Posts

Showing posts from June, 2010

Family of the Week: The Carnivorous Squirrels

The family Regisciuridae are close in resemblance to modern squirrels, but they are not at all related. These animals actually derived from dormice. Dormice are even more aggressive hunters than any other rodents today, as they also feed on a variety of insects as well as vegetation. Most species of Regisciurids are good sized animals, with long, bushy tails. They have long legs, and they possess retractable claws like cats. The incisors are designed much like those of the carnivorous rats (family: Caromuridae). Prey is often killed by biting them on the back of the neck and breaking the vertebrae, while at the same time, grasping with the claws. The primary food is any form of meat, whether they hunted the prey themselves or scavenged from another predator. Prey is mostly detected by sight and hearing, which are very acute senses in these animals. They are all diurnal hunters, and vary in size. The smallest species in the family are those of the genus Microsciuropsis . The la...

Will Humans Be Extinct in 100 Years?

I think I've always known this in some way. I'd been hearing for many years about Nostradamus's prediction that 2012 will be the end of time for us. I can already see some merit in this belief. For the past 10 years, disasters have been getting worse and seem to be worsening every year. I've been lucky so far that this town has not yet been hit with a major tsunami. We did have a bit of a scare last year. But nothing happened. Also, it seems everywhere I go now, everyone is a homosexual. Not that I have anything at all against homosexuals, I have friends who are gay and I totally respect their beliefs, but they don't have children! So the more gay people there will be, the less the human race will reproduce. Our numbers, so numerous now, will lessen through time. Most of us now, will be dead, or very old, in 100 years. Way beyond the age of having children. Then there is this oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is wreaking havoc, and I heard it's only going to ...

Family of the Week: The Sea Bears

OK, I've been so busy, but I think it's about time I got back on track! UGH!! My free time is so limited these days. The sea bears are a small group of large oceanic mammals around during the early Metazoic, before the evolution of the sea monkeys. They actually evolved off the modern black bears, which during the earliest days of the Metazoic, learned to take on a semi-aquatic lifestyle so they could feed on fish. These animals are built with small heads, realtively long necks, sleek bodies, a short tail, and flippers, of which the foreflippers are larger than the rear flippers. Many species have heads that are adorned with some kind of decorative features, particularly most prominent in the males. Females have smaller crests or none at all. The forelimbs are the only ones that have claws. The fur is very short, but thick. During certain times of the year, the bright colors show through from the skin, giving these animals unusual hues, including blues, lavendars and reds. Th...