tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64024795094867553192024-03-05T20:07:43.665+00:00The Disillusioned TaxonomistThe blog of a disillusioned taxonomist.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.comBlogger247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-10603952792937299992016-08-14T21:08:00.000+01:002016-08-14T21:08:53.385+01:00Illustrations 2015Hello all! I've been keeping quiet on the blogging front very much lately due to a lack of time, my bad! I have rediscovered my love for digital illustration of late, and have been working through a comprehensive portfolio of images. I thought it's about time I shared some of them publicly. Here are a selection of my best pieces from last year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqS5pEPV3AmnbCm0hY0EvF_NU34IPRGUeyMHNnYviobmgI4Cm_Z-OYBs0DeaGC5SNWo7AqnEsM0GmIyQhmbCEP8MzYn8bmic_NFyXIRBVJ5p9FoG5See0KkDlXaKbGCagUEYRPh0zuUBu/s1600/aardvark+skull.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqS5pEPV3AmnbCm0hY0EvF_NU34IPRGUeyMHNnYviobmgI4Cm_Z-OYBs0DeaGC5SNWo7AqnEsM0GmIyQhmbCEP8MzYn8bmic_NFyXIRBVJ5p9FoG5See0KkDlXaKbGCagUEYRPh0zuUBu/s320/aardvark+skull.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Aardvark skull<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKnpceKu8QcwDSHXDH63YKzGkKWYyuuc3lS7eeD6yNcRdCrcNFTMM8k-WugqcR8OZzhBu0ea3Xib4KeJBcYR443mfytKNX1eIYWk0COupRyZxXmMP9X-qRqsNRgPrDW35FNoxJPXDyRAv/s1600/aardvark.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKnpceKu8QcwDSHXDH63YKzGkKWYyuuc3lS7eeD6yNcRdCrcNFTMM8k-WugqcR8OZzhBu0ea3Xib4KeJBcYR443mfytKNX1eIYWk0COupRyZxXmMP9X-qRqsNRgPrDW35FNoxJPXDyRAv/s320/aardvark.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Aardvark<br />
<i>Orycteropus afer</i> (Pallas, 1766)<br />
Orycteropodidae; Tubulidentata; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVf-cRq6JOF53TnJ4iksylh0IuVhVSlev48cXlGBcEl_noA89l1xKQWJwCw8fGhFY0NVbT-Zy2nxjjOWcyzFaIXcrmmrWDRCrdjDqD3pYksa3rHLPomia4oQN-xxpqC_vHkfKw7va_Gk5/s1600/aardwolf+3.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVf-cRq6JOF53TnJ4iksylh0IuVhVSlev48cXlGBcEl_noA89l1xKQWJwCw8fGhFY0NVbT-Zy2nxjjOWcyzFaIXcrmmrWDRCrdjDqD3pYksa3rHLPomia4oQN-xxpqC_vHkfKw7va_Gk5/s320/aardwolf+3.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Aardwolf<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NLwRA0mQIWabL5hpWc8Ol2oOdSlPUKN72aQedSZqpp5NNrhs6ByVD7EbKbXEtt-Pf1F6K_sqnLMJ08SNdBcZ3J39hkHkcSfkXMenD4FYjhDB8bAIHsvngkY0TmiFW0SmUb1VX3sWAhwx/s1600/aardwolf+skull.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NLwRA0mQIWabL5hpWc8Ol2oOdSlPUKN72aQedSZqpp5NNrhs6ByVD7EbKbXEtt-Pf1F6K_sqnLMJ08SNdBcZ3J39hkHkcSfkXMenD4FYjhDB8bAIHsvngkY0TmiFW0SmUb1VX3sWAhwx/s320/aardwolf+skull.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Aardwolf skull<br />
<i>Proteles cristatus</i> (Sparrmann, 1783)<br />
Hyaenidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-By7Tru8FMEbgQW1aclyT2s16Xmi00ZLOW9n0MsQRqvBHjEGwDzjnBrl90gNwNJwj4iWt3rotEn1U8R8t4Ozhk1Z0SFirwXL58hYL0Zbns-aM87kcKJT2mdRnGZEGDYPe-VlLe5o7WYL/s1600/abdim%2527s+stork.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-By7Tru8FMEbgQW1aclyT2s16Xmi00ZLOW9n0MsQRqvBHjEGwDzjnBrl90gNwNJwj4iWt3rotEn1U8R8t4Ozhk1Z0SFirwXL58hYL0Zbns-aM87kcKJT2mdRnGZEGDYPe-VlLe5o7WYL/s320/abdim%2527s+stork.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Abdim's stork<br />
<i>Ciconia abdimii</i> Lichtenstein, 1823<br />
Ciconiidae; Ciconiiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7b1ao1PCBupePAQw8jCccDgqJWqXqAjvOYInrDWjbtNGK3wb3w1hQvktKHRyM2ZYWF1c7muuE3cdP6mwmYGe8FmeQBynrMLLzu3R6pVA3VcKKSNHfiPN1spLQPlCR-Lt8lNy6eLy_g1q/s1600/abyssinian+roller.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7b1ao1PCBupePAQw8jCccDgqJWqXqAjvOYInrDWjbtNGK3wb3w1hQvktKHRyM2ZYWF1c7muuE3cdP6mwmYGe8FmeQBynrMLLzu3R6pVA3VcKKSNHfiPN1spLQPlCR-Lt8lNy6eLy_g1q/s320/abyssinian+roller.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Abyssinian roller<br />
<i>Coracias abyssinicus</i> Hermann, 1783<br />
Coraciidae; Coraciiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_k-2_t0SLxqI546EQfsg8P0D6Ah5_9diaEJamqi271Tc8wFY56aMt2hs2KNdSf3Zyw6k3FUfo3orhO5sTUu8MxQYEOzfnMnpUiX0Gvh_Nzs0BSvcKfwd6KyqcgtVP6T6tInYNQCc34AxO/s1600/acanthoceras+jukesbrowni.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_k-2_t0SLxqI546EQfsg8P0D6Ah5_9diaEJamqi271Tc8wFY56aMt2hs2KNdSf3Zyw6k3FUfo3orhO5sTUu8MxQYEOzfnMnpUiX0Gvh_Nzs0BSvcKfwd6KyqcgtVP6T6tInYNQCc34AxO/s320/acanthoceras+jukesbrowni.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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<i>Acanthoceras jukesbrowni</i> Spath, 1926<br />
Acanthoceratidae; Ammonitida; Cephalopoda; Mollusca<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgyefBCHcCW_dCfFa7rB6c480oF4_QgRjOpOhegNgYylOn2O_7WOV-zbiBEYK-0dQZZIjbJ7f_raCBLheBMRsfay9izhYDG9tQlETAzR7-BhyG7ZGRbeXDqVwSqMt3i-8NTsE9ktV2H6t/s1600/addax.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgyefBCHcCW_dCfFa7rB6c480oF4_QgRjOpOhegNgYylOn2O_7WOV-zbiBEYK-0dQZZIjbJ7f_raCBLheBMRsfay9izhYDG9tQlETAzR7-BhyG7ZGRbeXDqVwSqMt3i-8NTsE9ktV2H6t/s320/addax.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Addax<br />
<i>Addax nasomaculatus</i> (de Blainville 1816)<br />
Bovidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYHDzSZiqiBO7iMlQeWIPah59EFeJm_Ny0DEFJrmuUabuBQcmZKGF7MYAaDm9fxnpOKS8lTigz9CPA8E8Dsqh54cOaRlvY5FiCBPGoKsUqDEc5cHpVyCOl_1YBm9pLJwoFU0dulDc304GQ/s1600/adonis+blue.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYHDzSZiqiBO7iMlQeWIPah59EFeJm_Ny0DEFJrmuUabuBQcmZKGF7MYAaDm9fxnpOKS8lTigz9CPA8E8Dsqh54cOaRlvY5FiCBPGoKsUqDEc5cHpVyCOl_1YBm9pLJwoFU0dulDc304GQ/s320/adonis+blue.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Male Adonis blue<br />
<i>Polyommatus bellargus</i> (Rottemburg, 1775)<br />
Lycaenidae; Lepidoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvXUKkQnbxzHqZK75BEZU66r3rfXAKW00ojWHGcL2YHieC3wlc-1Y4wvqDmvkvkdIaKPunuMrrGqZhQBFQrAgbjxyHk30_N8xvMENuqn4zZb3KG438_8pLXVW9nd5F8oBFVcDK7oSg207/s1600/african+black+duck.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvXUKkQnbxzHqZK75BEZU66r3rfXAKW00ojWHGcL2YHieC3wlc-1Y4wvqDmvkvkdIaKPunuMrrGqZhQBFQrAgbjxyHk30_N8xvMENuqn4zZb3KG438_8pLXVW9nd5F8oBFVcDK7oSg207/s320/african+black+duck.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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African black duck<br />
<i>Anas sparsa sparsa</i> Eyton, 1838<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaM0eMIo2epygsr0ZT8meuPLy-aofO2c7NXaRIY_UOumuAR-XR3NvrNnzI_2-SyQox0OUqRVrXSkA_DlwRM8qEBXsW0v9MXWzRHm2gARWRPDyBGNY80cUUlC-s_rIfnYdi96qvU2543FTV/s1600/african+comb+duck.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaM0eMIo2epygsr0ZT8meuPLy-aofO2c7NXaRIY_UOumuAR-XR3NvrNnzI_2-SyQox0OUqRVrXSkA_DlwRM8qEBXsW0v9MXWzRHm2gARWRPDyBGNY80cUUlC-s_rIfnYdi96qvU2543FTV/s320/african+comb+duck.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Male African comb duck<br />
<i>Sarkidiornis melanotos</i> (Pennant, 1769)<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEH3D2WdN2C3DtHf4sxazTCiBXdikD_bEkwzmJQxIaJ3BjHRyceYFTJhDjeXixhEBaizmI67gHRKI8Kk1Ic5yv9lmVYPk2_2GBnu8M9-qm2zA7cFEyODIaIrHl_-JyZJeCSw8ojUJO0Ng/s1600/african+grey+hornbill.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEH3D2WdN2C3DtHf4sxazTCiBXdikD_bEkwzmJQxIaJ3BjHRyceYFTJhDjeXixhEBaizmI67gHRKI8Kk1Ic5yv9lmVYPk2_2GBnu8M9-qm2zA7cFEyODIaIrHl_-JyZJeCSw8ojUJO0Ng/s320/african+grey+hornbill.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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African grey hornbill<br />
<i>Tockus nasutus</i> (Linnaeus, 1766)<br />
Bucerotidae; Coraciiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZORGXmq3MRNy40D6iZXvpu7b86Zt-Aw99KBIeCnxiCxN81B36wNJjnNnVNWHIPLKSACLMJiKlRsLtGJKdgk1PRb6qA5bbSCxI6t64hNxsAg9R7TLMM97cksQY9cz9PFD0H8nPxl-pHCj/s1600/african+grey+parrot.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZORGXmq3MRNy40D6iZXvpu7b86Zt-Aw99KBIeCnxiCxN81B36wNJjnNnVNWHIPLKSACLMJiKlRsLtGJKdgk1PRb6qA5bbSCxI6t64hNxsAg9R7TLMM97cksQY9cz9PFD0H8nPxl-pHCj/s320/african+grey+parrot.png" width="240" /></a><br />
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African grey parrot<br />
<i>Psittacus erithacus</i> Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Psittacidae; Psittaciformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhqcIPY5juEO_T2yiy6wDMMXKQ_eyzE7ezVAYCpsZ12xLdlCkUABoiEq5CuVLMIcOGLqyNZJMq-bM6dOvctm-ogphOVTWKOlzPHvSuoP9xqCTJ4fphP0movRfLpgtdLUgBSHbY-VuAaPx/s1600/african+hunting+dog7.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhqcIPY5juEO_T2yiy6wDMMXKQ_eyzE7ezVAYCpsZ12xLdlCkUABoiEq5CuVLMIcOGLqyNZJMq-bM6dOvctm-ogphOVTWKOlzPHvSuoP9xqCTJ4fphP0movRfLpgtdLUgBSHbY-VuAaPx/s320/african+hunting+dog7.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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African hunting dog<br />
<i>Lycaon pictus</i> (Temminck, 1820)<br />
Canidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uMe1_OKtVZpSZ9OeMia_o212PA0tfyhpjhaFTYTCcPRRW9ihdeeON4WifSKbFX655hBwGhYBU0WhzQz0Daykt-lzRiSm7AUyPcgpO_nJXnPfRGTAduMQ_xgcZv733MSHXvNsojHX4fVd/s1600/african+lion.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uMe1_OKtVZpSZ9OeMia_o212PA0tfyhpjhaFTYTCcPRRW9ihdeeON4WifSKbFX655hBwGhYBU0WhzQz0Daykt-lzRiSm7AUyPcgpO_nJXnPfRGTAduMQ_xgcZv733MSHXvNsojHX4fVd/s320/african+lion.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Male African lion<br />
<i>Panthera leo</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOu8E3Goh4vOHYMv6qKc7ybDKfLtn15LDWmZEO0sya0TNvYboi7DrbyCL-eyPe-aU2pTgoNI16t-5gFXSHYp2UTAa2qyWccNxXyEjkNbFMR1n_HxLHsruFmX2zKIM4zm-MREESwufgF6z/s1600/african+monarch.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOu8E3Goh4vOHYMv6qKc7ybDKfLtn15LDWmZEO0sya0TNvYboi7DrbyCL-eyPe-aU2pTgoNI16t-5gFXSHYp2UTAa2qyWccNxXyEjkNbFMR1n_HxLHsruFmX2zKIM4zm-MREESwufgF6z/s320/african+monarch.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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African monarch<br />
<i>Danaus chrysippus</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Nymphalidae; Lepidoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTpxEnESIdg2qZcm0DT5nLT9W5DGZySgxZmeopnOaRI6Je0qTysTuXbT1RH8wkvfulClPj_Tv2b42MHOBNAnZ9IXocO99m_2RrVsXYwnpCc0syFg3gU7XfYI_ydYvVf6QS9IifZQR6Rgy/s1600/african+pochard.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTpxEnESIdg2qZcm0DT5nLT9W5DGZySgxZmeopnOaRI6Je0qTysTuXbT1RH8wkvfulClPj_Tv2b42MHOBNAnZ9IXocO99m_2RrVsXYwnpCc0syFg3gU7XfYI_ydYvVf6QS9IifZQR6Rgy/s320/african+pochard.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Male African pochard<br />
<i>Netta erythrophthalma brunnea</i> (Eyton, 1838)<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oGr40p-kB6qowhoAaLQr06cHl-tjWYxE2BPEQ9eO_ohn4nE2Jf3b0yHfWWqW723-_8023SEtN22JgZHmSCkMEWM2Jz0E2cQ03i0jkYP1KruncpKnhypU3XlmiVX7EeO4h6WVy8i5FokA/s1600/african+pygmy+goose.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oGr40p-kB6qowhoAaLQr06cHl-tjWYxE2BPEQ9eO_ohn4nE2Jf3b0yHfWWqW723-_8023SEtN22JgZHmSCkMEWM2Jz0E2cQ03i0jkYP1KruncpKnhypU3XlmiVX7EeO4h6WVy8i5FokA/s320/african+pygmy+goose.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Male African pygmy goose<br />
<i>Nettapus auritus</i> (Boddaert, 1783)<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDyaGQtQ2wbVNkGa_QGUhLlnzgvLFKha1E2x3BdH76SyQme3fYJMKoFBva4Xfe2F_8sWuyXnc5W5Sxbpf6tCNsV5WSNKFrkhH9rN2xBI9Lddll0k110IqcGw7HJjr01XHzF7Dsn_V-H5S/s1600/african+savannah+elephant.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDyaGQtQ2wbVNkGa_QGUhLlnzgvLFKha1E2x3BdH76SyQme3fYJMKoFBva4Xfe2F_8sWuyXnc5W5Sxbpf6tCNsV5WSNKFrkhH9rN2xBI9Lddll0k110IqcGw7HJjr01XHzF7Dsn_V-H5S/s320/african+savannah+elephant.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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African savannah elephant<br />
<i>Loxodonta africana</i> (Blumenbach, 1797)<br />
Elephantidae; Proboscidea; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJO_g-yjaTjsUd3pm8L1-J56leaksxUc4yGAsd_WvTL-Pe2w240GBZH-nzpDdDppEYyU04cYyoRyJO3RJHo4VxTeSW9X5BSqMqUwflKOfRRzne_N5LAmew10r59b9TAumk1Q5OzXRiyjq/s1600/african+spurred+tortoise.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJO_g-yjaTjsUd3pm8L1-J56leaksxUc4yGAsd_WvTL-Pe2w240GBZH-nzpDdDppEYyU04cYyoRyJO3RJHo4VxTeSW9X5BSqMqUwflKOfRRzne_N5LAmew10r59b9TAumk1Q5OzXRiyjq/s320/african+spurred+tortoise.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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African spurred tortoise<br />
<i>Geochelone sulcata</i> (Miller, 1779)<br />
Testudinidae; Testudines; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGh9uCB62b2kllM2bmsP4Q1rNKKSWA9ru5md0GwHg4p-Pj0Ms7nSbaYu1x1KMVvwlqAFRBEQ_1u0VRvs7Kk-GIKfWHwLph8LlOIiFU2X9JkDnM8HkYF0KIi1pUvG3On3g5SnV1rSaG4pQ/s1600/african+warthog+skull.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGh9uCB62b2kllM2bmsP4Q1rNKKSWA9ru5md0GwHg4p-Pj0Ms7nSbaYu1x1KMVvwlqAFRBEQ_1u0VRvs7Kk-GIKfWHwLph8LlOIiFU2X9JkDnM8HkYF0KIi1pUvG3On3g5SnV1rSaG4pQ/s320/african+warthog+skull.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
African warthog skull<br />
<i>Phacochoerus africanus</i> (Gmelin, 1788)<br />
Suidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2komCflnexJfINqhfPyGRYX41DSZqtLUCDtAo8Tg3iWqWciQ56UjrsSO510jVEH7QUZ_xIjD0FYpowfqk0wkkWiCwsfscR5e8_GcIODXZiOHxqIInZU3V2E1OXzJ8xYNx3n250bKihZ8c/s1600/african+white-backed+duck.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2komCflnexJfINqhfPyGRYX41DSZqtLUCDtAo8Tg3iWqWciQ56UjrsSO510jVEH7QUZ_xIjD0FYpowfqk0wkkWiCwsfscR5e8_GcIODXZiOHxqIInZU3V2E1OXzJ8xYNx3n250bKihZ8c/s320/african+white-backed+duck.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
African white-backed duck<br />
<i>Thalassornis leuconotus leuconotus</i> Eyton, 1838<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7GMAh4HjXgyDuM_RD2AOfUmqldAAJWW_8Gp2ovldXrSn_5FLUB7GVrLlDoKtFprkbUgaguDP7ZuTWyJKofC23txz3xVsm154rY33o_Z_ZBIe5-9Ow1TDvlIsc5YXrpb46FIzgYb4X_yy/s1600/agrias+claudina.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7GMAh4HjXgyDuM_RD2AOfUmqldAAJWW_8Gp2ovldXrSn_5FLUB7GVrLlDoKtFprkbUgaguDP7ZuTWyJKofC23txz3xVsm154rY33o_Z_ZBIe5-9Ow1TDvlIsc5YXrpb46FIzgYb4X_yy/s320/agrias+claudina.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>Agrias claudina</i> (Godart, 1824)<br />
Nymphalidae; Lepidoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbJ48SIK_zhFF9wLhmJYpFiFcTJ487wnGwoL5ZVfIb9YqALPS27RzJtHM-XpDlSUvXqVsBjQW82GsXfajL5iSV4AORqqHXlRfq20QfyqgvyVUA14qYErXEeQAgwHDSMfl-rpx48ewjsOp/s1600/agriochoerus+antiquus.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbJ48SIK_zhFF9wLhmJYpFiFcTJ487wnGwoL5ZVfIb9YqALPS27RzJtHM-XpDlSUvXqVsBjQW82GsXfajL5iSV4AORqqHXlRfq20QfyqgvyVUA14qYErXEeQAgwHDSMfl-rpx48ewjsOp/s320/agriochoerus+antiquus.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>Agriochoerus antiquus</i> Leidy, 1850<br />
Agriochoeridae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9y4ofbUhzUKKlOKxi1flqfrJvlowHZJf5j5s5GLSo0rLLRHtgBtmiwN28b4wXl5-4UXj-eweYo-FIrVfntqmsIvoG_CekHS4Tdf0g02dWe_mJkGYzNMhEBo3HKM2JbjJhytbTT40Z__Dg/s1600/aldabra+giant+tortoise.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9y4ofbUhzUKKlOKxi1flqfrJvlowHZJf5j5s5GLSo0rLLRHtgBtmiwN28b4wXl5-4UXj-eweYo-FIrVfntqmsIvoG_CekHS4Tdf0g02dWe_mJkGYzNMhEBo3HKM2JbjJhytbTT40Z__Dg/s320/aldabra+giant+tortoise.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Aldabra giant tortoise<br />
<i>Aldabrachelys gigantea</i> (Schweigger, 1812)<br />
Testudinidae; Testudines; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWlWECuiCxqOQzh1WNgfu8T7pYD1-0o333kuokWXUSla58qvd3GnrBoIbqhGTD0h1NlUkD9lVrsX_cY7TK9lOJOuUvICVQ5hfZaOVH-rl3TKHKrH3IkIqqeUHBnGG_n4obiHP0OG7C0TQ/s1600/alligator+prenasalis.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWlWECuiCxqOQzh1WNgfu8T7pYD1-0o333kuokWXUSla58qvd3GnrBoIbqhGTD0h1NlUkD9lVrsX_cY7TK9lOJOuUvICVQ5hfZaOVH-rl3TKHKrH3IkIqqeUHBnGG_n4obiHP0OG7C0TQ/s320/alligator+prenasalis.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>Alligator prenasalis</i> (Loomis, 1904)<br />
Alligatoridae; Crocodilia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTYHvejIJMEcYLO8sn4Z8zjNaAK7Ff712R37T_nfCUebQgsqjO9ZRyatNVunrxULAGSXvoYjMRt3IJjq3eeh88hJvAKQY1lc9ZrtUHNeH5PNlJVRjIwhwQyQ-R8aW2ReITyh4H4U6YKGX/s1600/allosaurus+fragilis.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTYHvejIJMEcYLO8sn4Z8zjNaAK7Ff712R37T_nfCUebQgsqjO9ZRyatNVunrxULAGSXvoYjMRt3IJjq3eeh88hJvAKQY1lc9ZrtUHNeH5PNlJVRjIwhwQyQ-R8aW2ReITyh4H4U6YKGX/s320/allosaurus+fragilis.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>Allosaurus fragilis</i> Marsh, 1877<br />
Allosauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYQAPnziV0ZNGjdWxASQAIbFLFRcgrrXj6fO7YLpPeI_nP-rjm_nWVsxY-j8JBaHppkm0tSszOKM9cyrinNheXIAWWq804cRFam0TwIyvQv4dtFfNfW0Pl7Mt6ra3knCIuuESo4rj3D0E/s1600/aloe+peglerae.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYQAPnziV0ZNGjdWxASQAIbFLFRcgrrXj6fO7YLpPeI_nP-rjm_nWVsxY-j8JBaHppkm0tSszOKM9cyrinNheXIAWWq804cRFam0TwIyvQv4dtFfNfW0Pl7Mt6ra3knCIuuESo4rj3D0E/s320/aloe+peglerae.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Fez Aloe<br />
<i>Aloe peglerae</i> Schönland<br />
Asphodelaceae; Asparagales; Angiosperms<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxeUbl5sZ4lVeXeYbn9kaRlPP8fzPXKF1zVpqCmgra29DV8e7CPZ5ZOoDM34UEeyxSNrpH8kxCwkbNCm9w2NzKR61WVgUxNwxKMnC5G_x62Cl1ntM7SOwrjHsa6G2SdmTB5HKKahxa0nk/s1600/amazilia+hummingbird.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxeUbl5sZ4lVeXeYbn9kaRlPP8fzPXKF1zVpqCmgra29DV8e7CPZ5ZOoDM34UEeyxSNrpH8kxCwkbNCm9w2NzKR61WVgUxNwxKMnC5G_x62Cl1ntM7SOwrjHsa6G2SdmTB5HKKahxa0nk/s320/amazilia+hummingbird.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Amazilia hummingbird<br />
<i>Amazilia amazilia</i> (Lesson, 1827)<br />
Trochilidae; Apodiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOZk5mqKUrhIteG2sTOu67Xq1QBKjemNrJBIITZSp6zjQ3nD8usZRlKbAqPirDdeLvbP62NbXVcZcH98C28sEy_I4qjzxsWemsSauhXvHJRSv8RkfEHZqOQXeBXSJEpFFCY8VvzKaISbI/s1600/american+alligator+skull.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOZk5mqKUrhIteG2sTOu67Xq1QBKjemNrJBIITZSp6zjQ3nD8usZRlKbAqPirDdeLvbP62NbXVcZcH98C28sEy_I4qjzxsWemsSauhXvHJRSv8RkfEHZqOQXeBXSJEpFFCY8VvzKaISbI/s320/american+alligator+skull.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
American alligator skull<br />
<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i> (Daudin, 1802)<br />
Alligatoridae; Crocodilia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4C7tcLkm6FW-YQg3HyGqkazJkOKB-NrOWSufFGdc-KXPVOnKx5eDyqCCH90HvWF55iV4gTY8s8jdEM2oQMmdjWX_EDjnfWeLKbYsiVGtTLpBR6n991RJeKCdgaq2aGj5aCOC7uPyz8o4/s1600/american+black+duck.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4C7tcLkm6FW-YQg3HyGqkazJkOKB-NrOWSufFGdc-KXPVOnKx5eDyqCCH90HvWF55iV4gTY8s8jdEM2oQMmdjWX_EDjnfWeLKbYsiVGtTLpBR6n991RJeKCdgaq2aGj5aCOC7uPyz8o4/s320/american+black+duck.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
American black duck<br />
<i>Anas rubripes</i> (Brewster, 1902)<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNPae4bgS2cbUblHcYtQhirxELLaSavIFGpVX7tDDY-mKO8rcpXMdv45DUYFjXpdFmAPIwXE1lgBVLIzgNEfsixI2EPJNQkJFxKP3rYSZswJ6-CeTpAQI2lMfUe1m8bmgfjopGARJfQfH/s1600/american+crocodile.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNPae4bgS2cbUblHcYtQhirxELLaSavIFGpVX7tDDY-mKO8rcpXMdv45DUYFjXpdFmAPIwXE1lgBVLIzgNEfsixI2EPJNQkJFxKP3rYSZswJ6-CeTpAQI2lMfUe1m8bmgfjopGARJfQfH/s320/american+crocodile.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
American crocodile skull<br />
<i>Crocodylus acutus</i> Cuvier, 1807<br />
Crocodylidae; Crocodilia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaR4QBMOTAwAB6kn3lkdGd18dXp1OuW3dnk-CtBi8aJUX_tlKwsGRNdrjBXV3Tdr-BIV8eLmkL18j5ylAL2pVfpte3nsRYtWsgbLA4nA9ZHT5yuHGzF_sakgFW2ML8aewP_wovrOHetzd8/s1600/american+horseshoe+crab.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaR4QBMOTAwAB6kn3lkdGd18dXp1OuW3dnk-CtBi8aJUX_tlKwsGRNdrjBXV3Tdr-BIV8eLmkL18j5ylAL2pVfpte3nsRYtWsgbLA4nA9ZHT5yuHGzF_sakgFW2ML8aewP_wovrOHetzd8/s320/american+horseshoe+crab.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
American horseshoe crab<br />
<i>Limulus polyphemus</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Limulidae; Xiphosura; Merostomata; Arthropoda<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMqRuDtdhTSOLJrALQ3YQ81-s9DaiRGUSAcDySMBf813QfRWS7F6d49Be5I3TR3zILkZ04NYGMOaUhERevl6pSLcDVwOEV3FLyldNudPP9wtyR0PNhqlDi5ev5VsK78lDDPC_lrc1YD7E/s1600/american+kestrel.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMqRuDtdhTSOLJrALQ3YQ81-s9DaiRGUSAcDySMBf813QfRWS7F6d49Be5I3TR3zILkZ04NYGMOaUhERevl6pSLcDVwOEV3FLyldNudPP9wtyR0PNhqlDi5ev5VsK78lDDPC_lrc1YD7E/s320/american+kestrel.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Male American kestrel<br />
<i>Falco sparverius</i> Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Falconidae; Falconiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYvt2pC60PbtnQ4CuauY94maQnEJ1MWiXKKSNREhpDaLLI5jMqw9aCxn7sKasVSLABm5NRUzp-lon2c33qDMXfxa95I6RzIgxyHzjm8pWkYbF-plaZZAO5wsoBr8LcnB1zsU4bwgunjw_/s1600/american+robin.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYvt2pC60PbtnQ4CuauY94maQnEJ1MWiXKKSNREhpDaLLI5jMqw9aCxn7sKasVSLABm5NRUzp-lon2c33qDMXfxa95I6RzIgxyHzjm8pWkYbF-plaZZAO5wsoBr8LcnB1zsU4bwgunjw_/s320/american+robin.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
American robin<br />
<i>Turdus migratorius migratorius</i> Linnaeus, 1766<br />
Turdidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBLp32O82dnz1JkDGXU_EQ1-xJT-WMq6R7mhVs5eVINMtEaYnsNKlhVhNF8GONMhY9HRM44qhCskEjv2XUNjWSKFqjlJBXM11UsNoYJETJRCgR_Ef9rJgQV6WpHw4dtsXABQYAQeGrrPp/s1600/american+wigeon.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBLp32O82dnz1JkDGXU_EQ1-xJT-WMq6R7mhVs5eVINMtEaYnsNKlhVhNF8GONMhY9HRM44qhCskEjv2XUNjWSKFqjlJBXM11UsNoYJETJRCgR_Ef9rJgQV6WpHw4dtsXABQYAQeGrrPp/s320/american+wigeon.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Male American wigeon<br />
<i>Anas americana</i> Gmelin, 1789<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_yXOraFKE-cuecubmHhp_rp54MfQtnt1gLhr7KHasEHUilTyKU56_2epeJfcGve02JgtD2zC3rnq2UYkY0PzRDcE_BdYNKhGKdGZJnyDp_zrpR8Kpg0_YgVuHlvw4CVBdtfa4U2ZYd3Y/s1600/amphicyon+ingens.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_yXOraFKE-cuecubmHhp_rp54MfQtnt1gLhr7KHasEHUilTyKU56_2epeJfcGve02JgtD2zC3rnq2UYkY0PzRDcE_BdYNKhGKdGZJnyDp_zrpR8Kpg0_YgVuHlvw4CVBdtfa4U2ZYd3Y/s320/amphicyon+ingens.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>Amphicyon ingens</i> Matthew, 1924<br />
Amphicyonidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1i7szfz0yf4aXkO4kayjf8A5ThfxfcSPM_cf_S9ISLHEWLbV99dMdITJERDP9hMpTOkFAolAswGIWu7OIBu6i309Q1ytzc3I-KrfH73O25oWpj58fv9_hTI5mADV55fMMJQTSXvktsbZ/s1600/amphimachairodus+giganteus.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1i7szfz0yf4aXkO4kayjf8A5ThfxfcSPM_cf_S9ISLHEWLbV99dMdITJERDP9hMpTOkFAolAswGIWu7OIBu6i309Q1ytzc3I-KrfH73O25oWpj58fv9_hTI5mADV55fMMJQTSXvktsbZ/s320/amphimachairodus+giganteus.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>Amphimachairodus giganteus</i> Kretzoi, 1929<br />
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdvW0TqnIb-UQoQUz-yyNPjF8EV0NQrFHSAsvBdB_Nfbp6qOTDH90PNMp1gZ6Alr2qSHsmWSx_Lv-Flp8xurfHieSmflipR_XI62yJ2HkrjTG5zcPy_pBSnmGIguhRh4leSzgISrkSmzK/s1600/amur+tiger.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdvW0TqnIb-UQoQUz-yyNPjF8EV0NQrFHSAsvBdB_Nfbp6qOTDH90PNMp1gZ6Alr2qSHsmWSx_Lv-Flp8xurfHieSmflipR_XI62yJ2HkrjTG5zcPy_pBSnmGIguhRh4leSzgISrkSmzK/s320/amur+tiger.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Amur tiger<br />
<i>Panthera tigris altaica</i> Temminck, 1844<br />
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdb0WJJg9jpLokBhlHk18ReuIO0bq41l21ML5IUuQ9xM7vnpo9G_SM7K67aXNwPQaoexBtB774k3xWsJig-hypkG7heev4UAoEnM08Q4_vzHt6o4RnoEwNXcO1MzTkIJUq89cVl7sSHK4E/s1600/anatotitan+copei.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdb0WJJg9jpLokBhlHk18ReuIO0bq41l21ML5IUuQ9xM7vnpo9G_SM7K67aXNwPQaoexBtB774k3xWsJig-hypkG7heev4UAoEnM08Q4_vzHt6o4RnoEwNXcO1MzTkIJUq89cVl7sSHK4E/s320/anatotitan+copei.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Anatotitan copei</i> Lull & Wright ,1942 [= <i>Edmontosaurus annectens</i> (Marsh, 1892)]<br />
