SuperCroc

Sarcosuchus imperator

Dinosaurs weren't the only massive reptiles to walk the earth millions of years ago, humongous Crocodiles were right there with them!

Meet Sarcosuchus, the "SuperCroc." This king of the middle Cretaceous was over twice the length of our modern Crocs, and had a head as long as a man is tall!

Sarcosuchus was first discovered back in the 1960s, but the remains were smaller and less complete. In 2000, paleontologist Paul Sereno located more complete, far larger fossils in the Saraha Desert. The name "SuperCroc" was born.

There is some argument over what SuperCroc ate. While some suggest that it may have gone after Dinosaurs, due to its massive size, others think they it probably just fed on fish. This is because its snout is similar to modern Gharials that eat fish almost exclusively.

SuperCroc went extinct around 110 million years ago, but as we all know, the Crocodile family lived on. SuperCroc is not a direct descendant of modern Crocodiles, but it did share many characteristics. These include the ability to create a wide range of sounds, and the upward placement of the eyes.

SuperCroc compared to other Crocodiles

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Status : Extinct for 110 million years

Location : Fossils discovered in what is now the Sahara Desert

Size : Length up to 40ft (12.2m), Weight up to 8.75 tons (7,900 kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Subclass : Diapsida
Family : †Pholidosauridae -- Genus : †Sarcosuchus -- Species : S. imperator

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Cornish Rex

Cornish Rex

Though they look a bit like the cats depicted in Ancient Egyptian art, Cornish Rexes actually originated in England, and were only developed about 60 years ago!

The story begins around 1950, when a natural mutation occurred in a litter born in Cornwall. This first Cornish Rex, Kallibunker, had a curly coat unlike his siblings. The owners of the cat struggled to create a new breed, but so much inbreeding was involved (inbreeding may have been the reason for the recessive gene mutation in the first place) that they gave up on the project. The breed development was then in the hands of others who had received offspring of Kallibunker.

Because Cornish Rex cats were so inbred at first, it is necessary to create crosses with other breeds in order to maintain genetic diversity.

Cornish Rexes come in more color varieties than I can count, but all possess the short, curly coat, high cheekbones, and large ears. They are not hypoallergenic. Personality-wise, Cornish Rexes are active, intelligent  affectionate cats.

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Status : Domesticated

Location : Cornwall, England

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Felidae -- Genus : Felis -- Species : F. catus

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Longnose Gar

Longnose Gars can be found throughout the eastern United States, as well as in Canada and northern Mexico. They are often spotted in large, slow moving rivers and lakes. They can also survive very well in brackish waters.

Lepisosteus osseus

Longnose Gars get their name because their snouts are more than twice the length of the rest of their heads. And what's inside those snouts? A long row of teeth! Thought they eat a lot of invertebrates as juveniles, Adult Longnose Gars hunt mainly other fish. They are ambush predators, catching prey on their sharp teeth and then thrashing back and forth to further impale them.

Longnose Gars have an interesting mating system. As many as fifteen males will spawn with a single female at the same time. As the female swims and deposits her eggs (which are sticky and adhere to the river bottoms) the males move along behind her releasing sperm. Gar eggs hatch in as quickly as 3 days, but it will take the young fish either 4 years (if male) or 6 years (if female) to reach sexual maturity. Longnose Gars can live close to 20 years!

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : North America

Size : Length up to 72in (182cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Lepisosteiformes
Family : Lepisosteidae -- Genus : Lepisosteus -- Species : L. osseus

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Yariguies Brush-Finch

The Yariguies Brush-Finch is a subspecies discovered only seven years ago. It remained hidden for so long because it lives in Yariguies Mountains, which hadn't seen any sort of biological survey until 2004.

Atlapetes latinuchus yariguierum

The Yariguies Brush-Finch differs from the other finches of it's species by its coloration. Their plumage is black on the back, yellow underneath, and they sport a pretty neat looking red mohawk! Other related finches have different colored backs with white markings on the wings.

It took several years to determine that these Finches were a whole new subspecies. DNA analysis helped to confirm the identification. And interestingly, they made actually become an entire new species! A. latinuchus, their current overall species, may be split up and reclassified.

