Madras Treeshrew

Anathana ellioti

Have you ever heard about the Treeshrews? These small mammals belong to the same Superorder (Euarchontoglires) as Primates, Rodents, and Lagomorphs, but are listed in a unique Order all their own. They also have the very cool distinction of having the highest brain to body mass ratios of any mammal type, including humans!

The Madras, or Indian Treeshrew is one of twenty different Treeshrew species, and is monotypic for its genus. They are considered to be locally common on the Indian subcontinent, where they live in hilly forests, stony slopes, and near pasture land.

Though they sometimes live near trees, and are called "Treeshrews", they are not an especially arboreal creature. The Madras Treeshrews are usually found on the ground, searching for insects, fruits, and seeds. They do most of their foraging during the morning and evening hours, and do so alone.

Madras Treeshrews are currently listed as being of Least Concern, but the population is the decline due to habitat loss.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern

Location : India
Size : Body length up to 7in (18cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Scandentia
Family : Tupaiidae -- Genus : Anathana-- Species : A. ellioti

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Subantarctic Fur Seal

Arctocephalus tropicalis

The Subantarctic Fur Seal is one of the smaller Fur Seals, and it is also one of the most "tropically" located. They live closer to the Equator than than other Southern Hemisphere relatives do, though they don't quite make it up to the literal tropics... which makes their species name a little misleading.

As with most seals, there is some difference in size between the males and females. Males tend to grow about 2ft longer than the other sex, and can weight three items as much (300lbs vs. around 100lbs). Both sexes do share a similar look, sporting creamy colored faces and chests. However, males are a dark brown over the rest of their bodies, while females are more grey.

Subantarctic Fur Seal

During the breeding season (which begins around September/October), the males haul ashore and stake out territories that they defend. The females eventually follow, choosing a male's territory to reside in. There, she will give birth to her pup that she got pregnant with the previous year, and will with the resident male about a week or two after. Subantarctic Fur Seals have delayed implantation, so though she may have mated in December, the female will not actually be pregnant until April or May. Pups live with their mothers until the next one is born, and though the males may leave after breeding season ends, the mother/pups groups will always stick close to the rookery in order to nurse. Fun fact: the milk that the mothers give to their pups contains 39% fat, which is a lot compared to the 5ish% in human milk!

Subantarctic Fur Seals were in trouble back in the early 19th century-- they were hunted pretty extensively for their pelts. Luckily, the hunted died down and enough Seals remained to allow the population to rebound. There are now around 300,000 individuals, and they are listed as being of Least Concern.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern

Location : Southern Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans
Size : Male body length up to 6.6ft (2m), female up to  4.5ft (1.4m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Otariidae -- Genus : Arctocephalus -- Species : A. tropicalis

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Zebra Blue

Leptotes plinius

The Zebra Blue is a striking little Butterfly found in south Asia and Australia. You'll find them near a variety of different plants within the Citrus and Legume families, and they are especially fond of Leadwort (or Plumbago). They are also sometimes referred to as Plumbago Blues.

The topsides of the Zebra Blues are (expectedly) a shimmery blue hue. The underside of the wing is where the Zebra name comes from-- their sport a pattern that resembles that of their equine namesake. The Zebra Blues also have two black spots on each back wing that are encircled with shiny green. Caterpillars are a pale green color.

Eggs are pale green spheres that are laid on the undersides of leaves (often the aforementioned Leadwort). After hatching, the young insects have easy access to a food source. As adults, the Butterflies fly low to the ground, near those same food source plants.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : South Asia, Australia
Size : Wingspan up to 25mm

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Insecta -- Order : Lepidoptera
Family : Lycaenidae -- Genus : Leptotes -- Species : L. plinius

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Garganey

Anas querquedula

The Garganey is a species of dabbling duck that has a massive range covering nearly the entire Eastern Hemisphere (at one point or another). Their unusual name comes from an Anglicized version of an Italian word which is derived from the Latin gargala-- "Tracheal Artery."

The male Garganey is identified by the thick white line that runs over each eye, as well as by their brown neck and chest, and grey plumage elsewhere. Females are less distinctive, and look very similar to the female  Common Teals, which are a close relative (share the same genus). They have brown bodies, but darker face markings than the Teals.

During the breeding season you'll find these ducks in Europe and western Asia. They build their nests on the ground, near water, and lay as many as 14 eggs at the time. Incubation takes about three weeks and the young will fully fledge after 40 days.

The ducks don't stay at their breeding sites for long, since when winter comes they all migrate elsewhere. Some populations end up in Africa, others head towards India, and others still make their way out to Australia and various Pacific Islands.

