Ten Things I Like About... Podcast

Summary: You are what you eat, right? Find out what tuatara eat and how they eat it in the seventh episode of Tuatara.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Tuatara” Royal Ontario Museum, https://collections.rom.on.ca

“Microstructure of dental hard tissues and bone in the Tuatara denture, Sphenodon punctatus,” by J.A. Kierser, T. Tkatchenko, M. C. Dean, M. E. H. Jones, and N. J. Nelson. Front Oral Biol. 2009:13:80-85. https://pubme.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19828975

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

We have made it to the seventh episode of Tuatara and the seventh thing I like about these super cool reptiles is their diet and dentition. We have hinted a bit about what they eat but today we’ll take a closer look at what that is specifically and how their teeth help.

Let’s start with food. Tuatara are carnivores. They eat mainly invertebrates like worms and arthropods such as beetles, millipedes, spiders, and weta. Weta are insects native to New Zealand that look similar to crickets but like crickets on steroids. Weta have big bodies, spiny legs, and tusks. They look kind of like a cricket and a warthog had a baby.

The majority of the tuatara diet is made up of invertebrates but they will also eat lizards, seabird eggs and chicks, and occasionally they venture in to cannibalism and will eat young tuatara. Because of this, juvenile tuatara are active during the day while adult tuatara are active at night. I mean, really, if your relatives might eat you at night, then who wouldn’t want to avoid them.

Humans that live on the islands where tuatara are found always know when they’ve been hunting because they will see headless birds. Definitely not something you want to come across on a relaxing walk in nature. Why is this the indicator of the tuatara?

The tooth pattern of the tuatara is unique. Just like almost everything else about them. They have two incisor like teeth in front of their top jaw. And they have three rows of teeth (I was not able to find an actual count but am guessing it’s around 85 teeth). One row of teeth lines the bottom jaw and two rows line the top jaw. The bottom row of teeth fit neatly into the two upper rows of teeth when the jaw is closed. Wait for it, we almost have our answer. The jaw motion of the tuatara is also unique. Instead of an up and down motion, like chewing, they have a forward and backward motion, like sawing.

And there it is! This is why the birds that tuatara hunt are missing heads. They saw them off with their unique teeth. Hah! Didn’t see that coming did you?

Besides the unique pattern of teeth, the structure of their teeth is also unique. They have acrodont teeth which means they are rootless and attached directly to the bone of the jaw. They kind of emerge from the actual bone. This is unlike any other reptile teeth alive today. The teeth are serrated which helps with the sawing motion. Tuatara cannot replace lost or cracked teeth. Once the tooth is gone, it is gone. As tuatara age their teeth wear down from use. They are eating crunchy invertebrates and bony vertebrates, so they do take a beating. Tuatara can live for up to 100 years, so the older tuatara have to switch their diet to softer prey as their teeth wear down.

Now for a long time, we thought they didn’t have real teeth. We thought they were just bony protrusions that stuck out of the jaw, but some researchers in 2009 looked more closely at the teeth. They looked at teeth from a juvenile as well as an adult and found layers of typical tooth material. This was a surprise.

Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, which is a sophisticated imaging technique that uses an electron beam to examine the surface of various materials, researchers found evidence of enamel containing dentine tubules, dentine, and cementum. All of these are found in other types of teeth. It’s not just serrated, bony material sticky up in their mouths. They have actually teeth. They are different then your average tooth, but they are teeth none-the-less.

These tuatara are just full of surprises!

I hope you enjoyed our dental adventure because my seventh favorite thing about the tuatara is what they eat and how they eat it!

If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: The term “living fossil” is a bit controversial but does it fit the tuatara? Join Kiersten to find out.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“New study shows modern tuatara are little changed from 190 million year old ancestors.” Harvard University Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, March 2022. https://www.oeb.harvard.edu/news

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The sixth thing I like about the tuatara is how long they have lived. Just like another animal we have talked about, the coelacanth, the tuatara appears in the fossil record from way back in time. The first time we see the tuatara in the fossil record is during the Jurassic period. Now, of course, a certain book and movie series has made this a very popular time in Earth’s history, so you may be familiar with this time period. It is famous for being the age of dinosaurs, at least some of the most popular and recognizable dinosaurs.

The term living fossil has been tossed around in reference to the tuatara, as well as the coelacanth, but this term is controversial. It is quite the romantic phrase actually. To think that an animal is so well adapted to the world it lives in that is hasn’t changed since the first time it appeared on this planet is a notion that a lot of us want to believe, but is it true? The first major problem with this concept, is that there is no real definition of what makes an animal or plant a living fossil.

Charles Darwin coined the term “living fossil” in 1859. According to Darwin’s definition a living fossil is a species or group of species that is so little changed that it provides an insight into earlier, now extinct, forms of life. A living fossil can also be described as an organism that has remained relatively unchanged over millions of years, or one that has no, or very few, close surviving relatives.

It certainly sounds like we have stumbled on another controversy here. In the last episode we answered the question of whether the tuatara is a lizard or not. Spoiler here, listeners, if you haven’t heard the previous episode and you don’t want a spoiler to this question, stop listening now and go back and listen to last week’s episode. With that warning, let’s move on. We have established that tuatara are not lizards, they are reptiles but not lizards for various reasons. Shall we jump into the next controversial question then?

Are tuatara living fossils? Let’s look at Darwin’s definition first. How much have tuatara changed since they first appeared in the fossil record? A 2022 study from Harvard University’s Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology may give us some insight. Tuatara are the last remnant of the Rhynchocephalians. These reptiles peaked in abundance in the Jurassic period. Then they disappeared from the fossil record.

Two researchers were looking through the archives in the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology and came across something that had been sitting in the drawers for decades, a tuatara fossil. This fossil was discovered in northern Arizona in the Kayenta Formation of the United States in 1982. Professor Stephanie Pierce and postdoctoral fellow Tiago Simoes jumped into examining this forgotten fossil. They used micro-CT scans to examine the fossil in three dimension. Then they digitally pieced the puzzle together revealing a full unflattened skull. It greatly resembled the modern day tuatara. It had rows of interlocking teeth that extended directly from the bone and it had two holes behind the eyes, just like the modern day tuatara.

Pierce and Simoes named the fossil Navajoshenodon sani which means “old age” in the indigenous language of the Navajo. This fossil provides the first nearly complete skull of any fossil sphenodontine in the world. It also places the tuatara in the Late Triassic. They may be older than we thought.

So how does this help us determine the answer to the living fossil question? It does give support for both descriptions. The modern day tuatara is similar enough to the fossil that it gives us insight into a long dead relative, and it seems to have changed very little from the long ago fossil of a creature that roamed the planet with dinosaurs.

Unlike the coelacanth, which is definitely not a living fossil, maybe the tuatara is a living fossil. It is food for thought and that is one of the reasons I started this podcast.

I hope you will continue to think about this small living fossil controversy because it is my sixth favorite thing about the tuatara.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Is the tuatara a lizard? We have hinted at it for a few episodes. Join Kiersten to find out if the tuatara is or is not a lizard.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“It’s not a lizard or a dinosaur: the tuatara is something else entirely,” by Bec Crew. Australian Geographic, https://www.australiangeographic.com.au

“New study shows modern tuatara are little changed from 190 million year old ancestors.” Harvard University Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. https://www.oeb.harvard.edu

Parietal Eye, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/parietal-eye

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

During the last few episodes of tuatara, I have asked the question of whether the tuatara is a lizard or not a lizard. Today we are going to answer that question. The fifth thing I like about the tuatara is the unusual quirks that make them a unique reptile.

We have established that the tuatara is in an order of reptiles all by itself, Order Rhynchocephalia. This means that they have no living relatives. That in itself doesn’t mean they are not lizards, it just means they are not related to any living lizards. So let’s look at a few more attributes of the tuatara that will help us answer our question.

In the last episode we discussed the third eye, or parietal eye of the tuatara. Now other species of reptiles, mainly lizards, have a third eye as well. Certain iguanas, skinks, and monitors have a parietal eye, but their third eye is primitive and is not visibly seen at any stage of their development. The basics of the eye are there but it is hidden under a scale. The tuatara’s eye is much more developed and is exposed in young hatchlings. For more in depth discussion of the tuatara’s this eye, please listen to the previous episode.

There are several things about the tuatara’s skeleton that also sets it apart from lizards.

One is the teeth. The tuatara has three rows of teeth. One row in the lower jaw and two in the upper jaw. When the tuatara bits down the lower teeth fit into the groove between the two rows of upper teeth. That is very unusual and as far as we currently know, no other reptile has a tooth formation like this. The teeth are fused to the jaw and have no roots, which is unlike most lizard teeth. Tuatara teeth are not replaced during their lifetime and as they age and their teeth wear down, they have to switch to softer prey.

Another strange and interesting thing about the tuatara’s jaw is that when it eats the jaw doesn’t open and close in the typical chewing motion of most animals. It moves forwards and backwards slicing their prey like a saw. Locals of the islands where tuatara live always know when the reptiles have been hunting because they find birds with their heads sawed off.

Another unique attribute of the tuatara skull is the complete lower temporal bar that closes the lower temporal fenestra. The temporal fenestra is the opening in the skull behind the eye socket. Most modern lizards do not have a complete temporal bar. Researchers believe the complete bar in the tuatara is used to stabilize the skull during biting. It’s a unique jaw motion and it makes sense that the skull needs a bit more support.

As we travel down the skeleton of the tuatara we see some more unique features. The spine is made up of hourglass shaped vertebrae. This shape can be found in fish and amphibians but is unique reptiles to the tuatara. Each vertebrae has a tiny hole through which a rennet of the notochord passes. This was typical in early fossil reptiles but not in modern ones.

Could there be more unique features of this amazing reptile? Yes. We are not done with the odd features of the tuatara. Their ribs have some unique features as well. They have extra ribs, or rib-like bones, called gastralia that are not attached to the ribcage. These are also found in a few lizards and crocodiles. The tuatara have unicate processes on the actual ribs that are indicative of birds, and are found in modern bird skeletons, but are found only in the tuatara in the reptilians.

The pelvis and shoulder girdles of tuatara are also completely different from lizards. Tuatara have a different rotational angle that allows them to push their body up off of the ground to move, should they choose to, where as lizards have a more sprawling motion when they walk. Tuatara don’t often hold themselves up to walk as it is tiring.

Tuatara are also equipped for a cooler habitat than lizards. They have a unique hemoglobin structure that allows them to survive very cold temperatures.

One last unique attribute of tuatara that I will mention in this episode is how long they live. Tuatara can live up to one hundred years! That is definitely longer than any lizard we know of today.

So knowing about all these different and unique attributes of the tuatara, we come back to the question of whether they are lizards or not lizards. Science says, no they are not lizards and those that study the tuatara are definitely offended when they are called lizards. If anyone ever asks or incorrectly refers to the tuatara as a lizard, you can now politely inform them that they are incorrect. Tuatara are not lizards, reptiles yes, lizards no.

My fifth favorite thing about the tuatara is that they are truly not lizards.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Are tuatara eyes like every other reptile’s eyes? Maybe. Join Kiersten to find out what makes tuatara eye so special.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“The lonely eye,” by I R Schwab and G R O’Connor. Br J Ophthalmic. 2025 Mar:89(3):256. Doi:10.1136/bio.2004.059105

“Reptilian Eyes and Orbital Structures,” Jeanette Wyneken. 2012 Proceedings Association of Reptiles and Amphibian Veterinarians. https://cdn.ymaws.com

Parietal Eye, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/parietal-eye

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

As I begin episode four, I want to remind you of the question I posed at the beginning of the third episode. Is the tuatara a lizard or not a lizard? It is definitely lizard like. This episode, episode four, we will be talking about an attribute that might shed some light on the answer to this question. The fourth thing I like about the tuatara is their eyes, all three of them.

To start, let’s look at the anatomy of the general reptile eye. Reptilian eyes are similar to other vertebrate eyes in the fact that they are layered, filled with fluid, and have a lens that focuses light on a retina. The structure of the eye includes three chambers. The anterior chamber is the fluid-filled space inside the eye between the iris and the cornea’s innermost surface. The posterior chamber is a small space directly behind the iris, close to the lens, and bordered by the ciliary muscles. The anterior and posterior chambers are filled with aqueous humour. The third chamber is the vitreous chamber located between the lens and the retina and filled with vitreous humour.

Tuatara have two lateral eyes, one on each side of the head, that rest in a bony orbit. They are separated by a cartilaginous interorbital septum. A periorbital membrane lines the orbital bones and septum that connects to the orbital membranes and the internal parts of the upper and lower eye lids. Whoa! We got a little scientific for a moment there, but anatomy can do that!

These two lateral eyes are placed on the opposites sides of the head so they can have a wide perspective of their environment. Typically we see this eye position in prey animals and not all lizards are prey animals, but many of them are. Tuatara, as full grown adults, don’t have to worry too much about being eaten, but this eye placement is very helpful, none the less.

Most diurnal reptiles can see some amount of color, whether they see color the same way other vertebrates see color is still being studied, but the presence of cones is proof that they can see colors. Cones are useful in bright light, so reptiles active during the day will have more cones that those that are crepuscular, active at dawn and dusk, and those that are nocturnal. More rods are present in the eyes of nocturnal animals and these help pick up light and dark shades. Tuatara are active during the day and night, but are most active after dark; therefore, they most likely have more rods than cones.

They do have both upper and lower eyelids and are capable of closing their lids. They do not appear to have a nictitating membrane, which is another protective lens that can open and close over they eye, that some other reptiles have. They also have pupils that can contract and expand to allow various levels of light into the eye. When looking at close up photos of the tuatara’s eye the pupil is circular or oval along the vertical horizon. Interestingly, pupil shape in reptile eyes varies with behavior of the animal. Diurnal reptiles tend to have to have round pupils while nocturnal hunters have slits. Reptiles with slit pupils will have a pupil that is perpendicular to their orientation because that offers the best focus. The shape of the pupil has a profound influence on the retinal image because of the way light is allowed into the eye. Who knew the anatomy of the reptilian eye could be so fascinating.

Okay, let’s get to that third eye I mentioned. There are actually two orders of reptiles that have a third eye, Order Squamata, which includes lizards and snakes, and Order Rhynchocephlia, which includes only the Tuatara. Lizards and the tuatara are the only reptiles that we know of that have third eyes. The third eye is also called the parietal eye and is found on the dorsal portion of the skull. It is smack dab in the middle of the top of the skull, because where else would a third eye be found?

Anatomically speaking the parietal eye cannot focus on images like lateral eyes, so the third eye is not used for vision. At least not the parietal eyes on the current living tuatara. But this eye is more similar to lateral eyes than you might expect. The parietal eye is ventral to a parietal plug that is very similar to a cornea. Immediately below the plug is a lens that is remarkably similar to the lens in the lateral eyes. Below the lens are layers of pigment and photoreceptors. Photoreceptors detect light. Now we see where we are going with this whole third eye anatomy, maybe.

For a long time we thought that the parietal eye was used to detect light. It helped the animal tell when it was day and when it was night, and probably helped set animal’s the circadian rhythm. It helps the tuatara determine the changing of the seasons based on differences in the light cycle. But is that all there is to it? Some researchers believe that the third eye might be included in melatonin synthesis was well as other hormones. What it truly does is still a mystery.

So….does this help answer our question about whether the tuatara is a lizard or not? Some lizards do have third eyes, just like the tuatara so leaning towards yes? Before you comment though, let me through out one more thing about the tuatara’s third eye. When they are newly hatched the third eye is exposed and looks just like their lateral eyes. I’m not joking, search for tuatara hatchling third eye and you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s very cool! As the tuatara ages the third eye is covered over with a clear scale obscuring it from view.

I hope you have enjoyed this discussion about tuatara eyes because it’s my fourth favorite thing about these interesting reptiles.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Join Kiersten as she takes you on a slow look at tuatara reproduction.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Novel mating behaviors in male tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) expand our understanding of reptile courtship,” by Sarah K. Lamar, Diane K. Ormsby, and Nicola J. Nelson. Austral Ecology, vol 49, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec13496

“Tuatara.” San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, https://animals.sandiegozoo.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Welcome back to Ten Things I Like About after a year end break. I hope the new year treats you well and opportunities abound. Let’s get started! We will continue with Tuatara. The third thing I like about tuatara is reproduction.

As we travel along with the journey of discovery with tuatara, I want to pose a question to you. Is the tuatara a lizard? Or is it something else? Based on the physical description I outlined in the first episode, they seem to be lizards, if not very lizard like. But I want you to keep this question in the back of your mind as we progress through each new episode. We will revisit this question at the end of this series and see what we all think.

Okay, let’s talk about how baby tuatara are made. Tuatara mating and reproduction is not like anything else in the reptile world. Long incubation periods, extensive maturation, and unusual consummation marks the reproductive cycle of the tuatara.

It all begins sometime between January and March when males begin showing off to attract a mate. Remember those spines that they have on their neck and back, well they are there for pretties. They can fan out and shake the larger crest of spines in hopes of attracting a lady. For a long time we thought this was all the males did during the breeding season, but a study that looked more closely at males on Takapourewa Island revealed many more tricks they use to catch the ladies eye.

Boys will come a courting at a female’s burrow and it can get complicated and lengthy. It might be a good idea that she gets to stay at home once all the excitement begins. First, the male adopts body positions that make him look big, such as inflating the body and gular region (that’s the chin area), elevating his body off the forest floor (the up part of a push-up), and erecting those spines on his neck and back. Next, the male will begin the slow proud walk, also known as stolzer Gang, in a circle around the female. He’ll perform this slow exaggerated walk in concentric circles, pausing occasionally, and decreasing the circle circumference with each pass. If the female is interested, she will leave her burrow entrance, allow the male to paw at her, and then mount her from behind.

If there are obstacles in the male’s circular path, they will climb over, or go around. If the obstacle is too big to conquer, they’ll just shorten the circle to a semi-circle. I mean you gotta give them props for not getting distracted from their goal. The proud walk can last up to 44 minutes.

A few novel behaviors were observed by researchers studying the Takapourewa population. Mirrored head bobbing between the male and female was observed a few times, something that has not been seen in reptiles before. The male would bob his head a specific number of times and when he paused, the female would bob the small numbers of times. This was a very exciting discovery that will need more research to determine what it means and if it is found in other populations of tuatara, but how very interesting.

Vocalizations in tuatara are typically limited to croaks emitted when handled, or during aggressive moments between males, but these researchers encountered several males that purred during the mating process. We aren’t sure what this means or if this is a wide spread behavior but it is another exciting discovery.

Once the female has accepted the male and he mounts her from behind, he positions his pelvis so that both of their cloacas come in contact. This is how he spreads his sperm to her. Males do not have special reproductive organs like most other reptiles. So they perform the cloacal kiss to pass their sperm to the female. Male sperm are fast swimmers. They are actually the fastest sperm in the reptile kingdom, moving two to four times faster than any other reptile’s sperm. The female can store the sperm for 10 to 12 months.

Before all this happens, the female has been working on creating the eggs inside her body. It can take three years for a female to create and egg with yolk and an additional 7 to 8 months to create the shell. A female is only able to successfully breed every three to five years.

Once the eggs are ready and fertilized, the female can lay 1 to 19 soft-shelled, white eggs in her burrow. Incubation is extremely long at 12 to 15 months! Yes, it takes a year or more for baby tuatara to hatch into the world. This is unheard of in reptiles. Maybe not the best survival tactic for a species, but as we can see tuatara don’t do anything quickly.

Similar to some other reptiles, temperature during incubation is important to the sex of a hatchling. Warmer temperatures produce males while cooler temperatures create females.

The eggs are on their own during incubation and the hatchlings have to fight for life alone as soon as they emerge from the burrow. Neither parent remains at the nest to protect the eggs or hatchlings. If they survive their early years, they have to wait ten to twenty years before they can join the reproductive cycle.

In this episode, I think we’ve proven that tuatara don’t do anything fast and that’s why their reproductive cycle is my third favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Where do tuatara live? Can I see one in MY backyard? Join Kiersten to find out if you can see a tuatara in your own backyard.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Distribution of tuatara”, Te Ara: https://teara.govt.nz/en/map

“Tuatara” by Marc E. H. Jones and Allison Cree. Current Biology, Vol 22, Issue 23, PR986-R987, Dec 4, 2012. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.10.049, https://www.cell.com/current-biology

“Sphenodon punctatus (Tuatara)” Animal Diversity Web: https://www.animaldiversity.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Last week’s overview of the tuatara probably made you want them in YOUR backyard, but they are only found in a small section of the world. This week we are going to find out where the tuatara live. The second thing I like about the tuatara is where they are found.

To see a tuatara in the wild you will have to visit New Zealand. They are found on different islands surrounding the main island of New Zealand as well as on the mainland. Those found on the mainland are there due to a reintroduction program begun in 2005.

The islands where you can find tuatara are fairly inaccessible which probably helped save them from extinction. The ones on the mainland were extinct before Europeans ever came to the island.

There are about thirty islands surrounding New Zealand where you can find tuatara today. Those island include Poor Knights Island, Hen and Chickens Island, Little Barrier Island, Cuveir Island, Mercury Island, The Alderman Island, Karewa Island, Plate Island, Moutoki Island, Moutohora Island, and Tiritiri Matangi Island. These are all off the northern coast. Sphenodon punctatus occurs naturally on all of these islands except Moutohora and Tiritiri Matangi Islands where the Northern Tuatara were introduced to help increase their population. Tuatara can also be found on Stephens or Takapourewa Island, Trio Island, Titi Island, The Brothers Island, and Matiu or Somes Island. Sphenodon guntheri occurs naturally on The Brothers Island and was introduced to Titi and Matiu Islands to boost their population. Please excuse any mispronunciations.

A scientific paper published in December of 2012 states that “there are about 32 natural populations of tuatara living on small offshore islands, a few island reintroductions, and at least one reintroduced mainland colony on the North Island [of New Zealand]. Most of the populations include just tens or hundreds of animals, but there are estimated to be at least 30,000 on Takapourewa Island.” End quote.

The habitat that tuatara live in is an odd choice for a reptile as the islands are riddled with cliffs and exposed to strong winds. The vegetation is salt and wind tolerant; therefore, are pretty tough plants. The average temperature is below what the typical reptile can tolerate but tuatara are adapted to survive temperatures as low as 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

They spend their days in burrows that are dug by seabirds such as petrels, prions, and shearwaters when they are available or they will dig their own burrows. They also spend time soaking up the sun on the cliffs. Tuatara are more active at night leaving their burrows or basking spots to hunt for food.

This episode is a bit shorter than my usual episodes and I do apologize. I will make it up to you in future episodes of the tuatara. Thank you for visiting with me to find out where the tuatara lives. It is my second favorite about this seriously cool animal.

As the holiday season is upon us, I will be taking a break until the new year. We will pick up where we left off with the tuatara in January 2026.

Join me in January 2026 for another exciting episode about the tuatara.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

View Details

Summary: Tua-what? Join Kiersten to find out what the tuatara is.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Sphenodon punctatus (Tuatara)” Animal Diversity Web: https://www.animaldiversity.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

My name is Kiersten and I have a Master’s Degree in Animal Behavior and did my thesis on the breeding behavior of the Tri-colored bat. I was a zookeeper for many years and have worked with all sorts of animals from Aba Aba fish to tigers to ravens to domesticated dogs and so many more in between. Many of those years were spent in education programs and the most important lesson I learned was that the more information someone has about a particular animal the less they fear them. The less they fear them the more they crave information about them and before you know it you’ve become an advocate for that misunderstood animal.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The next unknown animal I have chosen takes us on a journey through ancient times. We haven’t ventured this far back in time since we talked about the coelacanth. Welcome to the first episode of tuatara. The first thing I like about this unknown animal is their continued existence.

You may be saying tau-what? Tuatara is our next animal. Let’s jump right into the classification which will answer some of your initial questions. Like what the heck is a tuatara? Remember classification is the way scientists identify different living things including animals and plants so that we all know who exactly we are talking about.

The classification of the tuatara is as follows:

Kingdom: Animalia (that’s the animals)

Phylum: Chordata (chordates)

Subphylum Vertebrata (that’s the animals that have an internal skeleton or the vertebrates)

Class: Reptilia (that’s the reptiles) Okay! Now we’re getting somewhere. Tuatara must be a reptile!

Order: Rhynchocephalia (there is only one reptile in this order) You guessed it! The tuatara.

Family: Sphenodontidae

Genus: Sphenodon

Species: punctatus

The scientific name for the tuatara is Sphenodon punctatus.

There are two recognized species of tuatara. The Brother’s Island Tuatara is Sphendon guntheri. The first tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, is referred to as the Northern tuatara.

Now, we know this animal is a reptile, but what does it look like? Is it small? Is it large? Is it green, brown, or purple?

Tuatara can be green, olive, or brick red in color. Their adult size ranges from 15 inches, or 40 cm, in the female to 24 inches, or 60cm, in the male. Both male and female have two crests of dull-edged spikes that travel down the back of the head to the neck with the second on the middle of the back along the spine. The male’s crests will be larger than the female’s which helps to distinguish the sexes from each other.

They have four short legs and a long tail that usually exceeds the length of their body. They look a lot like a lizard, but they aren’t exactly lizards. We will dissect that statement in a future episode. They have no external earhole but they do have ears. They have two eyes that can focus independently and are placed on the sides of the head.

They have a variety of scale structures along their body giving them a dinosaur-ish look.

There are a few attributes that set tuatara apart from other species of reptiles. One of those is their third eye. Yes, they have a third eye, a parietal eye, right in the middle of the top of their head. It has a retina and is functionally similar to a normal eye. In juveniles it is exposed but as it ages a scale grows over it. We are currently uncertain of its purpose.

Another attribute that sets the tuatara apart is their teeth. Tuatara teeth are fused to the jaw bone, unlike any other toothed reptile. This is an acrodont tooth structure. This speaks to the age of this species of reptile. The tuatara is the only living specimen of Rhynchocephalia. All of them, expect the tuatara, went extinct in the late Cretaceous period. We will dive into this topic in a future episode.

One last thing about the tuatara before we end the first episode of this new series. One tuatara, many tuatara. When talking about the tuatara, the singular is the same as the plural.

Thank you for choosing to start this series with me. We are going to have a fun time with the tuatara. My first favorite thing about them is them!

Join me next week to find out where the tuatara are found.

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Summary: Do ants need conservation efforts? Join Kiersten to find out.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson

“Adventures Among Ants” by Mark W. Moffett

“Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The final episode of ants has arrived. As my loyal listeners know, this episode is typically about conservation and how we can help the animals or plantsman highlighted in this series, but the question I have about ants is whether they need conservation or do we need to conserve other animals and plants against ants. Let’s find out. The tenth thing I like about ants is conservation.

The answer to this question may be both. Within our lifetimes it is thought that some species of ants have gone extinct, but not much research has been done on invertebrate extinction. I cannot say why, maybe it doesn’t happen often, maybe invertebrates that were undiscovered are the one that go extinct, or maybe no scientist has taken the time, or had the funding, to research this topic.

One species of ant that was thought to be extinct was Myrmecia apicalis, a bull ant found outside of Australia. The only species of bull ant found outside of Australia. Somehow this species was able to cross an ocean and settle in New Caledonia. You probably noticed that I said it was thought to be extinct. Our ant hero Edward O. Wilson was on a trip with other scientists that happened to find a colony of Myrmecia apicalis on an island proving that it had not gone extinct. It was a joyful discovery but not one without concern. The ants had survived when we thought they had succumbed, but other ants, invasive ants had also come to the island and the excitement at finding Myrmecia apicalis was tempered with the knowledge that the invasive fire ant neighbors might wipe them out.

As Edward Wilson said in his book Tales from the Ant World, “The dark fate of this exquisite little species is entirely up to humanity. Myrmecia apicalis can be saved, along with other species still unrecognized, only if the little fire ants are halted and pushed back, and if the woodlands where the New Caledonian bull ant and probably other endangered species yet to be identified live are turned into carefully monitored reserves.” End quote. I could not say it any better.

On the other side of conservation efforts are invasive species. An invasive species as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Interior is an exotic species that is introduced, non-native or alien and is also harmful in some way to the environment or to humans or both. I definitely think fire ants qualify. Solenopsis invicta, more commonly known as The fire ant, is one of the most successful invasive species of all time. Solenopsis invicta was probably introduced into the United States in the 1930s somewhere in Alabama. They establish themselves quickly and new colonies grow quickly. They can create new queens and more colonies within a year. By the 1940s it was well on its way to dominating the entire southern United States and found its way to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and China. It also spread south onto the islands of the Lesser Antilles.

Anywhere fire ants go, destruction follows. They are omnivorous and eat anything and everything that gets in their way. In pineland habitats, imported fire ants attack and consume small mammals and ground nesting birds. In the 1950s the U.S. Department of Agriculture said we must stop this destructive invasive species by any means. They decided to spray pesticides everywhere the ant was found all at one time. That would surely get rid of the problem. But that would also kill every other insect in the vicinity, poison mammals, birds and other vertebrates, pollute water sources, and expose humans to debilitating poisons. If even one fire ant colony survived it was all for not because that colony could start the process all over again within a few years. Thank goodness Rachel Carson and Edward Wilson spoke out against this option and widespread pesticide use was discontinued before more damage could be done.

One thing we can thank fire ant for here in the United States is the launching of the new era of environmentalism. A time of more thought and less gut reaction. So how do we combat imported fire ants? One mound at a time. If we kill off the queens before they make more queens, then we can help. We will probably never extinguish them in their introduced habitats but we can fight the good fight by implementing targeted insecticide use and boiling hot water.

Another ant that has dominated the planet is the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile. This ant is native to Northern Argentina and has been found on almost every piece of land on the planet. They have colonies that can span hundreds of square kilometers and they are indomitable. A quote form Mark Moffet’s book Adventures Among Ants give us a glimpse of the Argentine ant problem, “Argentine ants are as tenacious in the wars they wage with other ant species as they are in battles with their own, annihilating even California ants with far bigger and meaner workers. Though the Argentines can’t sting and are too small to bite humans, they use the energy-rich honeydew from their homopteran herds as fuel to quickly find and dominate every food resource they can reach, thereby leaving the competition hungry. But their depredations go further than that, for even when native species don’t vie for the same resources and offer no physical threat, the Argentine ants plunder their brood for an easy meal.” End quote. Isn’t it great that this species of ant made it around the world?

I guess the answer to the conservation question about ants isn’t as straight forward as some of the other species of animal and plant I have highlighted, but what we can say is that yes, they are in need of conservation whether from habitat loss or the invasion of other ants. Humans do have a role in the future of ants. Thank you for listening to the final episode of ants because the tenth thing I like about ants is conservation.

I do have one final comment before signing off and that is a recommendation to read the books I have been referencing for this series. Any of the books by Edward O. Wilson will change your mind about ants, which I hope this series has at least partially done, and the photography and storytelling in Mark Moffet’s book Adventure Among Ants gives you a look into the ant world that will blow your mind. It is well worth your time.

Join me in two weeks for another exciting series about an unknown or misunderstood creature.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

View Details

Summary: Ants are such diverse organisms that extremes have evolved. Join Kiersten to learn about some ant extremes.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

In this penultimate episode I thought we’d talk about the extremes of ants. The fastest, the slowest, the fiercest, and maybe a few more. The ninth thing I like about ants is the extremes.

Edward O. Wilson studied ants for his entire life, give or take a few years when he was still in diapers, and that was 92 years. He discovered species we didn’t know about and described ant behaviors that boggled our human minds. It is no surprise that he included some of the extremes of ant life in his writings.

Something I had no idea about when I decided to pick ants as my next topic was that each species of ant has it’s own tempo. Not unlike music, this is the speed at which worker ants get things done. Some colonies are speedy as a tornado and others are as slow as molasses in winter, but they all get the job done. Each tempo fits the niche that a specific species fills in their habitat. Sometimes fast wins the race while other times slow persistence fairs better.

The fastest ants on Earth may very well be the workers of the genus Ocymyrmex. There are 34 known species in this genus and are found in most of eastern and southern Africa. Their chosen habitats are hot, hot, and hotter. Ocymyrmex, or swift ants, have streamlined bodies with very long legs attached with thick segments at the base. The mandibles are narrow and fit tightly against the head when folded. Their spiracles, air holes through which they breathe, are large. Ocymyrmex are built to be sprinters.

On a trip to Gorongosa National Park in Africa, Edward Wilson came across a colony of Ocymyrmex and wanted to grab a few for the Harvard University Lab. By this time in his career he’d caught a lot of ants, so he was well versed in the best ways to snatch a few specimens. The first obstacle he had to overcome was the extreme heat emanating from the mud flat on which the ants were running. It felt like a stove top, so kneeling down to catch some ants was going to be a challenge, but he was up for it. He positioned himself above the workers, readied his forceps, and caught not one single ant. The workers were just moving too fast. He could barely follow them with his own eyes much less grab them with forceps. A quote from his book Tales from the Ant World, “The ants were moving like a sizzle of water droplets in a frying pan, difficult even for the eye to keep track.” End quote. Those are some fast ants!

Ocymyrmex are made for sprinting but another ant, which is a double extremist, is made for marathons. Ants in genus Cataglyphis are long-distance runners and Cataglyphis bicolor is one of the most heat tolerant animals known to western science. These ants live in the Sahara desert and are mainly scavengers. They search for dead insects and other arthropods that have succumbed to the heat of the desert to dismantle and bring back to the nest.

Cataglyphis bicolor can withstand temperatures up to 158F, or 70C, but they must keep moving. If they stop, they fry. Talk about a good reason to keep moving.

Let’s look at the opposite side of tempo, the slowest ants in the world. Ants in genus Basiceros are as slow as ants can get without dying. These ants are found in Central and South America. They are not well studied and; therefore, poorly understood. The main problem is they are incredibly difficult to find. If you can’t find it, you can’t study it.

What we do know is Basiceros ants are medium in size and rely on their camouflage to survive. Their opaque brown color closely matches the fallen leaves and mold in which they live. They do hunt for food and like any other slow moving predator they are ambush predators. They simply wait for prey to come to them, lunge, strike, and seize it. They will stalk prey, as well, just at a very slow pace. If they are discovered by something, or someone, uncovering their hidden pathways under the leaf litter they freeze and will remain still for minutes at a time to protect themselves. Edward O. Wilson says of them, “Their tempo may be as slow as an ant species can employ and still survive.” End quote.

The Basiceros ants are also an extremist twofer. They are the slowest ants and also the dirtiest ants, which may be a linked trait. When Edward Wilson stumbled across some Basiceros in Costa Rica and transferred a colony to Harvard to study, they realized that the brown color of the ants wasn’t just camouflage to blend in with the dirt, it was dirt. The bodies of these ants are covered in coiled and feather-shaped hairs that essentially collect dust and debris. They use the dust and debris to hide amongst the leaf litter.

The colony of Basiceros studied at Harvard demonstrated this in an unexpected way. At the university, the colony that was brought back and housed in tunnels made of plaster of Paris. Within several weeks of living in the man-made tunnel the ants had turned white! They had replaced their dirt colored garments with the white plaster of Paris so they could blend in with their new habitat!

For the last extreme we will discuss lets’s look at timidity and fierceness, both serve ants well in different situations. Dolichoderus imitator is probably the most timid, or least offensive, ant in the world. This small ant lives in the Amazon rainforest of South America. Most colonies typically consist of a few hundred workers and a rarely seen queen. They nest in random cavities of decaying leaf litter and do not set up permanent colonies. If they are disturbed, by person or predator, they scatter in all directions. Nothing seems to be directed; although, they do pause long enough to pickup the closest larva or pupa to take with them. The individuals will shelter in any covered place they find nearby waiting for the danger to pass. The colony will reconvene in another random clump of leaves elsewhere. Maybe the transience of their nests breeds timidity for survival reasons.

On the other side of the coin is fierceness. There are several candidates for the fiercest ants in the world. Our first candidate is the bull ants from Australia. They are in the genus Myrmecia and the largest workers are the size of hornets. They nest in craters of soil and are not intimidated by any creature that comes near, including something as big as a human. Edward Wilson has seen them lock their large eyes onto an animal simply walking by the nest. Sentries will turn and watch and if you come close, they walk toward you. If they catch you, you will regret it. When the interloper makes the correct decision to leave, they follow up to 10 meters, or 32 feet, to make sure you don’t come back.

Bull ants are pretty scary due to their size, but ants that live in symbiosis with a specific bush or tree are even scarier, especially if you come in contact with them in their home. The guardian ant, Pseduomyrmex triplar, are found in palo alto trees common in Colombia. In 1770 Jose Celestino Mutis happened upon these ants in an unpleasant encounter. He paused under a palo alto on a hot sunny day and quickly found himself covered in red ants that were continuously stinging him. There were so many and they were stinging so fiercely that he had to remove all of his clothes and jump into the nearest body of water.

Edward Wilson gives his vote for most ferocious ant to the tree-dwelling Amazon ant Camponotus femoratus. These ants are also know as the epiphyte garden-ants. They live in the trees and use soil and vegetable detritus gathered from the ground and surrounding branches to build spherical ant-gardens around certain species of epiphytes. Epiphytes are plants that grow on the surface of another plant but does not harm the host plant. The ants’ nest is held together in part by the roots of the epiphyte. A quote from Edward Wilson’s book Tales from the Ant World tells us all we need to know about why he voted these as the fiercest ants in the world. Quote, “When I turned and walked downwind toward the colony, a swarm of workers erupted almost instantaneously. As I came closer, but still without touching the nest, the defenders went berserk. Piling up on top of one another, they reached out toward me with the abdomens of many pointing in my direction and spraying a cloud of formic acid.” End quote. I see what he voted the garden ants as the fiercest ants in the world!

There are many more extremes in the ant world, but I have already gone over time for this episode. I’m glad you joined me for my ninth favorite thing about ants, their extremes.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

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Summary: We know ants are farmers, but are they also ranchers? Join Kiersten to find out!

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Adventures Among Ants” by Mark W. Moffett

“Trophobiosis is a tropical rainforest on Borneo: Giant ants Camponotus gigs (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) herd wax cicadas Bythopsyrna circulate (Auchenorrhyncha: Flatidae),” by Martin Pfeiffer and Karl Eduard Linsenmair

“Aphid-farming ants,” by Annie B. F. Ivens and Daniel J. C. Kronauer

“Ecological consequences of interactions between ants and honeydew-producing insects,” by John D Styrsky and Micky D. Eubanks

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Two episodes ago we found out that ants are farmers, at least some species of ants are farmers and they are amazingly well organized and productive farmers. The other side of sustained food production is ranching. Ranching is a form of agriculture focused on raising livestock for various uses. Are ants ranchers? Let’s find out! The eighth thing I like about ants is their ranching activities.

For those of you listening in order, last episode we learned about the Weaver ants of Africa that live in trees. They are some of the coolest ants out there with special physical adaptations and behavioral adaptations that help them survive in the tree. One of the activities I didn’t talk about, because I was saving it for this episode, is their ranching. The weaver ants, Oecophylla longinoda, use other insects as a form of food resources. Now they do hunt other insects and tear them apart and eat the bits, but they also corral certain insects and use the honeydew that those insects produce as food. Mealy bugs, plant hoppers, and scale insects are some of the “cattle” that Weaver ants utilize. These insects are all sap-sucking species that tap a plant for it’s sap and drink it. The ants love the honeydew, or doo-doo, that comes out the other end of these insects. Yes, that’s correct, the ants are eating their excrement which is actually more nutritious than nectar.

The Weaver ants are protective of their livestock keeping them from harm and moving them to fresher pastures, just like human cowboys. They often build leaf tents over and around their charges keeping them hidden from predators and controlling their movements so they can gather the honeydew for as long as the insect lives.

Who knew ants were ranchers? It’s not only Weaver ants that exhibit this behavior.

Some species of Formica ants are also ranchers. They will tend similar insects as the Weavers including Mealy bugs, plant hoppers, scale insects as well as whiteflies and aphids. I found several papers talking about the relationship between Formica ants and aphids. They really treat these aphids like humans treat cattle. The ants tend them, watching them to protect them from predators, they will pick them up and remove them from a plant when danger arises (okay humans can’t pick up cattle, but we can escort them to another area when needed), and when the part of the plant that the aphids are eating from begins to run dry the ants will take them to greener pastures. The ants are after the honeydew, of course, the excrement from the aphids, just like the Weaver ants. It is high in concentrated sugars and carbohydrates that keep the ants running.

Giant ants, Camponotus gigas, from the tropical forests of Borneo herd wax cicadas. They are incredibly well organized in their herding and perform three behaviors to help gather as much honeydew from these cicadas as possible. Some of the ants are collectors and spend about 80% of their time sitting below the cicadas to collect the honeydew as it comes out. Ants that spend their time collecting often focus on one cicada, returning to the same individual after each collection. There are also secondary gatherers that collect honeydew from the body parts of the primary collectors and receive honeydew via trophallaxis, or passing of regurgitated liquids to another insect. This allows the primary collectors to spend more time collecting directly from the cicadas. The secondary gatherers take the collected food back to the nest. A third worker might sometimes stand in front of the cicada and perform what the researchers called “antennating from ahead”. One or more ants will sit in front of the cicada or next to it and gently tap it with its antenna. At times this seems to encourage the cicadas to pass honeydew more frequently, but sometimes it didn’t do anything, except possibly annoy the cicada. It’s so interesting that these Giant ants of Borneo have adapted such specialized behaviors to collect excrement from another insect.

It may seem like the ants may be controlling the aphids or cicadas and taking advantage of their production, which is not entirely false. Many ant colonies restrict the movement of their insects just like humans do with cattle, allowing them to go only where they want them to go, but its not always bad for the cattle. Aphids are not the most cleanly insects and they congregate in large groups, as any gardener listening to this episode will tell you. A group of aphids can suck a plant dry! Anyways, the ants retrieve the honeydew almost immediately once it is excreted. This is an advantage to the aphids, because it cuts down on fungus that can grow on the excrement and sicken the aphids. The ants are also protecting them from predators. Some ants remove Ladybugs, their larvae, and pupae from the plants that the aphids have chosen to feed upon. Ladybugs love a juicy aphid! Parasitic wasps that feed on aphids are also on the ants’ radar.

One of the questions that researchers have about this mutualistic relationship is whether it’s obligate or facultative. Turns out it can be both. Facultative mutualism is a relationship where both parties benefit from each other’s company but do not rely on each other. The previous discussion is an example of this. The Formica ants tending these aphids can walk away and find food elsewhere and the aphids can also go about their business without the ant ranchers.

Obligate mutualism is when one or both parties is reliant on the other for survival. Some ants and aphids have evolved to rely on the other for survival. Some species of aphids and other insects have lost their ability to protect themselves without the help of ants. Some ants rely on the aphids and other sects to provide honeydew, they have lost the ability to go out and look for other food. Certain aphids live inside the ant colony and have lost the ability to grow wings and fly to find a mate. They just reproduce asexually throughout their entire lives and never the the ant colony at all. If these aphids left the ant nest, they would not survive.

I guess we have proven that ants can be ranchers, as well as farmers. Thanks for joining me for this episode of ants as ranching is my eighth favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

View Details

Summary: How do colonies of ants live in trees? Find out in this episode about arboreal ants.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Adventures Among Ants” by Mark W. Moffett

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

We are rounding the bend with the ants series and there is no better way to do that than to take to the sky. The title of this episode is Arboreal Ants. There are ants that live in trees and never touch terrestrial earth their entire lives. You thought the Leafcutter ants were amazing, well hold on to your hat because the seventh thing I like about ants is the colonies that live in the trees.

Arboreal ants, which are ants that live in trees, are found on many different continents and there is more than one species, but we are going to focus on one species in particular so we can really see their amazing qualities in detail. We’re spending some time with the Weaver ants of Africa, Oecophylla longinoda. Now living in a tree for an ant is no small feat, so how do they do it? Terrestrial ants dig into the dirt and create many chambered nests. It’s kind of difficult to dig into a tree, so where are arboreal ants living?

Weaver ant nests are most common in the outer, uppermost branches of trees where the sun light is bright. Here, the ants will bind adjacent healthy leaves together to create a treetop tent. The size of each nest will vary but is often between the size of baseball or a volleyball. They are as light as an inflated ballon and can withstand wind, rain, and enemy invasions. To begin building a nest, a worker ant will pull the edge of a leaf toward the edge of another leaf. If her bending is successful other workers will come to her aide.

Now weaver ants get their name from the next step. To keep the leaves together they employ their larvae. If you’re think, “What?” I hear ya! The larvae are picked up by workers and taken to the edge of the leaf connection. The workers tap the larvae on the leaf to encourage the larvae to release silk. Yes, the larvae of many species of ants create silk. The Weaver ants use this silk to secure the leaves together. The motion of shuttling the larvae back and forth to connect the leaves with the silk is where the weaving comes in. The nests may last for years because when one leaf dies the ants will just weave in another living one.

The nests are larger enough to house thousands of ants, but the weaver ants don’t have just one nest in the tree. They travel all over the tree that they call home, so they often build other trees op tents so they can maximize their resources. They don’t stick to one central nest, they have the ability to move around when they need to. One territory can have multiple nests. The queen is often in a nest that is the most centralized to the territory, but her eggs are distributed throughout all the nests.

With all of these spread out workers, Weaver ants have to have an excellent communication strategy. And boy, do they! Earlier we learned that pheromones are integral to ant communication. It’s the same with weaver ants, but they have a specialized gland that helps the pheromones that they use to create their paths last longer than terrestrial ants. They have an anal gland that helps them make their poop a bit more than just poop. To keep their pathways from wearing away too quickly, weaver ants use their feces to create longterm smell paths. The droplets of worker excrement hardens into a shellac like substance that can last for months.

This form of communication also allows these ants to do something most other ants do not, defend a specific territory. Weaver ants are known to defend their treetop territories from other ants they encounter. With the pheromone lines drawn already it gives them an advantage in skirmishes. Their scent is already laid down. If a weaver ant encounters an enemy worker, she will race back to more familiar territory to recruit help. She does this by mimicking fighting motions and other workers will follow her prepared for battle.

So what do weaver ants eat? This species of ant is omnivorous. They eat both meat and veggies. One of the coolest things they target is nectaries created by trees. These are spots on the leaves of trees that seep nectar. This isn’t like the sap that leaks from the tree’s bark, this is like the nectar that a flower produces. When they find a nectary, the weaver ants will built a tent around it to hide it from other animals that might be interested in this pot of gold as well.

Weaver ants do eat meat in the form of other insects, Mark Moffett retells an experience he had in Cambodia as he watched some local Oecophylla drag a 5 cm long scorpion up a tree to pull it apart, as well as other meat items such as birds, bats, and other ants. The protein is eaten mainly by the larvae while adults typically consume sap and nectar.

Does the tree benefit from the ants in residence or are they detrimental? This is a question that ecologists try to answer through cost/benefit analysis. Some benefits to the tree are weaver ants culling leaf eating insects before they can defoliate the tree. Foliage lasts longer in areas where the weaver ants live. The ants also provide a bit of fertilizer to the tree as well by pooping on the leaves. Trees can absorb some nutrients through their leaves. On the cost side, some of the leaves the weaver ants use to create their nests are permanently lost, but considering the small percentage of leave the ants use, I think the benefits outweigh the costs.

I hope this quick foray into the treetops with these arboreal ants was worth it, because treetop living ants is my seventh favorite thing about ants.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

View Details

Summary? Can ants be farmers? Join Kiersten to find out!

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson

“Adventures Among Ants” by Mark W. Moffett

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Can ants be farmers? In this episode we are going to find out. The sixth thing I like about ants is their farming abilities.

You may have heard of leafcutter ants. These are ants that cut leaves and carry them back to their colony. They are often highlighted in nature television programs. It’s mesmerizing and charming watching a line of ants traveling with various sizes of leaf pieces held above their heads. Leafcutters will fall into one of two genera: Acromyrmex and Atta. There are 39 species that we currently know of and they are all found in the New World. Atta are most prevalent in the tropics of South America but there are two species that can be found in North America, one in Texas and Louisiana and one in Arizona.

Leafcutter ant nests can extend 7 meters, or 22 feet, into the earth and contain eight thousand chambers. The largest chamber is typically the ant waste chamber which is buried as far down as they can make it. The title of this episode is farmers so how does that relate to our leafcutter ants? Well, leafcutter ants are farmers. I used to think that they cut those little pieces of leaves to eat themselves, but that is not what they are doing. They take the leaves back to their nest where they feed it to fungus. They tend the fungus like farmers and then they eat the fungus, or rather the larvae eat the fungus. So I guess every leaf cutter ant eats the fungus at some point in their life.

The adult workers ants eat the sap from the leaf fragments that they cut. This is what energizes them to process the leaves. The leaves have to be mulched first before it is fed to the fungus. The fungus will grow and grow and grow in the leafcutter nest. It will fill up the majority of the chambers with a lightweight spongy structure that kind of looks like a human brain and is called a fungus garden. The ants tend the fungus by adding new leaves to the top and sides while they removed the older bottom portions.

It is unusual that ants are completely dependent on vegetation, but leafcutter ants are. The fungus is actually high in protein and that helps the larvae grow big and strong.

The largest nest that Mark Moffett ever came across during his studies was in the Kaw Mountains of French Guiana. The above ground soil mounds were chest high and ranged over a 14 meter wide area. It ranged over about 160 square meters in total. If we compared this to a human made structure, it would be bigger than the Empire State Building in New York City. This nest probably housed millions of workers.

A nest of this size can require an excavation of 40 tons of soil. It must house the queen, the brood, and the workers but even with millions of ants it’s the fungus gardens that take up most of the real estate. The ant population can weigh up to 15 to 20 kilograms and utilize 280 kilograms of leaves. That’s enough plant matter to blanket a soccer field.

Now, this is a lot of living things inside an enclosed space, so it gets hot and humid. To combat increasing heat and humidity which slows down fungal growth, the ants have installed air conditioning ducts. The long tunnels that open above ground are placed strategically around the nest to release humidity and heat. If it get too cold, the tunnels will be closed off.

The only reason leafcutter ant nests can support millions of workers is because they are farmers. Just like humans, farming allows the ants to support a larger population by creating their own resources. These ants use incredibly advanced farming techniques. Humans will use various farming equipment to produce large quantities of crops, but for leafcutter ants its all hands on deck.

The ants within this species are highly polymorphic, meaning sizes between workers vary greatly depending on your job. The largest soldier ant is 200 times bigger than that of a small worker. These colonies are run like assembly lines of self-directed individuals. Many steps are managed by ants in a variety of sizes. Mid-size workers cut the foliage, carry it into the nest, and deposit it onto the garden surface. Smaller ants with 1.6 millimeter wide heads take the next step which is shredding the greens into scraps.The next step is accomplished by even smaller ants who chew up the scraps into moist pulp. Still smaller ants will insert the pulp into the gardens. Then ants with 1 mm sized heads will lick the pulp and seed it with tufts of fungus from established fungal gardens. This is just like a human horticulturist using cuttings from a vine to establish a new crop! The smallest workers with a head width of 0.8mm remove contaminants from the gardens such as bacteria, yeast and spores.

Just like any good farmer, the ants use fertilizer to help their gardens grow. They don’t have to go far to get the fertilizer, they just poop on the leaves. The ammonia and amino acids in the feces helps breakdown the leaves and encourages growth.

To retrieve the plant matter that grows the fungal gardens, leaf cutter ants will maintain almost permanent trails. Other species of ants trails vary depending on where they can find resources, but leafcutter ants are loyal to their grocery stores. Another caste of ants larger than the workers we have already discussed but smaller than soldiers that defend the nest are the maintenance crew for the paths. They will dismantle anything that gets in their way. They haul off debris that they can heft and chew through things they can’t. They widen and smooth out the path until traffic is flowing again. They can do this quickly as they are present on the paths at all times! Boy, don’t we all wish our highways were that well maintained!

There is still one more layer to these superhighways. Worker ants that are smaller than the ladies hauling the leaf parts home will scamper about under the plant carriers and reinforce the pheromone trails. As we discussed before, these pheromone trail are super important for ant communication.

With all of these layers of responsibility, levels of workers, and intricate cooperation, some believe that leaf cutter ants are the gold standard of superorganisms. Quoting from Edward Wilson’s book, Tales from the Ant World, “So well-marked and powerful is the division of labor among members of a leaf colony that individual colonies can be reasonably called a superorganism.” The definition of a superorganism is an organized society that functions as an organic whole. Leafcutter ants must have every layer of worker functioning correctly to survive, any deviation and the whole organism dies.

Edward Wilson goes on to say, “The leafcutters are superorganisms that succeed under natural conditions.”

I think we have established that ants can be farmers and very successful farmers at that! Thanks for joining me for episode six because my sixth favorite thing about ants is their ability to farm.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

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Summary: Let’s talk ant anatomy! Join Kiersten as she discusses basic ant anatomy, as well as a few unbelievable anatomy specializations.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Ant Body Structure” - Harvard Forest: https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu

“Ant Anatomy” - Ask a Biologist, Arizona State University: https://askabiologost.asu.edu/explore/ant-anatomy

“Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson

“Adventures Among Ants” by Mark W. Moffett

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

So far we have talked about some extraordinary ant behaviors and we have so much more to explore, but I thought we should look at an individual ant before we move forward. The fifth thing I like about ants is their anatomy.

Ants are classified as insects, so they have three body parts: head, thorax and abdomen. They have an exoskeleton made of chitin. Chitin is the second most abundant amino polysaccharide polymer found in nature. It is hard and protects the internal organs of insects and gives their body structure.

The head of an ant typically hosts two compound eyes, two antennae, two mandibles and a mouth on the outside while internally it houses the brain. Many species also have ocelli in the middle of the head, as well. The compound eyes contain hundreds of lenses that combine to form a single image. Species that use vision to hunt for prey will have larger compound eyes, while those that rely on other senses will have smaller compound eyes. All species of known ants have antennae, typically two. The antennae will be constantly moving as the ant tastes, touches, and smells everything it comes in contact with. The antennae will bend in the middle like a human elbow allowing maximum flexibility. Mandibles are super important to ants and they will vary by species. Some of them are extremely specialized and we will go through a few of those species in a moment. In general, mandibles are used to grasp anything ants need to pick up or carry. They are also used to bite, crush, cut, dig, fight, and hunt. Just behind the mandibles is the mouth which is used to eat, clean themselves, and groom nestmates. The last item on the head is the ocelli. Ocelli are simple eyes that detect light. Ant head shape will vary greatly between species and that is dependent on what they eat and how they build nests.

The second segment is the mesosoma. Now, I just said ants have three segments and the second segment was the thorax, right? I did and this is technically correct, but the last two segments aren’t clearly visible. The mesosoma actually contains the thorax and the front of the abdomen. The mesosoma segment is full of muscles and is where the legs attach to the ant’s body. Ants have six legs. Their legs are made for movement and most ants can run fast when needed. Each leg has four segments and a hooked claw at the end of each leg helps the ant climb and hang onto surfaces.

The third segment is the abdomen which is made up of the petiole and the gaster. This is the segment that contains all the important internal organs that keep the ant alive, besides the brain which is located in the head. The heart, the digestive tract, and the chemical weaponry is all found in the gaster. The chemical defense system will vary by species. Ants can have a stinger with which to inject venom into prey or predator or they may have a small opening through which they can spray acid to stun prey or defend themselves.

In between the mesosoma and the gaster is the petiole. This structure attaches the mesosoma and the gaster together giving the ant enough flexibility to sting or spray acid in different directions. Some species of ants will have a second attachment segment called the post-petiole.

Ant can have separate classes of workers, major and minor workers. They perform different activities. Minors typically take care of the young, clean and build the nest, and gather food. Majors are often soldiers, guarding and defending the colony. Some species will have size differences between these castes and can have modified anatomy to fit their specific jobs.

Queen anatomy is slightly different as they are the only ant in the colony making babies. The body will still have three segments, like an other ant as well as all other anatomical parts we have discussed thus far. They will have wings at birth so they can make the nuptial flight but they will lose them soon after reproduction and establishing her new colony.

The queen is typically larger than the other worker ants in the colony. Her gaster will be large because it contains all of her important life-giving organs and her reproductive system. Her mesosoma is also large because she needs more muscles to power flight.

As I have stated before, all workers in a colony are female, so male ant anatomy is slightly different. They have wings like the queen so their mesosomas are large and muscular. They may be bigger than some workers but are often not as big as a queen. Their eyes are typically smaller and their antennae are straighter. Their reproductive organs will be large. They don’t live very long and are made for only one thing, mating.

Now ant anatomy can be specialized for certain species and I thought we’d talk a little about some of these unique features.

Certain canopy ants that spend most of their lives in trees have an internal sac to store liquid called a crop. They can transport tree sap to their sisters in this sac and regurgitate it to feed to them when needed. Kinda like birds. There is also an oral pocket that most ants have in which they store detritus that they clean off each other or strain off a meal before consuming it. Once a day, ant workers will spit out a pellet in the midden pile that is full of this detritus, like an owl pellet! Weaver ants have a sternal gland specific to their family that releases a short-range pheromone during war or hunting to call her sisters to her aide.

One on the most diverse parts on an ant is the mandibles. Each species’ will shapes will be dictated by what they eat. Some are so specialized that they are modified to eat only one type of prey.

One of the most abundant ants in the world, the dacetines, are small ants with long mandibles that snap together like spring traps. Why would such a small ant need such vicious, fast snapping mandibles? Because they eat springtails. Springtails are small invertebrates that jump fast and high, so these ants have developed mandibles that help them catch this specific prey. Thaumatomyrmex, or miracle ants, have mandibles that look like wicked pitchforks. Their mandibles consist of a flat base that ends in a row of long spikes. Yikes! Why do they need such scary looking mandibles? They eat polyxenid millipedes. These millipedes are covered with dense bristles that ward off most predators. The thaumatomyrmex mandibles allow them to impale the millipedes without worrying about the dense bristles. These ants also have an additional adaptation that allows them to eat these scary millipedes; pads on their forelegs that help them scrub the bristles off the millipede exposing the soft bodies.

There are so many more amazing anatomical adaptations in the ant world, but I only have so much time. Thank you for joining me for the fifth episode of ants because my fifth favorite thing about ants is their anatomy.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

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Summary: Did you read that title right? Yes, you did. Some ants make slaves of other ants! Join Kiersten to find out how.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson

“Adventures Among Ants” by Mark W. Moffett

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

In the last episode we talked about communication and how pheromones allow ants to give each other important messages and instructions. This is an amazing adaptation that makes them one if the most efficient organisms on the planet, but it does have a downside. Relying on pheromones as your main source of communication can lead to loop holes that others will take advantage of and by that I mean enslavement. Yep! Some ants enslave other ants. It’s not exactly something I like, but it is incredibly interesting. So, the fourth thing I find interesting about ants is how they use and misuse pheromones to their greatest advantage.

We discussed how ants know who is allowed to come in and out of a colony in the last episode. When ants emerge from their pupal stage their body oils absorb the unique smells of their colony. This gives them the key to re-enter their colony when they venture out, and it helps protect the colony from intruders, but it can also be used to enslave them.

Let’s find out exactly how this works. The workers of ant species specialized to be slave-makers will raid colonies of other species. Workers from Polyergus lucidus or Formica subintegra will raid the colony of a vulnerable species such as Formica subsericea. When they raid the colony they have one target, the pupae. The adults of the colony being raided certainly put up a fight and ants on both sides of the battle will lose their lives but the raiders will retrieve at least some of the pupae they were after. That pupae is taken back to the raiders colony and settled in with the nursery there. Within a few days or weeks, the raided ants will emerge and soak up the scent of their new colony. They believe this is their home. It’s where they are meant to be. They accept the raiders as their sisters and the raiders accept them as their own. So, the enslavement isn’t like what we think of from the human perspective. It is a bit more like capture and domestication of wild animals.

In the north temperate zones of North America, Europe, and Asia ant slavery is common especially in the subfamily Formicinae. Oddly, slavery is known in only temperate areas. Five species of Polyergus ants are known to be slave-makers and these ants range across North America, Europe, Russia, and Japan. All of them enslave ants in the genus Formica.

Let’s follow a specific raid detailed by Mark W. Moffett in his book Adventures Among Ants. At Sagehen Creek Field Station in the Sierra Nevada of the United States, Moffett and his graduate student watched a raid between Polyergus breviceps, also known as Amazon ants, and Formica argentea. The Amazons were raiding the Formica colony. They watch as the Amazons forced their way inside the Formica colony and then head out the other side with the pupae of the Formica. They flipped a rock to find out what was going on inside and expected to see a war going on between the raiders and the Formica, but that is not what they saw at all. The only fight they saw was one Formica ant in a tug of war with a n Amazon over a pupa, but all the other Formica were just walking around, business as usual. These species of Formica only fight raiders by putting up blockades of dirt. Once the raiders destroy those blockades and enter the colony, the residents just give up and let the Amazons raid the nursery.

Mark and his student followed the Amazons back to their own colony and were amazed at what they saw. The Amazons were greeted by adult Formica slaves that took the pupae that they’d just raided from them and scuttled off with the stolen pupae. Other adult Formica ants exited the Amazon colony and picked-up the raiding party and carried them back into the colony where they would be waited on hand and foot. The majority of the time, the Amazons never did anything for themselves they just laid around maybe grooming one of their sisters as the Formica slaves did everything in the colony.

A quote from Moffett’s book explains everything we need to know about the fate of the stolen Formica pupae, “Assimilated into the wrong society, the ants are duped into a life of servitude, doing all the drudge work their masters won’t: building nests, foraging for prey, harvesting honeydew, slaying free-living Formica that enter their territory, and taking care of the brood. The Amazon slavers’ only job is to go on raids, replenishing the store of Formica pupae as their enslaved workers age and die.” End quote.

The other side of this raiding behavior is also quite interesting. The Amazon ants can’t actually take care of themselves. The literally can’t do anything but raid Formica nest to steal pupae. They cannot create nests, they cannot find food for themselves, the cannot take care of themselves. They must have slave ants to do it for them.

Moffett tells his readers about an instance when he dropped a piece of his turkey sandwich near an Amazon worker. She walked right by completely ignoring it, not knowing it was a tasty bit of food. It remained where it fell until a Formica slave ant came upon it and took it to the colony.

The Amazon raiders are so out numbered when they enter a Formica colony that, if the Formica actually fought back, the Amazons would lose, but these species have evolved in this unusual dance for years. The Amazons are now dependent on the Formica for survival. Maybe the Formica have accepted the raids as just another day in the colony.

Polyergus aren’t the only ants that make slaves. It seems to be spread through the ant kingdom. In Yosemite National Park, Edward Wilson came across a raid in progress. The raiders were Formica wheeleri and they had four different species of Formica spread throughout their colony with some of the enslaved ants participating in the raid on another nest.

You would think that slave-making would be a dead end evolutionarily speaking for the ants that adopt this behavior, but it doesn’t seem to be causing any of them to go extinct yet. It can degenerate into social parasitism though. Strongylognathus testaceus has completely lost their raiding warrior spirit. The newly mated queen simply moves into a colony of another species and sets up shop right next to that colony’s queen. The host colony workers take care of both queens. When the parasitic queen lays eggs the host workers take care of them as well. The adult parasitic ants just kind hang out with the other workers but don’t do any work at all. Talk about the couch surfing friend that just won’t leave!

How did slave making evolve in ants? No one is sure of an answer, but the most accepted hypothesis is that the first slave-makers were competitive species that raided other colonies for whatever they needed and took the pupae as part of their booty and most likely ate them. Some of the pupa survived and became the first slaves. Evolution and survival took over from there. Nature can be so very interesting.

Thank you for joining me for the fourth episode of ants. I know it was a choice to listen to this specific episode based on the title, but I am glad you did listener’s, because my fourth favorite thing about ants is how the use of pheromones have evolved into something so surprising.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

View Details

Summary: How do ants organize all those colony residents? Join Kiersten to find out the amazing answer to this question.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

I feel like we have already talked about so much cool stuff about ants and we are only on episode three. This is going to be quite an exciting series on ants. The third thing I like about ants is how they communicate.

Most of us have probably seen a line of ants moving from one place to another at some point in our lives. We may have stopped to take a look and wonder what they were doing or just walked on by without too much of a second thought. Either way, your brain probably took a moment to puzzle over what they were doing, where they were going, or how they knew where to go.

Communication is the key! So, how do ants communicate? Two types of chemical substances lead ants through their lives. Pheromones which are chemical substances passed back and forth between individuals of the same species and allomones which are chemical substance used by other species and used by social invertebrates to hunt prey or avoid being prey.

A quote from Edward O. Wilson about ant communication states, “Among all of the organisms that live by smell and taste, ants are the virtuoso of chemical communication.” End quote. Just a heads up, of you haven’t already figured this out, I will be quoting E.O. Wilson a lot in this series, but he’s learned so much about ants and he is always eager to share that I just can’t help myself. Ants have created a unique chemosensory world that no other creature known to humans can surpass.

Let’s look first at how those ants traveling in a line know exactly where to go? When an ant colony needs resources they send out scouts to find what they need. When a scout finds what they want, they eat or drink their fill and run back to the nest in as straight a line as possible. The scout always knows where her nest is regardless of how far away they have traveled (we will discuss this in a moment). When she arrives at the nest, the scout will puke all over the floor. No serious, she will gurp up a small portion of what she ingested in front of a few ants and then turn around an head back. Some of her sisters will immediately follow her out. But why? She just came in the house threw up all over the floor and then left! What is going on?

When that scout regurgitated the resource she found she created a pheromone that simply stated, “I’ve found what we need! Here it is! Follow my trail to find more!” Who can resist an invitation like that? The original scout laid a scent trail for herself by dragging her stinger along the ground to follow back to the resource and now her fellow workers will also follow that trail to help gather more of what they want. E.O. Wilson encourages you to experiment with some sugar water to see this phenomenon for yourself. You can use a drop of sugar water near a line of ants and watch what happens when they find it! Please use common sense if you choose to do this. Be careful to keep yourself and the ants safe from harm.

How do ants identify these chemical signals? Do they have a nose to sniff them out? Sort of. They do not have a nose like a mammal that sticks out on the front of their face. They have antennae. These structures are attached to the heads and protrude out into the environment. The first segment of the antenna is called the scape and it is typically the longest and support the other shorter segments. Collectively this structure is called the funiculus. The funiculus is the “nose” of the ant. It is covered in tiny hairs, knobs, and plates, that detect various chemical substances. The funiculus neurologically transmits the identity and quantity of the substance to the brain.

The information transferred to the ant’s brain must be analyzed in a matter of seconds with unerring precision to ensure survival of the individual and, more importantly, the colony. Based on the sensory information received, the ant chooses her actions quickly and decisively relying on instinct and current circumstances. If you watch a line of worker ants traveling out and back to the colony, you won’t notice how they are communicating with each other the entire time because they are doing so without hesitating or slowing down. Slow-motion photography reveals the continuous movement of the antennae of each ant. They are swinging their antenna back and forth constantly, “sniffing” each ant they pass, the chemical trail they are following, and their surroundings.

What happens if an ant from another colony tries to enter a different colony? It’s not a great day for that ant, she will be stung to death. This brings up the question, how do ants recognize each other? They all look the same to us. Do they all look the same to each other? Visually, maybe. But they don’t all smell the same. Using their keen funiculus ants can smell a faker.

Each ant carries a specific colony scent with them everywhere they go. Yes! Ants have BO and it is super important to their acceptance. The ant’s body oils absorb the particular scent of their colony. It’s an identification card or work uniform that says you belong here. If an ant with the wrong odor tries to come into the colony the smell gives them away and they will be attacked immediately.

Okay, I think it’s clear that pheromones are extremely important to ants, but how do they create these pheromones? In the summer of 1958, Edward Wilson decide to answer this question. He chose to investigate this using a colony of fire ants in his lab at Harvard. Fire ants are incredibly good at coordinating search and retrieval expeditions for food resources, so they were the perfect candidate for this research. We know ants lay trails using their stingers. So the best place to look of the origin of the pheromonal substance is in the stinger venom, right? This is were Edward Wilson looked first, but no dice. When he created trails using the venom of a fire ant, no one seemed to care. This was the case with several other glands he found as well. Continuing his search, he finally found something with the potential to be the pheromone producer. A small organ connected to the stinger. The Dufour’s gland. It’s a sausage-shaped speck that is barely visible to the naked human eye.

Could this be what he was looking for? Turns out it was. It was first described in 1841 and Edward Wilson was doubtful that it was what he was looking for, but sometimes serendipity provides. To confirm his unlikely hunch, an experiment was devised using a Dufour’s gland from a sacrificial fire ant. He crushed the gland and drug a line near the colony. The ants flipped out! They streamed out of the colony and ran up and down the line like their butts were in fire. This was definitely what they were using to create their scent trails.

The next step was to determine what chemical the Dufour’s gland contained, and then maybe we could talk to the ants. Edward Wilson teamed up with some Harvard chemists who used gas chromatography to determine what was in there. They determined that is was a terpenoid pheromone but as they purified it more and more to find the base chemical it lost it’s potency. It turns out that the substance the scout was using to lead her sister’s back to the resource was a combination a pheromones used to excite, attract, and to lead.

So how many pheromones are involved in ant communication? Edward Wilson’s best guess is between ten to twenty different pheromones. The exact number depends of the species. The most amazing part of this is that ants can create new messages by varying the amount of the pheromones released. For example a harvester ant out foraging encounters a group of fire ants. The harvester ant can release the alarm substance methyl heptanone to, hopefully, repel, the fire ants but also call for help from her nest mates. The intensity of the pheromone tells her reinforcements how far away she is and when they come closer they pick up their pace to rush to her rescue. With one pheromone she’s given three different instructions.

Can ants understand the pheromone language of other ants? Sometimes and this leads to a whole load of trouble for certain ant species, but we’ll tackle that topic in a future episode. We went from something as simple as a scent trail to a whole new animal language in this episode about ants. I’m super excited to share this episode with you, because my third favorite thing about ants is how they communicate.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How do ants create new colonies? Join Kiersten to find out the amazing way new ant colonies are born!

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson

“Ant Biology” Ants Canada, https://www.antscanada.com

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

On to episode two of ants, listeners! The second thing I like about ants is the life of a colony. I had no idea how complicated the life a colony was when I started researching this topic. Each species of ant will have specifics that differ based on how they obtain resources and where they choose to live, but the basic structure of the life cycle of a colony is essentially the same for all ants.

It all begins with a virgin queen. When a colony reaches a certain size, and that size varies with each species, the current queen will lay an egg, or several, that will develop into a new young queen. She will develop wings, and as soon as she is able, will take flight from the existing colony. Her first flight is also her nuptial flight. She will emerge form the colony structure and alight on a leaf or rock and release a pheromone that says “Hello! Here I am!” And the males will come flying. Typically they want to mate with males of a different colony, but when males are scarce they will mate with males of their own colony. Diverse genetics is not something most insects have to worry about like mammals must. Depending on the species, the queen will mate with one or multiple males. Regardless, the queen will mate only once in her life.

Sometimes mating takes place in the air and sometimes it takes place on that leaf or rock. Either way, they will each go their separate ways once the deed is done. The queen will wonder off looking for the perfect place to start her new life while the male, having completed the only thing he was born to do, will die or become food for a predator. Sorry, gentleman.

For the new queen, no longer a virgin but with a spermatheca full of sperm (a quick aside: a spermatheca is a pouch in the abdomen where queen ants store the sperm obtained during mating) she follows her instincts to find the best home for her new colony. Based on species it could be a rotten log, a perfect dirt mound, a tree branch, or any number of other places. If she survives the nuptial flight, and that is a big IF, and she finds the perfect colony-building site, another big IF, she will break off her wings and settle in to begin pumping out eggs.

It can take a queen anywhere from 24 hours to a week to lay eggs. The first eggs laid will be the first workers in the colony, so…they will be female. That’s right! It’s a woman’s world in the ant universe. Disney Pixar’s A Bug’s Life is wrong, it would have been a female ant that saved the day while the males just laid around doing nothing! All working ants in a colony are female. And here comes the harsh truth about the males: According to E. O. Wilson, one of the foremost authorities on ants in the world, quote “Adult males, with the exception of competing for access to virgin queens, and the food and grooming they receive from their sister workers, are pathetic creatures.” End quote. Males have small brains and big genitalia. They are only necessary during the nuptial flight and mating success is not guaranteed, only death is guaranteed. Once again, gentleman, I’m sorry, but it is a pampered life of eating and eating until it’s time to go have some intimate time with a queen, so maybe it’s not so bad, even if it is a short, short existence.

Let’s say our queen has been successful and she is on her way to creating her colony. Eggs have been laid, once they hatch she will clean and feed them as larva until they become pupa and then turn into adult ants. These ants will be workers, probably a combination of some minors, that will stay in the nest to care for the queen and more eggs, and some majors that will exit the colony in search of food and water. Once we are at this stage, the queen just keeps going. She will lay the eggs and the worker ants will keep the colony running. The various tasks performed by the worker ants varies by species, but you will typically have indoor and outdoor workers. In some species age determines your job. Young, new workers remain in the colony taking care of the queen and the eggs, larvae, and pupae, while the older ants will venture outside to hunt for resources. We will look at a few specific species of ants in future episodes.

The queen is able to decide when to make females and when to make males. How does she do this? Remember that spermatheca? This pouch in her abdomen is attached to her oviduct by a tube that has a valve. The queen is able to open and close that valve at will. When she wants a fertilized egg, she opens the valve. When she wants an unfertilized egg, she lays an egg without opening the valve. Fertilized eggs will become females while unfertilized eggs become males.

Let’s take a quick moment to think about this, the queen only mates once in her lifetime and she can lay thousands, maybe millions depending soon how long she lives, of eggs in her life, so it must be a lot of sperm transferred in that nuptial meeting. It’s amazing that one moment of contact gives her what she needs to produce an entire colony.

How long can a queen live? That varies greatly depending on the species. Some will live only 2 to 3 years while some can live 15 years. The oldest known queen was kept by a German scientist for 29 years.

Ants go through a complete metamorphosis. This means they go through four stages of growth, the egg, the larva (where they are fed by adult ants), the pupa (this a more dormant stage where they are changing into the adult), and the adult. The egg, larva, and pupa stage are cared for by adult workers making sure they are clean, fed, and moved/rescued should something happen to the colony.

When workers get older, they do not get to retire to a life of luxury, they usual just die on their feet. Other workers will pick them up and take them to the “trash pile” and leave them to desiccate. Sometimes, when needed, they will be dismembered and eaten. If you die outside the nest you may be brought back as a food resource or left to be scavenged by predators. Not much crying over the loss of a sister in an ant colony.

When the colony reaches a certain size, the queen will lay eggs that become fertile females, up until then she is the only fertile female in the colony. When these fertile females hatch they will venture forth to begin the colony-building process a new.

Thank you for listening to episode two of ants, listeners, I hope you see why my second favorite thing about ants is the life of a colony, because what a fascinating journey this episode has been!

Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Ants are some of the most misunderstood animals on Earth. Join Kiersten as she begins a new series about these fascinating insects.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson

“Adventures Among Ants,” by Mark W. Moffett

“In Search of Ant Ancestors,” by Ted R. Schultz, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Dec 5;97(26):14028–14029. doi: 10.1073/pnas.011513798

“The abundance, biomass, and distribution of ants on Earth,” by Patrick Schultheiss, Sabine S Nooten, Runxi Wang, and Benoit Gurnard. PNAS, 119 (40) e2201550119, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201550119

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the beginning of a new series about a misunderstood animal that every one of us has encountered. Ants. Ants are one of the most misunderstood animals on the planet but they are so fascinating and very successful. In this series we are going to find out what makes them tick. The first thing I like about ants is their origins.

As I begin this series I actually have a red, angry fire ant bite on my thumb. The irony is not lost on me that I am about to embark on a ten episode series dedicated to lauding the amazing attributes of ants to lure you into loving them while I have an itchy, painful welt from an ant bite on my thumb. These animals are truly fascinating so I bet I can get you to fall in love with them despite the nasty bites we’ve probably all experienced. Let’s get started from the beginning shall we?

The classification of ants is as follows:

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods): invertebrate animals that have a segmented body and jointed appendages

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods): a six-legged arthropod

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

Superfamily Formicoidea (Ants)

Family Formicidae (Ants)

The scientific names will vary based on species.

When did ants first appear on the planet? They have been on the planet between 100 -150 million years ago. The specific timing has been hotly debated for many years until and amber sample was found by some rock hounds in 1966. This sample was discovered in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey in the United States. It seemed an unlikely place to find what scientists needed to determine the origins of ants and it took twenty more years after the initial discovery to clarify whether this sample was of an ant or not. In 1986, it was confirmed to be the amber fossil of an ant solidifying the origins of ants in the mid-Cretaceous period, 90-94 million years ago. By the mid-Eocene period, approximately 50 million years ago, ants had achieved their current level of abundance.

How many ants are on the planet today? In the summer of 2018, Edward O. Wilson, one of, if not the, foremost experts in the study of ants said in his book, Tales from the Ant World, that there are 15,438 species of ants in the world that have been recognized and given a Latinized name. Edward O. Wilson described 450 of known species of ants so I think we can take his word for when he says he’s fairly certain there are approximately 25,000 species in existence today. A study published in 2022, says 15,700 species of ants have been identified. The numbers do see to be going up! The ant taxonomists working at Harvard University which has the world’s largest collection of ants believe the figure to be between 25,000 to 30,000 different species of ants. To sum it up, there are a lot of ant species out there!

Ants actually make up two-thirds of all insect life on Earth. We don’t know have many individual ants are walking around on the Earth at this very moment, but it is in the billions possibly trillions. They are found on every single continent except Antarctica, but as soon as they figure out how to live in snow and ice, they’ll be there too.

They inhabit every habitat the planet has to offer from forests of all kinds, mountains ranges, deserts, prairies, and wetlands. There are even ants that scavenge for food underwater. They live underground, in the branches of trees, and inside caves. The eat seeds, fungi, animal protein, and insect protein. They are hunters, farmers, ranchers, and enslavers. They have one matriarch and live for the good of the colony. Ants are unbelievably complicated life forms and I can’t wait to take you on a journey you won’t forget.

Thanks for joining me for the first episode of ants. My first favorite thing about this misunderstood insect is their origins.

Join me next we for another exciting episode about ants.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: What does conservation look like for the Aba aba? Join Kiersten to find out!

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

We have made it to our tenth and final episode of Aba aba. I hope you have enjoyed our journey with Gymnarchus niloticus, come on you have to admit, it is fun to say that, because I have had a blast talking about this amazing fish. The tenth thing I like about this unbelievably cool fish is conservation.

As any of my longtime listeners know, I typically use the last episode to talk about the conservation status of the current animal or plant that we are discussing. This is the whole reason I started this podcast in the first place, to bring awareness to the animals and plants with whom we share this planet. We have to learn to live together if we are going to be good stewards of this amazing planet. Before we can learn to live together, we have to know what’s out there that is worth fighting for, and all the animals and plants I talk about are worth fighting for.

Let’s talk about what conservation looks like for the Aba aba. When we look at the IUCN Red List, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gymnarchus niloticus is listed as Least Concern. This means that no conservation efforts need be taken at this time. The last time that the overall population of the Aba aba was assessed was in 2019, so this information needs some updating. The North African population was last assessed in 2007 and is also listed as Least Concern, but once again we need updated information for this population. The Western African population was last assessed in 2006 and is currently listed as Least Concern. The Eastern African population was last assessed in 2003 and is listed as Vulnerable. Vulnerable means that adult population numbers are decreasing.

Overall and in the Western and Northern populations the population trends are unknown, so the Least Concern classification may be incorrect. What’s interesting is that the Eastern population that is labeled Vulnerable also has no population trend data. What does this mean? It means we really don’t know how many aba aba are out there and if they are holding their own as our plants changes.

