Metazoica back-up

Well, life must go on. And my life does NOT revolve around the SE forum, hehe! I've just been so busy I haven't had any time to post any blogs much. Anyway, Immanids, also known as the "rinkadons", these are large, heavy-set relatives of the therapeds, but they more closely resemble elephants with short trunks. In most species there is an elongated muzzle, tusks, small eyes, large ears, the legs are very much like we see in modern elephants. The tail is short, and in some species even has tassels on the end. They are considerably faster runners than elephants, but cannot jump like the therapeds and other species in this order can. The fur is very fine, they are not naked like modern elephants, but rather has smooth, soft fur, much like we see in rabbits. The ears are like those we see in elephants, and in only one species are as large as those seen in the African elephant, that species is Aequicapistrum , from the USA and Asia. The ears are mostly round on the edges, ...

I should have left!! I'd been considering it, and now I realize I should have done it. Face it, I said it before and I'll say it again, forums SUCK!!!!! Now the forum's owner is starting to act like Adolph Hitler!! I remember this happened on the Switchboard, Vicki took on the same personality. Today's altercation was about bipedal mammals walking like dinosaurs. I think it's not too far-fetched. Humans learned to walk putting one foot in front of the other, from animals that were almost completely quadrupeds. Dinosaurs learned to do it from animals whose hips were built like frogs and lizards. No lizards today are bipeds at all. Some can run on their hind legs in short bursts, but that's it. I have my opinions, and I think that way for a reason. I stand by what I say and it seems everyone hates that!!! Well, I told him he can kiss my ass and left! I don't have to take that shit from a guy who believes squids will take over the land!! And this isn't the ...

The family of gerbbucks, the Adillidae, consists of small to large sized, bipedal rodents. Descended from modern gerbils, most of these species are designed to travel along in the desert climates. Though some have adapted to plains, forests and even rain forests. All species are bipedal and walk and run like modern ostriches. The feet are like those of an ostrich or emu, even equipped with slashing claws they use for defense. The ears are large in most species, and pointed at the tip. The largest ears in the family belong in the genus Adillus . The eyes are large, the fur is thick and woolly and covers all but the hands and feet. The tail is relatively short in most species and usually held out. The tail may also have a tassel on the tip in most species. All species are mostly vegetarians, feeding mainly on grass, leaves, berries, seeds, fungi, and lichens. Sometimes the smaller species will even feed on insects, and larger species can supplement their diet by taking smaller invertebra...

I have posted a new family group on my Metazoic site. It's been a long time since I worked on these! But I've finally completed the anteaters family. I also added a new genus to the family, Myrmarctella , a small tree-dwelling creature, a lot like today's silky anteaters. Of course this one is not pictured on the site, except for maybe the size-chart. But I posted an updated version of the checklist to include this animal. I also made a few more minor changes. I also posted the link to the checklist on the size-chart title page. It's at the very bottom of the page. Of course I kept the link to the checklist also on the homepage, I just shrunk it to make room for any other links I want to put up. Anyway, here is the link to the new page. Not all the species are there, but this gives a good idea of what most of the family members look like. Here is the link: http://www.metazoica.com/anteaters.html If you have any comments, you can let me know here.

This is mostly for those who believe The Future is Wild that squids will take over the land. Jumbo, or Humboldt's, squid are the most high-energetic and adaptable squid in the World. I keep bringing this up to those who believe that squids will take over the land, I never believed it because it is just too far-fetched and stupid. But squids are not that adaptable. If humboldt's squid cannot survive the changes taking place now, and they are the most adaptable squids, how do these people think squids will take over the land? It was the squids that made me lose interest in TFIW in the first place. After they said mammals will become extinct and squids will take over forests and trees, I said "This is too stupid!!" I haven't seen that show since and I haven't cared to either. I admit to liking some of their mammal and a very few of their bird ideas, but nothing else. Octopus are actually much more adaptable than squids, so there is no way squids would win anythin...

