tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.comments2024-03-10T19:39:07.469+00:00SynapsidaJK Revellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00358838350092883422noreply@blogger.comBlogger589125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-32656640999626986512024-03-10T19:39:07.469+00:002024-03-10T19:39:07.469+00:00I somehow first misread the title as "Jigglin...I somehow first misread the title as "Jiggling on the Eocene".Andreas Johanssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802392912541974977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-57474288354688238232024-02-13T19:52:36.389+00:002024-02-13T19:52:36.389+00:00Ah, yes, you did say 'mostly'! And you'...Ah, yes, you did say 'mostly'! And you're right, I can't think of any.JK Revellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358838350092883422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-88635465645295935282024-02-13T07:05:44.490+00:002024-02-13T07:05:44.490+00:00(And for whatever reason I can't reply to your...(And for whatever reason I can't reply to your reply. The comment section on this blog in general is very wonky for me - in fact, between two laptops and one tablet, this laptop is the only one I've been able to post from here at all recently.)Andreas Johanssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802392912541974977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-30997589634175460062024-02-13T07:03:48.463+00:002024-02-13T07:03:48.463+00:00There's plenty of terrestrial mammalian carniv...There's plenty of terrestrial mammalian carnivores that *sometimes* eat smaller predators, but are there any that *mostly* eat such? I don't believe shrews make up a very large part of badgers' diets.Andreas Johanssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802392912541974977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-16351533675153985862024-02-13T01:26:40.707+00:002024-02-13T01:26:40.707+00:00"There is not such thing as an antelope"..."There is not such thing as an antelope" in the same way that there is no such thing as a fox, as nearly every canid that isn't a member of subtribe Canina, the wolves, jackals, coyote, dhole, and African wild dog, is called a fox. Then again, you know this, having said something similar in <a href="https://synapsida.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-dog-family-red-and-corsac-foxes.html" rel="nofollow">The Dog Family: Red and Corsac Foxes</a>, nine years ago. That doesn't mean there aren't foxes; they're just not a taxonomic unit as popularly meant, tribe Vulpini aside.Pinku-Senseihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16247618351725715844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-40868698393061940792024-02-12T19:47:51.570+00:002024-02-12T19:47:51.570+00:00Well, shrews are predators, and they get eaten by,...Well, shrews are predators, and they get eaten by, for example, badgers.JK Revellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358838350092883422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-15820226433534891392024-02-12T07:21:06.407+00:002024-02-12T07:21:06.407+00:00Are there any terrestrial mammalian carnivores tha...Are there any terrestrial mammalian carnivores that mostly eat smaller predators?<br /><br />Outside the Synapsida, king cobras come to mind, who mostly eat smaller carnivorous snakes.Andreas Johanssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802392912541974977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-28638659287593115702024-02-01T19:24:24.899+00:002024-02-01T19:24:24.899+00:00"Flower-eye" has been claimed (if we ass..."Flower-eye" has been claimed (if we assume the 'l' goes with the antho- stem), but is thought to be a folk etymology. Although you never know...JK Revellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358838350092883422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-88293691398578626002024-01-31T12:03:05.024+00:002024-01-31T12:03:05.024+00:00ανθολοψ looks like it should mean flower-lops, wha...ανθολοψ looks like it should mean flower-lops, whatever a lops is.Andreas Johanssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802392912541974977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-91901191270462423182024-01-28T17:32:21.064+00:002024-01-28T17:32:21.064+00:00Certainly, that is the alternative, taxonomically ...Certainly, that is the alternative, taxonomically speaking. Which, like humans being fish, goes against the usual English understanding of the word... but, yes, absolutely works.JK Revellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358838350092883422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-44194730225070276632024-01-28T17:20:09.547+00:002024-01-28T17:20:09.547+00:00We can call all bovids = antilopes, with cows, she...We can call all bovids = antilopes, with cows, sheep and goat being just particular kinds of them.João Simõeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10222169018695033058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-5735318802512923792023-12-19T19:52:19.617+00:002023-12-19T19:52:19.617+00:00Hope you have a restful break :)
I realize I'...Hope you have a restful break :)<br /><br />I realize I've lost track completely what happens in palaeoanthropology in recent years ...Andreas Johanssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802392912541974977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-30143628543243673702023-12-04T05:43:51.997+00:002023-12-04T05:43:51.997+00:00I haven't any specific theories, although the ...I haven't any specific theories, although the decline does coincide with the Ice Ages, so changing climate for an animal with a relatively restrictive diet may be an issue. Arguably, a carnivoran with a herbivorous diet is going to be at risk of being outcompeted by herbivores that can at least ferment their food and extract more nutrition from it.JK Revellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358838350092883422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-72968369288967933532023-12-03T18:35:54.095+00:002023-12-03T18:35:54.095+00:00Do we have any idea why the family has apparently ...Do we have any idea why the family has apparently declined pretty precipitously in the geologically recent past? They're rather too small to have been victims of the post-Ice Age megafaunal die off. Andreas Johanssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802392912541974977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-34486334032063952342023-11-14T20:29:08.997+00:002023-11-14T20:29:08.997+00:00Speaking of what some primates do, men are general...Speaking of what some primates do, men are generally more willing to accept risk than women, whether that's a risk of getting punched in the face or losing money on the stockmarket. Might the baboons have a similar generalized sex difference in risk aversion?Andreas Johanssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802392912541974977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-15468229182923556832023-11-11T11:39:21.547+00:002023-11-11T11:39:21.547+00:00 I think it has something to do with the prickly p... I think it has something to do with the prickly pear cactus pads that they eat, we would die if we ate a prickly pad the way javelinas do. We are supposed to go to the hospital if we accidentally swallow a single toothpick, the prickly pads spikes can be longer and thicker and have hundreds of spikes. Camels also have a 3 chamber stomach and love prickly pear pads. If we ate a prickly pear the way javelinas do, we would have significant bleeding of the mouth, tears of the esophagus, stomach lining tears, intestinal tears, and anal tears.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14932545284986140729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-77316283629390052392023-10-08T21:14:48.745+01:002023-10-08T21:14:48.745+01:00In Brazil it's called jaritataca, jaritacaca, ...In Brazil it's called jaritataca, jaritacaca, maritacaca, cangambá (indigenous names), zorrilho (Southern Brazil, under Spanish influence), maria-fedida "Stinky Mary"João Simõeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10222169018695033058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-74344014882702801422023-09-17T18:16:51.803+01:002023-09-17T18:16:51.803+01:00I had a front-row seat to the divergence in how ur...I had a front-row seat to the divergence in how urban and rural residents see wolves in Michigan during 2014. That year, three wolf-hunting measures got enough signatures to appear on the ballot. Two proposed banning hunting wolves and a third allowing the wolf hunt to continue. The state legislature, which was apportioned at the time so more seats represeented rural areas, small towns, and conservative suburbs, approved the pro-hunting measure, which also made the first wolf ban measure moot, effectively overturning it in advance. The measures banning wolf hunting went before the voters, and both passed on the strength of urban and liberal suburban voters. The second wolf hunting ban superceded the pro-hunting measure passed by the state legislature. After that, the U.S. federal government put Michigan's wolves back on the Endangered Species List, ending the wolf hunt regardless of the will of the either Michigan's legislature or the state's voters. What a divisive issue!Pinku-Senseihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16247618351725715844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-40455114966938221892023-09-17T17:53:01.762+01:002023-09-17T17:53:01.762+01:00I don't recall if I've mentioned here that...I don't recall if I've mentioned here that I was a seasonal Ranger Naturalist at Channel Islands National Park in 1987. While I learned about the endemic deer mice, island foxes, dwarf mammoths, plants (I even gave talks about the latter two), and land snails while I worked there, I never knew that the two largest island in the park had their own endemic subspecies of spotted skunk. Thanks to you, I now know. It's always a good day when I learn something new.Pinku-Senseihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16247618351725715844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-66831599389035981182023-09-10T17:23:26.995+01:002023-09-10T17:23:26.995+01:00Much harder to do, unfortunately, although I did a...Much harder to do, unfortunately, although I did at least manage to create one myself for an earlier post in this series (which took a while). Certainly, there are copyrighted versions available online, but I try to avoid using those.JK Revellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358838350092883422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-84779221134481092342023-09-10T16:17:58.621+01:002023-09-10T16:17:58.621+01:00A suggestion: these marvellous posts about Tertiar...A suggestion: these marvellous posts about Tertiary mammal faunas would be clearer with a nice map to illustrate the matching paleogeography. João Simõeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10222169018695033058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-46262148663226160532023-08-13T16:39:12.086+01:002023-08-13T16:39:12.086+01:00To the use of white specifically? No, probably not...To the use of white specifically? No, probably not, it's just easier for a mammal to do than the bright black-and-yellow of wasps or the black-red-and-white of a coral snake. But it's all aposematism - "if I'm making myself highly visible, I'm not scared of predators, and maybe you should think about why that is".JK Revellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358838350092883422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-59796851100093548412023-08-13T13:56:18.394+01:002023-08-13T13:56:18.394+01:00Is there a direct correlation between white-saddle...Is there a direct correlation between white-saddled pattern and obnoxious stench? Many stinky mammals seem to be whitish to became more visible. Compare skunks to skunk-like African Poecilogale and relatives, or honey badgerJoão Simõeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10222169018695033058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-64770239062129491482023-07-24T11:48:03.369+01:002023-07-24T11:48:03.369+01:00Well, quite. It's certainly not going to drag ...Well, quite. It's certainly not going to drag it up a tree like a leopard would...JK Revellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358838350092883422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209921721314660731.post-50152139877238795112023-07-23T15:15:02.401+01:002023-07-23T15:15:02.401+01:00Would a puma even be able to transport an adult mo...Would a puma even be able to transport an adult moose very far? Andreas Johanssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802392912541974977noreply@blogger.com