The glow from a firefly comes from the lower part of their abdomen. This “lantern” portion has an evolutionary gift in the form of bioluminescence. The light produced by a small layer of cells called photocytes is reflected off several layers of reflective cells and emits a greenish-yellow glow.

Specifically, inside the light producing cells within the firefly is an organelle called a peroxizome. The chemical party that lies within it is what creates the light. Magnesium and ATP combine with an enzyme known as luciferase and the protein luciferin. This combination creates a very excited molecule. When oxygen is introduced into the mix, the molecule goes from “excited” back to a steady state. Think of having to pee extremely badly. You begin to tap dance like Micheal Flatley on crack! Once relieved, you return to a “steady state”. In the case of a photocytes chemical reaction, this energy release is in the form of a photon of light.

The mechanism that turns on and off this light show is still the topic of some debate. The prevailing theory revolves around the firefly’s ability to control oxygen within photocytes. Mitochondria (the organelle that controls ATP production) require large amounts of oxygen. When the firefly decides to light up the sky, it signals “trigger cells” around their air tubes to produce large amounts of nitric oxide. When the mitochondria inside the photocytes become soaked with nitric oxide, it results in extra oxygen available within the cell. It is thought this extra oxygen availability kicks off the chain reaction that produces light.

The process involved in stopping the luminous chemical reaction within photocytes has also yet to be proven. Researchers have found that white light can reverse the effects of nitric oxide on a key respiratory enzyme found in mitochondria. Because of this, it is thought that the “off” button on a firefly could be light itself.

The reason for this evolutionarily driven light show is mating. Fireflies, like most animals that procreate sexually, need to find a way to attract potential suitors. In the case of the firefly, this attraction is accomplished with flashes of visible light.  When a hot-to-trot male is ready to put on his Barry White and begin patrolling a specific area for females, he will start his flash-dance in the hopes of being seen by a willing lady. The females usually sit in wait, and once an attractive male happens by that gets her fire going, so to speak, she will signal back. The male also prepares a “nuptial gift” in the form of sperm wrapped in a high protein package, which he then gives to her and the mating ritual of this bright beetle is soon accomplished.

Bonus Factoids:

• Not all fireflies use their light to attract potential sexual partners. A type of firefly known as “Photuris” will mimic the light patterns of another type, “Photinus”, to attract the males of that genus class. Once the love-struck male approaches, instead of a booty-call, the Photuris female will seize him and then eat him!
• Some firefly species will use blood as a means to ward off predators. The process is called “reflex bleeding”. This blood is toxic to some predators and numerous studies have shown that these predators learn very quickly to stay away from fireflies. These same studies show that these predators will also stay away from perfectly palatable insects if those insects are painted with glowing substances that mimic firefly larva. The femme fatale Photuris firefly is not able to make the toxic chemical. They are however able to gain this poison by eating firefly’s with it. Once ingested, she is able to pass it on to her eggs and larvae.
• The light from a firefly is usually in the range of 561-570nm on the light spectrum. This is high green-low yellow for those not in the know.
• Fireflies are not “flies”, they are beetles. True “flies” have only one pair of wings, beetles and other insects commonly referred to as flies, like dragonfly or scorpionfly, have 2 sets of wings or four wings altogether. For ease of understanding, when the term “fly” is hyphenated following the common name for the insect, or fly follows the common name, it is, most likely, a true “fly” and has only 2 wings.
• Most species of firefly are able to use luminescence as adults, but all known firefly larvae and eggs are able to achieve this feat. There are also related beetles that have bioluminescent abilities. Click beetles and Phenogodid beetles are two.
• In the United States, fireflies that glow are not usually seen west of Kansas. The reason for this phenomenon isn’t known, but studies have shown only rare, isolated sightings of luminous fireflies in the western states.
• If you live east of Kansas and want to attract fireflies to your house there are some tips to follow. Cut down on lawn chemicals; Allow low overhanging trees, tall grass and other vegetation. This will provide adult fireflies with a place to rest and remain cool during the day. Reduce any artificial lighting around your property, which could interfere with the firefly’s signal and make it harder for most species to locate a mate.
• There are currently over 2000 known species of firefly around the world.

References:

• The Study Of Fireflies
• Understanding Fireflys
• Synchronized Fireflys
• Female Fireflies 
• Firefly Facts
• Secret Formula For Firefly Glow
• Image Source

Porcupines mate in a very bizarre way. They first begin their ludicrous lovemaking with some nose rubbing. If the female accepts the nose rubbing and, after the initial nose rubbing test, the female is still keen on the male, the male will then stand on its hind legs and the female allows him to urinate all over her body (kinky).  This isn’t done in a normal bladder expelling fashion, though. In this case, the urine is ejaculated at high pressure, rather than relying on internal bladder pressure.

Should this golden shower not be up to the female’s standards (she doesn’t like the pheromones), she will shake off the urine and find herself another mate. Should the rain from the main vein be acceptable, she will expose her non-quilled underbelly and allow the male to copulate for 2-5 minutes. If all is successful, approximately 112-210 days later (depending on the species) a little porcupine baby is born.

This mating ritual is not only strange, but also is infrequent. Female porcupines are receptive to sexual advances for only about 8-12 hours per year, much like my ex-wife.  This mating typically occurs in late summer or early fall.  They do however take full advantage of that time. Females will mate several times with the male of their choice until he becomes sexually exhausted.

Interestingly, unlike many female animals that are frequently raped (such as with ducks where an estimated 1 in 3 mating acts is rape), the female porcupine cannot be raped.  All she has to do to deter a potential rapist is to swipe his mating-ready exposed sensitive region with her tail, problem solved.  So male porcupines are completely at the mercy of the female when it comes to mating.  They also tend to have a tough time of it just to get to mate, generally having to chase off other male porcupines to win the right to mate with the female.  This process often results in them getting stuck with quills during the fighting, even if they win.

