Australian mammals on brink of extinction calamity 10 February 2015Last updated at 07:58 ET By Helen Briggs Environment Correspondent The endangered northern quoll, a mammal species native to Australia Australia has lost one in ten of its native mammals species over the last 200 years in what conservationists describe as an "extinction calamity". No other nation has had such a high rate of loss of land mammals over this time period, according to scientists at Charles Darwin University, Australia. The decline is mainly due to predation by the feral cat and the red fox, which were introduced from Europe, they say. Large scale fires to manage land are also having an impact. As an affluent nation with a small population, Australia's wildlife should be relatively secure from threats such as habitat loss. But a new survey of Australia's native mammals, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests the scale of the problem is more serious than anticipated. Shy species
25 Pictures of Frogs and Toads RED-EYED TREE FROG – Photograph by MARCUS LIM To deny the awesomeness of frogs would be foolish. They are colourful, they are diverse, and if they were the size of humans, they could leap over buildings! Below you will find 10 facts and 25 pictures about our amphibious friends, the mighty Frog! All hail! Photograph by ANGI NELSON Photograph by DIABLOMAKO The distribution of frogs ranges from tropic to subarctic regions, but most species are found in tropical rainforests. Photograph by ANGI NELSON Photograph by DARK-RAPTOR The use of the common names “frog” and “toad” has no taxonomic justification. Photograph by MY LIVING PHOTOGRAPHY Photograph by AIMISHBOY The morphology of frogs is unique among amphibians. Photograph by SNIC320 Photograph by ARCYNUM Frogs range in size from 10 mm (0.39 in) (Brachycephalus didactylus of Brazil and Eleutherodactylus iberia of Cuba) to 300 mm (12 in) (goliath frog, Conraua goliath, of Cameroon). Photograph by HILDE VAN HOVE Photograph by YOSHIAKI OIKAWA
Giant snail appears in Brisbane The Giant African Snail found in a Brisbane container yard. Photo: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry A snail the size of a cricket ball and posing a serious threat to Australia’s biosecurity has been destroyed after it was found creeping across a Brisbane container yard. Staff called the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry after finding the large snail crawling across the cement yard. It was a Giant African Snail. A giant African land snail, like this one, was found in Brisbane. The exotic pest has an insatiable appetite and is capable of destroying 500 types of plants including vegetable crops, fruit trees and Australia’s native eucalypts. Advertisement Giant African Snails can live through harsh conditions, growing up to 20 centimetres in length and weighing up to a kilogram. Acting DAFF regional manager Paul Nixon said on Monday officers found no evidence of other snails, eggs or snail trails when they inspected the container yard.
The Cicadas Are Coming! DIY ground thermometer hide captionCicadas live underground and emerge in 13- or 17-year cycles. Stephen Jaffe/AFP/Getty Images Cicadas live underground and emerge in 13- or 17-year cycles. Back in 1996, a group of baby cicadas burrowed into soils in the eastern U.S. to lead a quiet life of constant darkness and a diet of roots. We know that when 8 inches below the surfaces reaches 64 degrees F those little buggers will be everywhere, but we don't know when that'll be. Here's what to do: Go to WYNC's website and follow the directions to create your own temperature sensor. The detector costs around $80 in parts and will take about two hours to build. hide captionWNYC is asking "armchair scientists, lovers of nature and DIY makers" to help predict the emergency of cicadas in the Northeast by building a temperature sensor like this one. WNYC is asking "armchair scientists, lovers of nature and DIY makers" to help predict the emergency of cicadas in the Northeast by building a temperature sensor like this one.
Elephant bird Description[edit] Size of Aepyornis maximus (centre, in purple) compared to a human, an ostrich (second from right, in maroon), and some non-avian theropoddinosaurs. Each gridline is one meter in height The elephant birds, which were giant ratites native to Madagascar, have been extinct since at least the 17th century. Étienne de Flacourt, a French governor of Madagascar in the 1640s and 1650s, mentions an ostrich-like bird said to inhabit unpopulated regions.[2] The explorer and traveler Marco Polo also mentions very large birds in accounts of his journeys to the East during the 12th and 13th centuries. Species[edit] Four species are usually accepted in the genus Aepyornis today; A. hildebrandti, A. gracilis, A. medius and A. maximus,[7] but the validity of some is disputed, with numerous authors treating them all in just one species, A. maximus. Genus Aepyornis Genus Mullerornis Etymology[edit] Mullerornis agilis Taxonomy and biogeography[edit] Aepyornis maximus restoration Biology[edit]
Colorado River Toad Description[edit] Range of Incilius alvarius in the United States (it also inhabits northwest Mexico) The Colorado River toad can grow to about 7.5 inches (190 mm) long and is the largest toad in the United States apart from the non-native cane toad (Rhinella marina). Distribution and habitat[edit] The Colorado River toad is found in the lower Colorado River and the Gila River catchment areas, in southeastern California, New Mexico, Mexico and much of southern Arizona. Biology[edit] The Colorado River toad is carnivorous, eating small rodents, insects, and small reptiles and other toad species; like many toads, it has a long, sticky tongue which aids it in catching prey. The toads generally breed in small rain pools after the summer showers start; it spends approximately one month as a yellowish-brown tadpole before moving onto the land. Drug use of poision[edit] Ethic[edit] Fresh venom can easily be collected without harm to the toad. State laws[edit] Toad at night in Tucson References[edit]
'Extraordinary' flies drawn by sodden city Vinegar Flies. Photo: University of Melbourne Rain and rotting fruit have contributed to Brisbane's plague of what appear to be tiny black fruit flies. The city has soaked up more than 600 millilitres of rain since January 1, prompting what scientists have called an "extraordinary event" of what are in fact "vinegar flies" across south-eastern Queensland. Mike Muller, Brisbane City Council's senior entomologist, has explained the invasion to reporters: "Vinegar flies are drawn to rotting fruit, effectively drawn to the complex sugars and the yeast. "Those little 'fruit flies' as you call them, should effectively be called 'vinegar flies'. Advertisement The flies are different to the traditional Queensland fruit fly, which infects or "blows" the fruit. "They don't actually 'blow' the fruit, like a true Queensland fruit fly," Mr Muller said. "That is the reason why you often find them in your glass of wine, because they are homing in on the alcohol.
Extinct Galapagos Giant Tortoises Could Be Brought Back To Life When Lonesome George died in 2012, it was thought that so did the last Pinta Island giant tortoise. Discovered roaming the rocky island in the Galapagos archipelago on his own in 1972, it was believed that he was the last of his subspecies. Despite a global search to find him a mate, it proved fruitless over the 80 years of his life. Now, Yale researchers think that his DNA might live on (or at least that of his relatives), diluted in hybrid tortoises found on another island descended from tortoises thrown overboard 150 years ago. The tortoises, originally found living on seven of the Galapagos Islands, are divided into 15 subspecies, of which only 11 survive to this day. Divided into two different types depending on the shape of their shell, the tortoises are known as either domed or saddlebacked. Giant galapagos turtle munching on Floreana. But how did the original purebred tortoises get so far from the islands on which they originated?
Frog Photos "I'd kiss a frog even if there was no promise of a Prince Charming popping out of it. I love frogs." ~ Cameron Diaz Funny Frogs by Sean Crane