Manul (Palla’s Cat)

I give credit to one of my good friends for finding this one for me. The creature actually surprised me, I had no idea this creature was alive. I always like to find out about new animals I never knew about.

This feline is one of the first modern day cats to evolve (from about twelve million years ago); the other was Martelli’s cat, which went extinct. Palla’s Cat is what early cats looked like; it is a paleontologist’s goldmine as they thought these were extinct as well. If only they could find early humans like they found this ancient cat, maybe that is what Bigfoot is.

The manul is about the size of an average domesticated cat, reaching about 66cm (26 inches), and a tail that’s an additional 30cm (11 inches) long. It weighs about 2.5 to 4.5 kilograms (5.5 to 9.9 pounds). With it’s stocky posture and thick long fur it appears stout and plushy, kind of what you would expect an ancient cat to look like. The manul has dark brown fur with strips of lighter black and brown throughout which make it’s fur look messy. The fur under its chin is white and then blends into a grey underbelly fur. The manul’s legs are shorter than that of the average cat, which makes it seem even stouter. The fur at its face is shortened which makes it appear to have a flattened face - I find that gives the manul a human like face but some people when they first see a manul think it is a small monkey.

Manuls mostly live in central Asian mountain steppe (high elevated grassland), grasslands and intermountain depressions in regions of Mongolia, China, Russia and the Tibetan Plateau as well as a few other remote locations. The manul was first seen when an individual manul was caught on film after being camera-trapped in Iran’s Khojir National Park. I imagine it was like looking back in time and they did not even need a TARDIS to do it.

Manuls mostly hunt birds and mice at dusk, they are not out during most of the day. During the day manuls tend to hide out in abandoned burrows or on occasion they are seen basking in the sun. Manuls are solitary cats and prefer to avoid any other company expect during mating season. During the mating season the males will quickly mate with a female then disappear and the females will have a litter of up to six kittens with a high mortality rate as they grow up. The kittens are expected by the mother to be hunting at eleven weeks old which is considered quick when there is a high mortality rate. The manul lifespan in the wild is unknown as they have not been studied much in the wild but they tend to live to be around eleven in captivity and do not breed well while in captivity.

Now for interesting facts, what is one thing you notice about the cat when you look at the picture? If you are a cat owner you may notice right away that its eyes have round pupils, not almond shaped (visual streaks). Manuls were the first feline without a pair of upper premolars so their teeth were even more designed for tearing meat instead of eating any vegetation.  When the manuls feel threatened they quiver their lower jaw to show off their canine teeth as to say “I will put a hole in you with these.”

The manul is a near endangered species as it is hunted for its thick, warm fur. Manuls are hunted to this day even though there are laws against it with various governments. Before there were any laws protecting the manul, hunters were killing thousands each year for their fur.

Just because something is considered extinct does not mean it actually is, there are hidden gems like the manul all over the world. There could be one in your backyard; you just need to look. It gives me hope that someday someone will discover a utopia of dinosaurs at the center of the earth.

Mimic Octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus)

I am sorry for the delay in the post but I got busy with other things. I will hopefully be able to get right back on the post wagon and start doing it weekly again.

This is one creature that you will have to see with your own eyes to believe, I don’t think I can explain it well enough for you to completely comprehend. This is basically the physical counterpart to the lyre bird, it can mimic more than fifteen different sea creatures to deceive, intimidate, scare and catch other sea creatures.

All octopi and squid can change their colour and texture; they can even change the shape to be more flat and spread out or bloated to seem bigger. All octopi have eight tentacles that have suckers with ‘teeth’ and a large balloon like body in the center of the tentacles. Octopi have two eyes, two membrane coverings for ears, a beak on the bottom for a mouth and tubes which push water and are used for jet propulsion to move around in water. All octopi can release ink to make a cloud so they can make a swift retreat for a last ditch effort to get away. That is basically what an octopus looks like, now what makes this octopus epic is its mimicry ability.