Bonus Factoids:

• Porcupines are the third largest rodent on earth. They range from 25-36 inches long and weigh between 12-35 pounds. Only the beaver and capybara are larger in the rodent kingdom.
• Porcupines are in constant need of salt and will stop at nothing to get at it. They are considered pests primarily for this very reason, gnawing on and destroying anything that has salt on or in it. This includes even small amounts of salt, like anything that salty human hands have touched, such as the handles of tools, discarded garbage, or food wrappers. The most common item destroyed by these rodents is plywood. The curing compound used in plywood production is sodium nitrate. The porcupine sniffs this out and will chew relentlessly at any wooden wall, floor, roof, or structure made from it.
• Baby porcupines are born with their eyes open and very well developed. Their quills are soft directly after birth (which I’m sure the mother appreciates) but will harden within about an hour. They are dependent on their mother’s milk for about 8 weeks and then begin to eat normally. They can expect a life span of about 20 years.
• The warning and defensive method of a porcupine is a threefold system. They will first begin to shake their quills in a visible pattern and send out an unpleasant odor. If you still won’t back off, they will begin to stamp their feet and will also growl and clack their teeth. Should you ignore these first two signs, the porcupine will then turn its back to you and charge at you backwards. Should they make contact, the quills are your Darwin-Award for inattention to warning signs.
• A common misconception is that porcupines can “throw” their quills.  In fact, this is not an ability they possess (luckily).
• Evolution has developed an ingenious method for the release of quills. There is a thick loop of connective tissue that surrounds the follicle and attaches it to the skin. When relaxed, this tissue is soft and only loosely holds the quill in place. When attacked by a predator, a porcupine becomes stressed and the muscles around the connective tissue tighten and cause the quills to become erect. Once erect, the quills can deeply penetrate the skin and the tightened muscles make it easier to detach the quill. Specifically, research has shown that the tightened muscles make it 40% easier to detach the quill then if the connective tissue was loose.
• Porcupine quills are just specialized hairs ranging from ½ inch to 4 inches thick. These hairs are coated with a thick layer of keratin (similar to fingernails) with several small layers of barbs at the tip. This will allow the barb to penetrate deeper once embedded. There are about 30,000 of them on any one porcupine. They occupy every part of the body except the face, inner parts of the limbs and the stomach. The longest quills are on the butt, and the smallest are on the cheeks.
• Porcupine quills are a good luck charm in many parts of Africa and the hollow portions have been used as musical rattles or containers for gold dust. Don’t think all parts of Africa are in love with this strange rodent though. In 2005, there was such an infestation that the Kenyan people pleaded with the government to control the problem. Local farmers stated they had several years of unusable crops due to porcupines, and local graveyards complained of numerous graves that were burrowed into and used as dens for the creatures. Ever the innovative people, some Kenyans saw this opportunity to make lemonade from lemons and created a new delicacy with the vermin.
• The best way to remove a porcupine quill is to take a pair of common household pliers and pull the quill directly out. Be careful not to break off any part of it, but if you do, don’t worry, quill tips are coated with antibiotic fatty acids that help in healing. And don’t worry that the porcupine will be left defenseless by releasing too many quills. They grow back within a month or two.

References:

• Porcupines
• The North American Porcupine
• How Porcupines Mate
• Porcupines Raise Thorny Questions In Kenya
• The Needy Porcupine
• Porcupine Wildlife
• 30 Strangest Animal Mating Habits
• How do Porcupines Mate
• Image Source

Catnip, which is a perennial herb in the mint family, contains a chemical called “nepetalactone” that is released when catnip is crushed.  When cats get a whiff of nepetalactone, most will start rubbing themselves against it, playing around with it, sometimes eating it, and generally will act quite bizarrely.  It is thought, but not known exactly, that this chemical mimics certain feline pheromones, specifically their theoretical facial pheromones (it isn’t known whether these actually exist, but many researchers think so, which is why cats probably like to rub their faces on various things).

Once cats have been exposed to the nepetalactone for a few minutes, it loses its effect on them and they will usually no longer be interested in it for about an hour or two, at which point the chemical will start to kick in again as they breathe it in and they will once again begin acting bizarrely around it for a few minutes.

Despite the apparent drug-like effect, it isn’t thought that catnip is in any way harmful to cats, nor is it thought that it is addictive.  Most researches think that nepetalactone simply triggers something in their brains that causes them to want to rub up against this particular smell, not unlike what dogs often do when they encounter certain smells.  That being said, cats can “overdose” on catnip, which will typically result in vomiting or diarrhea.  I’ve personally seen a cat that got into a bulk bag of catnip that was about five times the size of the cat.  The poor cat was found with catnip all over itself and more or less half buried in it.  As a result of this, for whatever reason, she was mostly unresponsive, was twitching and making random noises, and had a significant amount of drool in her fur around her head and mouth.  I expect this is something like coming home to an overdosing drug addict.   Unlike a person who’s overdosed on a drug, though, once the cat was extracted from her self made catnip bed and washed off (which was much easier to do than normal given her more or less catatonic state), within about 15 minutes of that she was completely back to normal with no residual effects.

Interestingly, not all cats respond to catnip. Whatever genetic quirk that causes them to respond to nepetalactone is inherited and only about 70% of cats out there show a behaviorally difference around catnip.  Further, cats under the age of a few weeks old also are not attracted to catnip and some even show an aversion to it.

Not only are very young cats sometimes averse to catnip, but so are cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, and termites.  In fact, nepetalactone extract has been shown to be ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET (N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide), which is the chemical traditionally used in mosquito repellant. However, it should be noted that when put on human skin, nepetalactone’s effectiveness as a mosquito repellant decreases quite a bit, so it’s more suitable as a mosquito repellent when sprayed on clothing or the like.