Hadrosauridae; Ornithischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOeLS8prqi3jlsslakQthZhrfIdsLCnI5g8OQEnTVLvOfBdlHftImwoJZkBZykK1se4XayirAvHvSg1pviSBjN0k4D87X4q-hkg9aXolfTeywauFFPHLCBs4JPytPL2P6hHhJx3T9fX25/s1600/andean+condor+skeleton.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOeLS8prqi3jlsslakQthZhrfIdsLCnI5g8OQEnTVLvOfBdlHftImwoJZkBZykK1se4XayirAvHvSg1pviSBjN0k4D87X4q-hkg9aXolfTeywauFFPHLCBs4JPytPL2P6hHhJx3T9fX25/s320/andean+condor+skeleton.png" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
Andean condor skeleton<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aetUyAy5Ugp7IFkXRYRsM6yIcg0VhjxKmubOb1Ptt7P9cSL0mRlsGOk8UUgLJoErjZu1J5YpojYS3JoevdBG96Gg6t5jI6gSLTvlGa2CtjqjHVJ5v2z68ZxVszIjESEhYiY4Hvcc4iya/s1600/andean+condor.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aetUyAy5Ugp7IFkXRYRsM6yIcg0VhjxKmubOb1Ptt7P9cSL0mRlsGOk8UUgLJoErjZu1J5YpojYS3JoevdBG96Gg6t5jI6gSLTvlGa2CtjqjHVJ5v2z68ZxVszIjESEhYiY4Hvcc4iya/s320/andean+condor.png" width="240" /></a><br />
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Male Andean condor<br />
<i>Vultur gryphus</i> Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Cathartidae; Accipitriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsARuYbTE0Yn3iPc1kmGLG9fRx9PYsLDqo0vli1iBAiTojkUlAu_f7gcnibku6eHBnu-a47zig_DnLc2f7UaJhmwQ3dl4F1VSjkfw3jFNLvOmZaudaWEpU2v5XKwskMSIhBJ1dp2j0qCLp/s1600/andean+flamingo.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsARuYbTE0Yn3iPc1kmGLG9fRx9PYsLDqo0vli1iBAiTojkUlAu_f7gcnibku6eHBnu-a47zig_DnLc2f7UaJhmwQ3dl4F1VSjkfw3jFNLvOmZaudaWEpU2v5XKwskMSIhBJ1dp2j0qCLp/s320/andean+flamingo.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Andean flamingo<br />
<i>Phoenicoparrus andinus</i> (Philippi, 1854)<br />
Phoenicopteridae; Phoenicopteriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IDOB2i9Su4KxJF_NKDscNSQkqS05LYWZU_Fcye7lZiPem79TkhYWrIEUxxNU7g05Q00Fa8KNN6bXUTGWVuQn8BI4rzLE3LsMkOmVqy_RCDplXEQMZBodSypTTs45LOtC5zIXe07MRRrS/s1600/androgynoceras+maculatum.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IDOB2i9Su4KxJF_NKDscNSQkqS05LYWZU_Fcye7lZiPem79TkhYWrIEUxxNU7g05Q00Fa8KNN6bXUTGWVuQn8BI4rzLE3LsMkOmVqy_RCDplXEQMZBodSypTTs45LOtC5zIXe07MRRrS/s320/androgynoceras+maculatum.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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<i>Androgynoceras maculatum</i> Young & Bird, 1822<br />
Liparoceratidae; Ammonitida; Cephalopoda; Mollusca<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkra4w6OJYCroRJlYZfd1kKtGmrbw2Pu9JQgQQclxvSIyU8DPRvH-hKxbltKOwJAjkNFTRk3RYkbmJO3JOqwEk3Lp2yETuLg1wENb8pWWsdpcUtl7jv3J0F3HILRDi6U9YcLO-d8hSaICn/s1600/ankylosaurus+magniventris.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkra4w6OJYCroRJlYZfd1kKtGmrbw2Pu9JQgQQclxvSIyU8DPRvH-hKxbltKOwJAjkNFTRk3RYkbmJO3JOqwEk3Lp2yETuLg1wENb8pWWsdpcUtl7jv3J0F3HILRDi6U9YcLO-d8hSaICn/s320/ankylosaurus+magniventris.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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<i>Ankylosaurus magniventris</i> Brown, 1908<br />
Ankylosauridae; Ornithischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcuUbE2LQSxd9sYniNgGn3uQ0uxcfsJ-GUfaIcIDgJCeRecsHp3G-qL9gs7FylrLrw8EwayMi058D585z9OCwtNiFpYWGNZXxX3zzIX9UDpNtr9S0kQLIWjoRYWoJR4lRc0EidOoZN4Sz/s1600/antarctic+gentoo+penguin.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcuUbE2LQSxd9sYniNgGn3uQ0uxcfsJ-GUfaIcIDgJCeRecsHp3G-qL9gs7FylrLrw8EwayMi058D585z9OCwtNiFpYWGNZXxX3zzIX9UDpNtr9S0kQLIWjoRYWoJR4lRc0EidOoZN4Sz/s320/antarctic+gentoo+penguin.png" width="240" /></a><br />
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Subantarctic gentoo penguin<br />
<i>Pygoscelis papua papua</i> (Forster, 1781)<br />
Spheniscidae; Sphenisciformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22mmeyD4knUw-b5uG9pK3Gxn9VA-kL4JVJu1uR7fCZO1f_gyzxrlINZ76pbjCTBQSjhnkaH_xjfRs7wb6vDiYpkFAyK_D4Fg-H05fjNY-meIqnHGPGQOeaTSpBh0IvTmSN4Hc3zvCbRu6/s1600/anthomyia+pluvialis.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22mmeyD4knUw-b5uG9pK3Gxn9VA-kL4JVJu1uR7fCZO1f_gyzxrlINZ76pbjCTBQSjhnkaH_xjfRs7wb6vDiYpkFAyK_D4Fg-H05fjNY-meIqnHGPGQOeaTSpBh0IvTmSN4Hc3zvCbRu6/s320/anthomyia+pluvialis.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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<i>Anthomyia pluvialis</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Anthomyiidae; Diptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeurk_YKeJc6iFQt3ayXor4TZiXSRUrDU-K_BisR0q7KPRcAdVl5oe5LUhXq4pvDEqFnPmxjxE8Ut1f6IAwjwU0sHPLmEl7cUmtPeuK1wx2zAwk1vADrk99hhJVm-f4hOgdLiCRSOZaqF/s1600/arabian+oryx.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeurk_YKeJc6iFQt3ayXor4TZiXSRUrDU-K_BisR0q7KPRcAdVl5oe5LUhXq4pvDEqFnPmxjxE8Ut1f6IAwjwU0sHPLmEl7cUmtPeuK1wx2zAwk1vADrk99hhJVm-f4hOgdLiCRSOZaqF/s320/arabian+oryx.png" width="240" /></a><br />
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Arabian oryx<br />
<i>Oryx leucoryx</i> Pallas, 1777<br />
Bovidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzijd5Vs234d4G6nicgQasgyRmXMf-jnQg9ZvuSbe4O0sbxJSU9w1KStIj0nLAlv2NKCuDvvCyGzfsz0H1zp1koIobLK9tBW4jECCOSoSl0J4w48v_tPsZ0kV_pF0-wjS0g7nlws7lpgq/s1600/archaeopteryx+siemensii.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzijd5Vs234d4G6nicgQasgyRmXMf-jnQg9ZvuSbe4O0sbxJSU9w1KStIj0nLAlv2NKCuDvvCyGzfsz0H1zp1koIobLK9tBW4jECCOSoSl0J4w48v_tPsZ0kV_pF0-wjS0g7nlws7lpgq/s320/archaeopteryx+siemensii.png" width="240" /></a><br />
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<i>Archaeopteryx siemensii</i> Dames, 1897<br />
Archaeopterygidae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXI27p9W2WVHz2c-8-3syaSpBXsSIBErRBCotIUKq8a9U7AM6KGjM4KTBRCy7WAO-FBrUG55_YuDsc7NDS7L9-jiqGh2DfbIuf54RcfVJZjUEOcDHdZyEZ76kXdKoV0U1HRSS6NsBEe4nP/s1600/archaeotherium+mortoni.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXI27p9W2WVHz2c-8-3syaSpBXsSIBErRBCotIUKq8a9U7AM6KGjM4KTBRCy7WAO-FBrUG55_YuDsc7NDS7L9-jiqGh2DfbIuf54RcfVJZjUEOcDHdZyEZ76kXdKoV0U1HRSS6NsBEe4nP/s320/archaeotherium+mortoni.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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<i>Archaeotherium mortoni</i> Leidy, 1850<br />
Entelodontidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXeqSInfHPkMNj1kJAdPD1AGbf7V7GkL6vje6xmdihPQapRepxSHrN5XNQB-WEKDEtIJIqFYrlgbCa3nV6R9ul6liDngqPuNl-S0_IsnElYjvFv8XbyKWmqpvf-NbhazdLgtCr-7rO0vk/s1600/arctic+fox+2.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXeqSInfHPkMNj1kJAdPD1AGbf7V7GkL6vje6xmdihPQapRepxSHrN5XNQB-WEKDEtIJIqFYrlgbCa3nV6R9ul6liDngqPuNl-S0_IsnElYjvFv8XbyKWmqpvf-NbhazdLgtCr-7rO0vk/s320/arctic+fox+2.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Arctic fox<br />
<i>Vulpes lagopus</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Canidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWNNp55TsrzeeDjllj1drMorh-vMV-QEdlTRdR-xtIcfpQd4_A1EZHUJkpFRoQEvC9jd5Ab-F615R8Gmxowopoh3t5BeXyhFzhz1Zk0WEfIs46vzY4jJqhO1E_CCpvxB8qABDYxJgDlC9/s1600/argentine+black-and-white+tegu.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWNNp55TsrzeeDjllj1drMorh-vMV-QEdlTRdR-xtIcfpQd4_A1EZHUJkpFRoQEvC9jd5Ab-F615R8Gmxowopoh3t5BeXyhFzhz1Zk0WEfIs46vzY4jJqhO1E_CCpvxB8qABDYxJgDlC9/s320/argentine+black-and-white+tegu.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Argentine black-and-white tegu<br />
<i>Salvator merianae</i> Duméril & Bibron, 1839<br />
Teiidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4euK11ji_9_vzdr6Xpka7Mgcx4lrKdePee5LgtyHHTRT6gbQUTSVHoIVuXs41gprparOIreTnMgHJulg-N0LU7URXqOC0h_fdXMOy-uqE_ThPMmv4fShicy0DS_JVujNt4UjQ4pF25gXD/s1600/palawan+binturong.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4euK11ji_9_vzdr6Xpka7Mgcx4lrKdePee5LgtyHHTRT6gbQUTSVHoIVuXs41gprparOIreTnMgHJulg-N0LU7URXqOC0h_fdXMOy-uqE_ThPMmv4fShicy0DS_JVujNt4UjQ4pF25gXD/s320/palawan+binturong.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Palawan binturong<br />
<i>Arctictis binturong whitei</i> J. A. Allen, 1910<br />
Viverridae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa1LGTOp4X7Dlc_HhEBA2aTmNL5UeH4vCzHit03aG6wcU3OSeuUH6aMtDYYUifsEzW0KgHNL83faQ4b31jDc2J7qOi7k_M4yB_ER36EK9QavfkYz3uSe9PmUcXQwPr8-PXriLQ5kRozX_/s1600/periodic+table+no+legend.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa1LGTOp4X7Dlc_HhEBA2aTmNL5UeH4vCzHit03aG6wcU3OSeuUH6aMtDYYUifsEzW0KgHNL83faQ4b31jDc2J7qOi7k_M4yB_ER36EK9QavfkYz3uSe9PmUcXQwPr8-PXriLQ5kRozX_/s320/periodic+table+no+legend.png" width="320" /></a><br />
"Periodic Table of the Animals"mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-55129564712527644712016-06-09T12:08:00.000+01:002016-06-09T12:08:42.299+01:00European zoo photo updateHello readers, long time no blog. I have had almost no spare time of late, having had a full time job for the best part of a year (audio transcription for a London based market research company), still working on my Masters in Vert Palaeo, and trying to have a life. Speaking of which, I recently took a trip to France and Germany to visit a few zoos and collections that have been on my list for ages, and was not disappointed. I took five and a half thousand photos at eight zoos of various sizes, and it has been a mammoth task editing them and getting them ready to be seen. For now, they can all be viewed on my Flickr site.<br />
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First stop was the <a href="http://www.mnhn.fr/fr/visitez/lieux/menagerie-zoo-jardin-plantes">Ménagerie</a> at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Although I've been before, the zoo has updated its collection to include such beauties as the Goodfellow's tree kangaroo, eastern quoll, and MacQueen's bustard. Link <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskAM8C66">here</a>.<br />
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I then visited the <a href="http://www.parc-des-felins.com/en/">Parc des Félins</a> just outside Paris. This is a collection of wild cats of several different species and subspecies, including southern oncilla (recently split from the northern species), Asiatic golden cat, Angolan lion, and Sri Lankan leopard. Link <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskxrScdG">here</a>.<br />
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The newly reopened <a href="https://www.parczoologiquedeparis.fr/en">Paris Zoo</a> was a small but well-planned collection of species from around the world, including Iberian wolf, crowned sifaka, and Kordofan giraffe. Link <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskAM88va">here</a>.<br />
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I then moved east to Cologne (Köln) and visited their <a href="http://www.koelnerzoo.de/">zoo</a>, featuring red-shanked douc, south African ratel (honey badger), and blue-eyed lemur. Link <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskAJ6Muu">here</a>.<br />
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I visited the world famous <a href="http://www.weltvogelpark.de/en/">Walsrode Weltvogelpark</a>, home to hundreds of species of bird - and nothing else - including shoebill, king bird of paradise, kagu, and cuckoo roller. Link <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskAM7w6H">here</a>.<br />
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I spent a few days in Berlin, starting with a tour of the excellent carnivore collection at <a href="http://www.wildkatzen-barnim.de/">Wildkatzenzentrum Felidae</a> just outside the city. I saw greater grison, banded civet, Malayan civet, and tayra to name a few. Link <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskA89o5W">here</a>.<br />
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Berlin, having erstwhile been two cities, has two zoos. The West Berlin zoo, <a href="http://www.zoo-berlin.de/en">Zoo Berlin</a>, has a large collection of animals, including Baird's tapir, Siberian ibex, southern springhare, and common vampire bat, to name just a few. Link <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskBnaKrK">here</a>.<br />
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The zoo in East Berlin, <a href="http://www.tierpark-berlin.de/en">Tierpark Berlin</a>, is a monster of a place, and was almost impossible to complete in a day. Still, I saw Chacoan mara, Javan leopard, Mesopotamian fallow deer, and three species (or subspecies) of takin, and much more. Link <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskBdXAhW">here</a>.<br />
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I also visited the <a href="http://www.naturkundemuseum-berlin.de/en/">Museum für Naturkunde</a> and saw their nice collection of African dinosaur mounts, both Tendaguru (including <i>Dicraeosaurus</i>, <i>Dysalotosaurus</i>, <i>Elaphrosaurus</i>, and of course <i>Giraffatitan</i>) and north Africa (<i>Spinosaurus</i> and <i>Deltadromeus</i>, for example), as well as the taxidermy gallery. Link <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskxsVeDa">here</a>.<br />
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Please enjoy my photos (or don't, I'm not gonna tell you what to do), and if you want to use any of them, please ask me first.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-20574732465523484062015-06-17T16:06:00.000+01:002015-06-17T16:06:01.560+01:00Hall of Vertebrate Origins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Following on from my previous post about the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which I visited last year, I now present selected photographs of specimens exhibited in the Hall of Vertebrate Origins. The gallery is situated next door to the Saurischian gallery, hence why it is next on this blog. </div>
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All photos taken by Mo Hassan at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in June 2015.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wUX9054o4vWoLzJpZHlqMPizsbY70_G0FDQYYiLPAssOmcDH254AVk5eN_GAfWFu19gYHvOkAvPmoIQtXCWQVIEfRC_-i5r9vaLuPpuSDeNUnj6QsXuo5dGTPELrCbDPfB0knMv4uJmS/s1600/054-tupuxuara+leonardii.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wUX9054o4vWoLzJpZHlqMPizsbY70_G0FDQYYiLPAssOmcDH254AVk5eN_GAfWFu19gYHvOkAvPmoIQtXCWQVIEfRC_-i5r9vaLuPpuSDeNUnj6QsXuo5dGTPELrCbDPfB0knMv4uJmS/s320/054-tupuxuara+leonardii.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Tupuxuara leonardii </i>Kellner, 1994<br />
Thalassodromidae; Pterosauria; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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One of the first specimens to greet you, if you look up, as you enter the Hall of Vertebrate Origins, is a mounted cast of a Brazilian pterosaur called <i>Tupuxuara </i>(named after a Tupi familiar spirit in Native American mythology). Looking at it superficially, it looks like it has a giant head, a little body, spindly legs, and very long arms. With soft tissue in place, this animal probably looked a bit like a giant toucan or some other tropical bird, with membranous skin between the long finger and the hind limbs to serve as wings, and probably a fuzzy body and a colourful head crest.<br />
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This specimen is a cast, AMNH 29080, of a specimen collected in Ceará, Brazil, dating from Cenomanian in the mid-Cretaceous. More on pterosaurs will follow in the next post...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAhZRgnV58HnIMx1Th1EYoz7OgpGS35aMqHEf4f7Btto16S3HDhl6XZ0HmRdy3Par6XkOiJ2H5eI7OxvNr-Ll4MOoahcqRl3NwrMz5TsaSi0-7b895PNOcon_Y94cr4C6vOXSEe5LVKIP/s1600/056-alligator+prenasalis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAhZRgnV58HnIMx1Th1EYoz7OgpGS35aMqHEf4f7Btto16S3HDhl6XZ0HmRdy3Par6XkOiJ2H5eI7OxvNr-Ll4MOoahcqRl3NwrMz5TsaSi0-7b895PNOcon_Y94cr4C6vOXSEe5LVKIP/s320/056-alligator+prenasalis.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Alligator prenasalis </i>(Loomis, 1904)<br />
Alligatoridae; Crocodilia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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The genus <i>Alligator </i>contains two living species: the critically endangered Chinese alligator (<i>A. sinensis</i>) from the Yangtze River, and the well-known American alligator (<i>A. mississippiensis</i>) from the southeastern United States. The genus formerly contained many other species which have now become extinct, proving that alligators were found in a far broader range across the globe in former times. This specimen, AMNH 4994, was collected in South Dakota in 1906, and dates from the Oligocene period, around 35 million years ago. This suggests that South Dakota was then warmer and wetter.<br />
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<i>Gavialis browni </i>Mook, 1932<br />
Gavialidae; Crocodilia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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This long-snouted skull belongs to a relative of today's gharial (<i>Gavialis gangeticus</i>), an endangered fish-eating crocodilian from the Indian subcontinent. This specimen, AMNH 6279, was collected in 1922 from Pakistan, in the Siwalik Hills. These hills are famed for the fossils of early hominids (apes) like <i>Sivapithecus </i>and the okapi-like antlered giraffe <i>Sivatherium</i>, amongst other fossils. It dates to 5 million years ago, and differs very little from the modern gharial.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZaRQLTmdpGyY0lBofmxDDxslrrya-aZpvDlTC1CClTOwazfOqcM5P_9y1hn709KlWPR5zmJwAn-O7rrD4dRMIuHdulE20SemB1Ii2QJEb14XvumCcnEw3AtwIRDWPCahjp1ospPv0TZRv/s1600/058-crocodylus+robustus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZaRQLTmdpGyY0lBofmxDDxslrrya-aZpvDlTC1CClTOwazfOqcM5P_9y1hn709KlWPR5zmJwAn-O7rrD4dRMIuHdulE20SemB1Ii2QJEb14XvumCcnEw3AtwIRDWPCahjp1ospPv0TZRv/s320/058-crocodylus+robustus.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Voay robustus </i>(Grandidier & Vaillant, 1872)<br />
Crocodylidae; Crocodilia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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The smallest modern crocodile species, the dwarf crocodile (<i>Osteolaemus tetraspis</i>), occurs in west and central Africa, and grows to a maximum of 190 cm (6.2 feet). This is one of its close relatives, <i>Voay robustus</i>, from Madagascar. It lived there until fairly recently, the most recent fossils dating to the Holocene, and may have gone extinct only 2,000 years ago. Unlike <i>Osteolaemus, V. robustus </i>grew to 5 m in length and had short horns on the top of the skull behind the eyes. It has been suggested that the Nile crocodile (<i>Crocodylus niloticus</i>), which currently lives in Madagascar, only colonised the island since the extinction of <i>Voay</i>.<br />
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This specimen, AMNH 3102, was collected in 1930 in southwestern Madagascar.<br />
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<i>Sebecus icaeorhinus </i>Simpson, 1937<br />
Sebecidae; clade Notosuchia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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It is well known that the Ancient Egyptians revered crocodiles. The god Sebek represented the Nile, as well as fertility, and was pictured as having the head of a Nile crocodile. The genus <i>Sebecus </i>honours Sebek. This animal was a large terrestrial carnivore, alive during the Eocene period, some 33-66 million years ago. It is not a crocodilian, unlike modern crocodiles and alligators, but a close offshoot of the ancestors of crocodiles, a member of the Notosuchia. Notosuchians were around from the Cretaceous through to the Miocene, with <i>Sebecus </i>being one of the last surviving genera of the group. They were a very diverse group of reptiles, some being obvious predators, while others became herbivorous.<br />
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This specimen, AMNH 3160, is a cast of a specimen collected in Argentina in 1931.<br />
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<i>Prestosuchus chiniquensis </i>von Huene, 1942<br />
Prestosuchidae; "Rauisuchia"; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Prestosuchus </i>("hurricane crocodile") was a fearsome predator that lived in Brazil during the Late Triassic (around 210 million years ago), at around the same time that dinosaurs were just beginning to diversify into saurischians and ornithischians. It is classed as a rauisuchian, a paraphyletic group of archosaurs close to crocodylomorphs (crocodilians, thalattosuchians, notosuchians, etc.), with an upright walking gait, unlike the sprawling gait of crocodilians.<br />
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This specimen, AMNH 3856, is a cast of a specimen found in Brazil in 1937, the original material housed in Germany.<br />
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<i>Rutiodon carolinensis </i>(Emmons, 1856)<br />
Phytosauridae; Phytosauria; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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Phytosaurs ("plant reptiles", a bizarre moniker that is probably a mistake) looked remarkably like crocodiles, with the nostrils placed close to the base of the snout rather than at the tip. <i>Rutiodon </i>("wrinkled tooth") was a Late Triassic phytosaur from eastern North America (North Carolina and New Jersey). This specimen, with the specimen number AMNH 1, was found in North Carolina in 1895.<br />
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<i>Meiolania platyceps </i>Owen, 1866<br />
Meiolaniidae; "Testudinata"; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Meiolania </i>("small wanderer", to distinguish from the giant monitor lizard, <i>Megalania</i>) was a relative of modern tortoises and turtles. It is not classified in the same order, Testudines, as that order is defined as including the common ancestor of all modern tortoises and turtles, which just about excludes <i>Meiolania</i>. However, as the most recent specimen of this creature dates to only 2,000 years ago, it just narrowly misses out on being defined as a testudine. The genus lived from the Oligocene until the Holocene, with this specimen, AMNH 29076 from Lord Howe Island, Australia, dating to 120,000 years BP. Instead of being able to retract its head either into its shell or alongside it like modern testudines, <i>Meiolania </i>had a large horned head and a spiked tail for defence against predators such as crocodiles, mekosuchines (extinct terrestrial crocodiles), and humans.<br />
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<i>Thalassomedon hanningtoni </i>Welles, 1943<br />
Elasmosauridae; Plesiosauria; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Thalassomedon </i>("sea ruler") was a long-necked plesiosaur related to <i>Elasmosaurus</i>. It lived in the mid-Cretaceous of North America, when the central part of the continent was underwater. This specimen is a cast of AMNH 29078 from Colorado.<br />
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<i>Scutosaurus karpinskii </i>(Amalitsky, 1922)<br />
Pareiasauridae; Procolophonomorpha; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Scutosaurus </i>("shield reptile") was a pareiasaur, a group of primitive reptiles that lived during the Permian in Russia. The Permian was the period of time directly before the Triassic: the transition between these two periods marked the greatest mass extinction of all time. Pareiasaurs like <i>Scutosaurus </i>were herbivorous, feeding on ferns and cycads and other vegetation. It would probably have been slow moving due to its large size, heavy armour, and short legs, and would have relied on its size when mature, and its armour, to protect itself from such predators as gorgonopsids.<br />
