I finally just read an article I’ve been saving from the New Yorker, published on August 2, 2010. It’s a book review titled “The Scales Fall” by Elizabeth Kolbert or rather a book review summing up the problems discussed in four books: “Saved by the Sea: A Love Story with Fish” by David Helvarg; “Managed… [read more]
Ocean sunfish holy mola!
What on earth is that? This is a common exclamation upon meeting an ocean sunfish, the craziest looking fish inhabiting the same ocean layers humans frequent. But this peculiar fish sports the coolest scientific name: Mola mola. Possibly Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy who scientifically named thousands of species, suffered a brief nervous tic… [read more]
Cetacean evolution: whale and dolphin ancient history
For obvious reasons it’s tough to find good photos or drawings of long gone ancient whales and dolphins, so instead I am using a drawing of several of today’s modern whales for this post. Scientists have concluded that whales, dolphins and porpoises have evolved from Archaeocetes, the name given to a group of ancient whales.… [read more]
10 facts about Cephalorhynchus dolphins
1. Cephalorhyncus sounds like a sneeze but is actually the genus that includes four small coastal dolphins: Hector’s, Commerson’s, Heaviside’s and Chilean. 2. All four of the dolphins are mistaken for porpoises because they have nicely sloped heads instead of the more common dolphin beak. 3. Based on DNA studies, Cephalorhyncus dolphins share the same… [read more]
8 badass Burmeister’s porpoise facts
1. The name Burmeister’s porpoise can be traced back to Hermann Burmeister, who first described the porpoise in 1865. It’s great that he identified the porpoise, but it’s a bit of a bummer name for the porpoise, sounds like a beer name. But the scientific name makes up for it: Phocoena spinipinnis. 2. As with… [read more]