Bonus Factoids:

• Only female mosquitoes drink blood.  They don’t need the blood for their own nourishment; rather, they need it to be able to produce eggs.  Once the female has safely acquired a “blood meal”, she will rest for a few days while her body develops the eggs from digesting the proteins and iron in the blood, producing amino acids which are used as the building blocks for the synthesis of the egg yolk proteins.
• Male and female mosquitoes alike get their own nourishment from plant nectar and other sugar sources.
• Female mosquitoes detect possible blood sources primarily by detecting emitted carbon dioxide and octenol, which are both contained in your breath and sweat, along with a variety of other compounds which are lesser known in terms of which ones most attract mosquitoes.  People who give off more of these compounds, such as people who sweat more, will be more attractive to these mosquitoes.   The mosquitoes can typically detect these compounds up to 150 feet away.
• Mosquitoes have four stages to their life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.  During the first three stages, they live entirely in water.  During the larva stage, they feed on algae and other microorganisms and must frequently bob to the surface of the water to get air.   During the pupa stage, they do not eat, but do sit at the surface and breath air through two small tubes.  At the end of the pupal stage, the mosquitoes transform into adult mosquitoes and, after crawling to a dry place to rest and dry off, leave the water.
• DEET was created in 1940s by the United States Army; they were seeking to make a bug repellent for soldiers.  It was first used as a pesticide and later used by soldiers as a repellent in 1946.  It was released for civilian use  in 1957.
•  A repellent mixture with only a 23.8% concentration of DEET will protect the wearer for about five hours;  100% concentration of DEET has been found to be effective for about 12 hours.  DEET works by confusing the mosquito’s sensors so that they can’t zero in on the location of the compounds stimulating their sensors, such as octenol.  Recent research has also shown that mosquitoes, in particular, aren’t just having their senses confused, but also intensely dislike the smell of DEET.  DEET also acts on the brains and nervous systems of insects and, in extreme cases, can cause paralysis and eventual death by asphyxiation in the insects.
• DEET also works well as a solvent and can dissolve certain plastics, spandex, leather, and works as a nail polish remover.
• Another good natural mosquito repellant besides nepetalactone from catnip is menthol from mint.  Mint leaves or mint oil containing high levels of menthol will help repel mosquitoes and can even do more than just repel them; it has been shown that mint oil can actually kill the mosquitoes.
• A person whose body is more efficient at processing cholesterol is much more attractive to mosquitoes because the byproducts of this processing appear on the surface of the skin and seem to attract them.
• Catnip isn’t just good at inducing kitty-crazy, but throughout human history it has been smoked and used in tea and other drinks, even as an alcoholic extract.  For medicinal purposes, catnip oil also works well as a mild numbing agent.
• You can learn how to extract nepetalactone from catnip at home easy enough by going here: DIY Kitty Crack
• The known record for the most kittens born to one cat is currently held by a cat named “Dusty”.  She gave birth to 420 kittens in her lifetime and even had a litter at the very old age (for a cat) of 18 years old.
• The most kittens in one litter is 14, a feat accomplished by a cat named Bluebell.  Amazingly, all 14 kittens survived, which is rare in large litters of kittens.
• The smallest adult cat on record was named Tinker Toy.  Tinker Toy as an adult cat weighed just one pound, eight ounces and measured in at just 2.75 inches tall and 7.5 inches long.
• The heaviest cat in the world was 46 pounds and named Himmy.   This cat had a waistline of 33 inches.
• The catnip plant, originally found in the Mediterranean, was brought over from Europe to North America.
• All-total there are about 13 other chemicals that will produce a similar behavioral response in cats as catnip.  The others are: actinidine from Valeriana officinalis, dihydronepetalactone, neonepetalactone, isodihydronepetalactone, epinepetalactone, boschnialactone, boschniakine, dihydroactinidiolide, actinidiolide, iridomyrmecin, mitsugashiwalactone, and onikulactone.

Sources and Further Reading:

• How Does Catnip Work
• Crazy for Catnip
• Nepetalactone
• Nepetalactone Chemistry
• DIY Kitty Crack
• Nepeta Cataria
• 9 Top Cats
• Cat Pheromone
• Why Mosquito Bites Itch
• Mint Mosquito Repellant
• Image Source

Scorpions are amazing little creatures. With almost two thousand known species found on six of the seven continents, these arthropods have been able to adapt to some of the harshest environments on earth. One evolutionary benefit they have gained is the ability to slow down their metabolic rate. Scorpions also have an organ called the “hepatopancreas” which is extremely efficient and fulfills the functions equivalent to the liver and pancreas found in humans.

In addition to this, scorpions have the ability to consume large quantities of food compared to their body size. For instance, they have been known to eat up to one third their body weight in a single meal. Due to the large amount of food consumed, the extremely efficient way their bodies handle the nutrition, and the ability to slow their metabolism, scorpions are able to survive up to 12 months without eating.

The way scorpion metabolism works also has benefits not seen in other animal species. While a slow metabolic rate is common in those animals that hibernate, these same animals do not have the ability to quickly speed it back up should the need arise. Scorpions, on the other hand, are not saddled with this weakness. While resting in their metabolic slumber, they can still strike quickly if a situation calls for it, like when unsuspecting prey happens by. It is also thought that this ability has conditioned the scorpion to be able to survive conditions where a slow metabolism might be forced. For example, in one study, scientists froze scorpions for 24 hours, only to have them continue on with their predatory ways once they thawed out.

