Bowfin

Amia calva

Today's animal is one of those really neat fish that harkens back to the Dinosaur days! They are the Bowfins, and they are the only surviving members of their entire Family, as well as their whole Order. The three other extinct Families within the Order date back between the Jurassic and the Eocene, with most of the fossils going back 100 million years!

For whatever reason, the other neat ancient fish we've talked about are found in more exotic locations (or at least exotic to Americans)-- the Coelocanth of South Africa, the Lungfish of Australia, etc. But congratulations North America! This is a weird old fish all your own! Bowfins are found in southern Canada and in the eastern United States, where they can be found in the Great Lakes, as well as in other lakes and slow moving rivers.

You can tell that the Bowfin come from an ancient lineage because they have a half bone, half cartilage skeletal system. They also have the ability to breathe air, thanks to a modified swim bladder that acts as a primitive lung. This lung also lets them live in siltier and more stagnant waters. They are indiscriminate predators, and feed on small fish, invertebrates, and amphibians.

Bowfin reproduction is a curious affair-- the males actually build nests! They construct nests out of plant fibers that can be as large as 3ft in diameter. They then mate with a female (sometimes multiple females), the eggs are laid, and the female(s) depart. The male Bowfin stands watch over his eggs, protecting them until they hatch. He then keeps watch over his new brood until they grow to lengths of around 4in.

Bowfin are not often hunted commercially, as their meat is less tasty than that of other fish, and they tend to retain more Mercury. They are popular with some sport anglers, due to their fighting spirit, but many consider them to be pests since they feed on more desirable aquatic animals.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : North America
Size : Length up to 43in (1.1m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Amiiformes
Family : Amiidae -- Genus : Amia-- Species : A. calva

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Red Admiral

Vanessa atalanta

Today's animal is one that is very close to home for me... literally. They live on the tree outside my front door. It is the Red Admiral Butterfly, a species common throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. In warmer areas they live as residents, while colder areas see them only during the seasonal migrations.

Red Admirals can be identified by their brown wings banded with bright orange and tipped with black covered in white spots. Their wing undersides also possess those same colors, but with a more mottled pattern. As Caterpillars they are typically darkly colored and spiky, though some are more greenish or even red in hue. Red Admiral Caterpillars feed on Nettle plants. As adults they will feed on flowers, but they prefer different fruits.

In North America the Red Admirals hatch in two broods in the northern areas, and then winter in southern Texas. During their migration south they can be found living in just about every habitat imaginable, including forests, tundras, fields, and swamps. As previously mentioned there are also resident populations in warmer areas. Butterflies in Central America, for example, like in those tropical forests year round.

This year has been particularly spectacular for Red Admirals in North America. Every decade or so the migration is larger than normal, and this seems to be the year for it! The mild winter may have something to do with it, as more butterflies survived further north, meaning that more bred than normal.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : North America, Europe, Asia
Size : Wingspan up to 2in (5cm)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Insecta -- Order : Lepidoptera
Family : Nymphalidae -- Genus : Vanessa -- Species : V. atalanta

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Gray Whale

Eschrichtius robustus

As it is Mother's Day, we're going to learn about one really awesome mother from the Animal Kingdom-- the Gray Whale!

Gray Whale breeding season takes place in November and December, and happens while the Whales are wintering in warmer waters near the Equator. Females gestate for a whopping 13.5 months and give birth to a single calf while in their wintering grounds the following year. Calves are born in safer waters off of Baja, Mexico that are free from predators, and the mothers will help lift their infants up to the surface so that they can breathe... at least until they become stronger swimmers. Calves are around 4ft long at birth, and grow very quickly. They can drink up to 80 gallons of milk a day, and that milk is 53% fat!

Eventually, the mother an calf must travel back to colder climates in order to feed. The wintering waters are safe for giving birth, but that is because there is so little food, and thus very few predators. All Gray Whales migrate, and they actually take part in one of the greatest animal migrations in the world, travelling as far as 12,500 miles (20,000km) round trip each year. Females and calves are the first to leave the warm winter waters, destined for the nutrient rich seas of the north. But the trip is not easy! Not only is the swim difficult for the calves due to it's distance, it is also incredibly dangerous thanks to all the predators (like Killer Whales) that are out to get them.

Calves remain with their mothers for around a year, and will themselves take about 8 years to reach sexual maturity. One fact that I found particularly interesting is that the female Gray Whales are often larger than the males, which is unusual for Cetaceans. Sperm Whales, for example, have some of the most ridiculous sexual dimorphism of any mammal.

Gray Whales also have a very distinctive look to them, thanks to the various parasites and growths that collect on their skin. Calves are born completely smooth, and will collect their barnacles and lice as they age. Doesn't sound especially pleasant, does it?