Mimicking a Mantis Shrimp

The mimic octopus can mimic over 15 other sea creatures for its own advantage. For example, it can change its colour and shape by burying some tentacles, putting two in the air and two on the sand, forming its body to look like a suitable mate for a crab. Once it has tricked the crab into coming close enough it will eat it - it puts me in mind of a cheesy horror film with shapeshifters. Another example: if another fish is pestering a mimic octopus or trying to eat it, then it will bury most of its self, stick out two tentacles, point them in opposite directions and change its colour to look a sea snake and scare the predator off.

Mimicking a Gulper Eel

What the mimic octopus imitates mostly depends on what predators and prey are in the surrounding waters. Some of the creatures it has been known to mimic include sea snakes, lionfish, flatfish, brittle stars, giant crabs, seashells, stingrays, flounders, jellyfish, sea anemones, mantis shrimp, venomous sole and more. It is believed that some of the mimicry is done without ever seeing the creatures so the mimic octopus naturally knows how to mimic other creatures through genetic memory or maybe was taught to them from other mimic octopi, no one knows for sure. The mimic octopus would make a good impressionist that is for sure.

Mimicking a Jellyfish

This is enough of me explaining what it can do; you need to see it to truly understand. (Video below)

Spinosaurus

You might remember this epic beast from the third installment of Jurassic Park as he was the antagonist in the movie. The Spinosaurus looks like an alligator that grew longer legs and arms, extended its neck and grew a huge sail on its back. Also, it grew to be even larger than the T.Rex! Spinosaurus compares to the T.Rex like an alligator compares to a komodo dragon. Spinosaurus (meaning "spine lizard") is a type of theropod (walking on two legs) dinosaur that lived in what is now North America and Egypt during the cretaceous period (145.5 to 65.5 million years ago), but closer to 112 to 97 million years ago.

Spinosaurus may be the largest known carnivore dinosaur to have lived, it is currently the largest that we know of. Spinosaurus was as long as 18 metres (59ft), up to 6.1 metres (20ft) tall without the sail, and 7.6 metres (25ft) with the sail! With all that height, it weighed as much as 20.9 tonnes (23 short tons). However, weight and description is speculated, as no one knows for sure what any dinosaur looks like since there is no written record for their appearance.  Fossils show us that the Spinosaurus was long and thin with a long narrow head like that of an alligator; this suggested that it mostly preyed on fish and sea creatures. Spinosaurus has two long arms, a huge sail on its back and a long tail. Spinosaurus is thought to have scales like that of a modern day lizard, it is as if an alligator had the same thing happen to it as Godzilla and became this huge epic monster.

Spinosaurus is thought to be a very fearsome predator and as I stated before mostly to prey on sea creatures but discoveries of fish scales, iguanodon bones and pterosaur bones in its stomach suggest that it would hunt and prey on other creatures as well. This makes it hunting style similar to that of a modern grizzly bear, mostly hunting fish but will prey on other food if available.

 

It is believed that the sail on the back of the Spinosaurus served three purposes but this is in debate, no one can agree for sure. First is believed to intimidate other threats as to make it appear bigger than it is, much like an elephant does with its ears. Second it is believed that there were blood vessels in the sail and this allowed it to warm itself up (by being in the sun) or cool itself off by being in the shade or some cool wind, again much like the ears of a elephant. Last it was believed to be used for courtship (aka to impress the ladies) - all in all a very useful tool to have.

Spinosaurus was introduced into Jurassic Park III because the T.Rex was overused as the antagonist so they brought in a bigger bad guy. In the movie the Spinosaurus had a better advantage where it was able to use its arms to snap the neck of the T.Rex (which I doubt is possible given the neck strength of the T.Rex) but with it's power and size Spinosaurus probably could win in a fight. Sadly, that fight could never have happened as they lived thousand of kilometers away from each other and did not exist during the same time period, T.Rex lived during 65 to 67 million years ago where the Spinosaurus lived at latest 97 million years ago.

It just goes to show what kind of power, strength, size and beauty this planet can create. It only makes me wonder what kind of creatures will evolve in the future!