Bonus Factoids:

• Along with the amazing ability to not eat for a year, some species of scorpion can withstand being underwater for up to two days, while others can withstand temperatures of 117 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The word scorpion is thought to have arisen around 1200 AD, deriving from either the French word skorpiō or the Italian scorpione. Both of these words came from the Greek word skorpíos. The oldest scorpion fossils have been dated to around 430 million years ago and there are currently 111 known fossil species in existence. Interestingly, some of these first scorpion fossils show they once had gills, instead of the respiratory organs (book lungs) they have today.
• All of the 25 known scorpion species capable of killing humans are members of the Buthidae family. This family produces a complex neurotoxin that causes convulsions, paralysis, and cardiac irregularities. All of these symptoms precede death, which can be avoided should antivenom be administered.
• It is thought that most scorpions only eat 5-50 times per year.
• Antarctica is the only place on Earth where you won’t find scorpions.
• Scorpion bodies fluoresce under ultraviolet light. This occurs as a result of their exoskeleton being created by the crossing of protein chains in their excuticle. Because of this, the use of ultraviolet black lights is the standard method which biologists observe their behavior at night. As the scorpion grows with each successive instar, the intensity of their fluorescence increases.
• Chitin, the stuff that makes up the exoskeleton of the scorpion, is used for a number of other applications such as: a wound healing agent, a delivery vehicle for medications, and a size and strengthening additive for certain types of paper.
• Interestingly, scorpion venom is currently being studied to combat pain.  With the dependency side-effects of many drugs on the market, like morphine and Vicodin, researchers are looking everywhere for a solution to pain control without addiction.  Peptide toxins in scorpion venom affect sodium channels.  There are 9 sodium channels in the human body and only certain ones transmit pain signals to the brain.  If researchers can figure out how scorpion toxins interact with these subtypes, they will hopefully be able to find a way to halt pain signals to the brain.
• Scorpions are arthropods.  They are an invertebrate with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed appendages. They can range in size from ½ inch to approximately 7 ½ inches. Their average lifespan in the wild is 2-10 years; however, some scorpions in captivity have been known to live for 25 years. The exoskeleton is made of Chitin. They have eight legs, two claws, between 6-12 eyes and a tail that injects poisonous venom. Of the numerous species known, approximately 25 have poison capable of killing a human.
• Even though they have between 6-12 eyes, depending on the species, they cannot see all that well, at least, not sharp images. Despite this drawback, their central eyes are known to be some of the most light sensitive eyes in the animal kingdom. This allows them to navigate during the night using shadows formed by starlight. Aside from their central eyes, the outer, or lateral, eyes only have the ability to sense the changes in light intensity. This gives them the ability to establish their daily cycles. Some scorpion species even have light receptors in their tails.
• Their lungs, known as book lungs, sit inside their abdominal cavity and are connected to the environment via a small opening. As the scorpion moves, carbon dioxide and oxygen exchanges passively across parallel lamellae of thin cuticle. This is arranged to look like the pages of a closed book, thus the term “Book Lungs”. These lungs and certain differences in means of locomotion are the primary body systems that differ from the first known fossilized scorpions, which had gills.
• The wide range of habitat that scorpions populate, combined with the sheer number of species, have allowed the scorpion legs to evolve in interesting ways. The sand-dwelling Psammophilic species have setea (bristles) on their feet that increase their surface area allowing them to walk on the sand without sinking or losing traction. The rock climbing Hadogenes Troglodytes species are found only on rocks and have curved claws on their setea that allow them to cling to the rocks, even upside down.  Many other species in many other environments have evolved similar adaptations.
• Depending on the species, scorpions can have between 2 and 100 offspring. The average, however, is 8. Once born, these little scorplings climb on their mother’s back until their first molt. After this, they live independently while continuing several more molts, typically between five and seven, before reaching adulthood. These molts are known as “instars” and their developmental progress is measured by them. Don’t be fooled by the extremely little ones, even young scorpions can inject the same amount of venom, with every sting, as their adult counterparts.

References:

•  Scorpion Facts
• The Yellow Scorpion
• The Reproduction Of Scorpions
• Scorpion Venom
• Book Lungs
• Scorpion Internal Features
• Image Source

The massive 70 foot long albino sperm whale was named Mocha Dick and was one of the two whales that inspired the novel Moby Dick.  Mocha Dick was given his name as he was first sighted off the coast of Chile near Mocha Island; the latter “Dick” part of the name is thought to have simply been after the practice of naming certain deadly whales common names like “Dick” or “Tom”. The whalers that first spotted him attempted to kill him, but he survived the encounter.

Over the course of the next 28 years Mocha Dick earned a reputation as one of the most cunning and feared whales in the ocean.  During that span, he was spotted and attacked by at least 100 whaling ships.  He successfully destroying around 20 of those ships that attacked him and escaping all but the last.

According to famed explorer and writer Jeremiah N. Reynolds, Mocha Dick finally met his downfall after observing a mother whale whose calf had just been killed by whalers.  The mother whale first attempted to herd her calf away from the whalers after it had been harpooned, but soon the calf went belly up.  When the whale realized her calf was dead, she turned on the whalers and attempted, unsuccessfully, to destroy their ship.  Instead, she herself was harpooned and mortally wounded before she was able to strike the ship.

Upon observing all this, Mocha Dick decided to get in on the fray and also attacked the whaling ship directly after the missed hit by the mother.  Mocha Dick successfully destroyed one of the smaller whaling boats, but was injured in the process by a harpoon.  Here is the account of what happened after, according to Reynolds who collected the story from the first mate of the whaling ship that finally took down Mocha Dick:

The other whale that helped inspire Moby Dick was a huge sperm whale that destroyed the Essex in 1820 around 2,000 miles west of South America.  Herman Melville learned of the story of the Essex when the whaling ship he was on, only 100 miles from where the Essex was destroyed, encountered another whaling ship, which had the son of the Essex’s first mate, Owen Chase, aboard.

After the Essex was destroyed, the 21 man crew took refuge on three small whaling boats that had almost no supplies to sustain them.  Their choice at this point was to head for known habitable islands that they feared were inhabited with cannibals, 1,200 miles away, or head for South America 2,000 miles away, but about 4,000 miles by the quickest sailing route due to the winds that time of year.  Despite this distance, they chose South America.  Ironically, as you’ll read shortly, their choice of not choosing the much shorter route for fear of cannibals, resulted in some of them resorting to cannibalism.

