Giraffe's Blood Pressure

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

The giraffe's blood pressure is highest of all animal species.  For more information click here.  What did you learn today?

Muscle-Head!

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

Soon it will be caterpillar and butterfly time in the garden.  In arming myself with knowledge-tools to make sure I can have both flowers and butterflies, but not let my flower-garden be decimated by caterpillars, I learned that caterpillars have about 248 muscles in their heads!  For more information click here.  What did you learn today?

Differences Between Moths and Butterflies

Photo of male Gypsy Moth's feathery antennae and flat resting wings courtesy 123rf.com


Photo of  Silver-studded Blue Plebejus' clubbed antennae and vertical resting wings courtesy 123rf.com

I know one difference between moths and butterflies is when at rest moths' wings lie flat and butterflies' wings are held vertically; but when I look at pictures of them where all wings are displayed flat I haven't been able to tell the difference between the two.

Three other differences between moths and butterflies are:
1.  Butterfly antennae are clubbed on the ends, moth antennae are thin or feathery on the ends.
2.  Butterfly bodies are thin and smooth, moth bodies are thick and fuzzy.
3.  Butterflies are active in the day, moths are active at night.

By the way, butterfly pupal stage is called chrysalis, moth pupal stage is called cocoon.

For more information click here.

Cranky? Have You Had Your H2O?

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

Drinking enough water can change your mood for the better!  The early stages of dehydration include feeling cranky.  For more information click here.

Bare Dog Paws

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

If a human walks barefoot in the snow for very long, their feet would freeze.  Dogs can walk bare-paw in the snow and their paws won't freeze, because the way the blood vessels under the skin on the paw is arranged keeps the paw at the body's temperature.  For more information click here.

A Worm A Day...

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

A newly discovered carnivorous plant in Brazil has underground leaves that eat worms!  For more information click here and click here.

I think worms are interesting, and have no problem bating a fish hook with them.  Do you think worms are interesting or creepy?  (You can leave comments below.)

6,000 Reptiles!

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

There are 6000 species of reptiles, and more are discovered every year!  For more information click here.

My favorite reptiles are the common little green garden lizards.  What's your favorite reptile?  (You can leave comments below.)

Elephant Tusks and Tushes

African female elephant (cow and calf)

Asian female elephant (cow)

Photos courtesy 123rf.com

African male and female elephants have tusks, but only the male Asian elephant has tusks.  The Asian female elephant has tushes, which is an incisor-tooth that sticks out from the lips.  For more information click here.

I've ridden an Asian elephant, but I've only seen African elephants in zoos.  Have you seen or ridden an elephant?

Horned Toad is not a Toad!

Photo courtesy HornedLizards.org

The horned toad or horny toad is actually not a toad but a horned lizard.  One thing they do to get rid of predators is to squirt blood from the corners of their eyes into the eyes and mouth of the predator.  For more information click here.

I've never seen a horned lizard, have you?

Crocodile Tongues

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

Crocodile's tongues are attached to the tops of their mouths, and are unmovable.  For more information click here.

I've only seen crocodiles in zoos.  Have you seen a crocodile, and if so where do you see it?

Lewis and Clark, and the Whale Skeleton

Photo of whale skeleton courtesy 123rf.com

On this day in 1806, Lewis and Clark discovered a skeleton of a 105 feet long blue whale that had washed up from the Pacific Ocean onto the banks of Ecola Creek in what is modern-day Cannon Beach, Oregon.  They discovered the Tillamook Indians nearby boiling the blubber, and purchased some blubber from them.  Clark named this creek Ecola Creek or E co-la, which means Whale Creek.  (All the links in this paragraph are relevant to the expedition.)  For more information, click here, and click here, and click here.

Meriwether Lewis is a very, very distant relative of mine, so I probably have a little greater than average interest in the expedition.  What events in history most interest you and why?

Giraffes Clean Their Ears By....

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

Giraffes clean their ears with their tongues, which average almost 20 inches (50 cm).  For more information click here and click here. 

I've only seen giraffes in zoos.  Where have you seen giraffes?