Yariguies Brush-Finches, though newly discovered, are already protected. A few months after its confirmation, the Colombian government set aside its habitat as a protected area.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : Colombia

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Emberizidae -- Genus : Atlapetes-- Species : A. latinuchus -- Subspecies : A. l. yariguierum

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Baird's Tapir

Tapirs are pretty sweet animals. For one, they look completely unlike just about any other thing you've ever seen... except maybe pigs. But here is the kicker- Tapirs are actually most closely related to Horses and Rhinos!

Tapirus bairdii

There are four species of Tapir, including the Bairds, and they can be found in both South AMerica and South East Asia. Their family, Tapiridae is one of only three living families in the entire Perissodactyla order; another dozen or so are now completely extinct. It's crazy to think that of all the Ungulates in the world, only Tapirs, Rhinos, and Horses remain to represent 55 million years of evolution!

Baird's Tapirs can be found in South and Central America, and are named for naturalism Spencer Fullerton Baird who described them in 1843. They are the largest of the three American Tapirs, and have dark coats with distinctive cream colored markings on the cheeks and neck. Like all Tapirs, they have an extended snout and upper lip that helps them the forage and feel around for food. You can always tell where a Tapir has been because they forage along Zig-Zagged paths of their own creation.

Despite their size, Baird's Tapirs are surprisingly agile, and are great swimmers, divers, and climbers. Their large size makes it difficult for them to dissipate heat, so they typically live around water for easy wallowing on a hot day. 

Sadly, Baird's Tapirs are Endangered, and only around 5,500 remain in the wild. Habitat loss has been their biggest threat, as forested areas continue to be torn down. They are currently part of a Species Survival Plan, and studbook is being kept for captive breeding purposes.

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IUCN Status : Endangered

Location : South and Central America

Size : Length up to 6.6ft (2m), Weight up to 850lbs (385kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Perissodactyla
Family : Tapiridae -- Genus : Tapirus -- Species : T. bairdii

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Nicobar Pigeon

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Nicobar Pigeons are large, colorful birds found on the Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean. They are, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful pigeons out there.  They have amazing iridescent blue and green feathers, with longer, pointed fringes around the neck. Both males and females have this vibrant plumage.

Though they can fly, Nicobar Pigeons spend most of their time on the forest floor, foraging for food. They are omnivores that feed on fruits, seeds, and insects.

Interestingly, though they live mostly on the ground, they do nest in trees. They mate for life and feed their young with "Crop Milk." Like many pigeon species. Nicobar Pigeons forage and roost in flocks.

Sadly, like many gorgeous island birds, Nicobar Pigeons are threatened due to predation by introducted species like cats and rats. They are also hunted for food and feathers, and are collected for the illegal pet trade.

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IUCN Status : Near Threatened

Location : Nicobar Islands

Size : Length up to 16in (40cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Columbiformes
Family : Columbidae -- Genus : Caloenas -- Species : C. nicobarica

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Pygmy Sloth

The Pygmy Sloth is both the smallest and the most endangered sloth on the planet. There were only first discovered in 2001, and are found exclusively on the Isla Escudo de Veraguas, a small island off the coast of Panama. Their exact numbers are unknown, but estimates are less than 500 individuals.

Bradypus pygmaeus

Pygmy Sloths are smaller than other Sloths because they spent almost 10,000 years evolving in isolation on a small island. This biological process, called Insular Dwarfism, can also be seen in Florida's Key Deer and in Homo floresiensis from Flores Island, Indonesia. There are of course numerous other examples as well. Lack of space and a smaller supply of resources cause this evolutionary process to happen.

Like the Sloths on the mainland, Pygmy Sloths are arboreal, and feed off of leaves. Interestingly though, the Pygmy Sloths are found feeding near exclusively on Red Mangrove trees, which lives only near the island's coast. The Sloths have not been found in island forests. Their reliance on the Red Mangrove is one of the reasons for their decline; though the island is a marine reserve, indigenous people continue to harvest the plants.

Because Pygmy Sloths are so rare very little is known about their behavior. Detailed information on reproduction and parenting is not available, and scientists are only able to deduce information based on what other, larger Sloth species do. We do know, however, that they are solitary animals that live in a home-range of about 1.6Ha (4 Acres).

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IUCN Status : Critically Endangered

Location : Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama

Size : Weight up to 7.7lbs (3.5kg), Length up to 20in (51cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Pilosa
Family : Bradypodidae -- Genus : Bradypus -- Species : B. pygmaeus

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