During their journey, they did at one point encounter an island that they more or less stripped of its resources to help sustain themselves.  They also left three men behind there, at the time thinking likely to their doom, to help conserve supplies and increase the chances the others would make it back.

What followed was an incredibly gruesome tail. As they traveled, they steadily lost crew due to lack of nourishment. At a certain point, they were forced to give up burying their men at sea and, instead, began eating them and drinking their blood. They eventually even had to resort to not waiting for someone to die, but, rather, drew lots for who was to die and nourish the others with their body.

In the end, 95 days after their ship was destroyed, they were rescued with only five left alive aboard the two remaining small ships (one was lost along the way with the crew never heard from again). Miraculously, the three left on the depleted island, though near death when eventually found, survived the event.

Bonus Factoids:

• While Moby Dick today is considered a great work of literature, in its day, it wasn’t very successful and only earned Melville $556.37 and less than 3000 copies were sold over the next 40 years or so before Melville died.
• A common whaling nickname in the early 19th century for whales that spout blood after being harpooned (meaning they were likely soon to die) was “Dennis”.
• Mocha Dick’s body yielded around 100 barrels of oil.  Over 20 harpoons were found embedded in his body after he was killed.
• Jeremiah N. Reynolds not only helped inspire Moby Dick through one of his narratives, but also helped inspire Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.  This was through Reynolds’ lectures on his notion that the Earth was hollow.
• While Mocha Dick was fearsome with whaling ships, he left all other ships alone, due to the fact that he rarely attacked unless he was first attacked.  He even was known to swim docilely around and along side ships at times.  As soon as the ship would try to harpoon him though, he would attack.
• Mocha Island is a small island (about 19 square miles) off the coast of Chile, which was famously used by such people as Vice Admiral Sir Francis Drake and Olivier van Noort as supply bases.  Pirates also once frequently used the island as a base.  Among other things, Drake was famous for being the second person to captain a ship all the way around the world.  Olivier van Noort also accomplished this feat, becoming the first Dutchman to sail all the way around the globe.

Sources and Further Reading:

• Mocha Dick
• The Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex
• Mocha Dick, or the White Whale of the Pacific, by Jeremiah Reynolds
• Moby Dick
• Mocha Island
• Mocha Dick, the White Whale of the Pacific
• Sperm Whale
• Moby Dick
• Captain Ahab Revenged
• Essex
• Jeremiah N. Reynolds
• 7 Famous Albino Animals
• Tristin Lowe: Mocha Dick Sculpture
• Origin of the Name “Moby Dick”
• Image Source

The American “buffalo” are actually bison.  Specifically, they are “Bison bison”. The only true buffalo are the Asian water buffalo and the African buffalo.

The American bison are actually very closely related to the Wisent, which are European bison. American bison are also somewhat closely related to cattle. In fact, they can interbreed readily with cattle, something that buffalo have never been observed to do. Even in lab experiments, buffalo-cattle embryos have failed to ever reach maturity.

So why do we call American bison “buffalo”? There is some speculation that this simply came from Europeans associating them with African and Asian buffalo, giving them the same name. But this seems unlikely as American Bison strongly resemble the European wisent bison, much more so than the African or Asian buffalo. A more likely scenario is that they were named such because the American “buffalo” were primarily prized by Europeans for their hides. “Buffe” or “bufle” were commonly used as names, at that time, for any animal that provided a good hide for buff leather.

Bonus Factoids:

• 

  European Bison (Wisent)

  Another common myth surrounding American Bison is that there were massive herds, before the “white man” came to America, on the scale that Americans eventually encountered them at. In fact, evidence suggests that the Native Americans kept the bison populations regulated by various means. After the European diseases wiped out most of the Native Americans, the American Bison population exploded, becoming the most numerous large wild mammal on Earth until eventually hunted to near extinction within a few centuries after this population explosion. At their peak, it was estimated that there were nearly 100 million American Bison in existence, only a few centuries ago.

• Before horses and guns were introduced to Native Americans, hunting bison was a dangerous affair, with the bison being quite aggressive and hard to kill. One of the methods of hunting them that the Native Americans would use was to attempt to herd a large group of bison into chutes of rock, which lead to a cliff. They’d then incite a stampede with most of the herd falling to their deaths. The meat and skins could then be easily gathered.
• 

  African Buffalo

  American bison were eventually brought to near extinction by the late 19th century. The U.S. army sanctioned the whole-sale slaughter of the bison herds to allow cattle ranchers to establish themselves without competition. This also hurt the Native American tribes who depended on the bison herds for survival. The Native American tribes themselves, now armed with guns and horses, also contributed to the demise of the bison, killing about 1/3 of a million Bison per year in the southern plains alone.

• The bison hides were also extremely valuable around this same time. One single hide in good condition would bring in about $3. Made into a winter coat, it could bring in as much as $50. A single skilled hunter, such as Buffalo Bill Cody, could kill and skin as many as 100 bison in one day’s work. Around this same era, a common worker would only make a little under $1 a day.
• Buffalo Bill Cody is estimated to have killed around 20,000 bison in his lifetime. Ironically, he was one of the most outspoken supporters of plans to protect the bison populations through legislation. In the end, President Grant vetoed the bill that would have protected the herds, due to the frequent small wars the U.S. had to fight with the Plains Indians. By getting rid of the bison herds, it took away the Plains Indians primary food and clothing source.
• 

  Water Buffalo

  American Bison meat is lower in fat and cholesterol than beef. This is largely why efforts have been made to cross-breed them, creating “beefalo”.