The IUCN does list the threats to the Aba aba and those include dams, water pollution related to the military and agricultural industry, logging and wood harvesting destruction of habitat, and overfishing. Natural climate impacts are droughts. The Aba aba relies on the seasonal flooding of rivers for breeding season. The overfishing impacts the Eastern population because the local humans use Aba aba as a food source in this region.

Currently there are no conservation plans being implemented in any regions of residence, with the exception of small grassroots campaign in the Eastern population region informing local fishers about the risks of overfishing the Aba aba.

Another threat to the wild population of the Aba aba in collection for the aquarium industry. Gymnarchs niloticus is a fascinating fish that many people fall in love with when they see them in a zoo or aquarium or learn about them from educational resources like this podcast. It’s great to develop an appreciation for nature after learning about a specific specie, but letting that appreciation grow into a need to possess that species can be disastrous. As I talked about in the last episode, Aba abas are not suitable for the home aquarium, but the market still exists.

Some people think they can make it work even if they don’t have the correct size tank, or offer the type of food they need, or realize how dangerous Aba abas can be. They purchase a fish. And when it dies, they purchase another and so on and so on. Most of the time the Aba abas collected are so small and fragile that they are bound to die in transport or in the home aquarium. Collectors will come back for more and they aren’t just taking a few out of each nest they come across, they are taking all the babies and may even kill the adults to sell for food.

There is some discussion about how to create an aquaculture program with Aba aba in response to the use of Aba abas as food. Whether this would work or not is yet to be seen since no one has tried to raise Aba abas in a captive situation. One study implied that using Tilapia and Aba aba in a dual aquaculture program might work. Tilapia breed easily and in large numbers in captivity already. The Aba aba could be held with the Tilapia, eat some of the young but not all of them. This situation only deals with one side of the process though. How do we get the Aba aba to breed in captivity? Until that problem is solved, I do not think we’ll be aquaculturing Aba aba anytime soon.

So what can we do right now to help the Aba aba? First, do not support the set trade. Let them stay wild. Second, tell their story. The best way to ensure that they survive into the future is to get people to care about them, and, as you know listeners, you must know about something before you can care about it, and when you care about it, you’ll fight for it.

Thank you for joining me to learn about the Aba aba in this series. My tenth favorite thing about them is conservation. I hope you take this information about the amazing fish and tell everyone you know about them, so we’ll have them far into the future.

Join me in two weeks for another new series about and unknown or misunderstood creature.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Do Aba abas make good pets? The short answer is no, but join Kiersten as she discusses why this animal should not be on your next pet list.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Seriously Fish: https://www.seriouslyfish.com

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

We’ve reached the second to last episode of Aba aba and I find myself in a quandary. This isn’t something I like about the Aba aba but it is a topic I think we need to address, so the ninth thing I would like to talk about the Aba aba is the possibility of having it as a pet.

Whenever I start a new series for this podcast, I typically know at least a little about the animal. Even if I know a lot, like about bats, I always do extra research to make sure I offer you the best and most up to date information, I can. When I picked the Aba aba, it was one of the animals I thought of first when I decided to make this podcast, I did my extra research. I have personal experience with this animal, as I have mentioned, so I knew quite a bit about its behavior, diet, and life cycle, but you can always learn more, right? As I started researching for Aba aba I did find scientific research papers but the majority of information I found about this fish came from home aquarium sites. This surprised me because this fish gets big, really big and isn’t fit for the home aquarium.

At the zoo we had a 250 gallon tank with multiple canister filters attached and our Aba aba wasn’t anywhere near full grown. Our aquarium was only a temporary home for him while the aquatic area of the zoo was under renovation. The 250 gallons tank would not be able to host him as he got bigger.

Many of you may have had, or currently have, fish aquariums in your home. I have had some as well, both freshwater fish and saltwater fish. The largest we had was a fifty gallon saltwater tank, and I thought that was enormous for a home aquarium. So when I saw aquarium hobbyist websites talking about the Aba aba I was a little wary.

The Aba aba is a terrible choice for a pet. Beyond the large tank, and when I saw large tank I mean a 2000 gallon tank to house a full grown Aba aba, and extensive filtration set up you need to provide a clean environment for a fish of this size, you have to provide large food items, not just fish flakes for the Aba aba. Food such as silverside fish and freshwater shrimp. Aba abas are also a dangerous pet to have in your home. Their feeding behavior is intentionally brutal, as a predator you don’t want your prey to get away. Once a fish is sucked into the Aba aba’s mouth, they most likely won’t get out again. If that happens to be a human finger, you’ll be one short for the rest of your life.

I truly enjoyed taking care of our Aba aba at the zoo, and I can see what might attract a person to this amazing animal. They are mesmerizing to watch. The constant rippling of the fin is captivating. Watching them rearrange the aquarium furniture is a delight. Offering them various enrichment items and seeing them interact with each one figuring out the puzzle of the new item is rewarding. I personally think they have cute faces, but you have to remember this is a wild animal and they are not like your typical fish you buy at the pet store. This is a predator, a problem solving predator. And you just brought it into your home.

You cannot house it with other fish, as the Aba aba will most likely eat anything you put in with it, so you will have a tank with only one fish. That isn’t typical what most home aquarists want. The Aba aba in unsuitable for a community tank. That includes keeping it with other Aba abas as they are solitary species in the wild with the exception of breeding season when they briefly tolerate each other's company to fertilize eggs and deposit them in a nest.

I finally looked at what one of the hobby sites had to say about the Aba aba as a home aquarium fish, I was pleasantly surprised. This is what the Seriously Fish site had to say about Gymnarchus niloticus, quote “…the species is simply not suited to the home aquarium in any respect. If you see these for sale, and they are undoubtedly amazing looking fish, ask yourself if you have the money, facilities, and knowledge to house a species that can grow to 5 1/2 feet in length and could remove your hand as an adult.” End Quote. I can’t agree with this statement more. Leave the Aba abas captive care to the professionals.

I think I have made my point with episode nine of Aba aba. Thank you for listening and taking this little bit of advice seriously because the ninth thing I thought we needed to talk about involving Gymnarchus niloticus is the home aquarium.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the Aba aba.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Have Aba aba impacted human culture in the areas they are found? Join Kiersten to find out!

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Some Ecological Factors of the Tropical Floodplain Influencing the Breeding and Conservation of Gymnarchus niloticus (Cuvier 1829): A Review,” by Oladosu O. O., Oladosu G. A., and Hart A. L. https://core.ac.uk/downloads/pdf/158459099.pdf

“Gross Anatomy and Histological Features of Gymnarchus niloticus (Cover, 1829) from the River Niger at Agenebode in Edo State, Nigeria,” by M. O. Agbugui, F. E. Abhulimen, and H. O. Egbo. International Journal of Zoology, Volume 2012, Issue 1, June 19, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/3151609

“Morphology of Aba Knife Fish (Gymnarchus niloticus) (Cuvier, 1829)”, by S.O. Ayoola and C. E. Abotti. World Journal of Fish and Marine Sciences 2 (5): 354-356, 2010.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Through the last few episodes I think I have painted a pretty good picture of the Aba aba’s anatomy and natural history. I have fascinated you with the amazing way they hunt and today, I thought we’d investigate how this fish impacts human culture. The eighth thing I like about the Aba aba is how much humans value this fish.

Animals of all kinds impact other animals that reside in their habitats. Aba abas are no exception to this and they have become important in many indigenous human cultures that live where these fish are found.

The first thing you may think of when speaking about how fish impact people is as food. And no doubt, we, as do many other animals, eat fish. Aba abas are highly prized as a food fish. They can grow quite large, creating a lot of meat. A five foot long fish means a bunch a meat. They are an oily fish, but several sources say they are tasty. Smoking them seems to be delightful way to eat them. In West Africa they are also eaten raw.

Some cultures also gift them, alive or dead is not entirely clear, my guess is probably both. Suitors will gift them to a bride’s family symbolizing respect and goodwill. Nothing like a long, electrical fish to start off a relationship right! Certain cultures, such as the Yoruba of West Africa, will also present them to community leaders as a sign of respect during community celebrations.

The introductory paragraph of the scientific paper “Gross Anatomy and Histological Features of Gymnarchus niloticus from the River Niger at Agenebode in Edo State, Nigeria,” states: Gymnarchus niloticus commonly known as the Nile knife fish, trunk fish, or aba is one of the most valued fishes along the River Niger by the inhabitants of Agenebode and Idah. The trunk fish is highly valued for its good taste, rich nutrients, though oily flesh, ability to grow as large as 25kg, highly valued in customary rites for marriage and community celebrations. End quote.

In Yoruba it is known as Eja Osan while in Hausa it is known as Dansarki which means son of a king. These names are a sign of respect for this amazing fish. (Do please forgive me if I mispronounced any words.)

Since Gymnarchus niloticus is such a large fish and edible, a lot of research is going into whether it would be a good candidate for an aquaculture fish. Is raising them in a farming situation beneficial for protein production and economically sound? The answer is not yet decided but it would be extremely difficult to do in an aquarium situation since the fish get so big and they are aggressive to other animals.

Someone did discover that polyculturing Aba aba with Tilapia might be possible. They can be kept together in the same space, feeding the tilapia food and then letting the Aba aba eat the tilapia fry. Tilapia grow quickly and create a lot of fry. The Aba aba can eat the tilapia fry but not all of them. Then both species can be harvested. Whether this is possible long term allowing Aba aba to reproduce is unknown, as they are a solitary species, it may not be functional.

It is worthwhile investigating though. Current fishing practices of Aba aba often includes killing the adult and harvesting the young from the nest. This is an unsustainable fishing practices and to help this fish and humans weather the future of changing climate, we will need to work together. Some researchers believe that the Aba aba is a good candidate for an aquaculture food fish. It grows quickly and is a hefty fish, but it needs specific conditions and is a carnivorous fish, so much more planning and research needs to be done.

Another way fish impact humans live is in our home aquariums. Keeping fish can be a rewarding and relaxing hobby, but is the Aba aba a good candidate for the home aquarist? I will answer this question next week.

Thanks for listen to week eight of the Aba aba. My eighth favorite thing about Gymnarchus niloticus is their human cultural connection.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the Aba aba.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How does the Aba aba find its food? Join Kiersten to find out!

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“The Mechanism of Object Location in Gymnarchus niloticus and Similar Fish,” by H. W. Lissman and K. E. Machin. Journal of Experimental Biology (1958) 35 (2): 451-486.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

I know I left you with a cliffhanger last week and we will remedy that now! This is week seven of Aba abas and the seventh thing I like about this super cool fish is the way they hunt.

We know that Aba abas are carnivores and that they eat aquatic insects, small fish, and fresh water crustaceans. We also know that they have tiny eyes and relatively poor eyesight. There is not much discussion of olfactory functions in animals that live underwater, and I found no mention of the sense of smell when deep diving the Aba aba. Sooo…we can rule out Aba abas using sight or smell to help them find their prey. What does that leave them with for hunting? Let’s find out!

Something I haven’t mentioned about Gymnarchus niloticus, yet, is that they are an electric fish. This little quirk was discovered by Hans Lissman in 1950 when he received a living specimen as a wedding gift. As he watched the Aba aba swimming in the aquarium he noticed that they could swim backwards and forwards equally well. It never ran into the sides of the tank or into anything placed inside. He wondered how it was navigating so well, thus began some of the first European studies into electroreception in fish.

Electroreception is the biological ability to detect electrical stimuli. Electrogenesis is the ability to create electrical fields. Both of these abilities are important to the Aba aba. There are two types of electrolocation. I know, there’s a lot of electric words here, bare with me. One type of electrolocation is passive. When using passive electrolocation the predator senes the electric field that the prey item creates. On the other hand, or fin shall we say, is active electrolocation. Here, the predator creates its own electric field and uses the distortions other objects create in its field to target prey or notice obstacles.

Active electrolocation is practiced by three types of fish that we currently know of including Order Gymnotiformes, the knifefishes, Family Mormyridae, the elephantfishes, and our friend Gymnarchus niloticus. All of these fish are considered weakly electrical fish because they do not use their electric fields to stun their prey. Electroreception and electrogenesis are more common in aquatic animals as water conducts electricity more easily than air.

An electric fish creates an electric field with an electric organ modified from muscles in the tail. The tissue of these modified muscles are called electrocytes and they have evolved at least six times among various fish species. These organs are used for everything from prey detection to communication, mating, and even stunning prey items. The electric field created by this tissue can emanate in short bursts, as in the elephantfishes, or as a continuous wave, as with the knifefishes.

To detect electric fields generated by other creatures, our Aba aba, elephantfishes and knifefishes use sense organs called Ampullae of Lorenzini. They are electroreceptors that form a network of mucus-filled pores in the skin of various fishes. They evolved from the mechanosensory lateral line organs for early vertebrates. Most modern fish and mammals have lost this adaptation.

How does this work in the Aba aba? This is truly amazing! The Aba aba makes its tail negatively charged while its head will stay positively charged creating a symmetrical electric field around its body. To keep this field present its back must remain straight. That’s why it has the long dorsal fin that they use to swim. This fin structure allows it to keep its body completely straight when in motion.

This electrical field it has created allows the Aba aba to navigate around obstacles and underwater features it cannot see. It also allows it to find nearby prey items. It can sense the distortions that these objects or prey items create in its own electric field. It can actually sense this distortion on its skin with the Ampullae of Lorenzini organs. The Aba aba’s brain is larger than other species of fish, this is true of all electric fish, so they can process the data provided by their various electroreceptive organs.

If nothing else about the Aba aba has convinced you of their absolute awesomeness, this is it! This is one of the most amazing ways to interact with your surroundings and to hunt for prey that I have ever come across.

In my personal experience, I never felt any electrical shocks when working with my Aba aba at the zoo. They do not use their fields to stun prey, so they never send it out from their body. It is not something that humans can feel. I am not sure if other small fish can sense it either since that would make hunting with it extremely difficult. You’d never catch anything to eat if your food could tell you coming.

They do have to be cautious about other species of electric fish that use this method of hunting because if their electric fields are similar they can interfere with the Aba aba’s detection. Most fish that use this form of perception can create a jamming avoidance response. If two electric fish with very similar wave discharges meet, each fish will shift its discharge frequency to increase the difference between the two. This prevents them from jamming each others perception. My mind was just blown! Can you believe that?

This one snuck up on you didn’t it? This is probably the coolest adaptation of the Aba aba. That’s why the way Gymnarchus niloticus hunts is my seventh favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the Aba aba.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: What does the Aba aba eat? Join Kiersten and a guest co-host to find out!

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Morphology of Aba Knife Fish (Gymnarchus niloticus) (Cuvier, 1829)”, by S.O. Ayoola and C. E. Abotti. World Journal of Fish and Marine Sciences 2 (5): 354-356, 2010.

“Aspects of the biology of juvenile Aba, Gymnarchus niloticus (Cuvier 1829) from Eye Lagoon, Lagos, Nigeria,” by FV Oluwale, Ugwumba AAA, and OA Ugwumba. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 2019; 7(30): 267-274. www.fisheriesjournal.com

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is episode six of Aba aba and the sixth thing I like about Gymnarchus niloticus is their diet. We have talked a bit about this is the past, but we will add a bit more detail of what Aba abas like to eat in this episode.

I have a guest co-host with me this week as I have had some dental work done and need help with all this talking! My husband, Georgiy, is helping me today. Welcome Georgiy, and thanks for helping me out!

Georgiy: Absolutely! Hi!

Kiersten: I know you’ve been listening to this series…right?

Georgiy: Riiight…

Kiersten: Of course you love it. What’s your favorite thing about the Aba aba so far?

Georgiy: The scientific name. Let me try to pronounce it. Gymnastic nalarcus?

Kiersten: (laughs) Not even close! Gymnar-kus niloti-kus.

Georgiy: (laughs) Gymnar-kus niloti-kus

Kiersten: I like that too, but I like everything about the Aba aba. Can you tell our listeners what you’ve learned about what the Aba aba eats?

Georgiy: I know they are carnivores, so they like to eat meat.

Kiersten: Definitely!

Georgiy: When they are small, 2 to 3 inches in length, they eat insects found in the water and very small fish. A study done in Nigeria found that 36% of juvenile diets were made up of aquatic insects.

Kiersten: Really?

Georgiy: Yes! 32% of the diet was made up of fish.

Kiersten: Interesting. Did it say what kind of insects and fish?

Georgiy: No. They looked at stomach contents of dead juveniles, so they only found small parts of the digested prey.

Kiersten: Hmmm. It sounds like the juvenile Aba aba is a specialist feeder on insects?

Georgiy: Yes! Exactly. Another study showed that Aba aba young that have used up their egg yolks will eat the midge larvae that are in the nests with them! The adult midges lay eggs on the grasses that the male Aba abas use to make their nests!

Kiersten: Wow! That’s so smart. I love it! Bring the food to you. Does their diet change as they get older?

Georgiy: Yes. As they get older, and larger, they can eat bigger prey items. They will eat more fish, such as silversides, tetras, or African catfish, and add crustaceans to their diet. They will still eat insects but this makes up very little of the diet when they are adults.

Kiersten: That sounds like a smart survival plan.

Georgiy: Yes. The Aba aba are not competing with each other for food sources and they don’t risk injury by hunting something larger than themselves. What did you feed them at the zoo?

Kiersten: Ooo. Good question! We fed them silver side fish and shrimp. The nutritionist made sure we varied his diet so he got the right type of nutrients to keep him healthy. The nutrition staff made the diet for us and weighed out just the right amount of food, so he didn’t get overweight, but also didn’t get too hungry. He never turned his noise up at anything we offered him. It was one more thing I like about working with him. We never had to worry about him not eating.

Georgiy: How did you feed him?

Kiersten: This was also fun! Since his eyesight was not great, we fed him with tongs so we never had to remove decaying fish form the tank. That can get pretty gross and can be detrimental to his health. We offered him one piece at a time with tongs that were about 12 inches long. We just dipped the fish or shrimp into the water and it was only a matter of moments before he found it.

Georgiy: That sounds fun.

Kiersten: It was fun, but we had to be careful because if he accidental got one of our fingers he could really hurt us. When Aba abas eat their prey they suck the food into their mouths with a quick forceful suction. If you remember my bite story from last week, the popping sound, that was the suction action he used to pull the prey item into his mouth. If it had been something smaller than my arm he could have bitten off my finger.

Georgiy: Whoa!

Kiersten: Yep! Once an Aba aba has sucked in a prey item they clamp their mouths shut and use their bony tongue to help guide the food down their esophagus whole!

Georgiy: That cool!

Kiersten: It actually is pretty cool.

Georgiy: How do the find their food in the wild?

Kiersten: That is a great question and I will be answering that in next week’s episode.

Thanks for helping me out with this episode Georgiy, I really appreciate it.

Georgiy: My pleasure. Thanks for having me!

Kiersten: I hope you all enjoyed this episode about the Aba aba diet because it is my sixth favorite thing bout them.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the Aba aba.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: To get a thorough understanding of the Aba aba join Kiersten for a look at this amazing fish’s anatomy.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Studies on the Biology of Gymnarchus niloticus in Lake Chad: Age Determination and growth; Meristic and Morphometric Characters,” by V. O. Sagua. https://aquadocs.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

I can’t believe we are half way through Aba aba already, but here we are at episode five. The fifth thing I like about Gymnarchus niloticus is their anatomy. Up until now, we’ve talked about some of the very interesting parts of the Aba aba’s body, but in this episode we’re going to talk about the Aba aba’s anatomy as a whole.

If we start from the inside out, we already know that the Aba aba has a bony skeleton as it is classified as a ray-finned fish which has an internal bony skeleton. That is going to include a skull, elongated with small sharp teeth in the lower jaw and a bony tongue. Last week we discovered that bony-tongues fish have teeth in their tongues, but Gymnarchus niloticus is an exception to this. Instead of having teeth in the tongue they have teeth in both the lower and upper jaws. Their bony tongue is used to hold prey still for easier swallowing.

The teeth, though sharp, are not triangular, but peg-shaped. They look like a flat-head screwdriver bit that fits into a power drill. The lower mandible is rounded and is deeper than the upper. The upper jaw does have teeth, as well. The upper jaws teeth are also peg-shaped. The bottom jaw teeth number around 24 teeth while the upper jaw has only 10 to 12. There is only one row of teeth on both jaws. The structure of the jaw gives the Aba aba a perpetual smirk.

Let me inject a funny story here as it pertains to the teeth of this amazing fish. As you know, listeners, I worked with an Aba aba at the zoo and one day, I was cleaning the algae off the glass of his tank. This was a precarious job and typically entailed two people, one to clean the glass and one to watch where he was in the tank. Well, this day we were all busy but the algae on the glass had become a bit more unsightly than we liked so I said I would clean it alone. That was the day I got bit by an Aba aba.

It was a bit more startling than terrifying, I must say, as he caught me off guard hiding in the plastic plant nest he’d built in the center of the tank. I thought I knew where he was but he got my upper arm as is it slipped below the water line just next to the nest. A scary sucking sound ending with a pop and a sting told me I’d just been bitten. He tagged me on the underside of my upper arm just below my armpit. It didn’t hurt much, or bleed that much either, it felt more like a scrapped knee, but the bite was wicked cool. It looked like a dotted circle and I hoped it would scare, because that would have been one heck of a scar to talk about later, but it healed up perfectly fine with nothing left to show for the exciting moment.

I had a hard time finding research that described the internal skeleton of the Aba aba fish, with the exception of one study detailing the number of vertebrae. With ten specimens examined the number of vertebrae averages about 117 from the base of the skull to the tip of the tail.

Internal organs include the typical fish guts with research paying particular attention to the gastrointestinal tract. The GI tract consists of long and longitudinally organized organs. I mean they have a long tubular body so this makes a lot of sense to me. It begins with a tubular oesophagus, followed by a long tubular stomach, two pyloric ceaca, and straight intestine, and the cloaca. The intestine is neatly folded and compacted to sit nicely within the fish.

A single lung arises from a slit in the right side of the pharynx which is on the right side of the fish. The lung and pharynx are held together with sheaths of connective tissue and blood vessels.

Let’s move to the external anatomy of this fish. Beginning at the head, we have a two nostrils for intake of oxygen. The eyes are next and are relatively small. Aba aba fish do not depend heavily on eyesight. Continuing toward the tail of the animal we come to the gills next. There are four sets of gills on the left and right sides. The gills are small and bony with prominent gill arches, 11 gill rackers, and 63 pairs of fused gill filaments. One operculum, the gill covering sits over the gills to protect them with a slit opening to allow water to pass over the gills.

The head has no scales but there are small cycloid scales on the entire body. Cycloid scales are round, smooth edged scales that overlap. To tell you the truth, the scales on the Aba aba are so small it’s hard to see them. It gives the impression of a smooth skinned fish.

The one fin is the dorsal fin and it runs the length of the top of the fish from behind the head to the also the tip of the tail. The very end of the tail is blunt and lack a fin. There are no hard spines in the fin and is the main means of propulsion. The fin flows in a serpentine motion allowing the Aba aba to move forward and backwards very quickly. That’s how he tagged me!

To summarize, Aba abas have a long slender body with no scales on the straight head, no caudal fin, anal fins, or pelvic fins. The long dorsal fin extends down the entire body from the head to the end of a blunt tail. No spines in the fin. The entire body, not including the head is covered in small cycloid scales.

Inside the mouth we have peg-shaped teeth on the top and bottom of the jaw with a bony tongue. Small nostrils and eyes adorn the head. That is the Aba aba in a nutshell.

I hope it paints a good picture of this extraordinary fish for you because my fifth favorite thing about Gymnarchus niloticus is its anatomy.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the Aba aba.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Join Kiersten as she discusses the classification of the Aba aba a bit more closely to find out what it can tell us about this amazing fish.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Introduction to the Actinopterygii” https://ucmp.berkeley.edu

Bony Tongue, EBSCO Research Starters: https://www.ebsco.com

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

In episode four, we're going to jump back a bit to episode one and delve into more detail about about the class, order, and family of the Aba aba. The fourth thing I like about Aba abas is their classification. In episode one I briefly described the classification of this fish, but I think we should investigate the class, order, and family of Aba abas a bit more closely.

First for my first time listeners, or for those who are not students of biology, what is classification? It a system that scientists and researchers use to connect all living things but to also individualize all living things. Whether flora (plants) or fauna (animals) we are all related through physical characteristics.

Way back in the day, like way back in the 1700s, Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish biologist and physician who developed a binomial nomenclature (a two part name) to organize every living thing into groups. It helped man understand the natural world around him. We still use this classification system today, even though the attributes we use to organize individual plants and animals into their groups has evolved over the years. In the beginning, naturalist used things like appearance and behavior to place animals and plants into the same groups, but now we look at genetic similarities to classify living things.

The two part name consists of the genus and the species. This helps make sure that when you are talking about an individual animal or plant with another researcher you are talking about the same plant or animal. Animals often have different common names around the world and even have different names within the same country. For example, fireflies are known as fireflies, lightening bugs, and glow-worms. These common names vary depending on what region of the United States you may be visiting, but we’re all talking about the same insect. The Aba aba is known as Aba aba, African knife fish, Frankish, freshwater rat-tail, or aba fish, so researchers refer to it as Gymnarchus niloticus.

If we take a few steps back in the classification we can learn even more about an animal. So let’s do that now with Gymnarchus niloticus. When we look at the Class level of this animal, Actinopterygii, we know that it is a ray-finned fish. What exactly does that tell us? Well, Actinopterygii are fish that possess fins that are made of webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines. We also know that fish in this Class usually have complex skeletons of true bone. Ray-finned fish are the dominant aquatic vertebrates in the water today. They make up about half of all vertebrate species known and are found in every aquatic habitat from the deepest depths of the ocean to freshwater streams and ponds.

So this level of classification lets us know that Aba abas have a bony skeleton and some sort of webbed fin on their body. It’s a great start. The next step is the Order. This will narrow down things ever more. Aba abas are classified in Order Osteoglossiformes. In Ancient Greek this literally means ‘bony tongue’. Members of this Order have toothed to bony-tongues. They are also known for the forward part of their gastrointestinal tract passing to the left of the esophagus and stomach (in all other fish it passes to the right). They can vary in size ranging from 2 centimeters up to 8 feet or 2.5 meters.

Up to the early 2000s we thought that Osteoglossiformes were fresh water fish only. All of the 245 known living species of bony-tongued fish are found in freshwater. In 2008 several marine bony tongued fish fossils were discovered in the Danish Eocene Fur Formation. Maybe there are some extant marine osteoglossiformes in the ocean we haven’t found yet. I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

Okay, back to the Aba aba. What does bony-tongued mean in relation to our fish? Bony tongued fish have teeth on their tongues. When they catch prey they use their toothy tongues to crush the prey items against the teeth on the roof of their mouths! Yikes! It sound so cool and so very scary.

The next step to Gymnarchus niloticus, is the Family, Family Gymnarchidae. The Aba aba is the only fish in this family which it makes it unique, but we already knew that!

I know that scientific classification can be a confusing subject, but I hope this episode helped you understand the Aba aba a bit more. The classification of animals can be very helpful and enlightening and the class, order, and family is my fourth favorite thing about the Aba aba.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the Aba aba.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: How do Aba aba make more Aba aba? Join Kiersten to find out about the reproductive behavior of Gymnarchus niloticus.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Abundance, Distribution, Morphometric, Feeding Evaluation and the Reproductive Strategies of Gymnarchus niloticus in the Lower River Niger at Agenebode, Edo State Nigeria,” by Mo Agbugui, Fe Abhulimen, and Ao Adeniyi. J. Apple. Sci. Environ. Manage Vol. 25 (8). 1371-1377, August 2021.

“Gymnarchus niloticus Cuvier, 1829

“Some Ecological Factors of the Tropical Floodplain Influencing the Breeding and Conservation of Gymnarchus niloticus (Cuvier 1829): A Review,” by Oladosu O. O., Oladosu G. A. And Hart A. I.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Episode three of Aba aba is here and we are talking about reproduction. The end of episode two hinted at reproduction kicking off with the rainy season so that’s where we’ll begin. Join me for the third thing I like about Aba abas, reproduction.

It all begins when two Aba aba love each other, no really, it all begins with the rainy season. In the continent of Africa many animals rely on the abundance of the rainy season. This season brings rain that is a necessary resource for survival of all living things, as well as flooding the rivers. Flooded rivers overflow into flood plains where food becomes abundant. Terrestrial invertebrates are often caught off guard and drown leaving them to be consumed by aquatic carnivores, like the Aba aba. The Aba aba already lives in the water but when those waters rise nutrients increase and aquatic vegetation gets thicker. Then it’s time to start looking for a mate.

In studies performed in the Lower River Niger, two breeding peaks were observed. One from May to July, the other from October to January. The breeding behavior of Gymnarchus niloticus is heavily dependent on the flooding of the rivers. Beyond the food resources that increase at this time the aquatic plants that increase are important for the nest making of the Aba aba.

Now, the males of the species are the ones that make the nests. This is not uncommon in fish na the Aba aba is no exception. Their nests can be pretty big, but that is not a surprise for a fish that can get 5 feet in length. The male Aba aba makes a nest with uprooted aquatic plants. He pulls up the plants himself and weaves them into a floating nest that can be 1 meter, or 39 inches, in width. The perimeter of the nest is molded with the mud from the roots of the plants. It is expertly woven. It will be anchored to other plants and have an opening through which the male can enter and depart when needed. A little bit of the top of the nest will stick out of the surface of the water. If the nest becomes dislodged the male will remain with it as it floats down the river.

Inside the plants the male will create a bubble nest. This portion of the nest is made of air bubbles and this is where the eggs will be nestled.

The nest is important for several reasons: The first is to attract a mate. The ladies are attracted by large, well made nests, so the gentlemen will take their time picking the right plants for just the right nest. A few studies have indicated that they prefer plants in Family Poaceae, which are the grasses. The oblong leaves of the grass are perfect for weaving. We have to remember that this animal is weaving a nest. An animal that has no hands is weaving a nest. How extraordinary it that!

The second reason the nest is important is that this is where the eggs will be hidden and held until they hatch. Eggs are between 7mm-8mm, some papers have even said 10mm. That is a very large fish egg.

Once the eggs are in the nest and fertilized, the male aggressively protects the nest from all predators. It will not hesitate to attack any living thing that comes near, including humans. These guys have no fear, especially when protecting their young.

As I mentioned before, the nest have an opening for the Aba aba to enter and leave. When they are inside the nest, the male has been seen agitating the water around the eggs. We are not sure why they do this, but it could be to make sure the eggs are well oxygenated and/or keeping the eggs clean of debris. Either way the male is doing a great job keeping the eggs healthy.

I did not find any reference to how long it takes the Aba aba fry, that’s right baby fish are called fry, to hatch and leave the nest. They will remain in the nest until the yolk is completely absorbed. Until then they are vulnerable to predation and they will stay in the nest under papa’s protection. The fry have long gills to help absorb oxygen from the water, but will also gulp air from the center of the nest as well.

How many eggs are we talking about here? Good question! I love it when you think ahead listeners. Females can lay 800-1000 eggs in a nest. That is a lot a fry to keep track of, but it’s actually a low number compared to other species of fish. Aba aba seem to put more energy into larger, but fewer eggs, and more parental involvement to ensure future generations’ survival.

I could not find any information about how many nests a female will visit in one breeding season. This may be due to the fact that it is difficult to follow them in the rivers where they live, especially during the rainy season when sediment is stirred and flowing freely in the rivers, or it could be that no one has pursued this avenue of study.

Male and females both have singular reproduction organs. The males have a single testis and the females have a single ovary. This probably limits the amount of eggs they can lay and fertilize.

Aba abas will complete this reproductive cycle twice a year in the wild following the rainy seasons. In captivity, it may be a different story. The Aba aba I worked with at the zoo was a male. We know this because we gave him enrichment toys such as weighted pool toys and copious amounts of plastic aquatic plants. The only thing he ever did with them was make a floating nest. He would weave the plants together and then shove the pool toys up inside the nest. Sometimes he used the nest like a hammock. Just relaxing inside it and not moving at all. Several times he gave me gave me heart palpitations as I thought he was dead, but it was just one more thing that made me like him.

I’m so happy you joined me for episode three of Aba abas because my third favorite thing about them is their reproductive behaviors.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the Aba aba.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Where are Aba aba found? Join Kiersten as she tells where you can find these amazing fish.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes: “Gymnarchus niloticus” Global Biodiversity Information Facility, https://www.gbif.org

“Gymnarchus niloticus, Aba aba” Seriously Fish, https://www.seriouslyfish.com

“Morphology of Aba Knife Fish (Gymnarchus niloticus) (Cuvier, 1829)”, by S.O. Ayoola and C. E. Abotti. World Journal of Fish and Marine Sciences 2 (5): 354-356, 2010.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the second episode of Aba aba, or Gymnarchus niloticus, and the second thing I like about this little known fish is where they are found. Let’s talk about where in the wild this fish is naturally found and what kind of habitat they tend to like best. This episode may be a bit shorter than most, but I promise to make up for it in future episode of this series.

In episode one we found out that the Aba Aba is found in Africa. They can inhabit bodies of fresh water in the Nile, Turkana, Chad, Niger, Volta, Senegal, and Gambia basins. It is wide spread throughout West African countries of Egypt, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, and Gambia. It has been reported in Cameroon, where it is an introduced species, but identification here still needs further confirmation. By widespread I mean that they can be found in various bodies of freshwater such as lakes and rivers in these areas but they are sparsely spread.

These fish need fairly large territories, remember that can get up to five feet in length and weigh 42 pounds, and spend most of their lives as solitary individuals, so therefore, they are sparsely spread throughout their natural habitat.

Now that we know where in the world to find these amazing fish, what kind of habitat are we looking for? We know they like freshwater and can be found in lakes and rivers. They will most often be found in areas with dense aquatic vegetation. They use this to hide from larger predators and to help camouflage themselves from prey items.

In rivers, they favor the edges of the water near the banks to keep out of the rushing currents toward the middle. Don’t get me wrong, they can swim well, but the edges host the plants they need to rest in during the day. Aba aba are nocturnal, so they are most active at night and they spend their days resting in the vegetation. They can use the plants a bit like a hammock, supporting them while they sleep.

Aba aba fish have very small eyes and are a bit sensitive to light so this is another reason to live in and around thick vegetation.

Their behavior is seasonally influenced by the rains of this continent, as are many species of animals that live on the African continent. When the rains come breeding season begins, but you’ll have to wait for the next episode to find out the unique breeding behaviors of the Aba aba.

That’s it for the second episode of the Aba aba. Thank you for joining me to find out where this amazing fish lives because it is my second favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the Aba aba.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: What’s an Aba aba? It’s our next unknown creature! Join Kiersten as she introduces us to the Aba aba fish.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes: “Gymnarchus niloticus” Global Biodiversity Information Facility, https://www.gbif.org

“Gymnarchus niloticus, Aba aba” Seriously Fish, https://www.seriouslyfish.com

“Morphology of Aba Knife Fish (Gymnarchus niloticus) (Cuvier, 1829)”, by S.O. Ayoola and C. E. Abotti. World Journal of Fish and Marine Sciences 2 (5): 354-356, 2010.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Aba aba Fish

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Welcome back, listeners! In this new series after summer break, we will be heading back into the water. Don’t worry we will not need a bigger boat! Okay, I had to throw in a reference to Jaws, being that it’s fifty years old this year, and also one of the reasons that an entire generation of people fear sharks. But that is another series all together.

This episode is the first in a new series about a fish. The Aba aba fish to be specific. Never heard of it? That’s exactly why I picked it as my next unknown creature. This first thing I like about the Aba aba fish, is the Aba aka fish. We will start off this series with an overview of this wicked cool fish to whet your appetite to learn more.

The Aba aba fish, Gymnarchus niloticus, is also known as the African knife fish, Frankish, freshwater rat-tail, or aba fish. It is a long, slender bodied fish with only one fin. The dorsal fin runs from the back of the head to the tip of the tail on the top-side of the body. This is their only fin and the reason they are called knife fish because they kinda look like a knife if you used the head as the handle.

Aba aba are typically black to gray to brown on the top half of the body while the underside is a paler color, such as white or beige. They are covered in very small scales that do not stand out making it look like they have smooth skin.

Adults can reach a length of five feet or 1.6 meters and weight 42 pounds or 19 kilograms. That’s a pretty big freshwater fish.

Classification of the Aba aba is as follows-

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii (the ray-finned fish. These are fish that have lightly built fins made of webbings of skin supported by thin bony spines)

Order: Osteoglossiformes (this is an order of ray-finned fish known as the bony tongue fish and we will delve into to this in more detail in a future episode)

Family: Gymnarchidae

Genus: Gymnarchus (meaning naked bum)

Species: niloticus (meaning from the River Nile)

They are the only fish in the family Gymnarchidae and in the Genus Gymnarchus which makes them special.

In the wild the Aba aba is found in the freshwaters of Africa. They live n the lakes and rivers of the Nile, Turkana, Chad, Niger, Volta, Senegal, and Gambia basins.

This fish is an obligate air breather which means they need to gulp air form the surface of the water to supplement the oxygen that they get from the water. If they cannot do this, they will suffocate. There are other species of fish that are also obligate air breathers. Typically this adaptation is found in fish that live in waters that are thick with sediment or have seasonal changes that can increase the sediments levels in the water. Gulping air gives the fish a clean source of oxygen.

Aba aba are predators hunting for other small fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, copepods, frogs, and snails. The diet is dictated by the size of the Aba aba but they are carnivores throughout their entire lives.

This amazingly cool fish is nocturnal and because they are most active at night they have an adaptation that makes them even cooler. No way, you say! How could they get any cooler than they already are? Well, they are electric! Didn’t see that coming did you?

Aba aba are capable of generating a weak electric current that helps them find prey in low light. Yes! Aba aba are electric fish.

I became fascinated by this fish when I worked with one at one of the zoos where I worked. As soon as he was transferred to our department, he quickly became one of my favorite animals to feed, clean, and develop enrichment for. That’s right these fish are great problem-solvers and we had to give him things to rearrange inside his tank to keep him busy. It was my pleasure to work with him and I like to think he appreciated the attention we gave him, as well.

That is it for the first episode of Aba aba. I hope the overview of this animal has you excited to learn more because my first favorite thing about the Aba aba IS the Aba aba.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about the Aba aba.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Are Screamers in need of conservation? Join Kiersten to find out!

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Screamers: https://animaldiversity.org

Data Zone by Bird Life: https://datazone.birdlife.org

IUCN Red List: https://www.iucnredlist.org

American Bird Conservancy: https://abcbirds.org/bird/southern-screamer/

Asociacion Armonia: https://armoniabolivia.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

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Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

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Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the final episode of Screamers and we’ll be talking about conservation. Like everything else with Screamers this episode will have a few twists. The tenth thing I like about Screamers is conservation.

Each species has a story of it’s own, so we’ll take them one by one. Let’s start off with the Southern Screamer.

Southern Screamer, Chauna torquata, also known as the Crested Screamer is found from the eastern half of Bolivia south into Argentina as far as Buenos Ares Province and east through Paraguay into south western Brazil and Uruguay. The conservation status of the Southern Screamer is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources as Least Concern. This means that Southern Screamer population numbers are steady or increasing. Their population trend is listed as stable with adult individuals estimated between 66,700 to 667,000 individuals. The last time this species was assessed was in 2024.

This species of Screamer is impacted by habitat loss. As wild lands are drained and deforested to create more land for cattle ranching and farming, Southern Screamers lose vital habitat, but a 27,000 acre reserve created in 2008 by Asociacion Armonia to protect the Blue-throated Macaw had the added bonus of offering protected habitat to the Southern Screamer. Barba Azul Nature Reserve protects 250 species of birds and is an important stop over for migratory shorebirds.

If you are interested in seeing the Southern Screamer at the reserve you can book a conservation birding trip through American Bird Conservancy. All fees support the reserve and American Bird Conservancy’s mission for protecting wild spaces for birds.

Now there are other things keeping the Southern Screamer protected, this is the twist for this species, ranchers and farmers actually like having Southern Screamer nearby as they are excellent guard birds and raise the alarm when any predators come near. Sometimes people sneak a young Screamer away from the parents and keep them on their property for exactly that reason.

Southern Screamers have also been seen eating invasive plants species, such as white clover, which means they are helping their own conservation efforts.

The Northern Screamer, Chauna chavaria, also known as the Black-necked Screamer is in a similar situation as the Southern Screamer. This Screamer is found across northern Columbia from the Atrato River and Magdalena River valleys east into the Lake Maracaibo area of Venezuela. They are also under pressure from habitat destruction for ranching and agricultural use.

As of the latest surveys in 2023, the Northern Screamer is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Their population is stable with 60,000 to 130,000 mature adults. Locally, in Columbia and Venezuela, they are listed as Vulnerable. Conservation efforts in these countries include educational campaigns bringing awareness to Northern Screamers and their importance in the local environment. Several preserves have also been established to help protect the wetland areas that these birds rely upon.

Other threats to the Northern Screamer include egg collection by humans for use as food and collection of young for the local pet trade.

The last species of Screamer, the Horned Screamer, Anhima cornuta, is found in the Amazonian regions of Venezuela, to the eastern llanos of Columbia, to eastern Bolivia and south-central Brazil. Their latest assessment by the IUCN was in July of 2024 and they are currently listed as Least Concern with a stable mature adult population estimated between 16,700 to 66,700. There are not many conservation efforts in the region specifically aimed at the Horned Screamer, but there are established conservation sites throughout their range to prevent more wetlands from being drained for ranching needs.

The subcutaneous air sacs found in all three species of Screamer keep these birds from being on the menu internationally, but locally some people do hunt them for food. It is probably an acquired taste and you need to know how to prepare the meat just right to make it palatable.

It is nice to report on species that are still thriving in our ever changing world and I am glad to know that local conservation effort exists for all three species on Screamers.

Thank you so much for joining me for another series of Ten Things I Like About… I learned a lot about the Screamer as I wrote this series and I hope you learned a lot by listening. My tenth favorite thing about Screamers is conservation.

I will be taking a bit of a break at the beginning of summer, so join me again in July for a brand new series on an unknown or misunderstood creature.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Join Kiersten as she talks about the eyes and beaks of the Screamer.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Ornithology 3rd Edition by Frank B. Gill

“The evolutionary relationship among beak shape, mechanical advantage, and feeding ecology in modern birds,” by Guillermo Naval, Jen A. Bright, Jesus Marugan-Lobon, and Emily J. Rayfield. Evolution 73-3;422-435, Society for the Study of Evolution. doi:10.1111/evo.13655

“Bird Eye Color: A Rainbow of Variation, a Spectrum of Explanations,” by Eamon C. Corbett, Robb T. Brumfield, and Brant C. Faircloth. Https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13276.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the penultimate episode of Screamer and the ninth thing I like about this animal is their eyes and beaks. One of the things that is often overlooked in bird is their eye color, so today we will delve into the variations that exist by looking through the eye of the Screamer. Bird beaks, or bills either is correct, also vary extensively through out the avian family. Beak shape often indicates what type of food the birds eats, but like everything else about the Screamer, things are not always as they seem.

Bird eye color varies more than anyone expected. Not many researchers have attempted studying this characteristic and the few that have taken up this research topic and finding more questions than answers. Colors ranged form dark black or brown to vivd emerald green, sapphire blue, scarlet and crimson, turquoise, and even white. There is even a bird with pink eyes. It is absolutely amazing the various hues that birds’ eyes contain.

Irises can be one color or more than one. The eyes of Rock Pigeons, one of the most disliked birds around the world, are bicolored starting with a ring of yellow on the outside and red/orange close to the pupil. The Satin Bowerbird has eyes with a vibrant blue ring on the edge of eye with an equally vibrant ring of purple next to the pupil. The Three-streaked Tcharga has a ring of light spots that look like stars set in a dark background giving them some of the most unique bird eyes around.

Eye color in birds can change as a bird matures, for example Osprey eye color changes from red as juveniles to yellow as adults. Sexual dimorphism is also present in some species of birds meaning the female’s eyes are a different color than the male’s. Seasonal changes in eye color can also happen, for example Brown Pelican eyes change from brown to blue during breeding season.

Southern Screamers and Northern Screamers both have brown eyes as adults, while Horned Screamers can have yellow to orange to red eyes as adults. To clarify, I found no research indicating that these birds eye color changes as they age, but I could only find reference to their adult eye color.

There are three things that contribute to the color of a bird’s eye, pigments, blood vessels, and structures. These three color options are still being closely studied but certain pigments are responsible for light colors and different pigments are responsible for darker colors. For example, carotenoids are responsible for the orange color of birds in Family Anatidae which includes certain ducks. An increased amount of blood vessels in the eye creates the red eyes of some species.

Why do bird have such varied eye color? The short answer is we just don’t know. It could be related to how they find food, where they nest, diurnal versus nocturnal behaviors, communication, or another reason we have not thought of yet. Much more research needs to be done to answer this question, but for now, we can marvel at the extreme variation of bird eye color.

Now, let’s take a look at some bird beaks. Just like eye color bird beaks vary tremendously. They can be wide and flat like a duck, tweezer-like similar to a gnatcatcher, chisel-like as the raven’s beak, long and thin like a hummingbirds, and deeply curved like the honeycreeper. These are only a few beak shapes found in the avian world. What a bird eats can impact the shape of its beak. Keeping this idea in mind, let’s look at the Screamer’s beak.

Screamers eat leaves, stems, flowers, and roots of aquatic vegetation, so we might assume that their beaks would look at lot like their closer relatives ducks, geese, and swans who also eat similar items. Duck bills are flat and wide with some serration on the inside to help grasp aquatic grasses, but as we know Screamers have a hooked beak reminiscent of a raptor beak.

Hooked beaks help raptors tear apart their prey to facilitate swallowing. If the Screamer eats plant material why does it have a small hooked beak? It has to be hard work to get enough food using a smaller beak to pick up leaves, flowers, and plant roots. It is so much effort for a food item that is low in calories. Once again there is no easy answer to this question, but new study discovered that what a bird eats isn’t the only determination of beak size and shape. Turns out we should be thinking about the birds beak in the same manner that we think of our hands. Beaks are not just for eating, they are for manipulating the environment.

Screamers may have hooked beaks to help them build nests, feed their young, or manipulate their environment in ways that we have yet to discover. Once again Screamers are pushing the boundaries of normal avian behaviors.

Thank you for joining me for the ninth episode of Screamers. I hope you learned something new, I know I did and my ninth favorite thing about Screamers is their eyes and beaks.

Join me next week for the final episode of Screamers.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Do Screamers actually scream? Find out in this episode of Ten Things I Like About Screamers.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Observations on the Horned Screamer,” by Frank B. Gill, F.J. Stokes, and C.C. Stokes. Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 86 (1974), Iss. 1, Art. 6. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/wilson_bulletin/vol86/iss1/6

Screamer Vocalizations: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/horscr1/cur/sounds

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Listeners, let me first apologize for missing a week in the middle of Screamers. Spring has started off extremely busy for me and time got away from me.

Let’s jump back in with episode eight of Screamers. The eighth thing I like about Screamers is their vocalizations. Yes, that’s right we are finally going to talk about the attribute that gives these birds their common name, Screamers.

Most of the research I found on the vocalizations of Screamers focused on the Horned Screamer, Anhima cornuta, so what we talk about today pertains to this species. All species of Screamers make similar calls and vocalizations that’s where the name come from, but the specific details in this episode are about the Horned Screamer.

Most of what we know about Horned Screamer vocalization and related behaviors come from the research of Frank B. Gill. Three vocalizations have been observed and described from observations of wild Horned Screamers. I promise you that none of them are a melodious song that you associate with songbirds. Their calls are definitely more like their close relatives swans, ducks, and geese. I cannot play any of these calls for you in this episode due to copyright agreements, but I will post links in the show notes that you can follow to listen to these calls.

The first call that we’ll talk about what is titled the Moo Co call. M-O-O C-O is the spelling. This call is bisyllabic meaning it has two notes. The second note has a distinctly lower frequency than the first note. The intensity of this call varies from a melodious call to a harsh bark to a coughing note. The volume of this call can vary from soft and only heard when close to the bird or very loud and can be heard from over a mile away. That’s quite a call!

The Moo Co calls are often given by couples in a duetting sequence. When this happens the birds combine their calls by overlapping the second note of the first individual with the first syllable of the second individual. This can result in a trisyllabic call Ha Moo Co or Ha Moo-o Co. This call is where the local name for Horned Screamers, jamuco, comes from. This triple call is only performed by couples, most likely mated pairs, as it was never heard from a single, lonely individual. The triple Moo Co call is the call that mated pairs use to reinforce their bond through the year and at the beginning of each breeding season.

It is believed that males produce a louder and deeper pitched Moo Co call than females which makes the duetting a bit more musical. It can also aide in identifying sexes through vocalizations. Moo Co calls are used for alarm calls, distance calls, and greetings.

The second call is called honking as it closely resembles the honking calls of a goose. This call consists of two distinct patterns given in various combinations. One of the patterns has seven to eight strongly developed harmonics. This sequence typical lasts about 30 seconds and is often accompanied by head and neck bobbing, especially when multiple screamers are together. Honking is typically used for distance calling and greetings.

The third call is a loud bugle-like call titled the Trumpet call. This call consists of two syllables with a low introductory note and a second inflected note. This one is meant for long distance communication as is it the loudest of all three vocalizations.

With these three call descriptions, we can clearly see why these birds are called Screamers, when you listen to these calls it will reinforce this name. These birds do a lot of screaming! I do have to admit that the duetting between two Screamers is quite hypnotic and has a lovely sound. I can see why they reestablish their bonds and their territories using this call.

In the wild, screamers typically do most of their vocalizing in the early morning, but will call sporadically throughout the day. Morning brings Moo-Co calls to greet the morning and talk to the neighbors. Remember this species of screamer lives in small groups of 5 to 10 with everyone helping define a territory, so knowing that everyone made it through the night and where they are is important.

If nothing really happens during the day, the screamers are quiet but, if they decide to move locations or other screamers encroach on their territory, things can get loud.

Moo Co calls are made when groups decide to move locations and can be heard during take-off when individuals are close together. If an individual within an established group changes location they are quiet upon take-off but are greeted loudly with honking upon landing. Honking between isolated groups, up to a mile apart, happens a lot. One group will begin honking with occasional trumpet calls and then nearby groups will respond. This kind of check-in can last about 20 minutes and involve up to seven different groups. We are not entirely sure why they do this, but it is certainly a great way to get information about your surrounding environment.

Honking and trumpeting erupt when other groups of screamers land near territory boundaries or cross over into an established territory.

There is one last call we need to discuss. Screamers also produce a nonvocal sound using the unusual subcutaneous air sacs we discussed on the last episode. This call is a low-intensity sound created during pair bonding activity and family greetings. It is produced with the body in a horizontal position, with the tail slightly lowered. Feathers in the middle of the neck region are repeatedly raised and flattened in concert with this “ugh” sound. We are not exactly sure how Screamers produce this sound, but it is hypothesized that it is created by forcing air through the subcutaneous air sacs in the neck. Well, Screamers just get more and more interesting with each episode.

I hope you enjoyed this look at Screamer vocalizations because it is my eighth favorite thing about this amazing bird.

Join me next we for another exciting episode about screamers.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: You mean Screamers have even more physical oddities? Yep! Join Kiersten to find out about more anatomical anomalies of Screamers.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Ornithology 3rd Edition by Frank B. Gill

“A peculiar association: the skin and the subcutaneous diverticula of the Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata, Anserifomes), by Mariana B. J. Picasso, Maria Clelia Mosto, Romina Tozzi, Federico J. Degrange, and Claudio G. Barbeito. Vertebrate Zoology, 64(2): 245-249, 7/25/2014.

“A Study of the Pterylosis and Pneumaticity of the Screamer,” by Ida S. DeMay. The Condor, March 1940, vol 42.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

In this episode we will continue with our anatomical anomalies. The seventh thing I like about Screamers is their unusual feather pattern and subcutaneous air pockets. That is not a sentence I ever thought I would say, but I have had this experience many times since I’ve started Ten Things I Like About…

Just like the last episode, we will have to do a little bit of background on avian anatomy before we jump into the Screamer anomalies, so let’s get started.

Birds are covered in feathers. When talking about nature you should not use all or never because there is always an exception to the rule, but we can safely say that all birds have feathers. Feathers help bird do lots of different things such as keep warm, keep cool, keep hidden, or advertise their presence, and of course fly. They have different types of feathers that cover their body, such as flight feathers, both primary and secondary that help them fly, tail feathers that help them during flight and balance while perching, downy feathers that lay close to the skin to help with temperature regulation, and bristles that are often seen near the eye or mouth.

Feathers grow out of the skin from pores. They are not spread along the entire skin like the fur of most mammals. Avian feathers grow in tracts on the birds body. The concentration of the tracts can differ depending on the species of bird, for example, Tundra Swans, which have approximately 25,000 feathers, have 80% of those feathers on their head and neck, where as, songbirds have 2000 to 4000 feathers and only 30 to 40% are found on the head and neck. In between these track are patches of bare skin called apteria.

There are nine major feather tracts. These names of the feather tract are not important for our purposes, but where they are located is pertinent. On most birds the feather tracts travel from the middle of the head at the base of the beak down the spine to the tail. There are more tracts on the tops of the wings from shoulder to wrist, along the side of the neck and belly, and long the legs.

You may be thinking, “I have never seen big ‘ole bald spots on birds?” Well the feathers in the tracts lay flat and cover the apteria. That’s why we don’t see them. For any one you that have pet birds that you can handle and groom, know just what I’m talking about.

Okay, what does this have to do with our Screamers? Well, Screamer feathers do not grow in tracts like other birds. They grow all over their body. Screamers have no apteria, no patches of bare skin. Why? We don’t know. The other bird species that have this type of feather growth pattern are the flightless ratites including ostriches, emus, rheas, and cassowaries, as well as penguins, so what the flighted Screamers are doing with this pattern of feather growth, we’re not entirely sure. But it is one more thing that makes Screamers unique.

The second anatomical anomaly of Screamers that we are going to talk about in this episode is the odd subcutaneous air bubbles they possess. That is right, I said subcutaneous air bubbles. This is pretty odd, let’s delve into it.

First a bit of background into bird respiration. Birds do have lungs similar in structure to mammals but they function differently. Most bird species have two lungs attached to the trachea via two bronchi. Sounds pretty familiar, but the air flow is different. In mammals air flow is both in and out. Birds breathe in only one direction, but they have only one trachea. So how does this work?

Air sacs that are part of their respiratory system. These sacs allow birds to utilize all the oxygen in each breath and disperse carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere while employing continuous, unidirectional, efficient flow of air. Amazing! This respiratory system it what allows birds to process enough oxygen to fly and prevent them from overheating when they are in flight. Pretty important stuff.

Screamers have an oddity associated with their respiratory system. They have subcutaneous diverticula, also known as, pneumatic diverticula, subcutaneous air cells, or superficial air cavities, all over their body. These bubbles are full or air and lay between the skin and muscles. These structure appear to be extensions of their respiratory system.

Why do they have these extra air sacs? Once again, we don’t know. Screamers are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. But boy it does make them fun!

We can make educated guesses as to why they might need these, such as Screamers fly at unusually high altitudes and the excess air sacs ma y help in buoyancy keeping the body light. This combined with their highly pneumatic bones that we learned about in the last episode could explain the extra air sacs.

These subcutaneous air sacs may also help them extract as much oxygen out of thin air as possible. We do know that it gives them a strange crackling noise when they walk, and keeps them safe from hunters. The extra air sacs make them unappetizing to the human palate.

Well, that’s it for episode seven of Screamers and I hope you found it as fascinating as I did because my seventh favorite thing about them in their anatomical anomalies.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about Screamers.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Can Screamers get any stranger? You bet! Join Kiersten as she discusses some skeletal anomalies that Screamers possess.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Functional significance of the uncinate processes in birds”, by Pete G. Tickle, A. Roland Ennos, Laua E. Lennox, Steven F. Perry, and Jonathan R. Codd. The Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 3955-3961. 2007 doi:10.1242/jeb.008953

“Uncinate processes in birds: Morphology, physiology and function,” by Jonathan R. Codd. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Vol 156, Issue 3, July 2010, 303-308.

Britannica: Screamers, https://www.britannica.com

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Episode six of Screamers is going to take us on an interesting journey into Screamer anatomy because the sixth thing I like about screamers is their weird anatomical quirks. Last episode we talked about one of their special anatomical accessories, the spurs. In this episode we will look at two more of the Screamer’s anatomical anomalies that also pertain to the skeleton.

Many of you have probably heard somewhere that birds have hollow bones. This is a simplified statement about bird bone anatomy. We will need to understand this a bit before we talk about screamer bones, so, those of you that already know this, bear with me, for those of you who are hearing this for the first time, hold on to your hat, I’m about to blow you mind.

Vertebrate skeletons are made up of hard, calcium rich bones. It’s what give our bodies their shape and ability to move. Birds are vertebrates so they rely on their skeleton to give their body shape and act as the anchor for muscles to allow them movement, just like mammals. Avian bones are special because they have adapted to the bird’s need to fly. If you have too much weight defying gravity can be difficult. Flighted birds adapted to this challenge by evolving less solid bones than mammals.

Using the word hollow, makes you think of a tube, such as a straw or toilet paper tube that is completely open inside with no internal structure. You can look through one end and see clearly out the other end with no obstacles. Bird bones are not hollow in this manner. Their bones have an internal structure throughout the tube. If we were to look inside a bird’s bone we would see more of a honeycomb design. It’s essentially bones with air pockets. These are called pneumatic bones.

The bones have lessened weight by getting rid of dense material but have increased strength by adding structure throughout the middle of the bone. This is how flighted birds can get off the ground and fly. They have bones that contain more air that provide structure for the body and muscles without being so solid that flying is a struggle.

Now having said this, if we look at an average flighted bird, say a Bald Eagle or a Northern Cardinal, not all of their bones have this honeycomb structure. Typically, the larger bones will have this structure and smaller bones will not. The smaller bones will be more solid. This is where the Screamer skeletal oddity applies. All the bones in a screamer have this open honeycomb structure. All of them, including the smallest toe bone. Screamers have the most pneumatic skeleton of any living bird. And we have no idea why.

Screamers are good flyers. Once they get up into the air, they soar like vultures, riding the thermals. They can soar for hours at a time, but as we know they spend most of their time on the ground in or around water. They are a larger bird, so maybe this has to do with their interesting bone structure. On the other hand, geese and swans are the same size, are great flyers and spend most of their time on or near the water, but they do not have this skeletal anomaly.

This is not the only abnormality about the Screamer skeleton. Another oddity sets Screamers apart from almost all other birds. This interesting tidbit involves the uncinate processes. As before, we need to do a short anatomy lesson to fully understand the anatomical oddity of the Screamer.

The uncinate process is a bony projection that is attached to vertebral ribs in avian skeletons. These projections are important in avian respiration. Birds do not have a muscular diaphragm like mammals to help them inflate and deflate the lungs. Birds rely on the movement of their sternum to breathe. That’s why it’s so important to hold birds properly when restraining them for veterinary care or scientific measurements. If you put too much pressure on the sternum, you can suffocate them.

Studies have shown that the uncinate processes are integral in avian respiration acting as attachment site for muscles used in the mechanics of breathing. The presence of an uncinate process on the ribs of a bird increased the respiration function by 2 to 4 compared to a bird without an uncinate process. These processes allow the bird to more easily rotate the dorsal ribs forward, pushing the sternum down and inflating the lungs. Seems pretty important to me!

The length of the uncinate process varies by species and seems to be impacted by what physical activities the bird partakes in most often, for example walkers versus divers versus non-specialist birds.

Further studies have shown that the uncinate process is actually important in both inhalation and exhalation in birds. I don’t think I need to tell you this, but this little bone extension seems like a mighty useful tool and one that all birds should have, but the title of the episode isn’t Screamers: Skeletal Normalities but Screamers: Skeletal Anomalies.

So, here it is folks. Screamers do not have uncinate processes. That’s right, they do not have these little bones that are so helpful for breathing. And once again, we don’t know why. None of the three species of Screamers have uncinate processes. They can breath, clearly they are living creatures that process oxygen just like the rest of us, but unlike most species of birds they do not utilize uncinate processes to do it.

Every episode I write about these incredible birds makes me like them more and more. I hope you think so too because my sixth favorite thing about Screamers is their skeletal anomalies.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about Screamers.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: What is it with those spurs? Join Kiersten as she takes a closer look at Screamer spurs.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“On the Spurs On Birds’ Wings,” by R. L. Rand. The Wilson Bulletin, June 1954, Vol. 66, No. 2.

Birds of the World: https://birdsoftheworld.org

Screamers: https://animaldiversity.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The fifth episode of Screamers is the beginning of a few focused on anatomy. We will start off with the fifth thing I like about Screamers, their spurs. The spurs on the wings of these birds certainly set them apart from their closest relatives; ducks, geese, and swans. These little anatomical gems have been fascinating ornithologists for years.

I found a paper published in 1954 in the Wilson Bulletin titled “On the Spurs of Birds’ Wings.” The author, A.L. Rand, describes the spurs of all the Screamers in decent detail. Rand used specimens at the Chicago Natural History Museum for his study. What he found, I have to admit, was quite fascinating and for a paper written in 1954, it was fairly easy to read and understand. I’ve read a lot of scientific papers in my day and this one was a delight.

The close up inspection that Rand gave the three Screamer species revealed some interesting details. Let’s talk about these details. All species of Screamer have two spurs. These spurs are attached to the metacarpals of the wing, as we have established in past episodes. The first spur, the larger one, is located on the process of metacarpal 1. The process on this metacarpal is used for attachment of the extensor muscles. The second spur is on the distal end of metacarpal 2.

These spurs are described by Rand as follows, “conspicuous, stout, smoothly tapering, sharp spurs with a slight radial curve.” End quote. The spurs are found on both wings, so Screamers have four spurs. The spurs are made up of a horny material on top of a bone center. The horny material is keratin. Upon close inspection, the spurs of the Screamers showed fine lines around the base of the spurs indicating growth in layers. One specimen had three separate bands which may indicate annual growth.

At one time is was thought that the spur could be used to determine age of the bird through an annual molt, but there isn’t any evidence that this holds true.

Next, let’s look at each species spurs a bit closer. The following numbers are based on the specimens that Rand looked at in the Chicago Natural History Museum, but on average they seem to hold up over time.

Anhima cornuta, the Horned Screamer, spur is triangular in cross section. The spur curves toward the body. All the corners are sharp including the tip. The length of the first spur on the male is 58-61mm and the second spur is 15-16mm. Female spurs are smaller with a length of 50-55mm for the first spur and 11-17mm for the second spur.

Chauna torquata, the Southern Screamer, spur is nearly oval in cross section but has a sharp-edged flange near the proximal edge resembling the triangular spur of the Horned Screamer. The length of the male’s first spur is 30-47mm while the second spur is 13-20mm. The female’s first spur is 35-45mm and the second is 15-17mm.

Chauna chavaria, the Northern Screamer, spur is smoothly oval in cross-section and is sharp only at the tip. The male’s first spur is 28mm and the second super measures 18mm. The female’s first spur is 30mm and the second spur is 18mm.

Typically the male’s spurs are longer than females, even though this last example shows the opposite, we have to remember that Rand was looking at only a few specimens at one museum for this paper.

Current research indicates that Screamers develop the outer portion of the spur at one year of age. Fledglings do not have the outer protrusion of the spur. So what do they use this spur for? The fact that they don’t develop them until they are on their own indicates that they use them for protection or defense. Screamers have been seen in the wild using the spurs during ma ting season to win the right to court a female. Couples are also fiercely defensive of their nests and have been seen using the spurs as weapons against intruders, both intraspecies, other Screamers, and interspecies, anything else dumb enough to come near a Screamers nest.

So, how and why did Screamers develop these spurs in the first place. Wing spurs occur in other bird species besides, Screamers. Yep, that’s right, other bird out there have wing spurs. Most of them are smaller birds than Screamers and have only one spur per wing. Well developed wing spurs actually occur in Family Anhimidae: these are our Screamers, in Family Anatidae (ducks and geese): only 2 species out of the 144 species and they have only one spur, Family Jacanidae (jacanas): only 2 out of 7 species and they have only one spur, and Family Charadriidae (plovers): only 10 out of 25 species and they have one spur.

The spur on most species is an extension of modification of the process of metacarpal 1 with serves as the attachment area for the extensor muscles. If you feel this bone in almost any species of bird you can feel a point or knob, so all species had the potential to develop a spur. It varies depending on the flight needs of different species. So why did some birds develop this spur?

If we look at the species that have spurs in modern times, most of them nest on the ground, and spend a lot of thier lives on the ground in water or on water. To successfully protect your mate and young you may depend on using your wings as weapons to fight off predators. When these species of bird did that, the presence of this modified bone increased their survival rates, so this could be the explanation for the evolution of the spur in these species. The bone was playing double duty, a base for the muscle attachment and a useful weapon. I think this is just another instance of nature making so much sense. Man, nature is wicked cool.

I hope you were surprised by this close up look at Screamer’s spurs because it is my fifth favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about Screamers.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Do Screamers hang out with other Screamers? That depend on the specs. Join Kiersten to find out a little about the social structure of each species of Screamer.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Aspects of the Biology of the Horned Screamer in Southwestern Colombia,” by Luis G. Naranjo. The Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 98, No. 2 (June, 1986, pp. 243-256

“Mortality of four captive-born crested screamer chicks (Chauan torquata)”, by Lana Fox, Alexis Moreno, and Gregory Bradley. Open Veterinary Journal, 2019 Apr 28:;9(2):120-125. Doi:10.4314/ovj.v9i2.5

Screamers: https://animaldiversity.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is episode four of screamers and the fourth thing I like about Screamers is their social structure. As we have learned previously, there are three species of screamers. Each species is found in a different range of South America, but they reside in similar habitats and eat similar diets. Their coloration is slightly different which does help in identification once you have those differences memorized. Interestingly these three species that are alike is so many ways have different social structures.

Let’s start off with the Northern Screamer, also known as the Black-necked Screamer, Chauna chavaria, This screamer is found across northern Columbia from the Atrato River and Magdalena River valleys east into the Lake Maracaibo area of Venezuela. They are most often found near water in habitats such as swamps, marshes, lagoons, riverbanks, and seasonally flooded river plains. They are a non-migratory species, so remain in the same area year round.

The social structure of the Northern Screamer seems to revolve around the mated pair. Once a pair bond is established, that couple remains together and defends a territory year around. The pair mates for life or an extended period of time. Since they are a bit anti-social when it comes to entertaining other Northern Screamer neighbors, their social structure is fairly simple. They live in small familial groups consisting of the mated pair and their offspring.

I found very few research papers doing in-depth studies into this species social structure but based on other species that remain in familial groups, once the offspring are old enough to reproduce they leave the parents’ territory to find their own mate and establish their own territory, or are run off by the parents to find their own mate and establish their own territory. An educated guess dictates that this is the behavior the Northern Screamers follow, as well. To remain genetically diverse and produce healthy offspring, you gotta leave home.

Let’s travel south and visit with the Southern Screamer, also known as the Crested Screamer, Chauna torquata. They are found from the eastern half of Bolivia south into Argentina as far as Buenos Ares Province and east through Paraguay into south western Brazil and Uruguay.

Southern Screamers prefer tropical and subtropical wetlands including lakes, marshes, and flooded meadows with scattered trees. They are permanent residents wherever they are found.

The social structure of the Southern Screamer varies depending on the season. During breeding season, mated pairs are extremely territorial and will defend their established area fiercelyincluding using the spurs on their wings to fight off intruding screamers or other animals. In the off season, Southern Screamers are the most gregarious of all the screamer species. They gather together in groups of up to 1500 individuals.

This species seems to have the closest relationship to humans. These large groups are often seen foraging near livestock. This may have something to do with them gathering in larger groups. It may be a safety in numbers situation, or it could simply be an abundance of resources available in their region. Whatever the reason, the Southern Screamer is definitely the most gregarious screamer of all three species.

The third species of screamer is the Horned Screamer, Anhima cornuta. The range of the Horned Screamer is much larger than our other two species and includes the Amazonian regions of Venezuela, to the eastern llanos of Columbia, to eastern Bolivia and south-central Brazil. Habitat frequented by these birds include tropical lowland freshwater areas such as lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, and swamps.

Just like the other screamer species, Horned Screamers are permanent residents of their ranges and appear to defend territories year round. Mated pairs will bond for life and both parties participate in defending the territory. Some studies indicate that Horned Screamers live in smaller groups for longer periods of time than other species. These groups may not be related because mated males have been seen driving off their male offspring when they tried to court the female mate, which is the juvenile’s mother.

Mated pairs that remain in the same territory do not nest near each other so as not to encroach on each others resources, but sharing the responsibility of defending a larger territory can be advantageous to their survival.

I find it so interesting that three species of bird that are so similar in almost all aspects of their lives can have such diverse social structures. This episode is a bit shorter than most but we have a lot more to learn about the social structure of all the Screamer species. I hope someone out there listening to this podcast is inspired to jump into this subject so we can all learn more about the social structure of this species because it’s my fourth favorite thing about screamers.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about Screamers.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How do Screamers make more Screamers? Join Kiersten to find out about Screamer reproduction.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Screamers: https://animaldiversity.org

Ornithology 3rd Edition by Frank B. Gill

The Most Perfect Thing: Inside (and Outside) a Bird’s Egg by Tim Birkhead

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Welcome to the third episode of Screamers. The third thing I like about Screamers is how they make new Screamers. Let’s talk about reproduction.

Since this is the first bird we’ve discussed, I’m going to start off with a very basic introduction to bird egg anatomy and overall bird reproduction. Then we’ll look at individual Screamers.

Basic egg anatomy explains how chicks can actually survive inside what looks like a solid capsule. I know I used to wonder how baby birds could live and grow inside a hard shelled egg. What I’m going to walk you through next is a basic egg anatomy lesson. To learn more in depth, I recommend Tim Birkhead’s book The Most Perfect Thing. He describes the avian egg masterfully and it is an enjoyable read.

The avian egg consists of three main layers, the hard outer shell, the albumen (egg whites), and the yolk (the yellow center). In a fertilized egg, not the ones we eat for breakfast, the embryo will start off in a pocket in the yolk. As the embryo grows the yolk decreases. There are other layers, capillaries, and veins throughout the the egg connecting the chick to food (the yolk), removing its waste, and exchanging gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide.

The albumen is the chick’s water supply and consists of water and proteins. It also acts as a shock absorber protecting the embryo from movement aa well as protecting it from drastic temperature changes. Sounds cozy! Sounds like nature at its most amazing.

The outer shell protects the chick from getting squished when mom and dad incubate, it is permeable to allow exchange of gases. There are teeny-tiny holes that allow oxygen in and carbon dioxide out. That is the key to a chicks survival, a sturdy out protective shell that is flexible enough to let thing in and out. Seriously, bird eggs really are the most perfect thing nature has ever created.

Where do bird eggs come from? Well, from inside the female. It begins in the ovary where a ovum waits to be released into the oviduct. As it travels through this structure, it gathers all the layers it needs around the ovum or fertilized embryo to result in a successfully laid egg. There are ‘pitstops’ along the journey through the oviduct where the egg gathers each layer, approximately three until the eggs arrives at the cloaca ready to be laid. This process can take as little as 24 hours or up to a week. Birds lay only one egg at a time. They can lay one to several eggs in a clutch and this depends on the species of bird and the resources available to them during breeding season.

Now that we have a very rudimentary understanding of egg production let’s take a trip out to the field and find out how Screamers reproduce.

Horned Screamers, Anhima cornuta, pair for life or at least for several years. The male gets the female’s attention with a variety of courtship behaviors. Now, males will fight each other for the right to court a female and they use the spurs on their wings as weapons. Once the males has won the right to court the female, one courtship behavior consists of head-bobbing. Both partners will participate in this activity. One partner will approach the other and they will both stretch their necks out and bob their heads up and down one to three times. To confirm their pair bond, preening of each other’s head and neck feathers will commence and this behavior will continue throughout the year and throughout their relationship.

Before copulation, the male walks around the female with his beak pressed down against his inflated crop. His neck is retracted and his dorsal feathers are standing up. After he circles her, he will bow his head 1 to 3 times in front of the female. If she accepts copulation will occur and take only about ten seconds. Seems like a lot of work for just ten seconds but I applaud him for his courteous behavior.

Horned Screamers breed year round with no clearly defined breeding season that we are aware of at this time. They nest on the ground with both partners helping build the nest. It is typically located in or near marshy vegetation by shallow water. It will be 8 to 10 cm deep and made of reeds and sticks. A female will lay 2 to 8 smooth yellowish-white eggs and both parents will share in the incubation duties.

Females will typically sit on the eggs during the day and males at night. Young are precocial and can walk as soon as they hatch. They will follow their parents fro 60 to 75 days learning what to eat and how to navigate the world.

Southern Screamers, Chauna torquata, also create long term pair bonds. Males will fight each other for the opportunity to attract mates using their wing spurs like the Horned Screamer. Once pair bonds are created, the partners will duet together solidifying their pair bond. They will continue these duets reaffirming their bond throughout their relationship.

Southern Screamers will mate from July to December. They create nests similar to Horned Screamers and both parents share all the parental duties until the chicks are on their own. Chicks are precocial after hatching and are running around following the parents until about 13 weeks.

Northern Screamers, Chauna chavaria, also maintain long lived pair bonds. During the breeding season males will call loudly to proclaim territory and these territories will be protected against other animals all year long. Males and females will duet together to establish their pair bond. They will also preen each other. During courtship displays, Northern Screamers walk side by side with their heads almost touching their backs. They produce low, coarse sounds as they walk.

Copulation occurs on the ground. Nests are similar to the other two species of screamer and is often in shallow water or next to the water. Peak egg laying season is October through November but breeding may happen year round. Females will lay 3 to 5 yellow-white eggs with a granulated shell. Both parents incubate the eggs and watch after the young once they hatch. Northern Screamer chicks are also precocial. They spend a lot of time in the water just after hatching to protect the chicks. The chicks will fledge from the protection of their parents at about 14 to 15 weeks.

Northern Screamers are solitary nesters but will form loose groups outside of breeding season.

Screamers have very similar reproductive behaviors with slight differences that make each species unique. I hope you enjoyed this episode because my third favorite thing about Screamers is how they make baby Screamers.

Join me next we for another exciting episode about Screamers.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: There are three species of Screamers. Join Kiersten to meet each one of them in more detail.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Screamers: https://animaldiversity.org

Encyclopedia of Life: https://eol.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the second episode of Screamers. I hope you enjoyed the introductory episode about this unknown animal. The second thing I like about Screamers is that there are three species of this bird. Let’s take a closer look at each species.

Last week, I quickly mentioned the three species of screamer and gave an all encompassing description of this group. Today we will look at each species similarities and differences a bit closer.

Let’s start off with the Northern Screamer, Chauna chavaria. The Northern Screamer is 30 to 36 inches or 76 to 91 cm long. They have a stout body with a disproportionately small head. As I said in the first episode, they have little, tiny heads compared to their body. Sexes have the same coloration, so both males and females look alike. Adults have a gray crown that begins at the beak and ends just beneath the eye. Longer dark gray to black feathers stick out behind the head a bit like a short ponytail. White feathers spread from under the chin and sweep across the face just below the line of gray crown feather. The long, gangly neck is covered in shorter black feathers giving the appearance of a shaved neck. Fuller gray fathers cover the rest of the body from the base of the neck to the base of the legs. Bare, red skin covers the eye area from the beak to directly behind the eye. Adult beaks are gray and their legs are orange with hefty, turkey like feet that have slight webbing between the toes. Juveniles are duller in coloration. All three species of screamer have sharp spurs on their wings at the manus, which is the distal portion of their forelimb.

The Northern Screamer is also known as the Black-necked Screamer. From the description I just provided, I can see why. The northern part of their name comes from there distribution in South America. This screamer is found across northern Columbia from the Atrato River and Magdalena River valleys east into the Lake Maracaibo area of Venezuela.

They are most often found near water in habitats such as swamps, marshes, lagoons, riverbanks, and seasonally flooded river plains. They are a non-migratory species, so remain in the same area year round. Movement within that region is not uncommon in the search of food and searching for mates and appropriate territories by juveniles and non-breeding adults.

The Northern Screamer eats leaves, stems, and roots of aquatic plants. They usually graze like geese and can sometimes be seen doing this is loose flocks.

Northern Screamers are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature. They were last assessed in February of 2023 with a stable population numbering 60,000-100,000 mature individuals.

Species number two, I am covering the species in random order so no importance is placed on which I speak about first, second, or last, the Southern Screamer, Chauna torquata.

The Southern Screamer is also 30 to 36 inches or 76 to 91 cm long. They have a stout body with a disproportionately small head. This will be the same for all three species. The coloration differs from the Northern Screamer in slight ways, but once you know what to look for it is quite obvious. The Southern Screamer has a gray face from the crown of the head to an inch below the chin. They have the crest feathers sticking out from the base of the skull just like the Northern Screamer. The coloration on the neck of the Southern Screamer begins with one stripe of white feathers below the gray face and a stripe of black below the white feathers, The white and black feathers ring the neck like a collar. Below the black stripe the rest of the body is covered in gray feathers. The beak is gray and bare, red skin covers a small area on the face from the beak to just behind the eye, similar to the Northern Screamer. Their legs are orange with hefty, turkey like feet with a small potion of webbing between the toes. And, of course, they have the sharp spurs on the manus.

Southern Screamers are also found in South America but south of the Northern Screamer's range, which explains the name. They are found from the eastern half of Bolivia south into Argentina as far as Buenos Ares Province and east through Paraguay into south western Brazil and Uruguay.

They prefer tropical and subtropical wetlands including lakes, marshes, and flooded meadows with scattered trees. They are permanent residents wherever they are found, but seasonal changes documented in a portion of their range suggests local movement.

They are also herbivores and typically eat leaves, stems, and seeds of aquatic plants. They also graze like geese, but have been seen digging for food. Flocks of up to 100 individuals may forage together in non-breeding seasons.

Southern Screamers are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. They were last assessed in July of 2024 with a stable population numbering 66,700-667,000 mature individuals.

The last species of Screamer is the Horned Screamer, Anhima cornuta.

Once again we start off with a large bodied bird 30 to 36 inches or 76 to 91 cm long. They also have the typical small head of other screamers. The coloration differs from the other two. Horned screamer are gray over the majority of their body with white speckles on the crown, throat and wing coverts, those are the feathers on the top of the wing. The belly is white. Their beak is gray and they have the typical thick legs and slightly webbed feet, but their legs are gray not orange. They also have the spurs on the manus. Their is one striking difference between this screamer and its other two cousins and that is the long thin horn-like projection on the top of its head. This is where the name Horned Screamer comes from.

This “horn” typically measure 5 inches or 15 cm in length and shoots forward in an arch over the front of the head. It is very thin, so don’t think of it like a goat horn, think of it more like a flimsy antenna. It is made of cartilage and we’re not currently sure what its purpose is in the bird’s life.

The range of the Horned Screamer is much larger than our other two species and includes the Amazonian regions of Venezuela, to the eastern llanos of Columbia, to eastern Bolivia and south-central Brazil.

Habitat frequented by these birds include tropical lowland freshwater areas such as lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, and swamps. They are also herbivores eating leaves, stems, and seeds of plants. They do like grasses and sedges along water.

They are permanent residents and groups of 5 to 10 will often live together defending a territory from other screamers.

