Reef Stonefish

Synanceia verrucosa

Meet the most venomous fish in the entire world, the Reef Stonefish. These well camouflaged fish have thirteen spines on their backs that are capable of injecting extremely toxic venom into their unlucky victims. They do only use the venom as a defense mechanism, and will not actively attack with it. It  causes intense pain, and can lead to death in humans, though an antivenom was developed in 1959.

Reef Stonefish live in the shallow waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans, and they are solitary through most of their lifetimes. When they do come together for reproduction purposes the female will first lay her eggs across the seafloor, the male then swims by to fertilize them. Newly hatched Reef Stonefish are quite well developed.

Reef Stonefish blend in very well with the environment they live in. They look a lot like a rock or a chunk of coral, and are typically mottled brown or gray with patches of color. The Stonefish uses this camouflage for two purposes, to hide away from predators, and to sneak up on it's own, unsuspecting prey. They wait for small fish and crustaceans to swim by, and then strike quickly, sucking them in with rapid speed.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : Indian and Pacific Oceans

Size : Length 16in (40cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Scorpaeniformes
Family : Synanceiidae -- Genus : Synanceia -- Species : S. verrucosa

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Killdeer

Charadrius vociferus

The Killdeer is a medium-size Plover with a brown back and wings, light colored underside, and two black rings around the neck. Some populations are found year-round in many areas of the United States and Mexico, while other migrate between Canada and Central and South America. And though they are in fact shorebirds, they can be found in open areas both near and far away from water.

Killdeer build their nests by scraping away at the ground and creating a small depression. They lay 4-6 eggs at a time, which are speckled and resemble rocks. Because these nests are so vulnerable, the parents have tactics that they use to keep predators and threats away. For example, if a predator comes near, the parents will put on a broken wing act, making themselves look injured to distract from the eggs. They also have a trick to keep large animals (like livestock) from stepping on their nests. The adults puff up their feathers and tails and charge at the larger animal in an attempt to make it move away.

Young Killdeer are precocious, and are up and running as soon as their feathers dry after hatching. Parents are monogamous and may raise more than one brood a year, but they do not typically mate for life.

Killdeer are named for the shrill "kill deer" sounding call that they make.

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IUCN Status :  Least Concern
Location : Western Hemisphere
Size : Length 10in (25cm), Wingspan 18in (46cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Charadriiformes
Family : Charadriidae -- Genus : Charadrius -- Species : C. vociferus

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Evolving Eden

By Alan Turner, Illustrated by Mauricio Anton
Paperback : 304 Pages
August 1, 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. Evolving Eden: An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large Mammal Fauna, 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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Spanish Dancer

Hexabranchus sanguineus

When you think of Sea Slugs, you probably don't think about beautiful creatures, but the Spanish Dancer might just be an exception. These members of the Nudibranch order are named for their flowing shape that resembles the moving skirt of a Flamenco dancer!

Spanish Dancers are even beautiful in the way that they lay their eggs. They lay them in a ribbon shaped pattern that, when all assembled, looks like a red rose!

Strange beauty aside, Spanish Dancers are notable because they are one of the few Sea Slugs that can actually swim, albeit only for short distances. They do so by unfolding their wide mantles and undulating through the water. Spanish Dancers are also the largest of all Nudibranches.

Spanish Dancers are carnivores that often eat toxic prey that they are immune to like Sea Sponges and Portuguese Man-O-Wars. Consuming the toxic meals makes the Dancer itself toxic, creating a defense mechanism to keep them safe from their own predators. The "egg-roses" that the Spanish Dancers lay are also incredibly toxic, which keeps predators from eating the developing slugs.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : Indian Ocean and Red Sea

Size : Length 16in (40cm)

Classification : Phylum : Mollusca -- Class : Gastropoda -- Order : Nudibranchia
Family : Hexabranchidae -- Genus : Hexabranchus -- Species : H. sanguineus

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Jacob Sheep

Jacob Sheep

Jacob Sheep are a primitive, domesticated breed that has a bit of an obscure and speculative history. The name actually comes from the Biblical Jacob, who had his own herd of spotted sheep, though the name was not given to the breed until more modern times. Pictorial representations of spotted sheep like the Jacobs appear in the ancient art of the Middle East and Mediterranean, and over time they spread into North Africa, Italy and Spain. By the 1700s these sheep were widespread across England, where they were developed and documented as a breed.

Lamb

Jacob Sheep are considered primitive because there has been very little selective breeding done to them. They are known for their hardiness, easy lambing, and spotted fleeces. You may have also noticed in the picture that that sheep has four horns! Jacob Sheep are a polycerate breed, meaning they have multiple sets of horns. Two pairs is most common, but they sometimes have three! Both the males and females sport horns. Jacob Sheep differ from other Northern European polycerates in that they only have one layer of wool, while the others have a fine undercoat and a denser outer-coat.

This particular breed is still considered rare, especially in the United States. Most of the country's population is descended from sheep imported over the last 30 years. In a relatively short amount of time the British and American populations have diverged, with the British stock being larger.

Jacob Sheep are considered a threatened breed, due to their low numbers and the risk of mixing with other breeds. Less than 1,000 Jacob Sheep are registered in the United States each year.

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Status : Threatened by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
Location : Originally from the Middle East, then England. Now found worldwide
Size : Weights - females 80-120lbs (36-54kg), males 120-180lbs (54-81kg)
Classification : Phylum  Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae -- Subfamily : Caprinae -- Genus : Ovis-- Species : O. aries

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Gypsy Moth

Lymantria dispar

The story of the Gypsy Moth is quite the opposite from most of the conservation stories that I write about. Because, you see, we want to get rid of them rather than protect them.

Around 1868, an amateur entomologist from Boston named E. Leopold Trouvelot imported some Gypsy Moth larvae from France. His goal was to create a silk worm hybrid that was less susceptible to disease, but the insects got out, beginning a nearly 150 year effort to control one of North America's most dangerous invasive species.

So why are Gypsy Moths so bad? Afterall, they lived in Europe and Asia forever and didn't cause problems! Well you see, in their native lands Gypsy Moths live in balanced environments were the tree types and predatory species keep them from causing massive amounts of damage. In North America the Moths go after hard wood trees like oak and aspen, causing extensive defoliation, over a million acres a year! They affect literally hundreds of different plant species, which in turn can destroy the natural ecosystems.

In the past 100 years about 20 different animal species have been introduced that assist in controlling the Gypsy Moth populations, including the Metallic Green Ground Beetle, and the European Starling. Native predators like small mammals and other birds also help to control the Moths, but unfortunately, they are not enough. Insecticides and diseases have also helped, but overall the population continues to spread, though some isolated groups have been successfully eradicated.

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IUCN Status :  Not Listed
Location : Originally found in Europe and Asia, now invasive to North America
Size : Wing length 25-35mm
Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Insecta -- Order : Lepidoptera
Family : Lymantriidae -- Genus : Lymantria-- Species : L. dispar

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Prehistoric Mammals

By Alan Turner, Illustrated by Mauricio Anton
Hardcover :  192 Pages
October 1, 2004

Prehistoric Mammals is another wonderful pairing from the Turner/Anton super duo. It's an introductory book intended for a younger crowd, but even as an adult I really enjoyed it. The visuals are absolutely stunning and are found everywhere in the text. It has a really broad coverage of mammals dating back millions and millions of years, and profiles specific species from the well known to the relatively obscure. It additionally provides introductory information on mammalian evolution and the prehistoric time line. It additionally provides insight into how such wonderful artistic reconstructions are put together.

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