• Wild American bison are one of the most dangerous animals to encounter in the United States. In Yellowstone National Park alone, nearly five times as many people are killed by bison than by bears every year. The bison can reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour and are surprisingly nimble, making them difficult to avoid if they attack.
• Because of the cross breeding, while it’s estimated there are a few hundred thousand American bison remaining in the world, only about 14,000 or so of them are pure bison, the rest being mixed with cattle.
• The “American” bison has only been in America for around 10,000 years, having migrated across the Bering Strait.
• There are currently around 150 million water buffalo in the world today, with nearly all of them being in Asia.
• African buffalo are extremely aggressive. So much so, that they have never been successfully domesticated. They also have no common predators outside of humans as an adult African buffalo is fully capable of killing a single adult lion, crocodiles, and the like, making them one of the most dangerous animals in Africa along with Hippos. Lions will occasionally manage to get an adult buffalo on its own and then, together, can sometimes bring it down. But typically the herd will stick together to prevent this from happening. The herd will also attack any threat to any part of the herd. When a distress call is heard from a member of the herd, the buffalo will mob the attacker.
• African buffalo kill around 200 people a year.

Sources:

• American Bison
• Water Buffalo
• African Buffalo
• Wisent
• Buffalo and Bison
• Bison

As children, we went through school learning the fascinating facts about dinosaurs that roamed the earth millions of years ago. We studied the Tyrannosaurus rex, the Stegosaurus, and the beloved Brontosaurus. What many of us may have never learned, however, was the controversy of the giant gentle Brontosaurus. Did it really exist? Well…kind of, but not really.

In the late 1800s two paleontologists, Edward D. Cope and Othneil C. Marsh, were on the hunt to discover fossils of extinct species. While the pair started off as friends, their individual egos and determination to be the first one to discover, and scientifically name, new fossil species of prehistoric animals, including dinosaurs, drove them apart and made them competitors. In their desperation to outdo each other, Marsh and Cope sacrificed accuracy in their work.  The Brontosaurus became a victim of their feud.

In 1877, Marsh discovered an incomplete skeleton for a new type of dinosaur which he named the Apatosaurus.  Two years later, Marsh discovered the nearly complete skeleton of what he thought was another new dinosaur species. Among the few bones missing was the skull. Unable to move forward with a headless dinosaur and fueled by his desire to beat his competitor, Marsh snatched up the nearest skulls he could find that could match the magnitude of his new creature (not giving much thought to the fact that one head was found four miles away from the original dig site and the other skull was found 400 miles away, oh yeah, and the skulls he found were already matched with another type of dinosaur called the Camarasaurus). Thus the brontosaurus was born.

Upon further study, scientists soon realized the similarities between the Brontosaurus and the Apatosaurus. Both were herbivores, fairly large in size, and had long necks and long whip-like tails.  As a result, they determined that the Brontosaurus was not a stand-alone dinosaur but actually the adult specimen of the previously discovered juvenile Apatosaurus skeleton. Based on the rules that govern the scientific naming of animals, scientists kept Apatosaurus as the official name of the species because it was published first. Even though the name Brontosaurus was more widely known and used, it remains merely a synonym of the Apatosaurus.

Although many scientists questioned the validity of the Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus skull, it wasn’t until the 1970s that two scientists managed to prove it.  The proper Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus skull actually had a slightly longer snout and looked a lot like the skull of another sauropod called Diplodocus.

So, did the Brontosaurus really exist? Depends on who you talk to and how picky you want to be. Although Apatosaurus is considered to be the official scientific name, Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus are merely two different names for the same dinosaur.

Bonus Factoids:

• Brontosaurus means “thunder lizard” because of its massive size (average length of 75 feet and weighing between 40,000 and 77,000 pounds). Imagine the thundering sound it must have made when it moved. Wow!
• Apatosaurus means “deceptive lizard” because the bones on the underside of its tail were similar to those of prehistoric marine lizards.
• The Apatosaurus lived over 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period.
• The Apatosaurus was strictly a vegetarian.
• The Apatosaurus had a long, whip-like tail which is presumed to be its most effective means of defense against predators.
• Due to its massive size, scientists used to think the Apatosaurus was too big to support its weight for long periods of time on land, so they assumed it spent much of its time submerged in water. However, the latest research indicates this lifestyle is not accurate, and the Apatosaurus is considered a land dwelling animal.
• In their desperate attempts to each outdo the other, the methods of Cope and Marsh to uncover fossils often damaged and destroyed many dinosaur specimens.  For example, one way they tried to unearth bones was through the use of dynamite. Yikes!
• Even after scientists made Apatosaurus the official name, Brontosaurus was still most popular and widely used. Sinclair, a U.S. petroleum supplier, adopted the Brontosaurus as part of their company’s logo in the mid 1900s. The U.S. Postal Service also featured the Brontosaurus as part of their extinct dinosaur postal stamp series released in 1989.  Hard-core dinosaur fans accused the Postal Service of “promoting scientific illiteracy”. While many voiced their anger over the use of the Brontosaurus in the stamp series, few even noticed that the Postal Service also included the Pteranodon in their dinosaur stamps. The Pteranodon, being a flying reptile, is not even considered a dinosaur because by definition, dinosaurs don’t have wings.

Sources:

• Apatosaurus
• Is it true the brontosaurus never really existed? 
• Whatever Happened to the Brontosaurus?
• There is no such thing as a Brontosaurus
• The Great Brontosaurus Hoax
• Image Source

It has been observed since the 4^th century BC that geckos have the ability to climb walls, hang upside down, and apparently “stick” to anything. Aristotle was the first known to have commented on the phenomenon, stating gecko’s have the ability to “run up and down a tree in any way, even with the head downwards” It wasn’t until recently that it was discovered what gave them this spider-man-like ability.

