What's that gosling?... revealed

It's a Hawaiian goose, or nene, gosling.



Hawaiian goose with gosling
Branta sandvicensis (Vigors, 1833)
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
London Wetland Centre
April 2012

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.

What'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.



Bonus picture, here's a gorgeous lapwing.

 

Northern lapwing
Vanellus vanellus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Charadriidae; Charadriiformes; Aves; Chordata
London Wetland Centre
April 2012

Celebrity Plant Quiz - Answers

Sorry it’s taken a while, but here are the answers to the Celebrity Plant Quiz from two months ago:

1 K – Olive (Oyl) – photo of Olea europaea
2 E – Hazel (Blears) – photo of Corylus avellana
3 L – (Rose of) Sharon (Stone) – photo of Hypericum calycinum
4 S – (River) Phoenix (the genus of date palms) – photo of Phoenix dactylifera
5 H – Rosemary (Clooney) – photo of Rosmarinus officinalis
6 C – (Sweet) (Prince) William – photo of Dianthus barbatus
7 W – (Condoleezza) Rice – photo of Oryza sativa
8 B – (Black-eyed) Susan (Sarandon) – photo of Rudbeckia hirta
9 V – (Aloe) Vera (Lynn) – photo of Aloe vera
10 I – (Leslie) Ash – photo of Fraxinus excelsior
11 M – (Weeping) Willow (Rosenberg) – photo of Salix babylonica
12 U – Joshua (Tree) (Jackson) – photo of Yucca brevifolia
13 A – (Buddy) Holly – photo of Ilex aquifolius
14 X – Ginger (Rogers) – photo of Zingiber officinalis
15 O – Apple (Martin) – photo of Malus domesticus
16 D – Heather (Mills) – photo of Calluna vulgaris
17 F – Basil (Fawlty) – photo of Ocimum basilicum
18 Q – (Dog) Rose (Nylun) – photo of Rosa canina
19 G – Lavender (Brown) – photo of Lavandula angustifolia
20 P – (Neneh) Cherry – photo of Prunus subhirtella
21 J – (Princess) Jasmine – photo of Jasminum officinale
22 T – (African) Lily (Allen) – photo of Agapanthus africanus
23 N – (Common Dog) Violet (Beauregarde) – photo of Viola riviniana
24 R – Rowan (Atkinson) – photo of Sorbus aucuparia

Well done to Ed Gill for getting them all right.

Celebrity Plant Quiz

This is a (hopefully) fun little quiz that links plants with celebrities. Each of the twenty-four descriptions below match up with one of the plants pictured above (click to enlarge). Each person is named after a plant. For example, if one of the clues read: “I am the lead character in an American teen drama starring Kristen Bell”, the answer would be Veronica Mars. The picture of a speedwell (genus Veronica) would then be matched up with the clue, i.e. 1-A. The names are either first or surnames (not both), and the plants are either common or generic names, with one example of a specific name (one that is well known). In some cases, the plant’s full name is not the answer, only a part of it, e.g., there might be a Stanley Flower or a Tree of Barbara. You can comment here to answer, or on whichever social network site you see this on, or just wait for the answers which I will reveal at some point. Have fun!

1. I am a comic strip character best known for being the girlfriend of a spinach-loving strongman.
2. I am a female British politician for the Labour party who served as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2007 to 2009.
3. I am an American actress best known for my role in Basic Instinct.
4. I was an American actor who died at the age of 23, known for my role in the movie Stand By Me.
5. I was an American singer and actress best known for the song Mambo Italiano and my famous acting nephew.
6. I am a member of the British Royal Family and married Catherine Middleton in 2011.
7. I am an American politician who was the 66th US Secretary of State.
8. I am an American actress known for my Oscar winning performance in Dead Man Walking, and for my marriage to Tim Robbins.
9. I am a British singer in her nineties known for Second World War era songs such as The White Cliffs of Dover.
10. I am a British actress best known for my role as Deborah in Men Behaving Badly.
11. I am a character in a television series about a teenage vampire-killer and her cohort.
12. I am an American actor known best as Pacey in Dawson’s Creek.
13. I was an American singer-songwriter who died at the age of 22.
14. I was an American actress, singer, and dancer known for my partnership with Fred Estaire.
15. I am the daughter of a British singer-songwriter and an American actress, and I have received ridicule for my unconventional name.
16. I am a former model mostly known for my marriage to Paul McCartney.
17. I am the owner of a fictional hotel which I run with my wife, Sybil.
18. I am one of four fictional mature ladies who share a house in Florida.
19. I am a character in a series of children’s books and movies who had a brief romance with a Weasley.
20. I am a Swedish singer with West African roots known for the song Buffalo Stance.
21. I am a fictional princess who went on a flying carpet ride with a street boy.
22. I am a British fashion designer but am more widely known for the songs The Fear and Smile.
23. I am a character in a children’s book and film adaptations about a group of children and adults who tour a confection manufacturing facility.
24. I am a British comedian and actor known for my portrayal of Edmund Blackadder.

