Qantassaurus

Qantassaurus

Qantassaurus is one of the more recently discovered Dinosaurs-- it was first unearthed back in 1996. The genus is named after QANTAS, the Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service, which has funded digs and transported fossils for several projects. It should come as no shock then to discover that these DInosaurs were found in Australia.

Qantassaurus was smaller in size-- only about 3ft tall and 6ft long. Scientists have had to estimate these measurements as this particular Dinosaur is only known from jaw fragments. They have been able to come up with those numbers based on the size ratios of other family members. Qantassaurus also had a very blunt face and large eyes.

Interestingly, 115 million years ago when Qantassaurus lived, Australia was even further south than it is now. Conditions were colder, which is why these guys were so small. Larger Dinosaurs would not have been able to live in such climates, as there would not have been enough vegetation.

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Status : Extinct for 115 million years
Location : Australia
Size : Height up to 3ft (.9m), Length up to 6ft (1.8m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Sauropsida -- Superorder : Dinosauria
Order : Ornithischia -- Family : Hypsilophodontidae -- Genus: Qantassaurus

Image : debivort

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Protoceratops

Protoceratops

Meet the Protoceratops. If the name sounds familiar, it may be because you are already acquainted with the Triceratops-- the two genera were in the same family, and the Protoceratops is an evolutionary ancestor to the more well-known Dinosaur.

Protoceratops was quite small, especially when compared to its more famous descendants. These Late Cretaceous Dinosaurs only grew 2-3ft tall, and around 6ft long. They were still relatively heavy for their height, topping out at around 400lbs, but that is a far cry from the 20,000+lbs Triceratops. Interestingly though, their smaller size and beaked skull may have helped to found the Griffin myth!

The fossils of this Dinosaur were first uncovered in Mongolia back in 1922. So far two different species within the genus have been identified from various Mongolia expeditions-- P. andrewsi and P. hellenikorhinus. One of the most stunning fossils of Protoceratops was unearthed in 1971. It shows the creature fighting a Velociraptor! The two Dinosaurs were probably caught in a sandstorm mid-struggle, and have stayed preserved that way for millions of years.

Other cool Protoceratops finds? Nests! In 2011 a nest containing P. andrewsi young was found. This find suggests that the adults did in fact care for their offspring, at least for a short while.

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Status : Extinct for 70 million years
Location : Mongolia
Size : Height up to 3ft (.9m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Order : †Ornithischia
Suborder : †Ceratopsia -- Family : †Protoceratopsidae -- Genus : †Protoceratops

Image : wikidino

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Beluga Sturgeon

Huso huso

The Beluga Sturgeon is the largest of all the Sturgeon species, and is also one of the largest freshwater fish in the entire world (though they can also be found in brackish and saltwater areas). Some of the largest ones caught were close to 20ft long, though most observed around in the 6-10ft range.

Beluga Sturgeons grow very slowly, meaning that the largest of them are also the oldest. They can live over 100 years, and the oldest recorded was 118!

You'll find these predatory fish in the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Volga River, and occasionally in the Adriatic Sea as well. They live at sea most of their lives, but swim up rivers in order to spawn. When the time to reproduce arrives, a single female can lay up to 3.5 million eggs!

Unfortunately, those eggs are the reason why these giant fish are listed as Critically Endangered  You see, Beluga Sturgeons are where Beluga Caviar comes from. That Caviar is the most expensive in the world, and close to 50% of it is illegally traded. The Sturgeon are over-fished, and on top of that, their habitats are degrading. They are protected by CITES and a few other agreements, and the importation of the caviar is now banned in the United States.

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IUCN Status : Critically Endangered
Location : Eastern Europe
Size : Length up to 10ft (3.2m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Acipenseriformes
Family : Acipenseridae -- Genus : Huso -- Species : H. huso

Image : 1stfun

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Eastern Bluebird

Sialia sialis (male and female)

The Eastern Bluebird is a small little Thrush that is named after the coloration found in the males-- they have bold blue backs and orange-ish underside. The females have similarly-colored undersides, but have grey feathers up top.

