Scientific Illustration

Flore forestière by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.

Paris :J. Rothschild,1872..
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13414167

astronomy-to-zoology:

Genus Palaeotragus

(meaning Ancient Antelope)

Was a genus of primitive okapi-like artiodactyls (even toed ungulates) that lived in Miocene Africa and Eurasia. there are two currently described species; P.primaevus which was a smaller 2m animal which had no ossicones. and P.germaini  which had ossicones and was alot taller at 3m, resembling a tall okapi.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Chordata-Mammalia-Artiodactyla-Giraffidae-Paleotraginae-Palaeotragus

Source, Source

(via rhamphotheca)

rhamphotheca:

Hallucinochrysa diogenesi • Early evolution and ecology of camouflage in insects | fossil of a green lacewing larva (Neuroptera: Chrysopoidea) in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain [2012]

Taxa within diverse lineages select and transport exogenous materials for the purposes of camouflage. This adaptive behavior also occurs in insects, most famously in green lacewing larvae who nestle the trash among setigerous cuticular processes, known as trash-carrying, rendering them nearly undetectable to predators and prey, as well as forming a defensive shield.

We report an exceptional discovery of a green lacewing larva in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain with specialized cuticular processes forming a dorsal basket that carry a dense trash packet. The trash packet is composed of trichomes of gleicheniacean ferns, which highlight the presence of wildfires in this early forest ecosystem. This discovery provides direct evidence of an early acquisition of a sophisticated behavioral suite in stasis for over 110 million years and an ancient plant–insect interaction.

reference:  Ricardo Pérez-de la Fuente et al. 2012. Early evolution and ecology of camouflage in insects. PNAS, published online before print December 12, 2012; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1213775110

(read more: NovaTaxa - Species New to Science)

rhamphotheca:

Study Sheds Light on How Miocene Predators Shared Space and Food 

by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of paleontologists led by the University of Michigan has studied fossilized teeth of saber-toothed cats and bear dogs found at Cerro de los Batallones in Spain to reveal how the extinct predators shared space and prey during the late Miocene period some 9 million years ago.

The paleontologists analyzed the tooth enamel of fossil teeth of a leopard-sized Promegantereon ogygia (a saber toothed cat), lion-sized Machairodus aphanistus (saber tooth) and a bear dog (Amphicyonidae). The findings appear today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The team conducted what’s called a stable carbon isotope analysis on the animals’ teeth. Using a dentist’s drill with a diamond bit, they sampled teeth from 69 specimens, including plant-eaters and predators – 27 saber-toothed cats and bear dogs. They isolated the carbon from the tooth enamel and, using a mass spectrometer, measured the ratio of the more massive carbon 13 molecules to the less-massive carbon 12…

(read more: Science-News)               (image: Mauricio Anton)

rhamphotheca:

Polacanthus 

… was an armored, spiked, plant-eating ankylosaur from the early Cretaceous period. Early depictions often gave it a very vague head as it was only known from the rear half of the creature. It lived 130 to 125 million years ago in what is now western Europe. Polacanthus grew to between 4 to 5 m (13 to 16 ft) long. There are not many fossil remains of this creature, and some important anatomical features, such as its skull, are poorly known. Polacanthus had a large sacral shield, a single fused sheet of dermal bone over its hips (sacral area) which was not attached to the underlying bone and decorated with tubercles…

(read more: Wikipedia)          (images: T - FunkMonk; B - Baron Nopsca, 1933)

Eggs by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.

Naumann,.
Gera-Untermhaus,F.E. Köhler,1897-1905 [v.1, 1905].
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35158987

Eggs by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.

Naumann,.
Gera-Untermhaus,F.E. Köhler,1897-1905 [v.1, 1905].
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35158989

Tits by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.

Naumann,.
Gera-Untermhaus,F.E. Köhler,1897-1905 [v.1, 1905].
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35158891

n396_w1150 by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.

Naumann,.
Gera-Untermhaus,F.E. Köhler,1897-1905 [v.1, 1905].
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35158985

rhamphotheca:

from Wild oxen, sheep & goats of all lands, living and extinct (1898)

by Richard Lydekker