by Greg Mayer
Not only did we find much commendable in Andrew Sullivan’s coverage of the pollsters vs. pundits dispute, but Andrew has now taken to posting felid pictures, too! He’s always been a diehard goggieophile.
Plus, there’s relevance to readers of WEIT, or, even more so, Jerry’s first book, with Allen Orr, Speciation: the cichlid fishes of the Nicaraguan Great Lakes have undergone rapid diversification, and are the subject of studies of the process of speciation.
h/t Andrew Sullivan
The face of the kitteh if cropped, would make an even better photo IMHO.
Actually, I think stopping down the lens a lot more to achieve more depth of field would have helped, along with a bit less tight framing. As it is, the fish look like fuzzy worms and it’s not obvious that they’re on a table with the cat underneath.
Selective focus is a wonderful tool, but it’s overused far too much and oftentimes in situations where it doesn’t belong.
b&
I was trying to remember what the term for the dark spot commonly seen on fish which somewhat mimics the appearance of the eye. My memory tells me it’s a counter-spot, but I distrust that because it leads too readily to the alternative title for the picture of “counter-spotted cichilids.”
I’ll just go and cut out my “pun” organ now. Using a blunt keyboard.
Goggieophile? Is this yet *another* term of endearment for cats or a typo? What is its etymology? For that matter, where did the term ‘moggie’ come from ?
“Goggies” are dogs, the opposite of “Moggies”.
GCM
Thanks. Immediately after I posted the question I realized “Google is my friend” and looked up ‘Moggies’. Feeling a bit under the weather today…
Re rapid speciation of cichlids, one of the first biology/evolutionary popsci books I read was Tijs Goldschmidt’s “Darwin’s Hofvijver” about cichlids in the Victoria lake, and their near-extinction after the introduction of the Nile perch. English translation “Darwin’s Dreampond”.
Compellingly written, highly recommended.