Ecology & Zoology

While surveying monkeys in the Magombera Forest in Tanzania, environmental scientists this week unexpectedly discovered a new species of chameleon called Kinyongia magomberae, or the Magombera…

I wrote the following about the toothed sucker rings of the Humboldt squid in Squid Says: What's For Dinner? Probably Not You: Each ring would barely fit on the finger of an infant, and the "teeth"…

I discovered that Giant Squid was a band when I was searching for squid products on Amazon (yes, that is pretty typical behavior for me). Okay, I thought, rather miffed, some punk band thinks it's…

According to a recent GENETICS study, a family of genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, or ACS genes) are responsible for production of ethylene and since this gas affects many aspects…

A nifty news story about students in a Florida classroom watching a giant squid dissected in Melbourne, Australia, led me to hunt down an article about the dissection itself. Was it really a giant…

And they're on exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Splash Zone! Seriously, if you are within 100 miles of Monterey, you should go see them now. If you're not, well . . . sorry! Take my word for it…

First the bad news: our octopus died. Climbed out over the astroturf, was found on the floor the next day. Very, very sad. But, the consolation: on the same day, a dozen or so live market squid…

Some discussion over the identity of Nemo's little octopus friend Pearl has led me into a deep investigation of Grimpoteuthis (dumbo octopuses) and Opisthoteuthis (flapjack octopuses). Both are…

Possibly I have found it: Species of Opisthoteuthis are the most compressed, in the anterior-posterior axis, of any cephalopod. Mmmm! Syrup, anyone?

Ever wonder why the slow moving sloth has a slightly greenish hue? Ever consider the sloth at all? Well, perhaps not. Location, location, location, is the mantra for many of us in our macro world,…