Horned Screamers are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. They were last assessed in July of 2024 with a stable population numbering 16,700 to 66,700 mature individuals.

That’s it for episode two of Screamers. I hope this deep dive into these three species has been an interesting ten minutes for you because my second favorite thing about Screamers is their three species.

Join me next we for another exciting episode about screamers.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: What’s all that racket? Could it be a Screamer? Join Kiersten to find out.

Show Notes:

Screamers: https://animaldiversity.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is episode one of the new series on Screamers. The first thing I like about Screamers is that they are birds.

Yes, that’s right screamers are birds. Screamers are not people who run around screaming, I mean technically yes, but that is a subject for a different podcast all together, not Ten Things I Like About… I can’t believe I have created over 100 episodes and this is the first time I‘ve talked about a bird. It is a great bird to start with, though. We’ll have lots of twists and turns with this little known but seriously interesting bird.

First, we’ll start at the beginning. What is a screamer? We have established that it is a bird but there many, many birds out there so I’ll narrow it down for you. Here comes the taxonomy: (For those of you just joining this podcast, taxonomy is the method that scientists use to classify and differentiate between species of living organisms. It consists of various group names to help make sure we’re all taking about the same animal, plant, or invertebrate.)

The taxonomy of screamers is a follows:

Kingdom: Animalia ( they are animals)

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata (they have an internal skeleton)

Class: Aves (birds)

Order: Anseriformes (this order includes the screamers as well as ducks, geese, and swans)

Family: Anhimidae

Species: There are three species of screamer. The Horned Screamer, Anhima cornuta, the Southern Screamer, Chauna torquata, and the Northern Screamer, Chauna chavaria.

All three species of screamers look similar. They are a large birds at 27 to 36 in or 71 to 92 cm, weighing about 3100 grams, with a wingspan of 5.5 feet or 1.7 meters. That is a decently big bird. They are classified with other waterfowl, ducks, geese, and swans, so you may be imagining a goose-like bird, but here is one of our first twists.

Screamers look more like a turkey than a goose. They have a large body with a short neck and tiny head, especially compared to their body. They have a hooked beak, more like a bird of prey than a duck. Their legs are thick and stocky, and they have very little webbing between their toes. Doesn’t sound much like a duck at all!

So why are ducks and screamers classified in the same order? Genetic testing and cladistics science shows them as close relatives to ducks, geese, and swans, so they share an order but are in separate families.

Screamers are found in wetland areas of South America such as swamps, marshes, lagoons, and lakes, as well as open savannas and meadows, and in the floodplains of moist tropical forests. They are most often found around water and they can swim, but they do not spend as much time in the water as ducks and geese.

Another strange twist with screamers is the long spurs they have on their wings. Yes, long spurs on their wings. There are two large, curved spurs attached to the elbow on each wing of the screamer. The larger one is at the joint and a smaller one is just beneath that. They look like terrible claws they use to rip open prey animals or fight off predators, but they tend to use them only during intraspecies dominance fights at breeding season.

This segues us into twist number three, screamers are herbivores. They have short, hooked beaks like raptors and scary spurs on their wings like a predator, but they eat leaves, stems, flowers, and roots of aquatic vegetation. They may throw in a few seeds, insects, and arthropods, but no carnivorous hunting. This is not what you expect when you look at a picture of this bird.

I have saved the most interesting tidbit for last. Why are they called screamers? Well, for once the name of an animal is actually perfect because screamers scream. They make a call that sounds a bit like a trumpet gone bad and they make it often. So, screamers are called screamers because they scream.

In the upcoming episodes we will dive into the topic of screamers in more detail. I hope that this overview of our next unknown animal has gotten you excited about this new series because my first favorite thing about Screamers is that they are birds.

Join me next we for another exciting episode about screamers.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Bat conservation is the subject of the final episode of the series on bats. Join Kiersten as she talks about what is going on to help bats.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Books: “Bats in Question: A Smithsonian Answer Book,” by Don E. Wilson

“America’s Neighborhood Bats,” by Merlin Tuttle

“The Bats of Europe and north America,” by Wilfried Schooner and Eckard Grimmberger

“Bats: A World of Science and Mystery,” by M. Brock Fenton and Nancy B. Simmons

“The Secret Lives of Bats,” by Merlin Tuttle

Websites: Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservation: https://merlintuttle.org

Bat Conservation International: https://www.batcon.org

EUROBATS: https://unric.org

BatLife Europe: https://www.batlife-europe.info

Podcasts:

BatChat from Bat Conservation Trust in the UK

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Sadly, this is the last episode of bats. I’ve had a ton of fun writing and recording these episodes. One of my favorite things to talk about is bats and I absolutely love educating people about bats. The tenth thing I like about bats is the conservation plans that we have developed to help them survive everything the world throws at them.

All bats around the world are under threat. Some are classified as endangered and most populations are in decline. But there are people out there, like myself and you, fabulous listeners, that are trying to make the future of bats bright.

Some of the things bats are fighting against include habitat destruction. Forested habitats across the globe are being cut down for human use. Building houses, strip malls, converting forest to grazing land, and mining caves for minerals are all devastating threats to bat populations. Shifting temperatures is also something impacting bats. The timing of the emergence of insects with the timing of the emergence of insectivorous bats from hibernation needs to be spot on, but with the altered temperatures around the world, that timing has shifted. Insects are emerging earlier because of warming winters and the bats are missing the window. This can negatively impact bats that migrate long distances to return to nursery sites where they raise their pups. Even nectar eating bats are impacted by the warmer temperatures because plants are blooming earlier and earlier. Those that follow the blooming flowers are getting caught in end of winter freezes that they are not physiologically equipped to deal sometimes resulting in death.

Disease is another threat to bats. Currently in the United States insectivorous cave dwelling bats are combating a disease called White-nose syndrome. This disease is caused by a fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans or Pd, that loves cool, damp places. Sound like a bat hibernaculum? Exactly. The spores of the fungus get on the face of hibernating bats and digs into the skin there. It blooms into a white fluffy structure, hence the name white-nose syndrome. The fungus itself does not kill the bats, but it irritates the bats rousing hem from sleep too often during their hibernation causing dehydration resulting in death.

We now know that this fungus came from Europe on the shoes of some spelunkers. Equipment was not cleaned properly before entering a cave here in the United States, so the spores were spread. It first appeared in caves in New York State and has now spread across all of the Eastern US and is making its way across the Midwest. It can survive in any cave that stays cooler all year round. When this arrived in 2006 it hit three species the hardest, the Little Brown Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat, and Tri-colored Bat. Their populations declined 90%. This is one of the reasons I chose the topic of my Master’s thesis.

There is very little we can do to help bats combat this disease, but there is some hope that they can survive this on their own. Bat populations in Britain and surrounding countries have been in decline for much longer than those in the United States. When White-nose syndrome was traced back to the spelunkers that had just returned from a European caving trip, scientists on both continents began to collaborate and share notes. In an effort to find a cure for W hite-nose syndrome, they discovered that the bats in England have antibodies in their system that targets Pd. The bats living in Europe today survived a previous infection of this fungus. Their populations were drastically cut, but they pulled through. Recent studies have shown that some bats in the US infected by this fungus are beginning to survive hibernation and are showing antibodies for Pd.

One type of bat has actually increased in population due to human activities and that is the Vampire bats. Because more livestock has been introduced to South America due to increased human populations and the desire for more beef, vampire bats, especially Desmodus rotundus, the Common Vampire Bat’s populations have increased. This is the species of bat that relies on mammal blood. Yeah bats! That’s what I have to say and I’m sure you agree, but their numbers have exceeded an healthy ecosystem population. So, once again human activity has put a bat species at risk. Vampire bats have become a nuisance and are spreading diseases more readily between people and cattle.

So extermination became the way to handle the problem, but the manner in which people where killing the vampire bats was also killing every other species of bats. It was a free for all, kill all the bats you see. Merlin Tuttle has been studying bats for over sixty years and he has been touting good PR for bats since he’s been able to take pictures of them. So he decided to jump into the trouble with vampire bats. His love of bats drove him to find a way to save all the species. To do that he knew he’d have to win over the people who lived with the vampire bats. He and a local scientist and conservationist developed away to help control the vampire bat population without impacting the other species of bats that live in the region. It’s working, people feel empowered by their options and now understand that not all bats are vampire bats. Some bats need to be protected. As hard as it is for me to support anything that kills any species of bat, I admire Merlin Tuttle’s path to conservation. Win friends, not battles.

Both human sprawl and disease are devastating to bats, but one of the biggest threats to bats is fear. Those of you that have listened to this whole series and those of you that listened to this series because you have an interest in bats, know that fear of bats is real. I certainly understand it. These are nocturnal animals that swoop out of the dark and can frighten you. Myths abound about their behaviors and many of these myths are untrue. False information can lead to fear and fear leads to very bad things for bats.

How can we help bats? The first thing that you can do today, is spread the truth about bats. Tell everyone you know and those you’re standing in line with at the grocery store the truth about bats. Dispelling fear goes a long way to protecting current and future bat populations. Use the information you’ve learned in the series to change people’s minds about these small creatures.

You can also join organizations such as Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservation, or Bat Conservation International, both of these organizations are based in the United States but have programs that help bat conservation around the world. EUROBATS and BatLife Europe are two organizations that strive to protect bats and conserve vital habitat for bats in Europe. A bit of online sleuthing will help you find a bat conservation organization near you. I will also post some of my favorite books about bats, podcasts, and websites in this episodes show notes.

I can’t say how much fun this series was for me to write and post. I’m so happy you all joined me for Bats. They are such misunderstood animals and they deserve all the good PR we can give them. My tenth favorite thing about bats is all the conservation efforts we have developed to protect these amazing animals.

Join me in two weeks for the beginning of a new series about Screamers.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Join Kiersten as she lays out some of the coolest facts about bats!

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work?united-states/arizona/stories-in-arizona/top-10-bat-facts/

https://www.doi.gov/blog/13-facts-about-bats

https://batcon.org

Bat honking link: http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/136292

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the ninth episode of Bats and if I haven’t convinced you that they are some of the most amazing creatures on the planet yet, this episode will surely do that. The ninth thing I like about bats is all the cool facts about them.

Some cool bat facts have been sprinkled throughout the other episodes but it never hurts to talk about fun facts again!

Such as…There are 1400 bat species. That’s one thousand four hundred species of bat. They make up 1/5 of all mammals. And they range in size from one of the smallest mammals on the planet, the Bumblebee Bat that weighs only as much as a US penny, to the Flying Foxes that can have a wingspan of six feet! That’s three cool facts in one go. It’s always a party when you’re talking about bats.

Bats are found on ever single continent including most islands, expect Antarctica. That’s pretty cool. Very few animals, outside of humans, are found on so many bodies of land. Remarkably, bats have been around in Europe, North America, South America, India, and Australia for millions of years. Bats show up in the fossil record dating back to the Early Eocene which is roughly 47.5 to 55 million years ago. That’s well before humans existed.

And…when we study these fossils, they show that bats have changed very little in structure from that time. When animals change very little from the time of their appearance in the fossil record to today that means they are pretty close to evolutionarily perfect. I think that’s very cool.

We also know from studying these fossils that bats have been using echolocation from the beginning. Bats have the most well developed echolocation system of any animal, that we are currently aware, of course. Which is a cool fact in and of itself, but it takes it to a whole other level knowing they have been echolocating for millions of years.

Bats are the only mammal capable of true flight. Yes, we have flying squirrels but they can only glide. Bats flap their wings to propel them through the air. Similarly to birds, bats can create sustained flight.

While we are discussing flight, the Mexican free-tailed Bat is the fastest bat in flight. They are able to reach speeds of 100 mph. That’s fast!

Speaking of Mexican Free-tailed Bats, the colony that lives in Bracken Cave in Texas has approximately 15 million individuals making it the largest known bat colony on Earth, as well as the largest concentration of mammals on Earth. The cool facts never end with bats!

Let’s talk life expectancy. Typically the smaller an animal the shorter the life span. For example, if you have a pet mouse or rat, they typically live a year to two years, where as your dog or cat can live 10 to 15 years. It’s just physics, but bats break this rule. Most of them are fairly small and on average they can live 20 years. Some species, such as the Little Brown Bat, can live 30 years. The oldest bat, a Brandt’s Bat which is an insectivorous bat, was discovered in 2006 flying wild in Siberia and it was 41 years old!

We know the age because this bat was tagged and had a record of lifespan recorded by scientists. That is cool!

Some male bats got milk! The male Dyak’s Fruit Bat is able to feed their young from their own mammary glands. It is currently the only known example of natural paternal lactation. Scientists don’t know why. What’s also interesting in this species is that the dads actually have a role in raising their young. That is not common throughout bat species. Dyak’s Fruit Bat is found on the Sunda Shelf of Southeast Asia.

All bats have belly buttons! Since they are mammals, they are born live and are connected to mom through an umbilical cord during gestation. Just like us, actually just like almost all mammals. Not all mammals will retain a belly button after the umbilical cord falls off, bats do. Just like humans. That’s cool!

Female bats can get pregnant whenever they want! Some species of female bats are capable of retaining sperm in their reproductive tract until conditions are right to get pregnant. Mating will occur in fall and the female can retain the sperm in their system, delaying fertilization until spring when resources are high and success is better supported.

One of the scarier things about bats is that they seem to appear out of nowhere! When they fly at night using their echolocation to hunt, they do not make sounds that the human ear can hear. It’s not scary when you understand it though. But some bats make noises that we CAN hear, some bats even honk. Yep! Male Hammer-headed Fruit Bats honk to attract females during breeding season. I will leave a link in the show notes that lead you to a recording of honking bats!

Bat noses can help them see! We know that bats use ultrasonic sound that they emit to hunt and navigate. This is echolocation. Some species of bats have wrinkled skin and flaps of skin called noseleaves on their face and nose that help them use their echolocation calls in various ways allowing them to multitask. They can hunt and avoid crashing into each other at the same time!

Most fruit bats have long extended hooks on their wings, also called thumbs, that they use to hold on to branches and fruits, but not all fruit bats have well developed thumbs. Spix’s Disk-winged Bat developed suction cups to help them cling to and climb smooth surfaces such as leaves. Take that Spider-Man! The disks are on the wings and ankles and look just like a traditional suction cup. The bats use muscles within the disks to alter the shape of the disks creating suction or release. Spix’s Disk-winged Bat is found from southern Mexico to northern Brazil. This adaptation has evolved separately in two different species because there is an Old World Sucker-footed Bat that also has these suction cups, but is not related to the Spix’s. How fascinating!

These cool bat facts are just a sample of all the fascinating things we know about bats. I am sure we will discover so much more as we continue to study bats. My ninth favorite thing about bats is all the cool facts about them!

Join me next week for another episode about bats!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How do bats help people? So many ways! Join Kiersten as she tells us why we should be thanking bats.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservation: https://www.merlintuttle.org

“Bats in Question: A Smithsonian Answer Book,” by Don E. Wilson

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

View Details

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

There are so many myths about bats that I HAD to do a second episode. The seventh thing I like about bats is continuing to myth bust.

In the last episode we covered why bats fly around our heads: not because they want to get into our hair. We talked about diseases: bats do carry disease but the odds of contracting a disease from them is slight and completely avoidable. And we talked about all bats wanting to suck are blood: completely false only one species of bat, out of all 1400 species, even drinks mammalian blood. Most of these involved Microchiroptera so let’s talk about some myths that include Megachiroptera, as well as our little ones.

We’ve all heard, if not used, the saying “Blind as a bat.”, but bats are not blind. All species of bats can see. Some can see better than others but they all have functioning eyes, as far as we know based on the species studied as of the beginning of 2025. Microchiroptera typically have tiny eyes, which may have influenced the old saying, and they do not rely heavily on sight to maneuver their way through the world. But they do use their eyes.

Megachiroptera, our amazing fruit bats, have larger eyes and rely on their sight more than microbats. Most, if not all, Megabats do not use echolocation to find food and fly. Their chosen food item is not flitting around trying to make themselves a hard target. Fruit is pretty sedentary, just growing and hanging out on a branch, so Megachiroptera use their vision to find food. Their eyes are much more advanced then bats that rely on echolocation to find their prey. Some nectar eating bats also have larger, higher functioning eyes that can help them find flowers in bloom.

So our first myth busted in this episode is that bats are blind. This is completely false, bats are not blind. Maybe we should rephrase and say “Blind as a Cave Fish?”

Myth number two: Bats are filthy vermin. This one is also false. Bats keep themselves very clean. They are a lot like cats in that they groom themselves fastidiously. They must keep their wings clean to be able to fly. If there is too much gunk built up on that thin skin, they can’t fly right.

When I was studying the Tri-colored Bat in Georgia during winter hibernation, I actually caught a few bats grooming themselves in the hibernaculum. I also did an internship with the Lubee Foundation in Florida that houses the largest colony of fruit bats in the United States. These bats spent the majority of their day grooming themselves and each other.

Constant grooming also keeps them clean of parasites such as mites and ticks. A build up of these bloodsuckers can drain a bat to the point where they are too weak to hunt for food. Helping keep your neighbor free of these little pests also helps keep you free of these little pests, especially when you live in a colony.

So, myth number two busted. Bats are not dirty vermin, they are very clean animals.

Our third myth involves only fruit eating bats. Many people think that bats devastate fruit crops and should be exterminated to preserve farm grown produce. This is false. Bats actually help keep farmed groves healthy and productive.

Fruit bats do eat fruit, of course, but they target overripe fruit. They favor the fruits that have passed that perfect ripeness and are on the edge of rotting. This is not the fruit that we want to eat and not the fruit that farmers harvest. When farmers let bats do their thing, it helps keep the groves healthy by ridding the trees of fruits that attract insects and rodents that can decimate a crop. If you keep bats from doing their jobs, then you get these pests.

We actually have bats to thank for some of the fruits that we love to eat. Banana, mango, and avocado plants are all pollinated by nectar eating bats. 300 species of fruiting plants rely on bats to either pollinate them or spread their seeds. When fruit bats eat the overripe fruit they often swallow the seeds. The seeds pass through their digestive track and are deposited, with a little fecal fertilizer, far from the parent plant where they will grow into another plant.

Those of you out there that like tequila, have another reason to thank bats. Agave plants that are used to create tequila are only pollinated by nectar eating bats like the Lesser Long-nosed Bat.

The last myth is one that I talked about in the very first episode of this series. Bats are flying rodents. False! Bats are not rats with wings and the taxonomic classification that I discuss in that first episode proves that. Bats and rats are included in the same Class Mammalia but they diverge, which means they separate, at Order. Rats are classified in Order Rodentia, bats are in Order Chiroptera.

All rodents are in a separate order from bats and as scientific processes for collecting data have advanced over the years, each test, including DNA, reinforces the fact that bats and rats are not related outside of them both being vertebrate mammals.

This is a wide spread myth from all over the world and can be seen in some of the names used for bats on other languages other than English, for example. Letushiya meesh is the Russian name for bats which translates to “flying mouse”. But, listeners, you now know the truth about whether bats are rodents. They are not rats, mice, or any other kind of rodent.

Well that covers most of the common myths about bats and as you can hear these animals are very misunderstood. That’s why myth busting is my seventh favorite thing about bats.

Join me next week for another episode about bats!

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Bats what to fly into your hair and suck your blood! False! In this episode Kiersten talks about some of the most common myths about bats and uncovers the truth.

For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

We are just halfway through bats, listeners, and am am super excited for this episode. One of my favorite things when I teach about bats is myth busting. So, the sixth thing I like about bats is breaking down and wiping away the myths that make us fear them.

As humans we are often afraid of the dark and we are definitely afraid of things we do not understand. This is a double whammy against bats. They come out at night, fly around where we can’t see them, and make strange squeaky noises we don’t understand. Misunderstanding leads to myths, myths lead to fear, and fear leads to bad news for bats.

In this episode we’re going to take a look at some of the most common myths about bats and determine what’s true and what’s not.

One of the oldest myths about bats is that they want to fly into your hair. I understand where this one came from, but it one hundred percent false. Bats do not want to be in your hair. This originated from campers misinterpreting bats swooping around their heads as they were enjoying the outdoors at night. Okay, if they don’t want to get into my hair, what are they doing swooping around my head?

If you are outdoors, there are others creatures that are attracted to us such as mosquitos. If you are sitting by a fire, other species of insects are attracted to the heat and light. I think you see where I am going with this, the bats are swooping down to catch the insects that are hovering around our heads. Anyone who has ever been bitten by a mosquito, you are probably thankful for this behavior. One less mosquito…am I right?

I have actually used this behavior to advantage when I took a mammalogy class and we went out the study bats in the wild. If you stand on a well used trail with your headlight pointing straight forward and stay still, insects will begin to fly through your light. The bats won’t be far behind. You can see them swooping through the light to catch the insects and it is so cool!

This brings me to the second half of this myth. Bats only end up hitting your head when you panic and throw up an arm up and they are unable to avoid the sudden movement. They are never aiming to land in your hair.

Why did the bat that got trapped in my house swoop at me? There wasn’t a swarm of insects in my living room! First, bats never want to be in your living space, but sometimes they get lost or they’ve been roosting in your cabin when you haven’t been using it and you coming in for a weekend disturbs them. They just want to get out and away from you and back to a quiet roosting spot. What happens when they swoop toward you in the middle of the room is that as they are flying around looking for a place to hide or an exit and as they approach the walls they have to slow down to turn around. When they slow down they lose elevation and swoop toward the floor in the middle of the room where you’re standing flipping out.

Don’t panic. Just relax. Open a door if you can to offer an exit. If the bat lands on the wall and settles down, you can carefully place a box over the bat and use a piece of cardboard and slowly slip it under the box from the bottom up to catch the bat inside the box. Holding both pieces together, take the box outside away from the building and release the bat.

Okay now that we know that bats don’t want to tangle up in our hair, let’s talk about diseases. Can bats make us sick? Do bats get sick? Yes and yes, but that’s not the end of the answer. Just like any other mammal, bats can get sick and can transmit diseases to other mammals.

Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by a fungus called Histoplasma capsulatum. Humans can become sick if they breath in the spores of the fungus. Histoplasmosis is often associated with bats and birds, but neither one of them is responsible for the illness. The fungus loves to grow on fertile poop. They especially love places with lots of poop. Colonial bats that are roosting together in building or caves create a lot of poop. Bats are typically very loyal to roosting sites and will use them continuously for an entire season, so that create a bunch of poop. The fungus will grow on the poop piles and when another mammal, such as a human, comes across the fungus laden poop they may breath in the spores and get sick. Not the bats, or birds, fault.

Now let’s talk rabies. Almost all mammals can become infected by and transmit rabies. Bats have long been saddled with the misconception that they carry rabies and transmit it willynilly. Bats can contract rabies, just like almost any other mammal, and they can transmit it to another mammal, but they cannot carry it throughout their entire lives. Rabies is fatal. It is a virus that replicates and finds new hosts. That is it’s only goal, survival. When the mammal that it is in begins to die, it wants a new host. No mammal can host it for more than 14 days without perishing.

Protecting yourself from both of these diseases is easy. Don’t enter a cave or building that you know is a roost for a large colony of bats. If you must, or they have taken up residence in your attic, wear a respirator and contact professionals that can relocate the colony so the roost can be cleaned and sanitized. When it comes to rabies, don’t handle any wildlife, including bats. When animals are suffering from the end stages of rabies, the virus causes the infected mammal to behave unusually in hopes of encountering a new possible host.

If you see a bat on the ground, or active during the day, don’t pick them up. Call for assistance and follow their instructions to protect yourself and the bat. You can place a cardboard box over the bat to keep it and others safe until someone can assist you.

The last big myth of this episode is that all bats want to suck my blood! This is defiantly false. There is only one species of bat that wants to suck a mammals blood. The Common Vampire Bat, Desmodus rotundus, is a blood drinker. Two other species of bats are also blood drinkers but they specialize on birds. These bats are fall ound only in Central and South America. There are no reports of these bats being found anywhere else.

Common Vampire Bats typically feed on cattle and goats but they can feed from humans, as well. Just like any animal that has found a consistent food source, they will revisit that food source night after night. They never take enough blood to suck an animal dry because these bats weigh only ounces. They take enough to survive and that is all.

My pattern remains the same and I have gone over time again. This episode discussed myths primarily about Microchiroptera but there are myths out there about Megachioptera as well and we will delve into those in the next episode.

Thank you for joining me for my sixth favorite thing about bats, myth busting.

Join me next week for another episode about bats!

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: To migrate or not to migrate? How do bats deal with cooling temperatures? Join Kiersten as she travels through bat migration.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“America’s Neighborhood Bats,” by Merlin Tuttle

“The Bats of Europe and north America,” by Wilfried Schooner and Eckard Grimmberger

“Flying-Foxes - The bush refugees” by Martin Pueschel

Backyard Bats Project: https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife-conservation/living-with-wildlife/backyard-bats-project/

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Bats: Migration

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The fifth thing I like about bats is migration. Yes! Bats do migrate, well some bats migrate. Have you ever wondered why you see bats in the spring and summer and not in the winter? Many microbats either migrate or hibernate, while megabats may migrate from area to area following the fruiting and flowering seasons.

In this episode we will investigate the ways bats cope with colder weather in temperate regions or the non-fruiting season is tropical areas.

Let’s start with a quick definition of migration. Migration is a mass movement of living creatures from one area to another. It is often seen seasonally and can be influenced by available resources. Birds will migrate north in spring following available food resources and seeking optimum breeding grounds. They will migrate south again for the winter as the northern regions cool down diminishing food resources. Male tarantulas will migrate much shorter distances in fall searching for female mates. Bats that rely on insects can either migrate from northern regions to southern regions where the insects are still active in, or hibernate in place during the colder months of the year.

The insectivorous bat species of North America choose one of these two options. The Mexican Free-tailed bat, one of the most plentiful species in southern United States, also known as the Brazilian Free-tailed Bat, is a migrator. They will spend the warmer parts of the year in the United States traveling as far north as Northern California all the way across the country to South Carolina. Here they hunt insects at night and roost in caves or bridge overpasses during the day. They travel and roost in huge colonies and some roosts can number in the millions. It’s quite a sight to see them exit their roosts come sundown. If you are ever in an area where you can do this, do it. It is something you don’t want to miss in your lifetime.

Come colder temps in late fall when insect activity begins to slow, Mexican Free-tailed bats begin to depart. They are heading to Central and South America, following warmer temperatures. They will find caves and other enclosed spaces to spend their days until spring and summer roll around again when they will head north .

The Big Brown Bat, another insectivorous species found in North America, is a permanent resident where it is found. And they are found all over North America from Mexico to the northern border of some Canadian provinces. They are much more tolerant of colder temperatures and will hibernate as opposed to migrate. As insect activity wanes they will search for secure hibernating structures. We call these hibernaculums, and Big Brown Bats are not terribly picky. When I was researching my thesis, I found Big Brown Bats in the cave where I filmed the Tri-colored Bats. They were much closer to the entrance of the cave where temperatures were colder and less humid than the interior where the Tri-coloreds where found.

Big Browns will hibernate in groups, small or large, or as individuals in caves, abandoned or little used buildings, attics, walls, even under tree bark. They are generalists that are quite adaptable to their environment, which is why they are one of the most widespread bats in North America.

Not all migrators are insectivorous bats. The Lesser Long-nosed Bat migrates from southern Mexico to the Southwestern states of the US. They are nectar eaters and they follow the blooming flowers. They don’t come up too far into the United States but they love the flowering cactus and agave plants of the lower desert regions. They come up just after the rainy season in spring that jumpstarts the blooming season in the desert. There is actually a Community Science Project called Backyard Bats that is ongoing in Arizona with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. This project asks you to monitor your hummingbird feeders overnight to determine if nectar is going down during the night. If it is you may have visiting bats! For those of you in Arizona, I will leave a link in the show notes so you can participate in this project.

European bats have similar choices when dealing with changing temperatures. The Lesser Horseshoe Bat found in Europe is a permanent resident where they are found. They utilize hibernaculums in the winter and separate roosts in the warmer months. So, we could consider them short distance migrators. They travel only about 5 to 10 kilometers or 3 to 6 miles between the different sites. They are active during peak insect activity.

The Greater Mouse-eared Bat, an insectivorous bat found in Central Europe, is classified as a partial migrant. Partial migrants fly over 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, from winter to spring roosts.

What about fruit-eating bats that don’t have to worry about changing seasonal temperatures? They migrate. They don’t migrate as far as some of our insectivorous friends in North America, but they still travel following food. They are a bit more like permanent residents because they stay in the same region, but they travel around that region following the blooms and fruits in trees. Most will roost together so you can see large groups of bats flying through the sky searching for ripening fruits. This movement is impacted by available food and also by the rainy season.

To migrate or not to migrate? Another amazing adaptation that makes bats even more fascinating.

Thanks for traveling with me through this episode because my fifth favorite thing about bats is migration.

Join me next week for another episode about bats!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How do bats make more baby bats? Let us count the ways! Join Kiersten as she discusses the various reproductive techniques bats use to make more bats.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Bats in Question: A Smithsonian Answer Book,” by Don E. Wilson

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

I apologize for missing last week, listeners. The holidays snuck up on me and I just didn’t have time to write, record, edit, and post before Christmas was upon me. Let’s get back to bats!

The fourth thing I like about bats is making more bats! Chiroptera reproduction is interesting and diverse. Microbats and Megabats are mammals, so they give live birth and nurse their young with milk, but we’re going to take a closer look at the reproductive cycle of some of the specific species of bats in this episode.

As my loyal listeners know, I earned my Master’s of Science in Animal Behavior by studying the breeding behavior of the Tri-colored Bat, Perimyotis subflavus. I chose to study the breeding behavior of this particular bat because they are heavily impacted by White-nose Syndrome, a disease that impacts the hibernation behaviors of bats that overwinter in caves that remain around 55 degrees or cooler throughout the year. Many of the caves on the East coast of the United States fit this bill. I will be talking more about this problem in a future episode. The reason I wanted to study the breeding behavior is because we did not have a record of how these bats reproduced. If their numbers fell so low that we needed to intervene to help save the species from extinction, it was essential that we knew how they reproduced so we could offer everything they needed in a captive setting.

So, off I went with my husband in tow to sit for hours at a time in a dark cold cave at 2am to record the behavior of hibernating Tri-colored Bats. What did I learn? We discovered that in this cave, the Tri-colored Bat males will seek out females during their hibernation periods and mate with them. Yes, that’s right these little boogers mate with the females while they are sleeping! We were shocked! But it is the optimal time to mate with females without having to expend excessive amounts of time and energy vying for their attention.

I agree that it sounds terrible. Not very nice at all. No consent from the females, but it works for this species of bat. The males and females go their separate ways as soon as the winter season passes so the males have no chance to breed later in the year. The female’s body stores the sperm until it is needed. When the time is right, the sperm will fertilize the egg and she will become pregnant.

Many species that hibernate in caves breed during the fall season as males and females are swarming into the caves. For these species there are two paths to fertilization. One I just talked about, where the female stores the sperm in her reproductive tract until spring. Another path is immediate fertilization. Long-fingered bats from the Old World practice this method. The females and males breed in fall and fertilization happens immediately, but development of the fetus is slowed during hibernation so that the female will be ready to give birth come spring.

For species that have a long distance migration, such at the Brazilian Free-tailed Bat, breeding occurs most often in the early spring as they are entering their summer roosts. The physical stress placed upon them by a migration from Central America to the Southern United States may prevent them from breeding until they reach their destinations.

Tropical species of bats that are not impacted by temperate weather changes have a greater variety of reproductive patterns. Insectivorous species that rely on invertebrates for food are constrained by the wet and dry seasons and typically have one offspring a year during the height of insect season.

Species of neotropical fruit-eating bats will often have two reproductive cycles a year. Bats in family Phyllostomidae will breed early in the year, a few months later the young are born, then the females will enter a postpartum estrus and become pregnant again. This allows them to have more young during the flowering and fruiting season of the year before the rainy season begins. The Jamaican Fruit Bat has a slight alternation in that they will breed early in the year and birth young a few months later as we just discussed, but their second cycle will have a lengthened fetal development, so that they are pregnant during the rainy season and birth their second young when the dry season occurs again.

Now, attracting mates is something that many species of bats have to concern themselves with, and they have so many ways to do it!

The Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat has whit tufts of fur on it’s shoulders that are used to attract a female. With this and an attractive scent release by glands, they attract a female for mating. This is an active form of mating where the female chooses her mate.

African Hammer-headed Fruit Bats form leks during breeding season. Leks are display grounds where males gather to perform to attract and win a mate. These particularly bat males will call loudly to get a female’s attention as she passes and hopefully win her favor.

Courtship displays can include wing-flapping, vocalizations, and mutual grooming. Sac-winged bat species will hover in front of a female while opening a glandular sac that is located in front of each wing. We presume that he is wafting a pheromone at her to win her attention.

In some flying fox colonies where males and females roost together throughout the year, males do very little to attract a female’s attention for mating and often mates with her even when she doesn’t appear to agree.

When young are born, females will give birth in a roost site. Sometimes that is in a nursery, like the Mexican Free-tailed bats, where many mothers are giving birth in the same place. Sometimes that is in a smaller colony with males and female together such as many flying fox species. And sometimes that is alone, like the red bat species of North America, that are solitary roosters.

Young are born hairless and helpless. Their eyes are closed and they cannot fly. They will drink milk produced by their mother. During birth, some mothers will hang upside down and the young will instinctively grasp onto the mothers fur, while some Megachiroptera will use their thumb-like hooks to hold onto a branch creating a four pointed position that helps them catch their young as they are born.

There is evidence that fruit bats that live in the same colonies throughout the year will have helpers at birth. Older females will come to the aid of new mothers, physically helping them birth their young and guiding the pup into their arms, while younger females will roost nearby watching. This has been seen in captive colonies many times, with one or two reports from wild colonies. But, boy oh boy, what an amazing behavior! There is still so much we have to learn about bat social behavior.

Young are born feet first so they can help pull themselves out of the birth canal. Bat young typically weigh up to 40 percent of the mother’s own body weight. That’s like a 115 pound woman, or approximately 40 kilos giving birth to a 40 pound baby, or a 20 kilo baby. Holy smokes!

Bats that roost in large nursery colonies will leave the young behind, gathered tightly together to conserve body heat, when they hunt and return to nurse the young through the daytime. They find their young without fail every time they come back to the colony.

When young are first born, or in solitary nesting species, mothers will keep the babies on them as they search for food. They will cling to the armpit area holding on with the well developed thumb hooks with their mouths latched onto a nipple. Can you imagine flying around at night looking for insects with a baby attached to you that weights almost half your own body weight?!

Most species of bats will birth only a single pup, yes bat babies are called pups, at a time. A handful of species will birth twins, such as the Hoary Bat and the Red Bat, and will have one pup attached to each nipple. Most bats have only two nipples so producing more than that can be problematic. Not to mention how big each baby is!

The bats in the Lasiurus Genus can have two, three, four, or five pups at a time. They have four nipples so larger litters are doable.

Bat pups grow quickly and are typically flying on their own at about about thirty days or so. Once they can fly, they are on their own. Or so we think. We are still studying this and some research shows that young my rely on their mothers for a longer period of time. They may learn much more from their mothers than we know. There is no current evidence that males have any role in raising the young past fertilization.

Well, I’ve done it again listeners, I have gone over time. I think you can expect that with every episode in this series about bats. If you can’t tell, I do like them a lot. Thanks for joining me for my fourth favorite thing about these amazing mammals, their reproduction.

Join me next week for another episode about bats!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Now that we've talked about Megachiroptera, let's talk about Microchiroptera! Join Kiersten as she talks about the smallest bats.

For my hearing impaired followers, a transcript follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

“Bats in Question: A Smithsonian Answer Book,” by Don E. Wilson

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The third thing I like about bats is Microchiroptera. To be honest I like everything about bats, but I have set a precedent and must follow the pattern of previous series, so third thing it is!

Last episode we talked about the larger bats called Megachiroptera that are found only in the Old World of Asia, Africa, Australia, and some Pacific Islands, so this episode we will talk about the Microchiroptera or smaller bats. These bats are not confined to a specific region in the world. They are found on every continent on the globe except Antarctica, and let’s face it, there is not a lot that wants to leave there full time.

As a quick refresher, bats are all classified under Class Mammalia, Order Chiroptera, Mega and Micro are separated into suborders, so they are related in the fact that they are all bats, but there are enough differences in physical anatomy, behaviors, and genetics to be separated at a suborder level. Megachiroptera have only one Family Pterpodidae, but Microchiroptera has many families. Currently the classification of bats is still undergoing a bit of a shake up, as all classification is continually evolving, but we recognize 17 families of Microchiroptera with over 900 different species.

As an example of the ever changing classification system, before I began my graduate work with the Tricolored Bat, it was classified as a pipistrelle with the scientific name of Pipistrellus subflavus, but when I was writing my thesis the scientific name had been changed to Perimyotis subflavus. Their genus had been changed based on research at the time. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed because it’s just more fun to say pipistrelles than perimyotis, but whatcha gonna do?

Okay, I’m going to follow the same pattern I did with the Megachiroptera episode, so these two suborders will be easy for you to compare should you wish to do so.

Where are Microchiroptera found? They are found on every continent in the world which means they are found in the New and Old world. So those of us that live in the Americas get to pleasure of living with these little darlings. Now, this does not mean that all families of Microchiroptera are found on every continent. There are three families that are shared by both hemispheres Emballonuridae, Molossidae, and Vepertilionidae, but different species of these families will be found on different continents.

What kind of habitats are Microchiroptera found in? They can be found in almost any type of habitat. They are most common in forested area and deserts areas around the world, but some species can be found in grasslands and savannas. They can be found at sea-level and at elevations of 5000 meters above sea-level. They will be found in areas of high rainfall, and areas with scare rainfall. Microchiroptera are extremely diverse mammals.

What do our smaller bats eat? The majority of micro bats are insectivorous, which means they eat insects. There are many ways that they catch insects but most of them catch insects on the wing. This is where echolocation comes in. If you are hunting something that is constantly moving and you are also constantly moving, how to you find what you’re looking for? Echolocation. Bats create sound with their larynx, much like the rest of mammals do, including humans, that they send out through their mouth. When they are hunting or navigating during flight they use a high-frequency, ultrasonic sound that once emitted bounces off of whatever it hits and comes back to the bat. The bats can decipher the frequency and time that these sound waves bounce back to them and they know if it is an insect they want to eat, another bat flying into their path, a stationary tree they must avoid, or anything else in their environment. These decisions are made in seconds! I mean, holy cow!

There are other methods of hunting insects, as well, but echolocation is still used. Some bats are called gleaners which mean they hunt for insects that are more stationary and may even be terrestrial, such as scorpions. These bats are listening for insects that are on low beaches of shrubs or rocks and many of these species are desert or grassland residents. The Pallid Bat that is found in the Southwestern regions of the US is a good example and one of their favorite foods is scorpions.

What else do Microchiroptera eat? We have a wide variety of food for these bats. Some are nectar eaters and hover like nighttime hummingbirds fishing nectar and pollen out of night blooming plants such as Saguaro Cactus and agave plants. Those of you out there that love tequila can thank these guys for your alcoholic beverages. Bats are then that pollinate the agave used to make tequila. Micro bats also eat other mammals. The False Vampire bat hunts small rodents. Some Microchiroptera specialize in amphibians, hunting frogs using their breeding calls. There are also fishing bats. They swoop down and skim the water dragging their large hooked claws just below the surface catching fish that are eating insect larvae. Three species of bats found in South America do eat blood. These are the true vampire bats, two specialize in avian blood, while one focuses on mammalian blood. Some bats eat other bats. As you can see Microchiroptera eat almost everything that the planet has to offer. This is one of my most favorite things about these animals.

How do Microchiroptera and Megachiroptera differ? All bats have the same basic anatomy. So they all have a head, body, feet, and wings. They have the taut skin that is stretched across the wing bones called the patagium. The one bone in the wing that our smaller bats do not have is the thumb-like hook that protrudes far out on the Megachiroptera wings. Microchiroptera have a small nail that does grows on that small bone, but it does not stick out as far as the Megachiroptera.

Another difference is in the patagium found between the legs of the smaller bats. Family Pteropodidae, our Mega bats, do not typically have a patagium between the legs, where are most micro bats will have some sort of patagium there. They can differ in style. Some will have a long tail that sticks out past the patagium, while others will have tails that end at the same length as the patagium. This skin can be used for quick changes in flight, that’s helpful when you’re chasing a small flying insect that can switch direction on a dime, and can be used as a scoop to grab an insect like a net and toss it to your mouth. I mean, how useful is that!

What time are Microchiroptera active? As far as we know, all micro bats are nocturnal. We are still discovering new species and animals are constantly evolving new behaviors to best survive in an ever changing world, but current knowledge stats that microbats are nocturnal. They are only out and about at night. Depending on species, that can be just before dusk and last only half an our, or come out after midnight and hunt until dawn.

They can be found in large colonies such as Brazilian Free-tailed bats that will roost in groups that can number in the millions, or they may roost with a few other individuals such as tent-making bats in South America, or as solitary loners like the Red bats of North America. Each species has evolved this behavior to optimize their chances at survival. Males and females may not always be found together either. Unlike Flying Foxes that tend to stay together though the year, micro bat sexes may live separate lives during different portions of the year. For example the Tri-colored Bat that I studied, roost together in their hibernaculum in the winter, makes it easier to breed, we’ll talk more about that in our Reproduction episode, but they separate in the warmer months of the years with the females roosting together in nursery colonies while the males roost with each other elsewhere.

The smallest microchiroptera, and possibly the smallest mammal on earth, is the Bumblebee Bat, also known as Kitti’s Hog-nosed bat. This little guy weighs in a just 2 grams and 29-33 mm in length. That’s similar in size to a large bumblebee, hence their common name. They are found in western Thailand and southeast Burma. They are cave dwellers and can be found in colonies numbering 100 individuals. We believe that Bumblebees Bats are gleaners, based on the contents found in their stomach which consists of spiders and other insects. Their wings are also shaped to produce a hovering motion.

One of the largest Microchiroptera is the Ghost Bat of Australia. They have a head and body length of 10 - 13 cm and a forearm length of 10 -11cm. They weigh in at 130g to 170g which is about 65 Bumblebee bats. The Ghost Bat is a carnivorous bat that hunts large insects, frogs, birds, lizards, and small mammals. They generally roost in caves, old mines, or deep cracks in rocks. They are found all over Australia but mainly in the northern regions.

Once again, I could go on and on about these amazing animals, but I will end this episode here. This has been a pretty decent summary of my third favorite thing about bats, Microchiroptera.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about bats.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Join Kiersten as she talk about the largest bats in the world, the Megachiroptera. Don’t worry it’s not scary at all!

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

https://www.ecologyasia.com

https://batcon.org

“Bats in Question: A Smithsonian Answer Book,” by Don E. Wilson

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The second thing I like about bats is Megachiroptera. If you remember from the last episode, which I’m sure you do, Megachiroptera refers to the Old World bats found in Asia, Africa, Australia, and some Pacific Islands. These are the larger bat species and in this episode we’re going to take a closer look at them.

You may know Megachiroptera by their more commonly used name, Flying Foxes. They get the name from the fact that their faces look a lot like foxes. You may also hear these bats referred to as the Old World Fruit bats or megabats, There is only one Family under Suborder Megachiroptera and that is Family Pteropodidae. There are approximately 170 species of megabats but keep in mind we are always discovering new species of animals and scientists are always rearranging classifications based on new information.

Where are Megachiroptera found? They can be found in Asia, Africa, Australia, and on a few islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is often said that they are Old World species only. That refers to the fact that they are not found in the Americas. No Megachiroptera are found in North, Central, or South America. Since I live in North America that make me a little sad because megabats are freaking awesome!

What kinds of habitats are these bats found in? That is often dictated by what they eat and most Megachiroptera are frugivores. So, they will be found where fruits are very plentiful. This places the bats in forested habitats that have large fruit bearing trees for our bigger species and medium size fruits for our smaller species. Forests seems to be the typical choice of most Megachiroptera because it offers the most variable fruit.

So what do they eat? We just answered this question. Most Megachiroptera eat fruit. Fruit makes up the majority of their diet, but an occasional flower or leaf might get thrown in the mix. It’s very interesting to watch fruit bats eat because they don’t actually eat the pulp of the fruit. They bite into the fruit and chew it into a pulpy mess letting the juices of the fruit flow down their throat as the more fibrous portions of the fruit fall out the sides of their mouth.

I did a two-week internship at the Lubee Foundation in Gainesville, FL some time ago and got to see this up close and personal. I was all prepared to watch these bats tear into the pieces of fruit and leave nothing behind, but that is not what happened. We were cleaning chewed up fruits off the floor by the shovelful. It was kinda gross, but it did not take away from the majesty of these animals.

What kind of fruits are we talking about? A lot of the same things that we eat. In the wild they will eat bananas, mango, papaya, figs, various berries, and citrus fruits. In captivity they get a lot of the same fruits with some different kinds of melons thrown in, as well. The fact that these bats eat the same kinds of fruits that we like is what gets them into trouble with fruit growers, but these bats are looking for the overripe fruit and tend to leave the ripe fruit or slightly underripe fruit that growers pick to sell alone. These bats actually do the fruit growers a favor by getting rid of the overripe fruit that attracts destructive insects and the bats help spread seeds to propagate more fruit plants.

Are fruit bats and flying foxes the same kind of bat? Yes and no. The term Flying Foxes typically refers to the Pteropus genus. These bats are the ones that have the long muzzle, the tiny little ears, the round heads, large teeth, and look a lot like foxes. These bats are fruit bats, but there are other species of bats that are also fruit bats but are not Pteropus bats.

One of the questions people ask about Flying Foxes in particular, is why they have such large, scary teeth? They use those large, scary teeth to rip into the tough skin of the fruit they eat. Hav you ever tried to bite into a mango, or papaya or banana with just your teeth? It’s tough. Since they don’t have opposable thumbs, they use their teeth.

Megachiroptera tend to hang out in large groups and roosts during the day in trees. They will hang from their short back legs using the large curved claws that are used only for roosting. You can see them hanging in the tallest trees like Christmas ornaments. Like their smaller cousins, they do tend to be more active at night, but you can see them flying at dawn and dusk. This makes them a bit more crepuscular than nocturnal, but they can still be moving around at night.

Unlike their smaller cousins, they don’t seem to use echolocation much, if at all. It does make sense that they might not use this because their prey items are fruit. The fruit typically doesn’t fly around at night trying to avoid being eaten by a bat. Scientists are still trying to determine if some species of Megachiroptera use echolocation, possibly in a different way than insect eating Microchiroptera.

Fruit bats do have better vision than their smaller, insect eating cousins because they rely on that to find their food. Most flying foxes actually have color-vision to help them find their fruit and determine whether it is ripe enough for them to eat. When they get close enough to the chosen item, they will also use their sense of smell to make sure this is just what they want.

Now both Mega and Micro bats have essentially the same anatomy, with one striking difference. Megachiroptera have a large hook that protrudes from the top of the wing that looks an awful lot like a thumb with a claw at the end. They use this to help grasp fruit and use as a way to grasp onto branches when they need to hold on with their wings for various reasons.

The largest species of Megachirotera comes from southeastern Asia. It is found only on the islands of the Philippines. The Golden-crowned Flying Fox has a wingspan over five feet long and is the heaviest bat weighing in at 3 pounds. It gets it’s name from the yellow colored fur that adorns it head and is also known as the Golden-capped Fruit Bat.

The smallest species of megabat is the Spotted-winged Fruit Bat that is found in southern Thailand through Peninsular Malaysia to the Riau Archipelago and parts of Borneo. They weigh in at 15 grams and are only 5-6cm from head to toe. They get their name from the pale spots on the wings, fingers joints, face, and base of the ear. They are fruit eaters and are most often found in lowland primary rainforest or tall secondary forests. As you can see there is quite a wide range of species in the Megachiroptera.

Now I could go on, but I have used up my time. Thanks for joining me for my second favorite thing about bats, the Megachiroptera.

Join me next week for another exciting episode about bats.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: To this day, bats have been one of the most misunderstood animals. Join Kiersten as she reveals what bats are and begins a new series about these amazing creatures.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Bats in Question: A Smithsonian Answer Book,” by Don E. Wilson

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This series is near and dear to my heart. We will be delving into the world of bats. To this day, this species of animal remains one of the most misunderstood in the animal kingdom. Despite all of the PR efforts of researchers, naturalists, and photographers, humans still cannot look past some of the myths about bats. But we will start off with the firstling I like about bats, what they are.

As I mention in the opening of each series, I earned my Master’s of Science studying the breeding behavior of the tri-colored bat. This is a small species of insectivorous bat native to eastern North America. I studied them in the state of Georgia. I was already enamored of bats before I undertook this research, but working up close with these tiny creatures solidified my love of them and expanded my respect for them as a species, so this series of Ten Things I Like About….is all about the misunderstood bat.

Let’s start at the beginning. What is a bat? Loyal listeners, you know where this is going. We are going to start off with some taxonomy.

Bats are classified under Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Cordata, Subphylum Vertebrata, Class Mammalia, Order Chiroptera, Suborder Megachiroptera, Family Pteropodidae, Suborder Microchiroptera, and under Microchiroptera there are many more families.

What does all this classification tell? Kingdom Animalia means bats are animals as opposed to plants or invertebrates. Phylum Chordata puts them in a group of living beings with a central flexible rod supporting their dorsal side or back. Subphylum Vertebrata means they have an internal skeleton that supports their body. Class Mammalia puts them in the same class as us. Bats are mammals which means they have hair on their bodies, they give live birth, and they nurse their young with milk. Order Chiroptera is the order specific to all bats and Chiroptera is Latin for hand-wing. There are two suborders for bats, Suborder Megachiroptera is the group of larger bats (mega kind of gives that away) and Family Pteropodidae refers to the Old World bats that are found in Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Family Pteropodidae contains around 45 genera and approximately 200 species of fruit-eating bats.

The second Suborder of bats is Microchiroptera which includes the smaller bats (hence micro) and the over 900 species of bats classified as Microchiroptera that are found all over the world.

Now we know that bats are mammals, let’s take a look at Chiroptera. Why was this word used in association with bats? If you break it down, chiro means hand and pteron means wing, giving us hand-wing. Those of you that are not driving while listening to this episode, take a moment and search for bat anatomy on the internet or in book, yes books still exist. Take a good look. Does the pattern seem familiar? Take a look at your own hand. Do you see it? That’s correct. Bats have the same bones in their wing that we have in our hand, leading us back to Chiroptera or ‘hand-wing’. This is actually one of my favorite classifications in Class Mammalia. It makes a great talking point and links bats directly to humans which goes a long way to dispelling some of the fear people have of bats.

A future episode will be dedicated to discussing and debunking the myths and fears surrounding bats, but I will say that 99% of those fears are misconceptions.

Including the one that says bats are flying rats. Bats are not rats with wings and the classification proves that. Bats and rats are included in the same Class Mammalia but they diverge, which means they separate, at Order. Rats are classified in Order Rodentia. All rodents are in a separate order from bats and as scientific processes for collecting data have advanced over the years, each test, including DNA, reenforces the fact that bats and rats are not related outside of them both being vertebrate mammals.

Bats range in size from the thumb-size Bumblebee Bat to the six-foot wings span Malaysian Flying Fox, but they all have one thing in common. You all know what that is, wings.

Every species of bat, that we currently know about, has wings. A thin membrane of skin called a patagium stretches between the bones of the wing creating a surface area that allows bats to fly. Bat are the only mammals with true flight. But what about flying squirrels, right? Flying squirrels also have a patagium that stretches from the wrist to the ankle, but they are only able to glide. They leap from a height, snap open the patagium, and glide down.

Bats can use their wings to propel themselves, just like birds. This is true flight. Bats do have to fall from a height so they can catch air in their wings before they begin to flap, but it doesn’t have to be too high. Bats such as Pallid Bats, that are gleaners focus on catching insects near the ground and occasionally find themselves on the ground while hunting. They can scramble to a rock or low shrub and get high enough to catch some air with at least one wing flap, and they are off.

There is one type of bat that can takeoff from the ground and that is Vampire bats. Since they are adapted to finding food on the ground, their anatomy has developed to allow them to make a small jump and catch the air from the ground.

Bat anatomy has changed very little from the Eocene epoch which is about 60 million years ago. The oldest fossils found are some of the best persevered and most complete. Fossil have been found in Germany and North America and they show fully formed bats. It doesn’t tell us much about the divergence of bats but is does tell us that the anatomy of bats has changed very little from their first appearance in the fossil record. When that happens it means that animal is so well adapted to its niche in the ecosystem that they haven’t needed to change. To me it means that bats are perfect.

So now you know that bats are mammals, that they are not rats, that they are the only mammals capable of true flight, and you know the super cool meaning behind their scientific classification of Chiroptera. This is just my first favorite thing about these amazingly cool, misunderstood animals.

Join me next we for another exciting episode of bats.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Episode 94: Nepenthes: Conservation

Summary: How are Nepenthes doing in the wild? Can we help them if the need help? Join Kiersten as she answers these questions and more about Nepenthes conservation.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Nepenthes Conservation: Preserving Earth’s Carnivorous Marvels,” Singapore Carnivorous Plant Society. https://sgcarnivorousplantsociety.medium.com

Nepenthes Species. IUCN Red List, https://www.iucnredlist.org

“I’ll Have Flies with That,” by Kali Shiloh. Stanford Magazine, September 2022. https://stanfordmag.org This article also highlights some responsible carnivorous plants growers.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Once again we find ourselves at the bittersweet final episode of a series. It’s always exciting to finish a topic but sad to say goodbye to my chosen topic. The final episode of Nepenthes is the fifth thing I like about them and that is conservation.

Just like Rafflesia, the biggest obstacle to the survival of all wild growing Nepenthes is habitat loss. Once again we can blame ourselves for this as vast tracts of rainforest are cleared for agriculture, logging, and urban development. Unlike Rafflesia that cannot be collected from the wild because of its unique life cycle, Nepenthes can be collected from the wild. Collecting various species of Nepenthes has become big business and the race to possess the most unique and hard to obtain species has created a market for illegally harvested plants.

Changing weather patterns is also impacting the future survival prospects of many Nepenthes species. Some habitats are receiving less rainfall causing many species of Nepenthes to struggle for survival. Their habitats are changing so quickly the plants cannot adapt fast enough.

And something that the entire world is battling that is also impacting Nepenthes, invasive species. Humans, whether knowingly or unknowingly, have spread both plants and animal species all around the globe. When these non-native species are introduced to other habitats, chaos ensues. Nepenthes plants are battling both invasive plants and animals that are either stealing the resources they need or damaging their habitats.

How can we help wild Nepenthes? By doing many of the same things we are doing for Rafflesia. We need to establish protected areas and reserves that include Nepenthes habitats. This action has the added bonus of helping any other plants, animals, and insects that also live in these habitats, as well as securing natural spaces that positively impact human health.

We can also enforce and strengthen legal protections already in place for Nepenthes species. Unlike Rafflesia, there are 123 species of Nepenthes listed on the IUCN’s Red List. The Red List is a catalog of species that have been studied enough to determine a population count and trending patterns of that population number. Many of the Nepenthes species listed are Least Concern which means that their population numbers are healthy and stable or increasing, but 45 of these species are categorized as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered. The important thing about being listed by the IUCN is that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species can pass measures to help regulate international trade in the listed species.

Continued research of Nepenthes species in the wild is an important step to successful conservation. If we know where and what these plants need to survive, we can expand preserves and bolster laws protecting them. This also provides information that can be utilized to successfully propagate Nepenthes in captivity. Some of the critically endangered species may only be saved by propagating them in greenhouses and botanical gardens.

And the last thing we all can do to help is educate everyone about these wicked cool plants! Letting people know about these amazing living beings is the number one best way to ensure their survival into the future. Tell your friends, family, and strangers in the grocery store line about these unbelievable unknown plants. Feel free to give a little shout out for my Ten Things I Like About…podcast while you’re at it!

Let’s talk a little bit about the hobbyists that are propagating Nepenthes in captivity. Collecting Nepenthes out of the wild one of the activities that is cause for concern, but not all hobbyists are part of the darker side of collecting Nepenthes. Many, probably most, are people that follow all the rules and regulations established to protect the plant in the wild. Some are even involved in propagating critically endangered species.

There is a market for Nepenthes outside of scientific study and conservation and this is where I fell down a rabbit hole of unbelievable prices. If you do a search for Nepenthes on the internet the first sites that pop up are online shopping sites. You can buy hundreds of different species ranging in price from $10 to $1900. The most expensive Nepenthes species ever sold is Nepenthes veitchii that sold for $3500 in 2020 earning a spot in the Guinness Book of World records for the most expensive carnivorous plant on the planet.

If you are interested in delving into this interesting but addictive world, you can find several online sites to purchase any number of Nepenthes species. But do your research and make sure these sites offer lab grown Nepenthes so you are not supporting illegal collection for the wild. The lab grown species will also have a better chance of survival in captivity since they are already used to that environment.

You can also join many Carnivorous Plant Societies from all over the world. Many of these organizations have seed banks that store varies species or carnivorous plants including Nepenthes. They will sell seeds to those interested in trying their hand at growing from seed and offer advice and support along your journey. Most of these organizations are also great places to find information on new scientific discovers. Many of them improve captive cultivation techniques and are happy to share with the public and research facilities simply because they love their plants.

That is all for this episode of Nepenthes. I am glad you joined my for my fifth favorite thing about this carnivorous plant, conservation.

Reporting on Nepenthes and Rafflesia has been a fun ride for me and I hope you all enjoyed it, as well. Join me in two weeks for the beginning of a new series about a misunderstood or unknown animal.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Do plants eat meat? Yes they do! Join Kiersten as she discusses the diet of Nepenthes which includes more than just meat.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Caught in a Trap,” The Biologist 62(2) p12-14.

“Nepenthes lowii: the carnivorous plant that evolved into a toilet,” by Paul Simons. The Guardian, April 2023. https://www.theguardian.com

“Bats Are Acoustically Attracted to Mutualistic Carnivorous Plants,” by Michael G. Schoner, Caroline R Schoner, Ralph Simon, T. Ulmar Grafe, Sebastian J. Puechmaille, Liaw Lin Ji, Gerald Kerth. Current Biology, Volume 25, Issue 14, 20 July 2015, Pgs 1911-1916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.05.054

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The fourth thing I like about Nepenthes is its diet. These are not your typical plants. Sunlight is not the only thing on the menu.

I have spoken of a portion of the diet in the previous episodes, so we all know that Nepenthes eats meat. But before we jump into that portion of their diet let’s look at the other half of their diet. It’s this half that led to the need for the meat eating side of Nepenthes nutrition.

Nepenthes is like other plants that use photosynthesis to grow. I don’t know about all of you listeners, but it has been a minute since 6th grade science class, so here is a refresher on how photosynthesis works.

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create sugars that they can utilize to survive. Plants take in carbon dioxide through small holes in the leaves, stems, flowers, and other parts of the plant. They will combine that with water, usually absorbed through the roots, and sunlight. The sunlight is the energy that helps the plant combine the carbon dioxide and the water together to create glucose which they use as food to grow big and strong.

If they only need those three things, what’s up with the soil? Soil offers plants minerals that they need to boost their health and growth. Plants can live without it but to reproduce successfully they need an extra kick. The need for this extra kick is why Nepenthes evolved to eat meat.

Most Nepenthes species grow in nutrient poor soil or no soil at all. So they evolved to get the extra minerals they need from another source.

How do you catch prey if you don’t have teeth or claws and you are rooted in place? Well, you bring the prey to you! Nepenthes developed pitcher traps to attract and catch prey without having to use teeth and claws or roam about searching for prey. The pitcher develops from tendrils that grow as the plant matures. Tendrils will emerge from the midline of leaves and as it matures the tip of the tendril will begin to inflate with air. Once it has inflated to the desired size, which depends on the species and whether it is a lower pitcher or an aerial pitcher, it will fill with liquid. The top of the pitcher will pop open when the pitcher is ready for use.

The pitchers of Nepenthes are classified as pitfall traps. This means that they are relying on insects falling into the pitcher and getting stuck inside. A pitfall trap is a trap that something falls into and cannot climb the walls to get out. So, how does this work for the Nepenthes pitcher?

The pitcher will attract insects with the scent of pollen. Insects will investigate the trap searching for the source of the smell. There is no pollen to be found inside the pitcher so the insects will turn to leave and discover that they cannot. As they try to climb out, the waxy lining of the pitcher will flake away leaving the insect struggling to get out. But no upward motion is possible and the prey item eventually falls into the liquid at the bottom of the pitcher.

The liquid is mainly water until prey falls in and sloshes the water around as it attempts to get out. The vibrations created by the struggle stimulate digestive glands which release a digestive acid. The acid is so strong that an insect the size of a midge will disappear completely within hours. Nepenthes rajah, one of the largest Nepenthes species, can digest mice!

What are they getting from these digested insects and mammals? Nitrogen and phosphorus which are vital minerals for the healthy growth of the plant. Those of you that are gardeners probably recognize those elements as being important to plant survival. If you supplement your gardens with fertilizer the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus are extremely important.

Let’s take a closer look at a specific Nepenthes species’s hunting strategy. Nepenthes rafflesiana produces two different pitchers, upper and lower, like many pitches plants do. The uppers pitchers specialize in attracting flying insects while the lower pitchers focus on terrestrial insects.

The upper pitchers are narrow and release fragrant compounds that mimic the scent of flowers. This attracts a wide range of rainforest pollinators that mistake the scent for a good snack. They will enter the pitcher in search of the source of the aroma and come in contact with sticky polysaccharides that coat the wings rendering them useless. The insects can’t fly out and fall into the liquid to be digested.

The lower pitchers of Nepenthes rafflesiana use a lining of wax crystals to trap terrestrial insects. It attracts mainly ants. When the ants enter the pitcher the wax crystals attach to the ant’s feet preventing them from climbing out of the pitcher. It clings to the feet causing them to slip along the surface of the pitcher leading them to the liquid death below.

Some Nepenthes are generalists and are happy to take whatever they can get in their traps, but remember competition for pollinators is fierce so some spices have become specialists. Nepenthes albomarginata has a band of white hairs just below the rim of its pitchers. These hairs are bait for termites. And this Nepenthes sure knows how to do it right. It can catch 20 termites per minute during a frenzied feast.

Okay, now we’re going to talk about what inspired me to report on Nepenthes for my podcast. Remember in the first episode when I said these plants fed on something unusual that gives a whole new twist on the term “potty mouth”? Well, here we go!

Nepenthes rajah can digest mice and rats, but that’s not what it’s really shooting for when it attracts these animals. What is really wants is the rodents poop. Yep, that’s right it wants the rodent to use its pitcher as a potty. The feces of these animals is high in nitrogen and much easier to digest than the body of an insect or mammal.

Nepenthes lowii was the species that caught my eye when I was researching unusual plants. This plant has large pitchers that have evolved to attract mountain tree shrews that slip into the pitcher to lick a fatty substance that oozes from the lip of the pitcher. The shrew balance on the edge of the pitcher and as they eat they leave behind a deposit. There is some speculation that the substance emitted by the pitcher my have a laxative component that ensures the animal leaves behind a deposit before the depart.

Nepenthes hemsleyana attracts a specific animal to roost in its pitchers so it can collect poo all day long. The lid of this plant’s pitcher is shaped specifically to reflect bat echolocation frequencies. Bats such as Hardwicke’s Wooly Bat use echolocation to find acceptable day roosts. They search for the right reflection from a plant structure to indicate an acceptable daytime roost. Nepenthes hemsleyana had evolved to reflect the correct frequency luring the bat in to roost throughout the day. The bat will poop as they sleep the day away and the plant will catch it in the pitcher. Talk about a Bed and Breakfast!

Can you believe it! This plant is so amazing!! I can go on about Nepenthes diets, but I’ve run over time already. I’m so glad you joined me for this episode of Nepenthes because my fourth favorite thing, honestly my most favorite thing, about them is their diet.

Join me next week for another episode about Nepenthes.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How do Nepenthes become big strong plants? Join Kiersten as she walks through the stages of Nepenthes life cycle.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Nepenthes. Wikipedia (This page is well referenced).

”Pitcher Plant: Tropical Pitcher Plants-Nepenthes sp.” The North Creek Wetland, https://www.uwb.edu

Tropical Pitcher Plant-Nepenthes. Carnivorous Plant Resource. https://www.carnivorousplantresourcs.com

Nepenthes Phylogeny, International Carnivorous Plant Society. https://www.carnivorousplants.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The eighth episode of Unbelievable Unknown Plants is also the third episode of Nepenthes and the third thing I like about this supercool plant is its life cycle.

Now, I’m sure you remember the unusual life cycle of Rafflesia from previous episodes, boy that was a fun episode. Nepenthes is not quite as unusual, but it it still exciting. No laughing, this really is exciting.

It all starts with a meet-cute. A male Nepenthes meets a female Nepenthes, they fall in love, get married, have babies, and live happily ever after. No not really, but Nepenthes are dioecious which means individual plants are either male or female. Mature plants do start off as seeds, unlike Rafflesia they do not rely on a host plant to harbor them until they are ready to bloom. Nepenthes are more like traditional plants that rely on seeds germinating in soil to grow.

They cannot pollinate themselves, so how do they create seeds? They must rely on a pollinator to get the whole reproduction thing started. Once the plant has matured, flowers will bloom. Both sexes produce flowers. Male’s flowers will produce pollen, while the female’s flowers will have carpels, the reproductive structure. The flowers will grow on a long spike. Several flowers will grow on one spike. The flower spikes are completely different structures from the pitchers that these plants are so well known for.

Pollen needs to get inside the carpel for the reproductive cycle to begin. Nepenthes rely on insects to do the pollinating, but as we discussed with Rafflesia the competition for insect pollinators is fierce, so Nepenthes has targeted non-typical insects to do their bidding. They give off a not-so-sweet smell to attract insects such as blow flies, midges, male mosquitos, and wasps; while also attracting more typical pollinators such as moths and butterflies.

Before you start scratching your head and wondering how the insects survive a visit to a pitcher plant that eats insects, remember the flowers and the pitchers are two different parts of the Nepenthes plant. The pollinators are not attracted to the pitcher trap they are only attracted to the flowers, so they are safe to drink from the flowers and pick up and deposit pollen without getting eaten.

Once the female flowers have been pollinated, a four-sided capsule will develop. Inside this capsule is 50 to 500 seeds. The seeds are light in weight with an embryo in the middle and two wings, one on each side. The seeds are distributed by the wind, so the low weight and wings help the seeds travel further away. Hopefully those seeds will settle in appropriate soil to begin the reproductive process all over again.

When they do, the seeds will sprout developing a shallow root system and a climbing stem that can reach several meters long. Along the stems alternate leaves will sprout. These leaves will become the pitchers. A tendril will extend past the end of the leaf at the midrib. This tendril will swell and droop eventually becoming the pitcher.

Most Nepenthes produce two types of pitchers, “lower pitchers” that grow near the ground and “upper pitchers” that grow higher on the plants. The lower pitchers are usually larger and may actually sit on the ground. The upper pitchers also called aerial pitchers are usually smaller and may be a differ color than the lower pitchers. These two types of pitchers can posses different features meaning one plant may have two different types of pitchers. The upper pitchers generally develop as the plant matures and will often create loops in the vine so the plant can hold onto something to help stabilize it.

This is an incredibly cool adaptation, I mean mind-blowingly cool, but it can make identifying species difficult.

As the pitchers are growing they are developing a hatch on the top of the pitcher. When the pitcher is ready to attract and trap prey, the top pops open and the pitcher will emanate a scent that attracts targeted prey items. The two different types of pitchers that one plant produces often attract different types of prey. That is genius!

I guess the last question about the life cycle of Nepenthes is how long do they live? We don’t have a perfect answer for this yet, but it appears that they can live indefinitely. If they have the right habitat, food resources, and water, they can live forever. That doesn't mean that every Nepenthes plant will live forever. In the wild, they are battling habitat loss, food depletion, broad spectrum herbicide use, and poaching which all impacts their potential life span.

It also doesn’t mean if you run out and buy one from the store that it will live forever. I know the ones that I brought into my house lasted maybe a year, but I was a novice at caring for them and bought them on a whim. People more knowledgeable than I can encourage them to live a long an healthy life in a home but you have to put some blood, sweat, and tears into it.

Thanks for joining me for the third episode of Nepenthes because my third favorite thing about them is their life cycle.

If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform you’re listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.

Join me next week for another episode about Nepenthes.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How many species of Nepenthes are there and where are they found? Join Kiersten as she takes you on a trip to discover the Nepenthes species.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Nepenthes. Wikipedia (This page is well referenced).

“Caught in a Trap,” The Biologist 62(2) p12-14.

Tropical Pitcher Plant-Nepenthes. Carnivorous Plant Resource. https://www.carnivorousplantresourcs.com

Nepenthes Phylogeny, International Carnivorous Plant Society. https://www.carnivorousplants.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The second episode of Nepenthes is all about species and where they are found. They do prefer areas similar to Rafflesia but they are more widespread.

Let’s start from the beginning with the classification of Nepenthes. We have talked about scientific classification before but as a quick refresher this classification method is used to help determine the number of species within a group of living things. It helps scientists and researchers determine who is related to whom. It is constantly evolving as classification methods are continually changing. It began with visual similarities between living creatures, then behaviors were incorporated, and with the advent of DNA testing classification has jumped forward and some things have been turned on its ear.

Classification for Nepenthes is a follows:

Kingdom - Planta (Plants)

Subkingdom - Tracheobionta (Vascular Plants)

Superdivision - Spematophyta (Seed Plants)

Division - Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)

Class - Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons)

Subclass - Dilleniidae

Order - Nepenthales

Family - Nepenthaceae

Genus - Nepenthes

Species names will follow genus.

So how many species of Nepenthes are there? To tell you the truth, I’m not totally sure. My research for this episode lead me to sources that said 30 to 35, 140, and as many as 170. The International Carnivore Plant Society says Nepenthes species numbers are in excess of 100. I think we’ll go with that number because it gives a bit of wiggle room. I’m inclined to believe this site because they get crazy scientific when discussing the origins of modern day Nepenthes.

One of the most interesting things I could decipher from this blog is that the modern day Nepenthes genus has no close relatives. So when digging into the evolutionary history of this genus, there are no transitional species that can lead us back to an ancestral beginning. Maybe these wicked cool pitcher plants are so perfect they’ve never evolved from their original template.

Let’s take a closer look at a few Nepenthes species. One of the largest species of Nepenthes is Nepenthes rajah that grows pitchers large enough to hold 3.5 liters or 1 US gallon of liquid. That’s a pretty big pitcher plant. Nepenthes rajah traps are large enough to drown rats. They are known as the “king of the pitcher plants”. As an aside Nepenthes rajah is also the largest carnivorous plant in the world.

Nepenthes argentii is considered to be the smallest species of pitcher plants with a pitcher opening of 2-4 millimeters and a pitcher size of 30 cm. That’s a pretty tiny pitcher plant.

The rarest species of known Nepenthes is Nepenthes clipeata. Only 15 individual plants were known to exist in the wild in 1997. It’s found only on the granite cliff faces of Mount Kelam in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It may very well be extinct today.

Nepenthes mirabilis is the most widely distributed species of Nepenthes. It is found in Indochina throughout the Malay Archipelago, it is found in China and also Australia. This species varies greatly in color throughout its vast range.

So where are these plants found in the wild? They are mainly found in the Old World Tropics, ranging from South China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. There are two species found in Madagascar and one species found in the Seychelles. Nepenthes are also found in Australia and New Caledonia. India and Sri Lanka also host a few Nepenthes species. The greatest diversity of Nepenthes are found in Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines.

What kind of habitats do Nepenthes favor? Like Rafflesia, many pitcher plants of this species are found in hot, humid lowland rainforests but some are found in other habitats. Many are tropical montane plants found on the side of mountains where they experience warm days and cool to cold, humid nights. Some are tropical alpine species that grow in areas that have cool days and near freezing nights.

The majority of species are restricted to small ranges within these different habitats. Some of them may only be found on one mountain and no where else, like Nepenthes clipeata.

Nepenthes species are often classified as lowland species or highland species based on the altitudes at which they grow. Those that grow below 1200 meters or 3900 feet above sea level are considered lowland and thrive with warmer climates that vary little temperature-wise from day to night. Highland species that grow above 1200 meters prefer warm days that bleed into much cooler nights. Nepenthes lamii grows at the highest altitude of any other Nepenthes species, 3520 meters or 11,500 feet above sea level.

Most Nepenthes species tend to be found in environments with high humidity, a lot of precipitation, and moderate to high light levels. Some species have evolved to thrive in dense, shaded forests. Many species do well on the margins of tree and shrub communities or clearings. Some species such as Nepenthes mirabilis have been seen growing in clear-cut forest areas, roadsides, and disturbed fields. There are even species that have adapted to grow in savanna-like grass habitats.

These amazing plants tend to grow in acidic soils that boast little nutrients and often contain peat, white sand, sandstone, or volcanic soils. Some species can grow in soils with high heavy metal content, such as Nepenthes rajah, some can grow on sandy beaches in the sea spray zone such as Nepenthes albomarginata. Soil isn’t always necessary for pitcher plants to grow as some have evolved into lithophytes that can grow in or on rocks while others are epiphytes that grow on other plants, like trees.

We’ve taken quite a ride in the second epidote of Nepenthes and my second favorite thing about them, is where they are found.

Join me next week for another episode about Nepenthes.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Our next unbelievable unknown plant eats something quite unusual. Join Kiersten as she unravels the amazing life of Nepenthes.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Nepenthes, Britannica Online: https://www.britannica.com

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

In episode six of Unbelievable Unknown Plants were are introducing the first episode of or second plant. Like Rafflesia, we will be talking about several species of plants collectively called Nepenthes. The first thing I like about Nepenthes is the amazing plant itself.

Let’s talk about the family in general before we pinpoint a few very interesting species that we will highlight in following episodes.

If you have gone into the garden department of a home improvement store or a Wal-Mart at anytime in your life you may be familiar with Nepenthes. It is also known as monkey cup and tropical pitcher plant. Sound familiar? Unlike Rafflesia, humans have figured out how to cultivate some species of Nepenthes and with the correct set up, it can be pretty easy. So they have been mass produced for sale. I have to admit I have had a few in my lifetime. We will go more in-depth with this topic in a future episode. I suspect this will be a rabbit hole of addictive behavior. As I did my research on this plan t I came across several websites dedicated to the sale and care of Nepenthes. Some of these plants sell for over $1000 US dollars. Who-boy! I cant’s wait for that episode!

There are 140 known species of Nepenthes and, in the wild, they are mainly found in Madagascar, Southeast Asia, and Australia. What is it that makes these pitcher plants so unbelievable? They eat meat! Yes, that’s right, these are carnivorous plants. Every species of Nepenthes that we currently know of is classified as a carnivorous plant that captures insects or other prey by luring the targeted prey to them through scent. The shape of the pitcher makes it difficult if not impossible for the prey to escape once it has ventured inside where the sweet scent they want has led them.

I’ve always found it interesting that a plant eats meat. I mean everything has to survive and Nature is amazing, but it does seem a bit oxymoronic that a plant eats meat. On the other hand maybe it’s karmic. Insects and mammals eat plants so why not evolve a plant that eats insects and mammals.

Some have taken it a step farther int their pursuit of nutrient and have evolved to utilize a very special diet. They are still dependent on mammals for this nutrient but they aren’t eating the animal itself. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I will say they give the term “potty mouth” a whole new twist.

Pitcher plants are perennial, which means the same plant regrows every year. Many grow in very acidic soil and some are epiphytes. An epiphyte is a plan t that grows on another plant for support purposes only. Epiphytes have no attachment to the ground or obvious nutrient source. They are not parasitic to the host plant causing no harm to the structure upon which they are growing.

It’s no wonder that Nepenthes has evolved to utilize an alternative source of nutrients if they grow in an acidic soil, which typically offers little in the way of usable nutrients, or no soil at all.

Nepenthes vary in size. Some are the perfect fit to attract a tiny fruit fly while others are so large they can attract and digest rats. You heard that correctly, I said rats. That is one big pitcher plant!

Like Rafflesia, some species of Nepenthes are engendered in their native habitats, but unlike Rafflesia more than one of these species is listed as endangered by the IUCN which makes conservation of these species so much easier. We will take more about this is future episodes.

The first episode of Nepenthes is a bit shorter than my usual episodes but don’t worry the next four will be packed full of amazing facts about Nepenthes. Think of this one as an introduction to this amazing plant, a bit of a teaser, if you will. Thanks for listening to the sixth episode of Unbelievable Unknown Plants and I’m glad you joined me because my first favorite thing about Nepenthes is Nepenthes.

Join me next week for another episode about Nepenthes.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Is the stinkiest flower in the world in danger of disappearing forever? Join Kiersten as she discusses the conservation status of Rafflesia.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Most of the world’s largest flowers (genus Rafflesia) are now on the brink of extinction,” by Pastor Malabrigo Jr, Adriane B. Tobias, Joko Witono, Sofi Mursidawati, Agus Susatya, Mat Eunuch Siti-Munirah, Adhityo Wicaksono, Reza Raihandhany, Sarah Edwards, and Chris J. Thorogood. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10431

“Colossal Blossom: Pursuing the peculiar genetics of a parasitic plant,” by Jonathan Shaw. Harvard Magazine. https://www.harvardmagazine.com

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is episode five of Unbelievable Unknown Plants and the final episode of rafflesia. The fifth thing I like about rafflesia is awareness that conservation discussions are bringing to this unknown plant.

Awareness is always important for any conservation efforts. That is one of the main reasons I decided to do this podcast. Getting the word out is the best weapon in a conservationist’s tool belt for saving an imperiled species.

When it comes to rafflesia the conservation efforts is what really brought this flower into the public eye. The first paper I found when diving into the research on this lifeform was titled “Most of the world’s largest flowers (genus Rafflesia) are now on the brink of extinction.”

Despite the recent increased interest in Rafflesia, the flower as a species is in danger of extinction. When we say that we mean all species of Rafflesia not just one species. What makes Rafflesia so vulnerable to disappearing? If you’ve listened to the last four episode you might be able to piece it together yourself.

In the second episode in this series, I talked about where Rafflesia can be found. All species of Rafflesia are restricted to one area of the world. They are found on several islands within the southeast Asian region but they are only found in the Philippines, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and Peninsular Malaysia. They rely on the tropical rainforest areas of these islands, which restricts them to only a portion of the terrain.

The number one reason Rafflesia are endangered is habitat loss. The above mentioned paper predicts that 67% of known habitats for Rafflesia are not in a protected area. This means that these habitats are at risk from human encroachment for lumber, clear cutting for farming, and greed, in general.

Rafflesia are found only on Tetrastigma vines, as far as we currently know, and these are only found in rainforests of southeast Asia. If these vines are removed, we lose all species of Rafflesia.

Those of you that are loyal listeners may be saying, what about protections that come with IUCN listings of endangered species? That is a good point, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature only lists one Rafflesia species as Critically Endangered. In 2008 Rafflesia magnifica was listed as Critically Endangered with a population trend of decreasing.

Rafflesia magnifica is found only on Mindanao Island, Philippines. The habitat in which this particular flower is found is being destroyed for road construction and conversion of the rainforest into banana plantations.

Why are more species not listed by the IUCN? Even though researchers that published this paper urge the world to take action to list all Rafflesia as endangered, there are steps that must be taken to warrant this listing. The biggest obstacle is the lack of data determining the population numbers of Rafflesia. These flowers are hard to find as they bloom at random times and have no indication that they are about to bloom. It’s hard for scientists to find them, much less make an accurate count of them. Without this hard evidence, a listing by IUCN is impossible.

