King Quail

Coturnix chinensis

The King Quail, also known as the Asian Blue Quail, or Painted Quail, is the smallest of all the "true Quail" species. They measure only about 6in in length, and the females are actually larger than the males. You'll find them in south and southeast Asia, Australia, and on several Pacific islands.

Males are where the "Blue" name comes from-- they have slate blue breasts that are not present at all in females. Elsewhere their feathers range from a reddish brown, to lighter shades of brown, to black. This Quail species is quite popular in aviculture, and in captivity there are several other color variations that can be found.

King Quails live in either pairs or in small groups called Coveys. The rainy season dictates when they breed, and the females can lay as many as 14 eggs at a time! The newly hatched chicks are precocial, and go incredibly fast-- they can reach full adulthood after only a month! This quick maturation serves them well in the wild, as they usually only live a few years (they can live more than a decade in captivity).

Because the King Quails are such prolific breeders, and because they have such a massive range, they are listed as being of Least Concern. Some local populations (like those in parts of Australia) are becoming more rare, and are receiving protection.

---

IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Asia, Australia
Size : Length up to 6in (14cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Galliformes
Family : Phasianidae -- Genus : Coturnix -- Species : C. chinensis

Read More

Short-tailed Hopping Mouse

Notomys amplus

The last time anyone saw a Short-tailed Hopping Mouse was back in 1896, and everything that we know about this now-extinct desert Mouse comes from two specimens collected over a hundred years ago.

Did you know that there are, in fact, Hopping Mice? And no, they are not Marsupials (like many of the convergent evolution critters in Australia), they are Rodents that arrived from Asia around 5 million years ago.

The Short-tailed Hopping Mice and four of the other species in the genus went extinct during the 19th century. This is due to the spread of introduced predators like cats and dogs, and increased competition for food. All in all, half the species of Hopping Mice are extinct.

We know that the Short-tailed lived in the scrubs and dry grasslands of central Australia, and were the largest of the Hopping Mice. They had the long hind legs, sandy colored fur, and they fed on various seeds.

---

IUCN Status : Extinct
Location : Australia
Size : Weight up to 80g

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Rodentia
Family : Muridae -- Genus : Notomys -- Species : N. amplus

Read More

Prussian Carp

Carassius gibelio - image by Viridiflavus

If you look closely, and use some imagination when it comes to color, you might just recognize today's animal.

You see, the Prussian Carp, which actually originated in Siberia and not Germany, is the wild ancestor to our domesticated Goldfish. Around 1,000 years ago these fish were selectively bred in China to become the colorful aquarium fish that are so prevalent around the world. Like their domestic progeny, Prussian Carp have also spread from their native habitat, and can now be found in rivers and ponds across Europe and Asia.

Prussian Carp are medium sized members of their family, measuring up to 1.5ft long and weighing up to 6lbs.  They have an omnivorous diet, feeding off of plant matter as well as various small invertebrates.

As adults, the Prussian Carp have a grey, greenish color. But when they are younger they tend to be more golden, which  is where the inspiration for the domestication may have some from.

---

IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Asia, Europe
Size : Length up to 18in (45cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Cypriniformes
Family : Cyprinidae -- Genus : Carassius -- Species : C. gibelio

Read More

Pale-billed Mountain Toucan

Andigena laminirostris

The Andes mountains of South America are where you'll find the Pale-billed Mountain Toucan. They live in the humid forests that sit just under 10,000ft.

You'll identify these birds by all their various color patches. They have blue chests, chestnut wings, splashes of red and yellow near the tail, and ivory, black, yellow, green, and red on the face and bill. They are similar in look to the other species of Mountain Toucan (all of which have a Andean range), but each of the birds differs in the face and bill.

As with all Toucans, the Pale-billed Mountain Toucan is a frugivore, and is a vital spreader of seeds for their habitat. They eat as many as 100 different kinds of fruit (I didn't even know there were that many fruits growing in one place!), and either digest or regurgitate the seeds. This diet even plays into their courting rituals-- males will feed fruit to the females to gain favor.