Irish Elk

This week I’m bringing you another request, and apologizing for the delay in EPIC creatures. A death in the family kept me from my work for a few weeks, but it’s good to be back! This creature is actually a deer (the Irish Elk is also called Giant Deer) with the largest antlers (compared to its size) ever discovered, I guess you could say it has a nice rack! It once lived with early man, two common beliefs of why it went extinct is that we over-hunted it and that the antlers got so big that it was hard for the deer to adapt to its environment. No one really knows why it died out as records were not keep back then, all we have are fossils and cave drawings, the last known fossil of the species has been carbon dated to about 7700 years ago.

The Irish Elk is about 2.1 metres (6.9ft) tall and looks like your average deer. It ate grass, plants, fruits and tree bark, no different than deer nowadays. Most fossils are found in Irish bogs but scientists believe that they did not just live in Ireland.

What makes this creature so epic is the rack on their heads! They are the largest antlers of any known deer, living or extinct. The antlers were a maximum of 3.65 metres (12ft) from tip to tip and weighted up to 40kg (88lb), now that is a rack to display on your trophy wall! They were so big and required so much calcium to make/maintain that scientists believe that the Irish Elk developed a condition similar to osteoporosis.

It is also believed that the antlers got so large and heavy that as the Irish Elk aged it would eventually be unable lift its head. Once again the main purpose of the antlers was to impress the ladies, the buck with the largest antlers got his pick of the does. The antlers were also used in defense but not that often. The antlers got so large that it was hard for them to get around in the forested areas; when an animal develops a trait that hinders their ability to live like the Irish elk, it is call a maladaptation.

It just goes to show that bigger is not always better and even nature cannot make everything work.

Komodo dragon

The largest of all living lizards is the Komodo dragon, part of the monitor lizard family and the only lizard alive that will stalk and (occasionally) kill humans. Komodo dragons are one of the most feared lizards and because of their size and power some people consider them to be living dinosaurs. The Komodo has a unique way of tracking its prey.

Komodo dragons are the largest predator on the Indonesian islands, they can be up to 3 meters (9.8ft) long and weigh around 70Kg (150lb) - the heaviest ever found in the wild was 166Kg (370lb). The Komodo dragon’s tail is as long as their body and is very powerful, it would knock you off your feet if you were hit by it. The reason for their size is a biological phenomenon called "island gigantism". This happens when there are no large predators on an island; birds and lizards will grow to be larger than normal so they are able to hunt all prey on the island without competition or have problems with larger prey.

Komodo dragons have powerful legs armed with incredibly sharp claws, which are used to harm prey and rip apart food. Komodo dragon skin is usually a green colour and they have yellow forked tongues. You would know if you saw one in the wild, as they are rather large and can be clumsy on their feet. Something that big and beefy, how could you not notice it?

Komodo dragons are generally solitary creatures and only meet to eat or breed but have been reported to hunt together once in a while. Males will fight each other for courtship rights, they sometimes vomit or defecate before the fight and the reason is unknown; maybe they are nervous. The victor pins the other male to the ground and once he has won the victor will mate with the female (after he courts her some more). Courting may involve rubbing chins together and hard scratching on the females back. The female is resistant to mating, she will fight the male so the male will pin her down to mate with her. Once pregnant the female will lay up to 20 eggs in a cut borrow on the side of the hill or in an Orange-footed Shrubfowl’s nesting mount. The eggs will incubate for seven to eight months and the hatchlings will crack the egg with an egg tooth that will fall off later like the echidna puggle does.

 

The hatchlings will live in tree tops to avoid larger prey and cannibalistic adults that will eat them, they take up to eight or nine years to mature and will stay in the trees until they are too large for their claws to lift them into the trees anymore. The claws then become used mostly for defense and attacking.

