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| Obscure Taxa; For interesting or obscure organisms you'd like to share. | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 14 2016, 09:46 PM (48,912 Views) | |
| Yiqi15 | Feb 19 2018, 01:35 PM Post #766 |
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Prime Specimen
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A type of medium-sized cur dog breed, the Catahoula Cur (or Catahoula Leopard or Catahoula Hound) is named after the parish of the same name in Louisiana. It has been suggested they are hybrids of indigenous dog breeds with with those of europeans brought by the de Soto Expedition. The breed itself is around 18–48 kilograms and 56–71 centimetres. The breed has heterochromatic eyes that have been described as looking like cracked or marble glass. The cataloula cur is perhaps best known for its ability to climb trees compared to other dogs. This is due to the breed itself spending much of its history feral, similar to the carolina dog. Theodore Roosevelt used them to hunt wild pigs. Not sure if obscure breeds count, but you've probably never heard of it (unless you own one). |
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Current/Completed Projects - After the Holocene: Your run-of-the-mill future evolution project. - A History of the Odessa Rhinoceros: What happens when you ship 28 southern white rhinoceri to Texas and try and farm them? Quite a lot, actually. Future Projects - XenoSphere: The greatest zoo in the galaxy. - The Curious Case of the Woolly Giraffe: A case study of an eocene relic. - Untittled Asylum Studios-Based Project: The truth behind all the CGI schlock - Riggslandia V.II: A World 150 million years in the making Potential Projects - Klowns: The biology and culture of a creepy-yet-fascinating being My Zoochat and Fadom Accounts - Zoochat - Fandom | |
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| Rodlox | Feb 19 2018, 02:28 PM Post #767 |
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Superhuman
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breeds should count, yes. this is a nice one you found. |
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.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP) | |
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| Archeoraptor | Feb 19 2018, 03:02 PM Post #768 |
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"A living paradox"
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new guinean singimg dog climb well too |
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Astarte an alt eocene world,now on long hiatus but you never know Fanauraa; The rebirth of Aotearoa future evo set in new zealand after a mass extinction coming soon......a world that was seeded with earth´s weridest and who knows what is coming next........... " I have to know what the world will be looking throw a future beyond us I have to know what could have been if fate acted in another way I have to know what lies on the unknown universe I have to know that the laws of thee universe can be broken throw The Spec I gain strength to the inner peace the is not good of evil only nature and change,the evolution of all livings beings" " Spoiler: click to toggle | |
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| Terraraptor411 | Feb 20 2018, 09:39 PM Post #769 |
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Troodontid
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Not to derail the talk on doggos, but I have a weird orchid to share. This is Orchis italica, a flowering plant from the Mediterranean. Its known for growing in soils with low nutrients and are fairly widespread- Yeah the reason they are worth mentioning is that their petals look like tiny naked men with penis's. I wish I was making this up. ![]() https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchis_italica |
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Current Projects: Alien Earth Ultimate Pangea Potential Future Projects Future of the North Star: TBD My DA Page: https://terraraptor.deviantart.com/ | |
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| Sayornis | Feb 20 2018, 11:15 PM Post #770 |
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Neotenous
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One for the "obscure fact about well-known species" file (it may be well-known to some of the birders here, but was new to me): A couple weeks ago, I observed a Black Phoebe open its beak wide and spit out a roundish mass. Upon doing some research online, I found out that insectivorous birds commonly regurgitate pellets made of insect exoskeleton fragments which they can't digest, just as owls and other raptors regurgitate the indigestible parts of their prey. Fishing birds do the same according to Wikipedia, although I've never seen this. I have seen owl pellets thanks to the Great Horned Owls living on my college campus. Here is a photo series of a Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher spitting out a pellet, and here are some really clear shots of an Eastern Kingbird doing the same. ![]() Blaaaargh Edited by Sayornis, Feb 20 2018, 11:18 PM.
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The Library is open. (Now under new management!)
