Fact Of The Day - Tumblr Posts
The tiny second ear like thingy in cat’s ears are called Henry’s pockets. They are not sure exactly what they are for but it’s thought to help them amplify and pick up softer sounds.
On this day in 1914, Martha, the last-known living Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) died at the Cincinnati Zoo. Her death at age 29 after a lifetime in captivity marked the disappearance of her once-abundant species from the world. And it made her name synonymous with species extinction at human hands. But what happened?
Before the second half of the nineteenth century, the Passenger Pigeon was the most common bird in the United States, with a population numbering in the billions. Flocks of pigeons flying overhead were so dense that they could darken the skies. But a combination of overhunting and habitat destruction sent this species into decline, and by the turn of the century, it was considered extinct in the wild.
Photo: Enno Meyer, CC0 1.0, Wikimedia Commons
Animal of the day: Lemon shark!
Today is a very special animal because it is my personal favourite, the lemon shark! They live in shallow, subtropical waters and give birth to live young. These pups grow up in mangrove forests, because the adults sometimes eat the babies but they are too big to fit through the mangrove roots, so it makes for a safe nursery for the little ones.
These little guys are super friendly and love being pet by divers!
Lemon sharks do not pose a threat to humans. There have only been 10 recorded unprovoked lemon shark bites, none of which were fatal.
On this day in 1936, the last known thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) died at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. The animal’s passing marked the extinction of its species. Also known as the “Tasmanian wolf,” the thylacine was Australia’s largest marsupial predator. It sported a dog-like form, with distinctive stripes, and a jaw that could open up to 80 degrees—one of the largest gapes of any mammal.
The thylacine fed primarily on small mammals and birds. Nocturnal and shy, it was seldom seen by humans. However, beginning in the 19th century, settlers believed the animals threatened their livestock and, spurred on by a bounty offered by the government, hunted them relentlessly. Attempts at protecting the species in the wild came too late: Despite numerous unconfirmed reports of sightings in recent decades, no definitive sightings have occurred since the 1930s.
Facts.... cold hard facts 😔🫣
Maybe I am just a cat
Lovers For Life
I am always visited by 2 Mourning Doves I call “the couple”. Upon further research of the species, I soon learned that Mourning Doves “mate for life”. That the males perform a courtship “coo” to find a mate (or what I call a “life partner”). Mourning Dove pairs are together for life...that is until one dies, and the one who live on looks for another mate. They are literally the epitome of “till death do us part”. They are pretty much monogamous and loyal to each other until death literally separates them. Sometimes I wish to have a life partner who is loyal and there for me (and vise versa) until death separates us...but we are humans, and that’s asking for a lot out of us unfortunately. Does loyalty still exist in this generation? Hmmm.....
Random Fact Of The Day: Did You Know Bee’s, Wasps, & And Any Other Bug With Stingers, Are Venomous? Their Stingers Are Filled With Various Amounts Of Venom That Can Cause Allergic Reactions!
Today I feel like a Palea Steindachneri.
Do you ever feel like a wattle-necked softshell turtle (Palea steindachneri)? You are not alone. Found in parts of Southeastern China and Vietnam, this rare reptile’s carapace, or shell, can grow up to 17 in (43.2 cm) long. It inhabits freshwater pools and feeds on fish, insects, and small invertebrates. Unfortunately, this species is critically endangered and is threatened due in part to habitat degradation and being hunted for the food trade.
Photo: randall_f, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
if i can remember to i’m gonna start doing daily lgbt-related facts, so here’s my first one (yes this may seem obvious, but this is to help educate people who don’t know this stuff)
fotd: with lgbt related things, the prefixes of things like sexuality/sexual orientation, romantic orientation, and gender tend to be interchangeable. take the bi- prefix for example: bisexual is sexually attracted to people of two genders, biromantic is romantically attracted to people of two genders, and bigender is having two genders that you identify with
fotd: being transgender is not just being male to female or female to male! the trans- prefix is a latin prefix meaning ‘across’, ‘beyond’, or ‘on the other side of’, so being transgender is identifying as anything that doesn’t align with your assigned gender from birth!
fotd: the point of identities in the queer community is not to box yourself, but to find something that roughly describes how you feel. it doesn’t have to be all that close to your identity to use it! for example, i say i’m bisexual, when i probably fit more under sexual fluidity - my preference and sexuality tends to change a lot. i still say im bisexual as that feels more right! so don’t feel the need to label yourself as something and then when something about you doesn’t align with that label, don’t freak out. that label just describes common experiences!
fotd: people on the arospec and acespec are queer.
fotd: a trans person is still trans, even if they don’t ‘look’ it.
fotd: gay people real
idk i can’t think of one for today, also sorry i keep missing them lmao
This Fossil Friday is a blast from the past! Snapped circa 1959, this photo depicts Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops on display in the Museum’s Hall of Late Dinosaurs. These iconic dinosaurs are still on display at the Museum, but they now sit in separate halls. You can find T. rex in the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs—saurischians are characterized by grasping hands, in which the thumb is offset from the other fingers. Triceratops is in the Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs, which displays dinosaurs that are characterized by a backward-pointing extension of the pubis bone. This bone was thought to have helped support the enormous stomachs that these animals needed to digest masses of tough vegetation!
Photo: Image no. ptc-884 / © AMNH Library