Gecko’s have millions of tiny hairs on their toes called setae (“setae” being Latin for “bristle”). All combined, these hair-like tissues give a washboard type appearance to a gecko’s toes. Each one of these seta have thousands of thinner hair-like structures that have flat caps at the ends called spatulae (yes the same meaning as the thing that flips our pancakes).  These caps called “spatulae”  use what is called “van der Waals” force to allow the gecko’s feet to adhere to objects.

More specifically, all of these seta and spatulae combined give the gecko’s feet an extremely large surface area, compared to its size. This surface area allows the gecko to take advantage of attraction caused by van der Waals force. Van der Waals force, simply stated, is the combined attractive forces between molecules (for more detail, see the Bonus Factoids below).  Normally, the force between molecules is too minute to matter; however, given the light weight nature of a gecko (approximately 2.5 ounces) and the extreme number of spatulae (which are about the size of a bacterium), the combined force allows the gecko to “stick” to almost anything.  This surface area is so great that it has been shown if a mature gecko were to have all of their setea in contact with a surface at one time, it could potentially support up to 290 lbs.

Interestingly, a study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface in the summer of 2011 has shown that geckos leave footprints. Specifically, they leave a Phospolipid residue. Phospolipids are a type of lipid (molecule that forms fats and waxes) that can form with 2 layers. These layers allow it to both attract water on one side and repel it on the other. This is why they are able to form things like cell membranes. This study suggests that there might be more going on with a gecko’s ability then we currently realize and it is thought by its publishers that these phospholipids might also play a role in a gecko’s sticky talent.

While the discovery of phospholipids in the gecko’s footprint brings a new factor to the equation, the ancillary evidence that a gecko cannot “stick” to Teflon is a strong indication that van der Waals force is the main mediator in their abilities.  Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylene) is mainly carbon and fluorine. Fluorine itself is highly electronegative, meaning it really really likes to attract electrons to itself. Because of this, it tends to mitigate what is known as the “London dispersion force”. This force is thought to usually be the dominate player in the van der Waals force. A gecko, who is dependent on the sum total of all of the factors of van der Waals force, would find it extremely difficult to stick to anything that eliminates its ability to utilize the force. As such, geckos cannot “stick” to Teflon.

Bonus Factoids:

• Named after Hohannes Diderik van der Waals, the van der Waals force is the combined force of atoms, molecules, and other intermolecular forces that are caused by correlations in the fluctuating polarizations of nearby particles. In English, that means when particles of a positive or negative charge are in close proximity, they can have an effect on the polarization (whether something is positive or negative) of nearby particles. These intermolecular forces have several different characteristics like orientation, induction, and dispersion.
• There are currently over 1000 known species of gecko. They range in size from ¾ of an inch to 14 inches long. The largest by mass is The New Caledonian giant gecko, the largest by length is the Tokay at approximately 14 inches.
• Geckos are able to detach their tail leaving it behind should a predator grab them by the tail. Some geckos are also able to shed their entire skin.
• Geckos are the only lizards that have a “voice”. They can create different sounds that help attract potential mates.
• Most geckos lack a moveable eyelid. Instead, they use their tongue to help keep their eyes clean and moisturized.
• The Geico gecko was born from the common mispronunciation of the name Geico. So many people kept pronouncing it gecko that Geico’s add agency began to brainstorm about the possibility. Given that it had been shown animals create a strong connection with people in advertisements, the Martin Ad Agency began using the gecko in commercials in 1999. Since that time, the Geico gecko has become one of the most popular advertising personalities in the United States. In 2005, it was voted as America’s favorite advertising icon.

References:

• The Mystery Of Geckos Sticky Feet
• Geckos Footprint
• Gecko Setae
• Van Der Waals Forces
• Electronegativity
• The Physics Of Geckos
• Gecko Facts
• Geckos By Encyclopedia
• The Geico Gecko
• Image Source

If this were the case, I’m pretty sure a dog’s mouth would be some sort of medical miracle, considering: they rarely if ever have their teeth brushed or mouths cleaned; they literally put their mouth on everything; and they use their tongue as toilet paper for not only themselves, but also any other dogs they encounter. Mouths are a great environment for bacteria to thrive; so barring some innate very strong anti-bacterial agent in their saliva, this myth just wasn’t going to be true. There are also numerous types of diseases associated with dog bites, including pasteurella, tetanus, rabies, klebsiella, proteus, E. coli, eikenella, etc, which point to the fact that a dog’s mouth couldn’t be sterile, as people often claim.

Don’t just take my word for it though. According to a study on the relative amount of microbes in a human’s mouth vs. a dog’s mouth, dog’s mouths had significantly more bacterial colonies than a human’s mouth. In this study, they measured the number of bacterial colonies per square centimeter in a dog’s mouth vs. a human’s mouth. The samples were taken after both had eaten and without the humans being allowed to brush their teeth before the sampling. The results were scaled down to a 1-4 scale where 1 is the cleanest, with relatively few bacterial colonies (“relative” being the operative word as both human and dog’s mouths are teaming with microbes), and 4 being the grossest, meaning relatively high amounts of different bacterial colonies. According to the study, 10% of the dogs scored a 1 (relatively clean); 30% scored a 3; and the remaining 60% scored a 4 (grossest). With the humans, 70% scored a 1; 20% scored a 2; and 10% scored a 3.

This small study backs up the intuitive notion that if you are someone who goes around eating garbage, poop, and pretty much putting anything and everything you find in your mouth, all the while typically never having your mouth cleaned in any way, then your mouth is going to have quite a lot more types of bacteria in it than someone who brushes their teeth regularly and doesn’t go around eating poop and other such microbial gold mines.

So where did this myth come from? It’s likely that it started from people observing that dogs clean their wounds with their mouths and it is scientifically proven to have less chance of getting infected than if they didn’t lick it. The problem with this is that any wound that is cleaned regularly, by licking or simply running water over it frequently, will give you much less chance of infection than otherwise. There is no strong anti-bacterial agent working here, it is simply a case of cleaning off dead tissue and the like.

