Posts Tagged ‘cats’
What am I sappy dinosaur blogging?
September 22, 2017A perfectly preserved new species of dinosaur discovered by researchers in Canada.
Discovered in a mine in Alberta, the fossilized dinosaur’s skin, its heavily-armoured back and head is clearly visible, that Canadian palaeontologists named the specimen the ‘Mona Lisa’ of dinosaurs.
Above, one of the best preserved dinosaur fossils ever found, complete with skin and scales. Credit Courtesy of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Canada.
Some 110 million years ago, this armored plant-eater lived in western Canada, until a flooded river swept it into the sea. Its undersea burial preserved it in stunning detail.
The specimen’s stomach contents have been also preserved, giving new clues to its nutrition.
An artist’s impression of the Borealopelta markmitchelli. Courtesy of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Canada.
One the researchers Caleb Brown, from Royal Tyrrell Museum in Canada, said:
“Strong predation on a massive, heavily-armoured dinosaur illustrates just how dangerous the dinosaur predators of the Cretaceous must have been.
This nodosaur is truly remarkable in that it is completely covered in preserved scaly skin, yet is also preserved in three dimensions, retaining the original shape of the animal. The result is that the animal looks almost the same today as it did back in the Early Cretaceous. You don’t need to use much imagination to reconstruct it; if you just squint your eyes a bit, you could almost believe it was sleeping … It will go down in science history as one of the most beautiful and best preserved dinosaur specimens – the Mona Lisa of dinosaurs.”
What am I sappy water bear blogging?
August 4, 2017
credit: SciSource
When I was studying biology, we knew them as water bears, however . . “the tiny tardigrade has been named the world’s most indestructible species after scientists discovered it is the only creature that will survive until the Sun dies.
Although cockroaches are traditionally seen as Earth’s most resilient species, the eight-legged microbeasts are actually far hardier and will continue to thrive for around 10 billion years, come hell or high water, Oxford University has found.
Tardigrades, which are also known as space bears or moss piglets, are able to survive for up to 30 years without food or water and endure temperature extremes of up to 150 degrees celsius, the deep sea and the frozen vacuum of space.
credit: SciSource
Researchers from Oxford and Harvard University, found that their astonishing abilities would protect them from calamities which would wipe out all life on Earth. In fact the only forces capable of harming tardigrades, such as a gigantic asteroid, an exploding star or a deadly gammar ray burst will not happen before our own Sun dies.
Not only does it suggest that tardigrades will survive long after humans have died out, but it gives hope that life could exist on even the most barren and hostile planets.
“Life on this planet can continue long after humans are gone,” said Dr Rafael Alves Batista, of the Department of Physics at Oxford University.
“Tardigrades are as close to indestructible as it gets on Earth, but it is possible that there are other resilient species examples elsewhere in the universe.
“In this context there is a real case for looking for life on Mars and in other areas of the solar system in general. If Tardigrades are earth’s most resilient species, who knows what else is out there.”
What am I sappy cat blogging?
July 21, 2017
“Priest Solodkov, the ship’s doctor and the ship’s cat on the deck of Kagul, Bizerta, 1921. Kagul (renamed Ochakov, later General Kornilov) was built by Sevastopol dockyard. Laid down 1900, launched October 1902, completed 1905, seized by the White forces in the Russian Civil War and interned in Bizerta in 1920 as part of Wrangel’s fleet, sold for scrap in 1933.
What am I sappy cat blogging?
July 14, 2017Do Cats Purr When Humans are not Around?
Why do cats purr? Humans tend to think that purring is a sign of happiness in a cat – and indeed it can be – but there are other reasons why our feline friends produce this particular vocalisation.
Purring is a habit that develops very early in a cat’s life, while suckling from its mother, so clearly it is not a sound that is directed solely at humans.
Cat owners will be well aware that a cat can produce more than one kind of purr, just as they have a whole repertoire of meows, chirps, growls, spits and other sounds.
The purr that is produced during suckling, is quite different in quality to the purr that you will hear when your cat is sprawling across your lap being stroked.
Analysis of the sound has shown when a cat is asking for food, whether from its mother or a human – the purr contains a high-pitched note that is similar in frequency to a cry (though not as loud). It may have something of the effect of the cry of a newborn, which affects the hormonal state of female mammals and elicits a care-giving response.
When a cat is being petted or is snuggled up to its owner on the sofa, the purr it produces is much more soporific and generally soothing, and acoustic analysis shows that the “cry” component is missing.
Adult cats will often purr when they are close to or in physical contact with another cat, engaging in grooming for example. They will also do it when they play with an inanimate object, or while eating, which can be at a time when they are alone.
However, the most usual time for purring is in company, and it can be the care soliciting sound, asking to be fed or stroked, or an indication of social pleasure.
The darker side
Strangely, vets also report that cats will purr when they are in great pain or just before death. This seems to be illogical if it is a sound relating to pleasure, but in fact, it could be that the cat is asking for help.
It could also be a way of masking the fact that the cat is injured and vulnerable. If you are a small animal, even a carnivore, it is not good to show weakness as this could encourage larger predators to come along and eat you.
The purr may be the cat equivalent of “everything’s fine, I’m on top of the world. Nothing to see here, move along please”.
Can big cats purr too?
There has long been a debate about whether the “big cats” can purr – and the belief has been that cats that roar, such as lions and tigers, cannot purr. Although there is no conclusive evidence on this subject, it seems that even cats that roar purr as cubs while suckling.
All mammals have a bone or series of bones in the throat called the hyoid apparatus, which supports the larynx and tongue. In cat species that roar the hyoid apparatus is not entirely made of bone but retains some parts as cartilage, while cat species that purr have a hyoid that is completely bony.
This modification may permit roaring, but does not necessarily mean that purring is impossible. It is believed that cheetah, ocelot, margay, serval, and lynx, among other species, can purr, and it is suggested that jaguar, leopard, lion and tiger cannot – or if they can they’ve kept it secret all these years.
Process behind the purr
The actual process of producing the purring sound is complicated, and is still not completely understood, but it involves the muscles of the larynx and the diaphragm being activated by bursts of nerve activity that originate in the brain and occur 20 to 30 times every second.
This happens on both in and out breaths, which accounts for the continuous sound of the purr.
The fact that a cat can do all this and simultaneously eat, knead the cushions, rip the chair leg to pieces or weave complicated patterns through your legs without getting stepped on makes one wonder what they would have achieved with opposable thumbs.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 