So scientists are doing the next best thing. They are bringing awareness of this plant to the world. Many international news companies have picked up this story and run with it. Smaller news outlets are highlighting this flower, and people like me are getting the name out there as well. The best way to save any species is to get the public interested. The more that they know the better.

What can we do? The scientists involved in the research of Rafflesia populations have proposed a four-point action plan.

We need greater protection of Rafflesia habitats which targets the populations at most risk. Southeast Asia has the fastest disappearing forests on the planet, and as we know this is the only place where Rafflesia are found.
We need a better understanding of the full diversity of Rafflesia that exists which will better inform decision-making. A big problem with current protections is that the species diversity of Rafflesia are still under debate. How many species actually are there of Rafflesia? Sampling expeditions and genetic testing must be a priority.
We need to develop methods to successfully propagate Rafflesia in captivity.
If we introduce new ecotourism initiatives to engage local communities in Rafflesia conservation, it can go a long way. When given alternatives to destructive farming to feed your family, locals get on board with protecting local wildlife.

Several of the countries that host Rafflesia are doing their best to protect these flowers through ecotourism initiatives, local laws, and research in National Parks. For example, local villagers in West Sumatra are benefiting from Rafflesia ecotourism by building social media platforms that announce blooming events to attract paying tourists, bring awareness to the Rafflesia, and carefully manage the risks of trampling the flowers due to unsupervised visitors.

Indonesia celebrates Rafflesia as one of its national flowers.

In Sarawak, Malaysia all Rafflesia are listed by the local government as “Total Protected Plants” under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance of 1998.

Let’s go bak to number three of the four-point action plan. Many species of wildlife, flora or fauna, have benefitted from our efforts to breed or propagate individuals in captivity, so why not do this with Rafflesia? I love your thought process, listeners! The problem with this is that Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that relies on a host plant for survival, it’s not like other flowers where we just collect some seeds and put them in the ground. Rafflesia seeds have to get into the Tertrastigma vine to germinate and we still don’t know how that happens.

No having said this, Bogor Botanic Garden in West Java, Indonesia has had some success in propagating Rafflesia. They have successfully bloomed Rafflesia patma 16 times. There are several botanical gardens around the world that are in line to learn the secrets discovered at Bogor Botanic Garden, so they too can help conserve this amazing plant.

Even with these efforts, most Rafflesia species are still at great risk of disappearing forever, but hopefully with more exposure we can help Rafflesia have a bright future.

This is the final episode of Raflessia but only the fifth in the Unbelievable Unknown Plants series and my fifth favorite thing about Rafflesia is the conservation effort being made to secure their future.

So join me next week for another episode about Unbelievable Unknown Plants.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Boy that sticks! Rafflesia are beautiful but stinky flowers. Join Kiersten as she explains why they smell so foul.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Colossal Blossom: Pursuing the peculiar genetics of a parasitic plant,” by Jonathan Shaw. Harvard Magazine. https://www.harvardmagazine.com

“What’s that smell? The putrid scent of Rafflesia consueloae, its origin and developmental regulation,” by Erika Marie A. Bascos, Edwina S. Fernando, Melizar V. Duya. Lilian Jennifer V. Rodriguez. Flora, Volume 318, September 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2024.152571

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The fourth episode of rafflesia is titled ‘What’s With That Smell?’, because the fourth thing I like about this amazing plant is the smell. Rafflesia arnoldii is known as the corpse lily. It’s not just a terrible nickname it earned on the school playground because of some strange mishap that it had no control over, no it actually smells like rotting meat. And it is absolutely on purpose.

Why would a flower want to smell like rotting meat? Well, smell emitted by any flower is typically aimed at a pollinator. The flower wants to attract an animal that is mobile that can help with reproduction. Mingling your pollen with another flower’s pollen is the way fertilization happens which results in fruit production that contains seeds which will produce new plants.

There are a lot of plants out there and many of them use flowers to reproduce, so competition to attract a pollinator is fierce. Rafflesia have adapted to attract an unlikely pollinator, the carrion fly. Carrion flies are not your typical pollinator they do not fly around looking for flowers with nectar and pollen to eat. They do fly around looking for dead animals upon which to lay their eggs. The females lay eggs on rotting meat so when the eggs hatch the larvae have something to eat. Yum!

Rafflesia are attracting these flies because no other flowers are doing so. It works well, for the flower, the flies, on the other hand, are wasting genetic material by laying eggs on something that smells like what they want but is not really meat.

The flies wander around the flower looking for the best place to lay their eggs, most likely the smelliest part of the flower, which appears to be inside the bowl shape in the middle of the flower. As the fly determines the best place to lay eggs it gets covered in pollen. Now rafflesia pollen is different from other flower’s pollen. It is a snotty, viscous liquid as opposed to powered pollen that is typical of most other flowers. The liquid pollen remains on the fly from days to weeks allowing the female fly to retain the pollen until it is, hopefully, attracted to another rafflesia.

What is it in the scent of rafflesia that makes it smell like rotting meat? Researchers asked this question too and they decided to create a scent composition of Rafflesia consueloae. They identified 13 volatile compounds in the scent of this rafflesia species. Now there were two other scent compound studies done before this on Rafflesia cantleyi and Rafflesia kerri. They found dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide and these floral volatile were also found in the study of Rafflesia consueloae. These are both sulfur containing volatiles and are the same ones produced by decomposing meat. So that’s where the smell comes from. This parasitic plant has figured out how to produce the exact same scent as actual rotting meat.

In studies investigating what female carrion flies were most attracted to, these two compounds were also profiled. The female carrion flies love these smells. These scents attract the females specifically because they are looking for rotting meat on which to lay their eggs. The females flies take their time looking for just the right spot in the flower to lay their eggs and as they do they come in contact with rafflesia’s pollen.

But where is the best place to lay their eggs? Turns out these sulfide based scents are more heavily released from specific places in the flower that draw the fly deep into the interior so it becomes covered in the liquid pollen.

Another Interesting tidbit to come out of these studies is that the rafflesia flower emits different scents at various stages of development. Remember I said they found 13 different floral volatiles in the study of Rafflesia consueloae. Not all thirteen of them were released through the entire lifecycle of the flower. The dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide where only released when the flower was in full bloom. This flower just keeps getting more and more fascinating as we go along.

The immense size of rafflesias may also be related to their chosen pollinator. Rotting meat is often large in size since we’re talking about decomposing animals, to be frank. Carrion flies are attracted to larger carcasses because they give off more scent and will probably still be decomposing when their eggs hatch. Scientists believe this may be a possible explanation for the large size of rafflesias. They are offering carrion flies the entire package. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that other plants pollinated by carrion flies such as the skunk cabbage in New England and the Stapelias of South Africa, are also large flower plants.

One last attribute of rafflesia may also be related to the carrion fly. Rafflesia blooms emanate heat as they grow. The skunk cabbage also does this and is able to raise its temperature nearly 30 degrees. Originally scientists thought this thermogenesis was an adaptation that allowed flowers to bloom earlier at the end of winter by melting snow, but this doesn’t apply to rafflesia because they are all found in tropical habitats.

Another explanation is that the heat allows rafflesia to more easily volatilize the odors they produce. The better to attract the carrion fly. The heat also allows the carrion fly to function at a lower energy cost while looking for a cozy place to lay her eggs, so she spends more time inside the flower.

Every time I write a new episode about this flower I cannot believe what amazing adaptations it has. The smell that rafflesia produces is my fourth favorite thing about them.

So join me next week for another episode about Rafflesia.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Does a unique flower like rafflesia how a unique life cycle? Join Kiersten to find out!

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Start the Week Podcast: Mysterious Plants. 04 March 2024. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds

“Colossal Blossom: Pursuing the peculiar genetics of a parasitic plant,” by Jonathan Shaw. Harvard Magazine. https://www.harvardmagazine.com

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The third thing I like about rafflesia is its life cycle. In the first episode I hinted it at it a bit. Most of its life it is invisible and is a parasitic plant with a specific host plant. Let’s get into the fine details of rafflesia’s life cycle, and strap in listeners because this one is a doozy. When I chose rafflesia as my next unknown creature, I had no idea how how crazy the life cycle was, but my research has blown my mind. Enough anticipation, here we go.

Rafflesia have no roots, no shoots, no stems, and no leaves. Off to a good start when talking about a plant, right? The only thing left is petals and reproductive parts. Well, that’s essentially what rafflesia are made up of.

They spend most of their life hidden within the vines of their host plant. Vines in the genus Tetrastigma are the current host plants to rafflesia. They may be the chosen host due to the fact that they hold a lot of water, as do many vines.

Rafflesia buds pop out of the vines with no warning, or a least with no prior indication that we have seen. The buds pop out from a vine and will grow for months until they are the size of a cabbage, a large cabbage, like a basketball size cabbage. They look like the cabbage, as well. As the bud grows the petals remain wrapped tight like a cabbage.

Most of the buds will be an orange color, since a good majority of rafflesia are a brick red color. When the bud is ready to bloom, five petals will unfold. In the middle of the flower is the floral chamber. Quoting from the Harvard Magazine article by Jonathan Shaw, the central floral chamber is (quote) “orb-shaped, with a circular opening at the top, [it} resembles a planetarium or astronomical observatory with a mottled roof partially opened to the sky.” (End quote). In the largest rafflesia flower, Rafflesia arnoldii, the chamber is big enough that an infant could comfortably take a nap inside.

This is such a poetic and accurate description of the middle of rafflesia. Inside the opening is a disk covered with spikes. It looks like one of those rubber spiky balls that you can get your for dog. They give the inside of the planetarium structure a bit of a medieval torture chamber feel. Scientists have not determined what these structures do for the flower.

The bloom will last about a week. During that week it is trying to attract pollinators to help is reproduce, just like all flowering plants. Those of you that are gardeners about there, you know exactly what I’m talking about. When the plants that you’ve loving planted and taken care of bloom, then you see the real reward. Pollinators such as honeybees, native bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and bats are attracted to the blooms and help the plant swap pollen which leads to reproduction. That is the same goal for rafflesia, as well.

They use scent, jut like other flowers, to attract pollinators, but the scent they produce is a bit different than your typical flower. Rafflesia arnoldii, is also know are the ‘corpse lily’ or the ‘carrion flower’. That probably tells you what you need to now about the scent of this enormous flower. It smells like rotting meat. We are going to delve deeper into the details of this odoriferous scent in a future episode, but rafflesia is targeting a specific pollinator, carrion flies.

Carrion flies are attracted to rotting meat where they their eggs so the larvae can consume the decaying flesh and transform into adult flies. Rafflesia employ a trick that many plants use to get what they need from mobile animals, pollen from another flower that they themselves cannot reach. The pollinator will visit the flower that is advertising what it is interested in, take a little reward, unknowingly get itself covered in pollen, then they visit another flower where the pollen from the first flower mixes with the second flower, and so on.

The carrion fly is attracted to rafflesia where they will lay their eggs. They don’t known that this will not help them spread their genetics because when their eggs hatch the maggots will have nothing to consume, but the flower is getting what it wants out of this relationship. When the fly crawls around inside the central floral chamber looking for the best place to lay eggs, they get covered in pollen.

Once again rafflesia is different from other flowers. Most plant pollen is powdery, dusting anything that touches it with a layer of pollen that clings long enough to travel to another flower nearby. Rafflesia pollen is a viscous liquid. The fly’s back gets coated with this thick, yellow liquid where it can remain for several days to weeks. Scientists are not completely sure why rafflesia use a gooey liquid pollen as opposed to a powdery pollen, but it may help keep the pollen in place longer than the powder based pollen.

Rafflesia blooms unpredictably and generally not in clusters. So a pollinator has to travel a lot further to find another rafflesia flower that is in bloom. If the pollen falls off before it finds a second flower, it’s not helpful.

If a rafflesia is successfully pollinated, the female flowers produce fruit that looks like a pile of cow manure. Yum! These piles are filled with hundreds of thousands of seeds. Each of these one millimeter seeds come equipped with an oil body that may have something to do with seed dispersal. Here is where we lose the path of rafflesia life cycle. Researchers have not yet determined how rafflesia seeds get where they need to go to begin life.

We’ve come almost full circle, so let’s go back to the beginning for a moment. Remember when I said that rafflesia is invisible for most of its life until it begins to bud? This is because rafflesias are parasitic plants that rely on a physical connection the a vine in genus Tetrastigma. These vines hold a lot of moisture which may be why rafflesia have chosen these particular vines as a host. To create new flowers the seeds of rafflesia must come in contact with a Tertasigma vine. We don’t know how that happens. Some say that tree shrews may eat them and them poop them out, elephants step on the fruit and track them through the forest to the correct vine, but the oily bodies on the seeds indicate that ants may be the transporters of the seeds. Other species of flowers use oil bodies to attract ants to do their seed dispersal, so this may be what’s happening with rafflesia, as well.

We have successfully come full circle with the life cycle of rafflesia, and I told you it was a doozy. I hope you enjoyed the ride because my third favorite thing about rafflesia is their life cycle.

So join me next week for another episode about Rafflesia.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Where are rafflesia found? Join Kiersten as she visits Southeast Asia (not literally) to find out.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The second thing I like about rafflesia is where it is found. This genus of plant has a very small distribution. Let’s talk about where you can find these amazing flowers.

You probably remember from last week’s introductory episode that rafflesia our found in southeast Asia. None have been found outside this region at the recording of this podcast in 2024, although researchers believe that there are more within this region that have yet to be seen and described by science. The majority of rafflesia are found in the Philippines, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and Peninsular Malaysia. For your reference, Peninsular Malaysia refers to the western portion of Malaysia, or the island portion, and consists of 11 states and two federal territories.

Let’s take a look and where specific species of rafflesia are found. Before I get started, please excuse any mispronunciation of country names. I mean no offense.

Rafflesia arnoldii, the largest species of rafflesia with a spread of three feet in diameter, is found in Malaysia in Borneo and Sarawak. This rafflesia has two varieties, the second variety is Rafflesia arnoldii atjehensis which is found in Indonesia on West Kalimantan and Sumatra. Rafflesia aurantia is fund in the Philippines in Luzon and the Quirino Province. Rafflesia azlanii is found on Peninsular Malaysia in Perak and Pahang. Rafflesia baletei is fund in the Phillipones on Southern Luzon and the Camarines Sur Province. Rafflesia bengkuluensis is found in Indonesia in Souther Sumatra. Rafflesia cantleyi is found in Peninsular Malaysia and on Tioman Island. Rafflesia consueloae, the smallest rafflesia at only 9.7cm in width, is found in the Philippines in Luzon, Nueva Ecija Province.

Rafflesia gadutensis is found in Indonesia on the Western coast of Sumatra and Benkulu. Rafflesia hasseltii is found in Indonesia’s central Sumatra. Rafflesia keithii can be found in Malaysia’s Borneo and Sabah and Indonesia’s East Kalimantan. Rafflesia kerrii is found in Peninsular Thailand as well as Peninsular Malaysia. Rafflesia lagascae is found in Luzon in the Philippines. Rafflesia lawangensis can be found in North Sumatra and the Gunung Leuser National Park of Indonesia. Rafflesia leonardii is found in Luzon, Phillipines. Rafflesia lobata can be seen in Panay, Philippines. Rafflesia manillana lives in Samar Philippines. Rafflesia meijeri blooms in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Rafflesia micropylora is also found in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

Rafflesia mira and Rafflesia mixta are both found in Mindanao, Philippines. Rafflesia patna is found in Java, Indonesia. Rafflesia philippensis is, you guessed it, found in the Philippines, Luzon Island, Quezon Province, Mt. Banahaw. This flower also goes by R. Banahaw or R. banahawensis in an homage to where it grows. Rafflesia pricei is found in Borneo, Sabah, possibly N. Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan. Rafflesia rochussenii lives in Western Java and Sumatra, Indonesia.

Rafflesia schadenbergiana and Rafflesia speciosa are both found in the Philippines in Mindanao and Panay respectively. Rafflesia tengku-adlinii is found in Borneo and Sabah Malaysia. Rafflesia tuan-mudae is also found in Malaysia but in West Sarawak. Rafflesia verrucosa resides in Mindanao, Philippines. Rafflesia zollingeriana is found in eastern Java, Indonesia. The remaining species of rafflesia that we currently know of have incomplete taxonomic identification, so we are not sure if they are all seperate species from the one described above, but they are all found in Indonesia or Peninsular Malaysia.

Thanks for hanging in there listeners, I didn’t list these all out just so I could say rafflesia a lot, although I have to admit it is fun to say, I want to highlight how many places each specie is found. If you didn’t tune it out, you may have noticed that most species are only found in one place. Only five species are found on more than one island. Since most of these flowers are found on islands, the theory of island biogeography applies. This theory, in a nutshell, says that larger islands should host a larger amount of species than smaller islands because larger islands are, well, larger. This holds true for the majority of islands that host rafflesia, but when dealing with nature, there is always an exception to the rule.

This is true of rafflesia. The island of Luzon is seven times smaller than Borneo yet both of them host the same amount of rafflesia. Scientists are not sure why yet, but research into this is ongoing. When discussing distribution of this plant, we do have to keep in mind that scientists are still discovering new species or discovering known species in new locations, so our knowledge is continually evolving.

Most rafflesias are found in a rainforest habitat on the island where they bloom and that is due to the nature of the host plant upon which they rely. The vines in the genus Tetrastigma seem to be the only vines that host these amazing flowers and they are mostly found in rainforests. Now that we know what rafflesia is and where to find it, next week we will delve into its unusual life cycle.

Thank you for listening to episode two of rafflesia. The locations where this incredible flower is found is my second favorite thing about them.

So join me next week for another episode about Rafflesia.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Rafflesia is a flower but not just any ole flower. Join Kiersten as she discusses this highly unusual plant.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Rafflesia arnoldii,” Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, https://www.kew.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This series will be a bit different from previous ones because we’re going to talk about two unknown species. We’ll delve into two amazing plants that have quite unusual life cycles. This is the first episode of a series focused on unbelievable, unknown plants.

The first plant I’m going to talk about is Rafflesia and the first thing I like about this plant is rafflesia itself. Rafflesia is actually the genus of 42 different species of plants. This genus includes the largest solitary flower in the world. Rafflesia arnoldii grows up to three feet in diameter and can weigh up to 15 lbs. That’s one heck of a big flower!

This is also an amazingly beautiful flower. It has five large, rounded petals. The middle of the flower looks like a bit like a giant salad bowl, but that is just part of the outer petals. If you look at a side view of this flower the outer petals look like the letter Y. Beneath the inner lip of the flower sits the central column where the stamens are located. Almost every species of Rafflesia follows this basic anatomical pattern. Each one has it own distinct details but generally follows this pattern.

All Rafflesia are a red color with white or yellow spots all over. They look like a cartoon version of a flower. Maybe something you see in a Super Mario Brothers video game. The red hue varies by species and one is such a pale pink it almost looks white. The spots also vary is shape from round dots like a polka-dot pattern to round edged rectangles to blotches that have no discernible shape.

All Rafflesia that we currently know of are found in Southeast Asia. This is one of the most plant-rich areas on the planet and Rafflesia are found only here. As I stated before there are 42 species of this amazing plant and since the beginning of the 21 century the species count has doubled from the number described between 1821 and 1984. Thirteen species were described in 1997.

Now I’m not done with the amazing facts about Rafflesia. These flowers are invisible for most of its life cycle, because the main part of the plant lives hidden within another plant. Rafflesia are considered parasitic.

The Oxford Languages Dictionary defines parasite as an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other’s expense. Rafflesia are some of the most amazing parasites on Earth, as far as I’m concerned. We’ll delve more into this topic in a future episode, but the Rafflesia chose vines in the genus Tetrastigma as their host plants.

Island living is the life for Rafflesia. Most of them are found on small island throughout Southeast Asia. Some of them are found on only one island and no where else.

Taxonomy is still disputed about these flowers so classifying them can be a challenge. Beyond classification, we know little about these plants. Why they chose the hosts that they choose, which species are found where, when they will bloom, and some much more. Scientists are still studying these amazing flowers, but time is running out. Many of these flowers habitats are disappearing at a terrifying rate. There may be rafflesia disappearing before scientists even discover them.

We will talk about all these topics in the first half of this series of Unbelievable unknown plants. I’m excited about this one listeners! I picked a great plant to start off with because my first favorite thing about rafflesia is rafflesia.

So join me next week for another episode about Rafflesia.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Are tanuki in danger of extinction? Join Kiersten to find out all about the conservation status of the tanuki.

For my hearing impaired listeners a full transcript is available in the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Nyctereutes procyonoides, Raccoon Dog. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org

“A path to human-raccoon dog harmony: identifying factors influencing the tolerance of urban residents in Shanghai towards a neglected species,” by Qianqian Zhao, Yihan Wang, Lejie Wu, Yidi Feng, Yuhan Li, Zhuojin Zhang, Qing Zhao, and Fang Wang. People and Nature, Vol 6, Issue 3. Https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002//pan3.10636.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the final episode of Tanuki. A little bitter sweet for me because I’ve had a great time researching and talking about this truly unique canine, but here we are and the tenth thing I like about the raccoon dog is their conservation status.

Those of you who are consistent listeners know that I typically finish a series with a conservation episode and tanuki is no exception. This is a conservation episode with good news, overall, though. The raccoon dog is not in need of extreme conservation efforts as of this recording due to their adaptability.

The IUCN Red List has the raccoon dog listed as Least Concern. IUCN stands for International Union for Conservation of Nature which was established in 1948 bringing conservation to an international stage. This organization brings the world together with a shared goal of protecting nature. The IUCN Red List categorizes animals and plants by their population levels in endemic habitats and regions. Ratings range from Unknown to Extinct.

The raccoon dog is categorized as Least Concern which means their population levels are good and remain stable. This is mainly due to the raccoon dog’s adaptability, as I said before. They are excellent at using what their environment has to offer. This is good news. We don’t have tp worry about tanuki disappearing from the planet, but they are experiencing pressure from the same things that all animals and plants are suffering from.

Habitat loss is causing more and more individuals to move closer to human neighborhoods, loss of insects and amphibians is causing some populations to alter their diets, and changing temperatures are causing raccoon dogs to change behaviors to accommodate shorter hibernation times.

Hunting is a concern. Raccoon dogs are hunted in every region they are found whether an endemic area or introduced. There is only one managed program involving hunting and that is within an introduced area. This is understandable. An adaptable animal in an introduced habitat can become destructive fairly quickly. The issue with hunting tanuki in their native habitat is that population numbers should be monitored so that they do not drop below genetically diverse numbers leaving no hope for recovery.

Just because the raccoon dog’s population is doing well and we do not need to currently worry, it’s never too early to look at what conservation efforts need to include for the future.

A study recently released in March of 2024, is testing the waters. The research was done in Shanghai, China and the title of the paper is “A path to human-raccoon dog harmony: identifying factors influencing the tolerance of urban residents in Shanghai towards a neglected species.”

One of the best places to start when considering how to sculpt a conservation plan is gathering information about how the people near the area feel about the flora and fauna of the area. How does this wild place impact their lives. Is it important to them? Would they miss if it disappeared? Do they know what that habitat supports?

I believe that all habitats and animals should be conserved in their natural, true state just because they exist. We should conserve and preserve because they exist and for no other reason. Everything deserves a place to live and thrive and we, humans, are some of the most adaptable creatures on the planet, so we can change our behaviors to fit in with nature. Instead we alter everything to meet our needs.

One of the best ways to get people onboard about conservation is to show them how these animals and wild places benefit us. It is a great tool to have in the conservationists backpack. The researchers in Shanghai wanted to know how residents felt about raccoon dogs. They devised a poll and collected 281 completed surveys from residents of Shanghai which is a rapidly developing city. Scientist wanted to investigate people’s knowledge, attitude, and tolerance towards raccoon dogs. They considered a few demographic variables such as gender, age, and education because they hypothesized that these might influence a person’s familiarity with raccoon dogs. They also included four variables of human dimensions such as familiarity with raccoon dogs, trust in wildlife management authorities, perceived benefits of raccoon dogs, and perceived risks of raccoon dogs. Using these four dimensions they designed multiple questions to quantify participant’s responses.

The surveys were conducted in 10 residential areas that have high human-raccoon dog conflict. The data revealed something I have known for a long time which is that when people are educated about an animal, they understand it more and then they care about it more. The recommendation from these scientists is: “To promote harmony between urban residents and nature and foster their affection for urban species, educational campaigns and citizen science, which refers to the participation of non-professional citizens in scientific research, can be used to address conflicts both between humans and wild animals and between people with different opinions.” I could not have said it better myself!

On that note, I’ll close the final episode of Tanuki with my tenth favorite thing being that the future of tanuki conservation looks bright.

I’ll be taking a break for summer but I’ll be back in September. So join me in a month for a brand new series about another misunderstood or unknown creature.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Raccoon Dogs have a complicated relationship with humans. Join Kiersten as she talks about how humans use raccoon dogs.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Nyctereutes procyonoides, Raccoon Dog. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org

The Origins of “Murmansk” Fur and Its Role in the Fashion Industry,” by Madison Dapcevich, https://www.snopes.com

Keeping Raccoon Dogs as Pets, https://www.rspca.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The ninth episode of Tanuki isn’t exactly something I like about this animal but it is a reality for this animal. This episode we will discuss how humans use the raccoon dog.

The human relationship with nature, which we think we are removed from but in reality are impacted by and greatly impact, is often complicated. We love it, we hate it, we want to conserve it, we want to exploit it. Humans have struggled long and hard to figure out how we fit into the world in which we live.

Raccoon dogs are on a long list of living creatures that have a complicated relationship with humans. We love them, we hate them, we want to conserve them, we want to exploit them. And boy have we figured out how to exploit them.

As many invasive species around the world, raccoon dogs were introduce to other portion of the planet by humans, for use by humans. This is what happened to the raccoon dogs on Finland and Europe. They were brought there by humans for food and fur. Today raccoon dogs are still used for food and fur.

In North America and portions of Europe we have made great strides to reduce the fur trade and it has been successful, but it still hangs on. I cannot fault humans from the past that used animal fur to survive in frigid weather, but back then the entire animal was often used for survival. One animal was hunted and everything was utilized. Today, for the most part, fur is fashion and I have never understood why humans think that fur looks better on them than on the animal that grew it.

in Japan, China, and Russia, raccoon dogs are raised to supply the fur trade. The fur is often marketed as murmanski, tanuki, Asiatic raccoon or Finn raccoon fur. Murmanski or tanuki is often seen in European countries, where as North American markets see Asiatic raccoon or Finn raccoon fur most often.

I am not entirely opposed to raising animals commercially for human use, but we must remember to give them the respect as living animals that they deserve. I am opposed to raising animals for use in fashion which is not necessary for our survival.

Conditions within these fur farms are deplorable. Raccoon dogs are kept in overpopulated cages, fed only enough food to keep them alive long enough to grow to the desired size before being slaughtered and skinned. Raccoon dog fur is used mostly to trim the hoods of jackets or to make stoles or adorn other items of clothing. Raccoon dog fur is not useful for making coats to withstand freezing temperatures. Humans use this strictly as a fashion statement. Snopes also recently confirmed a research report that some labels claiming the fur trim on their clothing is faux fur is actually tanuki fur, so be aware when buying faux fur.

I found some reference to raccoon dog yarn, but could not get any substantial descriptions of what it is or how it is made. Some rumors say it is shaved from raccoon dogs once a year like sheep and processed into yarn, but I cannot confirm these reports. Regardless, I can’t imagine how many raccoon dogs you’d have to raise to make any profit off of this endeavor. Having large quantities of animals for profit usually leads to lax care. This is often marketed as tanuki yarn.

In Japan and China, tanuki may be on the menu. Several exotic meat markets in these Asian countries sell raccoon dog meat. Selling non-domesticated animals to eat is never a good thing. Most often these animals are hunted to near extinction in their native habitats which can throw the entire ecosystem off, creating even bigger problems not to mention killing a species that has every right to live merely because it exists. The other major problem with this practice is that it spreads disease. Wild animals are susceptible to disease. It is a natural part of life. Disease is one way that nature keeps populations of all living things in balance. When you kill wild animals and bring them into a market place to sell, you can also be sending home whatever diseases that animal is carrying with them. If the animal is not handled and prepared properly it could have disastrous results.

In several countries, there is a raccoon dog hunting season. Now, I have no problems with hunting these animals in countries that they have been introduced to, such as Finland, as long as they are hunted humanely without tortuous methods such as bear traps. Hunting them in their natural ranges is also acceptable as long as populations are managed so that their numbers never plummet to dangerous levels.

Of course, why you are hunting these animals is important to me. In areas where they are injurious, such as an introduced habitat, I completely understand hunting them to remove them from a non-native area. Hunting them for the sheer joy of hunting to kill a living animal and trying to kill as many as possible, that I have issues with and have never understood.

Humans use raccoon dogs for one other thing, pets. Raccoon dogs are apparently popular pets in England, one of their non-native ranges. It is illegal in England to have them as a pet. Raccoon dogs do not make good pets. They are not a domesticated breed of dog so it does not matter how you raise them, they will always be wild animals. They need large areas to roam, a varied diet of items that most humans do not want to provide, in other words not dog food, and we do not know enough about their social structure to know if they can live without the company another raccoon dog. Keeping a wild animal in a human household is not a good idea for the human or the animal in question. Please do not buy a raccoon dog for a pet, no matter what anyone tells you. Keep in mind that most countries outside of their natural range, including the countries they were introduced to years ago, have outlawed buying, selling, or owning raccoon dogs as pets or commercial animals. This is to prevent them from escaping and setting up residence in that country, because these animals are extremely adaptable as we have learned from the rest of this series.

This has been a tough episode for me. It is hard for me to talk about the exploration of any wild animal, but I thought it was important information. This is the end of the ninth episode of the tanuki.

Join me next week for the penultimate episode about Tanuki.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: We’re not yet done with the mythology of tanuki. Join Kiersten for another episode about the supernatural aspects of the raccoon dog.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

https://mythick.com/tanuki

https://wildinjapan.wordpress.com

https://livejapan.com

https://www.curiuosordinary.com

https://sakura.co

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The mythology of the Tanuki is vast and a little confusing, but it’s the eighth thing I like about this incredible animal.

In the seventh episode we also talked about mythology of the tanuki. We learned that the mythological raccoon dog has the ability to change shape. They can imitate people and inanimate objects, such as tea kettles. They are known to shape shift into people. Typically they pick people who enjoy gambling, cheating, drinking, stealing and lying. They will imitate government personnel and go to citizen’s houses to play tricks on them. They have even impersonated monks, learned Buddhism, then taught it to humans. I’m wondering how close their teachings were to true Buddhist teachings.

They are so good at imitating people that they can live several years, possibly an entire lifetime, as humans before changing back into tanuki. There are ways to tell if you have run into a tanuki in disguise. According to legend tanuki wear a certain kimono that gives them away, but I have’t found any description of what this kimono looks like or how it differs from a human kimono. So I don’t know how helpful that tip is…

If you see someone walking in the rain and they are not getting wet, without using an umbrella presumably, they could be a tanuki. Also, if the tanuki becomes sufficiently distracted they may forget to keep their tail hidden which gives them away as not being human.

Tanuki can also change inanimate objects into other objects. For example, they can change leaves into money which they will probably use to gamble or trick humans into selling them something for a pile full of leaves.

Tanuki are portrayed as mischievous trouble makers, helpful tricksters, and devious murderer s. Whatever they are, they are found throughout Japanese cultural history. If you visit Japan, you will see statues in front of many stores and for sale to customers. The statues emphasize the helpful persona of the tanuki.

These statues all look the same because each item on the raccoon dog has meaning. These items represent the eight signs of good luck.

Item One: A straw hat: The straw hat is used to protect yourself from trouble and unexpected accidents.

Item Two: Big eyes: Big eyes help you observe and pay attention to everything around you so you can make correct decisions.

Item Three: A smiling face: A smile reminds you to be friendly and kind to others.

Item Four: Wine Bottle: The bottle contains Japanese sake, or rice wine, and represents learning the qualities and character of a person that does not have to worry about eating. This one is a bit confusing, but what I believe is that this encourages a person to take notice of those that work hard to keep their family fed.

Item Five: A book: The book is a place to record cash transactions. It is important in creating trust when borrowing money to help build trusting relationships between people.

Item Six: Th belly drum: One of the stories from the last episode talks about the tanuki using their bellies as a drum. Th belly drum represents a steady, calm, and daring attitude in life.

Item Seven: The “golden-bags”, that is written in parentheses, represent luck that will get better and better and create more and more money or fortune.

Item Eight: The Tail They have a big fluffy tail, on the status and in reality. The tail on the statue helps to support the balance of the body implying stability. It also represents the end. This one makes perfect sense to me. It also means wishing for a firm ending to life or a certain event in life.

These statues are quite cute and certainly imply a sense of impish good luck.

Let’s take a closer look at the “golden bags” that is the seventh item on our lucky statue. The “golden bags” come with parentheses because it refers to the tanuki’s scrotum. A bit of a warning here, we will be taking about male genitals for the rest of this podcast, if that is offensive to you, please be aware. Also, gentleman, this conversation may become a bit traumatizing for you, so take care.

One of the strangest abilities mythological tanukis have is the ability to stretch their scrotum to incredible sizes!. Yes, I am talking about the skin that surrounds the testes, the reproductive organs, of most male mammals.

Tanuki can enlarge and shape change their scrotum into unbelievable sizes and shapes. It’s actually such an intregal part of the tanuki legend that during the Edo period a Japanese artist created a series of prints depicting the many ways that tanuki use their scrotum.

They can use them for fishing and hunting. One print shows four tanuki standing in knee high water, these tanuki look like humans with dog-like faces and tails, stretching their scrotum out like a fishing net. They use the skin to corral fish and scoop them up.

Another print show a single tanuki throwing his scrotum, which is still attached to him, into the air from a cliff edge to catch flying cranes. Another hunting related print shows tanuki using the scrotum to carry their bounty by pulling it behind them or over their shoulders.

It doesn’t stop there. Tanuki can use their scrotum to workout. One print shows several tanuki using their expandable skin as weights. One is doing leg lifts while another dead lifts his scrotum. Two others are watching presumably cheering them on. Apparently this skin doesn’t just expand in size but can increase in density as well.

Tanuki can also use their scrotums as weapons. One print shows a tanuki beating an extremely large catfish to death with his expandable pouch. It can also help them stay warm on a cold day. There is a print that shows five tanuki using their elastic skin as a tent, sleeping bag, and cloak. Convenient. If you forget your camping gear just find a kind tanuki that will share theirs.

One print shows tanuki using their scrotum as a boat carrying themselves and several other tanuki across the water. There are so many other things that they can use their scrotums for that I could go on for awhile, but I won’t because I think you get the picture. Also, I just can’t say the word scrotum one more time!

So to sum up, tanukis are a bit of a catch all for unexplainable supernatural activities. If you don’t know what it is, it’s probably a tanuki in disguise.

This concludes the mythology episodes of tanuki. It was a bit of a crazy ride but it is my eighth favorite thing about raccoon dogs.

Join me next week for the penultimate episode about Tanuki.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Tanuki are also animals that are wrapped in mythology. Join Kiersten as she talks about the complicated mythology involving raccoon dogs.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

https://mythick.com/tanuki

https://wildinjapan.wordpress.com

https://livejapan.com

https://www.curiuosordinary.com

https://sakura.co

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The seventh and eighth thing I like about the Tanuki is the mythology surrounding this interesting animal. Mythology involving the tanuki is odd but abundant, so it will get two episodes.

When I began doing research on the raccoon dog the first thing that popped up was Japanese mythology involving the tanuki. It wasn’t was I was looking for so I just pushed it aside and kept digging for the natural history of the raccoon dog. As you know, I haven’t found as much information as I’d like on this lovely canine, but I thought, why not talk a little bit about the mythology built around this curious creature. It is inspired by the live animal, after all.

Mythology often originates through the need for humans to explain the unexplainable. In doing that, we have attributed some very interesting qualities to the tanuki.

The Tanuki of mythology are bit complicated. They are portrayed as trouble makers, but also as entities that help humans. Original stories depict tanuki as evil doers with bad luck that possess humans. But later stories describe them as harmless pranksters. The Japanese word translated into English can be either monster tanuki or trickster tanuki.

The earliest mention of the tanuki, as the mythological entity, is from the second oldest written book in Japanese history. Finished in 720 by the prince of the imperial court. It mentions tanuki as shapeshifting creatures that cause a lot of trouble. Mythological tanuki bear a striking resemblance to the real life creature with a few exaggerated attributes, but we will talk more about that in the next episode.

What can we look forward to if we run into a mythological tanuki? Let’s look at a few folk tales to see what we might be in for.

Before we jump in, I apologize for butchering any of the Japanese names I am about to mention.

Bunbuku Chagama is the tale of a tanuki that transforms into a tea-kettle. It does this to repay a poor man who helped free it from a trap. I guess he was so poor he could not afford a tea kettle so that could be very useful. Anyway, the tanuki couldn’t withstand the heat from the fire and then became stuck and was unable to completely transform into the tanuki again. So he stayed with the old man and performed tightrope walking to earn money for the old man. This doesn’t sound too bad. Strange, but not too bad.

Shoji Tanuki Bayashi is the tale of a group of tanuki that try to scare away priests from a temple by transforming into various yokai, which are ghosts or demons. It was working until a new priest arrived and was not afraid of the apparitions, so the tanuki try to drive him away with noise by holding nightly parties. The priest sneaks into the party and deciding that they look like they’re having fun begins to play his shamisen, a tree-stringed traditional Japanese instrument. The tanuki took this a a challenge and replied by beating their bellies even louder. Mythological tanuki have large pot-bellies that they use like drums. The musical battle persisted for four nights. The leader of the tanuki beats too hard on his belly, killing himself. Hey, it’s all fun and games until someone pops a belly, right?

This last tale is a bit more gruesome. Kachi-kachi Yama is the dark story of devious tanuki. A childless old couple that lived in the mountains had a special friend that they treated like a child, a wild hare. The couple also had a enemy, a raccoon dog. The raccoon dog openly taunted them and stole from their garden. One day the old man caught the raccoon dog and gave it to his wife asking her to make tanuki stew. Th etanuki pleaded for his life and begged the old woman to let him go. Being kind hearted, she released the tanuki who repaid her by beating her to death with a hammer. Some stories continue to tell how the tanuki made a stew out of the old woman and disguised himself as her until the old man came home and sat down to a hot bowl of tanuki stew. The raccoon dog then reveals who he is and what the old man is eating.

The tanuki runs away after the murder and deceit. When the hare hears about what happens it promises revenge and sets a trap for the tanuki. Stories vary, but the most common trap is the hare tricking the raccoon dog into carrying a bundle of firewood on its back. When the tanuki is completely involved in its task, the hare lights the wood on fire, taking revenge on the killer raccoon dog.

This story is pretty bad. The first two were mostly harmless fun, but feeding someone wife to them, that’s dark. Throughout Japanese history, the mythological tanuki has been evil and vengeful as well as charming and playful. I guess it all depends on the outcome.

That’s all for the first half of Tanuki Mythology I can’t wait to share part two with you because the mythology of the Japanese tanuki is my seventh and eight favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about Tanuki.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How do tanuki hunt for food? Join Kiersten as she shares some surprising behaviors that Tanuki use to catch prey.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Nyctereutes procyonoides, Raccoon Dog. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org

“Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) In the Community of Medium-sized Carnivores n Europe: Its Adaptations, Impact on Native Fauna and Management pf the population.”, by Katrina Kauhala and Rafal Kowalczyk. https://researchgate.net

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

We’re more than halfway through Tanuki and the sixth thing I like about them is how they hunt and forage. Since tanuki are omnivores they do a little of both. I know we have talked about their diet already, but we’ll talk a bit more about how they find their food in this episode and we will also talk about what’s eating them.

As you may remember from previous episodes, we don’t know as much about tanuki behavior in the wild as we should so this episode will be a bit shorter that average, but I will do my best to enlighten you on this episode’s topic.

We have already established that raccoon dogs are omnivores which means they eat both protein and vegetation.

Looking at the proteins that they eat, we can see a pattern. Raccoon dogs, regardless of where they are found, tend to eat similar proteins. Insects, frogs, bird eggs, shrews, crabs, fish, small reptiles, carrion, and human refuse. Can you see the pattern? They are all small prey items. What does this tell us? Raccoon dogs rely on their own capabilities to catch food. They do not hunt in packs, like some other canines, which means that they are restricted to hunting small prey or eating carrion.

From radio telemetry studies that have been done in the last few years, we know that some raccoon dogs remain together in pairs throughout the year and we assume they hunt together. But this doesn’t mean they are going after larger prey together. These animals are approximately the size of red foxes, so two won’t be able to take down any larger prey than a single raccoon dog.

Tanuki that live near enough to water will eat fish, crabs, and other aquatic life. I haven’t found many descriptive accounts, but it is known that they will dive under water to catch their prey. This truly surprised me because there are no other canids that do this to catch prey. I’d love to see some video!

They have also been seen catching fish from the shore using their paws to snag this slippery prey. This a unique behavior in the canid family, few, if any, other canines exhibit this hunting behavior.

Raccoon dogs will also climb trees in search of food, which explains the bird eggs and the passerines, or songbirds, that are found in their feces. In Europe raccoon dogs have been blamed for the downswing in the populations of certain game birds, but no evidence has been found that supports this hypothesis. Eider eggs and meat have been found in the feces of Finnish raccoon dogs, but there is no evidence that they are hunting healthy eiders. It is postulated that they may have taken advantage of a disease that spread through this population of waterfowl.

As of the recoding of this episode, there is no correlation between raccoon dog presence at the decline of bird populations in any habitat in which they are found.

When resources are low, Tanuki take advantage of human trash. We throw away a lot of stuff these critters can eat. It is not beneath them to take an easy meal where they can get it.

When it comes to vegetation, tanuki will eat berries, fruits, flowers, seeds, bulbs, and roots of various plants. They love a little human garden and have no problems taking a nibble when they can. They are small and usually forage at night, so they can easily get in and out of areas without being seen. Their coloration, brown fur and black masked face, helps them blend in like little thieves in the night.

Now that we know how they are finding food, let’s find out who hunts raccoon dogs.

You’re not going to believe this listeners, but we don’t know what kinds of anitipredator behaviors raccoon dogs possess but we do know who eats them. I know, how can we know so much about this animal and also know so little. It really is amazing.

Raccoon dogs must worry about a plethora of animals that might be interested in hunting them including Gray wolves, Eurasian lynx, wolverines, Japanese Martens, golden eagles, sea eagles, Eurasian eagle owls, domestic dogs, and humans. Yep, that’s right humans eat these guys too. In Japan, tanuki are on the menu.

That’s all she wrote for this episode of tanuki. I’m glad you joined me for this one because how tanuki find their food is my sixth favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about Tanuki.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Let’s talk babies! The reproductive cycle of the Tanuki is simple but interesting! Join Kiersten as she walks you through the seasonal changes that brings Tanuki pups.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids, edited by David W. Macdonald and Claudio Sillero-Zubiri. Raccoon dogs: Finnish and Japanese raccoon dogs - on the road to speciation?” By Kaarina Kauhala and Midair Saeki, pgs 217-226. https://static1.squarespace.com

Nyctereutes procyonoides, Raccoon Dog. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The fifth thing I like about Tanukis is their reproductive cycle. Like many mammals, raccoon dogs enter eastru only once a year; therefore, they bear young only once a year.

In the last episode we discovered that tanuki are monogamous, meaning the male and female mate with only one partner each year. In some populations these bonds may last year after year, where as other populations may only stay together one year.

Now, as we all know, before mating comes courting. So let’s start there. I’d love to tell you how they court each other with elaborate dance, vocalizations, or hide and seek, but we just don’t know. Not much research has been done on wild populations courting behavior. I’m unsure why. It could be either no one focused their research on the topic or it is difficult to find and observe courting behavior in the wild.

From captive individuals, we have learned that scent-marking and male female interactions increase before the female ovulates. She is courted by three to four males and an up turned U-shape tail indicates that the male is interested in mating and may also play a role in determining dominance. Reluctantly, that’s about all we know about raccoon dog courting.

Once the male and female have determined they are a fit couple, they will mate. This behavior typically happens in early March and gestation lasts approximately 60 days. Pups are typically born sometime in May. This is not coincidence, listeners. It’s perfectly timed so that pups are born when there is abundant resources available. Nature, man, it is perfect.

For populations that hibernate through the winter, breeding season begins just after they wake to warmer temperatures.

After the female is pregnant, the couple will find a burrow to call home. They will move into an abandoned badger or fox den and make it their own, and why not, quick move in and minimal energy output. Toward the end of gestation, the female will remain in the den while the male hunts for food and brings home dinner.

Typically five to seven pups are born in each litter. The young are altricial at birth, meaning they are born with closed eyes, very little hair, and the inability to care for themselves. They are covered in black fur without the mask facial markings. At nine or ten days, the pups eyes open and teeth emerge around fourteen to sixteen days. They will wean around 30 to 40 days, but until then they rely on mom for milk. By weaning time, their facial markings are evident making them look like miniature versions of their parents.

While mom stays in the den with the pups, dad hunts for food bringing home the bacon, as they say. Once the pups are weaned, they transition to solid food and mom leaves the den. After being cooped up with her young, she goes out to hunt while dad take over parental duties. She will bring back food for the pups and until they are ready to leave the den male and female will trade off hunting and pupsitting duties.

By about three months, they pups are the size of young adult raccoon dogs. Four month of age brings hunting lessons. The pups will follow mom and dad and learn how to hunt by watching their parents. At nice to eleven months, the pups will be full grown and out on their own.

By the time they leave the company of their parents, they are sexually mature and the following spring, they will most likely be looking for mates of their own. We are not sure how long raccoon dogs live in the wild, but in a study of trapped tanuki the oldest males were approximately 5 and 1/2 years while the females were 7 and 1/2 years. Of 320 captured individuals, 68.4% were younger adults. It’s not terribly surprising tha these mammals mature at such a young age given that they may only live 5 to 7 years.

In captivity, tanuki have lived to just over 14 years.

That concludes this episode about the reproductive cycle of the tanuki. Thank you for listening because raccoon dog reproduction is my fifth favorite thing about this intriguing mammal.

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about Tanuki.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How social are tanuki? Do they hang out in packs like wolves or solitary like a fox? Join Kiersten as she dives into the social structure of the raccoon dog.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Latrine utilization and feces recognition in the raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides”, by I. Yamamoto. Journal of Ethology, June 1984.

Nyctereutes procyonoides, Raccoon Dog. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The fourth thing I like about Tanukis is their social structure. Canids have a variety of different social structures, from family packs like wolves, monogamous pairs like coyotes, and solitary lives like foxes. Today we’ll take a closer look at the raccoon dog’s social activities.

Tanuki are, genetically, more closely related to foxes than any other canine, but their social structure is more closely related to coyotes. We are still learning about these understudied animals, but what we know so far shows that tanukis pair off during the breeding season. Once they have paired off, it appears that they may stay together year round. If not closely together in distance they appear to at least share a home range.

Telemetry data shows that tanukis remain in pairs or in small groups within the same home range throughout the year. A home range is a space that an animal can be consistently found that includes hunting grounds, a water source, and a denning site. Non-migratory animals typically remain in their home range for their entire life as long as all resources that they need continue to be offered in that home range.

During breeding season a male and a female tanuki pair off and will share a denning site to raise their offspring together. We will delve into reproduction and rearing the young in the next episode.

As stated before, it is unclear whether mated pairs remain together throughout the year but there is evidence that they remain together when they are sleeping or resting. Some populations that live in colder regions will actually hibernate together. Pairs will endure the coldest times of the year in a den with their mate. By the way, tanuki are the only canids that hibernate, that we currently known of, anyways.

As we’ve discovered in previous episodes, there are differences in behavior based on the location of the tanuki populations. There is no evidence that tanuki live in groups, consistently, in Finland. They will live in pairs with their young offspring, but do not stay together once the young are old enough to survive on their own. Here, the mated pair will stay together in their home range throughout the year.

During the breeding season, in Finland, the mated pairs home ranges never overlap with other mated pairs. Outside of breeding season, some overlap can be seen but only peripherally. The home ranges of mated pairs is pretty stable, fluctuating with the seasons probably due to resource availability, but for the most part they utilize the same space year round. Juveniles that have left their birth home range and have yet to pair off with a mate, have much larger home ranges than mated pairs. This is due to searching for an acceptable home range and a mate of their own.

Japanese tanuki also appear to remain in pairs throughout the year, once they have mated. There is evidence that these bonds last for multiple years. Again, they will live with their young until the offspring are ready to head out on their own. Unlike the Finland populations, some Japanese individuals may return to their natal home range, that is where they were born, after they reach maturity.

It is interesting that telemetry research shows tanuki from two different populations live in pairs and small groups for at least a portion of the year, because whenever they are seen by humans they appear to be alone. There are very few reports of seeing raccoons dogs together. I’m not sure what exactly what to think of that, but it’s an intriguing mystery. Don’t you think, listeners?

When I find out that animals are solitary or live in small groups, one of the behaviors that I always want to know about, is communication. All creatures need to communicate with others of their own kind, but how do they do it? Raccoon dogs have several ways to communicate with each other.

Vocalizations are one way that tanuki communicate. They whine, whimper, and mew which are vocalizations that are often associated with friendly greetings or submissive interactions. They can also growl when threatened, but they do not bark.

Body language is important to tanuki as with other canids, but raccoon dogs do not appear to use tail wagging as a form of communication. Most other canines will use tail wagging to communicate various intentions, but as far as we know the tanuki does not.

The tanuki does communicate in a unique way. They have social latrines. Yes, I said social latrines. This is a common spot where many tanuki will use the restroom. They urinate and defecate in these social areas, not at the same time, but in the same space. They will sniff the area each time they visit and appear to pick up some information from the piles of excrement. Other canids often use scent marking from urination and defecation to announce their territory boundaries, but tanuki use these latrines to pass information between family members and unrelated tanuki. We need to do much more research on these social latrines to determine what kind of information is passed at these social hubs.

Well, that’s all for the social behavior of the raccoon dog, we have a lot more to learn, but my fourth favorite thing about this canine is their social structure.

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about Tanuki.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: What are Tanuki eating? Join Kiersten as she discusses just what raccoon dogs are eating in the wild.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is episode three and the third thing I like about raccoon dogs is their diet. I actually do enjoy some of the same foods that raccoons dogs eat, but what I really like about their diet is how varied it is depending on their location.

As mentioned before, Tanuki are classified as omnivores. Omnivores are animals that eat both meat and veggies. This is exactly what the Tanuki does. Let’s look at what often determines the kind of food animals eat, their teeth.

Tanukis are canids, which is the family of animals that include wolves, foxes, and domestic dogs. These animals usually share the same kind of dentition, or structure and layout of teeth. Most canids are classified as carnivores, even though many do eat fruits and vegetables at some time during the year.

Takunis have six incisors in the top jaw and six incisors in the bottom jaw. They have two canines, top and bottom. They have four premolars, top and bottom. And two to three molars, top and bottom. This gives them a total of 42 to 44 teeth. This is a typical amount for a canine. In canids, the premolars are carnassial teeth. These are essentially modified molars that are sharp to help shred and tear meat. The carnassial teeth in the Tanuki are reduced compared to other canids and their molars are larger. This pattern speaks to their omnivorous diet.

In the previous episodes we discussed a few differences between the indigenous Japanese populations and the introduced Finnish populations. We will continue this comparison with their teeth, because there are noticeable difference between the different populations, so much so that scientists can determine the origin of a raccoon dog by inspecting their teeth. Whoa! That’s exactly what I thought, too!

The case study I’m referencing measured 65 skulls from Finland raccoon dogs and 104 skulls from raccoon dogs in Honshu, Japan. They took 22 different measurements of adult teeth and skulls. The skulls of Finnish raccoon dogs were larger both overall and in relative body size than those of the Japanese population. Mandible width and jaw height were the most useful measurements in determining location of each raccoon dog with a 100% correct classification.

The mandibles of the Finnish raccoon dogs are more robust with a more powerful jaw than those of Japanese origin. Japanese individuals have a longer snout with longer tooth rows than the Finnish specimens. Molars of the Japanese raccoon dogs are larger in relation to skull size versus the Finnish Tanuki. What do these differences in skull and tooth morphology tell us about these creatures? Excellent question, listeners! It tells us what they are eating.

So what are Tanuki eating in the wild. As we just discovered, it appears to depend on where they are located. I find that fascinating! They are the same animal but their diet varies depending on what habitat they live in. It shows how adaptable they are and this is certainly an attribute they share with the North American Raccoon, after whom they are named.

Tanuki, in general, are ominous, which means they eat both meat and vegetation. The percentage and type of food varied depending on Japan versus Finland. As we just determined, Finland raccoon dogs have slightly larger jaws meaning their massater muscles are larger which in turn mean they probably eat more meat and possibly larger prey than Japanese Tanuki.

How do researchers determine what animals in the wild are eating? Poop! A lot of poop. Scientists, often undergraduates eager to get into the sciences, collect lots and lots of feces. You have to note the area where it is found, the date, time of day, and any other factors that might be important, such as the weather. These samples are then returned to the lab were they will be processed and someone gets to dissect an awful lot of poo!

In this case study the researchers determined that thought the year the diet of raccoon dogs, whether in Finland or Japan, varies. This is most likely due to natural resource fluctuations. In Finland frogs, lizards, and invertebrates are commonly eaten in summer and autumn. Fish are eaten in late winter. Berries and fruits are eaten in late summer and autumn. If we look at food resources in percentages we see 56% of mammals, voles and shrews being very popular, 34% were bird remains, 8% were frogs or lizards, 20% fish, 51% invertebrates, 89% plants, and 49% carrion, which is dead, decaying animal matter.

A note on the most common bird remains found in Finland raccoon dog feces, the Common Eider, a type of duck found in coastal waters, and eggs were most often found in Finland’s raccoon dogs feces. It is not believed that at the time of the recording of this podcast that the predation of the Tanuki on the Common Eider in Finland detrimentally impacts their populations.

Let’s take a look at the diet of the Japanese populations. In Japan, Tanuki diet has been studied in different habitats. For the most part, it follows the same pattern as the Finland population with invertebrates fruits, rodents, birds, frogs and fish. In the subalpine zone diet consisted of 90% insects mainly Coleoptera, which is the family that includes a lot of beetles, and these were seen year round. 58% included earthworms except in the cooler months of January to April. Berries and seeds made up 49% of the diet. These were also seen year round with a lower amount in January to April when fewer plants are producing berries and seeds. 46% of the diet consisted of small mammals, January to June.

In mountainous regions diet consisted of 78 to 100% of Coleoptera insects in spring and summer, Orthoptera in autumn, that’s grasshoppers and crickets, and Hemiptera, which includes the True Bugs, in winter. Fruits are eaten year round with a percentage of 77 to 100%, except in May. This is may be because the fruits are just ripening at this time. From April to December, crustaceans, such as Japanese freshwater crabs, make up 28 to 71% of the diet with fish at 9 to 27%, birds 8 to 21%, small mammals 7 to 25%, carrion consisting mainly of sika deer and serow, aka goat-antelopes, at 10 to 37%.

In the countryside, insects seem to be the most important food resource year round with available fruits such as persimmon supplementing the diet in autumn and early winter.

In urban and suburban areas, raccoon dogs will feed mainly around human dwellings and have included garbage into their diet. No surprise there! Any animal that has adapted to living in human dominated areas has taken advantage of our propensity to create a lot of trash. Garbage was found year round at a percentage of 72%, with insects, mainly beetles, at 46%, persimmon fruit at 30% in spring and summer, earthworms at 24%, birds at 21% in winter and spring, and Myriapoda, millipedes and centipedes at 11% year round.

This may have been a bit more specific than you expected in our talk about diet. But I found the differences and similarities across the populations interesting enough to highlight the percentages. Plus, someone did a lot of poop scooping and dissection to get this information, so I thought I’d spread the information around as far as possible. No pun intended.

Once again I think this episode shows the adaptability of the Tanuki and makes them an even more fascinating canine. Thanks for hanging in there to the end, listeners, because my third favorite thing about this unknown canine is their diet.

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about Tanuki.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Where are tanuki found? Join Kiersten as she looks at the range of the Japanese raccoon dog.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

Last episode I introduced you the Japanese raccoon dog, the tanuki. In this episode we’re going to talk about where they can be found. Which I s the second thing I like about them. You may be thinking, it’s a Japanese raccoon dog, so what more is there to discuss. They’re from Japan. You are right, listener, but that’s not the end of the story. Let’s take a deeper dive into where the tanuki can be found.

The native range of the raccoon dog covers much of China, northeast Indochina, Korea, Amur, and Ussuri regions of Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and Japan.

The earliest known ancestors of the raccoon dog are 3.7 million years old. Fossils of a subspecies was found in Europe 4 million years ago. Nyctereutes megamastoides, a large ancestor of raccoon dogs, lived in Europe while another subspecies, Nyctereutes sinensis lived in China during the Pliocene era and the early Pleistocene era. The distribution of this animal decreased during the Pleistocene. Nyctereutes megamastoides went extinct and Nyctereutes sinensis decreased in size. The later Chinese species evolved into the modern species we know today.

The ancestors of todays residents of Japan probably colonized this area between 0.4 Ma and 12,000 years ago using the Sakhalin or Korean peninsulas. When the Japan Sea opened approximately 12,000 years ago the modern tanuki became isolated from other subspecies. These individuals began to adapt to a mild marine climate.

Another subspecies evolved in Russia adapting to much colder climates. Their fur caught the eye of humans who introduced them to European parts of the Soviet Union in the first half of the twentieth century. As many introduced species do, the raccoon dog spread quickly and was detected in Finland in the 1930s. The Finnish population peaked in the 1980s and has remained stable. Raccoon dogs are currently among the most numerous carnivores in Finland.

The two different populations of raccoon dogs have evolved to be distinct from each other in size and behavior. We’ll talk more about these differences in future episodes.

Where within these two distinctive populations, Japan and Finland, can we find the raccoon dogs? In Japan, they can be found all over the country, but they can be classified into mountain types and village types, at least in the satoyama habitat where their home range use was studied. The mountain type where found to favor secondary forest and herbaceous areas. The village type was found in agricultural landscapes. Within both of these types, the least favorite habitats were the cedar plantations and the most favored were rice fields. Much like this mammals, namesake, the North American raccoon, tanuki can be found in urban areas as well. Within urban cities, they are found most often in areas with forest cover.

In Finland, the tanuki uses different habitat seasonally. In southern Finland they used a barren heath habitat in all seasons, while they used moist heath habitat in late summer. Lake shore were all popular in both summer and autumn where food resources were plentiful regardless of the season. Water is also useful when these mammals encounter domestic dogs. They often run into the water to get away from the dogs.

Rock piles on barren heaths provide great denning options during breeding season. When young are able to leave the den in mid-summer, parents will take them into meadows and abandoned fields. In late summer moist heath fields attract these omnivorous creature with abundant berries and insects. Autumn leads the raccoon dog to pine forests in search of abundant berries and into human cultivated gardens.

I found it interesting that these two populations used available habitat and resources in different ways. It shows how adaptable these creatures are. It speaks well of their continued survival in an ever changing world. It also, once again, shows a similarity with their namesake, Procyon lotor.

That’s it for this episode of the Tanuki. I know we got a little scientific in this episode but my second favorite thing about this critter is where they are found and that could only be described with a little fossil talk. Thanks for hanging in there.

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about Tanuki.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: A raccoon that’s a dog? Not exactly. Join Kiersten as she introduces you to the Tanuki.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the first episode of a new series and I’m excited to introduce you to the tanuki, the Japanese raccoon dog. The first thing I like about this animal is its existence.

So, what exactly is the tanuki? It’s called the raccoon dog, but it’s not really a raccoon or a dog. Nyctereutes procyonoides is not related to raccoons, but it is in the dog family. Tanuki are canids and they are most closely related to foxes, but continuing research on this topic may show that they are related only to themselves. We’ll have to wait a see what the future brings for the Tanuki family tree. For now they remain canids related to foxes.

Looking at them, you can completely understand why they got the name raccoon dog. They have a masked face just like a raccoon, they are small and fluffy, like a cute dog. But they are not domesticated canids, they are a wild animal.

They have dark facial markings that surround the eyes and taper down the cheeks, like a raccoon. Their fluffy coat is yellowish brown, and while they do have a long tail, it is not ringed like a raccoon, just a yellow-brown like the rest of its coat. It has short limbs covered in black or brown fur. They have a heavy body, small snout with a thin, delicate muzzle, and rounded ears.

If this description is making you need to see this cutey for yourself, take a moment to search for an image of them online and be prepared to fall in love. If you’re driving while listening to this episode, please wait until you’ve reached your destination.

The tanuki is not a big animal. They are approximately 20-26 inches, or 50 to 65cm, in length. Their tail is 5 to 7 inches, or 13 to 18cm, long. They weigh around 17.5 pounds, or 7.5 kg. This is probably another reason they got the name raccoon dog, as this is the approximate size of an average raccoon.

There is no discernible size difference in males verse females, but there is a difference in sizes throughout subspecies.

Tanuki are indigenous to Japan, southeastern coastal Russia, and eastern coastal China. Indigenous means that they are native to these areas. Today they can also be found in areas of Europe where they were introduced for human uses. I’ll go more in depth with this topic in a future episode.

Raccoon dogs are largely nocturnal, but can be seen foraging at sundown and sunrise. They are generalists when it comes to their diet and are classified as omnivores. Omnivores are animals that eat both proteins, such as meat, and vegetation. Depending on where they live, their diets vary slightly. In their native ranges they tend to be more frugivorous, that’s eating fruits, and vegetarian; while, in their introduced range they tend to be more carnivorous.

Raccoon Dogs are incredibly adaptable, much like the North American animal that shares their name, and can be found in various habitats. They do tend to favor scrubby forest areas where they can easily disappear in low growing plants and food resources are plentiful. In Japan they have adapted to a more urban existence and due to the mythology of the raccoon dog in this country, they seem to be surviving. Don’t worry, I’m dedicating a whole episode to the mythology of the Tanuki.

I hope this first episode has you as excited about the raccoon dog as I am because my first favorite thing about them, is them!

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about Tanuki.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Want more cool facts about slime mold? Who doesn’t!? Join Kiersten for more unbelievable facts about slime mold.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Slime Molds: No Brains, No Feet, No Problem,” Science Thursday. PBS. https://www.pbs.org

“100 million years in amber: Researchers discover oldest fossilized slime mold,” University of Gottingen. Science Daily. https://www.sciencedaily.com

“Slime Molds” by Dr. Sharon M. Douglas, Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. https://portal.ct.gov

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The last episode of Slime Mold has arrived. It’s bitter sweet for me because I have loved researching this organism but I’m also excited about which creature will come next. We’re going out with a bang though, the tenth thing I like about slime mold is that there are so many more cool facts about it!

Before we delve into the the amazing facts we haven’t yet discussed about slime mold, let’s talk about conservation and control.

Slime mold is not in any need of conservation methods at the time. The species that we know about are all doing well. There is plenty of places for slime mold to thrive and some species, like the Dog Vomit Slime Mold, are doing better than ever because of our need to use mulch on our landscaped gardens. This is good news for this organism, but we have to keep in mind that disappearing habitat like forests and wetlands means that all creatures that rely on these areas are at risk. As we change the landscape around us to fit our needs, we take away habitat that these organisms rely on to survive. That does include slime mold.

Many people contact local gardening clubs and college extensions to ask how to control slime mold that they find in their gardens. The only thing you need to do, is scoop out the mulch that is growing on and throw it out. Slime mold doesn’t harm plants that it is near or on. Most of the time it dries out and goes away before it can damage any plants that you might find it on. So control is a moot point, really, and after listening to this series, I hope you get excited about the slime mold you find in your backyard!

Okay let’s talk about some of the other cool facts about slime mold.

If slime mold gets torn apart it can reform! The protoplasm of slime mold allows it to be separated and reform again when the pieces get near each other. Each tiny bit is interchangeable. Every individual protoplasm unit of slime mold can become a vein or limb-like projection that reaches out in the direction the mold wants to travel. There are, however, organelles inside the slime mold that are unable to do this. They are fixed as organelles and never change.

It does beg the question can you kill slime mold? “It’s hard to say,” says Tanya Latty, an Australian researcher studying slime mold. There is a beetle that eats slime mold, but can it eat enough to kill an individual glob? “We don’t know if they eat enough of the body to make a difference,” continues Latty. “You could lose half of the biomass and it wouldn’t matter. It would just reorganize itself and be like, “I’m fine!” End quote.

If you can’t kill slime mold, how long can it live? Excellent question, but we have no idea how long slime mold can live. When it dries out its called a sclerotia and it can survive like this for up to two years and still be revived with a little bit of moisture. As of the recoding of this podcast in 2024, a zoo in Paris has a slime mold currently on display in its plasmodial form that they acquired in 2019. That’s five years of living as a protoplasm.

How long has slime mold been on earth? British and German scientists estimate that slime mold may have evolved 600 million years ago. In 2020 researchers discovered the oldest fossilized slime mold. It was a 100 million year old sample preserved in amber.

For organisms without feet, slime mold can travel some long distances. When in its plasmodial form the blob can travel one inch an hour (I may never complain about rush hour traffic again!), but it’s not this form that allows them to travel all over the world. When reproducing, the spores are released into the air and have, somehow, travelled on the wind around the globe. There are slime molds with identical genetic structure found in the United States and New Zealand. That is an amazingly long way to travel on the wind!

Speaking of genetics…during the RNA editing phase slime mold genes make uncommonly large numbers of corrections. They are continually making changes to its original plans. Jonatha Gott of Case Western University says, “As it’s making a copy of the DNA, it changes it. It’s incredibly precise and incredibly accurate. If it does’t do this, it dies. It’s a really crazy way to express genes.” It also makes it incredibly interesting to scientists developing ways to cure cancer.

I have no doubt that the list of cool facts about slime mold will continue to grow as we learn more about this unbelievable organism. I’m glad I was able to share some of the cool facts we currently know about slime mold with all of my listeners because that’s my tenth favorite thing about slime mold.

Join me in two weeks for a new series about another misunderstood or unknown creature.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Looking for an easy care but unusual pet? Slime mold might be just what you’re looking for! Join Kiersten as she talks about slime molds as pets.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Slime Molds: No Brains, No Feet, No Problem,” Science Thursday. PBS. https://www.pbs.org

The Slime Mould Collective, https://slimoco.ning.com

Carolina Biological Supply Company, https://www.carolina.com

Slime Moulds: The University of Warwick, Life Sciences, https://warwick.ac.uk

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

We’ve reached the penultimate episode of slime mold and it’s kind of an odd one, although, most of these series has been odd. The ninth thing I like about…well I’m on the fence about whether I truly like this, so let’s say the ninth thing I’m going to talk about slime mold is people keeping it as a pet.

This is may be the most unusual creature to keep as a pet, but I guess you could get attached to this little rule breaker. It seems they might be easy to feed, a few oats can go along way, they don’t need a large space to roam around, and they don’t need a lot of light. Keeping the proper temperature and humidity levels might be the most difficult task, but let’s see what some slime mold pet owners have to say.

The University of Warwick in Coventry, England has instructions on the L Ife Sciences page for how to keep slime mold alive. It’s fairly straight forward. The slime mold they talk about is our old friend Physarum polycephalum, aka The Blob. This is the species most commonly used in laboratory experiments and was the focus of most of the intelligence studies we talked about in the last episode.

According to the Warwick guide to looking after your slime mold, it really is fairly simple. You can keep your slime mold in any waterproof container. They use petri dishes at the university, but any plastic tub is sufficient. It will need a source of moisture, so a damp piece of kitchen towel works just fine. Having a supply of oats on hand is a must, but you don’t need much more than that to feed your slime mold. You can feed it every few days, but be sure that you do, or it might make like Harry Houdini and escape imprisonment.

If the slime mold gets hungry it will figure out a way to slip out of it’s tub and look for the nutrients it needs. It also doesn’t like to hang out on old food, I’m really who does, so when you feed it you want to put it to one side so it moves around it’s enclosure. Exercise does keep you healthy.

If you’re looking for a pet that doesn’t need a lot of clean up, your in luck with slime mold. You’ll need to clean up the piece of substrate it’s living on at least once a week. You can lure it to one side for food and remove the paper it’s laying on with a new piece. This actually does sound kind of fun. When you’ve had enough of slime mold parenthood, you can just let if dry out in the dark and it goes into a sort of torpor. The dried up slime mold in called a sclerotia. It can stay on this state for almost tow years. Then it can be woken up by re-dampening the paper and feeding it oats again. Sounds pretty fool proof to me!

But, just like any living creature, there are problems that can arise. I find it interesting that Warwick University offers a troubleshooting guide to slime mold. Makes it sound like a computer program not a living organism. None the less, it sounds like good advice.

As mentioned before, you may have an escape happen. If you do, they say you can just lure it back into its enclosure with some yummy oats.

If you’re slime mold becomes smelly or moldy, more so that usual I guess, then it may have become contaminated with something. You can coax a bit of it onto a new piece of paper and move it into a new container. The rest of the slime mold and the old container will need to be bleached.

If your slime mold turns brown or gray, remember healthy blobs are typical a yellow color, or becomes runny. I have bad news. It’s dead. You’ll have to start over with a new colony, after an appropriate mourning period, of course.

If your slime mold develops black spots and stops moving. Mazel tov, you’re a parent! Your slime mold was probably exposed to too much light and has moved onto the next stage of its life, making spores. That’s it for this colony of slime mold. You’ll have to start over again.

I take back what I said before, this does seem like a pretty easy pet to have, although on long vacations you’ll need to have a pet sitter. Do they have a slime mold option on Rover?

While doing research for this episode I found a website called The Slime Mould Collective. Mold spelled mould, the European spelling. There were people asking questions about slime mold from all over the world. Could be a good way to bond with someone from across the planet. Slime mold, bringing us together. Stranger things have happened.

If you have other pets, such as fogs to cats, keep in mind that while slime mold is not toxic to them ingestion of the slime mold could cause some tummy troubles. The earthy smell that slime mold produces when it’s healthy might attract your four-legged furry friends, so for everyones sake, especially your carpet, keep your slime mold in a secure space away from your other pets.

There are two ways to obtain your slime mold. You can collect some from your garden or you can order some from online providers. The Carolina Biological Supply Company will ship you a slime mold started kit for about $53 US dollars. This is aimed at the science class so it comes with sclerotia for five slime mold starters, 10 Petri dishes lined with agar solution, and one Physarum plasmodium plate.

Collecting some from your garden will be a lot less expensive, but I’m hesitant to do that. After everything I’ve learned about slime mold intelligence how could I take it out of its natural habitat. For all we know, it could know that it’s no longer living in the wild but stuck in a plastic butter tub in someone’s kitchen. You may be shaking you head right now or laughing out loud, but just think back to the last episode where we talked about all the things slime mold can do without a brain. The next thing we discover about slime could that it has consciousness. I wouldn’t put anything past this amazing little organism.

Thanks for sticking with me to the ninth episode of slime mold, listeners, I may have to revise what I said at the beginning of this episode and say my ninth favorite thing about slime mold is that you can keep it as a pet. I may just go order some right now!

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about slime mold.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Can an organism without a brain be smart? You bet! Join Kiersten as she discusses some of the smart things slime mold can do.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Slime Molds” by Dr. Sharon M. Douglas, Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. https://portal.ct.gov

“Eight smart things slime molds can do without a brain,” by Alissa Greenberg. Nova, September 21, 2020. Https:://www.pbs.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

It’s time for episode eight, listeners, and this is all about something I never thought I’d say in the same sentence as slime mold. The intelligence of slime mold is the eighth thing I like about this unbelievable organism.

We have established in previous episodes that slime mold has no brain, nor does it have any nerve clusters or ganglia of any kind that can organize impulses to indicate a creature that can make decisions, but this is exactly what slime mold can do.

Before we jump in, I want to touch on how slime mold travels. As you remember, there are two phases of slime mold, one is stationary and the second is mobile. The plasmodium is the mobile state of the slime mold. The plasmodium is a multinucleate mass of protoplasm that results from the fusion amoeba-like, motile cells. This is the feeding, creeping stage of this organism. They remain in this form when resources are abundant. This is the form that scientist study a lot and this is how we found out just how smart slime mold is. What exactly is it that makes us say slime mold is smart?

In the senses episode, we discovered that slime mold can smell food. They then pulsate in the direction of that food, but the really amazing thing is that it can choose the best food for them. In laboratory experiments, slime mold will reach out appendages in the different directions of offered food items. These food items are not the same quality. Slime mold, before even touching the food, will decide which one offers the best nutrition value and then concentrate its efforts on that food source. For a brainless organism that’s pretty amazing, can you believe that?

The next incredible feat of slime mold has to do with obtaining the food. When put into a maze with oats, slime mold loves oats, at both the entrance and the exit of the maze, this mold will stretch itself along the maze to find the shortest path in which it can eat both supplies of food at the same time! It can perform this amazing feat with 37 different points. To let you know, the number of possible ways to connect 37 points starts with an 8 and ends with 54 zeros. Slime mold can figure out the most efficient way to eat at all 37 points at the same time! I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do that.

Slime mold can also remember where they’ve been. In these food experiments, researchers noticed that the slime mold rarely retraced a previous path. They started to wonder if the slime mold was remembering where it had been? Turns out, it was. When it travels down a path it leaves behind slime, like actual slime, similar to a snail trail, that tells the mold it has already been there so don’t bother. Brilliant!

We’re going to stay in the realm of memory but throw in habituation. Have you heard of habituation? If not, habituation is when you get used to something you don’t like but doesn’t really hurt you. It’s like getting used to an annoying noise. Advanced organisms are great at habituation but what about slime mold? You got that right! Slime mold can habituate to adverse stimuli.

In a laboratory experiment, researchers placed oats on the other side of a bridge. To reach the food slime mold had to cross the bridge. Typically, the mold could reach the food in about a hour. Researchers placed salt on the bridge. Slime mold is not fond of salt. It doesn’t hurt it, that we can tell, but the slime mold doesn’t like it. This slowed the progress of the mold to ten hours, but once it got across the bridge it got the oats. It was rewarded with a treat for crossing the salty bridge. The next day the researchers repeated the setup. How would the slime mold react? Surprisingly, the slime mold crossed the salty bridge again but faster this time. The next day, the crossing time decreased again. The slime mold remembered that if it crossed the salty bridge it could reach the yummy oats, and essentially toughed it out, habituating itself to an adverse stimulus.

If none of this has convinced you that slime mold is out of this world, I’ve got one more for ya. Slime molds can teach other slime molds what it has learned! Take that in for a moment. After the salt experiment results, the researchers started to wonder if slime mold might be able to share this information. I mean, why not? This organism has broken all the other rules.

A little background here. If you take two slime molds and place them next to each other they will combine to make one slime mold. Over time, these researchers discovered that if they let slime mold that had learned to tolerate salt interact with other slime mold that had not habituated to salt for approximately three hours, the new slime mold tolerated salt without having to go through the habituation trials! My mind just exploded! Slime mold is essentially teaching other slime mold.

This organism surprises me every single episode! My eighth favorite thing about slime mold is its incredible intelligent abilities.

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about slime mold.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: What can we learn from studying slime mold? So much! Join Kiersten as she discusses some of the more recent studies involving slime mold.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Slime molds as a valuable source of antimicrobial agents,” by Vida Tafakori. AMB Express, 2021; 11:92 doi:10.1186/s13568-021-01251-3.

“Slime Mold Leads to High-Tech Research For Stetson Computer-Science Students.” June 16, 2021. Stetson Today: The New Site of Stetson University. https://www2.stetson.edu

“Using a ‘virtual slime mold’ to design a subway network less prone to disruption,” Tyler Irving, University of Toronto. Phys Org News. https://phys.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

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Summary: Are you telling me a brainless protists has senses? You bet! Join Kiersten as she discusses slime mols senses.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Slime Mould Senses” Warwick Life Sciences. https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci

“Phototaxis and Photomorphogenesis in Physarum polycephalum Plasmodia”, by Th. Schereckenbach. Blue Light Effects in Biological Systems pp 463-475. Proceedings in Life Sciences, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69767-8_51

“The Intelligence of Slime Mold,” by Hannah Gillespie, The Appalachian Voice. October 11, 2019. https://appvoices.org

“Can Slime Molds Think?” By Nancy Walecki. Harvard Magazine, November-December 2021. https://www.harvardmagazine.com

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is episode six of slime mold and today we’re talking senses. I know it sounds a little odd to talk about senses in a life form that doesn’t even have a brain but the fact that slime mold has senses is the sixth thing I like about it.

To be honest, slime mold doesn’t have all the traditional senses that we think about creatures having, such as sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell, but the senses they have are pretty mind-blowing for such a simple organism.

Let’s look at sight first. He-he, see what I did there? On boy! I’m stuck in a pun-cycle! Seriously, slime mold can’t actually see, there is no evidence of an optical nerve or any kind of optical receptors in slime mold. They do have the ability to sense light. Most of the time, slime mold will avoid light. Blue light and UV light can damage DNA and the slime mold consistently moved away from these wavelengths. On the other end of the spectrum, red light influenced the movements of slime mold but to a lesser degree than blue and UV.

Light affects slime mold in various ways. In laboratory experiments, visible light has been shown to inhibit growth, induce a light avoidance response in mobile slime mold, control the change of plasmodial slime mold into resting structures, and trigger a formation of fruiting bodies. Movement influenced by light is called phototaxis. It looks like slime mold may not be able to see light in the traditional sense, but it defiantly has quite the impact on this organism.

In the diet episode we already sniffed out slime molds sense of smell, but let’s revisit it quickly here. Slime mold doesn’t possess an olfactory system in the traditional sense. In mammalians we have a centralized olfactory system that concentrates the cells that collect scent. It’s our nose!

Slime mold does not have a nose, but it does have olfactory cells all over its form. So, it’s kind of like one big nose. It is able to determine, by smell, which direction it wants to go to find high-quality food. It can, somehow make decisions based on the scents in the environment. Chemotaxis is movement influenced by chemical scents in the environment. Slime mold has this ability. In laboratory experiments, slime mold moved toward oats and paprika, both a good source of acceptable food, and moved away from black pepper and turmeric.

Sense of smell often goes hand in hand with a sense of taste. Slime mold definitely behaves like it has a sense of taste as well as smell, because it avoids engulfing certain types of food. Items high in salt, caffeine, and items with a high pH level are all commonly avoided by slime mold. Oats, sugar, and high protein foods all attract slime mold. Now, of course, these items all give off a chemical scent that we know the slime mold can sense, but it’s reasonable to believe that it may also have a sense of taste. We’ll have to wait for future research to see if it’s true.

Moving on to the sense of touch. There is really no way for use to truly understand what slime mold feels, but there is research that shows slime mold has preferences for certain surfaces. Like Goldilocks, slime mold wants a surface that is just right. They want something hard but not too hard. They will pick wood over a rock or over a loose patch of moss.

There is no evidence, yet, that slime mold is capable of hearing, but give it some time. I don’t think we should rule anything out when it come to slime mold.

We do know that slime mold employs mechanosensation to judge objects in the distance without coming into physical contact with them. Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University presented challenges to the slime mold in a laboratory setting to see what it was capable of. They placed the slime mold in the center of a petrie dish and placed glass discs on opposite sides of the dish. One side held one disc and the other side held three discs. They turned off the lights and left the slime mold for approximately 12 hours. When they checked on the slime mold, it consistently traveled toward the side contains three discs.