Currently, Gray Whales can only be found in the Pacific Ocean. Before the growth of Commercial Whaling they also lived in the Atlantic, but they are now extinct in that particular area. Gray Whales almost disappeared from the planet completely, but they are now protected and their population is slowly rebounding. Boat collisions, fishing gear entanglement, habitat degradation, and the effects of climate change all continue to impact the species.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Pacific Ocean
Size : Length up to 50ft (15m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Cetacea
Family : Eschrichtiidae -- Genus : Eschrichtius -- Species : E. robustus

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Helmeted Iguana

Corytophanes cristatus

The Helmeted Iguana is also sometimes referred to as the Forest Chameleon. Confusing, right? They are members of Corytophanidae, a family that also includes Basilisks and other Helmeted Lizards. The helmet name comes from the fact that these little guys have a huge helmet-like crest that extends from the back of their heads down over their necks. They also have a much lower crest that extends down their back. Males have larger helmets than females.

Helmeted Iguanas can be found in tropical rainforests ranging from Mexico down to Colombia. Their long limbs and grasping toes allow them to be excellent climbers.

One interesting feature to the Helmeted Iguana is that it can change color (hence the Forest Chameleon Name). They really can only shift from greens to browns, but that is enough to allow them some camouflage while out basking in the sun, or while hunting for insects.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : South and Central America
Size : Length up to 14in (34cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Order : Squamata
Family : Corytophanidae -- Genus : Corytophanes -- Species : C. cristatus

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Altay Sheep

Altay Sheep Ewe

When we think of sheep, we often imagine domesticated animals that are kept and bred for their wool, not for their meat. Such is not the case for today's breed, which was developed in the dry, cold, mountainous regions of China not for their wool, but for both its meat and fat. (They are sheared, but wool is a secondary purpose.)

Altay Sheep belong to the "fat-rumped carpet wool" type. And that pretty much means exactly what it sounds like. They have dense, carpet-like wool and exceptionally fatty rumps, which is great for the sheep and for their herders, as they both use those fat stores to survive. The sheep use the fat reserves to live during the harsh, vegetation sparse winter months, and the herders use that same fat for fuel.

As you might guess, the breed is very hardy and adaptable, and is able to survive well in the rough conditions that it was bred into. They even typically give birth to just one lamb at a time, which suits them best in conditions that only allow them to eat for a few months of the year!

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Status : Domesticated
Location : China
Size : Height up to 29in (76cm), Weight up to 175lbs (80kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae -- Genus : Ovis -- Species : O. aries

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Moustached Treeswift

Hemiprocne mystacea

Moustached Treeswifts are not actually true Swifts, but they are close relatives. There are actually just four species of Treeswift in the world, and they all belong to the same genus and live in Southeast Asia.

Today's animal is another critter that I chose entirely for it looks. It has a mustache made of feathers! Very cute!

The Moustached Treeswifts don't seem to be too picky about the habitats that they live in. Lowland forests, mountainous forests, and even swampy forests will all work nicely for these guys, who are found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

Insects are the preferred diet for these Treeswifts, and they are able to maneuver very easily through the forests in order to find their prey. Males and females form monogamous pairs during the breeding season, and lay only one eggs at a time, which incubates in nest that is attached to a tree branch. The parents will feed their chick regurgitated insects until it is old enough to fledge and hunt on its own.

Moustached Swifts are common throughout their range, and are listed as being of Least Concern. Unfortunately I had to use an illustration for their visual, since the photographs didn't do justice to their mustaches...

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
Size : Length up to 10in (25cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Apodiformes
Family : Hemiprocnidae -- Genus : Hemiprocne -- Species : H. mystacea

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Great Egret

Ardea alba

Are you ready to get confused? Here we go.
This is the Great Egret. Or Great White Egret. Or Great White Heron. It looks like a Snowy Egret, but it's bigger. It also has the same common name as a Floridian color variation of the Great Blue Heron... which is white... and is also called the Great White Heron.

But thankfully we have scientific names! So no matter what you call today's bird, Ardea alba is how it will always be known to science... well, unless they find some weird discrepancy down the road that requires reclassification. But let's not add on to the confusion any more...

For the sake of this post, we'll go with "Great Egret," since they are quite large and majestic. They have a distribution that spans most of the world, with some populations living in a range year round, and some migrating North and South seasonally.

Great Egrets nest in large colonies, often sharing the space with other bird species. They build their large nests up in the trees, and parents are monogamous. Clutches of three or four eggs are the most common, but unfortunately it is rare for all chicks to survive to adulthood. Aggression between offspring is incredibly common, and the larger chicks will often kill their smaller siblings in order to receive more food.

Like many beautifully plumed birds in North America, Great Egrets saw a population dip in the late 19th century, due to the popularity of feathers in womens' hats. Conservation measures have allowed the North American Egrets to rebound, and in 1953 the Great Egret was chosen as the symbol of the National Audubon Society.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Southern Hemisphere
Size : Height up to 3.3ft (1m), Wingspan up to 5ft (1.5m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Pelecaniformes
Family : Ardeidae -- Genus : Ardea -- Species : A. alba

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