Icadyptes salasi

Icadyptes salasi

Penguins are weird and interesting. Seabirds who swim better than they can fly.. or even walk? Well if the modern, waddling Penguins are so unique among birds, just take a look at some of their ancestors. Thankfully, the Penguins odd flightless bodies have been a huge help in studying them-- their bones are thicker and their fossils have survived quite well.

Icadyptes salasi is a Penguin ancestor that lived 36 millions years ago. Its fossils were uncovered in Peru, which is notable because Peru at that time was just as close to the Equator as it is now, and was even warmer in temperature. Today there are very few Penguins that live that far north, and they are much smaller in size.

Oh, have I not mentioned how large Icadyptes was yet? 5ft (1.5). That's one tall Penguin, taller than the largest modern Penguin-- the Emperor. Interestingly, it is only the third largest Penguin ever discovered. Icadyptes also had an incredibly long, spear-like beak that made up about 2.3 of their head length. These beaks were spears that could be used to catch prey.

The presence of this species in such a warm climate has causes researchers to revise the Penguin timeline. It was previously believed that the birds only spread north around 10 million years ago.

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Status : Extinct for 36 million years
Location : South America
Size : Height up to 5ft (1.5m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Sphenisciformes
Family : Spheniscidae -- Genus : †Icadyptes -- Species : †I. salasi

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Giant Forest Hog

Hylochoerus meinertzhageni

As a species, the Giant Forest Hog of Central Africa is considered to be the largest pig in the entire world. Its only rivals for this title are a handful of Wild Boar subspecies, but even if there is a bigger hog out there somewhere, a body length of nearly 7ft is nothing to sneeze at! (There are actually three different subspecies of the Forest Hogs themselves, with the easternmost being the largest.)

Giant Forest Hogs only live in a handful of African countries, and require humid, densely vegetated habitats. Because of their forest swelling nature, they were not first officially described until 1904, and even now they aren't especially well studied.

The Hogs live in family groups called "sounders" that normally contain one adult males, a handful of females, and their offspring.   Males will fight for breeding rights, charging at each other and ramming their heads together. These fights are occasionally fatal for one or even both parties. Though they do breed year round, most births take place around the rainy season.

Giant Forest Hogs are nocturnal and typically herbivorous-- they feed on different grasses and sedges, and will sometimes take eggs and carrion as well. And even though these Hogs are huge, they still have predators, especially the young ones. Hyenas and Jaguars are their biggest threats.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Central Africa
Size : Length up to 7ft (2.2m), Weight up to 610lbs (275kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Suidae -- Genus : Hylochoerus-- Species : H. meinertzhageni

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Bargibant's Seahorse

Hippocampus bargibanti

I got a request to talk about Pygmy Seahorses, but there are actually several species that fall under that common name, so today we'll talk about one in particular. All Pygmy Seahorses are relatively new to Science, and most were actually described for the first time only in the last ten years or so. The Bargibant's Seahorse is the species that we've known about the longest, and it was first discovered back in 1969.

Bargibant's Seahorse can be found in the coastal waters of Southeast Asia and Australia. They are very tiny, and seldom grow over 1in long. That, combined with their camouflaging bumps and colors, makes them very hard to spot on Corals that they live among (it's even difficult to tell exactly what you're looking at in that picture!). Bargibant's Seahorse is only known to live on Coral from the Muricella genus. They are so well hidden that the very first ones observed were not even spotted until after the Coral was collected and placed in an Aquarium!

Adults tend to live in small groups, and 28 of them were once observed on a single Gorgonian Coral. They feed on small little Crustaceans that also hang out near the Coral. Like most Seahorses, it is actually the male that incubates the eggs, stashing them away in a brood pouch. As many as 30 offspring can be born at once, and the young Seahorses are completely independent at birth.

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IUCN Status : Data Deficient
Location : Southeast Asia, Australia
Size : Length up to 1in

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Syngnathiformes
Family : Syngnathidae -- Genus : Hippocampus -- Species : H. bargibanti

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Eocursor

Eocursor parvus

Eocursor is the name of a Dinosaur genus whose fossils were first uncovered back in 1993. It took an additional 14 years for the discovery to be properly studied and described, and the result was a creature whose name translates to "Dawn Runner."

Eocursor lived during the Late Triassic, and is an example of an early Ornithischian. In fact, this creature is the oldest found, and has the most complete skeleton of any early member of it's Order, which has helped to bring in information about the origins of the group. Until this discovery, very little was known at all about the rise of the Ornithischians (a group that includes Stegosaurus and Triceratops).

We don't have a full skeleton of Eocursor, but we do have hands, legs, a pelvis, and skull fragments. These pieces are enough to tell us that the Dinosaur walked on two feet, was a very swift runner, and probably had an omnivorous diet (which we can tell from the teeth).