Now, they filmed the progression of the slime mold to make sure it hadn’t reached all the way out to each side touching the discs and then determined which way to go. The slime mold never touched any of the discs before it favored the side with the three discs.

To make this even crazier, the slime mold showed a preference for discs that took up more horizontal space than discs that were closer together or stacked on top of one another. They are still not sure how the slime mold is processing this information, but the presence of protein channels called TRP have been found in slime mold. The human brain uses these TRP channels to process mechanosensation input. Notice I said the human brain, and as we know by now, slime mold does not have a brain. So , how is slime mold processing the information that helps it determine the mass of objects on the horizon?

I don’t know about you, but each episode of this slime mold series amazes me. Slime mold senses is mu sixth favorite thing bout this under appreciated organism.

Join me next week for another episode about slime mold.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Where does slime mold come from? Join Kiersten as she explains how slime mold reproduces.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Slime Mold Reproduction” Brad Renner, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. bioweb.uwlax.edu

“Slime Mould,” by Thomas J. Volk, in Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, 2001. https://www.sciencedirect.com

“The Blob: Slime Molds.” Herbarium Utah State University. https://www.usu.edu

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is episode number five of slime mold and the fifth thing I like about slime mold is how it reproduces.

Some of you may be wondering where exactly do slime molds come from? Well, when a mommy slime mold and a daddy slime mold love each other very much…. No, no just kidding. Slime molds are delivered by a stork….Okay, it’s out of my system. Now, seriously. Slime molds reproduce through spores. These spores can lay dormant in soil for many years. This is why it seems like slime molds arise out of nowhere. They were just tucked down into the soil waiting for the right time to grow. As we’ve discussed in previous episodes, that usually happens after a nice warm rainy season.

A general life cycle for slime mold follows a basic pattern. It begins with a stalk-like structure with a sporangium on top. Spores are held inside this sporangium and when they are mature and the environment is just right, the spores are released. The spores will germinate into an ameboid cell. These cells enter into the feeding stage for a certain period of time. When the slime mold enters the mature stage it will begin preparing to fruit and you’ll see young sporangium fruiting. Then we arrive back at the stalk-like structure where we began. This pattern holds true for both plasmodial and cellular slime molds with some slight differences.

The life cycle of plasmodial slime molds includes two stages. When those perfect conditions happen the spores resting in the soil germinate and release small, motile cells. Two of these cells will get together and form a shapeless mass, the plasmodium. Which is, as we know, a multinucleate mass of protoplasm. This is the feeding and creeping stage of the organism.

The second stage is triggered by drying weather. If the plasmodium begins to dry out too quickly or is starved, it forms a survival structure called sclerotium. This is a hard-walled mass that will protect the cells within until environmental conditions improve. Inside, spores are created waiting for favorable weather to return. And when it does the plasmodial slime mold will be on the prowl again.

Now, think back to that first slime mold episode with me. In that episode we learned that there is more than one kind of slime mold. We just discussed reproduction of plasmodial slime mold, so let’s take a gander at cellular slime mold reproduction.

Cellular slime molds reproduce in a similar manor as plasmodial slime mold with one major difference. Cellular slime molds remain individual cells with one nucleus. The individual slime molds, also known as slime mold “slugs”, will crawl along substrate at 1 millimeter per hour leaving behind a trail of chemicals. These chemical trails will attract other slime mold slugs. When many of them finally come together they form a pseudoplasmodium. It’s a pseudoplasmodium because the cells remain separate with their one nucleus a piece. As the slugs aggregate about one-third of them will come together to create a fruiting body. A fruiting body is a stalk-like structure with a sporangium on top filled with spores. When the weather is moist enough and at just the right temperature, the spores are released and cellular slime molds are released to start the cycle all over again.

Once again slime mold is blowing my mind and I hope you feel the same way because reproduction is my fifth favorite thing about this amazing protist.

Join me next week for another episode about slime mold.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Slime mold eats some pretty interesting stuff, but how it finds it’s food is they really fascinating part. Join Kiersten as she talks about who slime mold eats.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Slime Molds” by Dr. Sharon M. Douglas, Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. https://portal.ct.gov

“Slime Mould,” by Thomas J. Volk, in Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, 2001. https://www.sciencedirect.com

“Slime Mold Nutrition” Brad Renner, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. bioweb.uwlax.edu

“Eight smart things slime molds can do without a brain,” by Alissa Greenberg, Nova, Monday, September 21, 2020. https://www.pbs.org

Slime Mold: Diet

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

On to number four, listeners, and we’re talking diet. I’m learning so much researching this series and the fourth thing I like about slime mold is what it eats!

Slime mold was thought to be a fungus for quite some time, so people were amazed to find out that it ingests it food, then digests. That doesn’t sound so odd to me, since that’s what I did with my breakfast this morning, but that’s not how fungus does it. Fungus digests its food externally before absorbing it. So, this is what researchers expected when they looked at how slime mold eats.

To say the least, they were surprised. Let’s take a closer look at how slime mold eats. We’re going to investigate how Myxomycota, the true slime molds, eat their food.

As a quick reminder, Myxomycota are the plasmodial slime molds. They exist as a plasmodium. A plasmodium is a blob of protoplasm without cell walls and only a cell membrane to keep everything together. (I see why this inspired a 1950s horror movie.)

They are essentially an amoeba and amoebas eat their food well, like the Blob. They engulf their food and then digest it. By engulf I mean completely surround it with their amoeba body. This process is called pseudopodia. The definition of pseudopodia is a temporary protrusion of the surface of an amoeboid cell for movement and feeding. This is what slime mold does when it is preparing to eat.

The next step is phagocytosis. Phagocytosis is the act of eating or damaging foreign components in cells. According to Science Direct phagocytosis is a universal cell function, which starts with the recognition and binding of a particle, generally in a receptor-dependent manner, and leads to its internalization and degradation. Sounds pretty complicated to me but, I guess it’s essentially digestion. Some organisms may use it for other things besides digestion such as defending against invading pathogens, it is also important during development and in adulthood for normal turnover, remodeling, and disposal of tissues, but that’s a whole other podcast.

The important part of this definition is that this is the process that helps slime mold digest its food.

Alright! We know how slime mold eats, let’s look at what slime mold eats. Bacteria is a big favorite of slime mold, but they can also eat decaying leaves, decaying logs, yeasts, other protists, and poo. Hey, somebody’s gotta do it, right?!

So far the diet and eating habits of slime molds don’t seem too unusual compared to other creatures, expect for maybe the poo, but we’re just getting to the really mind blowing part.

First of all, slime mold can smell its food. I know what you’re thinking, how can a blob of cells with no detectable olfactory system smell food? The answer is that they have olfactory receptors all over the cells connected into the amoeba. These receptors are similar to the receptors that mammals, including humans, have lining their nasal passages. I’ll pause a moment while you let this information sink in…

Hold on to your hat though, it’s about to get even more amazing! Some mold actually shows preferences for food. That’s right! If given the choice between two potential food sources they will chose the one that has the best nutritional value.

Ecologist and entomologist Tanya Latty has studied slime molds extensively and in her research she’s discovered that slime molds make smart decisions about their nutritional needs. To be successful slime molds need sugars and proteins. In a laboratory setting, Latty and colleagues offered Physarum polycephalum, also know as the many-headed slime, 35 different recipes made of different ratios of the nutrients slime mold needs to survive. The slime mold chose to engulf the foods that offered the best balance of elements and avoided the recipes that would harm them or weren’t worth the effort to ingest. You heard me correctly, they chose the food themselves. If nothing else blows your mind about slime mold, I just said a living entity that has no brain or any detectable ganglia is making a decision!

Need another example? Latty also tested whether slime mold could make trade-offs between quality of food and risk. (I can’t even believe I’m reporting this, it’s so amazing!) The researchers set up an experiment where they put the preferred food under a bright light and less desirable food in the dark. Slime mold doesn’t like bright light, so you’d expect it to stay in the dark and eat what it can get, right? But from what we’ve just learned you may be thinking it took the chance and ate the food in the light because it was worth the risk. The results were not this simple.

What actually happened I that the slime mold only took the risk to enter the bright light to engulf the food if the food was fives times more nutritious than what was in the dark. That is crazy amazing! This entity that is a blob of simple cells kept together by a common wall is processing information from olfactory receptors and choosing to make a calculated trade-offs to ensure it’s survival. Holy Cow!!

Quoting from an article from PBS Nova Latty says, “If you’re a basic system, you’d expect you always choose one. You have a simple rule that always works. If you’re sophisticated, you get some information about quality of food and intensity of light and do some calculations to figure out if it’s worth it.” End quote. Looks like slime mold is in the second category. Latty continues, “That implies some molds are able to process information between two different attributes of a food source, which seems pretty sophisticated thing for, well, mucus.” End quote.

I have no words for this…it’s truly amazing.

Stick with me listeners because it only gets cooler from here. The diet and feeding behavior of slime mold is my fourth favorite thing about this mind-blowing creature.

Join me next week for another episode about slime mold.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: How many species of slime mold do you think there are? You’d be surprised! Join Kiersten and a guest co-host as she talk about the different species of slime mold.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Summary: “What is Slime Mold?” By Stephen C. George. Discover Magazine, Apr 21, 2023. https://www.discovermagazine.com

“Slime Molds” by Dr. Sharon M. Douglas, Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. https://portal.ct.gov

“The Biota of the Gordon Natural Area - Slime Molds.” https://www.wcupa.edu

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

In the third episode we’re going to talk about how many different species of slime molds scientists are currently know exist. If you rsememrb from episode one, its a lot! To discuss this topic, I’ve asked a previous guest to help me out.

Welcome, Georgiy! Thanks for helping me talk about slime mold!

Georgiy: You’re welcome!

Kiersten: Do you know how many different slimes molds there are?

Georgiy: You just said a lot.

Kiersten: I did but that’s not a very good numerical description. Did you listen to the first episode of this series? You didn’t did you!

Georgiy: Meep! No comment.

Kiersten: I’m not sure how I feel about that, but why don’t you try to guess how many species of slime mold we currently know about?

Georgiy: (Guess)

Kiersten: Is that your final answer?

Georgiy: Maybe…

Kiersten: Do you want me to just tell you?

Georgiy: Yes, please.

Kiersten: Over 1,000 different species of slime molds have been recorded.

Georgiy: That’s a lot!

Kiersten: That’s what I said!

Georgiy: I heard that some of them have some strange names. Isn’t there one called dog vomit?

Kiersten: Yes, there is one called dog vomit. That one is also called scrambled egg slime mold. Fuligo septica is the scientific name for the dog vomit slime mold. It’s an extremely common specimen. It can also vary in color from white, yellow, orange, to red. Do you know hay the color can vary so much?

Georgiy: Maybe because of something it eats?

Kiersten: That’s right! At least one reason it can vary in color is what it eats. Temperature and pH levels can also impact the color. I have some pictures here of different slime molds, do you want to help me describe them to our listeners?

Georgiy: Sure.

Kiersten: Okay, here’s the first one. The scientific name is Arcyria cinerea. What does this one look like?

Georgiy: Describe it. Carpet fibers. A close-up picture of white carpet fibers. Five fluffy. oblong structures are attached to one stock.

Kiersten: The common name of this one is white carnival candy slime mold. Take a look at Ceratiomyxa porioides. Can you describe this one?

Georgiy: Looks like a shower loofa! It’s white with structured chambers.

Kiersten: This one’s common name is coral slime. Let’s look at one more. Check out Tubifera ferruginosa.

Georgiy: It looks like red shaved ice. A snow cone with red flavorin

Kiersten: I like this one. It’s such a pretty shade of red. Its common name is Raspberry slime mold.

Georgiy: That’s great name for it. Let’s look at another one.

Kiersten: Okay, but this is the last one. We can’t look at all of them! With over 1000 known species we’d be here for a long time and this episode in only ten minutes! How about Trichia scabra?

Georgiy: They look like little orange bee-bees. They are all lined up together.

Kiersten: I think you could easily overlook this one, but it’s common name is cool. Saffron soldiers!

Georgiy: It is the color of saffron, that orange-yellow color and they are lined up like soldiers. Saffron is a spice that’s pretty tasty isn’t it?

Kiersten: It is! From the research I’ve done for these episodes it seems you can eat slime mold. No one recommends it, but most of them appear to be non-toxic. Just to make this clear, we’re are not recommending you eat slime mold. Right?

Georgiy: Right!

Kiersten: So, Georgiy…what do you think about slime mold?

Georgiy: I think it’s pretty cool! There are so many species in so many colors and shapes.

Kiersten: Thanks for helping me talk about the different types of slime molds today.

Georgiy: You’re welcome!

Kiersten: We’re just getting started with slime molds and my third favorite thing about them is that there is over 1,000 unique species.

Join me next week for another episode about slime mold.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Where can you find slime molds. Everywhere! Join Kiersten as she tells you the best places to look for slime mold.

Show Notes:

“Introduction to the Slime Molds” UC Berkeley

“What is Slime Mold?” By Stephen C. George. Discover Magazine, Apr 21, 2023. https://www.discovermagazine.com

“Slime Molds” by Dr. Sharon M. Douglas, Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. https://portal.ct.gov

"Slime Molds" Mount Rainer National Park. https://www.nps.gov

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

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Summary: Yuck! What is that goopy, gross pile of snot?! It’s Slime Mold! Join Kiersten as she reveals slime mold.

Show Notes:

“Introduction to the Slime Molds” UC Berkeley

“What is Slime Mold?” By Stephen C. George. Discover Magazine, Apr 21, 2023. https://www.discovermagazine.com

“Slime Molds” by Dr. Sharon M. Douglas, Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. https://portal.ct.gov

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

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Today is World Pangolin Day! To celebrate this amazing but highly endangered animal, we’re reposting the first episode of our series on pangolins. Please enjoy and go back and listen to the rest of the series to learn more about the pangolin!

Originally Aired: 9/14/2022

Pangolin Scales

Summary: Join Kiersten as she talks about her first favorite thing about pangolins, their scales! This episode is the first of ten about the amazing pangolin.

Show Notes:

References for this episode - The Encyclopedia of Mammals edited by Dr. David Macdonald

www.savepangolins.org

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/facts-about-pangolins

Pangolin Conservation Organizations:

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife - www.svw.vn

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Episode 65: Echidna: Conservation

Summary: What does the future of the echidna look like? Join Kiersten as she discusses echidna conservation

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeates) Fact Sheet: Population and Conservation Status, San Diego Wildlife Alliance Library. https://iecl.libguides.com

“The Long-beaked Echidna: can we save the earth’s oldest living mammal?”, by Andrew L. Mack, 26 October 2015, Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com

EchidnaCSI: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/research/citizen-science/echidna-csi/echidna-research-conservation

echidnacsi@adelaide.edu.au

Expedition Cyclops: https://www.expeditioncyclops.org/echidna

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the last episode of echidnas, and I have to say I’m sorry to see them go. They have been such an interesting animal to talk about. And as usual the last episode is all about the conservation work being done to ensure their continued survival.

The short-beaked echidna is the most wide spread native mammal in Australia and is protected on the continent but that doesn’t mean they aren’t feeling the strain of our changing planet. Loss of habitat, loss of food resources, over-hunting, and problems encountered due to changing temperatures are problems all species of echidnas face. Another man-made problem threatening echidnas is feral dogs. They have no problems tracking echidnas and making a meal of them.

Of our four species of echidnas, the short-beaked echidna is doing the best conservation wise. Overall, their populations are stable in the area that have been studied. An estimate made in 2017 says 5 to 50 million individual short-beaked echidnas may live in Australia. They are given a Least Concern status by the IUCN.

The long-beaked echidnas are a different story.

Over hunting of the long-beaked echidna is problematic. Since the 1960’s the long-beaked echidna has experienced an 80% loss of population. All long-beaked echindas, which is three out of the four species of echidna, are considered critically endangered by the IUCN.

Here’s where the echidna and human stories twine together in a plicated braid. Indigenous peoples of the New Guinea are relied on echidnas and tree kangaroos as food sources. These two animals are the largest mammals native to this area. Back when human numbers were low, this wasn’t a problem. A few echidna were hunted for meat and the populations were allowed to replenish keeping up with the small amount taken for hunting.

In 2015, a study done estimating the hunting of long-beaked echidna by Indigenous peoples found that in seven months hunters from 33 clans in two tribes killed and consumed 16 long-beaked echidnas. It doesn’t sound like a lot but, that is more than 25% of all the known specimens in the world ever collected. There are over 800 tribes in Papua New Guinea and thousands of clans with a taste for the echidna. Modern technology and dogs have made hunting for them even easier. It’s a fine line here with conservation efforts because we don’t want to take away from the importance of preserving indigenous peoples way of life, but this activity is also wiping out an animal that is older than human history. Researchers and educators must tread carefully but quickly to prevent the extinction of this animal.

The biggest problem here is that the tribes are like separate countries. They all have different languages and different ways of life, so setting aside an area to protect the echidna is simply not possible. You have to approach each group of people and talk to the individually and explain the problems that the echidna faces. It can be done but it relies on time the long-beaked echidnas may not have left. But conservationists have not given up hope.

What is being done to ensure the survival of this animal that has lived on this planet longer than any other mammal?

Australia has laws in place that protect echidnas from exploitation and has set aside wild place as refuges for them, as well as other native wildlife. Researchers continue to study all species of echidna to learn about how they live and what they rely on to survive. With this information new regulations can be crafted to protect the animal itself and the resources they need to survive.

This is the most difficult area of conservation though, because most species are nocturnal and live in dense forest ares. This makes it very difficult to find and observe them. The ones that live in more open area live high up in altitude which also makes it difficult for us to find and follow them.

In Papua New Guinea individual landowners have begun to work with conservationist by agreeing to not hunt echidnas on their land. The Hogave Conservation Area was established as a no-hunting zone thirty years ago by a tribal chief in the area. Elsewhere in Papua New Guinea conservation groups are working locally with individuals to spread the word about echidna populations and hope for their survival there has greatly improved.

On a happy note, Sir David’s long-beaked echidna, thought to be extinction for over 60 years was rediscovered in 2023. An expedition to the Cyclops Mountains in Indonesia had high hopes in finding this long lost echidna. They had heard rumors and received reports from local Indigenous people that echidna still roamed the region, but not hard evidence had surfaced. In 2023, one last effort was made by the University of Oxford to determine if the stories where true. And they did it! They captured film footage of the animal proving this species of long-beaked echidna is still alive today! It leaves you with hope that the other species may survive against all odds as well.

For my listeners in Australia, I’m not sure I have any listeners in Austraila, I hope I do, and other areas where echidnas are found there is a citizen science project you can join to help researchers at the University of Adelaide collect important information about echidnas. The program is called EchidnaCSI and anyone can join! CSI stand for Conservation Science Initiative and you can contact the university by emailing echidnacsi@adelaide.edu.au. I’ll post this link in my show notes for this episode.

For those of you outside Australia that want to help echidnas, do what I’m doing, get the word out there about these amazing animals. The more people know about these animals they more they will care and that is the best step to helping them survive.

You can also contribute to Expedition Cyclops. Now that we have definitive proof that Sir David’s long-beaked echidna still lives, more research is needed to ensure their continued survival. I’ll post a link to Expedition Cyclops in my show notes.

I’m going to end on a hopeful note for the echidna because it’s my tenth favorite thing about this legendary animal. Thank you so much for joining me for my series on echidnas.

I’ll be taking a break after this series but I’ll be back in March of 2024 with brand new episodes of Ten Things I Like About.…

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Some echidna senses don’t make much sense, but they’re really cool! Join Kiersten as she discusses echidna senses.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

“Functional Diversity and Evolution of Bitter Taste Receptors in Egg-Laying Mammals,” by Akihito Itoigawa, Akashi Hayakawa, Yang Zhou, Adrian D. Manning, Goujie Zhang, Frank Grutzner, Hire Imai. Molecular Biology and Evolution, Volume 39, Issue 6, June 2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msac107

“Distortion product otoacoustic emission and auditory brainstem responses in the echidna(Tachyglossus aculeatus),” by D M Mills and R K Shepard. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol. 2001 Jun; 2(2): 130-46.

“Color vision evolution in egg-laying mammals: insights from visual photoreceptors and daily activities of Australian echidnas,” by Shiina Sakamoto, Yuka Matsushita, Akihiro Itoigawa, Takumi Ezawa, Takeshi Fujitani, Kenichiro Takakura, Yang Zhou, Goujie Zhang, Frank Grutzner, Shoji Kawamura, and Akashi Hayakawa. Zoological Letters, 2024; 10: 2.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues echidnas and the ninth thing I like about these incredible animals is their senses. Just like most mammals echidnas have eyes, ears, a nose, and a tongue which covers four of the five senses. We know they use their eyes to see, their ears to hear, and their nose to smell and we’re going to talk about all of these things in this episode. Whether they use their tongue to taste, I’m not sure, but we’ll try and find out an answer. I do know they use their nose for more than just smelling. Let’s get started.

We’ll begin with vision. Echidnas are often described as nocturnal, as I said in previous episodes, but some researchers and zookeepers have seen them active during the day. What does this have to do with their vision? Whether an animal is diurnal or nocturnal can, evolutionarily speaking, influence the development of color vision. Not many controlled studies have been done to truly determine the daily behaviors of the echidna, but scientists have been able to determine that echidnas do have some color vision. Since reports say echidnas are active both day and night it does stand to reason they have at least some color vision opsins.

Their distance vision is nothing to write home about. In other words, not great, but they are excellent at discerning shapes. They can distinguish a human shape from other forms, so that means they can probably distinguish other animal and plant forms, as well. They don’t rely on vision too much, but it is helpful during the daylight hours when and if they are active.

Hearing is a sense that many animals with poor vision will depend on to survive. Echidnas are no expiation to this rule. They do have ears with which to hear, but the do not have external pinnae. The fleshly part of the ear that sticks out from the side of the head is called the pinna. We have them, dogs, and cat’s have them, many mammals have them, but not echidnas. They have a large slit behind their eyes, often hidden in their fur and spines. This opening connects to their auditory canal and allows them to hear.

A study published in 2001, determined that echidna hearing is as sensitive as other mammals such as gerbils and rabbits but it is a much narrower frequency range. They did establish that echidnas have some sort of cochlear amplifier inside the structure of the ear but it is not the same as other mammals. Echidnas can hear frequencies above 20 kHz which is higher than typical bird or reptile hearing but lower than typical mammal hearing.

Let’s take a quick lick, oh sorry, look at the sense of taste. The echidna has taste buds at the base of the tongue. The presence of taste buds implies that they can taste something. But what can they taste? A study published in 2022, looked at the bitter taste in the echidna. Bitter taste receptors are typically thought to help identify toxic chemicals in plants and invertebrates. This would be very important for an animal that eats invertebrates. This research concluded that echidnas do have just enough bitter taste buds to help keep them safe while foraging for food. More research will need to be done to find out if they have any other taste profiles.

The nose. This is where we get to the really cool stuff. Echidnas have an excellent sense of smell. Their nose is located at the end of their long snout. They rely on their sense of smell to find food underground. Their keen sense of smell allows them to find termites, ants, earthworms and other soft bodied larvae in the ground. This isn’t unusual or the truly exciting thing about their noses.

The really cool thing about their noses is that they can sense electrical currents with it. That’s pretty cool. I’m going to read you a paragraph from the Nature Comes Standard website that explains how this works. Quoting from the article entitled E.S.P: Echidna Sensory Perception, “The snout senses vibrations via both electrical and mechanical signals. A prey’s movement creates a vibration that reaches the snout, acting upon a nanoscale column of cells like a combustion engine’s push-rod. The push-rod transfers the signal to a nerve ending, creating an electric signal, and a mechanoreceptor creating a similar sensation as a humans fingertip. This information is processed to sense the presence and motion of prey. Like counting the time delay between a lightning flash and a thunder boom, the echidna can sense a prey’s distance and speed.” End quote.

That, I think, is quite a cool nose. There are even scientists studying how this works to improve human navigation and develop new methods of scanning objects. I love it when we take the time to learn from Nature.

That’s it for echidna senses, and I have a feeling that you found it just as interesting as I did because it’s my ninth favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for the final episode about echidnas.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Do echidnas dream? Join Kiersten as she travels into the sleep cycles of the echidna to find out if they dream.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Monotremes and the evolution of rapid eye movement of sleep,” J. M. Siegel, P. R. Manger, R. Nienhuis, H. M. Fahringer, and J. D. Pettigrew. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London, B (1998) 353, 1147-1157.

“The Echidna Tachyglossus aculeates Combines REM and Non-REM Aspects in a Single Sleep State: Implications for the Evolution of Sleep,” by J. M. Siegel, P. R. Manger, R. Nienhuis, H. M. Fahringer, and J. D. Pettigrew. The Journal of Neuroscience, May 15, 1996, 16 (10): 3500-3506.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues echidnas and the eighth thing I like about this rule breaking mammal is the possibility that they may dream. I’m not kidding listeners, echidnas may actually dream. Let’s dive into this subject by finding out what happens when echidnas sleep.

Discovering what happens when echidnas sleep has been a long a winding path. First, it’s pretty difficult to determine what a hard to find, nocturnal animal is doing when they’re sleeping. So most of the research done involving echidna sleep is done with the short-beaked echidna, Tachyglossus aculeates, because they are more easily found.

In 1972, a report was published about the electrophysiological study of the short-beaked echidna. They were interested in the waking and sleeping state of the echidna. The way you study that is by recording the electrical impulses created by the brain during different activities. The 1972 study showed that echidnas do not enter REM sleep, the state of sleep in which dreams occur. Echidnas remained in a non-REM sleep the entire time they were unconscious.

Based on this information, researchers postulated new hypotheses on when sleep developed two sleep stages. Since echidnas are biologically some of the oldest living mammals, some say primitive but I think that word makes them sound unimportant, the stages of sleep they exhibit could have meaningful implications on when mammalian sleep developed two distinct sleep stages.

For years science excepted this result for the 1972 study. There was no reason to question the results. The research was sound and a second study published in 1996 seemed to support these results. The second study actually found that the typical sleep patterns of non-monotreme mammals, which is every mammal except echidnas and platypus, did not match the sleep patterns of the echidna.

The really interesting result of this study was that they found that echidna sleep resembled both non-REM sleep patterns and REM sleep patterns in the same cycle. This is significant because in the average mammal REM and non-REM sleep happens in separate cycles. Using different methods of judging sleep and waking activity in the brain, revealed a truth that called for a reevaluation of the previous results.

Really fascinating! Who knew the sleep patterns of an ancient-lineage mammal could mean so much to modern research?

With these two studies kind of rubbing against each other, further research was definitely needed. In 1998, a study did look closer at the sleep patterns of the echidna. The previous two studies had used changes in EEG, electromyogram, and eye movement to determine whether the echidna actually experienced REM sleep. These researchers recognized the discrepancies created using these recoding methods and decided to look at the neuronal activity in the brainstem.

The 1998 study added another layer to the echidna sleep mystery. Using new evaluation methods this study showed that echidnas do experience a sleep state resembling REM sleep in the brainstem, while the forebrain remains in a state resembling non-REM sleep.

One of the questions that arose during this line of study was why do echidnas not show typical signs of REM sleep such as the rapid eye movement that gives this sleep cycle its name. Twitching of various body parts, as well as, eye movement is indicative of REM sleep in many mammalian species, including platypus which is the other extant monotremes on the planet. So why don’t echidnas display twitching muscles during REM?

The scientists in this study thought that might be due to the fact that echidnas sleep in more exposed areas than platypus. The twitching of their spines would be audible and visible to predators, but in the last episode I just talked about how echidnas dig dens into the side of sloped ground. So, I don’t know if I buy that explanation. They may need to go back to the drawing board on that. But this evidence gives them one more hypothesis on when REM sleep developed in mammals. The forebrain aspects of REM sleep may be recent inventions in the mammalian line.

How does any of this relate back to the title of this episode? REM sleep is the sleep cycle when dreaming happens. Research into human sleep patterns shows that dreaming happens during the REM sleep cycle. Mammals that experience REM sleep may also dream. Now the cortex of the brain must be activated during REM sleep to produce dreams, and what we just learned about echidna sleep tells us that their brainstem is involved in their REM sleep.

So do echidnas dream? They do have a large neocortex compared to other mammalian brains, and I’ve just shown that different routes of research can shed more light on what is actually happening in an animal. Maybe brainstem REM sleep also creates dreams and we just haven’t found evidence of it yet. It’s an intriguing question and I’ll leave you with one more before I end this episode. If echidnas dream, what do they dream about?

Thanks again listeners for following me down the winding path of the echidna. I’m glad you joined me today because my eight favorite thing about them is the possibility that they dream.

Join me next week for another episode about echidnas.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Do echidnas ever get on each others nerves? Join Kiersten as she talks about the social structure of echidnas to find out!

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Short-beaked Echidna. Bush Heritage Australia, https://www.bushheritage.org.au

Eastern long-beaked echidna, Animalia, https://animlia.bio

“Home Ranges, Movement, and Den Use in Long-beaked Echidnas, Zaglossus bartoni, From Papua New Guinea,” by Muse D. Opiang. Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 90, Issue 2, 14 April 2009, pages 340-346. https://doi.org/10.1644/08-MaMM-A-108.1

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues echidnas and the seventh thing I like about them is their social structure.

Overall, all species of echidnas are solitary animals. They spend the majority of their lives alone, only coming together during breeding season. Then mothers will remain with the puggles until they are about 7 months old and they are able to leave the den and forage for themselves. Outside of breeding season and puggle-raising duties, echidnas live solitary lives.

We do base this information on what we currently know about this enigmatic creature which, sadly, is not a lot. They are hard to study in the wild because they are typically nocturnal and they often dig dens that they stay in during the day. Researchers haven’t given up and do continue to try and learn as much as we can about their everyday lives.

A study published in 2009 looked at the home ranges and movement of the eastern long-beaked echidna, Zaglossus bartoni. The study showed that mature adult home ranges did not overlap with each other, but juvenile echidnas occasionally overlapped with female echidna home ranges. It is possible that these juveniles may have been the offspring of the females, but that was not proven.

Home range size was estimated for 11 individual echidnas. Seven were positively identified by sex and 4 were estimated, giving a total of seven females and four males with three juveniles. Researchers strapped telemetry anklets to the subjects to document as many points as possible to estimate home range size. By the end of the research period, home ranges sizes varied from 2.2 hectares to 168.2 hectares.

If you’re thinking that’s quite a large difference in home range sizes, you’d be right. Let’s look a little closer at these results. The individual with the smallest home range size only had 4 points of reference, so we’d probably throw that one out because of lack of data. The largest home range of 168.2 hectares was a juvenile with 43 points of reference, so most likely this is a good estimate of the home range. Because it’s a juvenile, the researchers believe that it was still trying to decide on a home range and that’s why it was wandering so far and wide. Most likely this is not indicative of a typical echidna home range size. This individual was also the one that overlapped with other home ranges.

The more median size home range is what we’re really interested in. This gives us a better idea of the typical home range size of the average eastern long-beaked echidna. If we add all the home ranges together and divide we get and average of about 25 hectares. This is a pretty good size home range, lots of area to find insects to munch on and a nice place to find a den.

Interestingly, the home range with the most points recorded was a size of 75 hectares for an adult female. Considering this individual was recored with 65 points of reference this might be a more typical home range size, but it could also just be this individual’s preference. This study was incredibly interesting and a great start to mapping out the needs of the eastern long-beaked echidna.

So what makes a good home range? There are a few necessities that a good home range must contain. Food is definitely important. You must have enough food to sustain yourself before you settle down. Water is also important, but echidnas do not rely on standing bodies of water as much as other mammals. They can get water from the food they eat. The last thing that is incredibly important in a home range is a place to make a den.

During this study, 223 dens of long-beaked echidnas were found. 209 of them were underground dens. Of the ones found above ground, it appears that most of them were utilized by juvenile echidnas. Maybe there is a learning curve for how and where a great den is created. Or the juveniles hadn’t established a permanent home range, yet.

When creating a den the echidna will dig out a main resting place with two separate entrances. That’s good thinking there, always have an escape hatch. If at all possible these dens will be located on the side of sloped earth. It may be easier to dig into a sloped mound and it can also help keep the den from becoming flooded. Boy! These echidnas really know how to build the perfect house!

Whenever I find out that an animal that mates with others of the opposite sex leads a solitary life in a fairly large home range, I know I always ask How do they find each other when it’s time to make babies? I asked this question about the echidna. So how do they find each other? Through scent. When breeding season begins both males and females emit a scent that attracts the opposite sex to them.

Most of the responsibility of finding another echidna lies on the male, and as we discussed in the reproduction episode, he’ll travel quite the distance to ensure that he’s the mate for her. The spur that all echidnas have at some point in their life may have originally been used for venom like the male platypus, but now it’s used for secreting a substance that may attract females during mating season.

The last thing we need to discuss about echidna’s social lives is what happens when they encounter each other outside of breeding season. And that appears to be not much. No sources that I’ve used for this series have said anything about echidna on echidna aggression. It seems that when they do encounter each other outside of the breeding season, they just kind of avoid each other. During breeding season, the worst a male will do to another male is push them out of the love train. No blood and guts death matches for echidnas.

That’s it for the social structure of echidnas. Thanks for listening to this episode because the social lives of echidnas is my seventh favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another episode about echidnas.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Ouch! Echidna spines are no joke! Join Kiersten as she discusses this amazing echidna anatomy.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeates) Fact Sheet: Physical Characteristics, San Diego Wildlife Alliance Library. https://iecl.libguides.com

“Observations on Fur Development in Echidna (Monotremata, Mammalia) Indicate the Spines Precede Hairs in Ontogeny,” by Lorenzo Alibardi, and George Rogers. The Anatomical Record, Vol 298, Issue4, p. 761-770.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.23081

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues echidnas and the sixth thing I like about them is their spines. Last episode we talked about how they defend themselves from the very few predators they have and one of those defense mechanisms was the spines they have on their backs. Today we’re going to take a closer look at these spines and find out what exactly they are and how they work.

All four species of echidnas have spines. You may be asking what exactly is a spine, and this is a great question, listeners. You actually have spines all over your body right now! Not exactly, but spines are modified hairs. They are made out of keratin just like all mammalian hair, including human hair and nails.

Spines grow out of the skin just like thin hairs. So spines are made up of a medulla, which is the innermost layer of hair. It’s the softest and most fragile layer and functions as the marrow of the hair. The medulla is surrounded by a cortex. This is the thickest layer of a hair and contains most of the pigment, when hair has pigment. The outermost layer is the cuticle which is made up of dead cells. This is also the same anatomy of the softer hairs most mammals carry, including the echidna.

Underneath the skin the canal that the spines grow out of holds a thick inner root sheath made of cornified cells which surround the growing shaft. This shaft will eventually exit the skin with a sharp, pointed end and grow into the spine.

Echidnas grow spines on the dorsal, that’s the top, and the lateral, that’s the sides of the body. The number of spines taper off toward the underside of the echidna where you find only softer hairs. Echidnas do have softer hairs on their back and sides, as well as the spines giving them a slightly fuzzy appearance. Echidna spines will vary in size depending on where they are on the body. Some will be longer and some will be shorter so they fit nicely along the body.

The spines of echidnas have long roots that are embedded in a special layer of muscle. This layer of muscle allows the echidna to move each spine individually. Could you imagine be able to move the hairs on your body individually? That would be so cool!

This of course aides the echidna in using its spines to protect itself from harm. The spines can be moved individually or as a group depending on what the echidna is doing.

When used for protection against a predator, the idea is that the predators will get a nose or mouth full of sharp spines that will hopefully make them think twice about trying to continue eating this echidna. You may be thinking of another animal that does the same thing with quills, the North American porcupine. They use their quills to defend themselves just like the echidna with one little difference. When a North American porcupine encounters a predator they will back into the predator’s muzzle or whatever portion of their body that is exposed and the porcupine’s quills will release and stick in the animal’s body part. Definitely gets their point across.

This is not what happens with the echidna. When a predator bites at or swipes at an echidna, their spines stay put. They are not hooked at the ends like the North American Porcupine’s quills and they are made to stay attached until they are naturally shed with age. The spines of an echidna can stay attached for years.

This may have brought up another question from my intelligent listeners. What is the difference between a quill and a spine? To be completely honest I can’t find a great answer to this question. I can tell you that spines are used to refer to a broader group of modified hairs where quills are a specific type of spine. You often hear the term quill used when talking about porcupines. When doing research for this podcast all the sources I referenced said echidnas have spines.

In a scientific paper published in 2014 titled “Observations on Fur Development in Echidna” the authors question whether spines are actually modified hairs. They looked at various ages of preserved specimens of baby echidnas to determine if the spines grew from modified hair follicles or different follicles altogether. Turns out they form from different follicles than those of hair, so maybe the spines are not modified hairs at all, but something unique to itself.

It will be interesting to see what further research reveals.

Thanks for joining me for this pointed discussion of echidna spines because it’s my sixth favorite thing about this amazing monotreme.

Join me next week for another episode about echidnas.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Echidnas don’t have a lot of natural predators but they do have some great defense strategies. Join Kiersten as talks defense in echidnas.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeates) Fact Sheet: Behavior and Ecology, San Diego Wildlife Alliance Library. https://iecl.libguides.com

Eastern long-beaked echidna, Animalia, https://animlia.bio

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues echidnas and the fifth thing I like about this monotreme is how they defend themselves.

Echidnas don’t have many natural predators but they do have to worry about feral dogs trying to take a bite out of them. So, if something like this happens an echidna has four options.

Option one is to run. Let’s do a little comparison of anatomy quickly. Many breeds of dogs have legs that are made for running. Of course, there are those that have gotten the short end of the genetic stick and have the short legs that don’t take them very far very fast, but most breeds can run fast.

I wouldn’t say that echidnas legs are shot but they are not as long as most dogs, and their bodies are a bit wobbly and round. They certainly don’t have the fastest gait and they will not be out running a feral dog. So option number one, may not be the best choice.

The second option is to dig. Now digging would certainly not be my first choice to protect myself from a predator, but I don’t have large claws made for digging. Remember from the habitat episode that we found out echidnas favor environments that have softer, looser soil. This allows them to find food but it also allows them to dig quickly down into the soil.

So, option number two is to dig quickly down into the soil deep enough to cover their vulnerable underside and then pop up their spines. Hopefully, the dog will get a snout full of ouchy spines and decide to pursue another meal.

Option three is hide. If they can find cover quickly they may be able to wedge themselves into a rock crevice or hollow long. They’ll squeeze in far enough to cover their face, legs and belly leaving their spines sticking out. This makes it pretty difficult for a predator to get a good grip and pull them out.

The fourth option is similar to the last two but without all the digging. That statement probably gives it away, so listener, you’ve probably figured out that their spines are their fourth option. If they cannot dig or run, they will simply curl up into a ball and pop their spines out.

The short-beaked echidna is one of Australia’s most abundant mammals, so these options must be working out for them.

That’s all for this episode on defense. Thanks for listening because this is my fifth favorite thing about echidnas.

Join me next week for another episode about echidnas.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Making baby echidnas is weird! Join Kiersten as she talks echidna baby-making.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Echidna penises: Why They’re so Weird,” by Angela Heathcote, Australian Geographic, May 24, 2021. https://www.australiangeographic.com.au

“Echidna trains: Explained,” by Australian Geographic, August 6, 2021. https://www.australiangeographic.com.au

“Getting out of a mammalian egg: the egg tooth and caruncle of the echidna,” by Jane C. Fenelon, Abbie Bennetts, Neal Anthill, Micheal Pyne, Stephen D. Johnston, Alistair R. Evans, Abigail S. Tucker, and Marilyn B. Renfree. Developmental Biology, Volume 495, March 2023, pg 8-18.

“Unveiling the echidna pouch: Insights from recent research.” The Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. https://wildlife.org.au

Classification of Living Things: Echidna Reproduction, by Denis O’Neil. https://www.palomar.edu

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues echidnas and the fourth thing I like about them is how they reproduce. I have to tell ya that this is the best episode yet! Be prepared to have your mind blown because echidna reproduction is unbelievable.

Reproduction always starts with the wooing, so let’s start there, as well. You can always tell when echidna mating season is by the lines of males that are following a female. No kidding, male echidnas form “love trains” behind a female and follow her for days. I have found several different sources that say mating can occur anywhere from mid-May to early September. Males will follow a female around until they are the last one standing. Love trains can vary in number from 4 males to 11 males. The males will follow the females jostling each other, sometimes even pushing each other into ditches, to be the last male following the female.

Once they’ve joined a love train the males are very focused on what they’re doing. Very few things can distract them from their goal of mating, including being weighed by scientists. Peggy Rismiller has studied echidnas for 30 years and she has picked up the last male in a love train to weigh them and, as soon as she puts them down, they are off again following the female.

Males will travel long distances to court a female. She tracked one male who traveled 2 km or 1.2 miles a day to court two different females. If the male looses sight of the female he’s courting, no worries, he can follow her scent. Both males and females emit a musky scent during breeding season.

After a male has outlasted the others, if the female is receptive, she’ll lay down on the ground and relax her spines. But his hard work is not done. Now the male has to dig down into the soil next to the female so he can line up their cloacas. Mating is performed cloaca to cloaca. Once the positioning is just right, the male will insert his penis into the female’s cloaca. Copulation can last from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.

We’re going to take a moment to talk about the echidna penis because this particular organ has been deemed the weirdest reproductive organ in the animal kingdom by Smithsonian Magazine. An echidna’s penis is bright red in color and has four heads. Yes, you heard correctly, four heads. They do not use their penis for urination, like most other mammals, so the penis was able to become more elaborate. It appears that they only use two of the heads at a time when breeding. This is very unusual for mammals but it is see in some reptiles. More research needs to be done to understand how the echidna penis works and why it is structured the way it is. The penis is also fairly long reaching approximately 1/3 of the echidnas body length when erect.

Stay with me listeners because it just keeps getting weirder. Once the female is pregnant she develops a pouch. Only pregnant female echidnas develop a pouch, and they only keep it while they are incubating their single egg. There are four stages of the pouch. Dr. Kate Dutton-Regester has been researching echidna pouches and took over 200 pictures of nine female echidna’s developing pouches. At the beginning of the breeding season the pouch is flat and difficult to see, by the time the female needs to incubate her egg the pouch margins have drawn together like a drawstring bag closing the pouch so incubation can begin. Once her offspring has left the pouch, it recedes over 12-30 days until it is once again flat. That is truly amazing!!

Next step: lay an egg. Echidna females lay only one egg a year, or at least as far as we know. The egg is 1/2 to 2/3 of an inch long. The shell is like hard leather, similar to some reptile eggs. The egg is laid through the cloaca, then the mother has to get it into her pouch. To do this, she’ll curve her body into a tight “C” shape scooping up the egg with the tops of her hind feet and then lifting up her feet until the egg rolls into the pouch.

Whoosh! I’m tired just thinking of doing that. Talk about good core strength. The egg will incubate for approximately 10 days before it hatches. Echidna eggs have much less yolk than reptile and bird eggs because the embryo only needs that nutrient source for 10 days. To emerge from the egg, the embryo develops and egg tooth similar to an egg tooth on a baby reptile. This egg tooth helps the young echidna break out of the leathery egg shell, then disappears. Baby echidnas are called puggles. That is literally the cutest name I have ever heard for any animal offspring. I just can’t right now!

The puggle is only the size of a raisin when it hatches and is hairless and blind. The tiny puggle will grasp the coarse hair inside the pouch and pull itself up to the milk patches inside the pouch. While puggles are in the pouch they consume milk produced by the mother’s mammary glands. They do not suckle because echidnas have no nipples, so instead they lick the milk as it seeps through the skin over the mammary glands. Puggles will remain in the pouch for approximately 45 days until they begin to develop spines. That could be a sticky situation.

Once they leave the pouch, the puggle will remain in a den for 6 to 7 months. During that time, mom will leave to forage for food and come back to feed the puggle milk. At 7 months, the puggle is old enough to strike out on its own. Echidnas can live from 15 to 40 years, but average about 10 years in the wild.

I don’t know about you, but this was one weird reproduction episode, but it is definitely my fourth favorite thing about echidnas.

Join me next week for another episode about echidnas.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: We all gotta eat, right? The echidna eats insects. Take a trip with Kiersten as she travels through the digestive track of the echidna.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeates) Fact Sheet: Diet and Feeding, San Diego Wildlife Alliance Library. https://iecl.libguides.com

“Characterizing the Gut Microbiomes in Wild and Captive Short-Beaked Echidnas Reveals Diet-Associated Changes,” by Tahlia Perry, Ella West, Raphael Eisenhower, Alan Stenhouse, Isabella Wilson, Belinda Laming, Peggy Rismiller, Michelle Shaw, and Frank Grützner

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues echidnas and the third thing I like about this amazing monotreme is what they eat and how they digest it. I know that sound like a strange thing to like, but it’s really quite interesting.

One of the ways to tell if you have an echidna nearby is the distinctive way they hunt for food. The prey that echidnas are after lives mainly underground, so they poke holes in the soil with their long snouts. The holes are called ‘nose pokes”. Nose pokes are the width of the echidnas snout and the depth can tell you the species of echidna that’s digging around in your backyard. The depth, of course, depends on the length of the echidna’s snout. Long-beaked echidnas will produce deeper nose pokes than short-beaked echidnas. Once they find what they’er looking for, they use their long claws to tear open the invertebrates nests.

How they find their prey is not well understood. Do they use a sense of smell? Do they use vibration detection? Do they use the sense of touch? We’re not entirely sure, but it may be a combination of all three.

So, what are these echidnas digging around for underground. They are classified as myrmecophages. If you can remember way back to our first series about pangolins, you know that myrmecophages eat mainly ants. And that is one of the main prey items of the echidna. They specialize in eating termites, ants, scarab beetle larvae also known as pasture grubs, and moth larvae also known as grass grubs. When they come across beetle larva during the nose poke stage, scientists have noticed them using a corkscrew like motion to extract the larvae.

They actually prefer the social living invertebrates such as termites and ants because they offer more reward for their effort. Which I can totally understand! Of those two insects, termites are higher on the list because they have softer bodies than ants and they tend to live in larger colonies. When possible, echidnas avoid ants, termites, and other insects that bite, sting, or have other chemical defenses. Sometime they have no choice but to go after ants, so they focus their efforts on the more defenseless areas of the ant colony such as the queen, the larvae, and the pupae.

The general rule of thumb is to avoid prey that bites back, but after hibernation and before raising young, echidnas may endure some abuse to build up their fats stores.

They have also been seen foraging around trees. Here they’ll stick their snouts under loose bark looking for termites and insect larvae. If it is a rotted tree or log, they will use their powerful claws to tear open the trunk exposing the insects within.

They are not reliant on water to drink so they can live in areas without easy access to water sources.

So now we know what they eat, let’s find out how they eat. It all starts with a long sticky tongue. The short-beaked echidna can extend its tongue seven inches or 18 cm out of its mouth. They can do that more than 100 times a minute! Their genus name, Tachyglossus, actually means fast tongue. A combination of circular and longitudinal muscles allows the tongue to extend and contract. The tip of the tongue is very flexible. It’s so flexible it can curve into a U-shape. That’s probably pretty helpful for scooping up lots of yummy termites. They do posses taste buds which are located at the back of the tongue.

They must eat small ants and termites limited to only 55mm because that’s the only thing that will fit in their mouths. Their mouth doesn’t open very wide. If you ever hear someone say an echidna bit them, we know that’s a tall tail! Now, of course, they mainly focus on prey items that are already that size of smaller, but they can tear apart things that might be a bit bigger but is something worth consuming. They can hold the item down with their claws and tear it apart with their tongue.

Like many other animals who have an ant based diet, echidnas have no teeth. The do have a hard palate on the roof of their mouth that they use in conjunction with their tongue to grind their food. There are keratin spines at the base of the tongue that smoosh the food up against the hard palate grinding the insects into a paste. Mmmm. Nothing like a little insect paste to hit the spot.

Echidnas digestion is very slow. Their stomach is a single chambered organ that is elastic. It can hold a lot of insects, but it has very low levels of acid, so their stomach is not like many other species of animals, including humans, that rely on acid to digest the food they injest. Echidnas stomachs act more like a cow’s rumen which is a chamber that holds food and digests it with the help of bacteria. Digestion in these monotremes is not well understood but scientists have determined that plant matter may have a bigger role in echidna digestion than previously thought.

Echidnas held in captivity such as zoos and rehabilitation facilities tend to have quite a few gastric problems. Researchers are now collecting scat, that’s poo, from wild echidnas and captive echidnas to determine what a healthy microbiome looks like for an echidna. The more we know about what keeps their stomachs functioning properly in the wild, the better we can make their diets in captivity.

Thanks for following the digestive track of the echidna with me because it’s make third favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another episode about echidnas.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Join Kiersten as she takes a closer look at the habitats in which echidnas are found.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Short-beaked Echidna. Bush Heritage Australia, https://www.bushheritage.org.au

“Home Ranges, Movement, and Den Use in Long-Beaked Echidnas, Zaglossus Barton, From Papua New Guinea,” by Muse D.Opiang. Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 90,Issue 2, 14 April 2009, pages 340-346. https://doi.org/10.1644/08-MAMM-A-108.1

Eastern long-beaked echidna, Animalia, https://animlia.bio

Expedition Cyclops: https://www.expeditioncyclops.org/echidna

“How the echidna lost its venom,” by Verity Leatherdale, University of Sydney, 13 November 2013.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues echidnas and the second thing I like about this monotreme is their habitat. We talked a little bit about this in the first episode, but I want to dig a bit deeper into where each species is found. We know they are from Australia and surrounding areas but let’s look at exactly what kind of habitat they prefer.

The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeates) is Australia’s most widespread native mammal. It is common throughout most of temperate Australia and lowland New Guinea. They can be found in Tasmania, King Island, Flinders Island, and Kangaroo Island.

Almost every kind of habitat can be home to these shy creatures. Snow-covered mountains, montane forests, desert habitat, and even urban environments are home to the short-beaked echidna. The main requirement for echidna friendly habitat is a way to help keep them sheltered in extreme weather. They also tend to favor areas with soil that’s easy to dig into, but they are great diggers so they can survive with tougher soil.

The eastern long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bartoni), also known as,Barton’slong-beaked echidna is found in New Guinea. It’ s found in the Central Cordillera and in Huon Peninsula. They inhabit tropical hill forests, sub-alpine forests, upland grasslands, and scrub. They are mainly found in the eastern half of New Guinea at elevations from 6,600 feet to 9,800 feet or 2 to 3 thousand meters. Some have even been seen as high as 13,000 feet or 4,100 meters.

This species of echidna has long, dense fur with spines sprinkled throughout. Their thick fur helps keep them warm in colder weather. They have five long claws on their front feet and four on their back feet. These echidnas lack a tail, unlike the short-beaked echidna. According to a scientific study published in the Journal of Mammalogy in 2009, males of Zaglossus bartoni are smaller than females. Eastern long-beaked echidnas are typically found in dense vegetation and underground burrows.

The western long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii) is found in the Bird’s Head peninsula and Foja Mountains of West Papua and Papua provinces. They are endemic to the Vogelkop region of New Guinea including the Arfak, Tamrau, Fak Fak, possibly the Charles Louis Mountains, as well as island of Salawati. They prefer alpine meadows and humid montane forests.

Sir David’s Long-beaked echidna, named after the famous naturalist and wild animal advocate David Attenborough, is found in only one area, and as I mentioned in the first episode all we have to go on with this species is a specimen captured in the 1960’s. We know where they live because we see the evidence of their existence. Holes in the ground called nose pokes are indicative of echidna activity. In 2007, an expedition to the Cyclops Mountains of Indonesia in the region of Papua recorded nose pokes and received information from locals about the existence of this echidna. They did not see a live echidna but they were hopeful that reports were correct and the animal still lived. Because we’d thought it was extinct.

Here’s the really exciting information about Sir David’s long-beaked echidna. An expedition in 2023 to the Cyclops mountain caught video evidence of a live Zaglossus attenboroughi on a remote camera trap. It was the last day of the expedition and they had seen nose pokes in previously reported areas, but once again they thought they’d get no visual conformation until….there ii was waddling along triggering the camera to record video of its existence! We thought they were extinct for 60 years and researchers had rediscovered them!

It’s very exciting. This species is found only in the Cyclops Mountains in tropical montane moss forest of the extreme northern Papua Province. There is the possibility that they may be in nearby regions but those areas have yet to be adequately surveyed. With definitive proof of Sir David’s long-beaked echidna in the Cyclops Mountains maybe we can branch out and survey nearby areas.

As I was reading the scientific paper in the Journal of Mammalogy (yes, I just admitted to reading scientific papers) about the home ranges, movement, and den use of Zaglossus bartoni, I realized that I neglected to talk about a few interesting characteristics of echidnas in the first episode. I’m going to include them here.

First I completely forgot to mention that echidnas have spurs. All species have spurs on their back legs. Both males and females have these spurs on their back legs, but some females loose them as they age. Both extant monotremes, the platypus and the echidna, have spurs. In platypus only the males have spurs and the substance that the spur excrete is a venom. The echidna’s spurs excrete something completely different. Echina spurs act more like a scent gland. It is used during breeding season to excrete a waxy substance that may be used to locate potential mates.

The second interesting fact about echidnas is that at one time there were only two species of echidna. The short-beaked echidna and the long-beaked echidna. Upon further examination, scientists determined that there were three distinct species of long-beaked echidna. In 1998 researchers reported differences in skull morphology, body size, fur coloration, and the number of clawed toes on the front and back feet. The differences were significant enough that scientists decided that the long-beaked echidnas should be separated into three species.

On this note, there is some thinking that the eastern long-beaked echidna may be divided again into more species, but research is still on going.

That’s all for echidna habitats, I’m glad you listened to this episode because where echidnas live is my second favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another episode about echidnas.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Ech-what? Echindas are mammals that break all the rules of Nature! Join Kiersten as she takes us on a journey into the weird world of the echidna.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“The Princeton Encyclopedia of Mammals,” edited by David W. Macdonald

Echidna Fact Sheet, March 18, 2022. PBS Nature. https://ww.pbs.org

“The Creature Feature: 10 Fun Facts About the Echidna,” by Mary Bates, Wired, Jul 3, 2014.

Short-beaked Echidna. Bush Heritage Australia, https://www.bushheritage.org.au

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the first episode of the next Ten Things I Like About…series. These ten episodes will be about the echidna! Ech-what? You say? The echidna. It’s an animal found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. You know what that means…It’s gonna be cool! And the mere existence of the echidna is the first thing I like about this exceptional animal.

The echidna, also known as the spiny anteater, is an animal that bends the rules that nature has established. It is a mammal, but it reproduces by laying eggs. It feeds it young milk that is produces itself, but has no nipples. It has a pouch like a kangaroo but it is not a marsupial. The echidna is definitely a modern enigma.

Let’s start off with what the echidna looks like. It’s kind of a combination between an anteater, a hedgehog, and the Niffler from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Not at all kidding. Okay here is my best attempt at a verbal description.

Echidnas have a long beak like snout with a small nose and mouth at the end. Their eyes sit farther back on the face and are surrounded by dark brown fur that is generously laced with long thick light brown or yellow spines. They have large, long claws on their from feet to help dig into the soil. Their body is round and covered with the dark fur and spines. They do have a tail but you hardly notice it because of the spines. Their back feet also have claws but not quite as long as the front feet. They are short and hug the ground as they waddle around. They can grown to 35-75 centimeters or 14 to 30 inches with a 4 inch tail, depending on species. They can weigh between 5.5 to 22 pounds, once again depending on species. They really are quite a strange looking animal, but absolutely fascinating! And boy oh boy do they have cute little faces.

There are four species of echidna. The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeates), the Sir David’s long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), the eastern long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bartoni), and the western long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii).

The short-beaked echidna also known as the common echidna ranges in size from 12-18 inches or 35-40 cm. They can weigh 5 1/2 to 17 lbs or 2 1/2 to 8kg. Males of this species can be up to 25% larger than females. They can range in color from black to light brown with spines on the back and along the sides. They have a long, narrow, hairless snout.

The western long-beaked echidna also known as the long-nosed echidna can be 18 to 35 inches or 45-90 cm. They can weigh between 11 to 22 lbs or 5-10kg. The coat color can also range from black to brown. They do have spines but they are shorter than other species’ and are often hidden by their longer fur. They have a very long snout that is curved slightly downward at the tip.

Not much is known about the Sir David’s long-beaked echidna. It is the smallest of the long-beaked echidna’s. There is only a single specimen of this species of echidna collected by a Dutch explorer in 1961 in the Cyclops mountains of Indonesia.

The eastern long-beaked echidnas is very similar to our short-beaked echidna except with a longer snout. There are several different subspecies listed under this echidna that may, with further research, turnout to be separate species altogether.

Those of you that have been listening from the beginning know how much I like to talk taxonomy! No really. I do find taxonomy interesting but also a little tedious. I am going to walk you through this with the echidna though because it leads us into why I chose to include echidnas in Ten Things I Like About…

We’re going to start at the beginning with our taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order (this is where is gets really cool or weird): Monotremata (more on this in a moment)

Family: Tachyglossidae

Genus: Tachyglossus and Zaglossus

Let’s hop back to the Order of the echidna, Monotremata. What exactly is that? It’s what makes echidnas so special in the animal kingdom. Monotremes are mammals. Think back with me to those days in elementary science class when we learned what constituted a mammal. A mammal has hair somewhere on its body and it produces milk to feed its young. Well the echidna has both of these, actually we can go even farther and say that the echidna checks off more mammalian boxes. They also have a single bone in the lower jaw, and three bones in the ear. All of these are characteristics of mammals.

What makes monotremes so special is that they lays eggs instead of giving live birth. You may have caught that in my opening. Yes! Echidnas are mammals that lay eggs! The only other mammal alive today that lays eggs is the platypus, and yes they are also found in Australia.

Monotremata actually means “one-holed creature“. Echidnas and platypus have one opening in their body that acts as the entrance and the exit you could say. Bodily fluids, such as feces, exit through this opening called the cloaca and mating happens through this opening, as well.

Most mammals are also endothermic which means the body temperature is controlled internally. Like Humans, we have a constant body temperature of about 98 degrees F, give or take a few degrees. It’s a constant temperature whether it’s cold in our environment or hot in our environment. Echidnas are the same but they have the lowest recorded body temperature of any mammal. At 89 degrees F or 32 degrees Celsius the echidna is quite the anomaly. We don’t really know why but their body temperature can vary by up to 8 degrees throughout the day!.

Okay, I hope I have whet your appetite for more information about this unbelievable animal because their mere existence is only my first favorite thing about the echidna.

Join me next week for another thing I like about the echidna.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Rattlesnakes need love too! Join Kiersten as she talks about what threatens the survival of our scaly friends and how we can help.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake by Ted Levin

“Snake Fungal Disease” Cornell Wildlife Health Lab, https://cwhi.vet.cornell.edu

IUCN Red List, https://www.iucnredlist.org

“Timber Rattlesnakes” Pennsylvania DCNR, https://www.dcnr.pa.gov

“Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake recovery plan” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, https://www.fws.gov

“Rattlesnake Roundup: a Texas tradition runs into criticism” by Evan Garcia, Reuters March 22, 2023. https://www.reuters.com

Conservation Societies:

The Orianne Society: https://www.oriannesociety.org

The Rattlesnake Conservancy: https://www.savethebuzztails.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode concludes rattlesnakes. Those of you who have been enjoying this journey with can probably guess which episode this will be. I do have a bit of a pattern, but talking about conserving these wonderful animals for future generations is always the tenth thing I like about them. Welcome to rattlesnake conservation.

Some of you may be thinking, are rattlesnakes in need of conservation? Does a venomous animal really need our help to survive? The answer to both of these questions is a resounding yes. Across their native range their numbers have been steadily declining for generations. And, as always, we are the main cause of their problems. Let’s take a look at the challenges they are battling, how we’re helping, and how we can continue to help.

One of the major challenges rattlesnakes are facing is loss of appropriate habitat, especially along the east coat of North America. The Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake is found in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada. Sounds like a lot a places right? Researchers have confirmed that less than half of their historical populations exist today, and most of that is found in Michigan and Ontario. That excludes eight states out of their original range. Now they are still found in those states but in such low numbers, they are considered rare.

The eastern massasauga relies on wetland habitat and the adjacent uplands. Wetlands across the continent are a threatened habitat. Steps have been taken to protect the wetland habitat of the eastern massasauga and the snake itself. In 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the eastern massasauga rattlesnake as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. This gave more leverage to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for protection of the wetland habitat that the massasauga relies upon. For those of you that are still on the fence about protecting rattlesnakes, think about all the other animals that rely on wetlands to survive, you probably like at least, one of those. Not to mention the fact that wetlands are an important step in keeping water clean and drinkable, that includes the water that we drink.

Timber rattlesnakes are also suffering from habitat loss. They are particularly reliant on habitat that has a combination of trees and rocky steppe areas. This habitat is often lost to urban and suburban sprawl. The timber rattlesnakes that live in northeastern areas rely on the rocky outcroppings as sunning areas and hibernation spots. The structure of the rocky developments provide excellent hidden holes for populations that live north enough to need hibernaculums to survive the winter. Pennsylvania, one of the states with a rapidly declining population of timber rattlesnakes, has implemented protections in state parks that contain the chosen habitat of the timber rattlesnake. There are fifteen areas in Pennsylvania state parks that you are not allowed to harm timber rattlesnakes or destroy or disturb their sunning and hibernation spots.

I love the fact that we’re trying to get ahead of the extinction of these amazing animals. There are forty rattlesnakes listed on the IUCN’s Red List, almost all are in the crotalus family, and most of them are classified as Least Concern. A sigh of relief, right? Wrong, the IUCN Red List looks at the global populations of species, not regional populations. The good news is that the rattlesnakes are surviving across global areas, but it’s the regional areas that we must be concerned about. Why, you ask? I love my inquisitive listeners!

Regionally, rattlesnakes are key species in the balance of ecosystems. They eat small mammals, such as rodents and shrews, that can easily get out of control when there are no predators to keep their populations in check. Too many of these can mean too many fleas and ticks that spread diseases across the animal kingdom, included to humans. So making sure that we have rattlesnakes in their historical territories is an important endeavor.

Disease is also something that hibernating rattlesnakes are battling. Over the last several years researchers have found snakes waking from hibernation covered in ulcers. These snakes have been affected by what researchers call Snake Fungal Disease or SFD. Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola is the fungus responsible for Snake Fungal Disease. It was first identified in 2006 in a population of Timber rattlesnakes from New Hampshire. Symptoms of SFD are facial swelling, eye infections, pneumonia, and external ulcerations.

It is thought that the fungus resides in the soil and snakes are picking it up in dens, but there are reports of captive snakes becoming infected. Temperature may play a factor in transmission. Snakes that hibernate in warmer temperatures seem to be more susceptible that cooler temperatures. With globally warming temperatures, this should give us cause for concern.

Treatment with fungicides has been attempted with snakes brought into captivity from the wild, but very little success has been made.

One last obstacle to survival that rattlesnakes are still facing, even in our educated society, is rattlesnake roundups. This was a hard portion for me to write because I kept getting so angry as I wrote this section of this episode. Rattlesnake roundups are week-long events where people go out and capture rattlesnakes in the wild. They bring them back to a central location and kill them. Sweetwater, Texas still holds one of the largest rattlesnake roundups in the United States and it is barbaric. The rattlesnake hunters pour gasoline in the backs of the dens where the rattlesnakes are resting during the cooler months of the year and wait for them to escape the fumes of the gasoline. When they emerge, the hunters scoop them up and carry them away to their deaths. They harvest thousands of pounds of rattlesnakes every year. They milk their venom then skin them to use as leather goods. Prizes are given to the hunters that bring in the highest poundage of rattlesnake and the longest rattlesnakes. It’s archaic and despicable.

This activity destroys thousands of rattlesnakes that have done nothing to deserve destruction. These are snakes that are in the wild bothering no humans. They are living their rattlesnake lives, helping keep nature in balance.

Some of you may ask, why I this a problem? I mean the IUCN says they’re not in danger of extinction, so why worry. Remember the reproduction episode. Female rattlesnakes only give birth every three or four years. This keeps them from becoming overpopulated but it also means when we interfere, by culling thousands of them every year, they are in danger of disappearing.

So, what can you do to help our rattled friends? You can support organizations that are protecting vital habitat like your local natural resources agencies and organizations like The Rattlesnake Conservancy and The Orianne Society. If you’re a hiker that enjoys trekking into rattlesnake habitat across the country, disinfect your hiking gear between adventures with a bit of detergent and a bleach solution spray. We don’t want to transfer fungus that might cause Snake Fungal Disease. Refuse to buy products made from wild caught rattlesnake and do not purchase tickets to attend rattlesnake roundups. The best thing you can do to save our rattlesnake friends is to educate your friends and family. The more people that know the truth about rattlesnakes, the better their futures will be.

Thanks for traveling the road of the rattlesnake with me. I have enjoyed all ten episodes of this series, and talking conservation is my tenth favorite thing about rattlesnakes.

Join me in two weeks for the first episode in another series about an unknown creature..

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: There are sooo many myths about rattlesnakes that Kiersten had to do a second episode! Join Kiersten as she dispels more myths about rattlesnakes.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Rattlesnake: Portrait of a Predator by Manny Russo

America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake by Ted Levin

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues rattlesnakes. We’re going to do one more episode about myths because there are so many about rattlesnakes and dispelling myths about this misunderstood animal in the ninth thing I like about them.

Here’s a myth that even NPR ran a story about, so this is a great one to kick off this episode.

Myth #9: Rattlesnakes are evolving to not use their rattle before striking.

Completely untrue. Rattlesnakes still use their rattles to warn predators away. I know people have encountered rattlesnakes and never heard the rattle before they were very close to the snake. Some of those encounters ended with a bite or strike, and many have not. We have to remember the first way a snake protects itself is to be still and hide. They only break cover when they feel they are in imminent danger. Sometimes a human approaching is not enough danger to cause a rattle reaction. Maybe you’ve caught the snake off guard, they do sleep, and they didn’t notice you until it was too late for a warning rattle. There could be plenty of other explanations, but rest assured, rattlesnakes are still using their rattles.

Myth #10: Rattlesnakes can jump ten feet in the air!

This is 150% not true! Snakes cannot jump from the ground into the air. They physically cannot jump. They have no legs, they cannot tip back onto their tails and pop up like a spring, they cannot leap from a ledge to bite your face. It may work in the cartoons and in movies, but not in reality.

Myth #11: Rattlesnakes use their rattles to mesmerize their prey.

Nope! As I discussed in the pervious episode about rattles, rattlesnakes use their rattle to warn away predators. It does seem a bit counterintuitive to make noise to warn a predator of your location, because you are also exposing yourself to that predator, but the rewards outweigh the risks. They get to survive another day if they make the rattle noise and scare off the predator or the bison or horse that was just about to step on them.

Myth #12: If you see one rattlesnake, there will be more waiting to get you when you leave.

We need to break this one down. First of all, rattlesnakes are never out to get you. They do not hunt humans or aggressively pursue humans. They really don’t want to be around us at all. Secondly. Most of the time when you see one rattlesnake, they are alone. During certain times of the year, they are mating; therefore, you may encounter more than one at a time. In certain areas of North America, namely the eastern regions, during winter, rattlesnakes will hibernate together. Then you might encounter several when they are leaving their hibernaculum in the warming weather of spring. The important thing to remember here, is that they are never chasing you or corralling you to attack.

Myth #13: Rattlesnake use their rattles to attract mates.

As romantic as this sounds, it’s completely false. There is no evidence that male rattlesnakes use their rattle to attract mates. As stated before, rattles are for protective warnings.

Myth #14: A rattlesnake bite can kill you!

Unless you are allergic to their venom and have an anaphylactic reaction, you most likely will survive. Get medical treatment as soon as possible and your likelihood of surviving is very high. Antivenom is available at most hospitals and can be administered quickly.

Not all rattlesnake bites are venomous. Dry bites can happen which means the snake bites but does not inject venom. We’re not exactly sure why this happens, but the rattlesnake does control when it injects venom and when it doesn’t.

Myth #15: Rattlesnakes LOVE heat!

This one is tricky, but it’s essentially a no. Snakes are ectotherms, which means they do not control their own body temperature. Mammals and birds produce their own body heat. Reptiles cannot do that. They depend on the temperature of the environment around them to warm or cool their body. If it is too cold they cannot move around or digest their food. So reptiles are more active in warmer weather and do sun themselves on sunny days to heat themselves up so they can function. But, when it is 100 degrees F outside, they do the same thing we do, hide in the shade and try to keep themselves cool! So no, snakes do not love the heat!

Myth #16: The only good rattlesnake is a dead rattlesnake!

Definitely no! Rattlesnakes, and snakes in general, offer an important ecological service to the world. They eat rodents that we don’t want to be in our homes. They keep mouse and rat populations in check. It’s especially important in suburban areas where we’re encroaching on the wild areas where animals still live. We attract rodents with our waste. The rodents can pass us diseases. Snakes eat the rodents before they can overpopulate an area. So snakes are good to have around your yard. Remember they don’t want to hang around us, but they don’t mind coming in for a snack every once in awhile.

Myth #17: Rattlesnakes are slimy!

This is one that also applies to all snakes and is literally my biggest pet peeve when it comes to snake myths! Snakes are not slimy. They do not produce mucus on the outside of their bodies. Snakes are actually dry and often soft. Depending on the species they will have flat scales or keeled scales. Both scale types will reflect light and that’s what makes the snake look wet or slimy. They are shiny not slimy. Snakes’ scales actually feel a lot like a basketball.

Myth #18: Last but not least, the myth that the fear of rattlesnakes is instinctual. Humans have a fear of rattlesnakes because it helps keep us alive.

No. We fear snakes because we learn to fear them, usually from the adults in our life when we are children. We are not born with any instinctual fear of rattlesnakes. Our fears come from these myths and misunderstanding these amazing animals. I can attest to this personally. As a child my mother was terrified of snakes. She couldn't even watch nature programs on television with snakes, but I grew up without this fear because she made sure that she kept that behavior hidden from me. I didn’t know she was afraid of snakes until I was in high school, and I never developed a fear of snakes. When I became a zookeeper and worked hands on with all different species of snakes, I was able to help my mother overcome her fear by sharing the information I learned about these reptiles. They are not her favorite animal, but she doesn’t fear them anymore.

That’s it for this myth busting episode of rattlesnakes. I hope this helps some of you travel down the path of banishing your fear of these reptiles, because dispelling myths about rattlesnakes is my ninth favorite thing.

Join me next week for the final episode about rattlesnakes.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Rattlesnakes are the only types pf snakes with a rattle, hence the name. But how much do you know about the rattle? Join Kiersten as she tells you everything you ever wanted to know about a rattlesnake’s rattle.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Rattlesnake: Portrait of a Predator by Manny Russo

“How Do Rattlesnakes Rattle?” By Cameron Duke, Live Science, August 12, 2023. https://www.livescience.com

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues rattlesnakes and today we’re going to learn about their namesake. The rattle on a rattlesnake is the eighth thing I like about this charming snake.

In the Anatomy episode, I touched on the rattle but this episode will be a deeper dive into this unusual physical attribute.

Rattlesnakes are not born with a rattle but they are born with the beginning of a rattle. They are born with what’s called a prebutton. The prebutton is a skin cap on the tip of the neonates tail. This is different from any other young snake’s tail. Only rattlesnakes have a prebutton. It is essentially a terminal scale like other snakes’ have on the ends of their tails, but it’s larger in size. Most snakes, other than rattlesnakes, have a tapered cone-shaped scale at the end of the tail, where as the rattlesnakes’ scale is wider and thicker.

When the neonate rattlesnake molts for the first time, a few days to a week after birth, the prebutton they are born with sheds. After this molt another button is revealed that will be the beginning of the rattle that they will have for the rest of their lives. With each following molt a segment will be added to the rattle, creating a rattle chain.

So, what is this rattle made of? It’s made of something very common in the natural world. You, listeners, have some of it on you right now in the form of hair and fingernails. That’s right, the rattle is made of keratin. Those of you who listened to my pangolin series should remember that keratin is the fibrous protein that is the main component of hair, feathers, hooves, claws, and horns. Just one more thing that links us all together.

Let’s get back to the rattle chain. The links are hollow and each link interconnects with the one below it. A link is created each time the snake sheds. To grow larger snakes must shed their skin. Unlike us, their skin is not flexible enough to grow as they grow. So they must shed their skin to get bigger. Each time a rattlesnake sheds, the old skin leaves a piece behind on the tail creating a new link.

When the old piece is pushed out by the shedding process, a new button develops beneath the new rattle link. This will be pushed out at the next shed. This brings us to a myth about rattlesnakes and aging. Many people believe that you can determine the age of a rattlesnake by the number of links on the rattle. If snakes only shed once a year, that would be true. But as I just explained, snakes shed when it’s time for them to grow. That can happen multiple times a year. Growth rates all depend on the amount of food that a snake consumes. When resources are abundant, a snake can grow quickly; when resources are scarce, a snake may grow slowly.

Another reason judging a rattlesnake’s age by the rattle is problematic is that they aren’t very sturdy. Rattles are hollow and made of keratin, so they aren’t rugged enough to survive the rough and tumble life of a rattlesnake. When the rattle chain gets too long links will break off. In the wild, having a rattle with ten links is uncommon. Most rattlesnakes will be able to hold onto five or six links at a time.

It’s not like they make a concerted effort to shortened their rattle, but slithering around on the ground can be hard on a hollow piece of keratin. When the rattlesnake travels they do hold the tail up keeping the rattle almost perpendicular to the ground. But avoiding predators or avoiding getting stepped on can lead you into some precarious situations that can cause the ends of the rattle to break off.

Rattlesnakes in captivity are another story. They tend not to travel too far and their rattles are never exposed to rough terrain. Some captive rattlesnakes have been recorded with rattle chains containing twenty or more links. That’s a pretty long rattle!

Now there is another reason why the rattle cannot be too long. If it’s too long it doesn’t do it’s job properly. The point of a rattle is to make a noise. If there are too many links, the weight of the links prevents the rattlesnake from lifting it up to shake it. No shaking, no noise.

So where does the noise come from? Is there something inside the rattle that creates the noise, like a maraca? No. The links are hollow and interconnected, so the noise is produced by the sides of the links knocking together. Some rattlesnakes produce a noise that can be heard many yards away.

In 2021, researchers discovered that rattlesnakes are capable of creating an auditory illusion with their rattle. This is good stuff, listeners! They discovered that when a rattlesnake feels threatened it begins rattling it tail at a low frequency. If the predator keeps approaching, the snake’s rattling frequency suddenly increases by 20 or 30 hertz. This creates the illusion that the snake is much closer than it actually is in reality. That is wicked cool!!

The actual sound of the rattle will depend on the species. Larger rattlesnakes such as eastern diamondbacks will have a deeper sound, where as smaller species like the pygmy rattlesnake will have a higher pitched noise. The noise created by a rattlesnake’s rattle has been described as a buzz, a whirr, a clatter, a hiss. It has been compared to the sound seeds in a dry seed pod make, the sizzle of bacon, the buzz of an insect, the grinding of a knife blade, or even the sound of running water. I used to live in the deserts of Arizona. I heard my fair share of rattlesnake warnings, and I wouldn’t describe it in any of these ways. It’s a distinctive sound they you instinctually know when you hear it.

To make sure that a rattlesnake can always move their rattle when needed, they have a specialized muscle called a shaker muscle in their tail. This particular muscle contracts at a rapid and consistent rate. It is also slow to fatigue, so the snake can shake its rattle for a long time, if needed. The muscle is supplied with large amounts of oxygen through a series of blood vessels.

The last question we have to answer is why do rattlesnakes have rattles? Scientists still aren’t entirely sure, but their best educated guess is that it is a predator warning. To keep themselves from getting stepped on or eaten, rattlesnakes produce a noise to warn off whoever is threatening them.

A study performed in 2016 by an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, investigated the evolution of the rattlesnake’s rattle. The ancestors of modern day rattlesnakes did not have rattles, but it’s likely that they shook their tails despite the lack of a rattle. This study looked at the tail-shaking behavior of 56 snake species. Rattlesnakes were the only snakes included in the study that had rattles, but most of the snakes in the study rapidly flicked their tails when threatened by a predator. Further more, the snake species more closely related to rattlesnakes flicked their tails faster and more frequently than species more distantly related to rattlesnakes. This leads scientists to believe that when rattlesnakes developed their rattles, they already knew how to use them.

Thanks for listening to me rattle on about rattlesnake’s rattles because it’s my eighth favorite thing about this amazing animal.

Join me next week for another episode about rattlesnakes.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Rattlesnakes are excellent hunters, but how do they do it? Join Kiersten as she explains how rattlesnakes hunt and catch their prey.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Rattlesnake: Portrait of a Predator by Manny Russo

“Pit Viper Can Detect Prey Via Heat” by American Museum of Natural History, https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/news-posts/pit-vipers-can-detect-prey-via-heat

“Snakes’ Flexible, Heat-Sensing Organs Explained” by Harini Barath, Scientific American, February 1, 2010, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/snakes-flexible-heat-sensing-organs-explained

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues rattlesnakes and the seventh thing I like about this misunderstood animal is how they hunt and eat their food. We have covered some of this in the fangs and venom episode. In this episode we’ll take a look at how they find their food and catch their food.

Let’s start off with how rattlesnakes hunt. They are classified as ambush hunters, which means they lay in wait until the right prey item comes to them. I love this strategy. Maximum reward with minimum effort!

When you are an ambush predator you need to hide well so you can catch your prey by surprise. Rattlesnakes do this by sitting very still under low foliage, fallen logs, and dark crevices. The patterns on their skin, besides making them look so pretty, is camouflage to help them blend into the background. The light and dark patterning helps break up their shape so that prey items are unaware of what is waiting in the shadows.

The second adaptation that rattlesnakes use to catch their prey is their tongue. We’ve already talked about this in the anatomy episode, but we’ll recap quickly. Snakes have forked tongues that collect scent particles when flicked into the air. Those scent particles cling to the tongue and are deposited in the Jacobson’s organ when the snakes bring the tongue back into their mouth. This organ decodes the particles and tells the snake what is in their environment. It helps them decide which direction to go when moving around their territory.

Rattlesnakes have another very cool adaptation that allows them to essentially see thermally. Yes rattlesnakes can see heat signatures. That’s amazing!

Rattlesnakes are in a group of snakes called pit vipers. This name comes from the fact that they have pits in their faces. Now, they didn’t have bad acne. These pits are by design. The heat sensing organs called ‘pits’ are located between their eyes and nostrils. How do they work? Is it like looking through a thermal camera?

According to the American Museum of Natural History, there is a thin membrane that connects the thermal receptor to the brain at the optic nerve. This allows rattlesnakes to see the infrared signature created by heat. They have two of these front-facing organs and this helps them triangulate the direction and distance of warm-blooded prey, even in total darkness! No night vision googles needed!

Rattlesnakes can use these heat sensitive receptors to detect infrared for up to three feet. That’s not a terribly far distance, so they use their thermal pits to help pin point where the prey is after they’ve used their sense of smell to find them.

In 2010, a scientific study discovered the molecular process behind snakes’ night vision. They examined the nerve receptors in the pit organs of a rattlesnake. What they found was truly fascinating! Rattlesnake thermal pits produce a protein that, in other species of animals, including humans, detects chemical irritants. In rattlesnakes these “wasabi receptors”, as they are called, evolved to detect heat instead of irritants.