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This specimen is AMNH 5148, collected in northwestern Russia in the early twentieth century.<br />
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<i>Xiphactinus audax </i>Leidy, 1870<br />
Ichthyodectidae; Ichthyodectiformes; Actinopterygii; Chordata<br />
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<i>Xiphactinus </i>("sword ray") was a large predatory fish from the Cretaceous of central North America, colonising the same seas as <i>Thalassomedon </i>above. It could reach 6 m in length, and was definitely among the top predators of the time, swimming alongside mosasaurs as well as elasmosaurs. This specimen, AMNH 13102, was collected in Kansas.<br />
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<i>Diplocaulus magnicornis </i>Cope, 1882<br />
Keraterpetontidae; Nectridea; Amphibia; Chordata<br />
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<i>Diplocaulus </i>("double stalk") was an amphibian from Permian North America. It is well known for its boomerang-shaped head. It is often reconstructed as having a fold of skin connecting these bone wedges to the flanks, but it is argued this would have been pointless in life. It could have reached a metre in length, and is considered to be a primitive amphibian, not too closely related to salamanders. This specimen, AMNH 23175, was collected in Texas in 1895 by Charles Sternberg.<br />
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<i>Henodus chelyops </i>Huene, 1936<br />
Henodontidae; Placodontia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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The final photo is of <i>Henodus </i>("one tooth"), a turtle-like reptile from the Late Triassic of Germany. Despite its flat turtle-like shell, and obvious turtlyness, it is a placodont, a group of sauropterygian reptiles closer to plesiosaurs than turtles. Placodonts had crushing dentition to eat molluscs and other shelled creatures. <i>Henodus </i>dwelled in shallow lagoons in what is now Germany.<br />
<br />mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA40.7813241 -73.97398820000000840.7753126 -73.984073200000012 40.7873356 -73.9639032tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-86810472386933786842015-05-30T22:08:00.000+01:002015-05-30T22:08:21.793+01:00American Museum of Natural History: Hall of Saurischian DinosaursI visited New York City last June/July, for the first time. Naturally, one of the first places I visited was the American Museum of Natural History. In the first of hopefully a short series of posts on that museum, I feature the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs. Saurischians are one of the two major groups of dinosaurs. The most well known members of this group include <i>Brontosaurus</i>, <i>Tyrannosaurus</i>, and the domestic chicken.
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The photos below were taken at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in June 2014, by Mo Hassan. They are presented in rough phylogenetic order.<br />
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<i>Plateosaurus engelhardti </i>von Meyer, 1837<br />
Plateosauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Plateosaurus </i>(from the Ancient Greek for"flat lizard") was one of the first dinosaurs. Non-avian dinosaurs (that is, all dinosaurs that are not birds), arose during the Triassic Period and lasted until the end of the Cretaceous Period, a stretch of time lasting around 170 million years. Among the earliest were small theropods (bipedal carnivores) like <i>Coelophysis </i>(see below), and <i>Plateosaurus</i>. It was a prosauropod - early offshoots from the branch that later led to sauropods - the long-necked dinosaurs like <i>Brontosaurus</i>. <i>Plateosaurus </i>has been known since the 1830s, when several bones were found in Germany and later identified as dinosaur bone.<br />
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<i>Plateosaurus </i>remains one of the best known dinosaurs as over a hundred individuals are known from many parts of Germany. The individual photographed was named <i>Plateosaurus trossingensis </i>Fraas, 1913, but later synonymised with the type species of the genus, <i>P. engelhardti. </i>Its specimen number is AMNH 6810 and was collected by Friedrich von Huene in 1925 in Trossingen in southwest Germany, and dates from the late Norian stage of the Upper Triassic.<br />
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<i>Brontosaurus excelsus </i>Marsh, 1879<br />
Diplodocidae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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You may have heard of <i>Brontosaurus</i>, it's got to be one of the most well known dinosaurs of all time. Except that for over a hundred years, it didn't even exist. Well, only in the sense that it has been known to science by another name. <i>Apatosaurus </i>("deceptive lizard") and <i>Brontosaurus </i>("thunder lizard") are both types of sauropod, both living at the same time in the same place. For most of the twentieth century they were assumed to belong to the same species, and as the name <i>Apatosaurus </i>was published first, due to the rules of zoological taxonomy, <i>Brontosaurus </i>became demoted to a synonym of <i>Apatosaurus</i>. A study published this year has determined that <i>Brontosaurus </i>is sufficiently distinct from <i>Apatosaurus</i>, and resurrected the name for three species previously assigned to <i>Apatosaurus</i>. One of these is <i>A. excelsus, </i>now <i>B. excelsus</i>, which the above pictured sauropod was identified as.<br />
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The specimen, AMNH 460, is mostly real, with the skull based on <i>Apatosaurus louisae</i>, and tips of tail and limbs from another specimen. It dates from 150 million years ago (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian stages of the Late Jurassic). According to the recent study (Tschopp, Mateus & Benson, 2015), which looked at individual specimens rather than species, AMNH 460 is a close relative of both <i>Apatosaurus </i>species and all three <i>Brontosaurus </i>species, but not a member of either. For now, it remains either <i>Apatosaurus excelsus </i>or <i>Brontosaurus excelsus, </i>until a new genus is erected for it if needs be.<br />
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<i>Diplodocus longus </i>Marsh, 1878<br />
Diplodocidae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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Everyone who's ever been to the Natural History Museum in London will know about Dippy the <i>Diplodocus</i>. Specifically, Dippy is a cast of CM 84, an almost complete skeleton of <i>Diplodocus carnegii </i>Hatcher, 1901, in the collections of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The eponymous philanthropist Andrew Carnegie commissioned ten casts of CM 84 to museums around the world, including London of course. But <i>D. carnegii </i>was not the first species of <i>Diplodocus </i>to be described. <i>D. longus </i>is the type species, meaning it was the first species to be given the genus name <i>Diplodocus</i>.<br />
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This skull is specimen AMNH 969, and was collected in 1903 in Wyoming. It dates from the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic.<br />
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<i>Coelophysis bauri </i>(Cope, 1887)<br />
Coelophysidae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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Like <i>Plateosaurus, Coelophysis </i>("hollow form")<i> </i>is one of the earliest dinosaurs, and is the best-known early theropod. It lived in Late Triassic North America, dating back to around 200 million years ago. This specimen is a cast of CM 31374, a skull from Carnegie Museum collected in New Mexico.<br />
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<i>Dilophosaurus wetherilli </i>Welles, 1954<br />
Dilophosauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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If you've seen <i>Jurassic Park </i>(who hasn't?), you'll know <i>Dilophosaurus </i>as the cute, frilled, venom-spitting dinosaur that jumps into Dennis Nedry's car and subsequently kills him. <i>Dilophosaurus </i>("two crested lizard")<i> </i>in reality was somewhat bigger than the film version, and did not have a frill or the ability to spit venom, as far as we know. It is another early theropod, dating to 193 million years ago in the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic. This skull is a cast of AMNH 27376, found in Arizona in 1942.<br />
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<i>Ceratosaurus nasicornis </i>Marsh, 1884<br />
Ceratosauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Ceratosaurus </i>("horned lizard") was a contemporary of <i>Allosaurus </i>from Late Jurassic North America. This skull is a cast of AMNH 27631 from Colorado.<br />
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<i>Majungasaurus crenatissimus </i>(Depéret, 1896)<br />
Abelisauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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Abelisaurids were a group of large theropods found mainly in the southern supercontinent Gondwana. Representatives of this family have been found in South America (e.g. <i>Carnotaurus</i>), India (e.g. <i>Indosuchus</i>), and Madagascar (e.g. <i>Majungasaurus</i>). They all have short heads and tiny hands and arms, making them look really, <i>really </i>silly. Although <i>Majungasaurus </i>("lizard from Mahajanga/Majunga")<i> </i>has been known for more than a century, it was only since the late 90s that any good material has come out of Madagascar. Prior to that, some specimens were called <i>Majungatholus atopus</i>, and were thought to be the remains of pachycephalosaurs (bone-headed ornithischians).<br />
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This skull is a cast of FMNH PR 2100 collected in Madagascar, dating from the Maastrichtian stage dating to 66-70 million years ago.<br />
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<i>Allosaurus fragilis </i>Marsh, 1877<br />
Allosauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Allosaurus </i>("different lizard")<i> </i>is one of the most well-known theropods from the Jurassic Period, and was among the largest from the time too. This remarkably complete specimen, AMNH 5753, represents the first free-standing mount of a theropod anywhere in the world, and is depicted tearing apart a <i>Brontosaurus</i> skeleton. It came from Wyoming and dates from the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic.<br />
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<i>Ornitholestes hermanni </i>(Osborn, 1903)<br />
Family <i>incertae sedis</i>; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Ornitholestes </i>("bird thief") was another Morrison Formation theropod, believed to be a coelurosaur (an advanced group of theropods including tyrannosaurs and modern birds). This specimen is a cast of the holotype (first specimen), AMNH 619, discovered in 1900 in Wyoming, again of Kimmeridgian age.<br />
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<i>Gorgosaurus libratus </i>Lambe, 1914<br />
Tyrannosauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Gorgosaurus </i>("fierce lizard") is a smaller and slenderer relative of <i>Tyrannosaurus. </i>It has previously been placed in the genus <i>Albertosaurus</i>, but is deemed distinct nowadays. It lived slightly earlier than <i>Tyrannosaurus</i>, in the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Despite being smaller than its more famous relative, it was still an apex predator.<br />
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This specimen is a cast of the skull of AMNH 5664 from Alberta. It was initially named <i>G. sternbergi, </i>after its discoverer, Charles Sternberg, but is now considered to be a young individual of <i>G. libratus</i>.<br />
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<i>Tyrannosaurus rex </i>Osborn, 1905<br />
Tyrannosauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>T. rex </i>needs no introduction, so you're not getting one. This specimen is AMNH 5027, collected in Montana in 1908.<br />
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<i>Struthiomimus altus </i>Lambe, 1902<br />
Ornithomimidae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Struthiomimus </i>("ostrich mimic") was a very slender dinosaur related to <i>Ornithomimus</i> from Campanian-Maastrichtian North America. This specimen is AMNH 5339, collected in Alberta in 1914, and displays the commonly found "death pose" seen in many theropod specimens, and which is also present in modern theropods, birds. The head and neck curl back to touch the back, in a condition similar to rigor mortis known as opisthotonus ("tension behind").<br />
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<i>Mononykus olecranus </i>Perle <i>et al.,</i> 1993<br />
Alvarezsauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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One group of dinosaurs that were quite close to the ancestor of modern birds is the alvarezsaurids. <i>Mononykus </i>("one claw") is one of the best known of this group. In fact, <i>Mononykus </i>(previously known as <i>Mononychus</i> before it was realised that name was already occupied by a butterfly) was considered to actually be a bird, more advanced than <i>Archaeopteryx </i>(see below). <i>Mononykus </i>got its name because of large thumb claw, and it has very reduced forelimbs.<br />
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This specimen is a mounted composite cast of two specimens, AMNH 28508 and AMNH 28498, collected at different times from different locations in Mongolia. It dates from the early Maastrichtian of the late Cretaceous (70 million years ago).<br />
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<i>Archaeopteryx siemensii </i>Dames, 1897<br />
Archaeopterygidae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Archaeopteryx </i>("ancient wing") is known from around twelve exquisitely preserved specimens from Solnhofen, in Bavaria (Germany). There are now considered to be two species of <i>Archaeopteryx: </i>the type <i>A. lithographica</i>, and <i>A. siemensii</i>. This is a cast (AMNH 5120) of a specimen of <i>A. siemensii</i> known as the Berlin Specimen, as the original is housed at Humboldt Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. It is the most complete <i>Archaeopteryx </i>specimen. All <i>Archaeopteryx </i>lived during the Tithonian in the Late Jurassic, 150-148 million years ago.<br />
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<i>Hesperornis regalis </i>Marsh, 1872<br />
Hesperornithidae; Hesperornithiformes; Avialae; Chordata<br />
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<i>Hesperornis </i>("western bird") was a toothed grebe-like bird that lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous in North America and Russia. This specimen, AMNH 5100, was collected in Kansas by Charles Sternberg in 1907.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hu4B-JUI43ex6ph8QBO8eSeqQAnIKtkFfBSqgYbzW4v-F3AcdR1uJCQTVtXmDKqZirTcWYLKXAcl0dBMrolRqd12KZBvsb32oT3Xb7dulskgQ9nbpzu7eJ5N3L0tD-Wq1v1erSmPN_ig/s1600/002-diatryma+gigantea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hu4B-JUI43ex6ph8QBO8eSeqQAnIKtkFfBSqgYbzW4v-F3AcdR1uJCQTVtXmDKqZirTcWYLKXAcl0dBMrolRqd12KZBvsb32oT3Xb7dulskgQ9nbpzu7eJ5N3L0tD-Wq1v1erSmPN_ig/s320/002-diatryma+gigantea.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Gastornis giganteus </i>(Cope, 1876)<br />
Gastornithidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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The first true bird in this series of photos, <i>Gastornis </i>("Gaston [Planté]'s bird") was a not-too-distant relative of ducks, geese, and swans, being a member of the order Anseriformes. Gastornithids lived during the Palaeocene and Eocene epochs, some 56-45 million years ago, hence not too long (broadly speaking) after the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct (66 million years ago). It was always considered to be a savage predator due to the shape of its bill, but recent studies on bone histology indicate it never ate meat. <i>Gastornis giganteus </i>used to be considered distinct enough from Eurasian <i>Gastornis </i>that it was placed in its own genus, <i>Diatryma. </i>This specimen, AMNH 6169, was collected in Wyoming in 1916.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBwZTk0rh8RXeoJ3S8Q_ZPTJW2DSwWh8HFNZ2_qYPkux5uknu7NlyjdjCNmSzWinQjs-pb0uqo9posTH8_D61nQNvSH15uDxggoV7hQ57QUECjQ-XP3iBoebnOdnAte4ecJ-gZWewWnDU/s1600/001-psilopterus+australis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBwZTk0rh8RXeoJ3S8Q_ZPTJW2DSwWh8HFNZ2_qYPkux5uknu7NlyjdjCNmSzWinQjs-pb0uqo9posTH8_D61nQNvSH15uDxggoV7hQ57QUECjQ-XP3iBoebnOdnAte4ecJ-gZWewWnDU/s320/001-psilopterus+australis.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Psilopterus australis </i>(Moreno & Mercerat, 1891)<br />
Phorusrhacidae; Cariamiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<i>Psilopterus </i>("smooth wing") was a type of phorusrhacid, birds colloquially called "terror birds" for their fearsome looking appearance and size. <i>Psilopterus </i>is one of the smaller members of this family though, looking more like a seriema on steroids. This skull is AMNH 9157, from Argentina, dating to the early Miocene epoch (21 million years ago).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXdlsysYmCEvkeLfjZeaUSPciL8_Slj1cDCgwoaKv3rcKidxSAmJtDaA57X4Sx1WqjhO9r8x6drZS1-Wpt3Jm4IR4QqhZQ5Ub8uXaixpyxEJm8crkwNKqP1DxlbQ7wgERp8xjEWzfY6r_/s1600/013-saurornithoides+mongoliensis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXdlsysYmCEvkeLfjZeaUSPciL8_Slj1cDCgwoaKv3rcKidxSAmJtDaA57X4Sx1WqjhO9r8x6drZS1-Wpt3Jm4IR4QqhZQ5Ub8uXaixpyxEJm8crkwNKqP1DxlbQ7wgERp8xjEWzfY6r_/s320/013-saurornithoides+mongoliensis.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Saurornithoides mongoliensis </i>Osborn, 1924<br />
Troodontidae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Saurornithoides </i>("bird-like lizard") is a troodontid from the Campanian of Mongolia. It was a small-sized big-eyed dinosaur, most likely feathered, and this is the type specimen, AMNH 6516.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOO6P5t_tqR23PlTDCou2QyOnrSO8BnmEwYRcvUwBquDTamPkqtZeioDpvuvoNk_KZR7qYXBeKAA5FlSBv1shShM4B0HFg1HuVpBPRnv0MlPt0jHAIcz1cBTwEZjrOyEk4W-_vIOvWzUN/s1600/012-velociraptor+mongoliensis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOO6P5t_tqR23PlTDCou2QyOnrSO8BnmEwYRcvUwBquDTamPkqtZeioDpvuvoNk_KZR7qYXBeKAA5FlSBv1shShM4B0HFg1HuVpBPRnv0MlPt0jHAIcz1cBTwEZjrOyEk4W-_vIOvWzUN/s320/012-velociraptor+mongoliensis.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Velociraptor mongoliensis </i>Osborn, 1924<br />
Dromaeosauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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<i>Velociraptor </i>("fast seizer") is another very well known dinosaur, but is much smaller than most people imagine. Blame <i>Jurassic Park </i>again, the animals represented in the film are closer to <i>Deinonychus </i>(see below) in size. Nonetheless, <i>Velociraptor </i>is well known from some beautifully preserved specimens from Mongolia, again from the Campanian. This skull is also the type specimen, AMNH 6515.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnF9xtUCrMSQ_EXlcwWxCgUM7SyCtHq3pz6AoU7Nu2IfQZuveD7rd6ioQ_h_y2looUbkbaVqgq7FA4GShJeh0G3qnmIJmDXm5gOsgIAlORSiSS-GhqIoxu0H5zr9sEF7qKqQ5YqayW8tR/s1600/019-deinonychus+antirrhopus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnF9xtUCrMSQ_EXlcwWxCgUM7SyCtHq3pz6AoU7Nu2IfQZuveD7rd6ioQ_h_y2looUbkbaVqgq7FA4GShJeh0G3qnmIJmDXm5gOsgIAlORSiSS-GhqIoxu0H5zr9sEF7qKqQ5YqayW8tR/s320/019-deinonychus+antirrhopus.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Deinonychus antirrhopus </i>Ostrom, 1969<br />
Dromaeosauridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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Closely related to <i>Velociraptor, Deinonychus </i>("terrible claw") is known from much earlier strata (Aptian-Albian) in North America. It would have been a more fearsome creature than <i>Velociraptor </i>considering its size, no doubt using its switch-blade "terrible claw" to good effect. This specimen is AMNH 3015, from Montana.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkV_y9EJaiDKi46auXGxyPYxkt9mC86mEfiTespad5esLilddMVgf1k6CBuXixnK3Dun4kijvyYQf4nPL-vFqFa5YwWv9jHA4ruRz_um6S5taH6nX_fBf8NxMhMWXv4i_XjoJnEzNsL8Q1/s1600/014-khaan+mckennai.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkV_y9EJaiDKi46auXGxyPYxkt9mC86mEfiTespad5esLilddMVgf1k6CBuXixnK3Dun4kijvyYQf4nPL-vFqFa5YwWv9jHA4ruRz_um6S5taH6nX_fBf8NxMhMWXv4i_XjoJnEzNsL8Q1/s320/014-khaan+mckennai.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Khaan mckennai </i>Clark, Norell & Barsbold, 2001<br />
Oviraptoridae; Saurischia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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The final dinosaur in this parade is a relative of the more well known (only in the popular sense, not from the point of view of specimens) <i>Oviraptor</i>. They were toothless, crested, bird-like dinosaurs. <i>Khaan </i>was a contemporary of <i>Velociraptor </i>and <i>Saurornithoides</i> and was most likely feathered. This specimen is a cast of the original specimen IGM 100/973, housed in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia,mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA40.7813241 -73.97398820000000840.7753126 -73.984073200000012 40.7873356 -73.9639032tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-37649465359778691442015-05-21T18:53:00.000+01:002015-05-21T18:53:25.594+01:00Toronto Zoo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here's a selection of photographs from my visit to Toronto Zoo in June 2014. </div>
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All photographs taken at Toronto Zoo, Ontario, Canada by Mo Hassan. Those not in captivity are indicated in the caption, otherwise it's safe to assume they are captive.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKN9Av384knNXknIaLXJOgQjo7IdkudPl0ZB8XMLfUJDmznA_Nd9tNe6CYaHipqRPAwN07gFp33uPhDFQaDoUXhUdYaT8cKsPniN0tnh3jb2c6NiwcyNLkZn_wiSn8g58E74gAhtNdKV9/s1600/005-tamiasciurus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKN9Av384knNXknIaLXJOgQjo7IdkudPl0ZB8XMLfUJDmznA_Nd9tNe6CYaHipqRPAwN07gFp33uPhDFQaDoUXhUdYaT8cKsPniN0tnh3jb2c6NiwcyNLkZn_wiSn8g58E74gAhtNdKV9/s320/005-tamiasciurus.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wild North American red squirrel<br />
<i>Tamiasciurus hudsonicus </i>(Erxleben, 1777)<br />
Sciuridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIobnSFEwsp5aSuee1LofNjcvLLMZDBClUrFHGoBdIVpTVU7bj6uVcn06jztWcnLGQLOpiGcXcaBZ2Um3stx8KZtTW3ykZ4fsOXVoNzT4LCTnBsvVNHNAHCBIyDdNJ8ZZ88iKzhc_yNka/s1600/019-ailuropoda.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIobnSFEwsp5aSuee1LofNjcvLLMZDBClUrFHGoBdIVpTVU7bj6uVcn06jztWcnLGQLOpiGcXcaBZ2Um3stx8KZtTW3ykZ4fsOXVoNzT4LCTnBsvVNHNAHCBIyDdNJ8ZZ88iKzhc_yNka/s320/019-ailuropoda.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Giant panda<br />
<i>Ailuropoda melanoleuca</i> (David, 1869)<br />
Ursidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsu2B9Xrv0R7j3iuzJOY7kBnDRNocjyP5p8qg5qXxsvq3ShVQWRsZVn1iX6DI6WGPXG98rehSeXnJdrr9CFZEgsb8AxFZnBqFIzGjSdN29IT-84URwb4PrN13uW-yEVUrSKEfVURrWBzr/s1600/035-dendrolagus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsu2B9Xrv0R7j3iuzJOY7kBnDRNocjyP5p8qg5qXxsvq3ShVQWRsZVn1iX6DI6WGPXG98rehSeXnJdrr9CFZEgsb8AxFZnBqFIzGjSdN29IT-84URwb4PrN13uW-yEVUrSKEfVURrWBzr/s320/035-dendrolagus.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Huon, or Matschie's, tree kangaroo<br />
<i>Dendrolagus matschiei </i>Förster & Rothschild, 1907<br />
Macropodidae; Diprotodontia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pbAxnluzc_cjm6Mf3DJ2QggYd7dW1AOZej-qBH3jyOSCb7QDIzHDfLp9UyNxulADJyPJkc0rVmEv2DeA4WqMrRzt0qXa_x-SX7QsoUAzi1GSwJt4gtp3EPlUTHSSgPMbauSZ4aOK287O/s1600/059-lasiorhinus+latifrons.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pbAxnluzc_cjm6Mf3DJ2QggYd7dW1AOZej-qBH3jyOSCb7QDIzHDfLp9UyNxulADJyPJkc0rVmEv2DeA4WqMrRzt0qXa_x-SX7QsoUAzi1GSwJt4gtp3EPlUTHSSgPMbauSZ4aOK287O/s320/059-lasiorhinus+latifrons.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Southern hairy-nosed wombat<br />
<i>Lasiorhinus latifrons </i>(Owen, 1845)<br />
Vombatidae; Diprotodontia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Polar bear cub<br />
<i>Ursus maritimus </i>Phipps, 1774<br />
Ursidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRUJO0MV6w4XHuyFxKdTFbKrZYgXfdknCFp5-5xf2Ma8EX-Q0B98td0DOg8DVeEdJ_nJGRyZklcT2qT9TpOPwT7tRGxeFyrBjwkcpfaBUHIA0yUfSXr7miqxm17vocP9Fcf6qSayFHcWLM/s1600/118-pteroglossus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRUJO0MV6w4XHuyFxKdTFbKrZYgXfdknCFp5-5xf2Ma8EX-Q0B98td0DOg8DVeEdJ_nJGRyZklcT2qT9TpOPwT7tRGxeFyrBjwkcpfaBUHIA0yUfSXr7miqxm17vocP9Fcf6qSayFHcWLM/s320/118-pteroglossus.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Green aracari<br />
<i>Pteroglossus viridis </i>Linnaeus, 1766<br />
Ramphastidae; Piciformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MvsQtTHg1_xamxmZ_1e2DX3RbghDoXD5DV2F03KeGaNBa66QcE2uv3iqWVf3WoUKhJzMwp9OMLAhmOpHTS1OEzfNHWcWvntSei4eC_XSsyuthQC0m3tYs-w_SfzXN8CaadoABDOZqQTh/s1600/127-eudromia+elegans.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MvsQtTHg1_xamxmZ_1e2DX3RbghDoXD5DV2F03KeGaNBa66QcE2uv3iqWVf3WoUKhJzMwp9OMLAhmOpHTS1OEzfNHWcWvntSei4eC_XSsyuthQC0m3tYs-w_SfzXN8CaadoABDOZqQTh/s320/127-eudromia+elegans.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Elegant crested tinamou<br />
<i>Eudromia elegans </i>(Saint-Hilaire, 1832)<br />
Tinamidae; Tinamiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8l21aCcNJ-A3AnVypl2hdlJXOd3HUbull0QSkmXn1ol7OJ3gdwVuUpP81BvBGFxv06OGM9hp2hfC1D8yiBDMDCcU1kHHle0MH275Z_07ecidvJ8ZciFQGdWYvh-31iSuoCQq1owkn2qM/s1600/130-cyanocorax.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8l21aCcNJ-A3AnVypl2hdlJXOd3HUbull0QSkmXn1ol7OJ3gdwVuUpP81BvBGFxv06OGM9hp2hfC1D8yiBDMDCcU1kHHle0MH275Z_07ecidvJ8ZciFQGdWYvh-31iSuoCQq1owkn2qM/s320/130-cyanocorax.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Plush-crested jay<br />
<i>Cyanocorax chrysops </i>(Vieillot, 1818)<br />
Corvidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0V5b3dJsR_Jt02ipIUHTwnGaOcsAaQcRqqlC2cWau5zYvkD_mkHlBAEKBbOgbvR0jsf7FuhZnNx_WkCkhallODua5nzbzcfsiQr1s8wFhKkzs0ykCp7tO8CuHqyh9i7fidxEBkV1CN3Vo/s1600/169-cnemidophorus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0V5b3dJsR_Jt02ipIUHTwnGaOcsAaQcRqqlC2cWau5zYvkD_mkHlBAEKBbOgbvR0jsf7FuhZnNx_WkCkhallODua5nzbzcfsiQr1s8wFhKkzs0ykCp7tO8CuHqyh9i7fidxEBkV1CN3Vo/s320/169-cnemidophorus.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Female desert-grassland whiptail lizards<br />
<i>Aspidoscelis uniparens </i>(Wright & Lowe, 1965)<br />
Teiidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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Easily identified as females as this species is entirely parthenogenetic (all female population reproducing by cloning with unfertilised eggs).<br />
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Nicaraguan spider monkey<br />
<i>Ateles geoffroyi geoffroyi </i>Kuhl, 1820<br />
Atelidae; Primates; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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<br />
Wild eastern kingbird<br />
<i>Tyrannus tyrannus </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Tyrannidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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North American raccoon<br />
<i>Procyon lotor </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Procyonidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Canada lynx<br />
<i>Lynx canadensis </i>(Kerr, 1792)<br />
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Wood bison<br />
<i>Bison bison athabascae </i>Rhoads, 1897<br />
Bovidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Wild ebony jewelwing<br />
<i>Calopteryx maculata </i>(Beauvois, 1805)<br />
Calopterygidae; Odonata; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
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Wild trumpeter swans<br />
<i>Cygnus buccinator </i>Richardson, 1832<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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American moose bull<br />
<i>Alces americanus </i>(Clinton, 1822)<br />
Cervidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Wild female and young wood ducks<br />
<i>Aix sponsa </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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Wild tree swallow<br />
<i>Tachycineta bicolor </i>(Vieillot, 1808)<br />
Hirundinidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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Wild male Baltimore oriole<br />
<i>Icterus galbula </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Icteridae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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Olive baboon<br />
<i>Papio anubis </i>(Lesson, 1827)<br />
Cercopithecidae; Primates; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Red-tailed hawk<br />
<i>Buteo jamaicensis </i>(Gmelin, 1788)<br />
Accipitridae; Accipitriformes (Falconiformes); Aves; Chordata<br />
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Wild woodchuck, or groundhog<br />
<i>Marmota monax rufescens </i>Howell, 1914<br />
Sciuridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Spotted crossing the hippopotamus enclosure.<br />
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Spotted-necked otter<br />
<i>Hydrictis maculicollis </i>(Lichtenstein, 1839)<br />
Mustelidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Female Sumatran orangutans<br />
<i>Pongo abelii </i>Lesson, 1827<br />
Hominidae; Primates; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Bald eagle<br />
<i>Haliaeetus leucocephalus </i>(Linnaeus, 1766)<br />
Accipitridae; Accipitriformes (Falconiformes); Aves; Chordata<br />
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Wild ring-billed gull<br />
<i>Larus delawarensis </i>Ord, 1815<br />
Laridae; Charadriiformes; Aves; Chordatamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0Rouge, Toronto, ON, Canada43.817188521490387 -79.18567657470703143.797556521490385 -79.22601707470703 43.836820521490388 -79.145336074707032tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-683855109455162472015-04-14T18:18:00.000+01:002015-04-14T18:18:25.990+01:00Ripley's AquariumWhen I visited Canada last year, I spent two days in Toronto to see a few of the sights and meet friends and family. I got to Toronto quite late in the day, but decided to head to the CN Tower.<br />
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The CN Tower, downtown Toronto, from directly beneath it.<br />
June 2014<br />
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I honestly didn't know at the time, because I last visited Toronto in 2002, but there is a new beautiful aquarium at the foot of the tower, that was importantly open until late (something like 11 p.m.). Of course, I went in, not hoping to see very much.<br />
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Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, Toronto.<br />
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It turns out the <a href="http://www.ripleysaquariumofcanada.com/">Ripley's Aquarium of Canada</a> is the best aquarium I have ever visited. OK, I haven't been to that many, mostly in the UK, but it beats all of them hands down. It has several well designed exhibits with many unusual species of fish and invertebrate that I had not seen before.<br />
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All photos taken in June 2014 at Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, Toronto, by the author.<br />
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Orange sea pen<br />
<i>Ptilosarcus gurneyi </i>(Gray, 1860)<br />
Pennatulidae; Pennatulacea; Anthozoa; Cnidaria<br />
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This bright orange thing looks like an antiquated writing implement sitting in an ink well, and kind of looks like a plant. It is in fact an animal, an invertebrate distantly related to jellyfish and sea anemones. Sea pens have a long fossil record, definitely having existed in the Cambrian, being found in the Burgess Shale (a deposit from western Canada dating to around 500 million years ago), and the enigmatic Ediacaran fossil <i>Charnia masoni</i> from Leicestershire which is even older (<i>c.</i> 580 Ma) might be a sea pen. Like their fellow cnidarians, corals, they are colonial animals, meaning each sea pen is made of thousands of tiny polyps that work together to feed and protect the whole sea pen. They are capable of uprooting themselves and moving, although spend the vast majority of their time in one place.<br />
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Arctic grayling<br />
<i>Thymallus arcticus </i>Pallas, 1776<br />
Salmonidae; Salmoniformes; Actinopterygii; Chordata<br />
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Grayling are members of the salmon family, and are distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, including Britain. The arctic grayling is found in rivers and lakes across the north of Eurasia and North America. Unlike salmon they never enter the sea, but some populations spawn in tributary streams but spend their lives in lakes.<br />
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Nurse shark<br />
<i>Ginglymostoma cirratum </i>(Bonnaterre, 1788)<br />
Ginglymostomatidae; Orectolobiformes; Chondrichthyes; Chordata<br />
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The nurse shark is a nocturnal fish that spends most of its day resting on the ocean floor. (I'm writing this as the song "Nightswimming" by R.E.M. just came on my iPod, wow). They eat fish, crustaceans and molluscs, which they can crush with their specialised dentition, which is both sharp and strong. Nurse sharks are found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, mainly around the Caribbean, but a population from the eastern Pacific, from Mexico to Peru, has been newly described as a new species, <i>Ginglymostoma unami </i>Moral-Flores <i>et al</i>., 2015 (<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274270842_Ginglymostoma_unami_sp._nov._%28Chondrichthyes_Orectolobiformes_Ginglymostomatidae%29_una_especie_nueva_de_tiburn_gata_del_Pacfico_oriental_tropical">available here</a>). Interestingly, "young nurse sharks have been observed resting with their snouts pointed upward and their bodies supported off the bottom
on their pectoral fins; this has been interpreted as possibly providing a false shelter for crabs and small fishes that the shark
then ambushes and eats" (Compagno, 1984; <a href="ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/x9293e/x9293e12.pdf">available here</a>).<br />
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Sandbar shark<br />
<i>Carcharhinus plumbeus </i>(Nardo, 1827)<br />
Carcharhinidae; Carcharhiniformes; Chondrichthyes; Chordata (phew, lots of Cs there!)<br />
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This is a widespread shark in subtropical and tropical coastal waters worldwide. It has a similar diet to the nurse shark, eating fish and crabs, and is not considered a danger to people despite its large size. They are unfortunately threatened by fisheries as they present very good fins for the mostly Asian market of shark fins.<br />
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Atlantic horseshoe crab<br />
<i>Limulus polyphemus </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Limulidae; Xiphosura; Merostomata; Arthropoda<br />
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The horseshoe crab is one of those creatures often called a "living fossil". However much you like or dislike this term, you can't deny there's something very prehistoric-looking about them. As a group, the order Xiphosura dates back to the Ordovician period (450 Ma). There are four living species from Asia and North America, and are believed to be the closest living relatives of trilobites, which I have no problem in believing. They come ashore <i>en masse </i>at certain times of the year, an event which can be observed on parts of the Atlantic seaboard in May.<br />
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Red lionfish<br />
<i>Pterois volitans </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Scorpaenidae; Scorpaeniformes; Actinopterygii; Chordata<br />
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Red lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific region and are one of the most easily recognisable of warm water marine fish. They are poisonous, venomous indeed, as they are capable of injecting their venom through the fin spines. Although extremely painful, lionfish venom is apparently rarely fatal to humans. In recent years, they have become established in the Caribbean Sea and are considered invasive in most of the island nations and coastal parts. In Barbados, they are caught, cleaned, and eaten, although this practice has not spread very far,<br />
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Electric eel<br />
<i>Electrophorus electricus</i> (Linnaeus, 1766)<br />
Gymnotidae; Gymnotiformes; Actinopterygii; Chordata<br />
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The electric eel is an infamous freshwater fish from South America, known for being able to produce electricity for defence at an incredibly high voltage. It is unrelated to true eels (Anguilliformes), being the largest member of the knifefish family. They produce the electricity using three pairs of organs that make up the vast majority of its body. Like muscle and nerve cells, the individual cells in these organs (electrocytes) are linked to one another to pass electrons to each other, and are stacked to increase the voltage. The duration of the shock is very short and is thus unlikely to kill a human, even at 600V/1A, which is much greater than the voltage/current needed to induce heart defibrillation. The fish is also renowned for its great sense of hearing, and oddly, is an obligate air-breather, as it lacks gills, respiring using the mouth. Another odd fact, the electric eel is one of the few animals known to use social media - an individual at Tennessee Aquarium has its tank linked to <a href="https://twitter.com/EelectricMiguel">Twitter</a>, and a pre-written text is triggered whenever the fish emits electricity of a high enough threshold. Miguel Wattson, as he is known, tells bad aquatic animal related jokes. Not bad for a (non-human) fish though.<br />
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Longsnout seahorse<br />
<i>Hippocampus reidi </i>Ginsburg, 1933<br />
Syngnathidae; Syngnathiformes; Actinopterygii; Chordata<br />
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The longsnout seahorse dwells in the Caribbean Sea and neighbouring parts of the Atlantic up to North Carolina. It isn't currently considered threatened by the IUCN, as information is insufficient, but it most likely faces the same threats as other seahorses, hunting, collection, and habitat loss.<br />
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Leafy sea dragon<br />
<i>Phycodurus eques </i>(Günther, 1865)<br />
Syngnathidae; Syngnathiformes; Actinopterygii; Chordata<br />
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The leafy sea dragon is a bizarre relative of seahorses restricted to coastal waters of southern Australia. It blends in so seamlessly with the weedy environment thanks to the growths on its body and its slow moving drifting habits. It moves its tiny fins so rapidly it cannot be seen to move actively at all. It feeds on whatever tiny planktonic creatures can fit into its narrow pipe-like snout, just like seahorses and other pipefishes. Also like seahorses, it is the male that cares for the eggs and young, the former of which he carries around under the tail embedded to his skin.<br />
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Weedy sea dragons<br />
<i>Phyllopteryx taeniolatus </i>(Lacepède, 1804)<br />
Syngnathidae; Syngnathiformes; Actinopterygii; Chordata<br />
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This is a close relative of the leafy sea dragon, albeit smaller and less ornately decorated with leaves. They are slightly more broadly distributed, extending the range to coastal Tasmania as well as southern Australia. Both are considered Near Threatened by the IUCN.<br />
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Spotted wobbegong<br />
<i>Orectolobus maculatus </i>(Bonnaterre, 1788)<br />
Orectolobidae; Orectolobiformes; Chondrichthyes; Chordata<br />
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With a name like 'wobbegong', it must be Australian. And this carpet shark doesn't disappoint on that front. It shares a similar range to the sea dragons, extending further up to the southern Barrier Reef.<br />
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Epaulette shark<br />
<i>Hemiscyllium ocellatum </i>(Bonnaterre, 1788)<br />
Hemiscylliidae; Orectolobiformes; Chondrichthyes; Chordata<br />
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The epaulette shark is named for its rounded eye spots on its shoulder that somewhat resemble military epaulettes. These are probably used for defence. It dwells in very shallow water and is able to cope with the lack of oxygen present in these habitats by shutting down oxygen and nervous supply to non-vital organs.<br />
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Zebra shark<br />
<i>Stegostoma fasciatum </i>(Hermann, 1783)<br />
Stegostomatidae; Orectolobiformes; Chondrichthyes; Chordata<br />
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Looks decidedly un-zebra like, right? It is the young that are black and white and stripy like their namesakes, changing to brown and spotted as the animal matures. They are another kind of carpet shark from the Indo-Pacific oceans, spending a lot of time on the ocean floor. They eat fish, crustaceans, and molluscs, and are altogether very inoffensive animals, making them much loved by aquaria and divers.<br />
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Horn shark<br />
<i>Heterodontus francisci </i>(Girard, 1855)<br />
Heterodontidae; Heterodontiformes; Chondrichthyes; Chordata<br />
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Closely related to the Port Jackson shark, the horn shark is from California and western Mexico. The teeth of horn sharks are quite bizarre and un-shark-like. This is because they are mostly broad and flat, used for crushing the hard exoskeletons of molluscs, starfish, sea urchins, and crustaceans. Despite this, they will bite if provoked, but it is the horn spines that give the animal its name that prevent more of a risk to overzealous divers.<br />
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Swellsharks<br />
<i>Cephaloscyllium ventriosum </i>(Garman, 1880)<br />
Scyliorhinidae; Carcharhiniformes; Chondrichthyes; Chordata<br />
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These small sharks of the eastern Pacific are in the dogfish family, and gain their name from their habit of swelling with water when threatened. The specific epithet, <i>ventriosum</i>, meaning "big belly", is also from this fact. They will also bite their tails to form a ring shape, somewhat like the mythical ouroboros. They, as other dogfish, rise to the surface to release air from their stomachs to make them less buoyant. In so doing, they make a barking noise, hence 'dog fish'. Swellsharks were recently found to be biofluorescent; they can produce light which is likely used for individual recognition by these night-active sharks (Sparks <i>et al</i>., 2014, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0083259">available here</a>).<br />
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Spotted ratfish<br />
<i>Hydrolagus colliei </i>(Lay & Bennett, 1839)<br />
Chimaeridae; Chimaeriformes; Chondrichthyes; Chordata<br />
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The ratfish or rabbitfish is a kind of chimaera. In Ancient Greek myth, chimaeras were hybrids of different animals, usually as part lion, part goat, and part snake. Biologically, a chimaera can either be an organism with genetically distinct cells, or a member of the Holocephali - an ancient group of cartilaginous fish related to sharks and rays. The Holocephali extend back to the Devonian period (416 Ma), and are represented now by ratfish, rabbitfish, and other chimaeras. They tend to be somewhat shark-like, with long tails (hence 'ratfish') and large eyes (hence 'rabbitfish'), altogether looking like a hybrid (hence 'chimaera'). The spotted ratfish lives off the coast of the Pacific Northwest of Canada and the U.S.<br />
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Bonnethead<br />
<i>Sphyrna tiburo </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Sphyrnidae; Carcharhiniformes; Chondrichthyes; Chordata<br />
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The bonnethead is a small hammerhead, those sharks with the bizarrely-shaped head. It is found from the southern U.S. to Brazil and Peru, on both sides of Central America. Because of their negative buoyancy (their increased potential to sink), they must keep swimming in order to stay alive, or else oxygen cannot be extracted from the water.<br />
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Spotted jellyfish<br />
<i>Mastigias papua </i>Lesson, 1830<br />
Mastigiidae; Rhizostomeae; Scyphozoa; Cnidaria<br />
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Looking somewhat like a toadstool wearing a skirt, the spotted jellyfish is native to tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. This is one of a few species of jellyfish on display at the Aquarium, under artificial blue light.<br />
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Thanks for staying with me through this aquatic odyssey! Please check out the social media for updates from me, you can catch me on the book of faces <a href="https://www.facebook.com/disillusioned.taxonomist">here</a> and on the twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/subhumanfreak">here</a>. Also, follow Wildlife Articles for more articles from me and many other bloggers around the theme of British wildlife. Next, Toronto Zoo.<br />
<br />mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-5349337294691825832015-04-06T15:17:00.000+01:002015-04-06T15:17:10.870+01:00Kitchener, OntarioIn June and July last year, I visited North America. I stayed for a few days in Ontario, Canada, staying in Kitchener and Toronto, then spent ten days in New York State, staying in Yonkers. I went back home via Kitchener. I went to Canada and the USA to visit friends and relatives, and to see some different easily accessible wildlife, and visit some world class collections of animals.