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| lamna | Feb 21 2018, 04:00 AM Post #771 |
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Today I want to cover a couple of well known animals with less famous populations. Marsupials have a bit of a reputation, dating back to their discovery by Europeans. They have a reputation for being primitive mammals, dull-witted, lesser imitations of true placentals mammals that melt away when exposed to introduced "modern mammals". This is absolutely not the case, marsupials are no more or less advanced than placental mammals. Indeed, it is quite possible that placental mammals (bats) were present in Australia before marsupials colonised the continent from Antarctica. True, many marsupials have perished since the arrival of humanity to their island, and then the arrival of European agriculture. But this is mostly due to the efforts of man. European settlers tried to transform the landscape to make it more like Europe, is it any wonder European species flourished? And while some marsupials have disappeared, others have thrived. Red Kangaroos, despite living alongside feral horses and camels, as well as domestic livestock have a population of well over 25 million. That's a massive number for wild mammal in this era of mankind. To put that in perspective, the Springbok, the most common large African antelope, only has a population of 2.5 million animals. But now onto more proof of marsupials being capable, modern animals. Invasive marsupials. Kangaroos are a very popular animal in European zoos, but many species were tried before we hit upon the ideal one, the red-necked wallaby, Macropus rufogriseus. It's a large wallaby, but not so large as to be dangerous to handle (walk-through exhibits are popular). In the wild it is found in Tasmania and Southern Australia, so it has a thick coat to cope with the cold and breeds seasonally. While that breeding is the wrong way around in the northern hemisphere, like many animals, it has easily flipped that. They are very easy to care for, give them a field, some feed and water, and soon you'll have thriving colony. However, that rapid breeding and their natural capacity for leaping has lead of them escaping numerous times, along with several intentional introductions. Europe is now home to roughly 500 free living red-necked wallabies. These animals don't seem to thrive, we're not exactly inundated with them, but they are quite capable of maintaining their populations, though they are vulnerable to very cold winters. The largest population, about 250 animals is found on the Isle of Mann, about 150 in the Forest of Rambouillet near Paris, about 50 on Lambay Island near Dublin and 26 on Inchconnachan island on Loch Lomand, with scattered smaller populations across Britain, France and Germany. Most of these populations are small, well monitored and isolated from one another. But as the climate warms it's possible that they may be able to transition from surviving to expanding. But while the European populations are mostly ticking over, in New Zealand they have thrived. First introduced to the South Island in the 1870's they have boomed in numbers around the town of Waimate. At their peak their were an estimated 500,000 to one million. Intense government control and hunting has brought the population down to a few thousand today. And they are not the only marsupial thriving in New Zealand. On the North island, in Rotorua their was historically a large population of tammar wallabies Macropus eugenii, but these have mostly been captured and reintroduced to Australia or eradicated, and on Kawau island four species live. As well as more tammar wallabies the island is home to brush-tailed rock-wallaby Petrogale penicillata, swamp wallaby Wallabia bicolor and the Parma wallaby Macropus parma, a species that was believed to have become extinct in its homeland of Australia. However the true marsupial success story in New Zealand is the common brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula. Populations were established in the 1850's to provide food and furs but their rapidly expanded, and can new be found across the North and South islands. While the population has been reduced from a high of 70 million, their are still 30 million possums living in New Zealand. Anyone doing a project covering future New Zealand would do well to remember these possums. New Zealand in planning an extensive extermination program, but I doubt they will be able to truly wipe all these animals out. Edited by lamna, Feb 21 2018, 04:34 AM.
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Living Fossils Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural 34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur. [flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash] | |
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| Archeoraptor | Feb 21 2018, 05:38 AM Post #772 |
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"A living paradox"
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I remember Allocene toying with this idea ![]()
Neocene had soem big pussums in NZ and fanauraa is palnned for them to be one of the4 mammalian clades to thrive [1] Anyone doing a project covering future New Zealand would do well to remember these possums. New Zealand in planning an extensive extermination program, but I doubt they will be able to truly wipe all these animals out. |
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Astarte an alt eocene world,now on long hiatus but you never know Fanauraa; The rebirth of Aotearoa future evo set in new zealand after a mass extinction coming soon......a world that was seeded with earth´s weridest and who knows what is coming next........... " I have to know what the world will be looking throw a future beyond us I have to know what could have been if fate acted in another way I have to know what lies on the unknown universe I have to know that the laws of thee universe can be broken throw The Spec I gain strength to the inner peace the is not good of evil only nature and change,the evolution of all livings beings" " Spoiler: click to toggle | |
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| Terraraptor411 | Feb 21 2018, 11:09 AM Post #773 |
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Troodontid
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Do you think these wallabies, like the parakeets across Europe, will be able to thrive in the near future? I know their populations are small but given their rapid breeding and the massive global warming going on, what kind of things could they be capable of? I drew a picture of a massive descendant of theirs once, a bear sized herbivore that expanded across Europe. https://www.deviantart.com/art/Great-Woolly-Wallabeast-712025275 |
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Current Projects: Alien Earth Ultimate Pangea Potential Future Projects Future of the North Star: TBD My DA Page: https://terraraptor.deviantart.com/ | |
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| lamna | Feb 21 2018, 11:37 AM Post #774 |
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Potentially I think they could spread and thrive, though I don't know how well they cope with lynx, wolves, bears, etc.