Another theory of this myth’s origin is the medical myth that if you are bitten by a human, you’ll have a much greater chance of having that bite become infected than if you are bitten by a dog. This “fact” has been spread around in antiquated medical journals for ages, but has recently been shown to be incorrect. As stated in the 1988 Annals of Emergency Medicine:

A more recent 1995 study done by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, observed the same thing:

Sources:

• Are dog mouths cleaner than humans?
• Myth: Dogs have cleaner mouths than humans
• Dog Breath
• Types of Bacteria in a Dog’s Mouth

In order for the change from a caterpillar to a butterfly to take place within the pupa, the caterpillar begins releasing enzymes that literally digest nearly all of its own body.  What’s left inside the chrysalis is mostly just a very nutrient rich soup from which the butterfly will begin to form.

Interesting, it was thought until very recently that the caterpillar was completely converted to goo, excepting certain special cells necessary to create the butterfly body parts.  This idea has recently been debunked with researchers at Georgetown University proving that moths retain at least some of the memories they had when they were caterpillars.  For this to be the case, at least some of their memory storing neurons must survive the enzyme digestion process.  Further, these neurons must somehow be incorporated into the moth or butterfly’s brain, which is quite a bit larger and more complex than a caterpillar’s brain.

As mentioned, also left within the goo are very tiny imaginal disks, which are similar to embryonic cells. These disks are actually present within the caterpillar its whole life, but they stop growing at a certain point in the caterpillar’s development and only start again when it is time for the caterpillar to morph into a butterfly.  Once the proper time comes, the imaginal disks use the nutrients from the digested body of the caterpillar as they form into different parts of the butterfly’s body, with different disks forming into different tissues.  For instance, there are imaginal disks that will form the legs, antennae, specific organs, etc. of the butterfly.  There are even four imaginal disks that form wings.  If one of these still forming wings is removed, the other three will simply adapt to form bigger wings to compensate for the loss of the one wing.

Once the process is complete, the imaginal disks ultimately replace nearly every part of the dissolved caterpillar’s body with new “parts”, forming the butterfly, with the exception being at least some of the memory storing neurons. Although how these survive and are incorporated into the new, more complex brain is not a process which is yet understood.

Bonus Factoids:

• Caterpillars and Butterflies have a variety of means of protecting themselves from predators.  One of the most interesting found with Lycaenidae (of which 6000 species exist worldwide) is through communicating with ants using various vibrations and chemical signals.  Using this, they somehow reach an agreement with the ants in that the ants will provide them some level of protection and, in exchange, the ants will be provided with an additional food source (honeydew secretions).
• Other types of caterpillars are able to inflate their heads which makes them resemble small snakes.  These even often have false eye spots to further make the head look like a snake head when they inflate it.
• Another type of defense mechanism found with some types of caterpillars is using chemical excretions.  These can range from smelly to highly toxic chemicals.  Some types of caterpillars even purposefully ingest toxic plant matter which their bodies are then able to retain, even through into adulthood.  If some predator chooses then to eat the caterpillar or butterfly that has retained these toxic chemicals, they get sick and possibly die themselves as a result.
• This toxicity from certain caterpillars can occasionally cause problems for humans.  This happens particularly when these hairs with toxic chemicals are released into the air and come in contact with skin or are breathed into the lungs.  In Brazil alone, there were 354 such cases that were reported between 1989 and 2005, with about 20% of these cases resulting in the death of the person afflicted.
• A common misconception is that a cocoon and a chrysalis are the same thing.  In fact, the chrysalis is a butterfly pupa, which is a hard skin which appears after the caterpillar’s final shedding of its skin when it’s attached to a leaf via a silk pad spun by the caterpillar.  A cocoon is just a silk casing used by moths and certain other types of insects.
• The process of metamorphosis from a caterpillar to a butterfly consumes an amazing amount of energy.  This is evidenced by the fact that the difference in weight between the adult butterfly, when it first emerges, from the time around 3 days after the chrysalis is formed has the butterfly weighing about half what it did before.  Considering it’s an enclosed system, including waste being trapped within the chrysalis, nearly the only place for that weight to go is to be converted to energy and subsequently used.
• Once their metamorphosis is complete, butterflies use a special liquid which is formulated to soften the chrysalis; once softened, they use their sharp claws to claw their way out.  After they emerge, they begin the process of expanding and hardening and drying their wings.  This process can take several hours and it is a time when the butterflies are extremely vulnerable.
• The specific research project that showed moths retain some memories from when they were caterpillars was done at Georgetown University on tobacco hornworm caterpillars.  They trained the caterpillars to avoid certain smells.  When the caterpillars morphed into moths, they retained the aversion to those smells while those not trained had no such aversion.  Interestingly, they also found if they only trained caterpillars when they were very young (before three weeks old) and not again as “mature” caterpillars, they would not remember to avoid the smells when they turned into moths.  Only when the caterpillars were trained close to their metamorphosis would they remember.
• The complete butterfly lifecycle is: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa, and, eventually, adult butterfly.
• Contrary to popular belief, many butterflies do not have short life spans with some living as much as a year.
• Interestingly, butterfly eggs end up being attached to leaves via a special type of extremely strong glue which is, to date, unknown in terms of its chemical make-up.  The glue works so well that once the bristles are attached to the silk pad with this glue, it is nearly impossible to separate them.  The eggs themselves can last anywhere from a few weeks, to several months, if it’s winter time, before hatching.
• Monarch butterflies are known to migrate around 3000 miles during their lifetime, from Mexico to Southern Canada.
• Fossil records indicate butterflies have been around on the Earth at least 40-50 million years.

Sources:

• What Takes Place Inside the Chrysalis?
• Can Moths or Butterflies Remember What They Learned as Caterpillars?
• Butterfly
• Chrysalis
• Caterpillar
• Butterfly Memory
• Image Source