There is still much to be learned about the origin and evolutionary history of all Dinosaurs, and hopefully future finds will help to fill in some of the breaks in our knowledge. Alas, the fickle nature of fossils, and the incredible environmental needs that have to be met to create them, mean that we won't be able to know it all. But even with a few bones, like the handful found for Eocursor, we can still learn a lot!

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Status : Extinct for 210 million years
Location : South Africa
Size : Length around 3ft (1m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Clade : Dinosauria -- Order : †Ornithischia
Genus : †Eocursor -- Species : † E. parvus

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Reddish Egret

Egretta rufescens

The Reddish Egret is an appropriately named species of Heron that can be found in Central America, and around the Gulf Coast in the United States. They stand a little under 3ft tall, and typically sport long dark legs, reddish heads and necks, and slate-grey coloration on the wings and back.

Do not confused them with Snowy Egrets! Now, you may wonder how anyone could mistake a red and grey bird for an all white one, but it happens! You see, Reddish Egrets have a white color morph. This means that they sometimes turn out completely white, much like their Snowy cousins. The two actually do have a slight overlap in ranges, so the easiest way to figure them out is by the color yellow. Snowy egrets have some yellow on their beaks and feet, Reddish Egrets do not.

Reddish Egrets are most active during dusk and dawn, and they are usually seen on the move. They hunt for prey in shallow waters, running around in search of Fish, Amphibians, and Crustaceans. The Herons often move about with their wings outstretched, as this creates shade and reduces glare on the water surface.

As far as reproductive issues are concerned, the Reddish Egret reaches sexual maturity around 4 years of age. Their courtship displays include head bobs, chases, and various flights, but once a mate is chosen they remain monogamous for at least that season. The couple will build a nest together, either on the ground or in a tree, and they often nest in very large colonies that can contain hundreds of birds. They lay up to 4 eggs, and the color of the chicks depends on the color of the parents. Dark morph parents can have chicks of either color, but two white morph parents will always have white morph offspring.

Reddish Egrets are listed as Near Threatened due to habitat degradation. Like many other birds, they were hunted extensively in the 19th century for their feathers, but their population has since rebounded.

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IUCN Status : Near Threatened
Location : North and Central America
Size : Length up to 32in (.8m), Wingspan up to 50in (1.3m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Pelecaniformes
Family : Ardeidae -- Genus : Egretta -- Species : E. rufescens

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House Finch

Haemorhous mexicanus

The House Finch is a bird that once was found only in the Western United States and Mexico, but over the past few decades that have spread across the continent and can now be found on the Atlantic Coast! Estimates are that there are over a billion of them in North America, and they can form flocks that number several hundred birds.

House Finches are small little birds with brownish coloration and blunt, squared tails. The males actually change color slightly over the course of the year, becoming more vibrant when they have the best food supplies. You see, their red or yellow colors come from what they eat, so abundant food leads to brighter hues.

The bright feathers are very important come breeding time. Females pick the males with the best colors to mate with, because those males clearly known how to locate food-- a very important trait when you may have up to 6 offspring at once! Interestingly, House Finches feed their chicks an exclusively vegetarian diet. Most birds, even ones that eat plants as adults, feed their young insects and other critters to give them a good amount of protein.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : North America
Size : Length up to 5.5in (14cm), Wingspan up to 10in (25cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Fringillidae -- Genus : Haemorhous -- Species : H. mexicanus

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Giant African Snail

Achatina fulica

Meet a member of the invasive species club-- the Giant Afican Snail is considered one of the top 100 worst Invasive Species on the planet. Ant not only are they on the top 100 list, they actually sit at #2!

African Giant Snails are naturally found in East Africa, but they have spread to warm locations around the world in the last few decades. They are large snails (hence the name), sporting shells that can grow to nearly 8in in length. They reach maturity after about 6 months, and can live as long as ten years. During that time they never really stop growing.

They are a hermaphroditic species, possessing both male and female reproductive organs. They do not reproduce asexually-- they need another snail. But their interesting reproductive system makes it easier to multiply, since they do not need to track down a member of the opposite sex.

They feed on over 500 different species of plant, so you can see why they are considered to be such a nuisance! However, the African Giant Snail isn't just considered troublesome because it eats native plants. They also carry parasites that can cause Meningitis in humans, as well as other diseases that can severely damage the crops that they don't consume. In order to keep the invasive Snails in check, quarantines, pesticides, and even flame throwers have been used.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : East Africa
Size : Length around 8in (22cm)

Classification : Phylum : Mollusca -- Class : Gastropoda -- Family: Achatinidae
Genus : Achatina -- Species : A. fulica

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