The diet of the Komodo basically includes any thing it can kill, including other komodo dragons. Something unique about the way they hunt is that they have over 57 different strands of bacteria in their saliva, a germaphobes worst nightmare. When a Komodo dragon eats it actually cuts up its gums so that blood sits in their saliva with raw meat left over from eating as well, this creates the ideal world for bacteria to grow. When a Komodo dragon bites you it will pass the bacteria into your would which can cause rapid swelling, localized disruption of blood clotting, shooting pain up to the elbow, muscle paralysis, hypothermia leading to shock, loss of consciousness and these effects will last for hours; Komodo dragons can also smell the saliva they left in your bite for miles so you can you not hide from them. It is unknown why these bacteria do not affect the Komodo dragon as it lives in their saliva. Recently scientists have discovered that Komodo dragons and other monitor lizards have two small venom glands in their lower jaw but it is in dispute whether they use them or not, some believe that the symptoms of their bite is caused by the venom and others believe it is from the bacteria only.

It is also believed that the Tyrannosaurs Rex (T. Rex) had a similar bacterial environment in their saliva to the Komodo dragon, not surprising as the Komodo dragon and the T. Rex are both epic creatures and are similar type apex predators (top predators) of their times.

The Komodo dragon just goes to show how little we actually know of the epic creatures we share this planet with and how easily we humans can become prey. They show us how we are just another creature on this planet abiding by natures rules of survival. They are also a good example of why you should brush your teeth unless you want the kiss of death.

Bees (Worker)

Bees are amazing little creatures; there are multiple types of bees from Italian bees to African Killer Bees. It is very unfortunate that bees have a bad reputation - when a bee flies into a room the first thing people do is scream and hide or try and kill it. All the bee wants to do is find some pollen and take it back to the nest, it will not sting you unless it feels threatened or you are a threat to the hive. Bees have a social structure in the hive; they make honey, wax and glue, build cells to grow larva and so much more. There is so much information about bees but I am just going to go over the main things I think are interesting which is still a lot!

Bees (like ants) are a specialized form of the wasp; they have two wings, six legs, a head, a thorax and abdomen. Bees are usually black with yellow stripes and covered in a yellowish hair; they can be all black and other variations as well. There are three main different kinds of bees in a hive, the worker, the drone and the queen. There are two different kinds of worker bees as well, one that stays at the hive and builds cells, makes honey, nurses the larva, and repairs the hive as needed. The other worker bees are the ones that go out and find pollen, which they will do all day long.

The worker bees will go out and collect pollen from multiple flowers, they collect until their honey stomachs (a specialized stomach for carrying pollen and honey) are full. They can still fit more pollen on their legs, which have hair that pollen will stick to. Bees can only see certain colours and one colour they cannot see is red but they can see ultra-violet light so if the red flower reflects ultra-violate light than the bee will find it.

Once the workers bring back the pollen they will fill up the cells with honey, which they make by mixing pollen in their honey stomach with enzymes. Worker bees that stay at the hive make wax that they produce from the inner sides of the sternites (plates on each side of the body), they then chew it to make it soft and easy to work with than make cells with it. Worker bees take larva, put it in the cell that is filled with honey and seal it off with wax. When the larva is grown it will chew its way out. Worker bees also produce something called propolis (or bee glue) which is used to stick the hive to branches or other things, they will take debris that fell on the hive and glue it down somewhere else so it will not harm the hive.

 

Bees have a very unique way of telling other bees information. If a worker bee needs to tell other worker bees where flower are, they dance. They buzz, shake their abdomen and walk in certain figures to inform other bees of their information. If the dancing bee is misinforming other bees and another bee is aware of this, the knowledgeable bee will head-butt the misinformed bee to tell it to stop, this is yet another unique behavior. One more interesting fact about worker bees that all of them are female, not a single male be will ever be a worker bee, males have their lives pretty easy and simple.

Without worker bees going about their business collecting pollen from one plant or another (pollination) it is believed that we would not have as much as 60% of our crops (ie corn, soy, potatoes, garlic, etc…) so these are very important creatures and should be treated with respect.

Sorry

I regret to inform you that due to being very busy this week that I was not able to make a post but I will leave you with a talking dog.

Enjoy.