Whose foot?

So, whose foot appears above? A couple of clues: it belongs to a dinosaur, more specifically a bird, and even more specifically, one that can be found at the London Wetland Centre. Any guesses can be submitted in the usual ways: here in the comments, or via Facebook or Twitter...

What on Earth?

So, what on Earth is that? A couple of (poor) clues: it's not an extant crocodilian; it was photographed two weeks ago at Artis Zoo in Amsterdam (so it's not likely to be a Deinosuchus or something). Answers as comments or to the usual email address.

Finally, some answers

Answers:
a) African hunting dog (Lycaon pictus) - skull #14
b) grey wolf (Canis lupus) - skull #3
c) cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) - skull #8
d) Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) - skull #16
e) aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) - skull #7
f) South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) - skull #5
g) white-nosed coati (Nasua narica) - skull #24
h) binturong (Arctictis binturong) - skull #22
i) Soay sheep (Ovis aries) - skull #17
j) guanaco (Lama guanicoe) - skull #20
k) Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) - skull #10
l) Reeves' muntjac (Muntiacus reevesii) - skull #2
m) white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) - skull #11
n) western hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) - skull #13
o) European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) - skull #18
p) donkey (Equus asinus) - skull #4
q) Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) - skull #9
r) okapi (Okapia johnstoni) - skull #6
s) aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) - skull #1
t) white-crested gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) - skull #23
u) Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum) - skull #12
v) aardvark (Orycteropus afer) - skull #21
w) yellow armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus) - skull #19
x) giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) - skull #15

The winning entry was by Andrea J., so congratulations! No-one got them all right though, if you did but didn't enter, well done but shame on you. New puzzle coming shortly... um, eventually!

Some more time perhaps...

Oops, I forgot I was supposed to reveal the answers to the quiz a few days ago... I'll attempt to hide that by giving you another week or so to send your answers in. The new closing date will be 21st March.

Guess the skull quiz

It's been a while since I've posted a quiz on this blog (actually, it's been a while since I've posted anything on this blog at all, but hey), so I thought it was time for a sequel to the Cranial Challenge. This time, there are 24 mammals and 24 skulls. Identify each mammal as specifically as you can (you should, if you're skilled enough, be able to identify d to subspecies, i to breed, and the rest to species, with the possible exception of f). Then match each lettered mammal to its numbered skull, i.e. a1 b2 etc. If that seems a little hard for you, not to worry, either have a go anyway, or just play part one of the quiz.





Both photo montages can be enlarged by clicking on them. The skulls match the mammals to species in every example as far as I know. All photographs taken by myself, more details when the answers are revealed.

Send your entries to subhumanfreaks at hotmail dot com by 7th March, when I'll reveal the answers. There may be a prize if I'm impressed enough!

What the hell is it?

The item being modelled by the very lovely Matt Lowe, curator at the Cambridge Zoology Museum, once belonged to an animal. No, it's not a fossilized belt from a mid-sized theropod. So what is it? Anyone care to take a guess?

What's the Connection???

So, what's the connection between the following animals?



























A clue: don't concentrate too much on identifying the species, especially for a few of them, where the situation is more important. When the correct guess has been made, or it's been ages and no-one's guessed correctly in the comments, I'll reveal the answer.