You'll spot these birds all over the Eastern United States, where they live in open areas that have access to nesting sites. They require either tree cavities or nest boxes in order to reproduce, and in fact the growth of man-made nest boxes has helped the species to bounce back from low population levels in the 1960s. Nest boxes allow the Bluebirds to breed in areas where they once couldn't, and they keep the nests safe from certain predators.

When it comes to courtship, the male Eastern Bluebirds select a nest site,  bring materials to it, and do aerial movements to attract females. If a female is enticed, it is she who will actually build the nest and incubate the eggs, though both parents will help to feed the young. The young birds each insects almost exclusively, though as adults they will expand their diets to include fruits and other invertebrates.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Eastern United States
Size : Length up to 8in (20cm), Wingspan up to 13in (32cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Turdidae -- Genus : Sialia -- Species : S. sialis

Image : Gary Irwin

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Mangrove Monitor

Varanus indicus

Mangrove Monitors, if you couldn't guess, as lizards that live near mangrove swamps, lakes, and rivers. They have an absolutely massive distribution, and are found in Australia, New Guinea, and on dozens of Pacific Islands.

They didn't always live in so many places, in fact, in most cases the spread only happened a few decades ago. Sailors transported the lizards before and during World War II.

Because of their large range and fragmentation, there is a great deal of variation in these lizards. Individuals on some islands are larger than others, and they also differ in coloration. Overall though, they stay below 5ft in total length, with their long tails making up at least half of that.

Those very tails help the Mangrove Monitors to swim, and they are excellent climbers as well. Being able to hunt in water, on land, and in trees means that they have a very diverse diet. They eat fish, birds, rodents, crustaceans, and other reptiles. They can actually eat large prey due to their ability to drop their lower jaw, similar to snakes (but not quite the same).

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Australia, New Guinea, Pacific Islands
Size : Length up to 1.5m

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Sauropsida -- Order : Squamata
Family : Varanidae -- Genus : Varanus -- Species : V. indicus

Image : Cliff

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Charnia

Charnia masoni

Meet Charnia, an animal so ancient that it predates pretty much everything we've ever talked about on this blog-- it loved over 500 million years go!

Though they look like leaves, they actually were like modern sea-pens. They are animals that lived on the sea floor where photosynthesis cannot occur.

Charnia are named for England's Charnwood Forest, where they were first discovered in 1957. They are notable because they were the very first fossils ever discovered from the Precambrian period. Before that point, no one knew if there was life that long ago, or if any existing lifeforms could even meet suitable fossilization conditions.

There is still much to be learned about these ancient invertebrates, and their classification may yet change. For now, all we can postulate is that they live on the sea floor, possibly in deep sea water. No mouth part has been observed, so they were probably filter feeders.

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Status : Extinct for 540 million years
Location : Fossils found in Europe, Canada
Size : Length up to 1m

Classification : Phylum : Petalonamae -- Genus : Charnia -- Species : C. masoni -

Image : Smith609

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Flower Hat Jelly

Olindias formosa

Flower Hat Jellies are pretty easy to recognize-- these Cnidarians have translucent bells that are covered in dark pinstripes. In addition to that, they have short-looking tentacles that coil up close to the body, giving them a more compact look. Overall they are small in size, sporting diameters of around 6in.

You will find the Flower Hat Jellies swimming in the Pacific Ocean, in the waters near Japan. They feed mainly on small fishes, which they catch using their stinging tentacles.

If you are a human who gets stung by a Flower Hat, you'll feel some pain. These stings are not lethal.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Pacific
Size : Diameter up to 6in (15cm)

Classification : Phylum : Cnidaria -- Class : Hydrozoa -- Order : Limnomedusae
Family : Olindiidae -- Genus : Olindias -- Species : O. formosa

Image : kenpei

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