From the monthly archives:

October 2009

A Trip Down the Microbial Rabbit Hole

October 31, 2009

“Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the grander view?” – Victor Hugo
I think you all know how I would answer that question.
This blog is all about the variety of life, but part of that variety are the enormously different scales at which life can exist. You may know blue [...]

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The Other Expired Marine Monsters

October 30, 2009

There’s been news on the giant marine predators front. Now, don’t get me wrong, they’re still extinct and all (I know, I know). But  . . .
… this week New Scientist’s cover story took a closer look at the four major taxa of marine reptiles, in all their incarnations from the Permian to the Big [...]

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The Bloodbelly Comb Jelly’s Bad*** Soundtrack

October 24, 2009

Don’t you wish you had an ubercool espionage movie soundtrack to accompany you wherever you go? I know I do. Make sure to hit the HQ button if you have the bandwidth.

Actually, I quite wish they’d present more nature videos this way. Do these jellies not have the feel of sleek hyper-space cruisers in this [...]

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When Plesiosaurs Ruled the Sea

October 19, 2009

Some life is weird by virtue of time delay. If the inhabitants of the Cretaceous Seaway — the long strip of semi-shallow ocean that flooded middle North America some 82 million years ago — could see the vast blubbery mammals that inhabit the seas today, they would no doubt think them odd. And tasty.
But it so [...]

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Marine Mucilage: Why They Make Marine Kleenex

October 13, 2009

And not to be confused with Marine Muesli. I know you’re disappointed.
Apparently, in addition to all things jelly, I’m fascinated by all things blobby. You’ll note the restraint I used in not posting anything about that blob they found floating off the coast of Alaska last summer. It seemed obvious right from the start that [...]

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Atsa Lotta Sushi: The First Giant Squid on Film

October 10, 2009

This is really old news, but since I mentioned it in my last post, I wanted to show you just how recently we finally captured images of live giant squid (Architeuthis dux) . The first still image came only in 2002 after a squid was towed to a harbor in Japan. The first video came in 2006. Here is the [...]

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Tridented Trilobites and Giant Squid: The Sant Ocean Hall

October 8, 2009

Washington, DC, did not disappoint. The highlight was the Sant Ocean Hall in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, newly opened a year ago after a major remodeling of the cross hall it sits in. The hall soars and boasts a life-size whale model; the exhibits beckon with enticing photographs, movies, and a spherical screen [...]

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