The following photos were taken in June 2014 in the town of Kitchener, Ontario, by Mo Hassan.<br />
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Adult female (above) and immature (below) American robins</div>
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<i>Turdus migratorius migratorius </i>Linnaeus, 1766</div>
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Turdidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata</div>
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When us Europeans see an American robin, we think "pfff, that's not a robin, that's a thrush!", or something along those lines. American robins <i>are </i>thrushes, that is to say members of the genus <i>Turdus </i>(hehe, <i>turd</i>-us) of the family Turdidae. You can tell when you look at the immature that they are thrushes, the dappled belly turns to bright reddish-brown in males and a more muted shade in females. They only bear a very superficial resemblance to the European robin (<i>Erithacus rubecula</i>), which is itself a flycatcher, but obviously reminded early homesick European settlers of little robin redbreast to name <i>Turdus migratorius </i>after it. Incidentally, there are "robins" in Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, amongst other places, that look enough like the true robin to earn themselves that name. </div>
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Male American goldfinch<br />
<i>Spinus tristis </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Carduelidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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Another bird named for its resemblance to a European relative, the American goldfinch seems to be much more golden than the European goldfinch, <i>Carduelis carduelis</i>. They are now not even deemed to be from the same genus, with the siskins and American goldfinches having been moved to the genus <i>Spinus</i>. The yellow colour is slightly washed out in this photograph, unfortunately it's a little too saturated for my camera to take, as it pecked insect pests off the chard.<br />
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Male northern cardinal<br />
<i>Cardinalis cardinalis </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Cardinalidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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The northern cardinal is a beautiful songster that I always look forward to seeing and hearing whenever I'm in North America. We have no songbirds as vibrant red as this, so it's always a joy to see it singing from the top of a tree. They are named for their resemblance to the scarlet robes of cardinals of the Catholic Church.<br />
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V-marked lady beetle<br />
<i>Neoharmonia venusta </i>(Melsheimer, 1847)<br />
Coccinellidae; Coleoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
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I'm not entirely sure of this ID - please correct if you know better. It looks a lot like the harlequin ladybird (<i>Harmonia axyridis</i>) from East Asia, but lacks any white on the pronotum (neck shield). It's also strange to not call it a lady<b>bird</b>.<br />
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Lyster's eastern chipmunk<br />
<i>Tamias striatus lysteri </i>(Richardson, 1829)<br />
Sciuridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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I saw a few species of squirrel wild in Canada, more of which will follow in the zoo posts. The eastern chipmunk was the most commonly seen of them all. There are about 24 chipmunk species in North America, the vast majority being found in the west and southwest, with only one, the Siberian chipmunk, occurring outside North America.<br />
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Next, Ripleys Aquarium in Toronto.<br />
<br />mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-29695158931440663722015-04-04T17:40:00.000+01:002015-04-04T17:40:05.758+01:00Wildwood TrustThere are a few wildlife parks and zoos that specialise in one sort of animal or habitat or another. Many of these are among my favourite institutions in the UK: I've blogged about <a href="http://www.crocodilesoftheworld.co.uk/">Crocodiles of the World</a> in Oxfordshire (<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/crocodiles-of-world.html">here</a>), which holds over half of the world's crocodilian species. There is <a href="http://www.whf.org.uk/">Wildlife Heritage Foundation</a> in Kent which specialises in wild cats, and of course the nine <a href="http://www.wwt.org.uk/">Wildfowl and Wetland Trust</a> reserves in the UK, which specialise in ducks, geese, swans, screamers, and other water birds and wetland habitats in general. Another favourite is <a href="http://www.highlandwildlifepark.org.uk/">Highland Wildlife Park</a> in the highlands of Scotland which features mostly British and European species as well as those from high latitudes and altitudes, i.e. the poles and mountains.<br />
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There are a small number of collections in a similar vein which specialise in British creatures. Just because we don't have lions and tigers (any more), it doesn't mean the UK lacks interesting, charismatic, and beautiful creatures. I've yet to visit the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey, but I took a visit to <a href="http://www.wildwoodtrust.org/">The Wildwood Trust</a> in Kent last April, and it doesn't disappoint on the front of offering good views of living British species, species that have gone extinct from the UK in historic times, and the odd species from Europe.<br />
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All photographs taken below by Mo Hassan, April 2014, at Wildwood Trust.<br />
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The author not really holding a badger.<br />
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European jay<br />
<i>Garrulus glandarius glandarius </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Corvidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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The jay is Britain's most colourful corvid (member of the crow family), yet one of its shiest. Most people will have seen this bird in wooded areas of parks, noticing the beautiful blue wing patch. I rarely get close enough to wild jays in the UK, so this remains the best photo I have taken of one. The Trust also holds rooks (<i>Corvus frugilegus</i>), magpies (<i>Pica pica</i>), and jackdaws (<i>Coloeus monedula</i>), more commonly seen members of the crow family, the individuals being animals in rehabilitation.<br />
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Scottish wildcat<br />
<i>Felis silvestris grampia </i>Miller, 1907<br />
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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The wildcat is well known in Europe, Africa, and western parts of Asia, and for the most part a relatively common species. It is well known as the wild ancestor of the domestic cat, believed to have been tamed in the Middle East some 10,000 years ago, but not necessarily in Egypt, which is where the domestication is usually thought to have happened, from the African wildcat, <i>Felis silvestris lybica</i>. There is evidence (published by <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/304/5668/259.full?sid=01305f1b-b2dc-4869-8166-cf452f212b8d">Vigne <i>et al</i>.</a> in 2004 in <i>Science</i>) of domesticated cats in Cyprus dating from 9,500 years BP. Wildcats are also native to the UK, but are nowadays threatened with extinction and limited to isolated patches of pine forest in Scotland. They look like a somewhat chubby tabby cat, with greyish-brown fur and a white muzzle and chest patch. However, black individuals are known, and as the gene pool is diluted with genes from domestic cats, other colours are appearing, threatening the future of pure-bred Scottish wildcats.<br />
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Short-eared owl<br />
<i>Asio flammeus flammeus </i>(Pontoppidan, 1763)<br />
Strigidae; Strigiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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There are four native owls in Great Britain: tawny, barn, long-eared, and short-eared, along with the now quite widespread introduced little owl. Of these, I have seen tawny, barn, and little owls in the wild, but never either of the "eared" owls. The long-eared owl looks like a small version of an eagle owl, and is surprisingly small when seen in the flesh. The Wildwood Trust has the other elusive species, the short-eared owl. Although it does indeed have short ear tufts, as can be seen above, usually, the owl keeps these close to its head and does not usually show them. Short-eared owls fly by day but aren't abundant in the UK, despite being found in most continents of the world.<br />
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Eurasian lynx<br />
<i>Lynx lynx </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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There was once a time when this species lived in the UK, not as long ago as we might have thought. Lynx were assumed to have gone extinct in Britain after the end of the last Ice Age, between 10,000 and 4,000 years ago. However, remains of Eurasian lynx from Yorkshire have been carbon dated to around 1550 years BP (<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.960/abstract">Hetherington, Lord & Jacobi, 2006</a>), which works out to 450 AD. For some context, this is the time Anglo-Saxons began to invade the country from mainland Europe; in other words, the Romans may have encountered lynxes when they lived here.<br />
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Eurasian grey wolf<br />
<i>Canis lupus lupus </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Canidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Wolves are also former wild denizens of Great Britain. The last individuals were believed to have survived in Scotland until 1684, and clung on in Ireland until 1786. Wherever wolves coexist with humans, they are usually the losers. Except in the case of the domestic dog, of course a descendant of wild wolves. The species was formerly distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, but has lost much of its range in the United States, Mexico, southern Europe, and Japan, and is threatened in many other former strongholds, such as Canada and Russia. It would be a real shame to lose such a charismatic animal for good.<br />
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European badgers<br />
<i>Meles meles meles </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Mustelidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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I love badgers. Where I live in suburban Hertfordshire, I rarely get to see one alive. Dead ones are aplenty on the trunk roads around here, and I learned more about badgers than from any book or documentary from being able to dissect a large male I found freshly killed on the side of the road back in 2011. The only photo I have of living badgers is of this pair sleeping at the Wildwood Trust. They are members of the weasel family, the largest in the UK, with well-developed scent glands used for defence and communication between individuals. The black and white stripes are believed to be an example of aposematic coloration, a phenomenon well-known in skunks (a not-too-distant relative of badgers), where the animal advertises its unpalatable odour and taste with warning colours like black and white or yellow and black.<br />
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Western polecat<br />
<i>Mustela putorius anglia </i>Pocock, 1936<br />
Mustelidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Britain's other native mustelids (weasels) are the weasel itself, the stoat (or ermine), pine marten, otter, and polecat (the American mink is an introduced predator of water voles). The polecat is well known as the ancestor of the ferret. This is most likely true, but because pretty much all wild polecats from western Europe (the species <i>Mustela putorius</i>) are dark in colour, with the exception of the aposematic mask, it has been hypothesised that another species, the eastern European and Asian steppe polecat (<i>M. eversmanii</i>) is partially responsible for the pale coloration of domesticated ferrets. Polecats were formerly widespread in Great Britain, but are now restricted to Wales and some parts of England.<br />
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Male Reeves' muntjac<br />
<i>Muntiacus reevesi </i>(Ogilby, 1839)<br />
Cervidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Britain has two native deer: the red and the roe. The fallow deer was introduced by the Normans in around the 11th Century from mainland Europe, and is now one of the most widespread and familiar species of deer in the UK. Several others have been introduced over the years, most failing to set up self-sustaining populations outside of deer parks, but the diminutive East Asian Reeves' muntjac has become the most abundant and easily seen deer in southeast England. Males can be distinguished from females by its small antlers, which the female lacks, and they are usually seen in forested habitat, although they often visit gardens.<br />
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Pine marten<br />
<i>Martes martes martes </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Mustelidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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There are stoats, weasels, otters, and mink at the Wildwood Trust although I didn;t manage to see any of these there on my visit. The pine marten is widespread in forests in most of Europe, and can be seen easily when in captivity because it is often active by day. In the wild in Britain, however, it is rare and restricted to Scotland, northern England, Wales, and Ireland, being nowhere common, but they regularly visit feeders in parts of Scotland where it is most easily observed in the wild.<br />
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Wild boar<br />
<i>Sus scrofa scrofa </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Suidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Yet another wild animal which has a domesticated descendant, the wild boar became extinct in Britain in medieval times, despite being a good source of food for the human population of the time. They have been illegally reintroduced several times, with populations roaming parts of the Forest of Dean in western England and Kent/East Sussex in the southeast. I'm often struck by the size of these beasts, they are always bigger than I expect them to be. However, boar might be able to recolonise the UK without our help. An individual managed to reach British shores by swimming from France in 2013 - OK, it didn't reach mainland Great Britain, or even the Isle of Wight, but the island of Alderney which is seven miles from the Normandy coast. The animal was shot because it could potentially be a rabies vector, as Britain is mostly rabies-free. Mostly and not completely, because bats are vectors and can migrate from the continent and thus infect other mammals including humans, although this is as yet unrecorded.<br />
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European elk<br />
<i>Alces alces </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Cervidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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The largest deer in the world is either this guy or the American moose, depending on whose taxonomy you believe. Both were considered the same species just going by different names (confusingly, there are elk in North America too, but a different animal altogether, an animal closer to the red deer of the Old World - the American elk is then known as the wapiti to avoid [or just add to?] the confusion). However, individuals from Europe and most of Asia are considered a different subspecies from those in North America and eastern Russia - the European elk are smaller but as they were the first to be described (by Linnaeus) they keep the name <i>Alces alces</i>, while the moose is called either <i>A. alces americana </i>or <i>A. americana</i>. This is either a cow or young bull, I can't tell. Again, elk were found in Britain until around the time of the last Ice Age.<br />
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Wisent, or European bison<br />
<i>Bison bonasus bonasus </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Bovidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Smaller and more uniform in colour than the American bison or "buffalo", the wisent or European bison is a globally threatened animal that was once widespread throughout Europe. It now remains only in captivity and reintroduced populations. Soon before it became completely extinct, the population being restricted to the Białowieża Forest in Poland, from where all captive and reintroduced populations currently alive have come from. Just like the "beefalo" (a hybrid of American bison and cattle used for lean meat and its increased hardiness compared to cattle), the wisent is sometimes crossed with cattle to produce a żubroń, which can reproduce if female but not if male. To avoid this, they are backcrossed with cattle to produce fertile offspring.<br />
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Grass snake<br />
<i>Natrix natrix </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Colubridae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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The grass snake is one of only three native snakes in the UK, and is the most widespread. It isn't venomous, but if handled or otherwise threatened, it will pretend to be dead, not just by lying still with its tongue sticking out, but also by producing a noxious odour, somewhat similar to garlic, from its cloaca (rear end, basically). You can commonly see these guys at the London Wetland Centre if you know where and when to look, most reliably under tiles or corrugated iron where they will spend most of the day.<br />
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Four-lined snakes</div>
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<i>Elaphe quatuorlineata </i>(Lacépède, 1789)</div>
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Colubridae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</div>
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The four-lined snake is a rat snake found in southern Europe, and has never been native to Britain. The Aesculapian snake (<i>Zamenis longissima</i>), named after the classic symbol of many medical professions, the snake wrapped around a staff, thus derived from the Roman Aesculapius (Greek: Asclepius), god of healing, occurs in a small part of London near Regents Park, after a breeding colony escaped from the zoo. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZJ7DsxgZB64e3ZKhHxNmooVLwJ3w7-7u9535PYbyaNVjmNUXejJXBfuLMrB9cROgAgFhSY0e4-a7vWUup_eY5VCwtperw4e2GmxgGtg4oePfqKegS4c-KLYwKbnyp7374pEIKdBxSmoO/s1600/137-lacerta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZJ7DsxgZB64e3ZKhHxNmooVLwJ3w7-7u9535PYbyaNVjmNUXejJXBfuLMrB9cROgAgFhSY0e4-a7vWUup_eY5VCwtperw4e2GmxgGtg4oePfqKegS4c-KLYwKbnyp7374pEIKdBxSmoO/s1600/137-lacerta.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Male Western green lizard</div>
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<i>Lacerta bilineata </i>Daudin, 1802</div>
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Lacertidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</div>
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Green lizards occur in most of Europe, being replaced by other species of related genera in other surrounding areas. The species was split into two based on genetic differences, the western being native to continental Europe west of the Adriatic Sea, and the eastern from the Balkans to Turkey and Ukraine. The western green lizard also occurs on Jersey in the English Channel, making it a British species (only just), although its native status is under question. The male (told by his green and blue coloration) is warming himself in the lower photo against the black walls of his rather spacious enclosure.<i> </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nAHp_aKrql2sRSVT4gSls4kUzKx7tS5pduBUXyMS5Kgg1X8J3toTWGMo-RH89XaCWRpnJpXRavqkr2qB406OhOzU4eClVu2gex_KujG1_cy3_iVL1rL2Merw6_wX84xUzNYjtpofPOhP/s1600/115-emys.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nAHp_aKrql2sRSVT4gSls4kUzKx7tS5pduBUXyMS5Kgg1X8J3toTWGMo-RH89XaCWRpnJpXRavqkr2qB406OhOzU4eClVu2gex_KujG1_cy3_iVL1rL2Merw6_wX84xUzNYjtpofPOhP/s1600/115-emys.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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European pond turtle<br />
<i>Emys orbicularis </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Emydidae; Testudines; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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This is the terrapin of most of Europe, which sadly never reached the UK since becoming extinct before the Ice Ages. Instead we have feral populations of red-eared sliders (<i>Trachemys elegans scripta</i>) from North America released since the first Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles craze (I know they're supposed to be ninja turtles but I was brought up on Hero turtles so they're Hero turtles, OK?)<br />
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Female adder<br />
<i>Vipera berus </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Viperidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
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The adder is Britain's only venomous snake. I'm not saying it wouldn't be painful, but only the very young, old, and sick need to worry about dying from an adder bite, with only fourteen known fatalities since the late nineteenth century in the UK. Most fatal bites occur on livestock and pets. Male adders have a more contrasting colour pattern than females, but both have the zigzag, and both can occur in black colour morphs, like Rowan Atkinson's historical character.<br />
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Black-crowned night heron<br />
<i>Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Ardeidae; Pelecaniformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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The black-crowned night heron is a very widespread bird, being found on five continents but rarely occurs in Britain as a vagrant from either Europe or North America. It is mostly active at twilight, hence the name, and can usually be distinguished from other herons at a distance by its very long head plumes, unfortunately not visible in this photo (stay tuned for more later though).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1-FfIT02bB3Copa40PbaPJY0PqDHIDKhYxfzxt8x26EMpG8If7IvekNf5wnaB0SE8yGb3Cy86IXrjSg2ux34KlBmnKD8PTWn96yKdhKlfLAsoml4unbgZLd2MCYe6KblffLYcvMB5Hes/s1600/153-egretta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1-FfIT02bB3Copa40PbaPJY0PqDHIDKhYxfzxt8x26EMpG8If7IvekNf5wnaB0SE8yGb3Cy86IXrjSg2ux34KlBmnKD8PTWn96yKdhKlfLAsoml4unbgZLd2MCYe6KblffLYcvMB5Hes/s1600/153-egretta.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Little egret<br />
<i>Egretta garzetta garzetta </i>(Linnaeus, 1766)<br />
Ardeidae; Pelecaniformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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Little egrets used to be rare visitors to Britain until late in the 20th Century when breeding populations began to become established in southern England. Now it is usual for populations to be resident, and I see little egrets at all times of year in Hertfordshire. They are related to the snowy egret (<i>E. thula</i>) of the Americas and are very very similar indeed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6wBe9cTMAZB9JYH5VbiMDsYeDNjDGkpmuB4eZhyUheVCC_qVzMWai1QyIue8pHkR0EAMiZakfXPkcj59DoEhTeNSAzHp4_k2QdP9D1LgYPWPfbzLCyaM5rtlK0kX7lkG8MmiEZmbQr-l/s1600/150-egretta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6wBe9cTMAZB9JYH5VbiMDsYeDNjDGkpmuB4eZhyUheVCC_qVzMWai1QyIue8pHkR0EAMiZakfXPkcj59DoEhTeNSAzHp4_k2QdP9D1LgYPWPfbzLCyaM5rtlK0kX7lkG8MmiEZmbQr-l/s1600/150-egretta.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hybrid of black-crowned night heron and little egret<br />
<i>Nycticorax nycticorax </i>x <i>Egretta garzetta</i><br />
Ardeidae; Pelecaniformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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There is one odd individual at Wildwood Trust that appears to be a hybrid between the night heron and the egret, as the two species share an aviary. Although in different genera, they seem to be able to produce a cross-species hybrid, which shares some of the characteristics of each parent: note the long white head plume of <i>Nycticorax </i>and mottled body plumage somewhere inbetween night heron grey and egret white.<br />
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Edible or fat dormouse<br />
<i>Glis glis </i>(Linnaeus, 1766)<br />
Gliridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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I don't like either of this guy's common names: OK, the ancient Romans used to fatten <i>Glis glis </i>and eat them, but it's such a cute creature it deserves something a little less offensive to it. It occasionally goes by its scientific name, something that just means "dormouse" in Latin, repeated for good measure. The genus name is sometimes quoted as <i>Myoxus</i> but <i>Glis</i> has priority. They look a bit like squirrels and not their close relative the hazel dormouse (<i>Muscardinus avellanarius</i>). The Romans possibly tried to introduce <i>Glis glis</i> to Britain as a food animal, and there are bones of this animal dating to around the time of Roman occupation, but the animals were more likely brought in already killed and smoked for preservation. They were subsequentrly introduced to western Hertfordshire by Sir Walter Rothschild at the beginning of the 20th Century, well, they were believed to have escaped from his home in Tring (now part of the Natural History Museum, London). They are considered pests when they invade houses, becoming noisy during the evenings in the summer months, but is quiet for most of the year because of a long period of hibernation common to both British dormice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOpmh8ZUN3a0UHsrUTPDYfvHPbw7-IdeBfETzzf1AP1m9ytbtDSQSJnqrhpVoUE36vD3oSPzMtvxxBhb-zzbLMHDsq7uK6GtAWhAOTZtg-AwmmGIrpT6O2Ih6Vi4VSquwarmrCqqsaicR/s1600/169-micromys.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOpmh8ZUN3a0UHsrUTPDYfvHPbw7-IdeBfETzzf1AP1m9ytbtDSQSJnqrhpVoUE36vD3oSPzMtvxxBhb-zzbLMHDsq7uK6GtAWhAOTZtg-AwmmGIrpT6O2Ih6Vi4VSquwarmrCqqsaicR/s1600/169-micromys.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Eurasian harvest mouse<br />
<i>Micromys minutus </i>(Pallas, 1771)<br />
Muridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Finally here's the harvest mouse, Europe's smallest rodent, a truly tiny mouse. It is well known for its little grassy nests built up the stems of cultivated grasses.<br />
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You can find Wildwood Trust on Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thewildwoodtrust">here</a> and while you're there you may as well like the page for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/disillusioned.taxonomist">this blog</a> if you haven't already! Updates will be posted there and on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/subhumanfreak">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://plus.google.com/+MoHassan/posts">Google +</a>.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-28118102679144740812015-03-29T19:36:00.001+01:002015-03-29T19:36:42.090+01:00London Zoo part two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Welcome back, here are some more photos taken at London Zoo last April.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvQXJm0RAStWoMQ23fxSJMtieHmwrZx9fD7BJeJp5CCHydfh9cr-L7znIcjtGkYGkE04os7dwZ1PO35V6qxd27joxRdEfpYFyviZZMwpP0FvfVFNV_gZe5bLK158jDZGiPA9uNuqKrUGV/s1600/093-barbarus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvQXJm0RAStWoMQ23fxSJMtieHmwrZx9fD7BJeJp5CCHydfh9cr-L7znIcjtGkYGkE04os7dwZ1PO35V6qxd27joxRdEfpYFyviZZMwpP0FvfVFNV_gZe5bLK158jDZGiPA9uNuqKrUGV/s1600/093-barbarus.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Atlantic mudskipper<br />
<i>Periophthalmus barbarus </i>(Linnaeus, 1766)<br />
Gobiidae; Perciformes; Actinopterygii; Chordata<br />
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Made famous by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t4sdgvy-pk">that Guinness advert</a>, which makes out we all came from mudskippers, which is obviously not true. Mudskippers are specialised gobies that live in tropical mangroves, where water level fluctuates throughout the day, often leaving these fish stranded on land. They can "skip" using their pectoral fins, swimming using the tail, and although they lack lungs, they can absorb oxygen through wet skin and mucous membranes (e.g. mouth).<br />
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Sexy shrimp<br />
<i>Thor amboinensis </i>(de Mann, 1888)<br />
Hippolytidae; Decapoda; Malacostraca; Arthropoda<br />
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Yes, this really <i>is </i>called the sexy shrimp. I really don't know why.<br />
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Grey-headed gull<br />
<i>Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus </i>(Vieillot, 1818)<br />
Laridae; Charadriiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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Closely related to the black-headed gull of Europe and the Bonaparte's gull of North America. This bird seems to be in transition between winter and summer plumage, as its head is still white.<br />
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Male green peafowl<br />
<i>Pavo muticus </i>Linnaeus, 1766<br />
Phasianidae; Galliformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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This male was displaying to his females and a group of school children in the Snowden Aviary. Less well known but in my opinion much prettier than the blue peafowl.<br />
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Malagasy giant jumping rat<br />
<i>Hypogeomys antimena </i>Grandidier, 1869<br />
Nesomyidae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Down in the basement of the Clore Pavilion, in an area formerly known as Moonlight World, can be found some of London Zoo's most unusual inhabitants. Over the years I have seen dasyures, echidnas, and other bizarre mammals in this part of the zoo, and today they still have a few species of nocturnal mammal to excite fans of obscure mammals. The Malagasy giant jumping rat is in a family endemic to Africa and Madagascar, with this species restricted to a tiny patch of forest in western Madagascar, and is classified as Endangered by the IUCN.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZL-Mb7cu7GhR2AEQCI1hB4Yz2VWPJeOKZXkYGGvm8KN_cEnbdQv0VROBmcKwMT4OlK_sCxUomxGxJj8NSoppoDlOtf_kX-x5LfomzWX5Izo7SPatY5qqa8XtBApS2B31_A6e2064GzDvF/s1600/205-loris.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZL-Mb7cu7GhR2AEQCI1hB4Yz2VWPJeOKZXkYGGvm8KN_cEnbdQv0VROBmcKwMT4OlK_sCxUomxGxJj8NSoppoDlOtf_kX-x5LfomzWX5Izo7SPatY5qqa8XtBApS2B31_A6e2064GzDvF/s1600/205-loris.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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North Sri Lanka grey slender loris<br />