Well, I talked about it, and though I am still working on this project, I have decided to make this available on my website now. I am making this viewable in the form of an online book. There is a content page that has links to each family. If you click on each of those links, you can view the completed size-charts I've done already. Let me know how you like them. Keep in mind, it is not finished. I've only done a few pages. As I love lemurs, past present and future, those are always the first ones to get done. It is now only available for your viewing pleasure only. I hope to have all these done next year, but I cannot really make any promises right now because it's a busy time of year, and I have a LOT of other things to get done. Including a trip to California to promote my UMG site. I also still want to work on my herps page. I have no real idea when I will be getting around to that. There will be an announcement on this blog once it gets done. I'm just no damn good...

We often think that most animals start off small and get bigger. It's a survival method for the species. In evolutionary terms, smaller animals have a better chance at long-term survival than larger animals. That is before humans interfered. Humans hunt anything now, big or small. And most of the extinctions going on now are due to over hunting and global warming. But anyway, in this article, it is discovered that modern koalas are not descended from the larger koalas that died off about 30,000 years ago. In fact they were simply 2 separate, and closely related species. This article also explains how if we could find out how this giant koala died off, we might be able to solve the puzzle as to how all other Australian megafauna died off. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/16/koala-dwarf-prehistoric.html Koala Not a Dwarf of Prehistoric Versions Dani Cooper, ABC Science Online Dec. 16, 2008 -- Australia's iconic koala is not a dwarf and the finding has major implications for...

I found this very interesting article that actually explains why we yawn. I always wondered why that happens. I always heard it was because we were in need of extra oxygen. That's what I learned in school. And that may be one reason, but it is probably not the only reason. This explains why whenever I am supposed to be deep in concentration, I always start yawning! It always happens, without fail. It even explains why yawning is so contageous. I had teachers in High School who would send kids to the principal that yawned in class!!! If only they knew! But we are not the only creatures that yawn, many others do as well. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/15/yawn-brain-head.html The Yawn Explained: It Cools Your Brain Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News Dec. 15, 2008 -- If your head is overheated, there's a good chance you'll yawn soon, according to a new study that found the primary purpose of yawning is to control brain temperature. The finding solves several mysteries about...

These are mostly giant, bulky relatives of the Therapeds. The smallest among them are as big as a large rhinoceros. They have a set of horns usually on the head. They use these horns for sparring with others of their own kind, but sometimes, they also use these horns in defense against predators. These are very effective weapons, as most predators will try to avoid a charging animal. The species with the most horns is Exiogcus , with a total of 6 horns on their head. The first 2 horns are rather small and placed just in front of the ears. They are peg-shaped and not really useful for much except to bunt warning strikes at a rival. Then in the center of their snout there is a set of rather sharp horns that curve foreward. At the end of the snout there is a set of horns that curve upward. Unlike most modern rhinos which would be their modern counterparts, these mammals are fully haired. The body is covered in soft, rather woolly fur. The heads are rather horse-like, and all have horns of...

All evolutionists know that the wave of extinction that happened at the end of the Permian Period was the largest extinction event in Earth's history. 90% of all living things died off. Amazingly, the creatures that would become the dinosaurs were among those to survive. Nobody really knows what happened to wipe out almost all living things on the planet at that time, but in this article I found, it is believed complications in the Earth's magnetic field may have been the cause. This could cause all but the most highly-adaptable of animals to die off. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/12/magnetism-extinction.html Did Magnetic Blip Trigger Mass Extinction? Michael Reilly, Discovery News Dec. 12, 2008 -- It was a dying on a scale never seen before or since on Earth. The slaughter was everywhere; the fertile ocean and balmy supercontinent Pangea were transformed into killing fields, littered with the bodies of ancient animals. By the time the dust had settled on the Permian-T...

I have decided to do something a little bit different on my website. I am making up size-charts for each family on my checklist. Whether or not I am doing them up on my website. I thought it'd be interesting to put up size depictions of each animal. I've done several so far and I managed to scan them and put them up on the site, but so far nothing points to them yet. It's still a work in progress. With these, it'd be easier to display the varied sizes of each animal in each family. What I did was put a silhouette of each animal up against an average-sized man (approximately 5'5" or 167.64 cm) so it shows the difference in size and each is drawn to scale. Here is an example of what I have illustrated and will be up on my website soon: This is a size-chart of the large Deinognathids, and it shows the largest of each genus (in the case there is more than one species) up against an average-sized man. These are old, so I had to make a few changes to them. But anyway...