Science, Latin, and Technology 2012

Photo of Solanum sanchez-vegae, first plant to be documented in new system, courtesy sciencenews.org

As of this year, scientists may write new discoveries of plant, algae, and fungus species online in English.  Prior to January 1, 2012 all scientific discoveries had to be published in papers, and descriptions written in Latin.  Now only the names must be in Latin.  Since only about half of all plants and a tiny amount of all fungus and algae having been classified, scientists hope these changes will speed up the classifying of all this planet's species.  For more information click here.

My favorite plant is Gardenia augusta, also known as Gardenia jasminoides, the common gardenia shrub.  Gardenia is my favorite scent, and the shrub is beautiful all year (evergreen) even when it isn't flowering.  What is your favorite plant and why?

Frozen for Years...

Photo courtesy ARKive

The Siberian Salamanders have an anti-freeze-like compound in their blood that allows them to survive in up to 50-degrees below zero Farenheit.  They can remain frozen for years, then thaw and begin breeding.  For more information, click here , and click here.

If you have seen a salamander, where did you see it?  Do you know what kind of salamander it was?

Fish Schools' Rules

Photo courtesy FreeImagesLive.co.uk

New studies of the movement of schools of fish indicate that each fish in the school eyes only the one or two nearest neighbors, and moves in the direction and with the same speed of their nearest neighbor(s).

For more information, see the article in ScienceNews.org.

Largest Woodpecker in History Now on Film

Photo courtesy FreeImageFinder.com

It is believed that the Imperial Woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in history, became extinct in the late 1900's and had never been photographed or filmed.  A 16mm film shot by Pennsylvania Dentist William L. Rhein in 1956 has been discovered and is now being analyzed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which has one of my favorite websites about birds.  The film can been seen at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/imperial.

For more information in addition to the above links, see the website of ScienceDaily.com and BirdLifeInternational.org.

Where is the Driest Desert on Earth?

Photo courtesy of FreeImageFinder.com

The Atacama Desert is a 600-mile (1,000 km) strip of land on the South American Pacific Coast, running through Chile and Peru.  Outlying less-dry areas of the desert run through Bolivia and Argentina.  The Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world with no rainfall having been recorded since rainfall records began being kept.  It is also the highest desert on earth, and one of the coldest deserts on earth.  Since certain bacteria and sea-life fossils have been found in gypsum boulders (similar to rocks on the planet Mars), it is believed that the Atacama Desert was once underwater.

For more information in addition to the above links, see the websites of the Gypsum Association and the ALMA telescope, which is the Atacama Large Millimeter Array telescope erected in the Atacama Desert by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Rattlesnakes & Ambulance Sirens

Photo courtesy FreeImages.com

The frequency of the rattle-sound produced by the rattlesnake can reach 5000 hertz to 8000 hertz, which is the same as that of the ambulance siren.

For more information on rattlesnakes, see the websites of the American International Rattlesnake Museum, Kidzone, and Reptile Knowledge.

Have You Heard of Herds of Seahorses?

Yes, a group of seahorses is called a herd.  Seahorses are carnivorous fish found in shallow tropical waters.  They do not have teeth or a stomach, so food passes quickly through them, which requires that they constantly eat to stay alive.   A two-week old seahorse can eat up to 4,000 brine shrimp per day.  The average lifespan of seahorses is one to five years.  The scientific name is Hippocampus, and there are over 50 kinds of seahorses.  The different kinds of seahorses range in size from 1/2 inch to 8 inches.

Mating occurs year-round, usually under a full moon.  During mating a female seahorse will deposit her eggs into the pouch of a male.  The male fertilizes the eggs by releasing his sperm into the water then swimming through it.  Then the male continues to carry the eggs until birth, which is unique in all of nature.  Gestation lasts up to six weeks.  As few as five or as many as about 1,500 can be born.  Less than 1% of young seahorses make it to adulthood, mainly because they have to fend for themselves as soon as they are born.

For more information, pictures, and videos, click to view Seahorse Worlds website.

The Fascinating Celebes Sea

The Celebes Sea is home to more underwater species than anywhere else on the earth, including 580 of the world's 793 species of reef-building corals, and about 3,000 species of fish.

For more info, click to view The Encyclopedia of Earth website.

For more maps, click to view The World Atlas website.