<i>Loris lydekkerianus nordicus </i>(Osman Hill, 1933)<br />
Lorisidae; Primates; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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Another unusual inhabitant of the Moonlight World is the slender loris. I'm always wary of using flash photography on animals, especially those in darkened surroundings and with big eyes, but this loris was actually very curious, and came closer to me as I took no more than three photos before moving on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPqSzyxFIDQYBj6Klz9WdUGR096hsSFyLb27brQ7FME27YPuaxYbl1jj0MnYgPLxWtP85ASK8RuFd8vOL_JwDSeQ782Clkgy2UTLadQAHoVZMMNd13llWOQcaSZeIqueRYs8rEQS5fnQ2/s1600/208-hydromys+chrysogaster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPqSzyxFIDQYBj6Klz9WdUGR096hsSFyLb27brQ7FME27YPuaxYbl1jj0MnYgPLxWtP85ASK8RuFd8vOL_JwDSeQ782Clkgy2UTLadQAHoVZMMNd13llWOQcaSZeIqueRYs8rEQS5fnQ2/s1600/208-hydromys+chrysogaster.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Australian water rat<br />
<i>Hydromys chrysogaster </i>Geoffroy, 1804<br />
Muridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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A large aquatic rodent native to Australia and New Guinea, it also goes by the names of beaver rat or rakali.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDtoeijho60tlxpPSQITdRrAMn9NmmzQfdP6DvBiSVKTosn1U7uQYQB4rlhfJaa6c8ftmDHxsrnyghoOy9-UutQdBsiE53pBD138bhOB7Zt__cObqTYQR-IhVzzqNo2CKyy3wmiKI2gvr/s1600/213-moholi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDtoeijho60tlxpPSQITdRrAMn9NmmzQfdP6DvBiSVKTosn1U7uQYQB4rlhfJaa6c8ftmDHxsrnyghoOy9-UutQdBsiE53pBD138bhOB7Zt__cObqTYQR-IhVzzqNo2CKyy3wmiKI2gvr/s1600/213-moholi.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Moholi bushbaby<br />
<i>Galago moholi </i>Smith, 1836<br />
Galagidae; Primates; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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A southern African primate named for the sound of its voice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ra5eR2ZRLPqajqHm37C7je3bc9m8QMMUOebwcmYsTKdlhcezB4p0QPR_Mv-nwbBFza5ZarDS6_s8Cm6sSPY4eC2V1KfiwjNegqTM9SAc9q1zQfCcnk7y6dafZmg4LF3Vtmrvxz-KKH18/s1600/267-pitta+sordida.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ra5eR2ZRLPqajqHm37C7je3bc9m8QMMUOebwcmYsTKdlhcezB4p0QPR_Mv-nwbBFza5ZarDS6_s8Cm6sSPY4eC2V1KfiwjNegqTM9SAc9q1zQfCcnk7y6dafZmg4LF3Vtmrvxz-KKH18/s1600/267-pitta+sordida.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hooded pitta<br />
<i>Pitta sordida </i>(Muller, 1776)<br />
Pittidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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Common emerald dove<br />
<i>Chalcophaps indica </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Columbidae; Columbiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAUICfrAyNuQyl3IthmntGslLqtFOFLwrHWbCvWnnefD-SyfI-3-HKExHog9yCDR4aNo_erIJMfX69wqaAbPo3V988YiHshOgG7NEBYLSavDDk94_lNnj-_f27CRB8u51Y65xhgsymK6R/s1600/290-ploceus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAUICfrAyNuQyl3IthmntGslLqtFOFLwrHWbCvWnnefD-SyfI-3-HKExHog9yCDR4aNo_erIJMfX69wqaAbPo3V988YiHshOgG7NEBYLSavDDk94_lNnj-_f27CRB8u51Y65xhgsymK6R/s1600/290-ploceus.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Male black-necked weaver</div>
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<i>Ploceus nigricollis </i>(Vieillot, 1815)</div>
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Ploceidae; Passeriforms; Aves; Chordata</div>
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These three photos were taken in the Blackburn Pavilion, also known as the Bird House. It was rebuilt in 2008 to feature a walkthrough aviary.<br />
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Sumatran tiger cub<br />
<i>Panthera tigris sumatrae </i>Pocock, 1929<br />
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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This was taken when the tiger cubs at the zoo were only around a month old.,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsarTslT-BgYvH3fQudMq1FR66MbV2ybOaoKtagFS9bYefhegJeS9tX9InCjqUBhdch12tife4JIM0s99t2TYZf8nD0iQ-xoz6k0xLrp-lMemxeLi2wVPHgdUY3UqJA89nRcvjGHUdezNN/s1600/340-episcopus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsarTslT-BgYvH3fQudMq1FR66MbV2ybOaoKtagFS9bYefhegJeS9tX9InCjqUBhdch12tife4JIM0s99t2TYZf8nD0iQ-xoz6k0xLrp-lMemxeLi2wVPHgdUY3UqJA89nRcvjGHUdezNN/s1600/340-episcopus.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Woolly-necked stork<br />
<i>Ciconia episcopus </i>Boddaert, 1783<br />
Ciconiidae; Ciconiiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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Taken at the African Bird Safari walkthrough.<br />
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Bearded pig<br />
<i>Sus barbatus </i>Muller, 1838<br />
Suidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
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A Southeast Asian relative of the wild boar, and a lot bigger than it looks!<br />
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Tawny frogmouth<br />
<i>Podargus strigoides </i>(Latham, 1801)<br />
Podargidae; Caprimulgiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
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This nocturnal owl-like relative of nightjars is found in Australia, and looks very odd from the front.<br />
<br />mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-8888531479728218512015-03-12T17:41:00.000+00:002015-03-12T17:41:59.176+00:00London Zoo - Reptile HouseMy latest visit to London Zoo was in April 2014. I spent a long time in the Reptile House and here are some of the pictures of herpetofauna from that trip.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdKINYAOzeowdl2Xn45Q_oGNsbNckQjlYOJH6vVnbVcAZsP8hhYLDnwEwsgKGQLDooro0cOR-sMdBRaJ2M14BMV-jj8B3iDSgXvvHtSjUAUGAc8d60-GpZxbH_ovYUY7CDOfYwC6DShiy/s1600/003-king+cobra.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdKINYAOzeowdl2Xn45Q_oGNsbNckQjlYOJH6vVnbVcAZsP8hhYLDnwEwsgKGQLDooro0cOR-sMdBRaJ2M14BMV-jj8B3iDSgXvvHtSjUAUGAc8d60-GpZxbH_ovYUY7CDOfYwC6DShiy/s1600/003-king+cobra.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">King cobra</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Ophiophagus hannah </i>(Cantor, 1836)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Elapidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">The longest venomous snake in the world and one of the world's most feared.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1HLzoXKep1iBxFUtZsw48DjSMUf04dYI-InX9VG1WRqNrGFIZKz2HfiODOOuZuAIb-anJtA9kEETQ2j7PxMcx-p5_TW6IgJOXhE9Dd2ozt9_5ZsHWKT3HqeUVIqgf5w4z63SqN9mz1-Y/s1600/008-macraei.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1HLzoXKep1iBxFUtZsw48DjSMUf04dYI-InX9VG1WRqNrGFIZKz2HfiODOOuZuAIb-anJtA9kEETQ2j7PxMcx-p5_TW6IgJOXhE9Dd2ozt9_5ZsHWKT3HqeUVIqgf5w4z63SqN9mz1-Y/s1600/008-macraei.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Blue tree monitor</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Varanus macraei </i>(Böhme & Jacobs, 2001</span><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Varanidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">An unusually coloured species of monitor lizard endemic to the eastern Indonesian island of Batanta. </span></div>
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Rhinoceros viper</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Bitis nasicornis </i>(Shaw, 1792</span><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Viperidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BWJZkGi3MDEPoO3Br0jyau_5FNvBxb_3tftCq5sh3DgNWYxKjiZ3HMyG_44lhIUom8XWe2ax1jd51ykU61BuxNC4WubFgHpQV9y0NC6fROtFcKfvanZZOBG78-jUKUTztIXeepOOS3do/s1600/021-ammodytes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BWJZkGi3MDEPoO3Br0jyau_5FNvBxb_3tftCq5sh3DgNWYxKjiZ3HMyG_44lhIUom8XWe2ax1jd51ykU61BuxNC4WubFgHpQV9y0NC6fROtFcKfvanZZOBG78-jUKUTztIXeepOOS3do/s1600/021-ammodytes.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Long-nosed viper</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Vipera ammodytes </i>(Linnaeus, 1758</span><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Viperidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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Puff adder</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Bitis arietans </i>(Merrem, 1820</span><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Viperidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXI9VloFIjuPichn12H_xXkBDg6Lxk6ntF9U28u_xx5ChVAiyi1njfDnQovYN_GDFu8heNXr_Y-Zf5UC842Bbduc6Mu0KlhVvDMcSpzQntDFaZ6xV1KEPkkUCc6g9JmjhD9XxRfhGZPLDw/s1600/031-suspectum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXI9VloFIjuPichn12H_xXkBDg6Lxk6ntF9U28u_xx5ChVAiyi1njfDnQovYN_GDFu8heNXr_Y-Zf5UC842Bbduc6Mu0KlhVvDMcSpzQntDFaZ6xV1KEPkkUCc6g9JmjhD9XxRfhGZPLDw/s1600/031-suspectum.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Gila monsters</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Heloderma suspectum </i>Cope, 1869</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Helodermatidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">These venomous lizards were mating.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3ME2-X8zOGsuRvj3PSiGZapd23bLPvT9kIMnYtCbd3UAJxGi_7DwUx_H3_Bryzp6TaJ1nhtALI4SWS50UsB7k2-marXXxm8HQ7BRideqjIZdRXwmtU-Nz0P-XoFEdagoOcsraVghnU-X/s1600/046-male+calyptratus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3ME2-X8zOGsuRvj3PSiGZapd23bLPvT9kIMnYtCbd3UAJxGi_7DwUx_H3_Bryzp6TaJ1nhtALI4SWS50UsB7k2-marXXxm8HQ7BRideqjIZdRXwmtU-Nz0P-XoFEdagoOcsraVghnU-X/s1600/046-male+calyptratus.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Male Yemen veiled chameleon</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Chamaeleo calyptratus </i>(Duméril & Bibron, 1851</span><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Chamaeleonidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpsdTCCsfG6FWgUDmfmNPNpkJvlwG3JzkM4d1lOu51GmPGFkDnRnm2imGmOURf0EVqKAUhR1o0czZ9ydp8PRJ3QYTgoHjFuqg3Wx5OjHUbmvjooo-j2Tn0hF5rMqS2yOz6aiUnyNKJCY6/s1600/058-regius.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpsdTCCsfG6FWgUDmfmNPNpkJvlwG3JzkM4d1lOu51GmPGFkDnRnm2imGmOURf0EVqKAUhR1o0czZ9ydp8PRJ3QYTgoHjFuqg3Wx5OjHUbmvjooo-j2Tn0hF5rMqS2yOz6aiUnyNKJCY6/s1600/058-regius.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Royal (or ball) python</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Python regius </i>(Shaw, 1802</span><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Pythonidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTtLjAMkVzg-KXRE1VJHWbXzzlVnIKm6_BPv_fbscEmAuf1bJSSp7jkyNXRytLhvGSo2BUT4t_dt50QESOiBwbQab4NXpWH_RvzdnkULJHWsr3xzzLuxBHLgnjruh8BxTmoyflibtEOLx/s1600/062-bulabula.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTtLjAMkVzg-KXRE1VJHWbXzzlVnIKm6_BPv_fbscEmAuf1bJSSp7jkyNXRytLhvGSo2BUT4t_dt50QESOiBwbQab4NXpWH_RvzdnkULJHWsr3xzzLuxBHLgnjruh8BxTmoyflibtEOLx/s1600/062-bulabula.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Male Fiji iguana</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Brachylophus bulabula </i>Keogh <i>et al</i>., 2008</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Iguanidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">This recently discovered, endangered, bright blue and turquoise iguana is endemic to a few of the islands of Fiji, whose nearest relatives, apart from the other Fijian members of <i>Brachylophus</i>, are from South America.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_UfuelY_xB_G9c-Gzn-EkrPUhhdK4bxL0RHp9dqRr5WXabqmjhHrLoBlQzpQNMyrrzy8PeC8RyebihmXg_Gh8hy4W3TPXEnSc_7mHrYaVFGgV8SRBkEC2appvyshFZxbKWd1xrUdcQcw/s1600/065-annamensis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_UfuelY_xB_G9c-Gzn-EkrPUhhdK4bxL0RHp9dqRr5WXabqmjhHrLoBlQzpQNMyrrzy8PeC8RyebihmXg_Gh8hy4W3TPXEnSc_7mHrYaVFGgV8SRBkEC2appvyshFZxbKWd1xrUdcQcw/s1600/065-annamensis.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Annam leaf turtles</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Mauremys annamensis </i>(Siebenrock, 1903</span><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></div>
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Geoemydidae; Testudines; Sauropsida; Chordata</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDZLBkBmHfrUOo72qV-eHmtbsZKty-tg0VuF6KKzDAhs4uMFCdDHa3PoHwPHUq4cggFf9fFVWrA1_JLGxvpaUwq1Fhj-AzcJkg0gTD0HjVnrR8JZ5u86ej7Sco7r5SdC72Iml9njWMQbY/s1600/068-trioceros.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDZLBkBmHfrUOo72qV-eHmtbsZKty-tg0VuF6KKzDAhs4uMFCdDHa3PoHwPHUq4cggFf9fFVWrA1_JLGxvpaUwq1Fhj-AzcJkg0gTD0HjVnrR8JZ5u86ej7Sco7r5SdC72Iml9njWMQbY/s1600/068-trioceros.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yellow-crested Jackson's chameleon</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Trioceros jacksonii xantholophus </i>(Eason, Ferguson & Hebrard, 1988</span><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Chamaeleonidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DB64LO10x6-d7muFDskx8_h6VtOQhFTc6ELA1yiyXdZ7ECIlgM_EJqxbxURp15PlzYem3gc1cnJ2d7Omna08ORzp4s7owmJthkO7epAYbcyvZjuRrMKxCNpjmCCFrqsnd7AoGK1PuYWQ/s1600/070-dracaena+guianensis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DB64LO10x6-d7muFDskx8_h6VtOQhFTc6ELA1yiyXdZ7ECIlgM_EJqxbxURp15PlzYem3gc1cnJ2d7Omna08ORzp4s7owmJthkO7epAYbcyvZjuRrMKxCNpjmCCFrqsnd7AoGK1PuYWQ/s1600/070-dracaena+guianensis.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Caiman lizard</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Dracaena guianensis </i>(Daudin, 1802</span><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Teiidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfXCRAcyN3FA9ipYQwiuAhRy0OlI3U3Vkh1Nzl2cEHbTjFVsEdWdgODWuNPReWahB4FXFzml12oIdtuYhCS6Zw_5g4TB_6L2Z0sIktsugRz-RGwBNfdlGN13sTbnT7EFaedUd0tBPoanI/s1600/074-radiata.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfXCRAcyN3FA9ipYQwiuAhRy0OlI3U3Vkh1Nzl2cEHbTjFVsEdWdgODWuNPReWahB4FXFzml12oIdtuYhCS6Zw_5g4TB_6L2Z0sIktsugRz-RGwBNfdlGN13sTbnT7EFaedUd0tBPoanI/s1600/074-radiata.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Radiated tortoise</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Astrochelys radiata </i>Shaw, 1802</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Testudinidae; Testudines; Sauropsida; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMhutpuCulAslQ5Ed2PFl-O-N3cA935TBdujuOW-M5gqyn820bB18_Ka_oKQzp13z5yDJnUwcQtdIPA-WcvlRoR4o_PEo-3bnm42FynItAmfCQXbeoGPU0AX-UwB_cOWiqczaRLCy4EcS/s1600/079-xenopus+longipes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMhutpuCulAslQ5Ed2PFl-O-N3cA935TBdujuOW-M5gqyn820bB18_Ka_oKQzp13z5yDJnUwcQtdIPA-WcvlRoR4o_PEo-3bnm42FynItAmfCQXbeoGPU0AX-UwB_cOWiqczaRLCy4EcS/s1600/079-xenopus+longipes.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lake Oku clawed frog</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Xenopus longipes </i>Loumont & Kobel, 1991</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Pipidae; Anura; Amphibia; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqxKaoyKrZQfbVERXA6ZQuSEmfu7-7GXkJzYEUI00jaf3mHJQzAWNkdHKvIIh0szTpw7kC2ELeNk-rzwaM-ooRd7OeuSV_r4v4CdcAxjnVF6nDhzPsgMPKrYF5uEhu2B9_xnCdYT4W0FV/s1600/082-alytes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqxKaoyKrZQfbVERXA6ZQuSEmfu7-7GXkJzYEUI00jaf3mHJQzAWNkdHKvIIh0szTpw7kC2ELeNk-rzwaM-ooRd7OeuSV_r4v4CdcAxjnVF6nDhzPsgMPKrYF5uEhu2B9_xnCdYT4W0FV/s1600/082-alytes.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mallorcan midwife toad tadpole</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>Alytes muletensis </i>(Sanchiz & Adrover, 1977)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Alytidae; Anura; Amphibia; Chordata</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">London Zoo, April 2014</span></div>
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Mammals, birds, and more coming soon.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-54903649803437623512015-03-10T17:29:00.000+00:002015-03-10T17:29:01.076+00:00Paradise Wildlife ParkI've been visiting <a href="https://www.pwpark.com/">Paradise Wildlife Park</a> in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, since I was an ickle kid. It has always been one of my favourite zoos, with some unusual animals you wouldn't usually seen in zoos. It remains the only place where I have seen the very rare <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/photo-of-day-7-owstons-civet.html">Owston's civets</a>, for example.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiHp75pejqM4MicchQtOBWqKniqDdih1JwfRVAgNULpp3nQIGzlXcjwyZ9eoaJg2CdffEmAjFExiVGpek6n1cZ5p9oaGqNoMEbLO40rBmy-i1FTekcyaHBFKWjp8ShRHOEBiyfNjBfL_V/s1600/004-sitta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiHp75pejqM4MicchQtOBWqKniqDdih1JwfRVAgNULpp3nQIGzlXcjwyZ9eoaJg2CdffEmAjFExiVGpek6n1cZ5p9oaGqNoMEbLO40rBmy-i1FTekcyaHBFKWjp8ShRHOEBiyfNjBfL_V/s1600/004-sitta.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Eurasian nuthatch<br />
<i>Sitta europaea caesia </i>Wolf, 1810<br />
Sittidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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The Park is set in woodland, attracting various wild birds. I spotted this nuthatch in the woodland part of the park.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtt9N-6fAkPUHu2ysNgz1Jdly2PdYM26NFOPGj44Su0lhyEi8ErsTuwpxipAiVCo0nVBHaUi2KYexiUb1UoMTEoesdec87lyiuDkwfPb4gVR1gt7nO6iZVfKjwJko6pHIxUPyYTGFnGaXD/s1600/014-swinhoii.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtt9N-6fAkPUHu2ysNgz1Jdly2PdYM26NFOPGj44Su0lhyEi8ErsTuwpxipAiVCo0nVBHaUi2KYexiUb1UoMTEoesdec87lyiuDkwfPb4gVR1gt7nO6iZVfKjwJko6pHIxUPyYTGFnGaXD/s1600/014-swinhoii.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Male Swinhoe's pheasant<br />
<i>Lophura swinhoii </i>(Gould, 1863)<br />
Phasianidae; Galliformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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There is a section of the park called "Birds of Paradise" which doesn't actually include any birds of paradise, but has a collection of birds of prey, parrots, and pheasants, including this beautifully plumaged male Swinhoe's pheasant from Taiwan.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqVuVI5SKkiFNYwuAlm8sN4DIaZCgcNT4RNY28IiaO1l-EolaRqfQfIy-S6TlsnzYq3_ny0LENwb_kzeL2sShAEmDY9pVHMVj89ajn0r3z3Nb21MfscHVJgOFDABvVeMRH0uSJeuc9sz3/s1600/038-trichoglossus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqVuVI5SKkiFNYwuAlm8sN4DIaZCgcNT4RNY28IiaO1l-EolaRqfQfIy-S6TlsnzYq3_ny0LENwb_kzeL2sShAEmDY9pVHMVj89ajn0r3z3Nb21MfscHVJgOFDABvVeMRH0uSJeuc9sz3/s1600/038-trichoglossus.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Swainson's (rainbow) lorikeet<br />
<i>Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus </i>(Gmelin, 1788)<br />
Psittacidae/Psittaculidae; Psittaciformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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There is a walkthrough exhibit of Swainson's lorikeets where you can feed the brush-tongued birds with nectar.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65RpRoQfVWcI6tsyam5QetqOLG9xYncOflFth7VQFeLMkOdMB64ff9NVa5C7lepv9M8C3v-kJku2Zr8ZoH2XOKXTpsgfDlE1L8V6tfiNsurYp6qTvzp-faGH1Ke2RsY2LxBQ9OQ9l4_pd/s1600/055-burrowing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65RpRoQfVWcI6tsyam5QetqOLG9xYncOflFth7VQFeLMkOdMB64ff9NVa5C7lepv9M8C3v-kJku2Zr8ZoH2XOKXTpsgfDlE1L8V6tfiNsurYp6qTvzp-faGH1Ke2RsY2LxBQ9OQ9l4_pd/s1600/055-burrowing.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Burrowing owls<br />
<i>Athene cunicularia</i> (Molina, 1782)<br />
Strigidae; Strigiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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I like the way these two owls appear to look like one in this composition.<br />
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Immature South African cheetah<br />
<i>Acinonyx jubatus jubatus </i>(Schreber, 1775)<br />
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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Paradise has plenty of felids, shared with its specialist spin-off, Wildlife Heritage Foundation, which contains nothing but cats. Between them, they have (and have had) all of the big cat species, several threatened subspecies and varieties (including the white lion), and many small felids like Pallas' cat, ocelot, Geoffroy's cat, and Siberian lynx. The cheetahs here were being trained by keepers, while this photograph was taken, to accept food on cue to facilitate examination.<br />
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Jaguar<br />
<i>Panthera onca </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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The Park itself also has tigers (of unknown race because they were rescued and thus are not part of any breeding programme), a female African leopard, and snow leopards, as well as some beautiful jaguars.<br />
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Oudri's fan-footed gecko<br />
<i>Ptyodactylus oudrii </i>Lataste, 1880<br />
Phyllodactylidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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Chinese alligator<br />
<i>Alligator sinensis </i>Fauvel, 1879<br />
Alligatoridae; Crocodylia; Sauropsida; Chordata<br />
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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Swinhoe's striped squirrel<br />
<i>Tamiops swinhoei </i>(Milne-Edwards, 1874)<br />
Sciuridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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Small mammals kept at the zoo include Asian short-clawed otters, meerkats, pygmy marmoset, red panda, lesser hedgehog tenrec, Egyptian rousettes (a small flying fox), and the chipmunk-like Swinhoe's striped squirrel.<br />
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Corsac fox<br />
<i>Vulpes corsac </i>(Linnaeus, 1766)<br />
Canidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014<br />
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Finally, Paradise also boasts a number of canines, including red and corsac fox, raccoon dog, and Eurasian grey wolves.<br />
<br />mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-53374610300220552622015-03-08T15:25:00.000+00:002015-03-08T15:25:27.515+00:00London Wetland CentreHello readers, here are a few photos taken at WWT London Wetland Centre. I have been working there as a volunteer and casual learning assistant, helping the education team to deliver and devise activities like pond dipping, arts and crafts, and nature walks, for almost four years now. I've mentioned them and features photos taken there in many posts before, including <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/wetland-bonanza.html">wetland bonanza</a>, <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/teals-part-1-photo-special.html">two posts</a> <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/teals-part-2-photo-special.html">on teals</a>, and <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/arctic-wildfowl-photo-special.html">arctic wildfowl</a>. Here are some photos taken at the Wetlands last year.<br />
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Bewick's swan
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<i>Cygnus bewickii </i>(Yarrell, 1838)<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes (captive collections), March 2014<br />
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Radjah shelduck<br />
<i>Tadorna radjah </i>(Lesson, 1828)<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes (captive collections, "Kakadu"), March 2014<br />
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European robin<br />
<i>Erithacus rubecula melophilus </i>Hartert, 1758<br />
Muscicapidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, March 2014<br />
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Grey heron<br />
<i>Ardea cinerea </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Ardeidae; Pelecaniformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, March 2014<br />
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Wasp beetle<br />
<i>Clytus arietis </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Cerambycidae; Coleoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, May 2014<br />
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Vapourer moth caterpillar on bramble leaf (<i>Rubus fruticosus</i>)<br />
<i>Orgyia antiqua </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Lymantriidae; Lepidoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, June 2014<br />
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Blue mint beetle<br />
<i>Chrysolina coerulans </i>(Scriba, 1791)<br />
Chrysomelidae; Coleoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
Wild at WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, May 2014<br />
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This is an invasive species of bright blue beetle native to southern and central Europe but is spreading northwards. It is a pest of mint plants.<br />
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Bee orchid<br />
<i>Ophrys apifera </i>Hudson<br />
Orchidaceae; Asparagales; Liliopsida; Angiospermae<br />
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, May 2014<br />
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Egyptian geese<br />
<i>Alopochen aegyptiacus </i>(Linnaeus, 1766)<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, August 2014<br />
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Next, photos from a trip to Paradise Wildlife Park, a small but interesting zoo in southeast Hertfordshire.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-13485816521212632902015-01-17T15:47:00.000+00:002015-01-17T15:47:23.700+00:00Amwell Nature ReserveI always wanted to live near a wetland nature reserve, and when my family and I moved to Ware from north London, I ended up surrounded by wetlands. <a href="http://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/amwell">Amwell Nature Reserve</a>, owned by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, is only around 3 miles away from my house. It is also a short walking distance from St. Margaret's rail station, or around a mile's walk from Ware rail station, taking you along the scenic River Lee navigation.<br />
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I visit at all times of year, since it is my local patch so to speak. There are photos here from two summers and winters ago, as I haven't gotten round to uploading photos taken in the last six months or so.<br />
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Panoramic view of Amwell Nature Reserve, with my mum, Hattie.<br />
Hertfordshire, May 2014<br />
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Wild red fox<br />
<i>Vulpes vulpes crucigera </i>(Bechstein, 1789)<br />
Canidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2013<br />
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Some mammals to start with. I saw this fox in broad daylight in the fields adjoining the nature reserve, probably taking advantage of the many rabbits that abound in this area.<br />
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Wild Reeves' muntjac<br />
<i>Muntiacus reevesi </i>(Ogilby, 1839)<br />
Cervidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, May 2014<br />
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It's not too unusual to see Reeves' muntjac around in these parts but during the day is unusual (for me at least), and also oddly enough, I think this deer was on an island! The waters around it must be shallow, as the grey heron in the background shows. Reeves' muntjac are not native to the UK, being introduced from China, having escaped into the wild from Woburn and Whipsnade deer parks in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.<br />
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Wild eastern grey squirrel<br />
<i>Sciurus carolinensis </i>Gmelin, 1788<br />
Sciuridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, June 2013<br />
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A grey squirrel at the feeders by the James hide, a great place to see small birds, and some mammals, without disturbing them.<br />
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The author with Konik ponies<br />
<i>Equus caballus </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Equidae; Cetartiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Amwell Nature Reserve, June 2013<br />
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Here I am with two of the reserves Konik ponies, before and after being bitten on the arm by one. When they're not biting bloggers, they are seen grazing the reserve. They are semi-wild, being a breed of domestic horse selected for its similarities to the ancestral tarpan (the now extinct wild horse that gave rise to all domestic horses and ponies). The Koniks are very hardy and not very tame, as evidenced by the bite.<br />
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Female (left) and male northern shoveler<br />
<i>Anas clypeata </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2014<br />
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Male gadwall<br />
<i>Anas strepera </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2014<br />
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Greylag goose<br />
<i>Anser anser anser </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2014<br />
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There are many wildfowl species to be seen at Amwell. Residents include the feral greylag geese that probably descended from farmyard geese (which themselves originally descended from truly wild greylag geese!) and mallards. Gadwalls and shovelers are more common in winter, as are teal, pochard and wigeon.<br />
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Common gull<br />
<i>Larus canus </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Laridae; Charadriiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2014<br />
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Many species of gull congregate on the reserve and its surrounding waters, including black-headed, herring, and lesser black-backed gulls. I rarely see other types, but this common gull was an exception. Despite its name, common gulls are not all that common in southern Britain, preferring northern parts of the country.<br />
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Common tern<br />
<i>Sterna hirundo </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Sternidae; Charadriiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, June 2013<br />
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Common terns are summer visitors to Britain, breeding on shingle islands and artificial tern rafts in fresh water bodies, unlike most other British terns, which are pretty much exclusively coastal. The reserve is absolutely buzzing with common terns in June, being seen over the gravel pits themselves (as this one can be seen bathing in the shallows of), or over the River Lea navigation among the barges.<br />
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Little ringed plover<br />
<i>Charadrius dubius </i>Scopoli, 1786<br />
Charadriidae; Charadriiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, May 2014<br />
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Many wader species can be found at Amwell, common ones including snipe (<i>Gallinago gallinago</i>), redshank (<i>Tringa totanus</i>), and lapwing (<i>Vanellus vanellus</i>). The little ringed plover is a summer visitor to Britain from Africa, being found in gravelly areas like former gravel pits, but are often hard to spot because of their size and awesome camouflage. If it weren't for the yellow eye ring it would have gone unnoticed by me!<br />
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Common moorhen<br />
