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.
by Greg Mayer Last month Matthew asked me about herbivory in reptiles, and part of my reply was that there are few or no reptiles that are exclusively herbivorous. The ones that came closest that I could think of were the true land tortoises (family Testudinidae, sensu stricto). I wrote, “some true tortoises are pretty … Continue reading Tortoise eats bird (by Greg Mayer)
by Greg Mayer Today’s post features subterranean wildlife, but not of the fossorial kind. It has wildlife you can see in the New York subway, but it’s not “pizza rat” or his later avatars: it’s the wildlife art of the 8th Avenue local (B and C trains) station at 81st-Museum of Natural History. Elegant tile-work … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos
Welcome to Monday, August 17, 2020: National Vanilla Custard Day, which of course is means it’s a blah day. But in Australia it’s Cupcake Day, in which cupcakes are sold with the proceeds going to the RSPCA. In the U.S. it’s National Black Cat Appreciation Day. Although Octavia Sadie and Alcestis Jerry , the two … Continue reading Monday: Hili dialogue
On March 12, I wrote about the new Nature paper describing the fossil of Oculudentavis khaungraa, identified as a tiny (2-gram) dinosaur/bird found in Burmese amber. But the very next day I had to hedge the results after reading Darren Naish’s Tetrapod Zoology post, not only on humanitarian grounds (the amber used in the study … Continue reading Another biologist disputes the nature of the tiny “bird/dino” fossil
Yesterday (Friday), I went to the Pukaha Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre in the company of Phil Garnock-Jones, an emeritus professor of botany at the University of Wellington. The Centre is about two hours north of Wellington, and on the way we passed the “Beehive“, the executive wing of the New Zealand Parliament. Built between 1969 and 1979, it’s … Continue reading Wellington to Puhaka Mount Bruce
We have some New Zealand pictures from reader Michael Hannah, whose notes are indented. Hannah is an associate professor of paleontology and evolution at the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington. Numbers 1 – 6 were all taken at Pukaha Mt Bruce sanctuary– I know you visited there on your … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos
Reader Mike Hannah send some photos from the Land of Kiwis and notes (indented): I understand that you are visiting New Zealand next year – so I have attached three photos of endemic species to whet your appetite. All the pictures were taken in an urban sanctuary called Zealandia situated in the suburbs of Wellington. … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photographs
Reader Rodger Atkin sent a lovely dragonfly photo from Thailand, which may be a mimic. Though I know of no mimetic dragonflies, I don’t know much about Odonata, and Rodger asks readers if they know anything about this one. His notes: This was taken in my yard in Thailand. I have never seen markings like those … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos
A few days before I regretfully left New Zealand, reader Gayle Ferguson took me on an all-day expedition to Tiritiri Matangi Island, a small (2.2 km² [1 square mile] reserve located on an island only about 3 km from the shore. Here’s where it is. It is a reserve that was denuded by farming and … Continue reading Wildlife and other photos from New Zealand: Tiritiri Matangi Reserve
by Matthew Cobb All tetrapods have kneecaps, although it appears that they evolved more than once. Even tuatara have kneecaps (it was long thought they did not). And here’s a kneet biomechanics demonstration of why they are so useful, and what you can and can’t do without them. https://twitter.com/PainSci/status/702601079792410624/photo/1