Now we still don’t know exactly how snakes turn the information they receive from their thermal pts into infrared images. The membrane transfers the information to the brain, but how is it translated into a thermal image? A theoretical model proposed by University of Houston and Rutgers University researchers suggests an answer. They based some of their model on natural occurring pyroelectric materials. In nature these materials are rare but can be found in hard crystals. These types of crystals are not found in snakes. But what the paper proposes is that some soft cells can act as weak pyroelectric under certain circumstances.

Quoting from Scientific American, “Sharma and his team developed a mathematical model to show how static charges would move in a material that is deformable and responsive to heat.” End quote. A soft material such as the membrane in the Rattlesnake’s brain. The theoretical tests that they ran showed that when a membrane thickens in reaction to increased heat, the charge on its cells should shift slightly which can result in a voltage charge that can be detected by the nerve cells. This may be how rattlesnakes use their thermal pits to see prey in the dark.

Real world research needs to be performed to prove that this is how it works, but it certainly is an intriguing idea .

Now that we know how rattlesnakes find their prey let’s look at how they catch their prey. As I said before, most of the time rattlesnakes are ambush predators. They employ a sit and wait approach to finding food. Once an appropriate item comes along and has been pinpointed, they will prepare themselves to strike.

When waiting for prey to appear, rattlesnakes will rest with their head laterally coiled on another curve of their body. The neck will look like an S-shape and is often resting on the rest of its body that is coiled in a circular shape. This gives them the perfect amount of leverage to strike at prey. When striking prey, the snake thrusts downward with a kinking and twist in the neck. This applies greater pressure to embed the fangs deep enough so that the injected venom will do its job. Once this is done, the rattlesnake let’s go. This is all accomplished in a mater of seconds.

The venom will act on the prey item right away and the animal typically doesn’t make it too far from the rattlesnake. If it is able to wander far enough away that the snake can no longer easily see it, they can follow the distinctive scent of their own venom to find it again.

As discussed in the Fangs and Venom episode, the venom doesn’t only dispatch the prey item, it also begins the digestion process.

So what do rattlesnakes eat? Excellent question listeners! I love it when you think ahead. All snakes are carnivores, which mean the eat meat. There are no snakes out their chowing down on grass or shrubby plants. They can get some veggies if they other animal they eat is a herbivore, but that’s it.

When thinking about what snakes eat the first animal that comes to mind is mice. This is often a staple of any snakes diet but rattlesnakes do eat other types of animals. Small mammals, birds and the young of large mammals are the most frequent prey items but insects, arthropods, lizards, other snakes, frogs, toads, salamanders, and bird eggs can also be consumed. Occasionally they might be cannibalistic, eating neonate rattlesnakes.

Young pygmy rattlesnakes eat mostly small small frogs and lizards, but adult pygmy rattlesnakes prefer voles, shrews, and deer mice. This is a trend that can be seen in many species of rattlesnakes. The young will eat smaller amphibians and reptiles but when they are adults they switch to small mammals.

Massasaugas frequently eat small mammals and birds but will consume frogs, crayfish, fish, and lizards. I’d like to see these snakes catch a fish! The indigenous rattlesnake of Coronado Island is forced to be diurnal due to cool weather conditions eats mostly lizards because the rodents that live their are nocturnal. One of the most interesting prey items is eaten by the banded rock rattlesnake and ridgenose rattlesnakes. They eat large centipedes in genus Scolopendra.

This is risky business because these centipedes are large, have a rigid exoskeleton, and have huge pincer-like fangs with which to inject their own venom. It seems that the rattlesnake strikes near the centipede’s head, embeds their fangs between the segments, and holds on until the centipede stops moving. All I have to say to that is, Wow!

That’s it for this amazing episode. Hunting and catching prey is my seventh favorite thing about rattlesnakes.

Join me next week for another episode about rattlesnakes.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Rattlesnakes are solitary animals. Are you sure? Join Kiersten as she turns what we know about rattlesnake lifestyles on its head.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake by Ted Levin

“Social Lives of Rattlesnakes”,by Rulon Clark. Natural History, March 2005.

“Kin Recognition in Rattlesnakes,” by Rulon W. Clark. Proc. R. Soc. London B (Suppl.) 271, S243-S245 (2004), DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2004.0162

“Social Security: can rattlesnakes reduce acute stress through social buffering?” By Chelsea E. Martin, Gerad A. Fox, Breanna J. Putman, and William K. Hayes. Front. Ethol, 06 July 2023, Vol 2, 2023. DOI:doi.org/10. I 3389/fetho.2023.1181774

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The title of this episode might be a bit of a shock to you. Why are we talking about social structure in snakes? They’re solitary animals, right? Well, social structure is the sixth thing I like about rattlesnakes and it totally flipped the script on these interesting reptiles.

In general, when we think about reptiles we think of solitary animals that do not share territory, dens, or any part of their life with other reptiles of the same species. This is especially true of snakes. But maybe we’ve been wrong about this assumption. Those of you that have listened to the reproduction episode already know that mothers will share a den with their young after they’ve been born until their first shed. This was a completely unexpected behavior when we first discovered it, so we shouldn’t be too surprised to learn that rattlesnakes are social in other ways, as well.

Recent research has shed light on the social behaviors of snakes outside the natal den and, I hope you’re sitting down for this episode, because it’s going to rock your world!

In the March 2005 issue of Natural History magazine, an article titled “Social Lives of Rattlesnakes” was written by Rulon Clark. Most likely many people scoffed at the title and if they read the article at all, they certainly didn’t believe the information contained within.

Quoting form the article, Clark says “Timber rattlesnakes live as long as thirty years in the wild, and they seem to live as stable, cooperative community members. They appear to form lasting relationships with other individuals, follow similar paths through the woods, bask together before shedding their skins under the same fallen log, and sometimes follow each other from one den to another.” I can just hear the scoffs and see the bug=eyed disbelief, but since this article was published more studies based on Rulon Clark’s research have proven him right.

Let’s take a look at what Mr. Clark wanted people to learn about rattlesnakes when he wrote this article. Timber rattlesnakes are of great concern to anyone who loves rattlesnakes. They are native to the east coast of the Untied States and have been in decline for a very long time. Many rattlesnake researchers focus their interest on these snakes so that we can learn everything about them before they disappear forever.

Certain northeastern states are the only stronghold left for the Timber rattlesnakes. Now you probably don’t expect an ectothermic animal to live in an area that has weather cold enough to snow every year, but they do. The way they survive is to hibernate in a den that keeps them protected from the elements. They share these dens with other Timber rattlesnakes. Let me say that again. This animal that is often thought of being solitary, shares hibernation dens with other individuals of the same species. They head to den sites around mid-October and they usually emerge in early May. Genetic research done on some of these denning sites has shown that the groups that overwinter together tend to be closely related kin.

Okay. Okay. I can hear you doubting this. Maybe you think the snakes are just returning to a place they know is a safe denning site that other clutch mates also know about. That could be true and it is probably one of the reasons that siblings are often found in dens year after year, but that doesn’t explain why they may be found in the same sunning sites or shedding together under the same fallen logs.

There is evidence that snakes do recognize their own kin. In experiments performed with snakes born in captivity to wild caught mothers, female Timber rattlers were found to spend more time closer to related females than unrelated females. The test subjects did remain together with their mother and siblings until they shed for the first time, which typically takes a bout a week. Then the individual snakes were separated from each other for two years after they shed their natal skin. Three separate clutches were used. After two years of isolation, rattlesnakes were placed in an enclosure with plenty of room to stay away from each other if they chose. They tested the snakes in pairs, Female and female kin, female and female non-kin, male and male kin, and male and male non-kin. They distance between them was recorded several times a day.

Results showed that female kin choose to spend time closer together than non-kin.

Socializing with your kin is one thing but what about individuals that are not your relatives? There is plenty of evidence of that too. Timber rattlesnakes have been seen sunning themselves together, pregnant females congregate and birth in the same areas, they leave chemical trails that neonates can follow to find winter hibernacula, and social rattlesnakes emit an alarm pheromone when predators encroach. All of these things point to adaptations of a societal lifestyle.

A scientific paper published in July of 2023 asked the question of whether rattlesnakes can benefit from emotional support. Okay, they didn’t exactly say that but they did ask if rattlesnakes could reduce acute stress through social buffering. According to PubMed Central, social buffering is the phenomenon by which the presence of a familiar individual reduces or even eliminates stress and fear induced responses.

Using Pacific rattlesnakes caught in the wild, the researchers handled them, which is a known stressor for wild caught rattlers, and then placed them in a container alone, or with a coiled rope, or with another Pacific rattlesnake. Monitoring their heart rates with electrodes, the researches timed how quickly the snakes relaxed into a normal heart rate again. The snakes placed in the enclosure with another snakes recover from their stressful encounter faster than the ones left alone or with the copied rope.

It blew my mind when I read this paper! I hope that this episode about rattlesnakes has changed the way you think about this reptile because it’s my sixth favorite things about them.

Join me next week for another episode about rattlesnakes.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Fangs and venom are two of the amazing adaptations that rattlesnakes are known for and feared for. Join Kiersten as she discusses these two valuable assets.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show notes:

America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake by Ted Levin

Rattlesnake: Portrait of a Predator by Manny Russo

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues rattlesnakes and the fifth thing I like about this scaly creature is their fangs and venom. These two amazing adaptations make rattlesnakes adept hunters. We took a quick peek at them in the anatomy episode but today we’re going to take a closer look at both fangs and venom.

Let’s tackle fangs first. As I said in the anatomy episode, rattlesnake fangs are found in the upper jaw of the snake near the front. The are recurved which means they curve back into the mouth. They are modified teeth, so covered in enamel like other teeth. The modification is a hollow canal that runs the length of the tooth. This canal connects the venom gland to the tooth and travels down the tooth to a small opening at the front of the tooth just above the sharp end of the fang. The tip of the fang is very sharp and is often compared to a hypodermic needle.

There is one fang on each side of the mouth and they are the longest teeth in the rattlesnake’s mouth. The Eastern Diamondback, one of NA’s largest species, can have fangs 1 inch in length. These fangs are pretty sturdy but they can break. Since they are exceptionally important for the snake’s survival, new fangs are always growing. They sit just behind the current fang in the soft tissue of the gums. If one fang breaks another is ready to move up and grow out. This happens within a few weeks since the snake relies upon them to catch food. Older fangs are shed and replaced by a new ones even without sustaining damage. Occasionally, the active fang will fall out only when the new fang is grown out completely leaving the snake with two fangs in the same spot.

Now, tootling around with inch long fangs hanging out of your mouth is not conducive to easy movement when your head is close to the ground. You’d catch that thing on all sorts of debris and either get stuck or drag it around with you all day. Yuck! Rattlesnakes are able to fold their fangs flat against the roof of their mouth. There is a fleshy sheath that the tooth sits in when the snake does not need them. The snake has muscular control over the fangs. They choose when to erect them or fold them.

Let’s take a closer look at the venom itself. As mentioned before, rattlesnakes have venom glands. They have two venom glands that sit behind the eyes and connect to the canal in the fangs through a duct. The glands themselves are triangular in shape. This is what gives rattlesnakes their well-known arrow shaped head. A tendon that the snake can control pushes the venom into the fang when they strike at a prey item. They are in conscious control of how much venom they inject into a prey item. Vary rarely do they use all the venom at one time.

In simple terms, there are two types of venom. One affects the blood by preventing coagulation and destroys the vessels. This one is a hemotoxic venom. The second one disrupts the nervous system causing paralysis and heart and respiratory malfunctions. This one is a neurotoxin. Previously it was thought that snakes produced one or the other. But with continued research into venom, we now know that most venomous snakes have a combination of both. The percentage varies with each species and even within population of the same species. Rattlesnakes tend to have a higher percentage of hemotoxins in their venom.

Why do rattlesnakes even have venom? There are plenty of snakes out there that are non-venomous and are extremely successful creatures. So why venom? Scientists believe that venom evolved in rattlesnakes as a way to expedite the digestive process. Rattlesnakes do not wrap and suffocate their prey like constrictors do. During constriction prey item are typically squeezed so tightly that some joints and bones are broken even though it’s the lack of air that kills the prey. This process probably aides the constrictor in digestion. Since rattlesnakes do not squeeze their prey, they may have developed venom to assist in the digestion process. Venom does break down tissue. So before the prey item even hits the stomach of the rattlesnake it has already begun to break down. Considering you’re not chewing your food before you swallow, this is extremely helpful.

Venom is clearly a dangerous substance but rattlesnake venom has inspired helpful human medicine. Studying the chemical structure of venom has led to better blood pressure medication and anti-coagulants that some people rely on to live better lives.

Rattlesnakes are venomous, any snake that uses venom, is venomous. They are not poisonous. What’s the difference? Venom must be injected while poison is ingested or absorbed through the skin. If you get snake venom on you, as long as you do not have a cut on your skin, you’ll be just fine. You can touch a rattlesnake without fear of absorbing a toxin. For their venom to be deadly it must enter the blood stream. When referring to rattlesnakes, it is correct to call them venomous.

Does a rattlesnake inject venom every time it strikes? No, it does not. Sometimes, often when it strikes in defense, a rattlesnake will deliver a dry bite. The venom is used for digestion so why waste it on something you can’t eat? Many people have reported being bitten by a rattlesnake but not being injected with venom. We can make the educated guess that this may also happen with larger predators such felids or canids that might think a rattlesnake would make a good meal.

Of course, many people bitten by rattlesnakes do receive a bite with an injection of venom. Typically this happens when they see only a small portion of our body, like a hand or an ankle, and perceive it as a prey item. It also happens when we are harassing a rattlesnake and will not leave it alone. So what should you do if you get bitten?

First, remain as calm as possible and call for emergency services or travel to the nearest hospital. Remove any tight fitting clothing or jewelry near the bite that may become an issue when the area begins to swell. Tell medical personnel that you’ve been bitten by a rattlesnake. Do not catch or kill the rattlesnake to take it with you. It destroys an innocent animal and it wastes time. You do not need to identify the species of rattlesnake because the anti-venom used to treat you is the same regardless of species. And remember, the chances of dying from a rattlesnake bite are low. Quoting from Ted Levin’s book “America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake”: ‘Over the past several years, on average of five people have died of snakebite in the United States in any given year, less than one fatality for every eighteen hundred bites and most of those victims either received little or no first aid, or the treatment was greatly delayed.’

According to the CDC, you’re more likely to die from the sting of a bee or wasp, a dog mauling, a lightning strike, or an out of control farm animal than the bite of a rattlesnake.

That’s all for this episode of rattlesnakes. Thanks for joining me to learn about their specialized dentition and their venom. It’s my fifth favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another episode about rattlesnakes.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: There are so many myths about rattlesnakes. Join Kiersten as she dispels some of these harmful myths.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake by Ted Levin

“Coexisting with Rattlesnakes” by Bryan Hughes. Live lecture through Desert Rivers Audubon. www.desertriversaudubon.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues rattlesnakes and the fourth thing I like about rattlesnakes is dispelling myths about them. There are so many myths about this misunderstood creature and we’re going to talk about some of them today.

Myth #1: Rattlesnakes are aggressive!

This is not true. Rattlesnakes will avoid confrontation at all costs. They do not want to strike at anything except prey or a threat that will not leave them alone. It costs them a lot of energy to strike and even more energy to bite and inject venom. That venom is very important to catching and digesting prey, so they certainly do not want to waste it.

These snakes appear aggressive because we humans can’t seem to leave them alone. For some reason everyone think it’s a great idea to get all up in their faces and poke at them with a stick then post it on social media to show how aggressive the snake is. If you come across a rattlesnake in the wild just leave it alone and give it some space. As soon as you walk away it will also leave because it doesn’t want to be in an area where they can be disturbed.

Myth #2: Baby rattlesnakes are more dangerous than the adults!

Not true again. People think that babies have no control of the amount if venom they use, so they just squish it all out wherever they bite. Nope. Young rattlesnakes have just as much control as adults. We have to remember that they rely heavily on this venom to help them procure their food. They will not waste it if they can help it. It cost the time and energy to restock their venom.

The venom of young rattlesnakes is slightly more potent than adults because they are eating different food. The slightly altered venom helps them kill and digest the food they’re eating. If s human or large mammal get bitten by a young rattlesnake it will most likely not be any worse than the bite from an adult.

Myth #3: The abandoned eggs under the porch are rattlesnake eggs! Be careful!

If you listened to the reproduction episode you already know that this is false. Rattlesnake do not lay eggs. They give live birth. Don’t freak out if you see a bunch of eggs on the ground, you do not have a nest of rattlers waiting to hatch. Most likely you have a quail or another ground bird nesting in your yard.

Myth #4: Moth balls and snake repellent are a must if you live where rattlesnakes are found.

There are a lot of products out there that promise to keep rattlesnakes away, but it’s all a lie. Mothballs do nothing but make your property smell like grandma’s closet. Rattlesnakes can’t smell the moth balls and if they did why would they avoid that smell. It means nothing to them. Mothballs might keep your human neighbors away, but not rattlesnakes. The snake repellent that you spread on your lawn is also a crock. You might as well just spread the money that you spend on buying it on the lawn. It’ll work just as well. Once again the snakes don’t care about the smell, if they can smell it at all. One last snake repellent myth that has lasted from the wild west days, is that snakes won’t cross a horsehair rope. Nope. The snake might pause a moment and taste the rope with his tongue before he slides over it, but that’s about it. The best way to prevent snakes from coming near where you live is to keep your property clean. Don’t let clutter stand in your yard.

Myth #5: You can tell how old a rattlesnake is by counting the links on their rattle.

No. Every time a rattlesnake sheds a new link is added to the rattle. Rattlesnakes can shed more than once a year. A year old rattler could have three links on their tail if it was a good food year and they grew a lot, on the other hand a ten year old rattlesnake might have eight links if they had a few lean food years. Not to mention the rattles are made of hollow keratin and can be fragile. They might lose the rattle in a confrontation with a predator or cut a few links off if it gets stuck in a crack in a rock.

Myth #6: If you get bit, suck the venom out!

Definitely DO NOT suck the venom out of a rattlesnake bite! Get to a medical facility as soon as possible. Sucking the venom out could get the person doing it sick because no matter how much you spit, some of that venom is going to get absorbed into your digestive track.

Also do not use a tourniquet to stop the flow of the venom, you’ll probably just end up further injuring whatever body part was bitten. By no means, do not kill the rattlesnake and bring it with you to the hospital. The doctors do not want it in the emergency room and there is no need to identify the specific species of snake because there is only one antivenom that is used for all species of rattlesnakes. Just leave the snake alone and it’ll wander away and leave you alone. Remember it was not being aggressive toward you, the note resulted from a misstep or an intentional goading on the part of the human. As an aside here, most snake bite kits that suction the venom out are an unnecessary buy and may provide a false sense of safety.

Myth #7: Did you see that twelve foot rattlesnake online?

There are no species of rattlesnakes that grow twelve feet long. The picture you’re looking at is faked with forced perspective. Look closely at the photo, the snake is held out toward the camera which makes it look longer than the person holding it. Also how can an average human hold a twelve foot rattlesnake on a tiny aluminum pole without looking at all strained. The longest rattlesnakes on record today can reach 7 1/2 to 8 feet, but these animals are rarely encountered by your average Joe. They have lived a long time and know how to avoid place that make them uncomfortable, such as places where humans congregate.

Myth #8: Seeing a rattlesnake is a near death experience!

This is definitely not true. I used to live in the desert of Arizona and saw my fair share of rattlesnakes and I am still hear to talk about it. I never passed out or saw the light, I just stood back and gave the snake its space and it traveled on by. I enjoyed the moment spent with this amazing animal and then went on with my day.

Thanks for joining me today as we busted a few rattlesnake myths. I had fun and I know you learned a lot because this is my fourth favorite thing about rattlesnakes.

Join me next week for another episode about rattlesnakes.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How do rattlesnakes make baby rattlesnakes? You might be surprised! Join Kiersten as she gives you a rundown of rattlesnake reproduction.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake by Ted Levin

Rattlesnake: Portrait of a Predator by Manny Russo

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues rattlesnakes and the third thing like about them is their reproduction cycle. There are definitely a few things you probably didn’t know about rattlesnake reproduction, for some of you it may be more than a few things, and these facts will throw you for a loop.

As we learned in last weeks episode, most rattlesnakes live in temperate regions, which means they live in habitats that have both a cold season and a warm or hot season. This is important because breeding season is kicked off by warming temperatures and the basking behavior that this encourages. The timing of this activity will vary depending on species but many species will breed in spring and summer. Some will mate in fall and we currently believe this is triggered by the shortening of daylight hours.

After the snakes have had a bit of time to warm their bodies they shed, when it’’s breeding season females will release pheromones at the same time as this shed that indicate she is ready to mate. Males, once they have warmed up enough to move around, will follow those pheromones until they find the female.

If she’s alone, the male will begin the mating ritual. First he’ll rub his chin along her head and flick his tongue gently along her back to entice her to accept him. If she doesn’t slither away, he’ll rub his body along hers, and if all still continues to go well for him she will raise her tail and give a little wave. He’ll line his cloaca up with hers so he can use his hemipenes to deposit sperm in her cloaca. The cloaca is the opening at the base of the tail where snakes do everything that entails things coming out of the body or going into the body. Mating rattlesnakes may be connected in copulation for up to three hours.

If an uncoupled female is not alone when one or more males find her, the combat dance may occur. The two males will quickly race toward each other with their heads raised. They will entwine their necks and raise their bodies up vertically. They can push themselves up almost 1/3 of their body length. When they get too high they both tumble and untangle. Then the dance begins again. The two males will continue to ‘dance’ with each other until one of them tires, is forced to the ground, and slithers away. This combat dance can last up to thirty minutes.

Typically, fangs are never used during this combat dance. Most often the larger of the two males will win, but not always. This can happen without the presence of a female, sometimes two male snakes searching for females that encounter each other may just fight because they’re in the same vicinity.

Once sperm has been successfully transferred, the female can store that sperm for up to a year in a specialized structure in her oviduct. She’ll keep the sperm through winter hibernation until she can produce eggs that will then be fertilized by the stored sperm. This ensures that the eggs will mature at just the right time of year for the young to be born when the temperatures are warm and food is available for the young rattlers.

It occurs to me that I’ve been talking about warm temperatures being important for reproduction. Warm temperatures are actually important for all reptiles for any activity. Reptiles are ecotothermic which means they are reliant on the temperature in the environment to maintain their own body temperature. Too hot or too cold and a reptile cannot function.

Female rattlesnakes are ovoviviparous but are often referred to as viviparous in research papers. What do all these big word mean? Ovoviviparous means they incubate eggs inside their body and the young are born live. Viviparous means to give live birth, like most mammals. So technically both definitions apply to rattlesnakes.

Females will incubate the fertilized eggs in her uterus. For about three months she’ll carry her offspring. During this time she’ll stop eating because as the embryos grow they take up more and more room in her body. It prevents her from swallowing prey whole because there isn’t enough room for her to carry around an intact mouse while it slowly digests and her offspring. The number of embryos will vary from specie to species. Larger species can carry and birth more young than smaller species. An average number across all species can range from two to twelve, give or take.

As the pregnancy progresses, the female will become more and more secretive and sedentary. She’ll move in an out of warm areas to ensure proper incubation temperatures for her eggs but she won’t go far. She will continue to drink water, but she and her young will survive on the fat stores that she stocked up on before fertilization occurred. The embryos are enclosed in a fetal sac or soft bodied egg with a yolk inside while in her uterus. They are attached to the sac through a primitive umbilical stalk. Some materials and gases are passed through this stalk similar to a mammal’s umbilical cord. When she is ready to give birth, she’ll find a secluded place and her young are born looking like a little version of their mother.

This next step is the one that will throw you for a loop. After her babies are born the mother and her young stay in the nest together for almost a week. She does not kick her babies out into the world to fend for themselves. We think of most reptiles being very hands off parents, but rattlesnakes are not like that.

The mother and the newborns stay together in the den until the young shed for the first time, usually about seven days after birth. During this time, we’re not exactly sure what information is passed back and forth between parent and offspring and between siblings, but scientists think this is an imprinting period. The young may be memorizing their mother’s scent so they can follow it back to denning sites later. The shocking thing about this, not so much to me but scientist and other people, is that rattlesnake mothers actually take time to make sure their offspring are protected during an extremely vulnerable time. She’s giving them a chance at a successful life.

Once the young have shed, everyone leaves the nest and goes on their separate ways. Growth rates will depend on available food and the environment, but if they’re lucky they can double their size in three or four months. Small rattlesnakes do have to worry about predation. Other snakes, hawks, owls, coyotes, and feral cats are all threats to neonates.

Depending on species, males will typically reach sexual maturity at two years while females will reach sexual maturity at three years. Females will generally only give birth to young two to three times in their entire life. They take several years in between clutches because it’s quite a strain on their system to lose the weight during pregnancy. It may take them two to three years to get back up to fighting weight.

That is all for this fascinating episode on rattlesnake reproduction. Thanks for joining me on this crazy ride because it’s my third favorite thing about this beautiful reptile.

Join me next week for another episode about rattlesnakes.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Even though rattlesnakes are only found in the New World, there are a plethora of cool species. Join Kiersten as she take a few close up looks at some wicked cool rattlesnakes.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake by Ted Levin

Rattlesnake: Portrait of a Predator by Manny Russo

https://www.savethebuzztails.org

https://waterlandlife.org

https://www.fws.gov/specis/eastern-massasauga

https://www.desertmuseum.org

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues rattlesnakes and the second thing I like about this astounding reptile is the variety of species alive today.

Today we’ll start off with a little taxonomy. As a reminder taxonomy is the scientific classification of living creatures. It is a way of grouping plants and animals into families for easier study. Rattlesnake classification is as follows: Kingdom: Animalia (this means it’s an animal), Phylum: Chordata (roughly speaking they have a backbone), Class Reptilia (they are reptiles), Order Squamata (this contains lizards and snakes), Suborder Serpentes (snakes), Family Viperidae (a group of venomous snakes called vipers including rattlesnakes), Subfamily Crotalinae and two different genera including Crotalus and Sistrurus. Don’t worry there won’t be a test at the end of this episode!

Currently there are 32 accepted species of rattlesnake with 83 subspecies. Upon the advent of DNA testing, this number has fluctuated as scientists discover more information about family relatedness based on genetics versus physical characteristics or behavior. Basically what I’m saying is that this number may be correct today but different tomorrow.

The majority of species are found in Genus Crotalus and only three are classified in Sistrurus. There is one outstanding physical characteristic that separates the two genera. The scales on the top of the head of Genus Crotalus will typically be small and similarly shaped, while Genus Sistrurus will have a less uniform group of nine large scales on the crown of the head. There are always exceptions to the rule in Nature so this description is not a hard and fast rule, but a more general rule.

Before we look at some specific rattlesnakes more closely, let’s discuss where rattlesnakes can be found on the planet. Rattlesnakes are a New World animal which means they are found only in North, Central, or South America. They can be found from southern Canada to central Argentina with the most variety found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. A few are found on islands in the Caribbean such as Aruba.

The habitats they are found in vary from desert to semi-arid desert to prairie to timber woodlands. They did not evolve to tolerate rainforest habitat. Rattlesnakes can be found in areas that have a cold winter as long as they have dens to hibernate in to keep from freezing to death. In areas that are warmer, they have adapted to living near human suburbs because they are attracted to the mice and rats that are attracted to us. In areas that are colder and the need for a denning sit that remains undisturbed through the winter is crucial, they are struggling to survive.

Now that we know a little about rattlesnake taxonomy and where we can find them, let’s take a closer look at a few individual species.

One of the most well known rattlesnakes is the Diamondback. This snake is an icon of the wild west of the United States but there is an Eastern Diamondback as well as a Western Diamondback. The eastern Diamondback is native to the southeastern United States and can be found in the pinelands of Florida, the coastal plains of North Carolina and southern Mississippi through eastern Louisiana. The western diamondback is found throughout the western portion of the United States including Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and northern Mexico.

The two snakes are separate species in Genus Crotalus. The eastern Diamondback is Crotalus adamanteus and the western diamondback is Crotalus atrox. As their name suggests they have large diamond shaped patterning on their back. It begins behind the head and travels down to the tail. The diamond shapes will be darker than the base color of the snakes. The eastern diamondback is typically brown or gray with the base color darkening toward the tail where dark bands appear just before the rattle. The western diamondback base color ranges from light brown to dark brown to reddish brown depending on habitat with bright white and black stripping just before the rattle. Both diamondback snakes are some of the longest and heaviest rattlesnakes alive today with adults ranging from 2 1/2 feet to 7 1/2 feet.

Let’s look at one of the snakes in Genus Sistrurus. Sistrurus catenatus, the eastern Massasauga is a small but thick bodied rattlesnake found in the eastern portions of North America. This 1 1/2 foot to 2 1/2 foot snake is found in the northern midwest United States and Ontario, Canada. Their current range is much smaller than their historic range. They tend to favor shallow wetlands with surrounding upland areas that they use for hunting, breeding, and hibernating.

Coloration varies from gray to light brown, but some black individuals have been seen. The splotches that travel down the back are generally dark in color and resemble a colored in number eight. They will also have rows of smaller blotches down the sides of the body. The tail has a small rattle which sounds like the buzz of an insect when they are agitated.

Let’s travel down into South America and take a look at the only rattlesnakes found there. The South American Rattlesnake or Crotalus durissus is found in the Cerrado ecoregion of southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and northern Argentina. In Portuguese this snake is called “cascavel”. The cascavel typically makes its home in grasslands and savanna habitats although they are occasionally found in dry forests and open clearings in jungles.

Adults range in size from 2 1/2 feet to 6 feet in length. Base colors vary widely from yellow to light brown to reddish to dark brown or even gray. Some reports of greenish tinted specimens have seen seen near forested areas. They have two stripes that run from the top of the head down the neck that fade as the body gets larger. Diamond shaped patterning flows down the rest of the body terminating at the tail where the rattle begins. Like most other rattlesnakes they are a heavy bodied snake and they have one of the widest ranges of any rattlesnake. There are several subspecies of Crotalus durissus.

We’re going to look at one more species in depth and this is the one rattlesnake that doesn’t have a functioning rattle. That’s right, this rattlesnake doesn’t have a rattle. The Santa Catalina Island rattlesnake, Crotalus catalinensis, is genetically a rattlesnake but after years and years of living on an island they have lost their rattle. They do have the button, the base of rattle, but it comes off with every shed preventing a rattle from developing.

They are native to Isla Santa Catalina in the Gulf of California. Adults range in size from 2 feet to 2 3/4 feet. They can be found almost anywhere on the island and unlike other rattlesnake species they are often found hunting in trees. They are the most arboreal rattlesnake of any rattlesnake species. This may explain why they are more slender than any other rattlesnakes, as well. This is a lovely little rattlesnake with a grayish brown base color and large white-bordered diamond blotches along the back. The tail terminates in black and gray striping reminiscent of diamondback rattlesnake tails. These snakes can be a very pale gray with light brown blotches creating a stunningly beautiful pattern.

That is all for this episode of rattlesnakes. There are so many more cool species of rattlesnake but I had to restrain myself to my ten minutes limit. Thanks for joining me because the variety of species alive today is my second favorite thing about rattlesnakes.

Join me next week for another episode about rattlesnakes.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Rattlesnakes are terribly misunderstood animals. Join Kiersten as she kicks of this series on rattlesnakes with anatomy

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake by Ted Levin

Rattlesnake: Portrait of a Predator by Manny Russo

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano Music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the first episode of my second misunderstood animal, rattlesnakes. The first thing I like about this majestic reptile is their anatomy. Since rattlesnake are snakes, we’ll start off with general snake anatomy and then we’ll talk about the physical characteristics that make rattlesnakes, rattlesnakes.

Let’s start off at the head with one of the snake’s most well-known physical characteristics and the one that has people associating it with the devil. The forked tongue is for more than just scaring humans. It’s an amazing adaptation that helps snakes interpret their surroundings. The tongue flicks in and out of the mouth to gather scent information. Snakes are essentially “tasting” the air when they flick their tongue in and out. The slightly damp tongue gathers scent particles when it is exposed to the air. When it comes back into the mouth the ends settle into the Jacobson’s organ that is situated in the roof of the snake’s mouth. This structure processes the scent particles that the tongue gathered telling the snake what’s in the environment around it.

It’s quite amazing and allows the snake to find prey items, water, shelter, and protect itself against predators, all with the flick of its tongue.

Moving to the top of the head, we find the eyes. This is another characteristic that freaks people out because snakes never close their eyes and some people think that they are being constantly started at with evil intent. But that’s not true, at all. Snakes don’t close their eyes because they can’t. They have no eyelids. They do have thicker lens’ over their eyes that help protect them from the environment like other animals’ eyelids. Snakes don’t have great distance vision either. So they are certainly not staring at you from several feet away. Their vision helps them pinpoint their strike when their prey or a predator is at very close range.

At the end of their cute little snouts are their nares. Since they are terrestrial vertebrates, they do breath air. That’s what they use their nostrils for, since most of their olfaction is done with their tongues, but they do have olfactory epithelial cells that line the nasal passages. The presence of a predator or prey triggers a tongue flick, so some scent is likely absorbed through the nasal passages.

Just below the nostrils, in between the eyes and the nostrils, are the thermal pits. As far as we know, most snakes have thermal pits, but they range in their sensitivity depending on species. These help snakes detect temperature differences in their environment. It’s another adaptation for hunting prey and keeping themselves safe. As they grow, snakes learn the differences between prey items, predators, and environmental heat signatures that might lead them to safe shelter.

When we enter the mouth, we’ll see teeth. All species of snake, as far as we currently know, have teeth. They will vary in size, placement, and number, but all snakes have teeth. When you don’t have hands or paws to help you capture or hold your food, teeth come in super handy. (See what I did there?) Hee-hee! Snake teeth do have one thing in common across species and that’s the curvature of the teeth. Snake teeth are recurved which means they curve backwards. What we mean here is that their teeth are curved towards the back of the mouth. One more indicator that their teeth are used to hold food before they swallow it whole.

Speaking of swallowing, that leads us to our next super cool snake adaptation. I’m sure many of you have heard that snakes can unhinge their jaws to swallow something ten times bigger than their own mouths. This is another rumor that often sets people against snakes and it’s false. They cannot unhinge their jaws. They can expand their jaws with the help of ligaments attached to the upper and lower jaw bones. This allows them to swallow food approximately three times the size of their heads.

Once we get past the mouth, snake anatomy is very similar to our own anatomy. They have an esophagus that transports their food to their stomach where it’s processed and passes to the small intestine through the large intestine to the rectum and out the cloaca. They have a trachea, looks like a hole inside the mouth, leads to their lung. They can close off their trachea when eating or drinking and are able to move it around a large food item so they can breath while they eat. I’ve seen snakes I’ve worked with at zoos do this and it looks kind of like a straw sitting next to the rat they are consuming. It’ both cool and weird.

Most snakes have only one working lung, this is also true of rattlesnakes. Their right lung is the functioning lung. Overall the respiratory system of the rattlesnake, and most other snakes, is not exceptionally efficient at providing oxygen to the body. They are not into exertion, they simply don't have the lung capacity to sustain a high level of prolonged activity.

Snakes also have a brain, a heart, a liver, two kidneys, a pancreas, a gall bladder; sound familiar? Males will have testes and a hemipenes used for reproduction and females have ovaries, an oviduct, and a uterus.

This is a very basic rundown of snake anatomy. We’ll be going in depth with a few of these topics as this series progresses. For now, let’s look at three anatomical characteristics that make rattlesnakes unique among other species of snake. Fangs, venom, and the rattle.

Fangs are teeth that give the rattlesnake that menacing face, but they only use the fangs when they are striking, most often for catching prey. The fangs can be in the front of the mouth or in the back. Most rattlesnakes have front fangs that come down from the top jaw. In any snake, fangs are found only in the top jaw. Fangs are modified teeth that allow for injection of venom. They are like other enamel covered teeth but with a hole either at the base or down the middle of the tooth that allows for venom injection. In most rattlesnakes, the fangs can be folded into a pouch of skin on the roof of the mouth when they are not needed. They can be pretty long and can get in the way when swallowing food.

Venom is what makes people fear rattlesnakes most. But this substance was mainly developed for catching prey and pre-digestion of food. According to current research, scientists believe venom was not developed as a defensive mechanism against predators. Venom generally comes in two forms: one is a hemotoxin which will eat away at the walls of capillaries and other circulatory vessels causing blood to pool in body cavities; the second is a neurotoxin which taxes the nervous system shutting down nerve impulse transmission leading to paralysis. Now these both sound pretty bad, and if you're a mouse it’s not looking good for you, but as a human or a large mammal you’re most likely just fine. Venom is produced from glands in the upper jaw of the snake’s head. I’ll dive deeper into venom in its own episode.

Last but not least, the rattle. This physical characteristic is found only on rattlesnakes and no one else. The rattle is made of keratin, the same thing that make up our hair and nails, and grows each time the snake sheds. It is essentially made from the last terminal scale of the rattlesnake’s tail. It remains behind after each shed to create another link in the snake’s rattle. The rattle is hollow and flexible. When it is vibrated back and forth a sound is produced. Research tells us that this physical characteristic is used for defensive purposes, alerting predators or other unsuspecting creatures that a rattlesnake is nearby and wishes to be left alone. The rattle is so fascinating, I’m going to dedicate an entire episode to the rattle in a few weeks.

Thank you for joining me for my first episode of rattlesnakes. This is going to be an exciting series and I can’t wait to share it all with you. I’m glad I started with anatomy because it’s my first favorite thing about this misunderstood animal.

Join me next week for another episode about rattlesnakes.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Join Kiersten as she talks about the conservation status of the coelacanth and how we can help!

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

https://www.iucnredlist.org

“Coelacanth: A Living Fossil From Eons Past (2023 Update),” by Lance Wilkins, Call Outdoors, https://www.calloutdoors.com

“Coelacanth, the Famous “Living Fossil” Fish, Gets Endangered Species Act Protection, Scientific American, March 29, 2016. Https://blogs.scientificamerican.com.

“Ghost fish: after 420 million years the deeps, modern gillnets from shark fin trade drag coelacanths into the light,” by Tony Carnie May 12, 2021. Mongabay, https://news.mongabay.com

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode concludes the coelacanth and the tenth thing I like about this animal is their conservation. Maybe I need to re-word that statement. I don’t like the fact that coelacanths need conservation, but it’s an important topic and we’re already working on protecting them for future generations.

One of the questions that might have popped into your head when you saw the title of this episode, is do coelacanths really need conservation efforts? I mean they live so deep in the ocean and they’ve been alive since before the dinosaurs, how could they possibly need conserving?

Well let’s talk about that.

The answer to the first question is yes, but really that’s the answer to every animal on the planet these days, but that’s a whole other topic.

Coelacanths, both the African and the Indonesian populations, do need conservation efforts. The main reason is that they are incredibly long lived animals. Recent research has shown that they may actually live 100 years or more. And, while this is exceptionally cool, it can also mean that they are slow to increase their population. Coelacanths don’t reach sexual maturity until somewhere between 35-50 years. That means they have to live at least that long before they can create more coelacanths.

The latest population numbers for Latimeria chalumnae, the African coelacanth, is estimated at just around 250 to 500 individuals. Latimeria menadoensis, the Sulawesi coelacanth, is estimated at somewhere around 10,000 individuals. We have to take the numbers with a large grain of salt because counting coelacanth individuals is extremely tricky due to the fact that they live in extremely deep waters.

Both species are listed on the IUCN Red List. This is the list that organizations all over the word use to determine what kind of protections should be developed for various species of wildlife including animals, insects, and plants. The African coelacanth is listed as critically endangered and the Sulawesi coelacanth is listed as vulnerable.

Beside the fact that they reproduce so slowly what other threats are modern coelacanths facing?

Those of you that are loyal listeners can probably guess what I’m about to say, human activity. Yes. This species that is older than a dinosaur and survived a planetary extinction event is losing its battle against humankind. I find that I have no words to portray how very sad this makes me.

Ever since the coelacanth was rediscovered in 1938, fisherman have taken advantage of scientific interest in them. Selling them for research purposes really hit its stride after the 1980’s. Before then, fisherman often just threw them back and if the coelacanth was lucky they might have survived the pressure changes of the water. But, once scientific interest in studying the coelacanth boomed in the 1980’s, fisherman began trading them for payment or other things the fishermen needed with interested scientists.

A coelacanth can be caught fairly easily with a small, primitive boat and a long fishing line. They don’t struggle much when you pull them up and native fisher’s knew just where to look to catch them. To encourage fishermen to stop catching coelacanth, they were provided with more seaworthy boats so they could venture farther out to sea to catch other types of fish, which also took them away from the coelacanths favorite habitat. This worked well until the boats fell into disrepair and then fishermen fell back to their old habits that they could practice using their simpler boats.

Today coelacanths must avoid two separate deep sea fishing industries. One is the oil fisheries. This industry looks to capture large fish for the use of their oils. We have a lot of fish oil in various items that we consume, vitamins and supplements, cosmetics, and dog food just to name a few. These oils have to come form somewhere. If you can catch large fish you can use fewer of them to harvest what you want. The problem with this is that taking only a few individuals from a slow growing species greatly impacts their reproductive abilities. We’re not catching coelacanths to use in the industry, they taste terrible, but they are getting caught in the nets that fisherman use to catch the other fish. This ancient fish has become bycatch of the modern day fishing industry.

Another industry threatening the coelacanth, as well as another beautiful creature of the deep, is shark fin fishing. Shark fin soup is considered a delicacy in China and it used to be only for the very wealthy, but when the economy boomed for the middle class in China they all wanted what only the elite rich could previously afford. Shark fin soup was one of those items. Fishing for sharks skyrocketed. It is essentially illegal now but it still goes on and it is one of the most barbaric fishing industries human participate in. The sharks are caught and hauled out of the water. Fisherman only get paid for the fins themselves, so they slice off the sharks dorsal and pectoral fins, then toss the sharks back into the ocean where they are left to die a slow painful death.

Now that we have successfully depleted the oceans of a healthy population of fish, the fishing industry is diving deeper to catch sharks that live on the same waters of the coelacanths. They are using gills nets, a fishing device that is outlawed by many countries, to catch these sharks. Well, coelacanths are the same size as the sharks and they are getting caught in these gills nets along with the sharks.

In 2014, a method of deep water release was proposed and attempted to re-release bycatch coelacanths back into their deep sea habitat. A hook and a weight was connected to the coelacanth which was supposed to release as soon as the fish hit the bottom of the ocean in their preferred habitat. We’re not really sure how it worked out because their is no data available, but it doesn’t sound like the kind of idea that would work well.

On the bright side, coelacanths were given protection under the Endangered Species Act in 2016. This allows United States authorities to prosecute any one illegally trading or trafficking in the coelacanth items. It also often encourages other countries to look at what they can do to help as well. Once the Sulawesi coelacanth was discovered, the Indonesian people fully embraced their ancient resident. Many islands have taken to educating the locals about what a coelacanth is, and pride at living with and protecting this ancient animal is high.

The coelacanth is also protected under CITES and an area off the coast of Tanzania was declared a protected marine park in around 2019. The Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park limits fishing within its boundaries, but of course illegal fishing continues.

What can we do to help the coelacanth? Currently their are no organizations set up to gather funds to protect the coelacanth, but the best way to save them is to get the word out about them. These are some of the absolutely coolest animals out there, so tell everyone you meet about the coelacanth! Write your biology class paper on the coelacanth, paint it in art class, have a T-shirt printed up with its cute little face, and recommend this podcast on the coelacanth to everyone you know. The most powerful tool we have right now to save the coelacanth is awareness. Help me make sure this animal survives longer than the human race.

Thank you so much for joining me on this deep sea adventure with the coelacanth! It’s been quite a ride and we’re all better for having taking it.

Join me in two weeks for our second misunderstood animal series on Ten Things I Like About. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I’ll give you a hint. Scales and rattles.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Join Kiersten as she takes a trip through time with the fossil record of the coelacanth.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“Coelacanth Fish Fossils, Mawsonia Woodward, 1907,” by Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam, Ali Taher, Mohammad Ahmad, Mostafa Khalaf-Prinz Sakerfalke von Jaffa. https://issuu.com

“The first late cretaceous mawsoniid coelacanth (Sarcopterygii: Actinistia) from North America: Evidence of a lineage of extinct ‘living fossils’.” By Lionel Cavin, Pablo Torino, Nathan van Vranken, Bradley Carter, Micheal J. Polcyn, and Dale Winkler. PLOS ONE, https://journals.plos.org

“Fossils of Cretaceous-Period Coelacanth Discovered in Texas,” by Sergio Prostak, SciNews, November 16, 2021. https://www.sci.news

“Oldest coelacanth, from Early Devonian of Australia,” by Zeroing Johanson, John A. Long, John A Talent, Phillipe Javier, and James W. Warren. Bill Lett, 2006 Sep 22; 2(3): 443-446; doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0470

“Earliest known coelacanth skull extends the range of anatomically modern coelacanths to the Early Devonian,” by Min Zhu, Xiaobo You, Jing Lu, Too Qiao, Wenjin Zhao, and Liantao Jia. Nature Communications 3, Article Number: 772 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1764

“Ghost Lineages,” by Matt Wedel, 5/2007 and 5/2010. https://ucmp.berkeley.edu

Music written and composed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the coelacanth and the ninth thing I like about this animal is its fossil record.

Throughout this series I’ve talked about the fossil’s of the coelacanth and how they are sometimes called a ‘living fossil’, so I thought we should take a few minutes to look at their actual fossil record.

As we have discussed before coelacanths are old. The first coelacanths lived about 400 million years ago in the Devonian period. This was approximately 170 million years before dinosaurs roamed the earth. No matter how many times I say it, it still blows my mind!

The fossil record of the coelacanth, just like everything else about this fish, is actually quite interesting. Throughout their long history coelacanths have been thought to be evolutionary conservative which essentially means they haven’t changed much, but when we look a litter closer at the various fossils we see a different story. Our modern living coelacanths look like something that swam right out of ancient history, but throughout their existence they have had several body shapes.

Let’s look at the Devonian coelacanths. The best known Devonian coelacanth fossils come from the late Middle to early Late Devonian period. There are two early coelacanths that are well known, Gavinia and Miguashaia. These two genuses are considered primitive coelacanths because they are more like primitive lungfish and less like modern coelacanths in body form. What researchers look at to determine these classifications are the skull shape, the fin placement, and the tail.

If we compare the skull shapes, in layman’s terms, of Miguashaia and Latimeria (as a reminder that is our modern coelacanth) the Devonian era coelacanth’s skull is broader and shorter, the body is shorter and more stout, and the tail is dramatically different. The Miguashaia tail technically has three parts like the modern coelacanth but the top fin is tiny while the bottom fin is much larger. The puppy dog tail portion of the tail that runs between the two fins sort of curves up a bit. The majority of the tail fin is below the midline and is square as opposed to the rounded tail of Latimeria.

These are the most well known fossils from the Devonian period and they are fully formed enough that they can be placed in the coelacanth timeline based on body shape. But these are not the only fossils found from the Devonian era. There were fossils found in Australia from the early Devonian period suggesting coelacanths are even older than we previously thought. Researchers are hesitating to use these fossils when phylogenetically classifying coelacanths because it’s only a lower jaw bone. The existence of a dentary sensory pore in the jaw proves it is a coelacanth, as modern day coelacanths, as well as other fossils throughout the ages, have dentary sensory pores also.

Now, there have been approximately 80 species of coelacanth fossils described from the Middle Devonian to the Late Cretaceous. The Late Cretaceous dates from 360 million years to 70 million years ago. In the Cretaceous period, two families of coelacanths are represented through the fossils that we have found. One is Latimeriidae and Mawsoniidae.

A scientific paper published in 2021, discussed the discovery of Cretaceous period mawsonid coelacanth fossils found in the Woodbine Formation in northeast Texas. The reason these fossils are important is that they expand the regional location of coelacanths. These are the first coelacanth fossils found in North America. We didn’t know that they lived in the area of North America until these fossils were found. Researchers postulate that these coelacanths got here during the break-up of Pangea, but we need a lot more research before we have any solid theories.

One of the things I wanted to know about ancient coelacanths was how big they were. It seems like when we go back in time, animals are always bigger than they are now. Like the dragonflies that used to be as big a VW Bug, sloths that were the size of an SUV, and sea scorpions the size of small sedan. Well, some of the coelacanth fossils that we have found are complete bodies and some have enough bones to extrapolate how big the fish was when they were alive. So we have a range from about two feet to thirteen feet! Our modern coelacanths seem to have settled somewhere in the middle.

Coelacanths were believed to have gone extinct during the Late Cretaceous period. Today we know that’s not true, but until 1938 we hadn’t seen any or more importantly, we hand’t found any younger fossils. The last record we had of the coelacanth came from the Cretaceous period. You may be wondering how this is possible, I know I was when I started researching this episode. I found a great article from UC Berkley that helped me understand what happened to the missing evidence of coelacanths for the last 60 million years.

Lineages are important when studying the fossil record of any living things. Lineages are the unbroken chains of ancestors and descendants. They tell us who is related to whom. A ghost lineage occurs when a line of descent leaves no trace in the fossil record. This is what has happened to our beloved coelacanth. Now back to our question, how is this possible? How come we can’t find fossil evidence of the coelacanth after the Cretaceous period.

Living coelacanths reside in deep ocean waters near volcanic islands. To create fossils, whatever dies is preserved by layers of sediment and then exposed million of years later. If you are a deep water resident your fossils have to rise above sea level and eventually become exposed in an area where humans can find it, whether through natural erosion or paleontological digging. Well, most fossils are more than 70 million years old, so we haven’t found younger coelacanth fossils yet because they’re still hidden in the depths of the ocean where our modern coelacanths live.

Coelacanths are considered a Lazarus taxon. A Lazarus taxon is a group of living beings that reappear after a long period during which they were thought to be extinct. The name is based on the biblical story of Lazarus who was raised from the dead. There are typically two characteristics shared by Lazarus taxons. 1- They have a limited geographic range. 2-They live in an area where fossils rarely form. This certainly sounds like the coelacanth to me.

That is all for this penultimate episode of the coelacanth. The fossil record of this majestic fish is my ninth favorite thing about this long-lived animal.

Join me next week for the final episode about the coelacanth.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Are they limbs or are they fins? What are those things on the side of the coelacanth? Join Kiersten and a guest host to find out!

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Shoe Notes:

“Coelacanth Fossil Sheds Light On Fin-to-limb Evolution.” Science Daily, https://www.sciencedaily.com

Anatomy: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fish/anatomy.html

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Oxford Languages Dictionary

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Casey teaches her students all about cladograms!

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the coelacanth and their crazy interesting fins is the eighth thing I like about this deep sea fish.

Today I have a guest cohost joining me, my friend Casey. Thanks for joining me Casey.

Casey: You’re welcome. Thanks for having me.

Kiersten: Casey and I have known each other for a long time. We met as zookeepers 18 years ago and became friends very quickly. Today, Casey is a biology teacher and when she found out I was doing this podcast she was excited to help me.

Casey: Coelacanths are extremely interesting and their appendages, or limbs, are interesting in their history.

Kiersten: Great! Today we’re talking about limbs versus fins! I hope by now, listeners, you’ve all googled a picture of the coelacanth and have gotten a glimpse of their interesting fins. In episode two, anatomy, I talked about the coelacanths special fins called lobed fins. They have six lobed fins.

Casey: I love their little limbs!

Kiersten: Me too! But I thought they were fins?

Casey: They do look like limbs.

Kiersten: I think we need to dive into this topic and learn a bit more.

Casey: I agree!

Kiersten: Let’s start with some definitions. The Oxford Languages Dictionary says a limb is "a leg or arm of a person or a four-legged animal, or a bird’s wing”. That completely leaves out the coelacanth, for sure!

Casey: I agree! But the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition is “one of the projecting paired appendages of an animal body used especially for movement and grasping but sometimes modified into sensory or sexual organs.” I think that puts the coelacanth back in the limb arena!

Kiersten: Maybe…Let’s hear Oxford Languages Dictionary’s definition of fin: “a flattened appendage on various parts of the body of many aquatic vertebrates and some invertebrates, including fish and cetaceans, used for propelling, steering, and balancing.” That definitely sounds like the coelacanth.

Casey: I can’t argue with that! But Merriam-Webster’s definition of fin is “an external membranous process of an aquatic animal used in propelling or guiding the body.” I’m on the fence with this one. I wouldn’t say that coelacanths have membranous fins.

Kiersten: Hmmmmm….I think what we need to do is look at what these fins can do.

Casey: You mean limbs.

Kiersten: Let’s call them appendages until we get his settled.

Casey: Deal!

Kiersten: The coelacanth has seven appendages overall. Four are paired, two behind the gills, the pectoral fins, one on each side; two mid body on the bottom of the fish the pelvic fins, one on each side. Then there is one anal fin just in front of the tail on the underside of the fish and then two dorsal fins. They have eight if you include the tail. I think it’s interesting in itself that they have eight appendages, that’s quite a lot for a fish.

Casey: Yeah, what are they using all those appendages for?

Kiersten: Well the four paired fins on each side of the body move like paddles propelling them forward through the water. These appendages are able to rotate 180 degrees so they can probably use them to back up as well as more forward. The really cool thing about these four extremities is that they work in conjunction with each other. The right pectoral fin moves together with the left pelvic fin.

Casey: You mean like the way a horse walks?

Kiersten: Yes! It’s a lot like how a many land mammals move their ….. oh, I see where you going with this. You just want me to say they're limbs!

Casey: Yes! Yes, I do!

Kiersten: Well, I think we might both get what we want from the next definition. Coelacanths are classified as a lobe-finned fish. This means that the flouncy part of the fins are attached to a stalk that projects out from their body. It actually looks like a paddle with a fin attached to the end.

Casey: That sounds like a limb…..and a fin.

Kiersten: Yes, I agree. Maybe we can agree that we’re both right?

Casey: I can do that. Did you know that some lungfish, who are also a lobe-finned fish, actually use their fins to walk on land when they need too? If the vernal pond they are living in becomes too shallow, they can use their limbs to drag themselves across the land to another water source. Essentially they use their limbs to walk to another pond.

Kiersten: I guess it really is both a limb and a fin. Speaking of limbs, I just read a research paper, from way back in the early 2000’s, that stated a coelacanth fossil actually helped scientists understand the evolution from fins to limbs in tetrapods. Tell us little about that.

Casey: I can! What you’re talking about is called evolutionary classification which is a strategy that we tend to use now instead of taxonomy which only looks at physical attributes. Evolutionary classification is grouping organisms together based on their evolutionary history. So, we’re looking at lines of evolutionary descent not just physical characteristics. These lines are called cladograms and they look like trees. They branch off at each different change. So, the cladogram where it’s branching off to tetrapods, which is a four limbed vertebrate, is where their is a bit of a controversy involving the coelacanth.

We are tetrapods. We may walk on two legs but we have four limbs. The big debate is whether the kingfish or the coelacanth is the direct ancestor of tetrapods. Now remember we said lungfish walk on their limbs to get to the next vernal pond. That is where the debate is coming from. I’d like to say there is an answer to this debate but there are three different cladograms and only one of them has the coelacanth as the direct ancestor to the tetrapod.

Kiersten: Is it descendent or ancestor?

Casey: It’s ancestor.

Kiersten: Okay. Because we’re all tetrapods, right?

Casey: Right, but we would be a descendant of a coelacanth. Now I’m not talking like you grandmother or anything.

Kiersten: (laughs)

Casey: I’m talking millions of years ago. So coelacanths or lungfish would be the ancestors of tetrapods. One version has the coelacanth as the direct ancestor, while another version has the lungfish as the direct ancestor, and the last version has both of them at the same branching. So, no solution to this debate as of yet. They’ve narrowed it down to these three options. No mater how you look at it though the coelacanth is Number 1 or Number 2.

Kiersten: So, he’s still winning. (Laughs)

Casey: (laughs) Yes! He’s still winning. He still in the trifecta. Either way it’s still in the positive.

Kiersten: That is interesting! That’s why I picked you for this podcast! I knew you’d understand that and be able to explain it better than me! Thanks for helping me talk about the coelacanth appendages today Casey.

Casey: You’re welcome. I had a lot of fun!

Kiersten: Me too! And I think we both agree that coelacanth appendages are both limbs and fins.

Casey: I agree!

Kiersten: Well that is it for this episode, listeners. I hope you enjoyed a little debate about coelacanth appendages because it’s my eighth favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another episode about the coelacanth.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Coelacanth reproduction is the most mind-blowing episode yet! Join Kiersten as she digs deep into the life cycle of this ancient animal.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

Anatomy: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fish/anatomy.html

Vims Fish Collection: Coelacanth, https://www.vims.edu

Goliath Grouper - https://marinesanctuary.org

“New Scale Analysis reveal centenarian African coelacanths,” Kelig Made, Bruno Ernande and Marc Herbin, Current Biology 31, 3621-3628, August 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.054

“Latimeria, the Living Coelacanth, Is Ovoviviparous,” by c. Lavett Smith, Charles S. Rand, Bobb Schaeffer, and James W. Ate. Science, 12 Dec 1975, Vol 190, Issue 4219, pp1105-1106; https://doi.org/10.1126/science.190.4219.1105

“‘Living fossil’ fish surprises scientists with 100-year lifespan,” by Thomson Reuters. Science, https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/coalacanth-fossil-1.6074328

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the coelacanth series and the seventh thing I like about them is how they reproduce.

Strap in for this one listeners because this is the most mind-blowing episode of the coelacanth so far!

There are so many unbelievable facts about coelacanth reproduction I almost don’t know where to start, but I have to start somewhere, so let’s start with their maturation age.

Coelacanths are large fish averaging about five feet long with some individuals reaching six feet. With most large animals it takes some time to become mature enough to reproduce. For example, it takes elephants approximately ten years before they are ready to reproduce, blue whales, the largest animal alive today, mature around 15 years old, and Goliath groupers, a fish that can reach almost 8 feet in length, mature at about 20 years old. The coelacanth is no exception to this trend but they push it even farther than these three examples. A coelacanth becomes sexually mature at 55 years of age. That is an awful long time to survive before you can make more coelacanth.

When coelacanths are ready to reproduce, a mate must be chosen. We don’t know what goes into this decision because we have not seen coelacanths copulating, yet. We don’t know what females look for in a mate, we don’t know if there is a mating ritual that males perform to attract females. We do know that most likely females choose the male and allow him to mate with her because fertilization is internal in coelacanths. I say this because other males of species that have internal reproduction or internal fertilization have various behaviors to attract females to them. The females pick the males that impress them most based on established criteria such as feather color, winning a fight with another suitor, or singing the best song.

We’re already off to an unusual start because most scaled fish reproduce externally by laying eggs with males fertilizing the eggs after they are laid. Internal fertilization in fish such as sharks and rays is common but not so much in scaled fish.

We do know with some certainty that coelacanths are probably monogamous. In a scientific paper published in 2013, researchers genetically studied two clutches of coelacanth eggs and their mothers. Both coelacanth females were Latimeria chalumnae, the African Coelacanth. One female had 26 embryos and the other had 22 embryos. Both clutches appeared to be close to birth when the females were caught and perished. Let’s call the females with 26 embryos Clutch 1 and the female with 22 embryos Clutch 2. Results revealed that all the young of clutch 1 had four genotypes present. These were contributed by two individuals. The same results were reported for clutch 2. What exactly does this mean? It means only one male contributed his genetic material to the embryos. It was a different male for each female, but only one male contributed to the embryos. It’s an extremely small sample size, but this leads us to believe that coelacanths are monogamous. The females, at least, may only mate with one male at a time.

Coelacanths are classified as ovoviviparous. For those of you who have listened to my caecilian series and remember the reproduction episode, you already know that ovoviviparous animals give live birth to animals that they incubate inside an egg that remains inside the female during development. This is what the coelacanth does. Now, you might be wondering how we know this since so much about their reproduction is still unknown. And that’s a great question, how do we know?

In 1975, a gravid female was caught and upon dissection at the American Museum of Natural History, researchers found five young developing inside the oviduct of the coelacanth. These five young were attached to large yolk sacs. Since then other gravid females have been caught, as well, and dissection of these specimens has supported the findings of 1975. The female with 26 young in her oviduct appears to be the largest clutch discovered so far.

Coelacanth eggs are pretty big. They are approximately 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Compare that to the average chicken egg at a diameter of 1 1/2 inches and you get a feel for how big their eggs get. When the young are born they are around 12 inches in length and they look like tiny versions of their parents. How long does it take a 3 1/2 inch egg to become a 12 inch fish? Probably longer than you think.

Coelacanth females carry the young for up to five years. This is the longest gestation period of any animal that we are aware of at the recording of this podcast. Some species of sharks carry the young for three years. The coelacanth has them beat and it also explains why their eggs are so large. They need a good, long-lasting source of nutrition to develop properly.

Once the young are born, we lose track of them. With the research we’ve been able to do with live coelacanths, we haven’t seen any young hanging around with adults so we assume that they must retreat to another habitat. There could be many reasons for this. They are much smaller than a full grown adult so they presumably eat different prey which means they could need a different environment in which to hunt. They might be escaping from their own parents territory because mom and dad might eat them. They may even move to higher depths or lower depths until they are much larger in size. Whatever the reason we have not seen any juvenile coelacanths, so for now their whereabouts remain a mystery.

The last thing we know about coelacanth reproduction is how long they live. For many years we thought they lived about 20 years and that they were extremely fast growing, but a study released in 2021 changed that.

One way to determine a fish's age is to count the rings on their scales. Initial studies of coelacanth scales suggested a 20 year life span, but using a new technique involving polarized light researchers were able to see all the rings on the scales. The new data revealed that coelacanths can live up to 100 years. 100 years! This is also the study that determined they become sexually mature at 55 and they have a gestation period of five years. Who knew the rings on a fish’s scales could tell us so much?

That’s all for coelacanth reproduction. I still can’t get over all the amazing things I learned researching this episode and I know you are just as intrigued because it’s my seventh favorite thing about coelacanths.

Join me next week for another episode about the coelacanth.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: How does this deep sea fish find food? Just like everything else with the coelacanth, it’s fascinating! Join Kiersten as she explains how the coelacanth hunts and what it likes to eat.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

“The coelacanth rostral organ is a unique low=resolution electro-detector that facilitates the feeding strike,” by Rachel M. Berquist, Vitaly L. Galinsky, Stephen M. Kajiura, and Lawrence R. Frank. Scientific Reports 5, #8962 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08962

“The first direct evidence of a Late Devonian coelacanth fish feeding on conodont animals,” by Michel Zaton, Krzysztof Broda, Martin Qvarnstrom, Grzegorz Niedzweidzki and Per Erik Ahlberg. The Science of Nature 104, #26 (2017), https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-017-1455-7

Anatomy: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fish/anatomy.html

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the coelacanth and their diet and how they hunt is the sixth thing I like about them.

If you remember from episode two, Anatomy, coelacanths have what is called a rostral organ. This organ is believed to help them detect electric fields in their environment. Why do they need to detect electric fields? I love this question, listeners, and I’m proud of you for asking it! Some fish have the ability to detect weak, low frequency electric fields produced by living tissue that is in contact with water. These fish typically have some kind of electrosensitive organ that detects the electric fields and these fish tend to be meat eaters. See where I’m going with this?

The electric fields that living creatures give off is how the coelacanth finds its food. Let’s delve into the details of their rostral organ and see how this thing works.

Most fish with an electrosensitive organ that have been studied have complex labyrinths of hundreds to thousands of sensory canals. These canals are distributed throughout both the top and bottom of the head and are also often found around the mouth. These canals are typically arranged in clusters that are reminiscent of a directional antenna. All of the canals connect to an electrosensitive organ. The layout of the canals allows the fish to sense other animals near it from several different directions. This can help them find food, recognize conspecifics, or detect predators when they are at close range. Every animal’s electric field will be different and our fish can use those differences to discriminate between the animals near them.

The coelacanth’s rostral organ is an electrosensitive organ but, just like everything else we’ve learned about so far, it’s not quite like other fish’s. To discover more about this organ, a team of scientists used an MRI machine on a preserved specimen of Latimeria chulumnae to get a good look at it. What they found was slightly unexpected but explained a few things that we’ll talk about in just a moment.

The rostral organ of the coelacanth has only three sensory canals, as opposed to hundreds or thousands seen in other extant species of fish. These canals are called tubules and they are all restricted to a small area of the upper snout. They also have no electroreceptors connected to the lower surface of the snout or lower jaw. Seeing the smaller scope and size of the rostral organ, the researchers asked what good is it really doing the coelacanth.

Using the 3D images they got with the MRI, they approximated the sensitivity of each tubule which allowed them to estimate the range of the rostral organ. What they found was that the coelacanth can only detect animals directly in front of their snout. Their rostral organ is only a low-resolution electro-detector so they do not get any complex information from the electric fields they detect and the field must be very close to them.

This makes them unique in living fishes that use electrosensory organs to detect prey because they cannot track the prey items movements. They have to wait until the prey is practically in their mouths before they sense them. Remember I said this studies’ findings explained something about the coelacanth, well the is it. It explains why they hunt the way they hunt.

When we first developed technology that allowed us to study live coelacanths in situ, we noticed a strange behavior. Sometimes coelacanths would drift along in a current with their heads down and their tails up, essentially in a headstand posture. We had no idea what was going on, until someone saw them snatch a fish. This is the way coelacanths hunt.

It’s called drift hunting and it’s a passive way of hunting. The fish just floats along with the current of the water and waits for the right prey to come along. Then BAM!, dinner is served. This explains why their rostral organ is so focused on the snout region of their body.

Once the coelacanth’s rostral organ indicates that an appropriate prey item has approached within 10 to 20 centimeters in front of its mouth, it snatches it out of the water. The specific feeding mechanism of the coelacanth is called suction-inhalation. I don’t think that really needs too much explanation. They suck their food into their mouth along with large amounts of water. This does explain why the coelacanth has such a large mouth. If you’re sucking your prey in whole, you want to have a big mouth.

Coelacanths have well-developed protrusible jaws that are capable of great forward motion. Their extremely muscular lower jaw also contributes to their powerful suction-inhalation. They also have an expandable gular structure, under the chin, that helps increase the power and gape of the mouth. The intracranial joint that coelacanths have retained, while other species of fish have lost it through millennia of evolution, may also help with the flexibility of the head which in turn helps with mobility of the jaws.

This suction-inhalation does allow them to hunt animals that other fish of their size cannot reach. Researchers have seen coelacanth suck animals out of hidey holes in craggy canyon walls. And this method of cap ture is fast! It takes only a second for the coelacanth to inhale a prey item.

Inside the mouth, coelacanths do have three types of teeth. It does not appear that they use the teeth for grinding or shredding their food. It is more likely the teeth are there to prevent prey from escaping their giant maw.

Now that we know how coelacanth find their prey, what kind of prey are they looking for? This is a good episode for great questions, listeners. Y’all are on a roll today!

Coelacanths are classified as piscivores. Pisces is the Latin word for fish, but those of you born between February 19th and March 20th already knew that! So a piscivore is an animal that eats fish. Coelacanth are not terribly picky about what they eat and their diet can include cuttlefish, squid, octopus, snipe eels, small sharks, and other benthic fishes. So, essentially whatever fits in their mouth.

It appears they’ve been eating like this since the beginning of their time on earth. In a research paper published in 2017, the first direct evidence of a coelacanth eating eel like animals was discovered in the digestive tract of a fossilized specimen found in Poland. The coelacanth came from the Late Devonian period and a remnant of the eel was found preserved in the digestive tract. They also found coprolite, fossil poop, possibly from the coelacanth with the same remnants inside. We can’t know how these coelacanths hunted their food but we can now say that they’ve been eating the same kind of food for quite some time.

In 2000, researchers looked at where coelacanths hunted, how abundant prey items were where they hunted, and how much food they might be eating.

They found that coelacanths hunted between 650 feet and 1300 feet below the surface of the water. They also measured prey density in relation to depth which increased as you descended deeper. I was a bit surprised by that actually. I thought there would be less prey as you moved further down. Maybe I need to do another series on some deep-sea wildlife.

They also estimated how much food the coelacanths were eating during each hunting session. Assuming the individuals studied were 100% successful on each hunt, medium-sized individuals were consuming about 122 grams of food and large females were consuming 299 grams of prey. Doesn’t seem like a lot considering an average sized Gala apple weighs between 150 to 250 grams. Although, an apple a day…right?

That’s all for this episode on the coelacanth. I hope you found their hunting behavior and their diet as fascinating as I did because it is my sixth favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another episode about the coelacanth.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Is the coelacanth a ‘living fossil’? Join Kiersten and a guest co-host as they discuss this controversial topic.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

Show Notes:

‘Coelacanths as “almost living fossils”’ by Lionel Calvin and Guillaume Guinot, Front. Ecol. Evol., 13 August 2014, https://www.frontiersin.org

“Resolving the Phylogenetic Position of Coelacanth: The Closest Relative Is Not Always the Most Appropriate Outgroup”, by Naoko Takezaki and Hidenori Nishihara, Genome Bill Evil, 2016Apr; 8(4): 1208-1221, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bies.201200145#sec1-3-title

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the coelacanth and the controversy about whether they are a living fossil or not is the fifth thing I like about this ancient animal.

Today I have a guest cohost joining me, my friend Casey. Thanks for joining me Casey.

Casey: You’re welcome. Thanks for having me.

Kiersten: Casey and I have known each other for a long time. We met as zookeepers 18 years ago and became friends very quickly. Today Casey is a biology teacher and when she found out I was doing this podcast she was excited to help me.

Casey: I excited to talk about the coelacanth.

Kiersten: When the coelacanth was first rediscovered in 1938 by the Marjorie Courtaney-Latimer in East London, South Africa people immediately began calling it a “living fossil” with quotations because this fish had not been seen by modern humans expect in fossils. Today there is a big controversy over whether the living coelacanths actually qualify as a “living fossil.” Guess we should start off with a definition of “living fossil.”

Casey: Yes. One of the controversies is that there isn’t a real definition of living fossil.

Kiersten: Ah! I could see how that could be a problem, but I thought Darwin had defined living fossil back in 1859.

Casey: He coined the term but it’s not really a scientifically accepted word. It’s just not measurable in scientific terms.

Kiersten: Okay, but I think we should let my listeners know what it is and so they can follow along. According to Darwin’s definition a living fossil is a species or group of species that is so little changed that it provides an insight into earlier, now extinct, forms of life.

Casey: It can also be described as an organism that has remained relatively unchanged over millions of years, or one that has no, or very few, close surviving relatives.

Kiersten: Well that certainly sounds like the coelacanth to me!

Casey: Me too! But not all scientists agree.

Kiersten: I’ve heard of some researchers using RNA sequencing to determine whether they are living fossils. Can you explain this?

Casey: Certainly….You have to think about when the coelacanth was first discovered. In 1938 we didn’t have a way to sequence genetics. Even in the 1990’s when the second specimen was found we still didn't have the technology that we do now. We know now that the coelacanth have been changing internally all this time even if they still look very similar on the outside to fossil coelcanths.

Kiersten: Okay, so comparing this to Darwin’s definition, they may look the same on the outside but on the inside they are different. Genetically speaking.

Casey: Yes. And looking at the second definition that I gave, once the second species was found in 1998 it voids that definition. There are now two related species or close surviving relatives.

Kiersten: So we can’t call the coelacanth a living fossil any more. That’s kind of sad.

Casey: I think so too! It’s a neat phrase to use but not necessarily the best.

Kiersten: Let’s recap. The coelacanth looks physically the same because maybe the habitat is the same as years ago, and they do not need to change physically because their habitat is basically the same.

Casey: Correct, that could be one of the reasons. What they have seen geographically they haven’t seen much change on their habitat. Now. I’m not saying that their hasn’t been pollution or other similar changes but there have been no changes that cause them to change physically. Molecule or genetic changes are a different story. What scientists are looking at are RNA changes.

Kiersten: Okay. We hear a lot about DNA, not so much about RNA. What’s the difference?

Casey: DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid while RNA is ribonucleic acid. They are looking at RNA to determine where coelacanth fall on the phylogenetic trees. Who are they more closely related to and such. The RNA changes are helping them determine that.

Kiersten: So, internally we have some changes but externally not so much.

Casey: Yes.

Kiersten: Thanks, Casey for this interesting debate and explaining RNA and living fossil research on the coelacanth!

Casey: Thank you for having me. I think coelacanths and their history are extremely interesting.

I hope you all enjoyed this look into the living fossil debate because it’s my fifth favorite thing about the coelacanth.

Join me next week for another episode about the coelacanth.

If you’ve heard any strange noises on today’s episode, that’s Edison, Casey’s dog who joined us today, as well.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: What are those coelacanth doing in the deep water of the ocean? Join Kiersten as she discusses some of the coelacanth’s behavior.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

Coelacanth, Smithsonian, https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/coelacanth

“New Insights About the Behavioral Ecology of the Coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae Video Recorded in the Absence of Humans Off South Africa” by Jiro Sakaue, Kazuhiko Maeda, Micheal J. Miller, Ryuichi Sakai, Koh-ichi Tahara, Hideki Abe, Kazuya Made, and Hitoshi Ida, Front. Mar. Sci., 10 November 2021, https://www.frontiersin.org

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues coelacanths and the fourth thing I like about this enormous fish is their behavior.

Once again, I’m going to state that we are still learning new things about the coelacanth everyday, so what I talk about in this episode is what we currently know, but the future may bring different information.

As I mentioned in the last episode, coelacanths are a deep water fish. They are typically found between 250 feet to1300 feet below the surface. We can see them using specialized scuba diving equipment called ‘rebreathers’ and by using submersibles. This technology has allowed us to study live individuals instead of the dead specimens that wash ashore or are, most often, caught as by-catch by fishermen. Because of this we know a lot about their anatomy, since many of the dead specimens have been dissected, but we don’t know as much about their behavior.

In the 1980’s studying coelacanths with deep sea vehicles became the common practice in the Comoros Island area. Between 1986 and 2009 we studied this population with submersibles and remote operated vehicles, or ROVs. Using their spot patterns we determined that this population contained approximately 300 to 400 individuals. We also observed their basic day to day pattern.

A day in the life of a coelacanth consists of resting in caves at a depth of 500 feet to 800 feet during daylight hours. They will share caves with other coelacanths and smaller species of underwater life. The caves are carbonate caves formed during underwater volcanic eruptions. During the night, coelacanths leave the caves to hunt in even deeper waters. At least one individual was seen hunting in waters approximately 2000 feet deep. That’s a third of a mile under the surface of the water! I can’t even imagine the pressure these fish endure.

In the Fall of 2000, a few individuals were encountered by divers in another area near South Africa called Jesser Canyon. This encounter actually was the first direct contact between humans and a live coelacanth. We then began focusing on this area, as well, to study the coelacanth. Between 2002 and 2004 submersibles were used to watch this area. Here they observed 21 individuals in 16 different locations in canyons off the coast of Sodwana Bay, South Africa. These individuals were seen at depths of 300 feet to 450 feet. These studies revealed that the coelacanths in this area were traveling between two canyons, Jesser Canyon and Wright Canyon.

Research begun in 2018 wanted do something that had never been done before, study coelacanths without the influence or interference of humans. If you noticed in all the research I’ve detailed so far, the common thread was the presence of a submersible, human diver, or mobile ROV. We have no idea how these things might change the behavior of the coelacanths observed. We do know that the presence of unknown stimuli, meaning divers or ROVs, can alter the natural behavior of wild animals.

These researchers used fixed cameras set up in a known coelacanth resting places to record the fish’s behavior without the presence of humans. They also wanted to record the ocean conditions such as temperature and current direction and velocity. To do this they placed two oceanographic recording devices near the study site. The main focus of this study was on the folding or unfolding of the first dorsal fin.

Now you might think, wow that’s a lot of work to look at one trivial little fin, but we’ve learned some of the most ground breaking things about animals by looking at one tiny little behavior, such as the eye movement of gorillas and the tongue flicking of snakes. This research actually shone a light on coelacanth behavior that we didn’t even know we should be looking for!

Okay, let’s take a moment to look at the iconic coelacanth image. If you haven’t yet googled the coelacanth, do so now and look at a few different photos of live coelacanths. Go ahead now, I’ll wait. Unless you’re listening to this podcast in your car. Do Not try to look up an image of the coelacanth if you are driving. Eyes on the road!

For those of you able to safely pull up images, look at that first dorsal fin. What do you notice about it in 98% of the pictures? It’s unfolded and standing up right, correct? I’m actually looking at the cover of the book A Fish Caught in Time by Samantha Weinberg right now and the first dorsal fin is erect in the illustration of the coelacanth on the cover.

Up until the 2018 research project, we thought this was just how the coelacanth naturally carried this fin. Now we did know they were capable of folding it up and down and we assumed this fin was used for stabilization during swimming. We might have been wrong about that. According to the data collected in the absence of human interaction, the dorsal fin raises when the coelacanth encounters a stressor.

In this research it was a sand tiger shark. They got great video of a coelacanth and a sand tiger shark in the same cave during the day. The shark showed no antagonistic behavior toward the coelacanth but while the shark was in the cave with the coelacanth, that first dorsal fin was raised. When the shark left the cave, the fin relaxed. They were other species of fish in the cave with the coelacanth as well and the fin was lowered while they were present.

This sand tiger shark was larger than the coelacanth and might have posed a threat to the coelacanth. There isn’t any evidence that sand tiger sharks eat coelacanths but when you’re a potential prey item you’re not going to ask the shark if they going to eat you, you’re going to take action. Raising the dorsal fin may be a way for the coelacanth to look bigger and ward off predators. This type of behavior has been well documented in other species of fish.

This observation floored me. It means that the presence of humans and ROVs is considered stressful to the coelacanth and our presence was probably changing the behaviors we observed. If we want to know more about them, we’re going to have to come up with some unobtrusive methods of observation.

This research also studied temperature and currents near where the coelacanth were seen. Does this impact their behavior? It was observed that the coelacanth were present in the caves when the temperature of the water was between 59 degrees Fahrenheit and 71 degrees Fahrenheit. This has been seen in past research, as well. The researchers postulated that this is the optimal range for oxygen uptake in the coelacanth. The current direction was frequently southward and low in velocity when the coelacanths were seen at the study site, but more research will need to be done to determine if this is of any significance.

Wow! I don’t know about you but the coelacanth continues to amaze me. I’m glad you spent some time with me to learn about coelacanth behavior because it’s my fourth favorite thing about this ancient fish.

Join me next week for another episode about the coelacanth.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Where do coelacanths live? Join Kiersten as she talks about the habitat of the coelacanth.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth by Samantha Weinberg

“Madagascar may be a secret stronghold for ‘living fossil’ fish” by Stephanie Pappas, www.livescience.com

African Coelacanth, NOAA Fisheries, www.fisheries.noaa.gov

Coelacanth, Smithsonian, https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/coelacanth

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the coelacanth and their habitat is the third thing I like about this amazing animal.

We are still learning more and more about the coelacanth everyday. And one of the things we’re still learning about is their habitat. Where exactly do these behemoths live? The information I’ll give you in this episode is what we know to date, but the future could show us something different.

When the coelacanth was discovered off the coast of South Africa eighty-five years ago we had no idea where it came from, but we did know where it was caught. The fisherman caught it off the coast of South Africa in the Indian Ocean at a depth of forty fathoms, or 240 feet. We didn’t see another one until 1952. This one was caught near the Comoros Islands which is off the southeastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. Now we had an idea of where we might find more.