Pale-billed Mountain Toucans will form monogamous pairs once they reach sexual maturity at age 3. The couple will often take over the nest of another bird and line it with sticks and regurgitated materials. Both the mother and father incubate and care for the chicks.

Sadly, the species is on the decline and is listed as Near Threatened. Habitat loss from logging, human settlement, and agriculture plays a big part in this. The birds do live within nature reserves, more more conservation action is needed outside of those areas.

---

IUCN Status : Near Threatened
Location : South America
Size : Length up to 21in (53cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Piciformes
Family : Ramphastidae -- Genus : Andigena -- Species : A. laminirostris

Read More

European Jaguar

Panthera gombaszoegensis

The modern big cats are spread all over the world, but then to have very distinct ranges. Tigers in Asia. Cheetahs in Africa. Jaguars in South America. But in the past this was not the case. Lions lived in Europe and Asia. There was a strange Cheetah-like cat in North America, and today we'll learn that there were Jaguars in Europe.

The European Jaguar lived about 1.5 million years ago, and its fossils have been found throughout central and western Europe. These cats were larger than their cousins who now live halfway around the world, reaching nearly 450lbs in size. They were probably solitary creatures, and their size allowed them to take down large prey.

European Jaguars were so similar to the big cats of today that they belong to the very same genus (Panthera). There are even some who think they might be a subspecies of modern Jaguars!

So if there were Jaguars in Italy, how the heck did they all end up in South America 1.5 million years later? Well, there were also Jaguars in Asia. And those Asian Jaguars spread about a few million years ago. Some eventually made their way into the America, while others moved west to Europe. Eventually the European and Asian lines died out (possibly due to competition with other large cat species), but the South American Jaguar, the only large Cat in its range, flourished.

---

Status : Extinct 1.5 million years
Location : Europe
Size : Length up to 20ft (6m), Weight up to 460lbs (210kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Felidae -- Genus : Panthera -- Species : P. gombaszoegensis

Read More

Palaeocastor

Palaeocastor sp.

Today there are only two species of true Beaver, the North American and the Eurasian. But these large rodents have a long history, with many now-extinct relatives, dating back millions of years.

Palaeocastor is one of these ancestors. This 1ft long critter lived in the Oligocene around 25 million years ago in North America. They didn't have the big paddle tail that our modern Beavers do, nor did they spend as much time in the water.

Interestingly, the burrows of Palaeocastor were discovered long before the fossils. Unlike modern Beavers, Palaeocastor did not build dens out of sticks and mud. Instead, they constructed strange, corkscrewed burrows... by digging with their teeth! Preserved remains of these burrows have been found, and are called "devil's corkscrews." It actually took some time for science to figure out what those strange structures were!

A fossilized "devil's corkscrew"

---

Status : Extinct for 25 million years
Location : North America
Size : Body Length around 1ft (30cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Rodentia
Family : Castoridae -- Genus : †Palaeocastor

Read More

Welsh Terrier

Welsh Terrier

The Welsh Terrier is a breed that was developed in Wales during the 19th century, and was first shown back in 1884. They have also been called the Old English Terrier and the Black and Tan Wire Haired Terrier.

They were originally bred for their hunting ability-- they would crawl into the dens of Badgers and Foxes and flush them out. They are still used for sporting activities, but are more common now as show dogs and companions.

Welsh Terriers look very much like small versions of the Airedale Terrier, another breed from the British Isles, sporting brown throughout the body, with black on the back. They have two coats, a soft undercoat and a very dense, wiry overcoat.  Despite this, they actually shed very little, if at all. Their coat does need to be groomed regularly, and plucked a handful of times each year.

The breed is very active and lively, and requires frequent activity to stay happy. They are relatively intelligent, but can be very independent in their decisions if not properly trained.

---

Status : Domesticated
Location : Wales
Size : Height up to 15in (39cm), Weight up to 22lbs (10kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Canidae -- Genus : Canis -- Species : C. lupus -- Subspecies : C. l. familiaris

Read More