Pinta Island Tortoise

This week’s Epic Creature is one of (if not THE) rarest living animal on the planet today; there is only one known Pinta Island Tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni) left alive. As far as we know, the only Pinta Tortoise left is a male – His name is Lonesome George. There is a reward of $10,000 offered by Darwin Station to whom ever finds a female to mate with George and save this species.

The Pinta Island Tortoise is a subspecies of the Galapagos Tortoise that evolved separately on the Pinta Island. A tortoise is a land dwelling reptile - this is what makes the tortoise different from the turtle. Turtles are amphibian (start their lives in water) whereas tortoises are land dwelling only. These tortoises are large, weighing about 400Kg(880lb) and reaching 1.8m(5.9ft) in length. They have four legs, a tail and a head on a long neck. The body of the tortoise is protected with a thick shell, which these creatures are very famous for.

Pinta Island tortoises are “keystone creatures”, meaning they eat vegetation and fruit on the island and defecate the seeds which helps the plant life cycle and allows  sustainable food for the tortoise. These tortoises started to become endangered because feral goats were introduced to the island and started devouring all the vegetation, not leaving enough for the tortoises to survive. The tortoises had not encountered such a problem before and did not have any adaption to help survive and they started dying.

Tortoises are also known to be able to live a very long time - Lonesome George is believed to be about 100 years old and is very healthy. The feral goats that destroyed most of the species have since been removed from the island and the vegetation has start to grow back, giving Lonesome George his food back and a chance to live a little longer.

Lonesome George has mated with other species of tortoise but they were not successful. If we cannot find a female for Lonesome George to mate with then this species of tortoise will finally become extinct.

This week’s creature is Epic because it is the rarest known creature on the planet (though I wish I were writing about it for a better reason.) I hope that sometime in the future Lonesome George can have the family he’s always dreamed of and I can scratch this creature off the list!

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis

I know I have not posted in a while. I got lazy over the holidays and basically forgot to post so I will be back on track this year. So here is the first post of the New Year!

This creature is something straight out of science fiction – only it’s real! This is a creature that will infect an ant and alter its behavior, basically zombifying the ant and killing it to spread and infect more ants.

The Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is a parasitoid fungus (meaning it requires another living creature to live off of) that targets a specific host. This one targets the carpenter ant, though there are many different parasitoid fungi that target other insects as well. The ophiocordyceps unilateralis (I am going to call it the fungus from here on out as the name is too long) spores enter the ant’s body and begin to consume the non-vital soft tissue. Then the fungus begins the yeast stage of it development spreading in the ant’s body, which starts to affect the brain and change its behavior. Scientists are not sure how the fungus can do this but it basically highjacks the brain and makes the ant do what it wants. The fungus makes the ant climb up a plant and bite into it to hold itself there. The fungus makes the ant bite with abnormal strength leaving a telltale bell-shaped mark, there have been similar bite marks left in 48 million year old plant fossils suggesting these fungi have been around for 48 million years.

Now that the ant is where the fungus wants it, the fungus kills the ant and continues to invade the soft tissue more, fortifying the exoskeleton. The fungus continues to spread out of the ant’s body into the plant to fortify itself even more and when it is ready to reproduce it will grow a stem with a ball on it called a fruiting body out of the ants head. This will burst open and spread the spores of the fungus to infect more ants. This whole process will only take 4 to 10 days.

The ants always seem to bite into plants about 25cm off the ground with 94-95% humidity and a temperature of about 20°C to 30°C. When the fungus does not find the requirements it needs to grow it results in undersized or abnormal reproductive structures (fruiting bodies).

There you are, zombies are real. They are just not what you thought they would be - they only affect insects and in this case the carpenter ants. Too bad Shaun and Ed are not there to help save them.

Quite an Epic Creature to kick off the New Year with!

Triceratops

This week’s (very belated) epic creature goes out to a little buddy of mine. This is one of the most well known dinosaurs; if it were not for the title I would like to think that you made a few guesses. I am sure two other dinosaurs you thought of were Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Brontosaurus. There are two reasons this dinosaur is so epic (in my opinion) and those are its three horns and its head plate. The name triceratops actually means three horned face, a pretty accurate description if you ask me.

Triceratops’ were estimated to be about 7.9 to 9.0m (26 to 29.5ft) in length, 2.9 to 3m (9.5 to 9.8ft) in height and weighing around 6.1 to 12 tonnes (13,000 to 26,000lb). What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about triceratops? Most likely you think of the crest and 3 horns they have on the top of their skulls, which are among the largest of all animals. The triceratops had a large crest on the top of skull which could be almost a third the length of its body, the longest known is 2.5m (8.2ft). The triceratops had one horn above the nostril and two horns above each eye approximately 1m (3ft) in length. The crest was very solid with bone spikes along the end of it. Most recent theories suggest that since there are blood vessels present and as they got older holes developed in the crest that it is used for identification and courtship, much like antlers and horns of modern deer, mountain goats or rhinoceros beetles.

Though there is a lot of debate on the body structure of the triceratops, one thing scientists agree on is that it was a quadruped (meaning it walked on four legs), had hooves and a thick build. The triceratops also had a beak and rows of shearing teeth. What everyone debates is how the triceratops walked, some believe it was like the modern rhinoceros and others believe the front legs stood out at angles from the body in a sprawling stance to better support the massive head. I can go on more about the different arguments about body types but one thing we all know is that this is one epic creature.

It is believed that the triceratops was not a shy creature but it did not go out looking for fights. They were herbivores and preferred to be left alone so they could eat plants. When provoked it would defend itself - most likely it would face the threat and charge to scare off or injure the attacker. They may even have stampeded like the modern day wildebeest. Since there are no records available it is hard to know for sure just how they lived. 