<i>Gallinula chloropus chloropus </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Rallidae; Gruiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2014<br />
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Juvenile Eurasian coot swimming among mare's tail (<i>Hippuris vulgaris</i>)<br />
<i>Fulica atra atra </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Rallidae; Gruiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, May 2014<br />
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Britain's most common rail species are the common moorhen and Eurasian coot. These birds are often mistaken for ducks because of their shape when seen on the water surface, but their long-toed feet reveal their allies with other rails. Both are found in all sorts of fresh water bodies, from urban park ponds to expansive wetlands. Both start out life as little fluff balls with ginormous feet and colourful faces, with the colour becoming limited to the beak in the moorhen, and turning to white in the coot.<br />
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Grey heron<br />
<i>Ardea cinerea cinerea </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Ardeidae; Pelecaniformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2014<br />
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Semi-submerged grey heron<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, June 2013<br />
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Grey herons are normally very elegant birds, taking fish and other aquatic prey from the water's edge. The heron in the lower photo apparently felt the urge to go right into the pond. I felt concerned for the bird's ability to fly out again, as its feathers would be waterlogged.<br />
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Dunnock<br />
<i>Prunella modularis </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Prunellidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2014<br />
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The dunnock, or hedge sparrow, is a common European accentor, a group of birds endemic to Eurasia that look somewhat like sparrows. It is mainly a ground feeder, preferring not to visit bird tables but to eat crumbs that have fallen from above, which this bird seems to have been doing. I always found them difficult to photograph, as they are fast-moving and prefer darker environments. This was my first opportunity to photograph an otherwise-occupied dunnock.<br />
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Cetti's warbler<br />
<i>Cettia cetti </i>(Temminck, 1820)<br />
Cettiidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2014<br />
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Cetti's warblers are more often heard than seen. Their explosive song can be heard in wetlands mainly in spring and summer but as they are resident, they can be heard, and potentially seen, year-long. I caught this Cetti's warbler completely by chance. I was trying to focus on a wren (<i>Troglodytes troglodytes</i>) that was perched in exactly the same spot, when the wren flew off and was instantly replaced by the Cetti's warbler. My slow reflexes, instead of catching the wren, caught the Cetti's warbler the instant it perched. This was also the day I saw a kingfisher in the same reed bed, but got no decent photographs. Still, the Cetti's warbler was a perfect compromise.<br />
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Sedge warbler<br />
<i>Acrocephalus schoenobaenus </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Acrocephalidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, May 2014<br />
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Sedge warblers are another bird that is more often heard than seen, frequenting British reed beds during the summer. They can be distinguished from the similar reed warbler (<i>A. scirpaceus</i>) by the white supercilium (eye brow).<br />
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Male reed bunting<br />
<i>Emberiza schoeniclus </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Emberizidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2014<br />
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Reed buntings are seen the year round in Britain in reed beds. Males have the black head and chest patch, while females look rather sparrow-like.<br />
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Mayfly<br />
<i>Ephemera danica </i>Müller, 1764<br />
Ephemeridae; Ephemeroptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, May 2014<br />
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Mayflies are known for one thing, unless you're a fisherman or a biologist. Their incredibly short lifespan. This is partly true - as an adult, mayflies last for about a day, maximum two days. They do, however, spend the vast majority of their lives in the water as a nymph. The nymphs have the three cerci (tails) that the adult has, but lack wings, otherwise looking vaguely similar to damselfly nymphs. Before becoming a fully-fledged adult, mayflies go through a winged sexually immature phase known as the subimago. This was the first mayfly I've seen in its adult stage.<br />
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Common scorpionfly<br />
<i>Panorpa communis </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Panorpidae; Mecoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
Wild at Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, June 2013<br />
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One last insect for you, a scorpionfly. The rear portion of its abdomen vaguely resembles a scorpion's tail, but is completely non-venomous. It is a holometabolous insect (one which goes through the life cycle of egg > larva > pupa > adult), never really straying far from the place it pupated.<br />
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Next, the London Wetland Centre.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-36969893453868142492015-01-14T11:37:00.000+00:002015-01-14T11:37:52.309+00:00RSPB The LodgeThe Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is the UK's largest nature conservation charity. Their headquarters is near a town called Sandy in Bedfordshire, which happens to be under an hour's drive from where I live in neighbouring Hertfordshire. The headquarters and its surrounding grounds are known as <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/t/thelodge/">The Lodge</a>, which is what this photo essay is about.<br />
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I first visited The Lodge last February on a cold but sunny day with my mum. I was particularly impressed with one of the hides along the Woodpecker Trail, which I spent hours in, watching countless birds.<br />
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Great spotted woodpeckers (from top: female, male, male in foreground female in background)<br />
<i>Dendrocopos major </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Picidae; Piciformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, February 2014<br />
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Of course I expected to hear woodpeckers prominently at this time of year along the Woodpecker Trail but I didn't expect to see them at such close range. Males are told from females by the small patch of red on the nape of the neck, but are otherwise identical. The great spotted woodpecker is one of only three British woodpeckers (a fourth, the wryneck <i>Jynx torquilla</i> is a rare vagrant) and is easily heard in late winter and throughout spring drumming at trees.<br />
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Stock dove<br />
<i>Columba oenas </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Columbidae; Columbiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, February 2014<br />
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Although quite similar, the stock dove is less of a suburban animal than the wood pigeon. Stock doves are distinguished by the dark iris (making it look 'kinder' than the wood pigeon), lack of white patch on the neck, and no white on the wings. The 'stock' in its name derives from an Old English word meaning a hollow piece of wood, which would be used as 'wood stock' for fires. Although called a dove (as are white feral pigeons), it is most certainly a pigeon.<br />
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Long-tailed tit<br />
<i>Aegithalos caudatus rosaceus </i>Mathews, 1937<br />
Aegithalidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, February 2014<br />
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A long-tailed tit, one of my favourite British birds, looking rather bull-necked.<br />
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Lesser redpoll<br />
<i>Acanthis cabaret </i>Statius Müller, 1776<br />
Fringillidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, February 2014<br />
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Most redpolls are winter finches, spending the summer months at higher latitudes in northern Europe and Greenland. The lesser redpoll, however, is mostly sedentary, with higher numbers being present in winter during particularly cold spells further north. The red 'poll' in its name is referring to the top of the head, which is rosy red.<br />
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Male mallard<br />
<i>Anas platyrhynchos </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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Eastern grey squirrel<br />
<i>Sciurus carolinensis</i> Gmelin, 1788<br />
Sciuridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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European rabbit<br />
<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Leporidae; Lagomorpha; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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Female common blackbird<br />
<i>Turdus merula merula </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Turdidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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I visited again two months later in warmer weather, and the bunnies were abounding. The small pool in front of the hide helped attract thirsty birds and mammals and those in need of a bath.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KjiT3BBGTTVkSD9-TX_rpuN7FHSUmpa_XCyC4vUDFcIROkMPbB6xJxZnXuz0x8-3QA0xQ7oLijDq5zsuPCKzFQ0bAhYDqy3dDrlOLHayprTr8uZygpzfcCxke_1c_lJPNNKCPbL62bI9/s1600/chaffinch+(male)%2B-%2Brspb%2Bthe%2Blodge%2B(wild).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KjiT3BBGTTVkSD9-TX_rpuN7FHSUmpa_XCyC4vUDFcIROkMPbB6xJxZnXuz0x8-3QA0xQ7oLijDq5zsuPCKzFQ0bAhYDqy3dDrlOLHayprTr8uZygpzfcCxke_1c_lJPNNKCPbL62bI9/s1600/chaffinch+(male)%2B-%2Brspb%2Bthe%2Blodge%2B(wild).JPG" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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Male chaffinch<br />
<i>Fringilla coelebs gengleri </i>Kleinschmidt, 1909<br />
Fringillidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGvn_Yl2_BqFPazGDAc2k19nKurxeezRSWkBoE_055uICj611UFTbPicxPJr30MW6G7bYiOjNjzS5QpptQQ_rr0_CrhLC9keXW98tqXb6wPozS-hND-nFCYxEuo93HlahI3IXBhFCcOqs/s1600/european+nuthatch+-+rspb+the+lodge+(wild).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGvn_Yl2_BqFPazGDAc2k19nKurxeezRSWkBoE_055uICj611UFTbPicxPJr30MW6G7bYiOjNjzS5QpptQQ_rr0_CrhLC9keXW98tqXb6wPozS-hND-nFCYxEuo93HlahI3IXBhFCcOqs/s1600/european+nuthatch+-+rspb+the+lodge+(wild).JPG" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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Eurasian nuthatch<br />
<i>Sitta europaea caesia </i>Wolf, 1810<br />
Sittidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcGt1H07tkumaf6WYqoVi6IAlKpfLV92B6254JTwOlDM5xKIS1hFqc8qZgzkbxVgHd2BNezHAVx_AIo1be0bgysBpfx9F28T0YxYU8S-G8rKhuJqoGoH_ws_mtgWF8KrUrLxJwxa5g3EW/s1600/european+goldfinch+-+rspb+the+lodge+(wild).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcGt1H07tkumaf6WYqoVi6IAlKpfLV92B6254JTwOlDM5xKIS1hFqc8qZgzkbxVgHd2BNezHAVx_AIo1be0bgysBpfx9F28T0YxYU8S-G8rKhuJqoGoH_ws_mtgWF8KrUrLxJwxa5g3EW/s1600/european+goldfinch+-+rspb+the+lodge+(wild).JPG" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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European goldfinch<br />
<i>Carduelis carduelis britannica </i>(Hartert, 1903)<br />
Fringillidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvBJ8Hv4nF0JgIcGi69HEsZxrzr4DtlDO5DOwnfDHMy7PS92S4bnSEt5sAYzLvp0zAyWh7Ha1S15bm2vdEhxjXlz6ur189K-tob0DpUxm3qBz8vWzNHK6grmTkY6Zi3P51Jsgw8kAViiM/s1600/eurasian+magpie+-+rspb+the+lodge+(wild).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvBJ8Hv4nF0JgIcGi69HEsZxrzr4DtlDO5DOwnfDHMy7PS92S4bnSEt5sAYzLvp0zAyWh7Ha1S15bm2vdEhxjXlz6ur189K-tob0DpUxm3qBz8vWzNHK6grmTkY6Zi3P51Jsgw8kAViiM/s1600/eurasian+magpie+-+rspb+the+lodge+(wild).JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Eurasian magpie<br />
<i>Pica pica pica </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Picidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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Eurasian robin<br />
<i>Erithacus rubecula melophilus </i>Hartert, 1901<br />
Muscicapidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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Passerines were in abundance, including this odd-looking robin with a few facial feathers missing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszCqA4_WVcK4uqgsWFb7Iw2lx8ZOAU16BL1TyFmb61urgjKKONJ41ZoSDHxnybjlOggMOjerFEExdJXiFqHannFCFNLcZQfAEK0xHkAH50lu4MC9zEd5WBxwKMXaX7XLHLVKNTKU0lPij/s1600/080-pheasant.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszCqA4_WVcK4uqgsWFb7Iw2lx8ZOAU16BL1TyFmb61urgjKKONJ41ZoSDHxnybjlOggMOjerFEExdJXiFqHannFCFNLcZQfAEK0xHkAH50lu4MC9zEd5WBxwKMXaX7XLHLVKNTKU0lPij/s1600/080-pheasant.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Male common pheasant<br />
<i>Phasianus colchicus </i>Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Phasianidae; Galliformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6B55LfBZ9iO-IS4NQaGqL2JBrcCfEVmj3oh0CDpFvDh9NYUIZ-BjiJHqYwhrUS8qkpUpVtWdgXY8sH955Z6AtqXrIuRHf7gO-lDz_Cn68U3xjckPTV4sMQfTywPvnasq4YwHj-ysnTZbX/s1600/077-mallard+pheasant.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6B55LfBZ9iO-IS4NQaGqL2JBrcCfEVmj3oh0CDpFvDh9NYUIZ-BjiJHqYwhrUS8qkpUpVtWdgXY8sH955Z6AtqXrIuRHf7gO-lDz_Cn68U3xjckPTV4sMQfTywPvnasq4YwHj-ysnTZbX/s1600/077-mallard+pheasant.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqmyHgfAIQ6RDwpvDYvRohGiDBb2i28IkPKxoDgYLp4P9BblsiCZ-2Fd1djBzK23yHIhi_o9rXuZRRyOcgvAC6UT5dOtrTDVzrbs_lq2g1ZMxPo8YC0_j7BxI9xJbXqT0YwZouu8cfd9D/s1600/078-mallard+pheasant.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqmyHgfAIQ6RDwpvDYvRohGiDBb2i28IkPKxoDgYLp4P9BblsiCZ-2Fd1djBzK23yHIhi_o9rXuZRRyOcgvAC6UT5dOtrTDVzrbs_lq2g1ZMxPo8YC0_j7BxI9xJbXqT0YwZouu8cfd9D/s1600/078-mallard+pheasant.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Male mallard with male pheasant<br />
Wild at RSPB The Lodge, Bedfordshire, April 2014<br />
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I caught these two Galloanserae in an odd set of poses in front of the hide.<br />
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Next up is Amwell Nature Reserve, my local patch.<br />
<br />mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-15180939476820516232015-01-12T16:15:00.000+00:002015-01-12T16:15:10.773+00:00Kingfishers in HertfordshireI thought I'd resuscitate this blog with some photo essays of memorable places I've been in 2014. The first of these is <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/r/ryemeads/">RSPB Rye Meads</a> in Hoddesdon, east Hertfordshire. I have been visiting this nature reserve since 2006, and since it is my closest RSPB reserve now that I live in east Herts, I visit fairly regularly.<br />
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Rye Meads is a wetland reserve part owned by RSPB and Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, and is close to London, with trains from Liverpool Street stopping at Rye House station, a ten minute (slow) walk away from the reserve.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfi7oMAAOLCdirlaVehoz7HQmyhzjteck0ktar-cUGQJHVXX5Tmn9IA8INUIbyRutUq61nFNjUgmjgpyP4NBuUSelFEQmrG73n780-x8ip6p0KwKRhI80nCBSUekpMrO7aljXkaUCTuhE6/s1600/eurasian+kingfisher+(male)%2B-%2Brspb%2Brye%2Bmeads%2B(wild).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfi7oMAAOLCdirlaVehoz7HQmyhzjteck0ktar-cUGQJHVXX5Tmn9IA8INUIbyRutUq61nFNjUgmjgpyP4NBuUSelFEQmrG73n780-x8ip6p0KwKRhI80nCBSUekpMrO7aljXkaUCTuhE6/s1600/eurasian+kingfisher+(male)%2B-%2Brspb%2Brye%2Bmeads%2B(wild).JPG" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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Male Eurasian kingfisher<br />
<i>Alcedo atthis</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Alcedinidae; Coraciiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB Rye Meads, March 2014<br />
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Rye Meads is most famous for hosting breeding populations of kingfishers. They are easily visible from many hides, most notably the Kingfisher Hide. They can be seen darting back and forth between feeding areas and the nesting site, as the male pictured above was photographed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTu8uKgEJJgLaKn4qeowI8uegDkOopoFuzjO_xvL3dm7gcKn60rJ3MqtQgZ1jWkQk9UK79GoTQ1VNr-m1gHpuyscArt4lM7f6LhfhFHFTZgThxTtdrxSE3TuITZphLI1BQUcJx1yqAiK4/s1600/green+sandpipers+-+rspb+rye+meads+(wild).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTu8uKgEJJgLaKn4qeowI8uegDkOopoFuzjO_xvL3dm7gcKn60rJ3MqtQgZ1jWkQk9UK79GoTQ1VNr-m1gHpuyscArt4lM7f6LhfhFHFTZgThxTtdrxSE3TuITZphLI1BQUcJx1yqAiK4/s1600/green+sandpipers+-+rspb+rye+meads+(wild).JPG" height="242" width="320" /></a></div>
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Green sandpipers<br />
<i>Tringa ochropus</i> Linnaeus, 1758<br />
Scolopacidae; Charadriiformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB Rye Meads, August 2013<br />
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Other birds the reserve attracts include black-necked grebes (<i>Podiceps nigricollis</i>), a nationally scarce breeding bird, and green sandpipers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-EPl0Af3nJPzhlTQ4FRWliPaEQQbsWJGjFUJeB6aw2me1N30y7nJoKbq1uRRNU9XPQ6q6ukC2TpmWzqRvV4_DuzVGPF0vzpsTKVE4STOt67A24a3b3l_g6EPl5SpndCzOC1ZFE_WDqNO/s1600/northern+water+vole+-+rspb+rye+meads+(wild).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-EPl0Af3nJPzhlTQ4FRWliPaEQQbsWJGjFUJeB6aw2me1N30y7nJoKbq1uRRNU9XPQ6q6ukC2TpmWzqRvV4_DuzVGPF0vzpsTKVE4STOt67A24a3b3l_g6EPl5SpndCzOC1ZFE_WDqNO/s1600/northern+water+vole+-+rspb+rye+meads+(wild).JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Northern water vole<br />
<i>Arvicola amphibius</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Cricetidae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata<br />
Wild at RSPB Rye Meads, August 2013<br />
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The most commonly seen mammal in the reserve is the water vole. Water voles, sometimes known affectionately by the name of Ratty, thanks to the character in <i>Wind of the Willows</i>, suffered a severe decline in the UK in recent decades due to introduced American mink (<i>Neovison vison</i>). Thankfully, water voles respond well to reintroduction projects and are now on the increase again. At Rye Meads, voles can easily be seen munching on apples and other food given to them by reserve staff on feeding platforms beneath some of the bridges.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKLT5lLSwgYDyr-ILuwKGUlJN4puB-YScIan4oA4MYBCKIQeolTGCjs8AWkZycc6kpTKcxzNHeLpbj6bseou4vT7XBtvnR4dff30L1v3wXjbcjJhISqy2zRWSI2-zyP5bZbuLeZvQwuOR/s1600/peacock+butterfly+-+rspb+rye+meads+(wild).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKLT5lLSwgYDyr-ILuwKGUlJN4puB-YScIan4oA4MYBCKIQeolTGCjs8AWkZycc6kpTKcxzNHeLpbj6bseou4vT7XBtvnR4dff30L1v3wXjbcjJhISqy2zRWSI2-zyP5bZbuLeZvQwuOR/s1600/peacock+butterfly+-+rspb+rye+meads+(wild).JPG" height="253" width="320" /></a></div>
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Peacock butterfly<br />
<i>Aglais io </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Nymphalidae; Lepidoptera: Insecta; Arthropoda<br />
Wild at RSPB Rye Meads, April 2014<br />
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The summer is a great time to visit, with butterflies and dragonflies in abundance, while winter is great for wintering wildfowl.<br />
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The next article will feature another local RSPB reserve and some pecking piciforms.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-15749365116962180272015-01-04T00:33:00.003+00:002015-01-04T00:33:53.154+00:00I think I hear a heartbeat... IT'S ALIVE!! Hello followers (do I hear an echo?echo?echo?), I have decided to resuscitate this blog, blow off the thick layers of dust, and start semi-regular blogging again as the Disillusioned Taxonomist-turned-vertebrate-palaeontologist-in-training.<br />
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What follows is sort of a "best-of", a few of my proudest blogging moments from the first three years of this blog, then links to all of the quizzes I've held, plus the answers, on various areas of natural history over the years.<br />
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One of my first posts, back in 2008 (when I was 24, holy flipflop!), was a short story about a radioactive theropod. It was good, I still think so! <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/meeting-with-spinosaurus.html">Meeting with a <i>Spinosaurus</i></a><br />
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I blogged about the Natural History Museum later that year, where you can see a young me posing with some stuffed felids. <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/my-favourite-museum.html">My Favourite Museum</a><br />
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After my first visit to Cyprus in 8 years, when I visited the Güzelyurt Museum of Archaeology and Natural History, and reported on some of its more bizarre exhibits. <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/rogue-taxidermy.html">Rogue Taxidermy</a><br />
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In the latter half of 2009, I blogged a series of posts about British wildlife, featuring an A-Z of native extant and extinct animals and one plant. For the letter B, I featured <i>Baryonyx</i>, and included a poem I wrote about my then-favourite dinosaur when I was about 8 years old. <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/british-wildlife-b.html">British Wildlife: B</a><br />
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And one of my favourites, my prehistoric animal alphabet, with 26 fictional creatures shaped like the letters of the alphabet, complete with binomials. <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/prehistoric-animal-alphabet.html">Prehistoric Animal Alphabet</a><br />
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And here are the quizzes:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Test your knowledge of vertebrate skulls with <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/caption-contest-winners-cranial.html">Cranial Challenge</a> (answers <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/answers-to-cranial-challenge.html">here</a>);</li>
<li>Fun tetrapod themed <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/its-puzzle-time.html">riddles</a> (answers <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/answers-to-its-puzzle-time.html">here</a>);</li>
<li>I asked you to have a go at identifying <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/whats-birdy.html">this unusual bird</a> (answer <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/naked-headed-dandruff.html">here</a>);</li>
<li>A series of unusual mammal skulls, <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/guess-skull.html">here</a>, <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/its-tenrec-and-guess-skull-ii.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/ganges-river-dolphin-and-guess-skull.html">here </a>(answers <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/its-tenrec-and-guess-skull-ii.html">here</a>, <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/ganges-river-dolphin-and-guess-skull.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/its-shrew-opossum.html">here </a>- the answers are in the same post as some of the questions so try to view them in order to avoid spoilers);</li>
<li>A different quiz, <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/whats-connection.html">guess the connection</a> (answer <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/connection-is.html">here</a>);</li>
<li>No, it's not a fossilised belt, but <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/what-hell-is-it.html">what is it?</a> (answer <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/answer-is.html">here</a>);</li>
<li>More skulls, this time of <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/guess-skull-quiz.html">mammals</a> (answer <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/finally-some-answers.html">here</a>);</li>
<li>A <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/what-on-earth.html">reptilian close-up</a> (answer <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/crocodile-lizard-and-more.html">here</a>);</li>
<li><a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/whose-foot.html">Whose foot?</a> (answer <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/and-foot-belongs-to.html">here</a>);</li>
<li>A <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/celebrity-plant-quiz.html">celebrity plant quiz</a> (answers <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/celebrity-plant-quiz-answers.html">here</a>);</li>
<li>And everyone's favourite wildfowl quiz, <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/whats-that-gosling.html">Name That Gosling!</a> (answer <a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/whats-that-gosling-revealed.html">here</a>).</li>
</ul>
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I hope I still have a few readers, in which case, thanks for reading, and a Happy New Year to all!<br />
<br />mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-21507836103328251922013-07-15T14:46:00.001+01:002013-07-15T14:46:19.730+01:00Flickr listsI have recently updated my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67175584@N00/">Flickr photograph portfolio</a>, featuring >2,000 photographs of animals and plants. <br />
<br />
I was originally going to post a number of long lists here, but they are very long and dry, but if anybody wants them, let me know and I can send them by email. I have listed the links to individual photographs by common name in alphabetical order, scientific name in alphabetical order, and in a phylogenetic order. If there is a request for a list of photos from a particular place, e.g. London Wetland Centre, or Cyprus, I can easily make one of those. I realise these lists of photos would be useful to anyone looking for a photo to use in a publication, on a web page, or any other educational use. mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-23047206064341073352013-03-29T12:40:00.000+00:002013-03-29T12:40:39.403+00:00Flickr photography portfolioHey all,<br />
<br />
I have created a portfolio of my wildlife photography shots over the years, now on Flickr.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67175584@N00/">Flickr photostream</a><br />
<br />
There are currently around 1800 photographs in there of animals and plants, wild and captive, taken in the UK, Europe, Cyprus, and the US. I have created sets for broad taxonomic groups, orders of tetrapod, continent of origin, and conservation status. Any suggestions for more tags or sets welcome.<br />
<br />
I cannot guarantee everything is correctly identified, so any well-informed suggestions for taxonomy and identification are also welcome.<br />
<br />
I will also add selected art pieces in due course.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-57102256834103951912013-01-01T19:47:00.001+00:002013-01-01T19:47:32.254+00:00Blue-and-gold Macaw<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-_CoLAlkAi80Tu4CmrfbsGLSKa2RLYhAsWBmnhkpmVoAvKSop13ME5JpcyIhFtMeR18_kF3TZh10CEa5BJFtsprUlnLuYrpneysyx_grhyNMiu4EmskR6AUbKeAIrV5hbY-FBlaMrZI3/s1600/blue-and-gold+macaw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-_CoLAlkAi80Tu4CmrfbsGLSKa2RLYhAsWBmnhkpmVoAvKSop13ME5JpcyIhFtMeR18_kF3TZh10CEa5BJFtsprUlnLuYrpneysyx_grhyNMiu4EmskR6AUbKeAIrV5hbY-FBlaMrZI3/s320/blue-and-gold+macaw.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Blue-and-gold macaw<br />
<i>Ara ararauna </i>(Linnaeus, 1758)<br />
Psittacidae; Psittaciformes; Aves; Chordata<br />
Digital painting created using ArtRage 3.5.4 Studio Pro<br />
January 2013<br />
<br />
A tropical start to 2013! A happy new year to all.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-88119068765635080852012-12-03T19:23:00.006+00:002012-12-03T19:24:42.727+00:00Penguins of the World<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgM1FFa4xzovqwnl9a3c5TQnEKcWTzeik_F24LOfUAvhGP5cotDsWBITYABRsQv2-94V8tzSy58rQLEIl2s4xlhlOc-K7xQGQQ4hjeAMZKUhNyWYi7QCLb33bL12yU1P_RX3o17VUKh_9/s1600/penguins.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgM1FFa4xzovqwnl9a3c5TQnEKcWTzeik_F24LOfUAvhGP5cotDsWBITYABRsQv2-94V8tzSy58rQLEIl2s4xlhlOc-K7xQGQQ4hjeAMZKUhNyWYi7QCLb33bL12yU1P_RX3o17VUKh_9/s320/penguins.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penguins of the World<br />
Digital art created using Artrage 3.5.4 Studio Pro, using original pencil illustrations first published on this blog in 2008<br />
November to December 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I have been inactive on this blog of late. I am still creating artwork, as can be seen here. Here are the eighteen species of penguin in existence, ranging in size from the emperor to the little blue, and extending in distribution from the Equator to within a few degrees of the South Pole, and on four southern continents. I have blogged about the Spheniscidae in more detail some years back, with posts on all species as linked to below:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/emperor-king-penguins.html">Emperor Penguin and King Penguin</a><br />
<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/adlie-chinstrap-penguins.html">Adélie Penguin and Chinstrap Penguin</a><br />
<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/gentoo-yellow-eyed-penguins.html">Gentoo Penguin and Yellow-eyed Penguin</a><br />
<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/northern-southern-rockhopper-penguins.html">Northern Rockhopper Penguin and Southern Rockhopper Penguin</a><br />
<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/erect-crested-fiordland-crested.html">Erect-crested Penguin and Fiordland Crested Penguin</a><br />
<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/macaroni-royal-penguins.html">Macaroni Penguin and Royal Penguin</a><br />
<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/snares-crested-little-blue-penguins.html">Snares Crested Penguin and Little Blue Penguin</a><br />
<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/jackass-galapagos-penguins.html">Jackass Penguin and Galapagos Penguin</a><br />
<a href="http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/magellanic-humboldt-penguins.html">Magellanic Penguin and Humboldt Penguin</a><br />
<br />mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-89103781832065089672012-05-22T10:58:00.000+01:002012-05-22T10:58:19.644+01:00What's that gosling?... revealedIt's a Hawaiian goose, or nene, gosling.
