollock fish, "seje." The Whales and fish moved into fishing areas around the same time. Though their name has Norwegian origins, Sei Whales can actually be found in tropical, temperate, and sub-polar oceans around the world.

Sei Whales are one of the longest whale species, with many individuals not even reaching sexual maturity until they are around 45ft (13m) long. Females are often slightly longer than males. Sei Whales also have the distinction of being one of the fastest swimming cetaceans. They can reach speeds of 35mph (55kph).

Unfortunately, whaling has had a drastic impact on the worldwide Sei Whale population. It is now believed that there around only around 57,000 whales left, which is amazingly few when you consider that during the 1964-65 season nearly 25,000 whales were killed. Nearly 300,000 Sei Whales have been taken since the advent of modern whaling. Sei Whales are now listed on CITES and are protected under the Endangered Species act.

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Bearded Pig

Bearded Pigs

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Suidae
Genus : Sus
Species : barbatus

Weight : 95lbs (210kg)

IUCN Status : Vulnerable

Bearded Pigs are native to the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines, part of Indonesia, and a handful of other Southeast Asian islands. They live in family groups, and are quite unique among pigs for the long migration that they undertake. During these migrations hundreds of pigs travel together under the leadership of an older male. They follow old paths at night, paths that they have probably been traveling for generations. During the day they retreat into the brush, and are in fact dirunal creatures during the parts of the year when they are not migrating.

Bearded Pig

Bearded Pigs also have the distinction of having the slimmest torsos of any pig, as well as the longest head. They get their name from the warts on their faces that are covered with beard-like hair. Thhey also have whiskers all over their face, and bushy tails.

Female pigs reach sexual maturity around 18 months. After a four month gestation period the female will leave her group to go and build a nest, which can be as large as six feet across and three feet high. She gives birth to up to eight striped piglets in this nest, and they will stay in the nest together for the first ten days of life. Piglets remain with their mother for up to a year.

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Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water?

By Robert E. Wells
Hardcover : 32 Pages
January 1, 2006

Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water? is a children's book that deals with how water is used and reused over and over within the water cycle. Concepts are explained with help from dozens of illustrations.

Wells discusses processes like evaporation, precipitation, and how it is that we are drinking the same water molecules that the Dinosaurs did millions and millions of years ago. The book also talks about the importance of water to not only ourselves, but to all living things, and suggests steps that you can take to conserve water.

Recommended for ages 4-8. Includes an epilogue.

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Bluebuck

18th Century Illustration of a Bluebuck

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Genus : Hippotragus
Species : leucophaeus

Height : 4ft (1.2m)
Weight : 350lbs (160kg)

Status : Extinct since around 1800

The Bluebuck is a notable species because it was the first large African mammal to go extinct in historic times. What is so interesting is that they were already quite rare in their native South Africa when Europeans first described them in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is believed that their decline began as far back as 2,000 years ago, when the climate began to shift and when the first human farmers came to the region with sheep that competed with the Bluebucks for food and space.

During the Ice Age, Bluebucks probably had a range that spread across Africa, but by modern times they had become restricted to areas in the South and East. They were very selective grazers, and only fed on high-quality grasses. They also needed to drink water directly, which makes them different from some other antelope species that obtain most of their moisture through the plants that they eat.

There are four preserved Bluebucks specimens in European museums, along with a handful of horns and skeletons. Interestingly, none of the museum specimens show any hint of bluish hair. It  is thought by some that the name comes from the sheen given off by the mix of black and yellow hairs found in adults.

Bluebucks are related to our modern Sable and Roan Antelopes, though they were smaller in size.

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