It wasn’t until later that researchers went to the islands and talked to the native islanders asking about this giant fish. (Quick note here, we should do more of this. Native inhabitants of areas that others explore know a lot about local wildlife. Why reinvent the wheel when you have so much information right in front of you, if you are just willing to listen?) Now, back to the coelacanth. Locals of the Comoros Islands were familiar with the coelacanth and had even eaten them in the past. Focusing on this area, several more coelacanth were found.

In 1998, more coelacanth were discovered in Indonesia, half a world away. The question was how did they get there? Did they migrate? Do they do that seasonally? Did a few get lost? Did they get washed away in a storm? Or have they been there this whole time? Turns out, they’d been there the whole time.

When the Indonesian coelacanth was discovered, scientists performed DNA tests to see if they were related to the African coelacanth or possibly a new species. Once again these ancient fish surprised us, the two populations were indeed two separate species. According to research available at the recording of this episode it looks like these two species may have evolved separately.

The African coelacanth’s scientific name is Latimeria chalumnae and the Indonesian coelacanth’s scientific name is Latimeria menadoensis. I mention this because they were named after Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer the discoverer of the first specimen in 1938 and I think it’s wonderful that this woman of science gets props for her discovery.

Before we get into where exactly these fish are found around the global let’s talk about at what depths they are found. This first specimen found in 1938 was caught by fisherman at a depth of 40 fathoms or 240 feet. For quite some time we thought this deepwater depth is where they lived. But we now know that they actually inhabit, mesopelagic waters, also known as the “twilight zone”, that reach depths of 650 feet to 1,300 feet. That’s a lot deeper that we thought or ever expected. We’re not sure why the original specimens were caught in the shallower depths, but they could have been hunting or they could have been ill and unable to control their swim bladders properly and floated up into shallower depths. More recent sitings of both species have been between 300-500 feet deep, so obviously these fish are doing something important at these depths. Now that we know at what depths the coelacanth can be found let’s look at where in the world we can find them.

Let’s investigate the habitat of the African coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, first. These coelacanth are found in the Indian Ocean near the coasts of southeastern Africa, Madagascar, and the Comoros. The first one found in 1938 was caught off the coast of South Africa but after that no more were seen in the area. More specimens were found near the Comoros islands, that are situated between Madagascar and the east coast of Africa, in the 1950s so it was thought that the first one found in 1938 was a stray individual from the Comoros area. But when diving technology advanced, divers using “rebreathers” which allow to you dive deeper underwater than typical scuba gear, and later on researchers using submersibles, saw resident individuals in South African waters. Specimens have been caught off the coast of Madagascar and off the coast of Mozambique and Kenya.

Latimeria menadoensis, also known as the Sulawesi coelacanth is from Indonesia. Two specimens were caught off the island of Manado Tua at the northeastern tip of Sulawesi. Later two more were sighted 225 miles southwest of this island.

In both regions, coelacanth inhabit temperate waters near steep rocky slopes of volcanic islands. In the daytime, the Comoran coelacanths can be found clustered together in caves in submarine lava deposits. In the evenings they venture out to hunt. The two individuals observed from a submersible in Indonesia were seen in a deep carbonate cave at a depth of 500 feet. Both species seem to depend on caves, canyons, and cliff ledges for almost all aspects of their life. Sleeping during the day and hunting at night seem to be done in and around these structures.

in 2021 researchers found evidence that Madagascar might be an unknown haven for coelacanths. In a new review of Madagascar fishery bycatch, 34 specimens were confirmed to be coelacanths. These catches have never been reported to scientists or conservationists before now. This indicates that coelacanth may be living off the coast of Madagascar.

When we look at the history of this large island off the coast of Africa, it could be completely possible. Coelacanth are actually older than the island of Madagascar by about 330 million years, but Madagascar has had a coast line for around 88 million years; whereas, the Comoros Islands is only 15 million years old. Based on this history and recent bycatch reports, researchers think that Madagascar might be their ancestral home. More research will need to be done to find out if this is true, but it just one more thing that adds to the mystery of the coelacanth.

I am so glad you went deep sea diving with me today to learn about the habitat and species of the coelacanth because it’s my third favorite things about them.

Join me next week for another episode about the coelacanth.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Join Kiersten as she takes you on a surprising journey from the head of the coelacanth to the tail.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth by Samantha Weinberg

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fish/anatomy.html

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the coelacanth and their anatomy is the second thing I like about this ancient animal.

In the first episode we established that the coelacanth is a fish, so the anatomy should be like fish anatomy, right? Maybe, but this fish has been around for 400 million years and from comparisons between living specimens and fossils, they don’t seem to have changed much at all. So the coelacanth has some anatomical surprises that other fish do not possess.

Let’s start at the head of the coelacanth and work our way back. In the center of the snout there is a large jelly-filled cavity. It’s called the rostral organ. Scientists initially thought this might be an electrosensory organ for detecting weak electrical impulses given off by prey. This hypothesis was supported by examining the organ’s intricacies including nerves and how it interacted with the brainstem. When submersible exploration became available to scientists, we were able to test this on a living coelacanth. Using electrical fields, researchers confirmed that coelacanths do indeed respond to electrical fields under water. There is no other vertebrate, that we know of, alive today that has a rostral organ. So we’re already off to an interesting start. Let’s see what else the coelacanth has that other animals may not!

Moving to the mouth we find teeth. That’s not entirely unique in fish that eat other fish and the coelacanth is a carnivore. They have three different shapes of teeth, one is a high, sharp cone-shaped tooth that could be called a fang, the second is a midsized, sharp cone-shaped tooth, and the last is a small rounded tooth. What is unique to the coelacanth is that the small rounded teeth are embedded in a bony dental plate that lies beneath their chin. We’re not entirely sure what the advantage of having a dental plate gives the coelacanth. In general, the teeth seem more like a way to keep fish in the mouth once they are sucked in versus tearing or chomping on their prey.

The eyes are just above the mouth and they are attached to thick optic nerves. The eyes are large. I’d say they are in proportion to their body and they are a five foot long fish, so…large eyes. Each eye does have a few cones, which allows for color vision, but they many rods, which help detect light. This is perfect for the coelacanth because they live deep under water where there is very little light available. The rods help them see in almost near darkness.

They also have something else that helps them see in the dark and this is a layer behind the retina of the eye called the tapetum lucidum. If you’ve ever seen light flash in your cat’s eyes at night, you’re seeing the tapetum lucidum. This layer acts like a mirror reflecting the light that comes into the eyes back out of the eye to increase the amount of light that passes over the retina. This enhances the coelacanth’s ability to see in low light.

Just behind the eye toward the top of the head is the intracranial joint. Until we rediscovered the coelacanth this joint had only been seen in fossils of primitive fish. This joint allows the coelacanth to open its mouth exceptionally wide to swallow fish and other prey. Two powerful muscles cross the intracranial joint providing strength to the coelacanth’s jaws. The coelacanth is the only fish alive that still has an intracranial joint.

Just under this joint and near the eye is the brain. The brain is small. It takes up only 1.5% of the brain case in mature adults. In a 90 lbs coelacanth the brain weighs less than a tenth of an ounce. That’s a pretty tiny brain. There is no extant vertebrate with this much of a difference between the size of the brain and the size of the body. Although, they have been alive for 400 million years so it must be working.

Coelacanths do have gills like other species of living fish and they are located behind the eye in the usual place that you find fish gills. They are relatively small in comparison to the overall body size, but they are similar to other fish species found at the same depth as the coelacanth. The relatively small surface area of the lungs is indicative of a slow-moving fish as opposed to an active fish. All the evidence we have to date does show that the coelacanth is a relatively slow-moving fish. When you’re a five foot long fish, you take your time getting places.

This large fish is covered in scales and those scales are woven tightly together like armor. I think that seems appropriate for such an ancient animal. The scales are hard and rough to the touch. Each scale has tiny, tooth-like spikes called denticles all over the surface which creates the roughness. The hard scales and denticles provide protection against predators and rocks. The scales are a beautiful steely-blue color with random white spots throughout. The pattern of the spots is unique to each individual and scientists have used that to their advantage. Researchers use the spots like name tags to identify individual coelacanth.

The fins of this fish are quite spectacular. They have six fins that are lobed and this puts them into a group of fish known as the lobed-finned fish. Lungfish and coelacanth are both included in this group. What’s the difference between a lobed fin and a normal fin? Great question! Lobed fins are fins that are attached to stalks that project out from the body rather than fins that are attached directly to the body. They look kind of like paddles sticking out from the side on the animal. The coelacanth has six lobed fins, one on each side just behind the gills called pectoral fins (2), one on each side of the pelvis called pelvic fins (4), one small secondary dorsal fin on the top of the body (5), and one anal fin on the underside of the body before the tail (6).

Overall the coelacanth has seven fins, not including the tail. The first dorsal fin is the only non-lobed fin. It’s larger than the other fins and attaches directly to the body. It can be raised and lowered to change its surface area.

We call the coelacanth a vertebrate because it has an internal skeleton which usually implies that it has vertebrae or bones of the spine. Once again the coelacanth surprises us. They have a notochord in place of a bony spine. A notochord is a thick-walled, fibrous, and elastic tube that is filled with oil. This is what the coelacanth has in place of a bony spine. Most creatures with a backbone replace the notochord with vertebrae in the embryonic stage. But adult coelacanth use the notochord for their longitudinal support.

Like almost all other fish species, the coelacanth has a swim bladder. Fish use the swim bladder to maintain buoyancy in the water. Most fish use air to inflate the swim bladder and they are able to modify the amount of air depending on the depth in which they wish to swim. I bet you didn’t see this coming but…, the coelacanth’s swim bladder is not filled with air! Okay, maybe you did see that coming. The coelacanth’ s swim bladder is filled with oil and fat, but it works the same as the air filled bladder, helping maintain buoyancy.

That brings us to the end of the fish, also known as, the tail. Hopefully, you’ve listened to the first episode of this series where I talk about the rediscovery of the coelacanth, if not definitely check it out. When Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer rediscovered the coelacanth in 1938, she described the tail as looking like a “puppy dog tail.” The tail is actually divided into three sections with a small tail fin in the middle. The tail is flat and powerful giving the coelacanth the ability to dart forward forcefully when catching prey or escaping predators. The tail can rotate and flex from side to side and is thought to help the fish with trim and balance.

That is all I have for coelacanth anatomy. Thanks for joining me on this head to tail adventure because it’s my second favorite thing about the coelacanth.

Join me next week for another episode about the coelacanth.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: In 1938 something amazing happened in a small town off the eastern coast of South Africa. Join Kiersten as she reveals the unbelievable story of how the coelacanth, a fish thought extinct for millions of years, was rediscovered.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Shoe Notes:

A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth by Samantha Weinberg

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode begins a new series about an animal thought to have been extinct since the time of the dinosaurs, but as this episode will show the coelacanth has been here all along and this is the first thing I like about them.

We’ll begin with the unbelievable story of the rediscovery of this amazing animal.

Let me set the scene for you: It’s 1938 in the town of East London, South Africa. East London sits on the eastern coast of South Africa and harbors a bustling fishing industry. It’s a hot and humid December day and the young, female curator of the East London Museum is hustling to get her newest exhibition completed before they close for the upcoming Christmas holiday. As Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer is painstakingly assembling a rare dinosaur fossil, a startling sound shatters the peace of the museum and her concentration. It’s the ringing of the newly installed phone and she doesn’t know it yet, but it’s the sound of destiny calling.

On the other end of the phone is the manager of the Irvin and Johnson trawler fleet. Mr. Jackson would call Marjorie when his ships came back to port with specimens that she might be interested in for the museum. This day Majorie was so stressed to get things organized before the holiday break that she almost said No, but she didn’t want to jeopardize her relationship with the shipping company manager. She decided to take a quick break and see what she could see.

She had no idea what she’d find when she stepped onto the deck of the Nerine. Over the phone Mr. Jackson had indicated that several pounds of sharks were available for her perusal. The museum didn’t need any sharks currently and Marjorie had decided that she’d most likely not take anything, but she took a look through the pile of fish on the forecastle deck anyway. She found sharks, seaweed, starfish, sponges, rat-tail fish, and many more. She carefully sorted through the pile but saw nothing she of interest which strengthened her reserve to take nothing that day.

About halfway through she noticed a blue fin, not the usual faire, and she dug down through slime and scales to take a closer look. What she’d found was a fish, a very unusual fish.

A quote from the book A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth by Samantha Weinberg expresses the discovery in Marjorie’s own words.

“I picked away the layers of slime to reveal the most beautiful fish I had ever seen,” she recounts. “It was five feet long, a pale, mauvy blue with faint flecks of whitish spots; it had an iridescent silver-blue-green sheen all over it. It was covered in hard scales, and it had four limb-like fins and a strange little puppy dog tail. It was such a beautiful fish - more like a big china ornament - but I didn’t know what it was.” End quote.

The fisherman who stood by watching, said in thirty years of fishing he’d never seen anything thing like it. They’d caught it at a depth of forty fathoms, 240 feet, off the mouth of the Chalumna River. When the captain of the ship first saw the catch he’d thought it so beautiful he’d almost set it free. Marjorie’s gut told her to take it.

She and her museum assistant, Enoch, wrapped the fish in a bag and transported it back to the museum to give it a more complete inspection. It was weighed and measured and Marjorie sketched a rough picture of this puzzling fish. The specimen weighed in at 127 pounds and a voice in Marjorie’s head kept circling back to something she’d learned as a child in grade school. She’d gotten in a bit of trouble with her teacher and had to write a sentence as punishment.

‘A ganoid fish is a fossil fish.’ She had to write it twenty-five times and; therefore, never forgot the statement. Essentially it means a ganoid fish is a fish that has long been extinct and is only seen in the fossil records. (As an aside, Ganoid also refers to a type of scale that can be found in extant fishes such as bowfin, gars, paddlefish, and sturgeon.) This sentence kept running through her head as she examined the fish in front of her, but logically it could not be a ganoid fish because this was a fresh specimen caught just that morning.

She looked through all the books she had on fish but nothing matched. She decided she must preserve the fish for future examination by someone with a bit more knowledge than herself. Preserving a five foot, 127 pound fish was not something that could be done in the museum, so she had to come up with some alternate plans. First she asked the mortuary if they’d place it in one of their lockers, since the were refrigerated. The mortician balked at storing a giant fish with the bodies of the human dead, he was worried what the town might think. Then she thought of the food storage building. It also hade refrigeration, but that was also a no go.

Her final option was the taxidermist and he was certainly up for the challenge. Between the two of them they wrapped the humongous fish in formalin soaked towels and stored it in the taxidermist’s store. Next, Marjorie sent a letter to James Leonard Brierley Smith, a chemist lecturer at Rhodes University in Makhanda, South Africa. J.L.B. Smith was an amateur ichthyologist and acted as the honorary curator of fishes for the smaller museums along the south coast, such as the East London Museum. She asked for his help in identifying a strange fish she’d found and sent along her sketch of said fish.

Because of the holiday, his response was delayed several days. As she waited, Marjorie checked in on her find daily. Despite all their hard work the fish was inevitably deteriorating. The taxidermist had to get to work at his trade to save any portion of the fish. Finally, an answer came back from JLB Smith. It was most likely a coelacanth. Marjorie was gobsmacked. The coelacanth was a fish thought to have gone extinct during the time of the dinosaurs. They hadn’t existed outside of a fossil for 65 million years, or so we thought. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer’s discovery shook the scientific community.

I hope this episode whet your appetite to learn more about the coelacanth because their rediscovery is my first favorite thing about these forgotten fish.

If you’d like to know more about Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer and the rediscovery of the coelacanth, I highly recommend the book A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth by Samantha Weinberg. It is one of my favorite non-fiction reads.

Join me next week for another episode about the coelacanth.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Even though we don’t know much about caecilians they still need our help. Join Kiersten as she talks about what threats caecilians face and how we can help.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

IUCN Red List: www.iucnredlist.org

“Fatal fungus found in third major amphibian group, caecilians,” by Natural History Museum, Phys Org; phys.org/news/2013-05-fatal-fungus-major-amphibian-group.html

Chytridiomycosis: Cornell Wildlife Health Lab: cwhl.vet.cornell.edu

Conservation Organizations:

IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group: www.iucn-amphibians.org

Amphibian Ark: www.amphibianark.org

Save the Frogs: savethefrogs.com

Association of Zoos and Aquariums: www.aza.org/amphibian-conservation

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode concludes caecilians and the tenth thing I like about these intriguing creatures is the conservation efforts we already have under way to protect their future.

Throughout the last nine episodes I have clearly established that we don’t know as much about these fascinating amphibians as we should considering how long they’ve been on the planet. Of course, they are fairly secretive living underground and under the water, so it’s definitely been hard to study them. Having said this, you may be wondering how do we know anything about their conservation status if we can’t get an accurate count of how many are in the wild. The answer is, we can’t, but we do have enough information on some of the species to classify them on the IUCN red list of threatened species.

As a reminder, or for the first time if you haven’t listened to any of my previous series’, the IUCN stands for International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. They list the conservation status of animals and plants from around the world. A species can be listed as data deficient, which means we don’t have enough information to make a decision on whether the population is so low that the species is in danger of disappearing, or extinct, which means all the individuals of that species have died. They no longer exist.

There are several stages in-between data deficient and extinct. These classifications help us develop plans to help species survive the changing environment that is most often impacted by human activity.

Of the 200 species of caecilians that we know about, 193 are listed on the IUCN’s red list. 76 are listed as Least Concern which is good, that means their populations are healthy and thriving. 3 are listed as Near Threatened which is a step up from Least Concern, which means they are still okay for now but we should start including them in conservation plans. 7 are listed as Vulnerable which means they are one step away from Endangered and need help now. 16 are listed as endangered which means if efforts are not taken now we could lose this species. And 2 are listed as critically endangered which means they are a step away from extinction. That leaves 89 listed species as Data Deficient, almost half of the known species of caecilians.

Now that we have the numbers, we have to ask what is impacting caecilian populations. I think you, my listeners, may be able to guess. According to the IUCN website habitat loss is the biggest impact on caecilian populations. It’s the subtropical and tropical species that are being disturbed the most and the activities that are impacting them are all human centric activities. Non-timber agriculture is the largest pressure on the habitat in which our most endangered caecilians are found. The pesticides used in association with the agriculture is the next threat to their lives. Since they live in the ground and are dependent on mainly insects for food you can see how they would be majorly impacted by these activities.

So what exactly are we doing to help? The first thing is we’re still studying them. The more information we have about how they live and where they live the better our conservation plans. We have to know what habitat is best for them, what they eat, and how long they live to truly understand how to successfully protect them. Studying their natural history is a great tool for any conservation efforts for their future. Any students or zoologists out there listening that are looking for a species to study, maybe you can think about caecilians.

Studying animal’s in situ, which means out in their natural habitat, can be difficult. First you need to find them, then you need to catch them without harming them, then you measure everything you can possibly measure such as weight, length, color, sex, and any distinguishing characteristics such as scars or patterning. Then before you let them go you tag them with some kind of ID tag that does not harm they, so if they are captured again or seen by naturalists data can be added to their history. For example, when ornithologists catch birds they place a ring around their leg that has a number on it specific to that bird. When that bird is found again or birders report seeing the bird that information is added to their file. This helps us understand how large an animal’s home territory my be, determine migration paths, and can tell us how long they live.

Caecilians are even more difficult than most because they choose to live underground or underwater making it terribly difficult to find them, and once they have been found we have no way of permanently tagging them. This is something scientists are still working on for further research.

The other thing we are doing is protecting their habitat by declaring swaths of land preserves or national parks. This is often done because other plants and animals in the same area need protection, too. It’s a great side effect for the caecilians.

Habitat loss is not the only thing caecilians need to worry about. Disease is another serious threat to amphibians. One of the worst diseases effecting amphibians is chytridiomycosis. This is an infectious disease caused by a fungus and has been the cause of declines or complete extinction of over 200 amphibian species. It is know to effect over 350 species of amphibians and until 2013 we thought caecilians might be safe. Chytrid fungus gets into the skin of the amphibian which is devastating because amphibians breathe and take up water through their skin. This fungus interferes with that function. An infection is almost always fatal. Because most caecilians are fossorial we had hoped they might be unaffected by chytrid but a study published in 2013 did find the fungus present in 50% of the individuals tested from the wild. This was devastating news.

For years scientists have been working on a cure for the fungus, but very little head way has been made since what kills the fungus often kills the amphibian. Putting anything in on amphibians skin is instantly absorbed into their system, so it’s a thin line between curing and killing. Some head way has been made with an ionic liquid spread on the backs of frogs but this can only be done with captive individuals and is still not 100%. To date we have no real cure for this disease.

So what can we do to help? If you are a hiker or explorer in areas where amphibians are common, the chytrid fungus is probably found there. To prevent spread of the fungus, disinfect your clothing and gear before you use them again at another site and do not transport amphibians of any kind from one habitat to another.

On that note, if you are a hobbyist that likes to have amphibians as household pets, including caecilians, be sure you’re not getting your animals from illegal harvesting companies. Trapping for pet trade in another reason our amazing amphibians, including our caecilians, are disappearing. Make sure you’re patronizing a responsible person who sells only animals born in captivity.

For more on what you can do to help caecilians and other amphibians in the wild, check out my show notes where I have a few great organizations listed.

That’s it for caecilians! Thank you for joining me on this journey through caecilian behavior. I know I had an amazing trip and I think you did too. Conservation efforts for caecilians is my tenth favorite thing about this mysterious amphibian.

Join me in two weeks when we’ll talk about an animal thought extinct since the time of the dinosaurs until it was rediscovered alive and well in 1938!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: In this episode Kiersten and a guest host talk about a few things we know only a little bit about, such as caecilian origins and how they communicate.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

Caecilians: An Overview https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/caecilians

“Petrified Forest Brings the Funk with the World’s Oldest Fossil Caecilian.” Park Paleontology News, Vol 15, No 1, Spring 2023. Https://www.nps.gov/aticles/000/petrified-forest-brings-the-funk-with-the-world-s-oldest-fossil-caecilian.htm

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues caecilians and the ninth thing I like about them is a bit of this and a bit of that. In this episode we’re going to talk about some of the amazing things that we only know a little bit about and my husband Georgiy will be joining me.

Hello Georgiy!

Georgiy: Hello!

Kiersten: Are you enjoying my series on caecilians?

Georgiy: Da!

Kiersten: I’m so surprised about all the amazing attributes these animals have. I think it’s my favorite research so far!

Georgiy: I’m surprised that they have lived for so long and we hardly know anything about them!

Kiersten: I agree and speaking of which. New information about their fossil history has recently been discovered!

Georgiy: Really?

Kiersten: Yes! In the Chinle Formation of the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, paleontologists have found the oldest caecilian fossils to date.

Georgiy: How old are they?

Kiersten: They are 220 million years old. More than 80 bones from the caecilian named Funcusvermis gilmorei have been found. Scientists are excited about this because it bumps the fossil record of caecilians back about 35 million years. So they are even older than we thought they were. These ancient caecilians have the two rows of teeth like modern day living caecilians but, unlike extant caecilians, they have legs and no tentacles. Finding these fossils answers a question that scientists have had for many years. Where are the Triassic Era caecilians? Now we know!

Georgiy: Does this tell us anything new about modern day caecilians?

Kiersten: Sort of. These fossils help support the hypothesis that living amphibians are more closely related to each other than any of their extinct ancestors. So frogs, salamanders, and caecilians that are alive today are more closely related to each other than their long dead ancestors. Even though modern day amphibians look and act so much different from each other.

Georgiy: That’s interesting.

Kiersten: I think so, too. You know what else is interesting?

Georgiy: What?

Kiersten: Caecilians are both terrestrial and aquatic.

Georgiy: I say again, What?

Kiersten: (laughs) I’ve mentioned this before in a few episodes but I wanted to make it very clear. Some caecilians live on land, terrestrial, and some live underwater, aquatic. The terrestrial species usually live under ground in tunnels, but some live in the thick leaf liter of the tropical forest floor.

Georgiy: Oh…I see.

Kiersten: Good. Now to throw another curve at you, some species of caecilians live on land as adults but live under water as juveniles.

Georgiy: Whoa! How does that work?

Kiersten: As adults, some caecilian species lay eggs in an underground burrow near fresh water. When the eggs hatch the young make their way to the water where they slither in and spend their larval stage under the water.

Georgiy: How can they breathe?

Kiersten: Oh, good question! While in the egg the young developed external gills to help them breath under water. They also developed lungs so, when they become adults they loose the gills and emerge onto land where they breath air with their lungs.

Georgiy: That’s just cool! So let me get this straight, some caecilians live their entire lives underground, some spend their entire lives underwater, and some split their lives between the water and the ground.

Kiersten: Exactly!

Georgiy: This episode has been pretty cool.

Kiersten: But wait, there’s more! Another interesting thing about caecilians is how they communicate.

Georgiy: Oooo! How do they communicate?

Kiersten: With chemical perception.

Georgiy: Explain please.

Kiersten: Why certainly. Caecilians are the only amphibians with tentacles. These tentacles are on their face in-between their eyes and nose and detect chemical in the environment. Scientists believe that they also use these to communicate with each other.

Georgiy: Do they talk to each other a lot?

Kiersten: Most caecilians appear to be solitary, so probably not, but we don’t know much about their social lives. The aquatic caecilian Typhlonectes natans uses chemical cues to find mates. They probably use their tentacles to sense pheromones. It’s highly possible that the terrestrial caecilians do the same thing.

Georgiy: So they sniff out a good mate.

Kiersten: (laughs) Yes! There is something to be said about a nice cologne.

Well thanks for helping me out today, Georgiy.

Georgiy: You’re welcome.

Kiersten: That all I’ve got for this odds and ends episode. Thanks for joining me for this second to last episode about a little bit of this and a little bit of that about caecilians because it is my ninth favorite thing about them!

I would like to take a moment to thank a gentleman at Central Arizona College in Apache Junction, Arizona who went to great lengths to help me find information on the caecilian when I began this series. Thanks Richard, you’re the man!

Join me next week for the final thing I like about caecilians!

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Join Kiersten as she talks about how caecilians defend themselves against predators.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

“Morphological Evidence for an Oral Venom System in Caecilian Amphibians,” by Pedro Luis Mailho-Fontana, Marta Maria Antoniazzi, Cesar Alenandre, Daniel Carvalho Pimenta, Juliana Mozer Sciani, Edmund D. Brodie Jr., and Carlos Jared. iScience, Volume 23. Issue 7,101234, July 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101234

“Predation on Caecilians (Caecilia orientalis) by Hawks (Leucopternis princeps) Depends on Rainfall,” by Harold F. Greeney, Rudy A. Gelis, and W. Chris Funk. Herpetological Review, 2008, 39(2), 162-164.

“Skin gland concentrations adapted to different evolutionary pressures in the head and posterior regions of the caecilian Siphonops annulatus,” by Carlos Jared, Pedro Luis Mailho-Fontana, Rafael Marquez-Porto, Juliana Mozer Sciani, Daniel Carvalho Pimenta, Edmund D. Brodie Jr., and Marta Maria Antoniazzi. Scientific Reports 8, Article number: 3576 (2018).

“This Worm-Like Amphibian May Pack a Venomous Bite,” by Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/worm-amphibian-may-pack-venomous-bite-180975266/

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues caecilians and the eighth thing I like about these amazing amphibians is how they defend themselves.

Who are caecilians protecting themselves from? We’re aware of a few species of animals that eat caecilians. Snakes, spiders, turtles, and ants have all been reported preying on caecilians. In 2008 a surprising animal was added to this list. A group of researchers watching cameras set up to record a Barred hawk nesting site in Ecuador captured something unexpected. The parents fed their single chick many different animals including 50 individual Caecilia orientalis, a terrestrial caecilian species. Researchers are unsure how a hawk was able to find a subterranean animal easily enough to bring 50 of them to their young, but we can add these hawks to the list of caecilian predators.

So how do caecilians protect themselves from getting eaten? The first way caecilians protect themselves from predators is really a bit of a happy accident and that’s their fossorial lifestyle. Spending most of your life underground does cut down on the number of predators that can find you, although it doesn’t seem to be slowing down the Barred Hawk. Even so, evolution has given terrestrial caecilians a bit of a jump start on protecting themselves by equipping them to live underground. Aquatic caecilians spend a large amount of time close to the substrate of their chosen water source and hidden in dense plant matter, also a great place to start protecting themselves.

Caecilians do have a few other tricks up their sleeves to actively defend themselves from predators.

But before we get to those, I want to tell you that most of the information I’ve found on this subject comes from the study of one species of caecilian, Siphonops annulatus, so it may not apply to all species of caecilians. One more I caveat need to mention is that this information is based on educated inference. Because we have not actively seen caecilians defending themselves from predators, we are making some assumptions based on the natural history of other species of animals.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s get to the really cool stuff!

Most amphibians are covered in mucus to help with oxygen transmission and disease protection, caecilians are no exception. Actually, caecilians have more mucus glands than any other amphibian. If you remember, in the locomotion episode, I mentioned that some fossorial caecilians, such as Siphonops annulatus, use their mucus to help lubricate their tunnels to make movement easier. To do this they have glands on their heads that create and release the mucus. They also have glands on their rear end and scientists assumed it was for the same reason. Not so. The gland on the rear end expels a poisonous mucus. We assume that this poison is excreted to protect them from predators that might follow them into their tunnels.

They also tend to plug the opening of their tunnels with their rounded bums when they are sleeping or resting. A perfect way to keep a predator at bay, greet them with a face full of poison!

Another option Siphonops annulatus has is their bite. A recent study from 2020 has shown that Siphonops annulatus may have a venomous bite! Once again this is a first for an amphibian. It’s not the first time toxins have been found in Order Amphibia. The most famous example is poison arrow dart frogs that produce poison that is excreted onto their skin. Now, they are classified as poisonous because the toxin is transferred through touch. Animals classified as venomous such as rattlesnakes and Gila monsters inject their toxin into another animal through something like fangs or teeth. Up until this recent discovery, we thought there were no venomous amphibians.

The study found glands closely associated with this caecilian’s teeth. They found the glands in both the upper and lower jaws. These glands are the same type of glands found in certain venomous reptiles. Within the glands researchers found a combination of mucus, lipids, and proteins. The researchers isolated the cells found in the glands and discovered a similarity to oral venom glands identified in the Texas alligator lizard. As of the recording of this podcast the Texas Alligator lizard and Siphonops annulatus are not classified as venomous, but we’ll have to wait to see what future research determines.

Unlike snake venom glands there appear to be no muscles related to the glands in Siphonops annulatus to facilitate injection of poison, but the caecilian teeth are covered in mucus produced by these oral glands. This leads the scientists to believe that the venom may be secreted when the caecilian clamps it jaws down tightly on a prey item.

There needs to be more study to determine whether this substance is a toxin used to immobilize prey and if it is truly a venomous substance at all. Another purpose for this adaptation may also be as a defense against predators. Considering we’ve never seen defensive behavior in Siphonops annulatus in situ, these glands might be related to protection against predators.

These scientists did find oral glands present in other species of terrestrial caecilians meaning that they all may have venom that they use for capturing prey and for defense. Further research needs to be done to confirm or debunk this. When they looked at some aquatic caecilians they found no oral glands, which truly intrigues researchers.

That is all we currently know about how caecilians protect themselves from predation, but I’m sure future research will turn up even more amazing information, and I can’t wait to read about those discoveries because defense is my eighth favorite thing about caecilians.

I want to take a moment to say hello to a young listener. Lydia, thanks for listening and I’m so glad you’re enjoying the podcast. Speaking of which…

Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Now that we know about the existence of caecilians. Let’s talk about how caecilians make more caecilians! Join Kiersten as she walks us through the various ways caecilians reproduce.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

“The Care and Captive Breeding of the Caecilian Typhlonectes natans” by Richard Parkinson. Herpetological Bulletin, 2004, Number 88.

“Reproductive ecology of female caecilian amphibians (genus Ichthyophis): a baseline study” by Alexander Kupfer, Jarujin Nabhitabhata, Werner Himstedt. Boiological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol 83, Issue 2, October 2004, pg 207-217.

*cool egg pictures in this paper

“Life history and reproduction of the neotropical caecilian Siphonops annulatus with special emphasis on parental care” by Carlos Jared, Pedro Luiz Mailho-Fontana, Simone G. S. Jared, Alexander Kupfer, Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie, Mark Wilkinson, and Marta Maria Antoniazzi. Acta Zoological, Vol 100, Issue 3, pg 292-302.

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues caecilians and the seventh thing I like about these hidden gems is how they reproduce.

When it comes to reproduction most animals will reproduce in one of three ways. If you are viviparous, you give live birth to young that have developed in your uterus. If you are ovoviviparous, you give live birth to young that have developed inside eggs that are incubated in your uterus. These young are typically born with a yolk that helps nourish the young for a few days after birth. If you are oviparous, then you lay eggs that are incubated outside the body by parental warm or substrate covering. There are animals out there that reproduce in other ways, but these are the three main ways of animal reproduction.

Caecilians use two of these reproductive techniques. Of the caecilians we know of today, they are either oviparous or viviparous.

Let’s take a look at our oviparous species’ first. Some research has been done on species in Family Ichthyophiidae. These species lay eggs and their young go through an aquatic larval stage. The species studied in this particular research was found in Thailand and individuals were observed in the wild as well as in captivity. It was actually one of the first times caecilians in this family had been studied in situ, which means on site in their natural habitat. Ichthyophis kohtaoensis was studied for three consecutive years and researchers discovered many previously unknown behaviors.

When we talk about reproduction in most species, it tends to revolve around certain times of the year. Very few animals are like humans and reproduce anytime of the year. Most amphibians found in tropical areas jump into breeding mode at the start of monsoon season, so one of the first questions researchers asked is whether this would be the same for caecilians. The answer they found was a bit of yes and a bit of no. Just like other amphibians, caecilians breeding season was cyclical and revolved around the rainy season. But actual mating appeared to begin at the end of the dry season before the rains came and continued into the beginning of the rainy season. Egg laying typically happened after the rainy season had already begun.

When it comes to parental care, if there is any given, it is the female only. Ichthyophis kohtaoensis does incubate eggs for approximately three months. Toward the end of the dry season, females will begin to gain weight in anticipation of remaining in a nest to guard and incubate eggs. The average number of eggs is 37 with a range of 22-58 eggs laid in one nest. Larger females tended to have larger clutch sizes. The eggs are round and clear, so you can see the developmental stages of the young inside. The pictures they included in their scientific paper were pretty cool!

The nest site is extremely important because the larval stage of this caecilian is spent in the water. Females will chose a site with softer substrate such as sand, loose soil beneath tree roots, and sandy clay loam under grass tufts. Every nest found was between seven to nine feet from the edge of a freshwater source. The sources were varied including standing ponds and pools, slow moving brooks and rivers, and large seasonal ponds. Once the eggs hatch the young make their way into the water and are on their own. Field studies and captive observations indicate a long larval period so the chosen body of water needs to last long enough for the young to survive through this period to adulthood.

This pattern of reproduction is only one option for oviparous species. Another pattern lengthens the parental care window and has been well studied n only one species, Siphonops annulatus. Unlike Ichthyophis kohtaoensis, the young of Siphonops annulatus do not have an aquatic larval stage. When the young of this caecilian hatch they remain in the underground nest with the mother.

Breeding season occurs about about the same time as our previous caecilian, beginning at the end of the dry season. Females gain weight at this time and lay eggs after the rainy season has begun. This is more support for the hypothesis that caecilian reproduction is cyclical and follows the seasonal changes revolving around monsoon season because this pattern has now been seen in two species from different countries. Ichthyophis kohtaoensis is found in India and Siphonops annulatus is found in Brazil. The observations reported in the study on Siphonops annulatus were collected over a period of ten years and were gathered in situ and in captivity.

The young of Siphonops annulatus hatch after about a month but remain in the underground nest with the mother for approximately four months. This species practices dermatophagy which means they eat skin. Specifically the young eat the outer layer of their mother’s skin. Part of the weight that the female gains before egg laying includes a thickening of the outer layer of her skin. This layer bulks up with nutritious fatty lipids that the young scrape off using special baby teeth that they lose when they leave the nest.

In captivity, young have also been seen congregating around the mother’s cloaca, which is the orifice near the end of the tail, consuming a liquid. We don’t currently know what this substance is but it may be another nutritious liquid for the young. After four months of feeding on mom in the nest, the young will emerge into the world and be on their own. Siphonops annulatus lay fewer eggs than Ichthyophis kohtaoensis and this may be due to the intensive parental care Siphonops annulatus provides.

The last form of reproduction in caecilians is live birth and we’re going to look at one of the most well studied species of viviparous caecilians, Typhlonectes natans. Hopefully you remember from previous episodes that this species is an aquatic caecilian, living their entire lives in the water. The information about the breeding behaviors of this species comes mostly from captive specimens, so this information needs to be taken with a little grain of salt because animals always act a little different in captivity than they would in the wild. These behaviors have been in several different individuals; therefore, we feel fairly comfortable saying this is what happens in the wild.

Once again, it appears that breeding behaviors are influenced by monsoon season, but in a slightly different way than with our egg-laying species. The dry season that comes before monsoon season is when Typhlonectes natans is triggered tobegin breeding. Then the females will carry their young through the following rainy season and give birth when the next dry season begins. We have no proven information why this happens, yet, but using some inference, this pattern probably provides females with more consistent access to food while they are pregnant. They carry their young for about 10 months, so it’s important to be healthy and well fed.

The young are born in the dry season when waters are lower and calmer. This makes it easier for them to get to the surface of the water and that is important because Typhlonectes natans must surface to breath air. The young are in danger of drowning if they can’t breath air from the surface of the water.

While they are growing inside mom, the young scrap a secretion from the mother’s uterine wall to nourish themselves. They have small fetal teeth that help them collect these nutrients. I can’t believe there is another species of caecilian that eats its mother!

The developing young also have gills which allows the female to pass oxygen to them in utero. When the young are born, the gills are already gone or disappear within two days. After birth the young will begin to eat small, soft invertebrates within a few days and do not rely on mom for anything.

Females are not the only one’s involved in the reproductive process. Let’s take a quick moment, because that’s all it’s going to take, to talk about what the male contributes to the next generation of caecilians. Unlike all other amphibians, that we currently know of, caecilian reproduction is internal. Most amphibians lay eggs that are fertilized after they are laid. Caecilian males have a phallodeum which is an organ that they use to pass sperm into the female through her cloaca. No other amphibian does this. With every episode I make, these caecilians become more and more fascinating.

Whether in the water or underground, the males and females twine their bodies together aligning their cloacas up with each other. Then the male inserts his phallodeum into her cloaca and passes her his sperm. A month after mating eggs are either laid or pregnancy indicators, such as weight gain and size growth, are seen.

All of the behaviors I talked about in this episode are based on observations of just a few species of caecilians and may not apply to other species. There is so much more we have to learn about them and hopefully we’ll be able to do that in the future.

That’s all I wrote about caecilian reproduction and I trust hope you found it as fascinating as I did because it is my seventh favorite thing about the unknown amphibian.

Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: What do these secretive amphibians eat? Join Kiersten as she takes you on a culinary journey in this episode on caecilian diet.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

“Caecilian jaw-closing mechanics: integrating two muscle systems” by Thomas Kleinteich, Alexander Haas, and Adam P. Summers. J R Soc Interface, 2008 Dec 6: 5(29): 1491-1504. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2008.0155

“Diet of the Banana Caecilian Ichthyophis bannanicus in Mekong Delta, Vietnam” by Binh V. Ngo, Nghiep T. Hoang, and Chung D Ego. Journal of Herpetology, 48(4):506-513 (2014). doi.org/10.1670/13-113.

“Rotational feeding in caecilians: putting a spin on the evolution of cranial design” by G. John Easy and Anthony Herrel. Biology Letters (2006) 2, 485-487. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0516

“Dietary Partitioning in Two Co-occurring Caecilian Species (Geotrypetes seraphim and Herepele squalostoma) in Central Africa” by M. T. Kouete and D. C. Blackburn, Integr Org Bill, 2020; 2(1). doi:10.1093/iob/obz035

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues caecilians and the sixth thing I like about these awesome amphibians is their diet.

Our understanding of what and how caecilians eat is still evolving but we know enough to know that it is fascinating!

First, let’s talk about what they eat. Caecilians are carnivores. That means they eat meat. There have been enough studies into various species of caecilians that we have a decent idea of what prey items they tend to eat. In general they focus on invertebrates that are commonly found where they live, underground, in the leaf litter of tropical forests, and underwater. Some examples include ants, termites, earthworms, snails, and some caecilians have been recorded eating crabs, lizards, frogs, and blind snakes. Aquatic caecilians eat fish and aquatic invertebrates. You probably get the drift, if it’s an insect or small animal that lives where caecilians live and it fits in their mouth, they’ll eat it.

Since caecilians have no limbs to help them catch or stabilize prey items their jaw muscles and skulls have evolved to produce a high bite force to help prevent prey items from squiggling away. Caecilians have developed a double jaw muscle mechanism that is special to these amphibians. These muscles are different from other vertebrates because they are actually located above and below the jaw as opposed to the side of the jaw. Take a moment here and place your hands on the side of your jaw. Now open and close your mouth. What you feel moving is your jaw muscles.

If we were able to place our hands on the sides of a caecilian’s jaw, we would not feel those muscles. Scientists think that the placement of the muscles on the top and bottom of the skull may be due to the close confines of burrows in which the caecilians live and hunt. Whatever the reason it’s one more cool adaptations these amphibians have developed.

In the last episode we talked about the two different skull formations found in caecilians. At first thought, these differences might be due to the burrowing needs of the caecilian, but upon studying bite force and diet the different skull formations may actually be related to bite force. Caecilians who have the perforated, or zygokrotaphic, skull structure utilize the leverage from the two jaw muscles more efficiently than caecilians with the completely roofed, or stegokrotaphic, skull. What exactly does this information indicate? We’re not quite sure yet. We need more research to determine what these results may mean. For now, we’ll just have to settle for the knowledge itself.

Scientists, being the inquisitive people that they are, asked if caecilians might specialize in specific diet items. Two pieces of evidence leans us towards yes as the answer. One piece of evidence supporting this is tooth shape. Caecilains that eat mostly soft-bodied invertebrates, like earthworms, tend to have sharp curved teeth. This allows the teeth to hook into soft tissue and hold tight. Caecilians that tend to eat prey items that have a harder shell, such as snails, have flatter, pedestal style teeth. This allows them to crush and grind the hard shell.

While we’re talking about teeth, let me toss this cool fact out there. Caecilians have two rows of teeth in their top jaw and may have one to two rows in the bottom jaw! Forgive my side trip, I just couldn’t resist telling you this fascinating fact.

The second form of evidence supporting diet specialization comes from a study done with two species of caecilians that live in the same area but in different layers of soil. Researchers analyzed the diet of Geotrypetes seraphini and Herpele squalostoma two terrestrial caecilians from Central Africa. G. seraphini lives lower in the soil and eats mostly earthworms, while mole crickets which are found higher in the soil or in leaf litter above ground dominated H. squalostoma’s diet. Now, we don’t know if the diet is dependent on where they live or if they live where their preferred diet can be found. That is a study for the future.

Caecilians just can’t stop surprising us! In another study looking at feeding behavior of caecilians scientists discovered that these amphibians utilize rotational feeding. What exactly is rotational feeding? Think about those nature programs you’ve seen about African animals being snatched up by a crocodile. The crocodile often catches something larger than it can swallow in one gulp and spins length wise. This behavior is used to reduce the size of a prey item so it can be easily consumed.

In this study, two species of terrestrial caecilians were observed and recorded eating. They caught both species using rotational feeding to successfully maneuver large prey items into their mouths, just like crocodiles. Unexpectedly, the researchers also observed the caecilians using rotational feeding even when they caught smaller prey items that easily fit into their mouths. So the question is why do they spin when the prey item fits easily into their mouth? We don’t have a solid answer to that question yet, but the researchers postulated that because caecilians are blind maybe they are using the rotational feeding to feel the prey item to help them determine what it is.

The last behavior we’re going to talk about concerning caecilians’ diet is the most fascinating and slightly disturbing food item I’ve come across in all my years as an animal caretaker. Boulengerula taitanus is an African caecilian that begins life by eating its mother’s skin. You heard me correctly, they eat their mother’s skin! What?!

So, while mom incubates her eggs that she laid in her subterranean tunnel the outer layer of her skin thickens with nutritious fatty lipids. When the young hatch they have special baby teeth that help them shave off the mother’s outer skin layer. This is the only vertebrate known to use this type of parental feeding strategy! I am thankful everyday I wasn’t born bird so my mother didn’t have to puke into my mouth to feed and now I’m thankful I wasn’t born a caecilian so I didn’t have to eat my mother’s skin.

That’s all for this episode and I know you loved this episode on caecilian diets because it’s the most fascinating episode I’ve researched so far and it’s my sixth favorite thing about this amphibian.

Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Caecilians are legless amphibians, so how do they get around? Join Kiersten as she talks about caecilian locomotion.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

“The kinematics of locomotion in caecilians: effects of substrate and body shape” by Anthony Here et. al, J Exp Cool A Ecol Genet Physiol. 2010. Https//pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

“A comparative study of locomotion in the caecilian Dermophis mexicanus and Typhlonectes natans (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)” by Adam P. Summers and James C. O’Reilly, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol 121, Issue 1, Sept 1997, pls 65-76. Https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1997.tb000147.x

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right outside our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues caecilians and the fifth thing I like about these supercool amphibians is the way they get around.

In previous episodes, we have clearly established that caecilians do not have legs, so you may have been asking yourself, how do they get around? Excellent question. Let’s get the answer.

Caecilians are definitely not the only no-legged animal on planet Earth. There are snakes, glass lizards, and fish that do not have legs. Each of these examples have a unique way of locomotion. Caecilian locomotion is something that blows my mind!

In the last episode we learned that caecilians are divided into ten different families. Most of those families are terrestrial, which means, according to the Oxford Dictionary, of, on, or relating to the earth. Furthermore, many terrestrial caecilians, are fossorial which means they live underground. Nine of our ten families are considered terrestrial caecilians.

So how exactly do caecilians create motion? They use hydrostatic movement. Hydrostatic motion is created when one set of muscles contracts in a circular and longitudinal pattern and another set of muscles stretches in response. Think of how a jellyfish moves. That in and out, almost like breathing, motion is how hydrostatic movement works. Many species of invertebrates use hydrostatic systems to move and several species of vertebrates use hydrostatic systems in specific body parts.

What makes caecilian hydrostatic locomotion unique is that they are the first known vertebrate to use their entire body as a hydrostatic system for locomotion. How could this get more interesting? I shall tell you! Hydrostatic movement generally depends on utilizing fluid filled portions of the body or vertebrae, but caecilians hydrostatic motion depends on a criss-cross array of tendons that surround their body cavity. Caecilians' skin and skeleton move independently of each other. Muscles do not attach the skin to the skeleton like other vertebrates. This allows them to create twice the maximum forward force of similar sized burrowing snakes that rely on longitudinal movement.

This is one more example of what makes caecilians so unique in the animal kingdom.

Now that we know exactly how terrestrial caecilians create forward motion let’s look at another characteristic that is influenced by their fossorial lifestyle.

As you know, caecilians don’t have feet, so instead their skull bones have adapted into the perfect shape to move through the soil. They’re skulls are often described as wedge-shaped, compact, and robust. Sounds a lot like a shovel which would be perfect for digging through soil!

Fossorial caecilians’ skull bones have actually fused together in ways that other animals’ skull bones are not fused. There are two types of skull structures in caecilians. The first type is zygokrotaphic in which the skull is perforated between the squamosal, or the side of the skull and the parietal, or the top of the skull. The second type of skull is stegokrotaphic which means the skull in completely roofed.

These two skull types are incredibly interesting to researchers and have inspired several scientific studies. One study investigated whether the amount of tunneling a species does determines which skull formation is found in their family. The thought was that the completely roofed skull formation would be better suited to caecilians that burrow in soil more than other species that live mainly in leaf litter. To withstand the force needed to push through the soil a completely fused skull would be better, right?

What investigators found did not support this hypothesis. There was no evidence showing caecilians with stegokrotaphic skulls had increased burrowing activity. Skull shape may be more influenced by what they eat instead, we’ll talk about this more in next week’s episode.

While investigating this hypothesis the researchers did discover that cranial shape varies greatly throughout caecilians. Even though there is variability in the position of the mouth, the temporal perforation of the skull, and the closure of the eye orbits, caecilian skulls are are generally bullet shaped which helps make burrowing much easier.

Scientists are always asking questions and a group of researchers studying caecilian movement wanted to know if the length of a caecilian impacted the way they moved. Using x-ray video these scientists recorded the movement of five different species of caecilian that ranged in size. What they discovered was that as the length of the caecilian increased their ability to create the internal concertina motion of hydrostatic movement decreased. As the caecilians increased in length they lost the skin and skeletal independent movement because of the increase in body length. The larger species depended more on lateral movement, even though they are still capable of concertina movement.

On an interesting note, in all species locomotion choice was dependent on substrate. When they were burrowing through soil they used a whole body or concertina motion to move forward; yet, when they were above the soil they used a lateral movement. This movement is similar to how snakes move in that side to side slithering motion.

Family Typhlonectidae contains our aquatic caecilians. There are 13 species in this family and they all live their entire lives under the water. They also burrow into soil but since the substrate is underwater it’s often more sandy or silty. Many species in this family have lost the concertina movement of terrestrial caecilians. Instead, they rely on a lateral motion to move through the water and soft substrate.

That’s it for caecilian locomotion, I hope you enjoyed this episode because it’s my fifth favorite thing about this awesome animal.

Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: This little known amphibian has 200 different species in its ranks. Join Kiersten as she takes you on a quick tour of the different caecilian species.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Amphibian Class by Rebecca Stefoff

https://www.britannica.com/animal/caecilian-amphibian/classification

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues caecilians and the fourth thing I like about this unknown animal is the number of species that we know about.

I have to admit as I was doing my research into the caecilian I was amazed to discover that we actually know of about 200 species of this amphibian. Most of my friends and family looked at me with blank faces when I mentioned that I wanted to do the next series of Ten Things I Like About on caecilians. I had a few people ask me if it was going to be about people from Sicily. (laughs) Clearly not.

This episode will include a lot of scientific names so I apologize in advance but most caecilians don’t have common names since they are not very well known.

Let’s start off with a little taxonomy, that’s the scientific classification of all living things. All caecilians are in Kingdom Animalia, as are humans, Phylum Chordata, because they are vertebrates with a skeletal system, Class Amphibia, because they are amphibians, Subclass Lissamphibia, and Order Gymnophiona also known as Apoda which is Latin for “without foot”. Within this Order there are ten Families of caecilians.

The different Families of caecilians are distinguished from each other based on physical characteristics and life history. The extant, or living species, are classified by the absence or presence of a tail, the amount of fusion of the skull bones, the degree of movement in the skull, the nature of the annular grooves (these are the cutaneous grooves that circle the body), and the structure of the phallodeum (which is the male’s sex organ). Classification is also based on whether an aquatic larval stage is present in the life history of the caecilian and whether they lay eggs or have live birth.

The youngest family of caecilians is Family Caeciliidae. The species in this family date from the Paleocene era which is 65 to 55 million years ago to today. They have no tails and most have no aquatic larval stage. There are 42 species in Family Caeciliidae. They are native to Central and South America and as adults they range in size from 4 to 60 inches.

The next seven families all date from the Cretaceous period which is 145 to 65 million years ago to today.

Family Dermophiidae includes 13 species. They have secondary annuli with annular scales. They are viviparous which means they give live birth and they are found in Africa and Central and South America.

Family Herpelidae, commonly known as the African caecilians, is native to Africa and includes 9 species of caecilian.

Family Ichthyophiidae species have tails, an aquatic larval stage and are native to Southeast Asia, peninsular India, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines. There are 50 species in this family that range in size from 16 to 20 inches as adults. This family is also known as the Asiatic tailed caecilians or the fish caecilians. I couldn’t determine why they are called fish caecilians but they do have an aquatic larval stage.

Family Indotyphlidae is native to Africa, the Seychelles, and India. There are 21 speices in this family. Some of them are viviparous and some of them are oviparous which means they lay eggs to reproduce. The viviparous species do not have scales or secondary annuli. The characteristics that bond these species together are their non-perforated ear bone and the presence of teeth in the lower jaw.

Family Rhinatrematidae has tails and aquatic larvae. The 11 species of this family are native to South America and range in size from 10 to 13 inches as adults. This family is also known as the Neotropical tailed caecilians, the American tailed caecilians, or the beaked caecilians.

Family Siphonopidae, also known as common caecilians, have non-perforated ear bones and no teeth in the lower jaw. The 19 species of this South American caecilian family are oviparous.

Our last family originating in the Cretaceous period is Family Typhlonectidae. These caecilians have no tails. Adults are aquatic, so these caecilians live their entire lives in the water. The young have gills but the adults breathe through tracheal lungs. There are 13 species in this family and adults range in size from 20 to 28 inches. Family Typhlonectidae is native to South America and are also known as rubber eels.

Our last two families are our two oldest species and originate in the Jurassic period which is 200 to 145 million years ago.

Family Scolecomorphidae is native to Africa and only contains 6 species. They have no tail and no aquatic larval stage. Adults range in size from 16 to 18 inches. They are also known as tropical caecilians, the buried-eyed caecilians, or the African caecilians.

Family Chikilidae is the most recently discovered family but they are one of the two oldest living caecilians. The seven species of this family have two rows of teeth on their lower jaw and are native to northeastern India. The year 2012 brought this terrestrial caecilian into the light and is named after chikila, the northeastern Indian tribal name for this amphibian.

Now that we’ve talked a bit about the different families of caecilians let’s talk about colors! In the anatomy episode we learned that all capelins essentially look like earthworms, They have no legs, they have annuli that make their skin look segmented, and they are covered in slimy mucus. But we didn’t discuss what colors they come in. Yes! I said colors.

Many caecilians, actually a lot of caecilians, are a gray to black color, but not all. Some caecilians are blue, some are red or orange, some have accentuated annuli that gives them a two-toned ringed appearance. Some even have bright yellow striping that runs from their head to their tails! Considering all caecilians are blind and live in mostly dark places, we’re not entirely sure why they have different colors, but boy are they pretty.

Siphonops annulatus is a beautiful azure blue color, the sticky caecilian is dark gray with a yellow stripe down the midline of their body, the Sao Tome caecilian is bright yellow all over, the Panamanian caecilian is lime green! With 200 different species their color possibilities are quite varied.

They vary drastically in size as well. The largest caecilian is Caecilia thompsoni and this species measures in at a whopping 5 feet long! Holy Smokes! They can weigh up to 2.2 lbs. If you’d live to get a chance to see this caecilian plan a visit to Columbia, as this is their native country.

The smallest caecilian is a tie between Idiocranium russeli from West Africa and Grandisonia brevis, from the Seychelles. These two species grow to only 4 inches. That is quite a difference in size! Boy caecilians sure as fascinating.

Well that’s it for caecilian species, try saying that five times fast, and I know you had a great time with this episode because it’s my fourth favorite thing about caecilians.

Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Caecilians are unique vertebrates that have some incredible anatomy. Join Kiersten as she takes on a tour of the caecilian body.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Amphibian Class by Rebecca Stefoff

Caecilians: An Overview https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/caecilians

“An insight into the skin glands, dermal scales and secretions of the caecilian amphibian Ichthyophis beddomei.” Damodaran Arun, S. Sandy, Mohammad Abdulkader Akbarsha, Omen V. Omen, and Letha Divya. Saudi J Bill Sci, 2020 Oct:27(10): 2683-2690 doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.06.009

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues caecilians and the third thing I like about this wiggly, squiggly amphibian is their anatomy!

We’re going to start on the outside and work our way in by beginning with the skin. Most amphibian skin is slimy because it’s covered by mucus. Caecilians are no exception. They have two types of glands in their skin and one type produces mucus. The mucus covers the entire body so whenever you try to pick up a caecilian it’s slippery and that’s part of the point! Being slippery makes it much harder for predators to get a hold on you.

Another reason for the mucus is to keep the skin moist which helps with temperature regulation and cutaneous respiration. That means you can breath through your skin.

The second type of skin gland is called a granular gland also known as a poison gland. It does appear that at least some species of caecilians produce a poison in their adult stage. While studying Siphonops annulus, a species of caecilian from Brazil, researchers noticed a concentration of enlarged mucus-producing glands on their head and their bums.

The glands on their head produce mucus to cover their skin as well as lube up their underground burrows to make it easier to move through the tunnels. The glands on their bums release a poisonous mucus that helps in predator defense.

An extremely unusual and unique characteristic of caecilian skin is that they have scales. Amphibians don’t have scales, but these amphibians do! To make it even weirder their scales are under the top layer of their skin! We don’t know why they have these scales. It may just be an evolutionary hold over from ancestors. But we do know that not all species have scales, which only makes it a bigger mystery. Why do them have them? And what are they used for?

The skin is also segmented with annuli which are grooves that encircle the body. I haven’t found any information on why they have these annuli or what advantage they give the caecilian, but I’m sure there is a purpose for them.

While we’re still on the outside let’s talk about limbs or legs. Caecilians have none! They are like snakes in this characteristic. Modern day caecilians have no vestigial components of legs at all, no shoulder bones or pelvic girdle indicating that they might have had legs in their evolutionary past. This is a testament to how old these animals are evolutionarily speaking because the fossils we have found from 190 million years ago have legs. We can make an educated guess that the legs became unnecessary as caecilians adapted to live their entire lives underground or underwater. As they evolved the bones that supported these limbs also disappeared.

In the last episode we discussed senses, so if you’re listening in order you already know that caecilians do not have image processing eyes. Depending on the species the eyes will be covered in skin, bone, or absent all together. Those that still have an eye can probably determine the difference between light and dark but cannot see images. For a more in depth discussion of this, backtrack to episode two.

Since caecilians do not rely on vision to interact with their surroundings, they have developed tentacles that help them smell and feel their environment. The tentacles are located on the face in-between the eye and nostrils. They are short little protrusions that are chemoreceptors. For more on caecilian tentacles check out episode two of this series.

Okay, we’re going to head inside the body through the nares. As we’ve already discovered caecilians can breathe through their skin, but for most of them that does not provide enough oxygen to survive. Most caecilians have a functioning right lung and a vestigial left lung that doesn’t process much at all. The breathing pattern includes a long exhalation with short inhalations through buccopharangeal pumping. Let me explain that sentence. That means they breathe a long breath out and breathe in short breaths by puffing their cheeks and floor of their mouths in and out. This patten of breathing prevents mixing the clean oxygen that comes in and the carbon dioxide that goes out. This seems to unique to caecilians, at least in the amphibian family. The normal respiratory rate of Typhlonectes natans is 4 to 7 breaths per hour!

Most caecilians have at least one lung but two species of caecilians have no lungs at all. They must do all of their respiration through their skin. How coo is that!?

Let’s move on to the skeleton. The most fascinating part of the caecilians skeletal structure is…well, all of it! Since most caecilians dig into soil, whether on land or underwater, their skulls have fused many of the typical individual bones that are found in amphibian skulls so it can withstand the pressure of pushing through the dirt. The head comes to a point at the nose to make it easier to move through substrate. Small, sharp teeth line the inside of the upper and lower jaw. The mouth is on the underside of the head. Three sets of jaw muscles hold the jaw shut tight so no accidental ingestion of soil happens. This is a fascinating adaption to living underground!

Depending on species, caecilians can have 95 to 285 vertebrae that run down the entire body. Double-headed ribs attach to each vertebrae except the one directly behind the skull and the last few toward the tail. The ribs do not support the body structure like some other cylindrical vertebrates. The muscles of the caecilian actually forms a sheath around the skeleton that is attached to the skin with fibrous connective tissue. This allows the skin and muscles to move together. This cylindrical muscle sheath is what gives their body form.

Caecilians lack functional bone marrow which is where blood cells are produced in other vertebrates, so their blood is created by the liver, kidney, spleen, and thymus.

The digestive tract consists of teeth, tongue, esophagus, stomach, intestines, and a pancreas. Caecilians are carnivores so their digestive tract is set up to digest meat.

Depending the species, the caecilian’s snake-like body ends in a short tail or none at all. The cloaca is located near the tail on the underside of the body. This is an orifice through which waste is dispelled, eggs are laid, and fertilization occurs. Not all at the same time, though.

That pretty much covers anatomy for caecilians. I hope you enjoyed learning about their unique physiology because it is my third favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: This amazing amphibian’s senses are unique and almost unbelievable! Join Kiersten as she sheds a little light on caecilian senses.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Amphibian Class by Rebecca Stefoff

“Underground amphibians evolved unique ear.” by PlanetEarth Online. https://phys,org/news/2014-07-underground-amphibians-evolved-unique-ear.html

Caecilians: An Overview https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/caecilians

“The comparative morphology and evolution of the eyes of caecilians (Amphibia, Gymnophiona) by Marvalee H. Wake, Zoomorphology: 105, 277-295 (1985) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/bf00312059

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues caecilians and the second thing I like about this amphibian is their senses!

Let’s dive right in, listeners, because this is some fascinating stuff! We’re going to start off talking about vision. In the first episode my guest co-host and I touched quickly on the fact that caecilians are essentially blind. Let’s explore this in a bit more detail.

In all the species of caecilians that have been investigated it appears that their eyes are either covered by skin or bone. Interestingly all of the examined species have a functional photoreceptor. What does this mean in layman’s terms? It means that they don’t have eyes that help them see images but they may still use their eyes to detect light.

Ancient fossils of caecilians showed that they had larger eyes that might have been used to see images but over the millennia their eyes have become smaller and weaker. We know why this has happened. Caecilians live in dark places, underground and underwater. This behavior probably evolved slowly as they adapted to the pressures of survival in a changing world. As they relied less and less on light their eyes became smaller.

Scientists, always on the hunt for more information, asked the question “What exactly happened to the eyes of caecilians as they evolved?” Did they retain all the components of a functional eye or did they loose certain structures that were no longer needed? In 1985 a biologist in the Department of Zoology at the University of California Berkley found some answers. At the time Marvalee Wake investigated all the caecilians that were known and studied the structure of their eyes. Seven differ trends were seen.

The eyes were covered by thicker skin as well as bone.
Nonessential ocular muscles became smaller or nonexistent
The retina progressed from a typical layered pattern to fewer cells to a net like formation instead of layering
The optical nerve starts off present then becomes smaller and weaker then to only a small amount of cells
The lens of the eye is originally round or spherical then progresses to crystalline to cellular to absent.
The vitreous liquid in the eye is lost
The cornea becomes attached to the covering skin and the lens becomes attached to the cornea and retina.

All of these trends show how the eyes of caecilians became obsolete, but some structures still remained.

Another project from 2014 studied the rods and cones in the the eyes of caecilians. Rods are the structures that are active in lower light levels while cones are active at higher light levels and can detect color. They found that the caecilians optical cells only contained rods. This is further evidence supporting the thought that their eyes my still be used to detect light but are no longer used to see actual images.

So, now we know that caecilians no longer rely on their vision to help shape their knowledge of the world around them. Some of you may be asking if they have compensated for this lack of information in some other way? I like the way you think, listeners, because this is exactly what happened!

Let’s look at the sense of smell next. Most caecilians have nostrils through which they breath but there is no evidence that indicates their sense of smell is located within the nares. Many species have another anatomical structure that helps them smell, tentacles.

Caecilian tentacles are located on their face in-between the eye and nostrils. They have one on each side. I know when I think of a tentacle I think of the arms of an octopus, tentacles that are long, thin, and capable of grasping objects. Caecilian tentacles are not like this and thank goodness! Could you imagine having two long squiggly arms that pick up random items sticking out of your face? Whoa! Talk about problems! Caecilian tentacles are more like short nubs.

The tentacles of caecilians are chemoreceptors. Essentially they help them smell. They use them to gather information about their environment such as what kind of soil they are in and where they can find food. Caecilians are carnivores so they are always on the look out for terrestrial insects and other invertebrates to eat. Terrestrial and aquatic caecilians use their tentacles in the same way.

The tentacles are attached to the tear ducts and the Jacobson’s organ also known as the vomeronasal organ. Being attached to the Jacobson’s organ is a good indication that these tentacles are used for smelling. Almost all amphibians, reptiles, and mammals on earth have a Jacobson’s organ that helps them detect smells.

These facial organs have a secondary purpose as well. Caecilians also use these tentacles as tactile receptors which means they use them to feel their environment as well as smell it. This is extremely helpful when you have poor or no vision. Caecilians are the only amphibians that have tentacles. They most likely evolved to help compensate for their failing vision.

The last sense we’re going to talk about is hearing. Caecilians do not have external ear holes or pinnae. When you live underground or underwater you have no real need to hear sound waves that travel through the air. But if you could feel vibrations, this would be useful. In 2014, researchers used a CT scanner to create a 3D image of a caecilians head and found something interesting. Caecilians have a much larger ventral organ in the ear than other types of amphibians. This organ is used to sense vibrations!

To deal with their underground lifestyle, caecilians have evolved a large vibration sensing organ in their inner ear. According to the study, this is different from other underground animals such as molerats. The researchers hypothesize that because the caecilians are more sedentary than other underground dwellers and they leave their head on the ground more, since they have no legs, this may be the reason their ventral organ is larger.

That’s it for caecilian senses. I know you had fun listening to this episode because it’s my second favorite thing about caecilians.

Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Have you ever heard of a caecilian? Join Kiersten and a guest co-host to find out what it is!

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Amphibian Class by Rebecca Stefoff

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/carcilians-found-in-south-florida

“The Creature Feature: 10 Fun FactsAbout Caecilians (or, This Amphibian is One in a Caecilian)” by Mary Bates, https://www.wired.com

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This is the first episode of caecilians and I have a guest cohost with me to kick off this series about an unknown animal that most of you have probably never heard of. My friend and cohost of my other podcast The Feathered Desert a podcast all about backyard bird feeding in the Southwest region of the United States, Cheryl is here with me today. Thanks for joining me Cheryl!

Cheryl - Thanks fro asking me!

Kiersten - So, Cheryl do you know what a caecilian is?

Cheryl - (laughs) No! But you’re going to tell, aren’t you?

Kiersten - Yes! We are certainly not talking about people from Sicily although it sounds the same. The caecilians we’re talking about are amphibians. It’s spelled c-a-e-c-i-l-i-a-n. It comes from the Latin word for “blind” and we’ll find out why they were given this name shortly. I guess the next question we need to answer is what is an amphibian?

Cheryl - Oh! I know this one! An amphibian is an organism that can live both on land and in the water. We typically think of frogs, toads, and salamanders when we think of amphibians. The most distinctive characteristic is that their early years are spent underwater breathing through gills and their adult years are generally spent on land breathing air through their nose.

Kiersten - Exactly! Caecilians are an amphibians that most people don’t know about. Even if you were to come across one, you might mistake it for something else. Something like an earthworm. Many caecilians have segmented skin called annuli that makes them look a lot like worms. They’re also legless. Essentially caecilians are amphibians that look like earthworms.

Cheryl - How exactly would I come across one?

Kiersten - Well, caecilians live underground. Terrestrial ones burrow into the dirt and aquatic ones burrow into the bottom of lakes and streams. You could, possibly, encounter one while digging in your garden if you live in a humid, tropical or neotropical area in Central America, South America, Central Africa, or Southeast Asia. In 2021 they were discovered in a canal in Miami, Florida!

Cheryl - So pretty much all over the world.

Kiersten - Yes, in the right habitat they are naturally found on almost every continent, except Antarctica and Australia. Although three species have been introduced into Australia.

Cheryl - Three species? So there’s more than one species of caecilian?

Kiersten - Yes! There’s approximately 200 species of caecilians that have been discovered around the world. Can you believe there’s that many species and virtually no one has ever heard of them?

Cheryl - No! Don’t forget you were going to tell about why their name comes from the Latin word for blind.

Kiersten - Right! Thanks for the reminder. Caecilians, for all intents and purposes, are blind. As they evolved their eyes became smaller and weaker, since they spend so much time in the dark. Scientists believe they still have optic nerves but most caecilians eyes are covered by skin and some are even covered by bone.

Cheryl - So not using those eyes for much, then.

Kiersten - Not much, no. We believe that the ones covered only by skin may use them to tell light from dark, but they certainly do not use them to determine clear images.

Cheryl - Now you said, as they evolved they lost their eyes. That’s got to take a lot of time. How old are these animals exactly?

Kiersten - Good catch! We have found caecilian fossils dating back 190 million years ago. That’s before the time of the dinosaurs.

Cheryl - These guys sound pretty cool! I can’t wait to learn more about them!

Kiersten - Me too! I’m truly enjoying my research into this animal. I’m learning so much! Thanks for joining me today, Cheryl.

Cheryl - You’re welcome. Thanks for asking me! This animal has peaked mu interest.

Kiersten - Well listeners, I hope this episode has whet your appetite for more information about caecilians because this is my first favorite thing about this amazing unknown creature.

Cheryl - PLus their name is fun to say!

Kiersten - Absolutely!

Join me next week for another episode about caecilians!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Even tarantulas need a little love! Many species of tarantulas are disappearing and in this episode Kiersten talk about what’s happening and what we’re doing to help.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery

“Farewell to the World’s Smallest Tarantula?” By Jane Schneider https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2017/Oct-Nov/Conservation/Spruce-Fir-Moss_Spider

“Beautiful Ornamental Tarantulas Win Global Protections from Pet Trade.” https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/beautiful-ornamental-tarantulas-win-global-protections-pet-trade-2019-08-26/

Conservation Organizations to check out:

Butterfly Pavillion in Colorado - https://butterflies.org/spider-conservation-research/

Commission for Environmental Cooperation - www.cec.org

Tarantulas de Mexico - https://www.tarantulasdemexico.com

iNaturalist app can be downloaded from any app store

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode is the tenth and final episode of tarantulas and the tenth thing I like about these hairy beauties is the conservation efforts being done to ensure we never lose them.

Now it may not seem like tarantulas need conservation efforts but many of them are impacted by habitat loss, the pet trade, and souvenir trinkets. In this episode we’re going to take a look at some of these threats and what we’re doing to help.

When discussing any animal conservation issue, habitat loss is often one of the main problems. There are a lot of us creatures on this planet and we need to get much better at sharing it with all living things. One example of a tarantula impacted by habitat loss is the spruce-fir moss spider, the smallest tarantula in the world. This tiny BB-pellet sized tarantula is found in only a few isolated pockets of the Southern Appalachian mountains. They used to be commonly found all over Clingmans Dome, a mountain straddling North Carolina and Tennessee, but they have become more and more difficult to find. Biology Professor Kefyn Catley says in 1987 he could find them all over the rocks at Clingmans Dome but in 2017 they were none to be found.

These small tarantulas live at high elevations typically above 5300 feet above sea level in moss that clings to boulders. The moss grows in mats which creates a microclimate that provides warmth, moisture, and food that the tarantula needs to survive. If the moss dries out, the spider cannot survive. This is exactly what’s plaguing the spruce-moss tarantulas of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Invasive insects have invaded the park and are decimating the native trees that provide shade and moisture which keeps the moss growing. The loss of these trees has also increased the temperatures of this ecosystem. This is bad news for our little friend.

The tarantulas are trying to find new habitat by moving to north-facing rocks that still harbor the moss mats they need, but these refuges are also quickly disappearing. So what are we doing to help? First we’re still studying this little arachnid. Biologists from Western Carolina University and Great Smoky Mountain National Park forestry biologists are continuing their studies of this tarantula. We must know more about their natural history and their current population numbers if we are to help them survive.

The second action we’ve taken is to add the spruce-moss tarantula to the Endangered Species List. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added this tarantula to the endangered species list making it only the third spider to be added to the list. Doing this provided scientists leverage to take steps toward protecting the habitat in which the tarantula lives. Once this was done, a third action was approved which was the targeted eradication of the invasive insect eating the trees in the park. Now, spraying insecticide around can impact more than just the insect you want to kill and the scientists knew this, so with the help of park services, they devised a plan that targeted the invasive insect with as little impact to others as possible. This is an ongoing project and I know I have my fingers crossed that the spruce-fir moss tarantula survives for years to come.

For those of us that are fans of the great outdoors, we know that habitat loss is something that is a problem on every continent and in every environment. Hundreds of different animals are impacted by it everyday. Tarantulas are no exception and what is happening to the spruce-moss spider is happening to many species of tarantulas all over the world. As tropical forests are cut down to make room for cattle, as wooded areas are logged for use in construction, and as desert is torn up to provide housing for more and more humans, the tarantulas are losing their homes. What we must learn is how to share our space with them and make sure when we move in they don’t have to move out.

The other major threat to tarantulas is the pet trade. Those of you who may be listening to this series to help get over your fear of tarantulas are probably thinking ‘who in their right mind would have a tarantula as a pet?’. Well, I can’t attest to the ‘right-mind’ part, but tarantulas can actually be pretty cool pets. They are certainly not for everyone and they do need specialized care that you must be willing to take the time to give them, but they can be a very rewarding pet. As I’ve said before, I had a rose-haired tarantula for 12 years. She hung out in an aquarium with coconut fiber substrate, a water dish, a hidey hole, and furniture that we’d rotate to give her something new to investigate. We did not handle her much, only every once in a while when we needed to deep clean her enclosure, even though she was very even tempered. Tarantulas don’t really like to be handled.

Sorry for that slight detour there, I really loved Rosy, but let’s get back to the pet trade.

For many years the pet trade has been taking its toll on the wild population of tarantulas. We first saw it in the desert areas of Mexico where the red-kneed tarantulas are found. These beautiful red, orange, and black tarantulas have been favorites of pet owners for years. It’s fairly easy to catch these burrowing tarantulas by fooling the females out of they burrow with a fake prey item on a string, kinda like fishing. During breeding seasons all you have to do is scoop up the males that are wandering around looking for a mate. The desert used to be covered in these tarantulas and people didn’t think collecting them from the wild was a big deal. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, what would it hurt if we took a few?

It hurt a lot because the mature adults were being harvested for the pet trade removing those that could repopulate the area. And it takes many years for these spiders to reach reproductive age, like 8 to 10 years.

The same thing is now happening to newly discovered tarantula species like the beautiful blue tarantulas of Sri Lanka and India. These are arboreal spiders that have proven incredibly popular with tarantula enthusiasts because of their bright, gorgeous colors. They are incredibly difficult to breed in captivity; therefore, people who are interested in nothing but making money off of nature, collect from the wild to sell them to an eager market.

So what are we doing? Reluctantly not enough, because part of the problem is that we don’t have an accurate count of the population numbers of most tarantulas in the wild. Scientists all over the world are trying to fix this by beginning studies to count tarantulas year after year to try and get a baseline to help develop conservation guidelines.

Another regrettable problem that impacts tarantula populations in the wild is that trade in many species is legal because there are no regulations. Trade in some species is illegal but not many. We are combatting this through CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species which has ratified a treaty approved by 183 countries to regulate tarantulas in the Poecilotheria family. This is the family that includes our bright, blue friends. This was passed in 2019, and trade still continues in these species but permits are now needed and shipments are inspected at customs. This is step toward protecting them, a small step but these regulations combined with the population studies researchers are conducting can lead to stronger protections.

The last major threat to tarantulas is souvenir shops. This may sound silly but this is one of the number one reasons bird-eating spider populations are dwindling. Tourists visiting the home of the bird-eating tarantulas can find these awe-inspiring spiders mounted under glass or plastic for sale in souvenir shops. They are beautiful and look awesome hanging on your wall but we have to remember that these were living creatures that were roaming the jungle just days before. Taking them out of the web of life to hang them on your wall is not something that should be okay. A picture is worth a thousand words and can save a tarantulas life.

Now, my listeners, what can you yourselves do to help your eight-legged friends? Many things. For one, if you want to purchase a tarantula for your own enjoyment at home, make sure you are buying a captive bred tarantula. Ask the breeders where they get their tarantulas, ask to see proof of their breeding facilities, and talk to breeders who specialize in baby tarantulas that are bred in captivity. My Rosy was an adoption from a family that had purchased her from a responsible breeder.

Number two, do not buy any souvenirs that are made using dead tarantulas. If there is no market for this kind of souvenir, people will stop killing tarantulas to make them. Number three, get involved with a local college, or an app like iNaturalist, that is studying tarantula populations. So much amazing research is supported by citizen scientists and you can help make a difference. You could be taking a hike in the desert or a tour in tropical forest and reporting a siting on iNaturalist can help researchers.

I know I’ve gone over a bit in the episode and I apologize, but I am completely fascinated by these amazing arachnids and I want them to survive for millennia to come! Thank you so much for taking the tarantula journey with me. The conservation efforts we are taking to ensure their continued survival is my tenth favorite thing about tarantulas.

Join me in two weeks for the beginning of a brand new series discussing a wicked cool unknown animal, the caecilian.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: There are so many myths about tarantulas that are untrue and perpetuate fear. Join Kiersten as she dispels some of these myths.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes: https://tomsbigspiders.com/2015/08/15/the-best-and-most-ridiculous-tarantula-myths/

“The Natural History of Tarantula Spiders” by Richard C. Gallon https://www.thebts.co.uk/old_articles/natural.htm

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues tarantulas and the ninth thing I like about this beautiful creature is myth busting. What exactly to I mean by that? This episode is all about putting an end to the incorrect myths about tarantulas.

Regrettably, tarantulas have been the subject of many a cheesy horror flick. Hollywood loves a good monster movie. I have to admit I have watched my fair share of them, but I do not have a fear of spiders so these movies have impacted my daily life very little. Since the fear of spiders is such a wide spread phobia, these movies have only perpetuated myths about these invertebrates, myths that are largely untrue.

Myth number one: Tarantulas are aggressive to humans.

Those of you that have listened to my previous episode already know that this is false. We can blame this one on movies like Arachnophobia, Tarantula, and Earth vs. the Spider that keep this myth on everyone’s mind. Tarantulas are not aggressive, especially towards people. They see us as scary predators to avoid. Most likely when we encounter them they run away or hide.

Myth number two: Tarantulas will chase you across the room.

Tarantulas do not chase people. Tarantulas cannot run long distances, period, because of their physiology. To move their legs they rely on the pressure of the hemolymph in their bodies. This is reliant on the amount of moisture they have stored. They get moisture from the food they eat and from drinking water. When they move quickly they deplete the pressure. They must take breaks when moving quickly to recharge. They can run fast, when they need to, but only in short spurts.

If a tarantula seems to be chasing you or running toward you it’s because it’s the only way they can get to a safe hiding place. It is a defensive action to run at something larger than themselves, such as humans. They never aggressively run after humans.

Myth number three: Tarantulas can jump 5, 6, 7, etc. feet in the air!

Completely false. Terrestrial tarantulas can leap on prey, but we’re talking about an inch. They are ambush predators meaning they sit and wait until prey is close enough for them to capture without a lot of expended energy. So when they pounce, it’s an inch or less.

They are too heavy to jump feet into the air. If you have ever held a tarantula you can probably remember they felt much heavier that you expected. They are just not equipped to get that bulky body leaping into the air. They are not jumping spiders.

If they actually leapt six feet into the air, when they landed they’d go splat. Tarantulas are actually pretty fragile and a drop of a few inches could kill them. It was one of the things I was most concerned about when we had our rose-haired tarantula. We housed her on a very sturdy piece of furniture because I knew if she ever fell she’d die.

Now, arboreal tarantulas are capable of jumping from tree branch to tree branch, but it’s only a few inches. They are very careful when they do it, because if they fall from the tree they will not survive. Tarantulas cannot jump several feet into the air.

Myth number four: Tarantulas are poisonous.

