Round Island Boa

Casarea dussumieri

The Round Island Boa, found on the islands of Mauritius, is now the only living member of its entire family, and is one of the rarest snakes on the planet. Only one other species had even been identified, and it went extinct in 1975.

This snake is most common on Round Island, an uninhabited 1.7 square kilometer patch of land in the Indian Ocean that has been a designated nature reserve since the 1950s. They have been introduced to a number of other islands as well, and there are currently around 1,000 individuals in the wild. Habitat loss an
d introduced animals were major causes to their decline, and efforts are being made to remove some of the invasive species from the Boa's habitat.

Round Island Boas are slender, with very thin, pointed heads. They grow to a maximum of 5ft, with females being slightly longer than males. They (and their now-extinct family member The Round Island Burrowing Boa) are the only snakes to have split jaws, which may help them to hunt their favorite prey-- Lizards and Geckos.

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IUCN Status : Endangered
Location : Mauritius
Size : Length up to 5ft (1.5m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Order : Squamata
Family : Bolyeriidae -- Genus : Casarea-- Species : C. dussumieri

Image : Captive Reptile Forums

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Black-faced Spoonbill

Platalea minor

Of all the Spoonbills in the world, only the Black-faced Spoonbill is considered to be Endangered. It is estimed that there are around 2,700 of these wading birds left in the world, and they
breed only on a handful of islands off the coast of Korea and the Liaoning Province of China.

Black-faced Spoonbills have white-feathered bodies, with black bills and faces. During the breeding season their neck feathers turn yellow, and they also develop a crest along the back of their head. They breed in May, building nests on cliffs, and spend their non-breeding time living in coastal wetlands and mudflats. Their spoon-shaped bills help them to dredge up small fish and crustaceans.

These birds are endangered due to habitat loss. The wetlands that they live in are being drained for development and agriculture. It also doesn't help that they have very few wintering sites (specific locations in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Vietnam). Should something happen to any of those sites (natural or man-made), the birds would be in even more trouble. Black-faced Spoonbills are protected in most of their breeding and wintering ranges, and a survey is being continuously done to track their numbers.

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IUCN Status : Endangered
Location : East Asia
Size : Length up to 30in (77cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Pelecaniformes
Family : Threskiornithidae -- Genus : Platalea -- Species : P. minor

Image : Alnus

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Common Pillbug

Armadillidium vulgare

Despite the name, the Common Pillbug is not a bug at all. It is actually a Crustacean! They live on land (unlike many of their more well known relatives) and feed on decaying plant matter.

Common Pillbugs are named for their ability to roll up into little balls when they are alarmed. Interestingly, their genus name Armadillidium, is named for another rolly-polly creat
ure-- the Armadillo!

These critters are found in abundance throughout continental Europe and the British Isles. They have also been introduced to parts of North America. They live on land, and hide in dark, moist places during the daytime hours.

Many Crustaceans breed in water, but not these Pillbugs! They actually reproduce on land, and pay their eggs in large sacs. The eggs incubate within those sacs, and tiny juvenile Pillbugs emerge from the sac fully formed.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Europe
Size : Length up to 18mm

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Malacostraca -- Order : Isopoda
Family : Armadillidiidae -- Genus : Armadillidium -- Species : A. vulgare

Image : Folini

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Sir Barton

Today was the Kentucky Derby, the first of the races that form that American Triple Crown. The elusive award has only been won 11 times, with the last occurrence way back in 1978.

Many of the horses to win this title have names that are remembered by history  Secretariat. Affirmed. War Admiral. Sadly, the very first winner, Sir Barton, has not fared as well in the memory of the sport.

He won the Crown during the 1919 season. And amazingly, Sir Barton was an incredible longshot. As a two year old he entered six races and won none of them, and was eventually sold. His first race as a three year old actually was the Kentucky Derby, and he was entered to be the pacemaker for his much more regarded stablemate Billy Kelly. But being a pacemaker just wouldn't do for the chestnut Thoroughbred. He led the entire race and won by 5 lengths.

Back then, the time between Triple Crown races was far shorter, and Sir Barton entered and won the Preakness that same week! Only a few weeks after that he entered and won the Belmont Stakes as well, setting an American record and obtaining the first Triple Crown in only 32 days.