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrmZpVyYeDBKYJj_5AUiCQU9nzmHCpDA894pqJ1bcJp1qXPai_aHDAccE8Lt-A7IDv6XBVHwFcSq7dpYu-7ypRyIhuYTuENzEC62-xh6vLKt2mw10pMQhOrLYSxieZXMXnZYRQAzfSLCL/s1600/14-nenes.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrmZpVyYeDBKYJj_5AUiCQU9nzmHCpDA894pqJ1bcJp1qXPai_aHDAccE8Lt-A7IDv6XBVHwFcSq7dpYu-7ypRyIhuYTuENzEC62-xh6vLKt2mw10pMQhOrLYSxieZXMXnZYRQAzfSLCL/s320/14-nenes.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
Hawaiian goose with gosling <br />
<i>Branta sandvicensis</i> (Vigors, 1833)
<br />
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
<br />
London Wetland Centre
<br />
April 2012
<br />
<br />
The hint in the photo was the half-webbed, or semipalmate, feet. The goslings are growing fast and are as of yesterday almost the same size as their parents.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-6939341744318000692012-05-22T10:37:00.000+01:002012-05-22T10:37:14.756+01:00Why I'm NOT boycotting Eurovision 2012I don’t normally make a habit of using this blog as a
platform for my political opinion (in fact this might be the first time, I can’t
remember), but since I feel quite strongly about human rights, LGBT rights, and
camp pan-European song contests, I will make an exception to explain why I won’t
be boycotting the 57th Eurovision Song Contest which takes place this Saturday
in Baku.
<br />
<br />
Until I watched <i><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01j8hf1">Panorama: Eurovision’s Dirty Secret</a></i>, an excellent piece of investigative journalism by the BBC, last night, I was quite ignorant of the plight of the Azeri people, especially those who speak out against the corrupt government. Journalist Paul Kenyon interviewed several protesters who were horrifically treated and have had to seek exile in order to avoid even worse torture. Despite legalising
homosexuality in 2001, same sex unions are still not recognised, and many Azeri
people feel uncomfortable being openly gay due to the threat of persecution. Several
European countries have officially boycotted the event: Armenia, a long time foe of the neighbouring Azerbaijan, has pulled out altogether, as has Poland. So why am I still watching?
<br />
<br />
Until I came out as gay two years ago, I never admitted to enjoying watching the song contest, as doing so would have most likely automatically outed me. I watch for several reasons:<br />
<ul>
<li>guessing to whom each country will give twelve points/<i>douze points</i> and no points/<i>nul points</i>; </li>
<li>to laugh at the ridiculous costumes; </li>
<li>to make derisive tweets about the representatives each country chooses to give the vote results; </li>
<li>to laugh at Graham Norton’s comments on said representatives; </li>
<li>to root Turkey and the UK on; </li>
<li>and to have something to talk about for the next few weeks because even if you’re European and don’t watch it, you know someone who does and most likely have an opinion on it anyway. </li>
</ul>
So why deprive myself of this multi-level enjoyment only to be heard by no-one? There are more productive ways to get heard: blogging about it is a start, as is signing a petition (such as <a href="http://azerbaijanpetition.org/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/show-your-solidarity-and-support-human-rights-in-azerbaijan">here</a>) to the Azeri government or to your own government, pleading to them to stop the unjust treatment of dissidents or the economic/ political support of a nation that allows this to happen.<br />
<br />
Comments welcome as usual. Tell me, will you be watching
this year?mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-62723211562988377782012-04-29T18:20:00.000+01:002012-04-29T18:20:11.164+01:00What's that gosling?Hey readers, long time no blog I know... there should be some nice new material appearing on this patch of cyberspace in the next few months [if I can be arsed]. Well, for now, here's a photo of a cute ickle gosling. Anyone able to identify the species and/or breed? Comments here or via the social network site of your choice.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQLOPrrLUag1GULtp8gkFFf954qIk2YKq7PND2qpwoIwKQXsfGYj8whKx5AJ9URbtAXyBq08-f_LRLIJU56diXDr83yir0QU2CIjLGyOXSTx2vz6dzJQvtRbS-32altGM6rwkDFhHEhjY/s1600/what%2527sthatgosling.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQLOPrrLUag1GULtp8gkFFf954qIk2YKq7PND2qpwoIwKQXsfGYj8whKx5AJ9URbtAXyBq08-f_LRLIJU56diXDr83yir0QU2CIjLGyOXSTx2vz6dzJQvtRbS-32altGM6rwkDFhHEhjY/s320/what%2527sthatgosling.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
Bonus picture, here's a gorgeous lapwing.
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo2T_8XZIPnys1Tm1Jotbv6Sswj4X-RyhR9Gv7P24tAltY6Y6R59Ic1hORHwDlyuvlgegaMQ6sZFPNFcDLo5Q0ruYQpz5kjuy_umA4YiiPx4n5BfZrGG_aBekMWm5gijwjOSSLR_t9EZi/s1600/50-vanellus.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo2T_8XZIPnys1Tm1Jotbv6Sswj4X-RyhR9Gv7P24tAltY6Y6R59Ic1hORHwDlyuvlgegaMQ6sZFPNFcDLo5Q0ruYQpz5kjuy_umA4YiiPx4n5BfZrGG_aBekMWm5gijwjOSSLR_t9EZi/s320/50-vanellus.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
Northern lapwing <br />
<i>Vanellus vanellus</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)
<br />
Charadriidae; Charadriiformes; Aves; Chordata
<br />
London Wetland Centre
<br />
April 2012mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-2284395685209256182012-01-29T12:24:00.000+00:002012-01-29T12:24:16.911+00:00Sapphire, 1996-2012<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV9KihslzuX74gCNZHCrNS1kHdGFNJYntWl-idpqwJKkwG_862TW2A7_r8dUFx20OL46TV7RTDoOhklJo12Jh8ASkuNm5VnZvBBfgJXD0ZBbCwLJVxdAMkW8_IYLajdBAxIFR2dvB41Pok/s1600/sapphire.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV9KihslzuX74gCNZHCrNS1kHdGFNJYntWl-idpqwJKkwG_862TW2A7_r8dUFx20OL46TV7RTDoOhklJo12Jh8ASkuNm5VnZvBBfgJXD0ZBbCwLJVxdAMkW8_IYLajdBAxIFR2dvB41Pok/s320/sapphire.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>Sapphire</i><br />
Digital painting created using ArtRage 3.0<br />
January 2012<br />
<br />
At ten past six in the evening on Wednesday 25th January, my darling Sapphire was euthanized at the age of 15 years and 8 months. In his last few months we’d noticed him becoming slower in his movements and that he’d been losing weight. In the last week, he seemed to have lost all feeling in his right hind leg. The vet, after detecting a lump in his abdomen which was causing him pain, decided his prognosis was poor due to his age and the likelihood that the lump was cancerous and most probably inoperable. He will always be remembered for his extreme affection, especially in his later years, and his funny ways. Here follows a biography I wrote about Sapphire back in 2008 on this blog:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLH0kyAJDRgQM5uQUrt8veoEs1sICBPz9duvq3L0vOT4Sl4WQa6KoVwoT8ImRYL4SRRXlgze1AnLIc71HFLhkqAAR4APmIHAgaDIoLgHAiKhn5fHMiwXQbQjvaT9b_bupl4pUKHJUCVioS/s1600/36-sapphire.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLH0kyAJDRgQM5uQUrt8veoEs1sICBPz9duvq3L0vOT4Sl4WQa6KoVwoT8ImRYL4SRRXlgze1AnLIc71HFLhkqAAR4APmIHAgaDIoLgHAiKhn5fHMiwXQbQjvaT9b_bupl4pUKHJUCVioS/s320/36-sapphire.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
“Sapphire is a big neutered male 12 year old shorthair cat we have had since he was 2 months old. Scarlett and Saff (as he is known for short, or Saffy) have never liked each other, and pretty much can't stand being in the same room together, except if it's a big room. He is the greediest of the three cats and eats more than his fair share.<br />
<br />
He hasn't had as many misadventures in his life as Scarlett, for example, he's never been pregnant, but has had poor health over the last few years to with the bladder, and is slightly overweight so he is on a diet (less food less often). Once his collar got stuck in his mouth, and we thought he broke his jaw. The name comes from the fact that his eyes were once blue but turned greeny.<br />
<br />
Saff's funny habits include preference for paper above plush carpet to sleep on, peeing in the bath, sleeping near the toilet, dribbling while he "kneads", sleeping with his head in people's slippers, sounds like ET when he's unhappy. His favourite human food is carrots, and likes playing ice hockey with carrot tops in the kitchen, and also likes food meant for other animals, such as algae-based catfish food.”<br />
<br />
Since I wrote that, I also wrote this, which appeared in the “blook” I self-published a couple of years back:<br />
<br />
“Sapphire is now a world-famous racecar driver, and has brought out a range of fragrances for men and women called <i>Essence</i>. He’s also become very affectionate of late, and will sit on anybody’s lap.”<br />
<br />
Here are a few photographs from throughout Sapphire's life:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclhvkAig3R8hFprC1z_pic5IR715M2KfRFrhU8Db5vm8POvKvnchS94-qLb-CY65hiJjh5-sYTTyw8y1oCe8WOGUQr2jfs3oH0M-IukAe7zPTU3GcPZOw3L0-QJArbXWA-4rsDPya5dCF/s1600/saf+barbecue.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclhvkAig3R8hFprC1z_pic5IR715M2KfRFrhU8Db5vm8POvKvnchS94-qLb-CY65hiJjh5-sYTTyw8y1oCe8WOGUQr2jfs3oH0M-IukAe7zPTU3GcPZOw3L0-QJArbXWA-4rsDPya5dCF/s320/saf+barbecue.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire sheltering from the rain under the barbecue<br />
2002<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOtCeQeWXMmKHIOXuKQX7jqKHYBYHf4x-KSm5y2i9mLkgNJl5GEIo0EBOdTLW1_bPuXpQGzG1ttjlQmXzwCgFTFIWfe4IWpPEQ2-lXWDndESLWbDSJ3Ihf9A7MaOPcJY8HXrjRAh1ZHrG/s1600/saf+blue+carpet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOtCeQeWXMmKHIOXuKQX7jqKHYBYHf4x-KSm5y2i9mLkgNJl5GEIo0EBOdTLW1_bPuXpQGzG1ttjlQmXzwCgFTFIWfe4IWpPEQ2-lXWDndESLWbDSJ3Ihf9A7MaOPcJY8HXrjRAh1ZHrG/s320/saf+blue+carpet.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire lying on my newly-fitted bedroom carpet<br />
c. 2000<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYpUit2_TvrusuZl4gqZfxFNzzV2hLRB20V_FHceRUCPn2o-K-wRDevq1-sud0ZYLMvm3eJzvXmrtG0xks1fLtkoBQ0rTZlwy19lAgHrX2dgiSW_KK11ougABwhfyxSU9KaGoWtDD3hqj/s1600/saf+geraniums.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYpUit2_TvrusuZl4gqZfxFNzzV2hLRB20V_FHceRUCPn2o-K-wRDevq1-sud0ZYLMvm3eJzvXmrtG0xks1fLtkoBQ0rTZlwy19lAgHrX2dgiSW_KK11ougABwhfyxSU9KaGoWtDD3hqj/s320/saf+geraniums.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire as a kitten<br />
1996<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOf1zIA_U2BWiUkysDAqLPWJBROAJbrKh1bagQGLNML9wf_HWZnANthrB4PG9TYWIKMF78OE1Sda1-x82W58MYRD5tNg4B8Z4pHiKl_mrHA-PJ6XlbQAqIONBj06S-fOxZjX3cCnqOWzN/s1600/saf+let+me+in.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOf1zIA_U2BWiUkysDAqLPWJBROAJbrKh1bagQGLNML9wf_HWZnANthrB4PG9TYWIKMF78OE1Sda1-x82W58MYRD5tNg4B8Z4pHiKl_mrHA-PJ6XlbQAqIONBj06S-fOxZjX3cCnqOWzN/s320/saf+let+me+in.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire letting us know he wants to come in!<br />
c. 2000<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_O3AqqKy_m5msu8IrhoB3BALqkZHTvb-LE8Tb_pMumNI9tH8bz1dO2sNREVVfPhOknk_yHO-a3W0Uhv7d9Bifq3pH5BgKsgD7vC6n4FYdniI0b0IAZUVRCzhBp4wDCSsJuuJIx74VVjI/s1600/saf+lounging.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_O3AqqKy_m5msu8IrhoB3BALqkZHTvb-LE8Tb_pMumNI9tH8bz1dO2sNREVVfPhOknk_yHO-a3W0Uhv7d9Bifq3pH5BgKsgD7vC6n4FYdniI0b0IAZUVRCzhBp4wDCSsJuuJIx74VVjI/s320/saf+lounging.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire having a roll around in the garden<br />
c.2003<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3YuKZx4H_F1X9PTsqCljVRRl1y9w3OKSiVKnbnzSa_tDELv1AvEKc0zusMc_HYtz_oDqipAKLL6g2XOW_khuCM-RsyAUhan1L8jxNayG8RJh_TT1UQpjZIF05_t3iH0nveTLyZh4PKlI/s1600/saf+red+bed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3YuKZx4H_F1X9PTsqCljVRRl1y9w3OKSiVKnbnzSa_tDELv1AvEKc0zusMc_HYtz_oDqipAKLL6g2XOW_khuCM-RsyAUhan1L8jxNayG8RJh_TT1UQpjZIF05_t3iH0nveTLyZh4PKlI/s320/saf+red+bed.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire lying in a basket<br />
c. 2003<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictH9xrCMXT1AiAv3HUnA6RDfSCExn5YjJgzvB08GSTuJ6HPJZNJHMgfI4MfHfMtNqTbOxDvRx7I7vxVTm3gWsoUUepAELJ9OTFxvXeBL5OVUOQn4_uBPFtZ0Ca-SUTyrFA_n2vJhnqQFa/s1600/saf+sprawl.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictH9xrCMXT1AiAv3HUnA6RDfSCExn5YjJgzvB08GSTuJ6HPJZNJHMgfI4MfHfMtNqTbOxDvRx7I7vxVTm3gWsoUUepAELJ9OTFxvXeBL5OVUOQn4_uBPFtZ0Ca-SUTyrFA_n2vJhnqQFa/s320/saf+sprawl.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire as a kitten<br />
1996<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRj7gbc5rT4BztAr1e3AXiPzyyNxKo3b2O2vQMqzOY4JE1cSE7gjLto7oeQBUdSj-R2RbfMmCCpV2Goe2AZqWZRs3KkSk2Gcz3AN4Fp3k15TR0Z7RvOtZWZfOjAcnRTsOJsmYyHEnFtog/s1600/saf+watermelon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRj7gbc5rT4BztAr1e3AXiPzyyNxKo3b2O2vQMqzOY4JE1cSE7gjLto7oeQBUdSj-R2RbfMmCCpV2Goe2AZqWZRs3KkSk2Gcz3AN4Fp3k15TR0Z7RvOtZWZfOjAcnRTsOJsmYyHEnFtog/s320/saf+watermelon.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire waiting for dinner<br />
2000<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkngIeqd5rbmtrIWF39zF9iH9KrI3qqZYVYtcNmVwo1bFhv3OP2IAm3HeXubOY6i4kwHQ-eiS50WsuRRzt8KVR3L5E-lf9_1JToZpYJQwaT5_wg0tuOnCSN3avUJbf_Jiqhx1puNspsEM/s1600/saff+on+the+pouffe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkngIeqd5rbmtrIWF39zF9iH9KrI3qqZYVYtcNmVwo1bFhv3OP2IAm3HeXubOY6i4kwHQ-eiS50WsuRRzt8KVR3L5E-lf9_1JToZpYJQwaT5_wg0tuOnCSN3avUJbf_Jiqhx1puNspsEM/s320/saff+on+the+pouffe.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire resting on one of his favourite spots<br />
2005<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPizDJRHYpFEwIOWFlS0P9xOxYam56cZMju5gGOK3aSoJzl-i6A3gDTXVPFc3dfzU74CZ856uKQDCOEzwcIWvbMLLEDoqc4elkoUErTCe2zVjJQ0RqRlSvBSdBOQN9O6-DDU12s-hN8WZx/s1600/01-saff+and+the+remote+control.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPizDJRHYpFEwIOWFlS0P9xOxYam56cZMju5gGOK3aSoJzl-i6A3gDTXVPFc3dfzU74CZ856uKQDCOEzwcIWvbMLLEDoqc4elkoUErTCe2zVjJQ0RqRlSvBSdBOQN9O6-DDU12s-hN8WZx/s320/01-saff+and+the+remote+control.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire on my bed<br />
2005<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiadP6qrBwWVasKP93a1Tjl_X8b9Ze1CcUfiwLEo41Bqf5eOB4v1tX5TeJR3CYQXpqIaWOj-bRyMmSiaSS9hMNZzjrP1ubxQ6aDWUkZwJow193J4XU7L8y_wVmwB-oqsvB7hoboADPCOcn/s1600/04-sapphire+and+dolly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiadP6qrBwWVasKP93a1Tjl_X8b9Ze1CcUfiwLEo41Bqf5eOB4v1tX5TeJR3CYQXpqIaWOj-bRyMmSiaSS9hMNZzjrP1ubxQ6aDWUkZwJow193J4XU7L8y_wVmwB-oqsvB7hoboADPCOcn/s320/04-sapphire+and+dolly.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire and Dolly on my bed<br />
2005<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDMPyXuOEhH7-HG363rfidrewoehY0FhXz-4ZW0NU3_0W1dfCLD4Yw8Hy-GMfQTWVRWDWkWekxpOpglmx6vhyphenhyphenjaC5wy7x7hx8lxgErKs0O-7uqjTlW8ob7N6UdTUC86lnrILnu55YVGoE/s1600/05-flab+face.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDMPyXuOEhH7-HG363rfidrewoehY0FhXz-4ZW0NU3_0W1dfCLD4Yw8Hy-GMfQTWVRWDWkWekxpOpglmx6vhyphenhyphenjaC5wy7x7hx8lxgErKs0O-7uqjTlW8ob7N6UdTUC86lnrILnu55YVGoE/s320/05-flab+face.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire under the delusion he can fit inside a shoe box<br />
2007<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrMfBKQCtk-007iaUHlcDDwUvSN9U4huQuHEnLI7E-g_wR7it1A2hZvlhVI3qD1h8z27xgnoYvZTkjeBMoYWlw4rQKtEjvU3m97kyYiglHyYCEnND0FbFet3ruf4hKsPxKAX7tsVggwpL/s1600/06-!.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrMfBKQCtk-007iaUHlcDDwUvSN9U4huQuHEnLI7E-g_wR7it1A2hZvlhVI3qD1h8z27xgnoYvZTkjeBMoYWlw4rQKtEjvU3m97kyYiglHyYCEnND0FbFet3ruf4hKsPxKAX7tsVggwpL/s320/06-!.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire up close and personal<br />
2007<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ZrZJXZ71Pq06AnHZIjUVbKcDCWexHjTBBxuq8HsXms5YwCFkaBqr50QdO2l1RquTmydZdNJLilAlXtBgr01CFmXReaDYiWDo80Ig5EFOmSFuo_eg_HVKoi4Adz6DSMQKmHmDqr9_hzLZ/s1600/DSCF1506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ZrZJXZ71Pq06AnHZIjUVbKcDCWexHjTBBxuq8HsXms5YwCFkaBqr50QdO2l1RquTmydZdNJLilAlXtBgr01CFmXReaDYiWDo80Ig5EFOmSFuo_eg_HVKoi4Adz6DSMQKmHmDqr9_hzLZ/s320/DSCF1506.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire resting on a book<br />
2009<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzVnmqACHeQwihmHBgze-ENcAd097lVsgZxZXbcFZK221fLWeqEgBZ1wYdNsFN_ox3SXoqYS7C395KxzxfWrzQl3Vdn14gFcL6iDoKGB4G6BgCzTQaufiOedy-V8dxoyoj-MCyjlN1fqnf/s1600/03-saff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzVnmqACHeQwihmHBgze-ENcAd097lVsgZxZXbcFZK221fLWeqEgBZ1wYdNsFN_ox3SXoqYS7C395KxzxfWrzQl3Vdn14gFcL6iDoKGB4G6BgCzTQaufiOedy-V8dxoyoj-MCyjlN1fqnf/s320/03-saff.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Sapphire sitting on my printer<br />
2010<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sapphire, 1996-2012</span></span>mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6402479509486755319.post-46717504138320634722012-01-14T17:29:00.002+00:002012-01-14T17:29:52.503+00:00Celebrity Plant Quiz - AnswersSorry it’s taken a while, but here are the answers to the Celebrity Plant Quiz from two months ago:<br />
<br />
1 K – Olive (Oyl) – photo of <i>Olea europaea</i><br />
2 E – Hazel (Blears) – photo of <i>Corylus avellana</i><br />
3 L – (Rose of) Sharon (Stone) – photo of <i>Hypericum calycinum</i><br />
4 S – (River) <i>Phoenix</i> (the genus of date palms) – photo of <i>Phoenix dactylifera</i><br />
5 H – Rosemary (Clooney) – photo of <i>Rosmarinus officinalis</i><br />
6 C – (Sweet) (Prince) William – photo of <i>Dianthus barbatus</i><br />
7 W – (Condoleezza) Rice – photo of <i>Oryza sativa</i><br />
8 B – (Black-eyed) Susan (Sarandon) – photo of <i>Rudbeckia hirta</i><br />
9 V – (Aloe) Vera (Lynn) – photo of <i>Aloe vera</i><br />
10 I – (Leslie) Ash – photo of <i>Fraxinus excelsior</i><br />
11 M – (Weeping) Willow (Rosenberg) – photo of <i>Salix babylonica</i><br />
12 U – Joshua (Tree) (Jackson) – photo of <i>Yucca brevifolia</i><br />
13 A – (Buddy) Holly – photo of <i>Ilex aquifolius</i><br />
14 X – Ginger (Rogers) – photo of <i>Zingiber officinalis</i><br />
15 O – Apple (Martin) – photo of <i>Malus domesticus</i><br />
16 D – Heather (Mills) – photo of <i>Calluna vulgaris</i><br />
17 F – Basil (Fawlty) – photo of <i>Ocimum basilicum</i><br />
18 Q – (Dog) Rose (Nylun) – photo of <i>Rosa canina</i><br />
19 G – Lavender (Brown) – photo of <i>Lavandula angustifolia</i><br />
20 P – (Neneh) Cherry – photo of <i>Prunus subhirtella</i><br />
21 J – (Princess) Jasmine – photo of <i>Jasminum officinale</i><br />
22 T – (African) Lily (Allen) – photo of <i>Agapanthus africanus</i><br />
23 N – (Common Dog) Violet (Beauregarde) – photo of <i>Viola riviniana</i><br />
24 R – Rowan (Atkinson) – photo of <i>Sorbus aucuparia</i><br />
<br />
Well done to Ed Gill for getting them all right.mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18088256714630497532noreply@blogger.com1