I would bet money that the triceratops has made an appearance in every dinosaur movie or game. Triceratops’ are one of the most commonly known dinosaurs and a fan favourite. Triceratops lived along side of the T-Rex so I am sure they had some epic battles!

With one of the largest skulls of any known animal, those awesome horns and tank like body, this creature is one of the most epic of all dinosaurs!

Queen Bee

This is one amazing bee; she is the heart of every beehive and one tough lady! Everything the bees do is for the queen bee, they live only to serve her and her needs. They collect pollen, make honey, make the hive and produce royal jelly just for her! All the other creatures that benefit from bees are merely secondary to the queens needs.

The queen is born in a special cell called the royal brood where 10 to 20 special worker bees dedicated to the queen (current and future) will take an egg and put it in a cell with royal jelly. This jelly is magic (that is best way to explain it) and will cause any ordinary egg to hatch a queen bee. If more than one queen bee is born then the potential queens will fight to the death until only one is left, a bit more than a sexy pillow fight. If all the queen bees die than the workers will produce another queen bee as only one queen bee needs to hatch.

Royal Jelly

As the queen grows she will be much larger then all the other bees as her abdomen will house 1000 to 2000 eggs and lay eggs for 2 to 7 years. When the queen is ready she will fly out of the hive and mate with a drone seeking to fertilize a queen, she will then fly back and get ready to start laying eggs for the workers to take care of. Virgin and laying queens are not hard to spot in the hive, as they will run across the combs and over top of the drones/workers to get cover, the queen is most important after all! When it comes to the queen bee the needs of one bee out weigh the needs of many, that is why when you disturb a hive the bees will sting, knowing they will die to ward off the threat.

When the queen starts to get close to running out of eggs the bees will start making another queen. Also if the hive gets too large a group of bees will starting making another queen and then a fly off and start a new hive.

Nature never ceases to amaze me and the queen bee is epicly amazing and magical!  

Teratornithidae (Teratorns)

The word Teratorn comes from the Greek work Teratornis meaning monster bird and that was a pretty good suggestion from a reader for this week’s epic creature – The Teratorn was a species of huge birds, now extinct. Some of them may have looked like vultures but this species was birds of prey - big enough that some people believe this is the creature behind the myth of the Thunderbird.

Teratornithidae were the largest known flying birds with a wing span of up to 7m (23ft), standing up to 2m (6.6ft, that is much taller than me!), and could be as long as 3.5m(11.5ft) and weigh up to 78kg (172lb). That is a size that could rival the pterosaurs but they lived million of years apart. There are a few different species of the Teratornithidae that has been found, the largest being Argentavis but the best-known species found are Teratornis found in La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Over a hundred specimens of Teratornis have been found, the most common found stood about 75cm (29.5in), wing span of about 3.8m (12.5ft) and weight about 15kg (33lb) which is not much bigger than a condor but they are not small birds.

The larger Teratorns are believed to not be flying, but if there was a strong wind they could get some air and glide much like a modern albatross. In South America where they are believed to have lived in the late Miocene era (about 6 million years ago, very early man would of existed around this time as well) there would have been a lot of strong wind allowing the bird to be in the air a lot. The Teratorns are believed to be scavengers but their long and wide beaks suggest that they are birds of prey like the eagle. They might have been opportunistic scavengers as well as hunters and they most likely swallowed their food whole (swallowing animals as large as a hare). As they didn’t rely on scavenging, they most likely had completely feathered heads.

Teratorns are believed to still have been around at the same time as early man and it is believed to be the reason behind the myth of the thunderbird. The size of these birds would be reason enough for early man to fear it and/or worship it. I know I would find cover if this bird of prey was following me. The size alone is reason enough for this creature to be epic but that it caused legends to be passed down through the generations and survive to this day is what makes this week’s creature truly epic!

Kermode Bear (AKA Spirit Bear or Ursus Americanus Kermodei)

This is a white black bear; it is not a white bear, polar bear, albino bear or blond bear. This is a black bear with a recessive gene that causes it to have pale white fur, giving it a ghost-like appearance, hence its nickname Spirit Bear. Scientists know what causes the black bear to be born white just not why. The gene that causes the bear to be born white is called Kermodism and that is why it is named the kermode bear. It is estimated that there is a one in ten chance of a black bear being born white.

The spirit bear has the same physical appearance as the black bear, standing about 160cm (6ft) tall with males weighing in at 225Kg (500lb) and females weighing about 135kg (300lb). The spirit bear does have an advantage in fishing over the black bear as the fish have a hard time seeing the spirit bear so that gives them about 30% better chance of catching fish. At night the fish cannot see any difference in either bear so the advantage is gone.

National Geographic estimates that there are about 100-400 spirit bears in the wild ranging from Alaska to Vancouver Island. The spirit bear can thank the natives of their area for its survival from the fur trade. The Natives of British Columbia and Alaska believed the spirit bear to be sacred so they did not hunt them nor told the fur trappers about them.

There are many traditions and stories that surround the spirit bear. One of the stories starts ten thousand years ago and the world was frozen, covered with glaciers and snow. Raven descended from the heavens and created the green, he created man (they popped out of seed pods) and even after making everything he was not satisfied. Raven chose Black Bear, the keeper of dreams and memories to help him out. He did not have far to go as the Black Bear was always seen as a constellation of the stars in the night sky. Raven made a pact with Black Bear where Black Bear will live in peace for all time and every one of ten children of Black Bear will be turn white as a reminder for Raven of the misery of the great ice age before. These white bears to this day are still called Moksgm’ol (meaning white bear) by the Kitasoo and T’simshian people.

The traditions and respect people used to hold for the black bear and the spirit bear are still held to this day by native and non-native people. The stories are still passed down and ceremonies are still held to honour this unlikely but majestic creature.

 

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.