Sir Barton did actually race as a four year old, including a match race with Man O' War that he lost. He retired after that season and was put to stud for a number of years, ac
hieving moderate success. In the 1930s he ended up at working for the U.S. Army Remount Service in Nebraska, and was eventually sold to a rancher in Wyoming. He died in 1937.

Sir Barton only made $116,000 during his racing career, wining only 13 races of 31 starts. He was certainly not the winning-est of the Triple Crown winners, but he was the first! He was elected to the racing Hall of Fame in 1957.

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Zebra Dove

Geopelia striata

Today's animal is a Zebra Dove, a bird that is native to Southeast Asia, but that has found it's way to various Pacific Islands as well due to introduction. Like many Dove and Pigeon species they have adapted to multiple habitat types, and can be found both int he wild, and in developed areas.

As you may have guessed, Zebra Doves are named for the black and white stripes that cover their necks. This color pattern helps them to stay camouflaged while they are foraging for seeds and small insects on the ground.

Zebra Doves are kept in captivity, and are said to be calm and quiet. They are actually rare in some of their native range now, due to collection for the pet trade, though they are now also bred on large farms as well. In Thailand, owning one is considered to be good luck.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Southeast Asia
Size : Length up to 9in (23cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Columbiformes
Family : Columbidae -- Genus : Geopelia -- Species : G. striata

Image : DickDaniels

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Death's-head Hawkmoth

Acherontia lachesis

The common name of today's animal actually can be applied to all three species within the genus Acherontia. One of the three lives in Europe and Africa, while the other two call Asia their home. All are very similar in size and appearance, and all actually are able to mimic the scent of bees so that they can enter hives unnoticed to steal honey-- interesting!

Death's-head Hawkmoths get their ominous sounding names from the human skull-like patterns that are found on the thorax. Because of their appearance they have long been associated with evil and death. Their genus name even derives from the name of a river that is said to be a branch of the river Styx. The three species names-- atropos, styx, lachesis-- all relate to the underworld.

Another feature that has given these insects a creepy reputation? They shriek. When threatened they expel air from their pharynx, created a very eerie high pitched squeaking noise.

The Death's-head Hawkmoth has appeared in art and literature, including the novel Dracula and in works by Poe and Dali. It is also the iconic moth found on the poster for the film The Silence of the Lambs, though the skull on that image is actually a derivation of a Salvador Dali work.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Africa, Europe, Asia
Size : Wingspan up to 5in (13cm)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Insecta -- Order : Lepidoptera
Family : Sphingidae -- Genus : Acherontia

Image : Mosmas

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Cave Hyena

Crocuta crocuta spelaea

Tens of thousands of years ago the Cave Hyena could be found all across Europe and Asia, hunting the massive Pleistocene mammals that live there. A subspecies of the extant Spotted Hyena, the Cave Hyenas were larger (weighed up to 225lbs) and lived far beyond the warm weather confines of the African Continent.

Cave Hyena fossils have been found in abundance, and because these creatures were such prolific hunters, they were responsible for large deposits of herbivore fossils as well. Unsurpsingly, they lived in caves, and sometimes even had to compete for spaces with Neanderthals and early humans. Hyena fossils with tool marks on the bones have been located, and they are also depicted in cave paintings and in sculptures that date back more than 20,000 years.

No one is really 100% sure how and why these predators went extinct. Climate change may have had something to do with it though. The grasslands that they lived in became forests in many areas, and those environments were more suited to hunters like wolves and humans. Hunting by humans may also have played some role, and competition with new predators most certainly had something to do with it as well.

Interestingly, Hyenas might one day return to their old Asian stomping grounds. Out in a Siberia, a nature reserve known as Pleistocene Park is working to restore the tundra to its original grassy steppe condition. They are accomplishing this by reintroducing the large, Pleistocene-like herbivores that lived there thousands of years ago. Now that different herbivores have been thriving, there is talk of bring back carnivores as well. Though the Cave Hyena subspecies is extinct, their close Spotted Hyena relatives are still around, and could one day make the park their home.

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Status : Extinct for 11,000 years
Location : Europe, Asia
Size : Weight up to 225lbs (102kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Hyaenidae -- Genus : Crocuta -- Species : C. crocuta -- Subspecies : †C. c. spelaea

Image : Heinz-Wener Weber

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