Edited by lamna, Feb 21 2018, 11:37 AM.
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Living Fossils Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural 34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur. [flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash] | |
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| LλmbdaExplosion | Feb 21 2018, 12:00 PM Post #775 |
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Vieja Argentea the oscar cichlid
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They could grow big and strong to cope with bears and wolves,don't you remember the mighty Procoptodon? Or even much easier.Macropods could abandon the jumping ability in a favor for running.Marsupials are Australia's answer to rodents in terms of adaptability. |
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When life give you lemons.............Don't make lemonade!Make life to take the lemons back!Get mad and than.........Yell,demand and burn down their homes. Prepare for unforeseen consequences,Mr. Freeman! | |
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| Chuditch | Feb 21 2018, 04:37 PM Post #776 |
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Dasyurid
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Australia has rodents though. Anyway I think they have the potential to spread and thrive. I mean, they've lived with dingoes for at least 3,000 years, so they can definitely cope with wolves, and basically any predator that doesn't ambush them (which is extremely hard to do as their senses are so sharp) has no chance, as wallabies are extremely fast, agile and have amazing stamina. Plus that extremely fast breeding rate. They wouldn't need to grow big. Also macropods wouldn't start running as a result of new predators. Hopping is far more efficient. |
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My wildlife YouTube channel Projects
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| LλmbdaExplosion | Feb 21 2018, 05:15 PM Post #777 |
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Vieja Argentea the oscar cichlid
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That will be the only invasive i will let live. |
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When life give you lemons.............Don't make lemonade!Make life to take the lemons back!Get mad and than.........Yell,demand and burn down their homes. Prepare for unforeseen consequences,Mr. Freeman! | |
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| LλmbdaExplosion | Feb 21 2018, 05:16 PM Post #778 |
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Vieja Argentea the oscar cichlid
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Wouldn't predators get it after millions of years?Learning how to catch them i mean.If you watched dingos hunting roo's,the method is to drive them to places where they are prone to tripping and at that speed a kangaroo could break it's legs for example. Edited by LλmbdaExplosion, Feb 21 2018, 05:19 PM.
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When life give you lemons.............Don't make lemonade!Make life to take the lemons back!Get mad and than.........Yell,demand and burn down their homes. Prepare for unforeseen consequences,Mr. Freeman! | |
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| Chuditch | Feb 21 2018, 06:21 PM Post #779 |
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Dasyurid
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So? Sure, predators will adapt to hunt it, but the wallaby would also adapt to evade the predators. Using the kangaroo vs dingo example, kangaroos run into water when faced by dingoes. Most dingoes know not to follow it in, otherwise the kangaroo will drown it. Predator adapts to prey, prey adapts to predator. It's a driving force behind evolution. I never said the wallaby was invincible, I just said it wasn't an easy target. The greatest threat to the survival of macropods in Europe is the climate, although I have little doubt they could adapt to colder weather (Tasmania, where the Bennett's subspecies of Red-necked Wallaby occurs, has a similar climate to Britain anyway). They could also easily migrate south if a new glaciation takes grip. |
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My wildlife YouTube channel Projects
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| Terraraptor411 | Feb 21 2018, 06:29 PM Post #780 |
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Troodontid
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Well as you said, if they can deal with Dingos they can likely deal with wolves. They'll still become prey to them on occasion, but I don't think they'll be hunted to extinction. Lynx will be trickier, they have the stealth to ambush them, but on the bright side they can only eat one wallaby every few days, I think their population can handle it. And I would pay money to see the bear that can catch a wallaby. |
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Current Projects: Alien Earth Ultimate Pangea Potential Future Projects Future of the North Star: TBD My DA Page: https://terraraptor.deviantart.com/ | |
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