Ever wonder how big the biggest arthropod in the world is? I have, so I figured I would do a bit of poking around and see what I could find. Turns out, the world’s biggest arthropod is really big indeed! It is a crab called the Japanese Spider Crab (Macrocheira kaempferi).
Scholar Holler: Dr. Michael Sheehan
Dr. Michael Sheehan is currently finishing up a Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellowship in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC Berkeley working with Prof. Michael Nachman. Next month, he will be starting as an Assistant Professor in Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University. Earlier this spring, Dr. Sheehan gave a talk at UC Davis on his…
Field Notes: Arctic Spring
Greetings from Alaska! For the next few months, I’ll be sharing occasional photos and updates from my field work at Toolik Lake Field Station studying a small migratory songbird- the Gambel’s White-crowned sparrow.
Best (Elephant) Friends Forever! Do elephants need besties?
Many elephants in zoos show warning signs that cause managers and scientists to be concerned about their welfare. Among these signs are the expression of abnormal, repetitive behavior (called “stereotypic behavior”), poor reproductive success, and high levels of obesity1,2. Could these issues be related to the social environments that zoo elephants experience? Elephants are extremely social animals….
Creature Feature: Panda Ant
There are some really cute insects out there, and one genus of especially cute insects is the genus Euspinolia, called the Panda Ants. Panda Ants are actually not ants at all, but instead are wasps of the family Mutillidae, commonly called the Velvet Ants. The Panda Ant was first described to science in 1938 and is…
Creature Feature: Solenodon
‘What is a Solenodon?’ is a question that I have been asked by absolutely no one, ever. This is a shame because Solenodons are really cool animals that I think more people should be curious about! So here is some information about them. Solenodons belong to a family (Solenodonidea) of mammals that is sort of…
Secret Serenades: Why Animals Use Whispered Songs and Calls
When you step outside in the springtime, your senses are often inundated with the warmth of the air, the smell of flowers, and the songs and calls of numerous species of birds. The loud, broadcast songs that you are hearing often carry two messages simultaneously.1 First, the song serves as a
Creature Feature: Salps
Have you ever heard of a salp? Probably not, but they are organisms that we should all probably be a lot more aware of! Salps are planktonic tunicates. What does that mean? Tunicates are members of the phylum Chordata (the same phylum that you and I are in), and are actually pretty closely related to…
Resurrecting the Ice Age Giants: A Behavioral Perspective
Extinction may not be forever. With recent technological advances, it may eventually be possible to bring species back from the dead. Within our lifetime, we could see woolly mammoths roaming the Arctic tundra. Last week, a team of scientists made headlines for sequencing complete genomes from two woolly mammoths, representing a significant breakthrough for efforts…
The Cricket Chorus
At some point in your life, chances are you’ve stood outside on a warm summer night and listened to the sounds produced by a natural symphony of sorts. The countless crickets singing in a nearby field or garden create a cacophony of chirps, a wonderful and familiar sound that to some is no less beautiful…
