Reader Tony Eales contributed some diverse photos from the Land Down Under:
I’ve been going through some of my old photos recently and thought I might offer some as possible Reader’s Wildlife photos.
We have a Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) with a few flakes of snow on it. These are common in the Snowy Mountains and look amazing against the white.
A Black Swan (Cygnus atratus), one of the things that lead early Dutch explorers to think Australia was Oppositeland:
A swarm of Eucalyptus Shield Bug (Eumecopus patruelis) nymphs:
A Purple-Necked Rock Wallaby (Petrogale purpureicollis), a species that only recently got its species status as there was scepticism that the purple colouration came from rubbing against local rocks but the wallabies actually produce it as a sort of dye, which can wash off in rain and disappears soon after death, adding to the confusion.
ABC Science noted this in 2001:
The Purple-neck Rock Wallaby has finally been given species status, after 77 years of having its distinctive pigment doubted by sceptical scientists.
Petrogale purpureicollis, which lives in the Mount Isa region of northwest Queensland, Australia, is distinguished by the band of purple fur around its neck and head.
It was first identified by biologist A S Le Souef in 1924, but the purple pigment, which is secreted by the skin of the wallaby, disappears after 24 hours – so by the time his samples arrived at museums there was no pigment, and they looked like ordinary wallabies.
Here’s Tony’s photograph:
JAC: The color, which seems most prominent in males during the breeding season, may be some kind of sexual “dye” used to attract females. I had trouble finding a good picture of the purplish color, but here’s one from Wildpedia.com.au:
And a magnificent male Scrub Turkey (Alectura lathami):
These great pictures bring to my mind that for all the things fossils can tell us about ancient life, for the most part they can’t tell us about the variety of colors long extinct animals had on their skin, fur or feathers. From fossils alone, it seems doubtful that we could tell a species of wallaby secretes a purple dye, or that there are two species of swan, one with black feathers and a red bill, the other with white feathers and a black bill. I know in some instances, scientists have found unique fossilized remains of skin or feathers from which they could determine the pigments, but to my admittedly limited knowledge such finds are rare. Still just enough has been found that now we know many dinosaurs were feathered and were far more brilliantly colored than previously imagined.
Hmmmm, “Mount Isa” rings bells. Big mining, just as a guess (from what goes past my eyes)? Or some seriously old rocks?
“Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, based on combined production of lead, silver, copper and zinc.”
This photo spread merits a Rolf Harris soundtrack.
I’m pretty sure I know what this link goes to, and I used to enjoy it, but I can’t bear to watch him do anything since his convictions for child sex etc.
These are really neat, and in large part the species are new to me. The black swan of course is part of Karl Popper’s lesson about the pitfalls of making universal statements like “all swans are white”.
And Nassim Taleb wrote a book The Black Swan which describes events that are deemed improbable, but have wide-spread consequences…like 9/11 or the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. I think the 2008 recession might be one too. It’s an interesting theory on randomness and probability and how humans react to such events.
Disco era dyed animals? WTF Evolution!?
I’m continually surprised at the birds living in Australia. Before Readers’ wildlife photographs, I had no idea of the wide ranging, brightly colored and exotic species the continent sustains.
The purple dye is really fascinating. Are there any other mammals that secrete a colored ‘dye’ like this? I can’t think of any. I like the theory that it’s like pheromones for the eyes, and maybe it is also a true pheromone.
Being neighbours, NZ and Oz are in frequent competition, and so I get annoyed (i.e. jealous) at all their beautifully coloured birds. We used to be physically attached, and some of our birds are quite closely related to the parrots they have, but those with the brightest colours are exclusively over the pond. 🙂
At least you got the Kiwi! One of the coolest birds in the world imo.
And the Kakapo, not brightly coloured, but HILARIOUS!
I love the Kakapo! At least our birds have heaps of character – surely more important than looks! 🙂