Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Ken Miyata was an ecologist and herpetologist who was my best friend in graduate school. He was a student of Ernest Williams (Greg Mayer was also Willams’s student for much of his time at Harvard), and we spent tons of time together, including a month-long trip to Ecuador where I helped him collect frogs (that’s … Continue reading Remembrances of Ken Miyata
Today’s photos constitute part 1 of a three-part series of the fauna of Costa Rica. The photographer is Ephraim Heller, his captions are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them. On the first trip to Costa Rica, I wanted to learn more about the neotropical rainforest so I read Tropical Nature: … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos
As I’ve described before, I collected the first specimen of Atelopus coynei, a small tropical frog that now has its own Wikipedia page. I collected it in the late 1970s on a field trip to Ecuador with my grad-school bestie, the late Ken Miyata, a man who’s sorely missed (he died in a fishing accident … Continue reading The first photos of Atelopus coynei tadpoles
It’s CSaturday, March 25, 2023, shabbos for Jewish cats, and International Waffle Day. (This corresponds to Vårfrudagen or Våffeldagen, “Waffle Day”, in Sweden, Norway & Denmark). Here’s a traditional Swedish waffle with cream and jam: It’s a big day for holidays today, as it’s also Pecan Day, National Lobster Newburg Day, Tolkien Reading Day (the date … Continue reading Saturday: Hili dialogue
by Greg Mayer I learned of Dick Lewontin’s death only Thursday morning— I had been traveling for several days with little internet access. When I checked my email upon my return, I found a message from a colleague on some other matter, and appended to his message were his condolences and an appreciation of Dick’s … Continue reading More thoughts on Dick Lewontin (post by Greg Mayer)
Good morning on Ceiling Cat’s Day, May 17, 2020. Remember the Sabbath—like every other day—was made for cats, not cats for the Sabbath. And so it’s National Cherry Cobbler Day (yum!), as well as Pinot Grigio Day (an overrated wine; try Chenin Blanc instead), National Walnut Day, World Baking Day, and National Mushroom Hunting Day. … Continue reading Sunday: Hili dialogue (and Mietek monologue)
Atelopus coynei is an aposematic neotropical frog first captured and described by my late friend Ken Miyata (this was part of a grad-school deal in which I offered to lend him $500 if one day he’d name a species after me). I’ve written about it on this site several times before. As I have no offspring, this … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photographs: My frog is still alive!
This new clip from the BBC show Super Powered Owls shows a snowy owl, Bubo scandiacus, defending its young against hungry skuas and wolves. Because these owls breed north of the Arctic Circle, they don’t nest in trees: there aren’t any up there. To get a good view of the surroundings, though, they nest on top … Continue reading Snowy owl protects her young