It is estimated that there are around 2,700,000 Garganey ducks in the world right now-- quite the number! However, the population is on a decline, due to the reclamation of wetland breeding sites in Europe. Introduced species (like Mink) also affect their nest sites. The Garganey is legally hunted in some areas, and the practice appears to be sustainable.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern

Location : Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Size : Length up to 16in (41cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Anseriformes
Family : Anatidae -- Genus : Anas -- Species : A. querquedula

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Atlas Tortoise

Colossochelys atlas

In the past we have learned all about the massive prehistoric Sea Turtles that once swam the world's oceans, but we have yet to talk about what is possibly the largest land Turtle ever discovered. This creature is even larger than the Galapagos and Aldabara Tortoises-- it had a shell that could grow nearly 7ft long!

The appropriately named Atlas Tortoise lived during the Miocene and Pleistocene periods, and its fossils have been found in India, Pakistan, and Thailand. There is also speculation that they lived as far west as southern Europe. Like their closest modern relatives, they were slow moving, plant eating herbivores.

The Atlas Tortoise probably looked very similar to the Galapagos Tortoise, just longer, taller (nearly 6ft!), and heavier. Their massive, 1,000kg+ bodies were supported by thick, sturdy legs that could, along with the head, retract into the shell when threatened.

There is some controversy about the classification of this species, and it has gone by many names. When first discovered and named back in 1837, they were called Megalochelys sivalensis. Their current name was bestowed in 1844, but was flip flopped around to both Geochelone atlas and Testudo atlas, before coming back to the Colossochelys genus again. It is still sometimes referred to by all four of those genus names, confusing!

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Status : Extinct since the Pleistocene (around 1 million years)

Location : South Asia
Size : Shell Length up to 7ft (2.5m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Order : Testudines
Family : Testudinidae -- Genus : †Colossochelys -- Species : † C. atlas

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Eoraptor

Eoraptor lunensis

We've been learning a lot about Dinosaurs recently, though most of those lived in the Cretaceous period, not long before the big extinction event that wiped all the Dinosaurs out. Today's Dinosaur comes from the opposite end of the timeline-- it is one of the earliest known Dinosaurs, and lived nearly 230 million years ago.

Eoraptor ("Dawn Theif"), hailed from the Late Triassic. They were small, only about 3ft long in total, and walked on two legs. Their mouths were filled with teeth that could be used for both carnivorous and herbivorous diets, though their other features suggest that they leaned more towards the meat-eating side. Eoraptor also had long legs that suggest a fast moving gait, and five-fingered hands that had three long, clawed fingers, and two fingers that appear to be too small to be useful.

Eoraptor was first discovered in 1991 in Argentina, and was named in 1993. What is a dry badlands today was once a river valley, and it is in that area that the fossils were found  along with fossils of other early Dinosaurs.

We know that Eoraptor was an early Dinosaur because of the fossil location, and also because of the animal's morphology . They lacked the specialized features that appeared in later Dinosaur groups. Some think that because they are so ancient, and so non-specific in their features, that they aren't quite Dinosaurs at all. And if they are in fact Dinosaurs, as the popular opinion states, there is disagreement about whether or not they are truly Saurischian or Theropod.

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Status : Extinct for 230 million years

Location : Argentina
Size : Length up to 3ft (.9m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- clade : Dinosauria
Genus : †Eoraptor-- Species : †E. lunensis

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Common Earwig

Forficula auricularia

The Common Earwig is also called the European Earwig, but that name is a little bit misleading. Though they did orginate in Europe and Northern Africa, they can now be found all over North America as well, thanks (or not thanks?) to introduction during the 20th century.

You can identify Common earwigs by their skinny bodies and large forceps on the abdomen (they are slightly larger in males). They use them to mate, to feed, and for self defense!

The Earwig lives in cool, moist, dark places, and is most active during the night time. Though they look a bit frightening, they are actually plant eaters a lot of the time. They feed on different leaves, flowers, lichens, and algae, though they do sometimes snack on insects and insect eggs.

Mother Earwigs are pretty good parents. She lays her eggs before it gets cold, and stays with them over the winter, burrowing just slightly underground. She even cleans them to keep them free from fungal growth. In the spring she moves them into a single layer to make hatching easier, and then she will actually guard over them until they reach maturity!

Common earwigs are considered pests in some areas, because they will feed on crops.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : Native to Europe
Size : Length up to 15mm

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Insecta -- Order : Dermaptera
Family : Forficulidae -- Genus : Forficula -- Species : F. auricularia

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