It seems Australia's cuddliest creatures are now at risk. They are dying out apparently due to global warming depleating the supply of nutrients in the Eucalyptus leaves these animals feed on. Koalas are among the World's fussiest eaters, and certain individuals will only eat certain varieties of these leaves. If that tree dies out, that koala will die too of starvation. I am the same way, I just discovered I am diabetic, and everyone tells me if I want to live, I need to change my eating habits and consume more healthy foods. I cannot do it because I find most vegetables disgusting!!! I only like peas, carrots, corn, potatoes and sometimes celery. But I cannot make a meal of that!! And I was brought up that dinner has to include meat and bread. I'd personally rather die than switch to a vegetarian diet!! But anyway, this was the article I got from Discovery News. P.S.: Ignore the fact the title refers to them as koala "bears"!! They are NOT bears! It always chaff...

Been busy battling some christians that have been trying to pound their religion in my head, and I cannot let that happen. They have their beliefs and I have mine. A couple of these so-called "Christians" has already begun making fun of my weight problems. That's OK! They think I'm fat, I think they're stupid, so it kinda evens out! LOL! I've decided I'll let them have their fun for a while, and then when they get too boring, I will stop accepting their comments. In truth, they've already gotten a bit boring, and ANNOYING!!! Anna's right, Bible-thumpers are very annoying!! But anyway, in the midst of all this I have found yet another interesting article. This one about dino-sinuses. It even says that dinosaurs may have got infections like we do, and I hate those!! But the big, empty sinuses made the heads of dinosaurs easy to carry on their long, relatively slender necks. Here's the link: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/09/dinosaur-skul...

These animals, I call them "hill-rats", are not really rats, but descendants of chinchillas of today. Like modern chinchillas, they are sprinters. Most species have evolved longer legs for running. As the common name I gave them implies, these are creatures of the mountainous areas of North and South America. The coat is thick to block out chilling winds, the ears are small and round in most species, and well-furred. The feet are like those of camels, soft-padded and the toes are highly flexible. The tail is long and provides the animals with superior balance. Most species are small, the size of rats to the size of jackrabbits. But one species, Oreippus , is the size of a horse. The smallest species, Acanthopsis , is the only species whose coat is spiked with sharp spines in between their thick fur. In Acanthopsis , the spines range up to an inch long, and the tail is tipped with sharp spines. This keeps the tail out of the mouths of predators so the animal can get away. They...

It's true, these unique animals are in decline because of their unique design. But the fault still partially lies on humans, because if humans were not setting out nets, these fish would not be declining so rapidly. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/02/sawfish-shark-02.html Toothy Sawfish Doomed by Own Design Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News Dec. 2, 2008 -- New efforts are underway to save the sawfish, an iconic, shark-like fish that has experienced steep population declines in recent years, primarily because its distinctive saw-shaped snout easily tangles in nets, angering fishermen. In 2003 the sawfish became the first marine fish to be placed on the list of federally endangered species. It's been on the list ever since. "Commercial fishermen have never liked sawfish," George Burgess, a University of Florida ichthyologist, told Discovery News. "They routinely kill sawfish because they can cause costly damage to nets." Burgess is a University of Florida...

These are generally large mammals, most measuring over 50 feet in length. A lot of these species grow up to 100 feet in length. They truly are the largest land mammals of the Metazoic. They resemble the prehistoric brontosaurs. They have long, flexible necks, relatively small heads, small, rounded ears. The legs are like those of elephants. The tail is long, thick and acts like a 5th leg when the animal chooses to stand on it's hind legs to reach up into the foliage and snatch a high branch. All species of this family (the Megacollidae) are vegetarians. While they usually prefer to feed on leaves, shoots, sometimes even branches, and fruit, they will not hesitate to graze on the grasses and low-growing plants, flowers and bushes as well. Being big is an advantage to this animal, as they can almost double their grasping height when they stand on their hind legs to reach the highest level of the canopy. One species, Fereamanus , also has a 6-foot long elephant-like trunk that gives t...