Once again false, but not too far off. Tarantulas are not poisonous because you can touch them and not get a toxin on you. Animals that are poisonous such as poison arrow dart frogs excrete a poison on their skin that can be spread by merely touching something. Tarantulas are venomous which means they must inject the poison in their bodies with something like fangs. And that’s exactly what tarantulas do, they inject venom into their prey with their fangs when they need to eat. So touching a tarantula will not make you sick or spread a toxin.

Myth number five: Tarantula bites will kill you!

False. No one has ever died from a tarantula bite. There are many cases of humans getting bitten by tarantulas but not one has ever died as a direct result of the venom from a tarantula bite. About 100 years ago there are records that two people died after being bitten by a tarantula but these deaths were a result of blood poisoning and gangrene. Both of these conditions are easily treated with modern medicine.

Not to mention, we’ve been living with tarantulas around us for a very long time and no one has been fatally bitten by one yet. I think we’re fairly safe. You have a greater chance of getting struck by lightening than dying from a tarantula bite.

Now I do have a friend that is allergic to spider bites, getting one usually results in blood poisoning so of course she is very careful when she is anywhere that spiders might be living, but she lives in an area that has many tarantulas and she still enjoys hiking and camping. Just be smart when you’re outside and you’ll be okay. And remember when we encounter a tarantula it will typically run away or hide.

Myth number six: Tarantulas catch their prey with webs.

Tarantulas do not make elaborate webs in the air like some other species of spiders. We’re all used to seeing the webs made by garden spiders that are strung between tree branches. Tarantulas, even arboreal tarantulas, do not make webs like this. They do use silk to line their burrows and sometimes they trail silk outside the burrow entrance to alert them to when prey may be moving around outside, but they do not make webs to catch prey.

Myth number seven: Bird eating spiders eat birds!

Those of you who have listened to my Species episode know that this is not entirely true. Bird-eating spiders are the largest species of tarantulas but they very rarely, if ever, eat birds. They are large enough to eat birds but they typically eat invertebrates and small mammals. It takes a lot of energy to catch birds and why bother when you can catch an insect fairly easily.

This rumor started when European explorers saw tarantulas large enough to eat birds during their travels and came back telling stories of the gigantic bird-eating spiders.

We’ve covered seven myths about tarantulas and I hope it’s put you at ease. If you have anyone in your life afraid of tarantulas maybe this episode can help you help them get over their fears. Thanks for joining me for this myth busting episode because it’s my ninth favorite thing about tarantulas.

Join me next week for another thing I like about tarantulas!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Tarantulas have many predators and they have developed a plethora of ways to defend themselves. Join Kiersten as she discusses these interesting and surprising behaviors.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery

“The Natural History of Tarantula Spiders” by Richard C. Gallon https://www.thebts.co.uk/old_articles/natural.htm

“Parasites of Tarantulas,” Pizzi, Romain. Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, Vol 18, Issue 4, pg 283-288. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1557506309001153

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues tarantulas and the eighth thing I like about these awe-inspiring arachnids is how they defend themselves.

I know lots of people are afraid of tarantulas, but tarantulas have predators that they’re afraid of too. So they’ve developed a plethora of ways to defend themselves.

The first way a tarantula will defend themselves from predators larger than themselves is to stay out of sight. They accomplish this quite well by only coming out at night. Tarantulas are nocturnal, except during mating season, as we learned in the previous episode, when males are out looking for females. When they come out at night during the rest of the year, they do try to stay under cover. This is also where the prey they are hunting is most often found.

What kind of predators are these tarantulas hiding from? They actually have quite a few natural predators including foxes, skunks, coyotes, large lizards, birds, and even some fellow invertebrates such as centipedes, scorpions, and tarantula hawk wasps. In Cambodia, they have to worry about being eaten by people. They are considered a delicacy. Certainly not on my menu, but…

If hiding does not keep the tarantula safe, the next step they’ll take to ensure survival is to run away. I’m not seeing too much fault in this strategy, honestly. The one who runs away, lives to fight another day. I would love for those of you who are afraid of tarantulas, or those of you that have friends or family that are afraid of tarantulas, and think they are hideous spiders out get you to remember that the first two behaviors they use when confronted with danger is to hide or run away. They are not vicious invertebrates out to bite humans. If they come across us, they really don't want to have anything to do with us and will run away.

Having said that, sometimes you don’t have the ability to run away. When a tarantula finds itself in a position that does not allow for running away, a third behavior called threat posturing is employed. Threat posturing is when a tarantula rears up placing their weight on the back legs and raising its front two pairs of legs and pedipalps straight up in the air. This makes it look much bigger than it is, which hopefully will make a potential predator think twice about making a meal out of the tarantula. This posture also displays the tarantulas large fangs, which would certainly make me think twice about trying to eat it. The underside of many species is dark which highlights the red fangs making them even more impressive. To enhance this defense mechanism some Old World tarantulas, those that are found in Africa, Asia, and Europe, have brightly colored bands of yellow, white, and black under their two front pairs of legs. We believe flashing these colors is used as a threat to scare off predators.

Defense strategy number four is also only used by Old World tarantulas and involves making threatening sounds. Many species of Old World tarantula have specialized hairs, or setae, that they can use to make sounds. These are called stridulatory setae. They are typically found on the chelicerae and by rubbing the hairs together they can produce hissing or rasping sounds that can scare off a predator.

Defense strategy number five is used by New World tarantulas, those found in North, Central, and South America. This strategy involves urticating hairs. The main purpose of these hairs is to irritate a predator to ward them off and keep them from coming back for a second try. The irritating hairs, or setae, are generally found on the tarantulas abdomen. These hairs can be deployed in one of two ways.

The first way is for the tarantula to rub their abdomen against a predator’s skin. The urticating hairs will dislodge from the tarantula and pierce the predator’s skin and wiggle its way into the predator’s flesh with backward facing barbs. This method is mainly used by the Avicularia species, aka pink-toes, that are native to Panama, the Caribbean, and tropical South America. The problem with this delivery method is probably obvious. You have to get really close to your predator to use this defense mechanism.

The second way to deploy these urticating hairs gives the tarantulas a bit more room to maneuver. The Theraphosinae species of New World tarantulas can flick these hairs at predators. When threatened with no way out these tarantulas will use their back legs to brush the hairs off their abdomen and flick them into the air. The setae then penetrates the predators skin and wiggles into the flesh with backward facing barbs just like the hairs of the pink-toes. The advantage of being able to flick the hairs, besides distance, is that these hairs can penetrate the eyes of a predator. And as we all know, it’s all fun and games until someone gets poked in the eye.

Research into these urticating hairs has revealed that there are six different types of urticating hairs. It is believed that the different hairs target different types of predators. Types 3 and 4 appear to target mammals as they are more irritating to mammalian predators. Type 3 also seems to target invertebrates. More research is needed to determine if the other types target a specific predator.

Let’s take a moment to reflect back on the defense mechanisms that tarantulas use to protect themselves from larger predators. We’ve discussed five so far, and there is more to come, but so far not one of these defense strategies has involved biting. I mention this because this is the main reason that tarantulas are misunderstood. People think they want to bite us! But they don’t. They really don’t want to bite a predator. It’s literally the last defense mechanism they will use and only if the first five have failed!

Now these are all defense strategies that tarantulas use against predators that are larger than themselves, but they also have to worry about predators smaller than themselves. Let’s take a look at who those predators are and how they protect themselves against them.

In the southwest United States the Tarantula Hawk Wasp is a common sight in spring and summer. It’s a large wasp, growing up to 2 inches in length, with a green-black body and flame colored wings. It’s quite pretty, actually. This is also a misunderstood animal as well, as many people are afraid they might sting us humans, but that only happens if you catch them or accidentally sit on them.

The adults are pollinators and females are the ones tarantulas must fear. The female wants to find a tarantula to lay her egg on. The wasp lures the tarantula out of its burrow and stings it. The sting immobilizes the tarantula and then the wasp drags the spider back into its burrow and deposits one egg on the tarantula. She the fills in the entrance of the burrow and leaves her egg to hatch. When the wasp egg hatches the pupa eats the tarantula and then emerges from the burrow a full grown wasp. Not the way I want to go!

There is also a species of fly that eats tarantulas from the inside. The fly lays their eggs on the tarantula. When they hatch, the maggots make their way into the book lungs through the openings on the abdomen. They set up house and eat the tarantula’s insides. It can take months for the maggots to finish off the tarantula, who goes about their daily business as usual. It becomes fatal when the maggot pupates and bursts from the tarantula’s abdomen killing its host.

Ants are a predator that female tarantulas must worry about during breeding season when they are protecting eggs sacs. Ants can invade a burrow and tear into an egg sac destroying her young.

So how so you protect yourself from these small predators? It’s difficult but tarantulas have a few tricks up their sleeves. Once again being nocturnal helps because these predators are typically diurnal. Living in burrows helps defend against the tarantula hawk wasps. Staying in an enclosed space can keep you safe because the hawk wasp won’t venture down into the burrow, but the wasps have ways of tricking the tarantula out into the open, so the tarantula must be wary of potential prey items.

An unexpected way to defend against these predators is to have a roommate that can help you out. Two species of American tarantulas have been seen sharing their burrows with small frogs. The tarantulas do not attack them and it is thought that the frogs eat invertebrates that come into the burrow. They eat ants that come in looking for an egg sac and, maybe, the flies that are looking for a place to lay some eggs. The frogs also get something out of this arrangement as well. They have a big, hairy bodyguard that protects them from predators that might want to eat the frogs. It’s a win, win.

That wraps up defense mechanisms for tarantulas and I hope you enjoyed it because it’s my eighth favorite thing about tarantulas.

Join me next week for another thing I like about tarantulas!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Making babies isn’t easy for tarantulas! So many steps go into creating tarantula spiderlings. Join Kiersten as she talks you through this fascinating behavior.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery

“The Natural History of Tarantula Spiders” by Richard C. Gallon https://www.thebts.co.uk/old_articles/natural.htm

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues tarantulas and the seventh thing I like about tarantulas is how they reproduce!

I’m sure you have all heard at least one thing about spider reproduction before listening to this podcast episode and I’m sure it’s the rumor that male spiders better run fast after mating or they’ll get eaten! That can be a valid concern with various species of spiders and even some tarantulas, but not all female spiders are out there looking for a good man to eat.

Before the male finds himself in this precarious situation there are many steps he must perform first. Let’s start at the beginning. Mating season for many tarantulas is in the late summer or early fall. This is when those of us that live in the western United States will encounter male tarantulas in the road, yards, or even our houses. They are out looking for females.

Before they leave their burrows though, they have a bit of work to do to get ready to win over the ladies. Males must charge their palpal bulbs on the ends of their pedipalps with sperm before they wander out to find a female mate. What exactly does that mean? Great question and I have one doozy of an answer!

To be able to mate with a female the male tarantula must have a way to transfer his sperm to the female so that her eggs can be fertilized and grow into baby tarantulas, or spiderlings. The male tarantula uses the palpal bulbs, which are hardened sperm storage organs on their pedipalps to make that transfer. His sperm is made inside his body but not near the pedipalps; therefore, he has to complete a rather long process to get his sperm just where he wants.

First the male spins a blanket of silk somewhere in his burrow or a protected area at an angle, then he spreads his sperm on the underside of the silk blanket, or sperm web. Next he maneuvers himself on top of the web in just the right spot so that he can reach the sperm with his pedipalps and dips the palpal bulbs into the sperm drawing it into this storage organ. Whew! I’m worn out just talking about all that work.

Once he’s all charged up, he’s on the prowl. Most females stay in or near their burrows or nests their entire lives, so the male has to go hunting. Now he doesn't just charge into a female’s burrow, that’s how you get eaten! So how do you get a female to come out of their deep, dark hole without losing your life? You dazzle her with song!

Male tarantulas will drum their front legs on the ground just outside the burrow or on the silk threads that protrude outside the female’s burrow. This is how they let the female know it is a romantic house call. This is risky for the male because if the female is not receptive to mating she could come out and aggressively run him off or even damage him. He might also mistakenly pick a male’s burrow. Males don’t generally get into fierce fights with an accidental courting but it’s precious time wasted.

To help streamline things, females will often announce their receptiveness by applying a pheromone on the silk outside their burrow that let’s males know to knock on her door. Some species of tarantula will actually place this pheromone web in plant matter above their burrow so that the wind will blow the scent farther. Then the male will come and the drumming will commence.

If the female is interested, she will emerge from the burrow to inspect her suitor. Once they are face to face there are a few things that can happen. If she needs a bit more persuading, the male will begin a dance with his front legs, lifting them up and down. Sometimes the female will join in the dance and sometimes she just moves towards the male immediately. Responses can vary from species to species but can also vary with individuals in the same species.

Once he’s won the female’s permission, the slightly dangerous part begins for the male. The two tarantulas will stand in front of each other face to face, then the male with reach under her with his front legs and grasp her fangs with small spurs on the ends of his legs. Once her fangs are secured, which seems like a way for him to make sure she doesn’t try to eat him once copulation is complete, the male will gently lift her and reach back to her genital openings and place his sperm inside. This doesn't take much time and once he’s done he skedaddles as fast as he can.He’s off to find another female. In the wild sexual cannibalism seems to be rare, but in captivity it is known to happen in certain species.

The female will often fall into an immobile state for several moments after copulation is complete, which is the perfect time for the male to split. We don’t know why the female becomes immobile at this time, but it appears to happen in almost every species of tarantula, at least ever species we’ve observed mating.

Now the female will usually carry the sperm in her body until she is ready to create an egg sac. Since mating is in late summer or early fall, she will typically carry the sperm around until the following spring or summer. Then she prepares some silk and lays the eggs in the silk. The eggs are fertilized with sperm as she lays them. She then rolls the silk into a sturdy egg sac. Depending on the species, she will either carry the sac around with her or stash it safely in her hideout. Generally speaking, ground dwelling tarantulas seem to be the ones that carry the egg sac around while arboreal species leave them in the safety of their homes. This may be due to the fact that the eggs must be kept warm so they can grow into spiderlings and burrows underground stay cooler than nests in trees. Maybe.

Depending on the species, females can lay anywhere from twenty to one thousand eggs. That’s a whole lotta babies! The eggs typically incubate from 2 to 3 weeks before they hatch. During incubation mom takes very good care of her eggs sac. If she is a species that carries the sac around she’s constantly monitoring the temperature to ensure the eggs do not get too hot or too cold. If they secure them in a hidden space, she’s always nearby making sure the egg sac is safe.

When it’s time to hatch, the spiderlings will either emerge after they have molted into their first instar stage or before. When they do hatch, they’ll be about the size of a tick. In Avicularia species the spiderlings will emerge in their first instar stage after their first molt. They will be covered in a dark, hairy, hard exoskeleton and will be fully mobile. Other species will emerge as pale, soft nymphs without a hardened exoskeleton. After a few weeks the nymphs will molt into their first instar stage. The spiderlings will hang out with mom for a few weeks and then head out into the world on their own.

Many people think tarantulas are bad moms and that it’s get out or be eaten as soon as you hatch, but some researchers at Hiram College studying an East African tarantula species saw something quite different. The researchers were actually studying these tarantulas’ breeding behaviors, which were successful, giving the researchers a whole other exciting behavior to study. After the spiderlings hatched the researchers fed the mother and the babies some crickets and saw something remarkable. The mother grabbed a cricket and allowed many of her spiderlngs to gather around her mouth and share the meal with her, while a second cricket was shared by the rest of the spiderlings!

I think this is some truly amazing and unexpected behavior. It’s also something that we share in common with this tarantula, caring for young and sharing with our siblings! Who woulda thought?

Like many invertebrates tarantulas must molt their exoskeleton to grow. This can be a complicated and dangerous moment in the tarantulas life. To molt they must crack open their current exoskeleton, flip over on their backs, and shimmy out of their old clothes. It takes several hours until their new exoskeleton hardens and while they wait they are vulnerable. But this it what tarantulas must do at least once a year until they are fully mature and ready to make their own babies.

The age of maturation varies greatly amongst tarantula species. Some females can take up to ten years before they are ready to mate. Many females of various species can live twenty to thirty years. Males mature earlier and generally live a lot shorter lives than females. Sorry about that guys.

Well, that’s all there is for tarantula reproduction. I hope you were as fascinated by this behavior as I was because it’s my seventh favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another thing I like about tarantulas!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Tarantulas have taught us some pretty cool things! Join Kiersten and a guest co-host as they talk about what tarantulas have taught us about colors and pain killers.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

“Tarantula venom could be used as a potent pain reliever” by Angela Betsaida B. Laguipo, BSN; https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200414/Tarantula-venom-could-be-used-as-a-potent-pain-reliver.aspx

“Tarantula Venom Helps Reveal How We Sense Pain” by Ben Taub; https://www.iflscience.com/tarantula-venom-helps-reveal-how-we-sense-pain-36091

“Blue Tarantula Hair Inspires Nonfading Color Pigment” by Kacey Deamer; https://www.livescience.com/58031-tarantula-hair-inspired-nonfading-color.html

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues tarantulas and the sixth thing I like about tarantulas is what we’re learning from them that changes the way we see our world!

Today I have a special guest to help me, my husband Georgiy! Thanks for helping me with this episode on biomimicry, Georgiy.

Georgiy - You’re welcome. You said bio-what?

Kiersten - Biomimicry.

Georgiy - What is biomimicry?

Kiersten - Biomimicry means that a structure or process built or designed by humans was influenced by biological creatures or processes that happen naturally in the world.

Georgiy - Cool! So this episode is about what we are learning from studying tarantulas?

Kiersten - Yes! Exactly! And we’re going to start off with a study done by scientists researching color in tarantulas. Georigy, do you know that tarantulas come in many different colors?

Georgiy - I do because you showed me pictures. My favorite tarantula is the bright blue Sapphire Tarantula.

Kiersten - Ooo. Good choice! That one is amazing!

Georgiy - What did they find out researching the blue color of these tarantulas?

Kiersten - I’m so glad you asked because it’s super cool! They discovered that the blue on the tarantula is a structural color. Many of the colors we see are pigments that produce color when the electrons interact with light. Our clothing and our paint are based on these kinds of pigments. The problem is that they will eventually fade and is often made with chemicals that can harm our environment.

The tarantula’s blue color is a structural color, which means there are tiny nanostructures on their exoskeleton that scatter light at a specific wavelength producing the blue color we see. Now structural colors, which are produced when light interacts with nanostructures that are about the same size as a specific color’s wavelength, are nothing new. We’ve known about structural colors for a while, but most of them are iridescent.

Georgiy - Like some bird feathers?

Kiersten - Yes! Just like certain bird’s feathers. Have you ever looked at at peacock feather in the sun?

Georgiy - I have. It’s very pretty.

Kiersten - What happened when you twisted that feather between your fingers?

Georgiy - It looks like it changed colors.

Kiersten - Exactly! When the light reflects off the nanostructures at different angles the light changes m aking the color change. It’s beautiful but as one of the researchers from the University of Akron in Ohio, Bor-Kai Hsiung (suhng) said in an interview with LiveScience, “It’s beautiful out in nature, but not very functional when we’re watching television and we move to a new seat.”

Georgiy - So how does the Sapphire Tarantula fit in?

Kiersten - Researchers took a closer look at several different species of blue tarantulas and discovered that their pigments are not iridescent. The nanostructres of their hair are covered with distinct flower-like structures that limit the iridescence.

Georgiy - Wow! What does that mean?

Kiersten - It means that we could use this structure to create more vibrant, longer lasting, and less toxic colors for use in paints, clothing, and digital screens!

Georgiy - Well, that is just cool! What other things are tarantulas teaching us?

Kiersten - The venom of Heteroscodra maculata, or the Togo Starburst Tarantula native to West Africa, is helping us understand how our bodies process pain.

Georgiy - Hmmm. Tell me more.

Kiersten - Certainly. Researchers at the University of California, San Fransisco were interested in isolating the specific pathways that indicate pain to our central nervous system. The impulses that tell our CNS that we are in pain use voltage-gated sodium channels known as Nav channels. We have so many different types of Nav channels that we don’t currently know which ones actually indicate pain. So when you use a local anesthetic it blocks all the Nav channels so that patient does not feel pain. But if we could understand which channels actually transmit the pain signals we could better treat certain CNS disorders.

Georgiy - That sounds complicated.

Kiersten - It kind of is, but that’s it for the hard part. Next the researchers injected the tarantulas venom into the feet of mice and then mapped the Nav channels that reacted.

Georgiy - What happened?

Kiersten - The mice got some itchy feet and the researchers discovered that the Nav1.1 channels are the ones that reacted to the proteins in the venom. We now understand that these Nav1.1 channels are the ones that react to a mechanical pain but not a thermal pain. They took this information and applied it to a disorder called irritable bowl syndrome, or IBS, in which people often describe pain in their guts. These Nav1.1 channels are found in the gut. So by using this tarantula’s venom we now have a new idea of how to better treat the symptoms of IBS.

Georgiy - All of that from tarantula venom?

Kiersten - Yep! And speaking of venom, there’s more.

Georgiy - More? What else have we learned from studying tarantula venom?

Kiersten - Researchers at the University of Queensland have discovered that molecules in tarantula venom could be used as pain killers for people that suffer from chronic, or long-term, pain.

Georgiy - That’s interesting, but taking pain killers long term can be pretty addictive, right?

Kiersten - Yes, if you’re taking an opioid pain killer. These can be extremely addictive and as anyone who listens to the news knows, it has been a big problem that many people are battling as of late. The venom of the Chinese Bird Spider, also known as the Chinese Black Earth Tiger Tarantula, was broken down into its individual molecules, then scientists replicated some of the molecules creating mini-molecules and gave them to mice. It helped reduce pain without any addictive side effects. This could be a non-addictive alternative to opioids for people with long-term pain.

Georgiy - It seems like we are learning a lot from tarantulas.

Kiersten - We really are and as long as we keep their natural habitats from disappearing who know what else we can learn!

That’s it for this episode of Ten Things I Like About Tarantulas! Thanks for co-hosting with me this week, Georgiy!

Georgiy - You’re welcome!

Kiersten - I hope you all enjoyed learning about what tarantulas have taught us because it’s my sixth favorite thing about these amazing arachnids.

Join me next week for another thing I like about tarantulas!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Did you know that there are more than 850 species of tarantulas and that they’ve been around since the time of the dinosaurs? Join Kiersten as she delves into the natural history of the tarantula and takes a look at the different species alive today.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery

Remarkable Animals: The Tarantula by Gail LaBonte

“Tarantulas are everywhere and now researchers know why” by Mihai Andrei, ZME Science https://www.zmescience.com/science/biology/tarantula-evolution-gondwana-19042021/

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/goliath-bird-eating-tarantula

https://tarantulafriendly.com/category/tarantula-species/south-america

“Farewell to the World’s Smallest Tarantula?” By Jane Schneider https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2017/Oct-Nov/Conservation/Spruce-Fir-Moss_Spider

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues tarantulas and the fifth thing I like about these unbelievable spiders is how many different species and sizes there are!

There are 850 different species of tarantula currently known today and we’re discovering new species all the time!

Let’s clarify what exactly I’m talking about when I use the word tarantula. In all the episodes of Ten Things I Like About Tarantulas, I am talking about spiders in the Theraphosidae Family. This family includes nothing but tarantulas, the heavy bodied, hairy looking arachnids. All sub-tropical and tropical tarantulas are classified under Family Theraphosidae.

They were not originally called tarantulas actually. In Malaysia they are called “earth tigers”, parts of Africa call them “monkey spiders”. The name tarantula came from European explorers that made a mistake. The original spider referred to as a tarantula is not a spider classified in the Family Theraphosidae. It’s actually a wolf spider from Mediterranean Europe and it IS a fairly large, hairy spider, but not a tarantula. Back in the day, people thought this spider’s bite was exceptionally dangerous. They were mistaken, another spider was actually responsible for the terrible bite but that’s another story.

It was said that the wolf spider’s bite hurt so much that it made you dance around in pain while you tried to get rid of the venom! They called the dance the tarantella, named after the Italian town of Taranto where this wolf spider is commonly found. When European explorers traveled to far away lands and saw large hairy spiders they called them tarantulas because they looked so much like the wolf spiders they ere used to seeing. So once again, a misunderstanding in language has lasted throughout human history.

Okay, now that we know the origin of the tarantula’s name, let’s look at their evolutionary history. It seems that tarantulas evolved about 120 million years ago in the Cretaceous period. That’s when dinosaurs were still roaming the earth. They actually shared the planet with dinosaurs for about 60 million years.

Tarantulas roamed the content of Gondwana, which was a super continent formed of modern day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica. This is why they are so widespread today. When continental drift began to create the Earth’s modern day configuration, tarantulas hitched a ride on the moving landscape. The preserved fossil of a 40 million year old tarantula shows that they have changed very little from that time period. They look pretty much like the tarantulas of today. Why mess with perfection, right?

As time passed varies sizes and species of tarantula developed. Let’s look at some of the fascinating species of tarantula that inhabit our planet today.

We’ll start off with the largest species of tarantula. Weighing in at 6 ounces with a body length of 5 inches and a leg span of 12 inches, we have the Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula. If you put a full grown adult on a common dinner plate their legs would sit comfortably on the edges of this plate. That is a huge spider!

The Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula is found in South American rainforests. They eat pretty much anything smaller than themselves including mice, lizards, amphibians, and invertebrates. Even though they are called bird eating tarantulas they rarely if ever eat birds. The name comes from a sketch that Maria Sybilla Merian, a naturalist who lived from 1647-1717, drew of a tarantula in a tree eating a hummingbird. She based the sketch on reports from explorers in country at the time that stated the tarantula was large enough to eat birds. Much like anything else outrageous, it has withstood the test of time.

Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantulas are a rust red color all over and the hairs, or setae, that cover their body lay more flat compared to some other tarantulas, giving them a more stream-lined look. Like all other tarantulas they have fangs that help them catch and eat their food. The Goliath Bird-Eating tarantula’s fangs are 2 inches long!

Turning to the complete opposite end of the spectrum, let’s look at the world’s smallest tarantula. The Spruce-Fir Moss Tarantula is the size of a BB gun pellet when fully grown! That is a seriously small spider. It is found only in one place in the world, a few pockets of the Southern Appalachian Mountains of the Southeastern United States. They live under the moss mats that grow on rocks at high elevations of the mountains. They are typically found above 5300 feet above sea level. The moss they build their funnel webs under provides them with insulation and food resources they need to survive.

Spruce-Fir Moss tarantulas are a brown color all over the body and, similar to the Goliath bird-eating tarantula, they have a bit less hair than some other tarantulas.

Sadly these mini-tarantulas are on the endangered species list do to habitat loss. Since they are so small and live his in the mountain range we know very little about their individual live,s but researchers are still studying them when they can to learn everything we can about them in hopes of helping them survive.

Size is not the only thing that ranges widely between tarantula species. What would you think if I told you tarantulas come in many different colors? I can see you faces now! You’re giving me the chin scratch! Tarantulas only come in different shade of brown, right? Nope! While brown is a very common color some tarantulas are actually bright blue, orange, and even green!

There is a Cobalt Blue Tarantula native to Myanmar and Thailand and their name is no exaggeration. This tarantula is as blue as a sapphire gemstone.

The Green Bottle Blue Tarantula of South America has bright blue legs, a lustrous green carapace, and a sunrise orange rump. It is one of the most ostentatiously colored tarantulas.

The Orange-knee tarantula of Mexico is a beautiful combination of black on the body with stripes of orange on the legs and outlining the carapace. The color-blocking on these tarantulas is truly spectacular.

The Pinktoe tarantula, the first species of tarantula to be described by European naturalists, is black on the legs and carapace, a lighter brown on the abdomen, or opisthosoma, with light pink on the last segment of their legs, hence pink toes!

And my personal favorite, the Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula from the desert of Chile. The majority of the body is brown but their carapace is an iridescent pink color.

And many other species of tarantulas that are mainly brown on their body will have shades of brown that create striking patterns such as the Skeleton Tarantula from Brazil. This tarantula is dark brown on the abdomen and legs with a light blonde on the carapace and light blonde patterning on the legs.

And the Pumpkin Patch Tarantula from Columbia. This oddly named spider is brown on the legs and chelicerae with black and tan creating an intricate geometrical pattern on the carapace and abdomen.

The various species and sizes of tarantulas is truly astounding and that’s why it’s my fifth favorite thing about them.

Join me next week for another thing I like about tarantulas!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Tarantulas are predators! They have a unique way of hunting their prey. Join Kiersten as she walks you through how these eight-legged wonders catch food.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery

Remarkable Animals: The Tarantula by Gail LaBonte

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues tarantulas and the fourth thing I like about these eight-legged wonders is how they hunt!

Most of the tarantulas that we currently know about are carnivores. That means they eat meat. We have yet to discover a tarantula that eats vegetables but you never know. Most tarantulas are ambush predators which means they lay in wait until the right prey comes along. They hide under cover and wait patiently until food comes to them. Some species will stay in or near their burrows to hunt while others will travel a short distance from their homes. If you’ve ever encountered a tarantula in your house at night, it was probably searching for a nice midnight meal!

What is the correct prey item for a tarantula? That can depend on the species of tarantula and how big they are, but the majority of them hunt other invertebrates. Tarantulas are opportunistic eaters which means they will consume almost anything that they can catch. Examples of common prey items are grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, wasps, cicadas, worms, caterpillars, and even other spider species.

Sam Marshall, a scientist studying tarantulas in the wild, has been able to lure them our of burrows by dangling earthworms in front the entrance. I could go on but the list is long when it comes to invertebrates. Almost any kind of insect you can think of could be consumed by a tarantula. Hmmm. Maybe not ants, I haven’t seen any references to tarantulas eating ants.

Some of you may be asking if they eat things other than invertebrates. You may even be thinking about the bird-eating tarantulas of South America. They must eat birds if it’s in their name, right? That is a reasonable thought but…Not so much. These tarantulas are large enough to eat birds, but there is not a lot of evidence proving that they do eat birds. These large tarantulas eat bigger invertebrates, mice, lizards, and will even occasionally catch a toad. The reason they have this name is because of an illustration depicting an arboreal tarantula eating a hummingbird, but as of yet no one has seen this behavior in the wild. I’ll have more on this in a future episode.

Now that we know what they eat, let’s find out how they catch their prey. For those of you who have already listened to the episode on senses, you know that tarantulas have fairly poor eyesight. They cannot see in detail. So if they cannot see clearly, they must rely on another sense to detect prey, right? That is an excellent thought, Listeners. And that is exactly what they do! The sensitive hairs, or setae, covering their body help them feel prey items when they are close enough to successfully catch them. These hairs are extremely sensitive and as the tarantula gains experience it learns which movements indicate potential prey. They can tell the difference between a grasshopper, a moth, or a mouse.

Tarantulas that hunt from home have another trick they use to successfully catch a meal. All spiders spin silk and tarantulas are no exception. Other species of spiders spin large webs in open spaces to catch prey items that happen to get caught in the sticky silk. It’s an excellent way to catch prey unawares, but tarantulas do not use their silk webs in this way. However, they do set trip wires along the ground that attach to webbing laid down on the floor of their burrows. These trip wires will vibrate when something walks by it. The tarantula will sit patiently in the entrance of the burrow with one of its legs touching the silk attached to the trip wire. As soon as the silk vibrates at just the right frequency, they pounce!

Tarantulas cannot jump but they have strong chelicerae and pedipalps that aide in catching, as well as eating, food. Once they have determined that an appropriate food item is nearby they can move quickly to snatch it. They grab it with the two fangs that are attached to the end of the chelicerae and stabilize it with the pedipalps. Tarantula fangs can only move up and down, so they must rear back to expose their fangs when they are grabbing their prey.

The fangs are connected to venom sacs that sit inside the chelicerae. The tarantula will inject their prey with venom to kill it. The venom also helps breakdown the insides of the prey into a soup-like liquid. Don’t worry, it’s likely that their prey is dead before their insides begin to dissolve. This can take a little time so the tarantula will hold their food patiently as they wait.

After the venom has had time to work, the tarantula will crush its food with its chelicerae. The juices will squeeze out and the tarantula’s strong stomach muscles will suck the juices into its mouth, like a vacuum cleaner! I have to admit it sounds kind of gruesome, but it’s also terribly fascinating.

Like most spiders, the tarantula can only digest liquids, but unlike most spiders they do chew their food to get all the liquid out. To make sure no large pieces of exoskeleton get into their digestive system, they have small hairs around their mouth that act like a filter keeping out those large pieces. The whole process can take up to twenty minutes, so the tarantula will pull back into their burrow or hiding spot while they eat to protect themselves from predators that might be hunting them! Once they’re done the only thing that is left is a little bit of exoskeleton.

After the tarantula has finished its meal, they take a moment to clean their mouth parts. They are very fastidious about cleanliness because the hairs around their mouths are so important in keeping them healthy.

The last question we need to answer about how tarantulas hunt is how often do they need to eat. The answer is quite mind-blowing. Are you ready? One grasshopper can be enough food for the tarantula for two months! That’s 60 days! Could you imagine if we could live off of one hamburger for two months? That is some slow digestion!

I know this to be true, through personal experience. I had a rose-haired tarantula as a pet for 12 years and I gave her about five crickets a month. Sometimes the crickets died of old age before she even ate them!

The way tarantulas hunt is fascinating and I know you loved hearing about it because it is my fourth favorite thing about tarantulas.

Join me next week for another thing I like about tarantulas!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Tarantuals live all over the world! Join Kiersten as she talks about where tarantulas live, what habitats they like, and how they got all over the planet.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery

“Tarantulas are everywhere and now researchers know why” by Mihai Andrei, ZME Science https://www.zmescience.com/science/biology/tarantula-evolution-gondwana-19042021/

https://www.heath-hands.org.uk/blog/subterranean-spiders

https://www.biodiversityexplorer.info/arachnids/spiders/theraphosidae/index.htm

https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/wildlife/animals/living-with/tarantulas

https://usaspiders.com/aphonopelma-hentzi-texas-brown-tarantula/

“The Natural History of Tarantula Spiders” by Richard C. Gallon https://www.thebts.co.uk/old_articles/natural.htm

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues tarantulas and the third thing I like about these amazing arachnids is where they live!

Tarantulas are found on every continent on the planet with the exception of Antartica. For those arachnaphobs out there this is distressing news, but do not worry they have specific habitats that they prefer and once you know what these are you can successfully avoid them. Although, by the end of this series of Ten Things I Like About, I know all my listeners will be in love with tarantulas! Okay, okay, if not love then at least in appreciation.

Tarantulas are most commonly found in warmer climates. Semi-arid desert habitat is the environment that most people associate with tarantulas, but more tarantulas are actually found in tropical rainforests than desert areas. Most tarantulas are distributed on land found 40 degrees north of the equator to 40 degrees south of the equator. This places them in warmer regions of the planet which includes Africa, southern Europe, areas of the Middle East, southern Asia, Indonesia, Australia, and all of Central and South America.

Tarantulas found in North America are typically restricted to the Southwest, including Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma; although, the Texas Brown has been seen as far east as Missouri. A common area home to several species of tarantula in North America is the desert. Various species of tarantula are found in semi-desert areas of the Sonoran, Chihuahua, and Mojave deserts.

There are seven species of tarantula described in Australia. They are found in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia. The habitat they favor consists of desert, temperate, and rainforest areas. They are not found in the southern coastal areas or the northern tropics.

South America is a hotspot for tarantulas. These hairy arachnids are found almost everywhere on this continent. The warm, humid tropical forests are a great place to find tarantulas. Just north of the equator sits French Guiana, it’s about the size of Indiana in the United States and is considered by many scientists to be the tarantula capital of the world. About a dozen different species of tarantula live there including the world famous bird-eating tarantulas!

In Africa, tarantulas are found almost everywhere with the exception of the Sahara desert. This desert is home to only a handful of creatures that can tolerate the super dry environment and the extreme temperatures. No tarantula has yet to be found that is equipped to survive there. But Africa is host to many species of temperate as well as tropical species of tarantula, one of the most famous being the baboon spiders.

In Europe, one must be very careful when looking for tarantulas. You must be sure to not get them mixed up with hairy wolf spiders! The original “tarantula” was a very hairy wolf spider seen in Taranto, Italy. The name was carried to other continents by European explorers who used it to describe other hairy spiders they saw. We ended up keeping and using the word “tarantula” for arachnids in the Family Theraphosidae. There is only one known species of tarantula in the United Kingdom classified in Family Therphosidae and that is the purse web spider.

You might be thinking, how did tarantulas find their way to almost every continent in the world? Well some scientists from Carnegie Mellon University had the same question. Behaviorally speaking, tarantulas are typically homebodies, so how did they spread across the planet? Turns out tarantulas are pretty old. Like Cretaceous period running around with dinosaurs old. Because they lived during this time they inhabited Gondwana, the supercontinent that existed before tectonic activity created continental drift resulting in the seven continents we have today. Tarantulas just hitched a ride.

There is also some evidence that tarantulas may be better dispersers than we initially thought, at least on the Asian continent. It appears that two lineages colonized across the Asian continent. Some stayed in India while others diversified across Asia while the Indian tectonic plate was still drifting toward Asia. These two lineages actually colonized Asia 20 million years apart. This information is encouraging scientists to reevaluate how they think about tarantula dispersal.

Now that we know where in the world to find tarantulas, let’s take a closer look at where they spend most of their time. There are two main places that tarantulas live. The first is the most common and what most people think of when you think about tarantulas, underground burrows.

The vast majority of tarantulas live in underground burrows. These burrows are often self made by the tarantula, but occasionally another animal’s abandoned burrow will be used. To dig the burrow, tarantulas will use their chelicerae and pedipalps to move the soil. If they are digging their own burrow and they are a sedentary species that lives in one place for many years, they will expand the tunnels and chamber as they themselves grow! Could you imagine having to build a larger house or apartment each time we humans got bigger?

Most burrows consist of one long tunnel leading to an ovoid chamber that the tarantula uses to rest in. Often both the tunnel and chamber floors will be covered in a layer of silk that the tarantula produces itself. Some species of tarantulas have a more elaborate set up with more than one chamber and additional entrance tubes. This does give you an escape route if confronted by another tarantula or a predator. Smart thinking!

Some species will spruce up the entrance to their burrow with a structure called a turret. The turret consists of plant material and soil stitched together with silk. It sits outside the lip of the burrow and prevents ground water from flooding the burrow! What a great example of forethought…in an arachnid! Amazing!

The second place tarantulas live is in trees! Yes, that’s right I said trees. There are a handful of arboreal tarantula species. They are found in South America, Africa, and Asia, mainly in tropical forests. Arboreal tarantulas have many different choices when it comes to finding a secure living space in a tree. Some will construct a tube made of silk that it attaches to surrounding branches. Rotted holes in trees can make a lovely abode for a tarantula to inhabit. Some will rest behind loose panels of bark. And other’s use epiphytic plants that grow in the branches of trees. Talk about a fancy high rise home. These tarantulas know where it’s at!

There is a third life style that is still being studied, but it appears that some tarantulas may live a vagabond life. They wander from burrow to burrow or hiding spot taking refuge in whatever place they can find during the day. So far, it looks like only two species may lead this type of life, but more research is needed to confirm this behavior.

That’s it for this third fascinating episode about tarantulas. I hope you liked learning about where tarantulas live as much as I liked writing about it, because it is my third favorite thing about tarantulas.

Join me next week for another thing I like about tarantulas!

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: The senses of the tarantula are complex and bind-blowing! Join Kiersten as she walks you through this amazing arachnid’s sense of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery

https://study.com/academy/lesson/tarantulas-anatomy-habitat-bite.html

https://www.labroots.com/trending/plants-and-animals/18796/surprise-tarantulas-color-vision

“The evolution of coloration and opsin in tarantulas.” By Satires Foley, Vinodkumar Saranathan, and William H. Piel. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, September 2020. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1688

“Airborne Acoustic Perception by a Jumping Spider.” By Paul S. Shamble, Gil Menda, James R. Golden, Eyal I. Nitzany, Katherine Walden, Tsevi Beatus, Damian O. Elias, Itai Cohen, Ronald N. Miles, and Ronald R. Hoy, Current Biology, Vol. 26, Issue 21, pg 2913-2920

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.08.041

https://faunafacts.com/spiders/can-tarantulas-hear/

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

]

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues tarantulas and the second thing I like about these awesome creatures is their senses!

The five senses that are typically common amongst most animals are sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. We’re going to look at each one of these in relation to tarantulas. Buckle up listeners, this is going to be a crazy ride!

Okay, let’s start with vision. As mentioned in the anatomy episode, tarantulas have eight eyes. They are set just above the chelicerae. Two large eyes, that are relatively easy to see with the naked human eye, are centered in the middle of the front portion of the cephalothorax. Four eyes sit below those. These are smaller than the large eyes and sit in a line. Of these four eyes, the two in the middle will be slightly larger than the two on the ends.

Now, if you’re keeping count that gives us only six eyes. The final two eyes sit on each side of the head. Once again, they will be smaller than the large front facing eyes, but they are bigger than the four eyes that are lined below the main eyes. This is typical of most tarantulas but not all species will be exactly the same. So based on the fact that they have eight eyes, their eyesight must be amazing! That’s an excellent deductive thought listeners, but in this case it is not correct.

Tarantulas’ eyes are capable of detecting motion and changes in light, but cannot determine visual cues in any detail. When it comes to tarantulas, more eyes does not mean better vision. But before you shed a tear for these wee animals, their eyes are perfect for how they live their lives. Most tarantulas are nocturnal, so seeing in shades of light and dark is just what they need to navigate their environment successfully.

It is commonly thought that tarantulas cannot see color. It makes sense that if you live in the shadows of night the ability to see color is not important, but there is some recent research that is challenging this thought. There are some tarantulas that are covered in bright blues and greens. For example, the Cobalt Blue tarantula of Myanmar and Thailand is a bright, beautiful sapphire blue. This is a truly gorgeous species of tarantula, to the human eye, but why would the tarantula produce a blue color if they themselves cannot see it?

In a research paper published in 2020, scientists analyzed the opsins in tarantula eyes. Opsins are light-sensitive proteins that are often present in animals that possess color vision. It was previously thought that these opsins would not be present in tarantulas but the scientists found some. This indicates that the tarantula can see in color, or at least some colors. We’re not one hundred percent sure why these tarantulas are blue, but the current thought is that the color is used to attract mates. Studies have not been performed with brown, red, or orange colored tarantulas so we’ll have to wait to find out if they can see in color. The closer you look at these amazing arachnids, the cooler they become. Am I right?

Let’s move on to hearing. The question here is can tarantulas hear? H-E-A-R. (Laugh) Sorry bad pun. The answer is more complicated than just a yes or no, so let’s discuss the details. Tarantulas do not have ears in the traditional sense, but they are capable of hearing.

As you have probably noticed tarantulas are pretty hairy. These hairs, or setae, are not just for looks, they are specialized structures that perform various functions for the tarantula. One of those functions is to detect vibrations. The setae on the legs are highly sensitive to air-borne vibrations. Quoting from a scientific paper published in Current Biology in November 2016 titled “Airborne Acoustic Perception by a Jumping Spider" these setae “are air-flow mechanoreceptors sensitive to the particle-velocity component of airborne stimuli”. Plainly said, the setae on the tarantula’s legs vibrate when sound waves hit them and this transfers information from the environment to the tarantula. I think that’s pretty cool!

(As a side note, this experiment was performed with jumping spiders, which are not a type of tarantula, but the setae of both arachnids are so similar that we can make educated assumptions that this ability also applies to tarantulas.)

What’s even more amazing is that these setae can help the tarantula differentiate between predators and prey. According to scientific experiments, typical predators of tarantulas produce low-frequency sounds when they move. When those sounds hit the setae they vibrate at a specific rate. When the tarantula feels those vibrations they know they need to go into defense mode. Prey items produce different frequency sounds and when the setae vibrate at those rates the tarantula knows to go into hunting mode! I think it’s outstanding that these little hair-like structures can do so much!

Next, let’s investigate the tarantula’s sense of touch. This sense is related to the setae that covers their whole body. Essentially the tarantula’s entire body is one big sensory receptor. But it can be aided by the silk that they produce. Tarantulas that live in burrows often spin a flat web covering the ground that makes up the tunnels and chambers of their burrow. These webs help transmit vibrations to the tarantula’s sensitive legs. It tells them when a larger predator may be present or when a smaller prey item is near by. This is the same for tarantulas that live in trees, our arboreal tarantulas, it’s just not done on a burrow.

These setae are so sensitive that any movement in the air can provide information to the tarantula. A slight breeze, the flap of a predatory bird wing, or a rain drop can all impart important information through the sensitive setae covering the tarantula’s body.

The last two senses are smell and taste. These are combined in the tarantula, or as far as we know they are (It is a bit difficult to ask them how that cockroach tastes), and once again these senses rely on the setae. The chelicerae and the pedipalps are the two anatomical structures most closely involved in taste and smell. For more information about those two anatomical structures, please listen to the first episode on anatomy. These two structures are covered in, you guessed it, setae, but these setae are different from the ones on their legs. These setae are chemoreceptors. The structure of the chemoreceptors is different from the setae used as mechanoreceptors that sense vibrations. The chemoreceptor setae are curved, double-layered, open to the environment at the end, and innervated at the base. This structure allows odors to infiltrate the setae so the tarantula can determine what they have encountered. Is it a prey item they wish to eat, a dirt clod or leaf they need to ignore, or the scent of a known predator they need to hide from?

It’s been wild ride into the world of tarantula senses, and I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have because it is the second thing like about tarantulas.

Join me next week for another thing I like about tarantulas!

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Tarantulas are a frequently misunderstood animal so join Kiersten as she illuminates what makes them so cool! We start off with anatomy.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show notes:

The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery

https://study.com/academy/lesson/tarantulas-anatomy-habitat-bite.html

https://www.britannica.com/science/book-lung

https://www.tarantulasdemexico.com/en/anatomia_en.htm

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This is the first episode of tarantulas, my first misunderstood animal, and my first favorite thing about tarantulas is their anatomy! I’m not kidding listeners! This is one fascinating animal and o ne of the best ways to get comfortable with a misunderstood animal is to understand how they work, so let’s get started with the tarantula’s anatomy.

Tarantulas are classified as arachnids which means they are invertebrates that have eight legs. This puts them in the company of spiders, scorpions, harvestmen, ticks, and mites. Many people clump spiders and tarantulas together, but spiders and tarantulas are classified separately by scientists because of some anatomical differences and we’ll touch on these toward the end of this episode.

As invertebrates, tarantulas have an exoskeleton. This is a hard outer shell made of chitin that gives their body shape. To grow they must shed this exoskeleton periodically in a process called molting.

The most iconic attribute of tarantulas is their hair. This may be the biggest reason they creep people out, but this hair is super cool. The bristles are not made of of the same thing animal hair is made out, so technically not hair. Tarantula bristles are made of chitin, the same thing their exoskeleton is made of and there are four types of bristles. One type is the setae which all tarantulas have and these bristles act as sensory organs detecting chemicals, feeling vibrations, and sensing wind direction. The next type of bristles are the scopulae. These are found at the end of their legs and allow tarantulas to cling to surfaces. There are two other types of bristles that some but not all, tarantulas have, both are used in defense. One is the stridulating bristles that tarantula can rub together to make a hissing sound when threatened! How cool is that! And the fourth bristle is the urticating bristles that can be detached from the abdomen and thrown at predators. These bristles are itchy and can irritate the nose, eyes, and mouth of a predator for hours.

Starting with the easily seen anatomy, tarantulas have two segments of their body the prosoma and the opisthosoma. The prosoma is the front portion of the tarantula, also known as the cephalothorax, where the eight legs are attached, where the eyes and mouth sit, and where the pedipalps attach. The opisthosoma is the back portion of the tarantula, often called the abdomen, where the lungs are housed and the spinnerets are attached.

Let’s take a closer look at the prosoma. The most notable appendage attached to the prosoma are the legs. Tarantulas have eight legs with seven segments on each leg. At the end of the legs are small tarsal claws that aide the tarantula in climbing and sticking to surfaces. These claws are retractable which means they can be extended when in use or brought back in when not in use. Depending on the species, there are two to three tarsal claws.

Pedipalps are the second most obvious appendage attached to the prosoma. These are leg-like appendage at the front of the prosoma. They are often mistaken for legs but pedipalps are used to help catch and hold food, smelling, and feeling vibrations. They do not help the tarantula walk. Males will also use these to transfer sperm to the female during breeding season.

The chelicerae are also on the prosoma but these are not as obvious unless you are holding the tarantula upside down, which I would not recommend, they really don't like that! The chelicerae kind of look like hairy beaver teeth and house the fangs and venom glands. They are also important in chewing their food. This chelicerae are so strong that they can sometimes use them to help move dirt in a burrow or even break roots that may get in their way. Another use for the chelicerae is for grooming. Tarantulas are very tidy and clean animals that use their chelicera, or mouth parts, to groom their pedipalps and legs.

The eyes, eight of them are also found on the prosoma of the tarantula. They are located on the top, front portion of the prosoma just in front of the fovea, a depression in the middle of the carapace which the top of the prosoma. Tarantula eyes are mainly used for judging brightness of light rather than clear visual images.

The prosoma also houses internal organs vital to the tarantula’s survival. As we covered before, the mouth is found here and the mouth leads to the esophagus and the stomach. The stomach is kinda like a vacuum, sucking food through the mouth and the esophagus. The underside of the fovea is where the suction muscles of the stomach are attached.

The tarantula’s brain is also housed here in the prosoma. Their brain is definitely different from mammalian brains but it is just as important in processing environmental information. Their brain is divided into two ganglia, or bundles of nerves, that control nerve channels throughout the entire body.

There are also large retractor muscles housed in the prosoma and these help anchor and control the mobility of the legs. These muscles are also anchored to the fovea just like the stomach muscles.

Alright, let’s move on to the second section of the tarantula’s body, the opisthosoma, or the abdomen. This is often the largest portion of the tarantula’s body. On the outside, the spinnerets poke out the back and these four appendages help produce and spin silk.

There are four openings on the opisthosoma that connect to the tarantulas lungs, allowing oxygen transfer. And the anus is also found on this structure, because everyone poops!

Okay, let’s go inside the opisthosoma. Inside we run into the intestines. The glands that help produce silk are also found here. If it is a female tarantula her ovaries are housed in the opisthosoma. Last but defiantly not least, the lungs and heart are found here as well.

Now the tarantula has some of the coolest lungs around. They are called book lungs. Why? Because they look like the pages of a book. This is an old style of lung that does not expand and contact like our lungs. It’s actually a series of thin plates that are highly vascular and the entire surface area of the plates can transfer oxygen and carbon dioxide. This is where the slits in the opisthosoma become important. These slits allow the oxygen in and the carbon dioxide out.

Now these lungs are highly reliant on the pumping of the heart. The heart moves the hemolymph throughout the body of the tarantula. Hemolymph is the tarantula’s equivalent of mammalian blood, but the hemolymph does not stay in a maze of arteries and veins like our blood; instead, the heart pumps the hemolymph through arteries in the body that release the hemolymph directly into the body to oxygenate and feed the cells of the body. That’s why it looks all goopy when you squish a bug.

The tarantula relies on the thin plates of the book lungs being coated in hemolymph to help keep them oxygenated. It is incredibly important that both sections of the body get hemolymph and the pedicel is the structure that connects the prosoma to the opisthosoma. Sections of the heart, stomach and nervous system also run through the pedicel.

I know this a a lot of talk about tarantula anatomy, but I want to discuss one last really cool thing about their legs before I end this episode. The legs are all attached to the prosoma and every leg has about thirty muscles that move it, but the muscles can only retract the legs they cannot extend the legs. We’ve all seen tarantulas walking, so how do they extend their legs? Their hemolymph! They rely on the pressure created by the hemolymph pumping through their body to extend their legs! How truly amazing is that!

In the beginning of this episode I said we’d talk about why scientists classify tarantulas and spiders in different families. Now that we’ve talked about their anatomy we can revisit this. There are two anatomical differences between tarantulas and other spiders, one is the book lungs. Tarantulas have book lungs while other spiders have more modern lungs. The second difference involves their mouth parts. Tarantulas can only move their mouth parts up and down while other spiders can move their mouth parts side to side. These two differences are significant enough to cause scientists to classify them in separate families.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at tarantula anatomy because it is my first favorite thing about this misunderstood animal.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Episode 15: Vaquita: Conservation

Summary: The vaquita is balancing on the edge of extinction. With only 10 left, can we save these beautiful porpoises? Join Kiersten as she talks about the conservation efforts surrounding the vaquita.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/science-data/vaquita-conservation-and-abundance

https://seasheperd.org/milagro/

Robinson, Jacqueline; Kyriazis Christopher; Nidenda-Morales, Sergio; Beichman, Annabel; Rojas-Bracho, LOrenzo; Robertson, Kelly; Fontaine, Micheal; Wayne, Robert; Lohmueller, Kirk; Taylor Barbara, and Morin, Phillip. “The critically endangered vaquita is not doomed to extinction by inbreeding depression.” Science, May 2022: Vol 376, Issue 6593, pg 635-639; DOI:10.1126/science.abm1742

Vaquita: Science, Politics, and Crime in the Sea of Cortez by Brooke Bessesen

Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Vaquita Conservation Organizations

porpoise.org

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the vaquita and the fifth thing I like about the vaquita is how much effort we are putting into conservation of this species! Regrettably, this will be my last episode about the vaquita. I wanted to do a full ten episodes but we know so little about this animal that I could only gather enough information to do five episodes. Also, a word of caution about this episode, it will be hard to listen to and it was incredibly emotionally for me to write, but this is an important part of the vaquita’s story and must be told. Have some tissues handy.

At the posting of this episode, in December 2022 there are only 10 vaquitas alive in the Sea of Cortez. They are the only vaquitas alive on the planet. There are no individuals in captivity. We have the slimmest of chances to save them from extinction and the odds are not on our, or their side, but we haven’t given up.

Conservation efforts concerning the vaquita began in 1972 when the United States gave them protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. In 1975 Mexico also listed them as endangered. By this time, it was determined that the gill net fishing in the Sea of Cortez was greatly impacting not only the totoaba fish the nets were intended to catch but also the vaquita.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website gill nets are described as a wall of netting that hangs in the water column, typically made of monofilament or multifilament nylon. Mesh sizes can vary depending on species that you wish to catch but they are designed to allow the fish’ s head to get through but not the body. As the fish struggles to get free it gets more and more tangled keeping it captured until fishermen retrieve the nets. This type of fishing is not manned, it is a passive form of fishing that means fisherman can come by at different times to retrieve the fish caught in the nets. Commercial fisheries have been using this method to catch the totoaba, a fish that can grow to 6 feet long and is in great demand in Chinese markets, since the 1930s.

These nets are huge risks to oxygen breathing animals that live in areas where they are used. Animals such as sea turtles, sea lions, dolphins, whales and porpoises can all die when caught in these nets because they become trapped under water and suffocate.

In 1996 vaquita were listed as critically endangered by the International Union of Conservation of Nature, aka IUCN. In 1997, the first reliable estimate of the vaquita population was obtained through a cooperative Mexican-American survey. A total of 567 individuals were estimated by this survey. In 2008 another survey found only 245 vaquitas. This is a loss of 57%. That’s 322 individuals in eleven years.

Now gill net fishing for totoaba had been outlawed in 1975 because of the severe decline seen in this species, but the swim bladder of this fish can bring a very high price on the black market, so fisherman were willing to risk punishment for the huge payday. In 2010 the totoaba were listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. Gillnets are still used illegally to catch this fish and these nets are also the main reason vaquitas are balancing on the edge of extinction.

In the last episode, I mentioned the Sea Shepherd Organization and the conservation efforts they are involved in. Let’s start with two projects focused on helping keep the vaquita safe in the Sea of Cortez.

Operation Milagro is a program in which the Sea Shepherd ships work in conjunction with Mexican authorities to crackdown on illegal fishing in the Sea of Cortez. The ships go out on daily tours looking for illegal fishing activity. When they spot someone or something suspicious they contact the Mexican Navy to investigate further. This is a band-aid on a fatal wound but the volunteers of Sea Shepherd are willing to do everything they can to help this marine mammal.

Another project they are involved in, now that gill net fishing has been outlawed in the Sea of Cortez, is retrieving ghost nets. These are nets that have been abandoned by fisherman but still remain in the waters. They may not be used for fishing anymore but they still pose a threat to the aquatic life in the sea.

Sea Shepherd ships use specialized equipment to find these nets and haul them aboard freeing any animals caught but still alive and untangling those that have perished. They throw these individuals overboard with heavy hearts knowing that they may help feed other animals in the water. The nets are dismantled and sent to an organization that is making shoes out of them. Parley for the Oceans has joined forces with Adidas to turn ocean trash and gill nets into running shoes.

The question that haunts conservationists is whether all of this work is too little too late? With only ten individual vaquitas left on the planet, are our efforts to save them from gill nets even worth it?

For those of you that remember the basics of high school genetics you probably know that when you have a small pool of mammalian genes, inbreeding can cause some serious problems. If animals, especially mammals, breed with family members that have genes that are too closely related it leads to genetic diseases, infertile offspring, underdeveloped offspring that may not survive, and other serious problems.

A new study looking at the genetics of the vaquita sponsored by NOAA Fisheries, UCLA, University of Washington, United Nations Development Program in Mexico, the Center for Research in Ecology and Evolution of Disease in France, and Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences in the Netherlands may have an answer for us. The study published in May 2022 used tissue samples collected by Mexican researchers beginning in the 1980s. In an article on the NOAA Fisheries website, Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, a co-author of this study, is quoted as saying, “Genomics gives us clues into the species’ past but also lets us peer into the future. Despite the small numbers, the species could recover if we stopped killing them.”

What the study reveals is that the vaquitas population has always been small, compared to other marine mammals, fluctuating between 1,000 to 5,000 individuals over a period of 250,000 years. Why does this give researchers and conservationists hope for their survival? Quoting from the NOAA Fisheries article, “Smaller populations have less genetic variation from one animal to another, and fewer harmful mutations. Over time, when two animals with harmful traits occasionally mated, they produced compromised offspring that likely died. That process gradually purged many harmful traits from the population.”

The scientists involved with this research ran computer simulations based on the archived vaquita genetic samples. The simulations found that if we immediately stop the deaths of vaquitas in gill nets, they have a chance to recover. We can still save this amazing mammal from extinction, if we stop using gill nets in the Sea of Cortez.

I hope that they next thing we hear r about the vaquita is that their population numbers are on the rise. If not they will most likely become extinct by the end of 2023.

Thank you for joining me in learning about the vaquita.

Please visit porpoise.org to find out even more about the vaquita and to discover what you can do to help this unique animal.

Join me next week for a look at our first misunderstood animal, tarantulas.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Scientific research into the natural history of animals is incredibly important. Join Kiersten as she talks about the ways we are researching the vaquita.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

Vaquita: Science, Politics, and Crime in the Sea of Cortez by Brooke Bessesen

Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Vaquita Conservation Organizations

porpoise.org

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the vaquita and the fourth thing I like about the vaquita is how we are researching them!

There are two incredibly important ways we are researching vaquitas. If you’ve listened to the preceding episodes you know that vaquitas are very shy animals. They are notoriously hard to spot when looking for them from boats, but visual observation is one of the best ways we have of studying them.

Researchers with a lot of patience, have actually compiled an identification guide using the dorsal fins of the vaquitas. Each dorsal fin is unique unto its owner. They have a particular curve, a notch or scar from some injury or encounter in its life that makes them easy to recognize. The dorsal fin always breaches the surface each time a vaquita needs to breath, so it makes them the perfect identification tool.

To study an animal that lives in the water you need a boat or a ship that can get you where you need to go. Most researchers can’t afford to buy a boat or even rent a boat when they need to gather data, and some research institutions do not have their own boats either, but luckily, there are non-profit conservation organizations that are often willing to save a seat for a scientist.

The Sea Shepard is one of those organizations. The Sea Shepherd’s main goal is to protect marine wildlife all over the world. Since the time we have determined that the vaquitas population is declining, the Sea Shepherd Organization has been involved. I’m going to discuss the vaquita conservation efforts this organization is helping with in the next podcast, but they are always happy to provide spotting opportunities to researchers.

The Sea Shepherd organization has several ships of different sizes that they pilot for the various missions they are involved in. Some of these ships have been used in the Sea of Cortez for both conservation efforts and research opportunities. These ships are often staffed by volunteers that help scan the horizon for animal activity in the water. High-powered military binoculars called Big Eyes are mounted to the deck of most of their ships and are capable of swiveling to search the horizon easily. These binoculars have a magnification power of 25x150 which allows for visual clarity at exceptional distances helping scientists see activity clearly up to a mile away. Which is a good thing because the shy tendencies of the vaquita make it hard to approach too closely.

Volunteers and scientists will also use their own personal binoculars, as well ,increasing the chances of spotting vaquita activity. Since the Sea of Cortez is one of the most biologically diverse bodies of water on the planet, many variety of animals are often spotted and each sighting is documented and rejoiced no matter what species it is. Visual sightings are only one way we are currently studying the vaquita, though.

The second way we are researching the vaquita has to do with sound, but it’s not sound that we can hear. All porpoises use echolocation to hunt for food. The vaquita does this too. Using special equipment, researchers can use their echolocation calls to find the vaquitas.

Mexico’s National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change, also known as INECC, is using devices called c-pods to “listen” for vaquitas in the Sea of Cortez. Brooke Bessesen, in her book Vaquita: Science, Politics, and Crime in the Sea of Cortez, describes c-pods as “self-contained ultrasound monitors that select tonal clicks and record the time, duration and other features of each click to 5-microseconds resolution.” These devices are essentially recording the echolocation calls of the vaquita.

Okay, how exactly do they work? These are water proof devices that run on batteries and record data onto memory cards that can be removed to access the data later. They are deposited throughout a chosen range within the Sea of Cortez, specifically within the Vaquita Refuge area. Passive acoustic monitoring technology, also known as PAM, is loaded on these devices. This technology triggers the recording function whenever it detects the sounds of vaquita echolocation clicks. The c-pods used by INECC can run for up to five months recording every encounter the whole time.

The c-pod can record vaquita clicks up to 1300 feet away and also documents time, duration, center frequency, intensity, bandwidth, and can even extrapolate a frequency trend. When analyzing the data, researchers need to focus on individual clicks and the number of clicks emitted by vaquita to obtain the most precise analysis of the data. These c-pod excel at this type of recording.

C-pods are typically deployed from mid-June to mid-September. This is the off season for fisherman. This time of year is chosen because there is much less traffic on the water which decreases the odds of these expensive research devices being accidentally, or purposely, caught up and carried away by fisherman.

To make sure the incredibly important data these devices record can be used, precise maps must be kept as to where the c-pods are positioned in the water. Each device is attached to a rope with a buoy on the end to mark where it has been dropped. Every few weeks employees of INECC with the help of local fisherman employed during the off season will retrieve the c-pods and replace them with fresh units. The c-pods will be placed in different areas throughout the Sea of Cortez. Moving them around has provided us with a more accurate idea of how much of this area is used by the vaquitas. It has also offered us a more reliable count of how many vaquitas are living in the Sea of Cortez.

I find it interesting sounds that we cannot hear have given us the most accurate count of an animal that is so difficult for us to see!

Thank you for joining me on this journey into how we are researching the vaquita it is my fourth favorite thing about the vaquita.

Please visit porpoise.org to find out even more about the vaquita and to discover what you can do to help this unique animal.

Join me next week for an in-depth look at the conservation status of the vaquita and the efforts we are taking to ensure the survival of this mysterious porpoise.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Vaquita behavior is another fascinating thing about this unknown animal! Join Kiersten as she gives you a glimpse into the behavior of vaquita marina.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/vaquita

https://porpoise.org/save-the-vaquita/

Vaquita: Science, Politics, and Crime in the Sea of Cortez by Brooke Bessesen

Vaquita Conservation Organizations

Porpoise.org

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the vaquita and the third thing I like about the vaquita is their behavior!

As we have already established in the first episode, vaquita’s are marine mammals, specifically, cetaceans. That means they live their entire lives in the water. The vaquita is a porpoise that lives in warmer waters than other cetaceans, but they are still sea dwelling animals. Being mammals, they do breath air and, just like many other cetaceans, they have a hole on the top of their head that allows them to release carbon dioxide when they surface and breath in fresh oxygen. This hole is called a blowhole and it’s a lot like our nose. They are able to open and close it with muscles, so they can hold their breath under water and keep the water from flooding in when they dive down. Okay! We have to use our fingers to do that with our noses, but still both orifices that we breath through!

Because of this physical need they must come to the surface, but they are extremely shy, secretive animals. Unlike their dolphin cousins, you will not see vaquitas leaping out of the water performing gravity defying acrobatics or frolicking in the wake of passing ships. They are very subdued when they visit the surface and rise slowly with a forward-rolling motion that hardly disturbs the water as they take a breath and then quickly disappear back into the depths of the Sea of Cortez.

These small marine mammals are incredibly sensitive to passing ships and will not surface if they sense one. It is extremely difficult to observe them in the wild because they can be disturbed by boats passing within a mile of their location. This makes it incredibly difficult to study them, and this created another unforeseen challenge for conservationists. Many people do not believe vaquita even exist.

For residents of the region surrounding the Sea of Cortez, the myth of the vaquita has been around for decades. Many residents do not believe they are real, living, breathing animals. They are like a unicorn or the Loch Ness monster, just something you talk about but never see because they’re not actually real. (Before anyone gets too upset, I’m not saying unicorns or the Loch Ness monster aren’t real, just that we have no tangible evidence to prove their existence….yet. That’s a whole other podcast! On the other hand, we have a lot of evidence proving the vaquitas existence!)

The main problem for conservationists is how do you encourage people to save an animal if they think it’s a mythological creature. When dead vaquita began to wash up on shore with more frequency, as sad as that is, devastatingly sad, conservationists thought this would prove their existence but some still believe they are a myth and these are photoshopped pictures or man-made dummies. Most fisherman know that they are real as thy have seen them or seen evidence of them, but they often deny it because it’s better for them if the vaquita remains a myth. Take my word for it listeners, vaquita are real! I promise you!

Vaquita are often solitary or travel in pairs, which is another reason they are not easily seen, but a few groups up to 8 individuals have been found. It is more likely when a couple is seen together, it’s a mother and a calf.

Now, little is actually known about vaquitas reproduction, but researchers believe it is similar to harbor porpoises, which is their closest relative. Based on this, we are comfortable making a few assumptions about vaquita reproduction. Vaquitas probably reach sexual maturity between 3 to 6 years. They can live uo to 20 years. The gestation period is 10-11 months and vaquita will give live birth to one calf every other year. The calves will be about 2 1/2 feet long at birth and can weigh 17 pounds. They will most likely nurse for about 6 to 8 months. All of this combined means that vaquita are very slow at reproducing.

When they are ready to eat sold food, they’ll become hunters like their mothers. Just like other species of porpoises, vaquitas echolocate to find food. How exactly does this work? Excellent question listeners?

As Brooke Bessesen, I apologize if I’m saying that incorrectly, describes in her book Vaquita: Science, Politics , and Crime in the Sea of Cortez, “Porpoises make high-frequency clicks that bounce off objects and echo back, giving them an auditory “image” of scenes and objects. The fatty crown on the porpoise’s head, called the melon, emits and focuses ticks like a sound lens, while incoming reverberations, received through the thin, lipid-covered bones of the lower jaw, are directed to the inner ear.” Using this method is how porpoises can hunt and find their food.

Through the research of Mexican acoustic expert Armando Jaramillo Legorreta we know that vaquita clicks are typically between 128 and 139 kilohertz. This is well above the ability of human hearing, which is 20 kilohertz max, but with specialized equipment their clicks can be recorded. According to Armando, vaquita make narrow band clicks.

In your mind you may be thinking about the noises dolphins make, the whistles and clicks we can hear. Those of you who have been to a dolphin experience or show or those of you who remember the television show Flipper, ( I have just revealed my age with thane!) know what I mean! They have a much wider range of acoustic ability than vaquita. Our small vaquita marina is not capable of dolphin-like chatter, but it doesn’t make them any less adorable.

In some animals, such as dolphins, acoustic clicks are used for more than just hunting prey. They are also used for communication. We do not know whether this is something that vaquitas do as well, but we do know that their clicks increase in frequency when they are hunting. Vaquita will hunt at least 20 different marine species such as bronze-striped grunts, gulf croakers, small crabs, and squid. These are all mostly bottom dwelling species.

It makes total sense that vaquita rely on their echolocation skills to hunt because the Sea of Cortez is very turbulent, making the water murky. Vision is fairly useless in these waters. The terrain under the water is also filled with ridges and valleys that vaquita can learn by using their echolocation.

By slowing down the clicks and click trains recorded using fancy acoustic equipment, humans can hear the sonar of certain animals, such bats and blue whales. When Brooke Bessesen was researching her book she asked if any researchers had done that to the vaquita calls. Someone had tried, but they’d only done it one because when you slow down their click trains it sounds too much like a fart to take it seriously.

I’m glad you all joined me in this glimpse at the vaquita’s behavior, it is my third favorite thing about them.

Please visit porpoise.org to find out even more about the vaquita and to discover what you can do to help this unique animals.

Join me next week for another ten-minute episode focusing on the vaquita.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: The vaquita lives in the most biodiverse body of water on the planet! Join Kiersten as she take you on a journey through the Sea of Cortez.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

https://www.nmmf.org/marine-mammal/vaquita-porpoise/

https://www.britannica.com/place/Gulf-of-California

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1182

“Birth of an Ocean” by Annie Reisewitz: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/birth-ocean

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/totoaba

https://porpoise.org/save-the-vaquita/

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/dolphin_porpoise.html

Vaquita Conservation Organizations

Porpoise.org

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues the vaquita and the second thing I like about the vaquita is their habitat!

Now, the vaquita is only found in one place on Earth and that is the Sea of Cortez also known as the Gulf of California. This gulf is surrounded by land with the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Sinaloa, and Nayarit on the eastern side of the water and the mountainous peninsula of Baja California on the west side. The bottom of the gulf opens into the Pacific Ocean. There are 244 islands in the Gulf of California. The unique geographical characteristics of this area make it a perfect region for isolated habitats that are ideal for hosting endemic species. Endemic species by definition are species that are evolutionarily native to a specific area. There is a total of 160,000 square kilometers in the Gulf of California.

The vaquita only lives in 2235 square kilometers of this area. That’s smaller than the state of Rhode Island. Vaquitas favor the shallow lagoons about 25 kilometers or 16 miles off shore in the northern portion of the gulf. They prefer water only 10 to 28 meters or 33 to 92 feet deep where the water is warm. I have to admit I like warmer water too!

The vaquita is the only porpoise that chooses to live in warm water. This is probably why their adult size is so small and why their dorsal fin is large in comparison to their body. The large dorsal fin most likely helps dissipate heat. Please listen to the first episode of my vaquita series, if you have not yet done so, to find out more about the physical characteristics of the vaquita.

We don’t know why they choose warmer waters when all other porpoises prefer cooler water, but what we do know is what the waters of the Sea of Cortez are like and from this we can make an educated guess about why this particular area appeals to this small porpoise.

The Sea of Cortez is an area teeming with aquatic life. After thousands of years of run-off from the Colorado River, life-supporting nutrients have built up on the bottom of this body of water. Strong currents stir up these nutrients and many species of animals take advantage of that.

In this natural inlet, there are 23 priority sites for marine biodiversity, 42 priority sites for terrestrial biodiversity, and 62 priority sites for bird conservation. Dubbed as the “Aquarium of the World” by Jaques Cousteau, the Gulf of California is recognized as an area of global marine conservation significance. Five of the seven existing species of sea turtle are found in the Sea of Cortez. It is home to 891 different fish species, 90 of them are endemic. It also contains 40% of the world’s total number of species of marine mammal. 40 sea lion colonies are spread throughout the area with an estimated population of over 30,000 individuals. And 1/3 of the world’s marine cetacean species can be found here at some time throughout their lives. There is even a healthy coral reef community off the coast of the seaside town of Cabo Pulmo. It is considered the only coral reef at such a high latitude in the Pacific Ocean.

Another remarkable fact about the Sea of Cortez is that almost all major oceanographic processes occurring in Earth’s oceans are present in this body of water. Oceanographic processes are defined on the USGS website as recurrent natural changes that are physical, biological, or chemical, actively affecting the the seas and oceans. In the Sea of Cortez sediment runoff from the land occurs depositing minerals into the water, this area is also still actively expanding essentially creating a new ocean, turbulent tides and currents mix up the sediments from both expansion and runoff. Of course not all sediment from runoff is good but this area has been protected as an important natural refuge since 1995.

The sea floor below the gulf is actually made up of 2 types of crust, oceanic and continental. This combination creates a unique environment where marine mammals can thrive. The bay is an underwater marvel with 4,000 foot deep submarine canyons, enormous underwater mountains, and hydrothermal vents crawling with life. The hydrothermal vents were discovered about 50 years ago, and in 2008 biologists from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography documented marine animals previously never seen alive. All of this activity makes the Sea of Cortez the most biologically rich body of water on the planet. It’s no wonder that this is where the vaquita calls home.

Being a porpoise, the vaqutia are toothed mammals. Their teeth are spade-shaped and flat, so they kinda look like the head of a shovel. They are perfect teeth for eating fish, squid, and even crab or lobster. We’ve actually found 17 different species of fish in the stomach of one vaquita. They are not terribly picky about who they eat and what a perfect place to live with so many species of fish found in the Gulf of California!

Now, as many of you know, when something has this much biodiversity it attracts more than just animas in nature, it also attracts humans. Many of the animals that live in and around the water make for good eating for humans. This means fishing occurs in the area. If it was just a few humans fishing for their daily dinner this wouldn’t be a problem. Even if it was the local town fishing to provide food for everyone that lived there, it wouldn’t be a problem. But humans rarely take only what they need for themselves, sadly, we are often motivated by how much profit can be made from a natural resource. This has put the vaquita in danger. I will focus another episode on the conservation status of the vaquita, but I’d like to touch on one of the fish in the area that our overfishing of has impacted the vaquita population, as well as, the fish itself.

The totoaba fish are found in the same exact area of the gulf as the vaquita. This fish can be 200 pounds and reach a length of 6.5 feet. It’s scientific name is Totoaba macdonaldi. It is considered a drum fish but it is the only fish classified in the Totoaba genus. What does that mean? There is no other fish like them on the planet.

The totoaba is endemic to the Gulf of California where it spawns each year in the Colorado River Delta. This fish is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act because it has been overfished for entirely too long. Large fish, such as the totoaba, typically take many years to reach sexual maturity. When we fish for them, we often want the largest specimens and those are the ones that are sexually mature, which removes the individuals that will create the next generation from the environment.

What is it that makes this fish so sought after? Their swim bladder. This is the organ in a fish that allows the fish to control its buoyancy. The totoaba’s swim bladder is used in traditional Chinese medicine. They dry it out and use it in a soup called fish maw. This is a pretty big swim bladder, when dried it is about the size of a laptop computer. Why do the Chinese want it? It is believed to boost fertility.

How exactly is this impacting the vaquita. The adults of this species are not something the vaquita would eat because they are larger than the small porpoise. The problem comes with the fishing method. Most fisherman that commercially fish for totoaba want to catch as many as possible and; therefore, use gill nets. Gill nets are cast out and catch whatever they catch, they are not a targeted fishing method. Vaquita get caught in the nest and cannot surface to get air and die. Because of overfishing of the totoaba, the vaquita are also incredibly endangered.

I hope you all enjoyed this trip to the Sea of Cortez because it is my second favorite thing about the vaquita.

Please visit porpoise.org to find out even more about the vaquita and the totoaba and discover what you can do to help these unique animals.

Join me next week for another ten-minute episode focusing on the vaquita.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: What is a vaquita? Join Kiersten as she takes you under the sea to learn about this amazing porpoise.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/525704/facts-about-the-vaquita

https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/vaquita

https://porpoise.org/save-the-vaquita/

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/dolphin_porpoise.html

Vaquita Conservation Organizations

porpoise.org

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

Just a bit about my background: My name is Kiersten and I have a Master’s Degree in Animal Behavior and did my thesis on the breeding behavior of the Tri-colored bat. I was a zookeeper for many years and have worked with all sorts of animals from Aba Aba fish to tigers to ravens to domesticated dogs and so many more in between. Many of those years were spent in education programs and the most important lesson I learned was that the more information someone has about a particular animal the less they fear them. The less they fear them the more they crave information about them and before you know it you’ve become an advocate for that misunderstood animal.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this fascinating journey, you won’t regret it.

This series of episodes will focus on the vaquita and my first favorite thing about the vaquita is, well, the vaquita!

What exactly is a vaquita? I’m so glad you asked. The vaquita is the smallest cetacean on the planet. Cetaceans are marine mammals in the order Cetacea which includes whales, porpoises, and dolphins. The vaquita is a porpoise. It is the smallest porpoise alive.

The vaquita is also known as the Gulf of California porpoise, Gulf of California Harbor porpoise, cochita, and vaquita marina. Vaquita means “little cow” in Spanish and cochita means “little pig”. Both names are a reference to the grunting sounds they make. Their scientific name is Phocoena sinus which means “porpoise of the gulf” in Latin.

The vaquita was not officially named until 1958. The discovery of the vaquita is actually a strange but fascinating story involving three skulls found on the beach. In 1950, a University of California scientist named Kenneth Norris was walking along a beach north of Punta San Felipe in Baja, California when he came across a skull. It looked like the skull of a porpoise but not quite like others he had seen, so he decided to keep it for possible further research. (As a side note: he was able to do this because he was professor at a university with the correct permits to keep such items. Please do not pick up and keep skulls that you find on the beach today.)

A year later colleagues of Professor Norris’s found two more similar skulls on the beach. Now that more than one example had been found, comparing them to other known cetacean skulls was the next step. When comparing the three skulls to other already identified cetacean skulls the scientists noticed enough considerable differences to conclude that this was a new, never-before-seen species of porpoise! Kenneth Norris published his findings in the Journal of Mammalogy in 1958 giving the vaquita the scientific name of Phocoena sinus meaning “porpoise of the gulf”.

It’s been 64 years since the discovery of the vaquita and we still know very little about their natural history, but we do know what they look like, so let’s talk about that.

As I mentioned before, the vaquita is small at only 4 to 5 feet in length and can weigh up to 100lbs. Females tend to be larger than males. They have a typical porpoise shaped body that is curved and robust. The middle of the body will measure about 68% of the total body length. They have a small mouth with a slight protrusion of the upper jaw at the base of the melon, aka their head. Their dorsal fin, the fin on their back, is upright and relatively large when compared to other porpoise species. They have two front flippers on the under side at the front of the body with a double lobed tail.

Their coloration is like a painted masterpiece with medium gray on the upper body fading to light gray halfway down their sides. The throat and belly are streaked with white like the organic strokes of a master painter. The mouth is ringed in black like perfectly applied lipstick, giving them the look of a know-it-all smile. A dark gray steak runs from the mouth to the flippers expanding as it reaches the flippers covering them in the same dark gray color. The eye is ringed with black and outlined with white. They are truly one of the most beautiful porpoises in the sea.

The dorsal fins of vaquitas are unique enough they can be used like name tags. To study vaquitas in the wild, scientists needed a way to identify them without getting so close as to disturb their natural behavior, so they looked for something that would be easily seen from a distance. A big, ‘ole fin sticking up from their back fit the bill. The dorsal fins of marine mammals are often nicked or notched from various activities performed throughout their lives. Each individual vaquita dorsal fin will be unique to themselves. Scientists caught on quickly and took high resolution photos of the fins and created an ID guide for the animals they were researching. In 2008, they complied a photo ID catalog to help record the daily activities of the vaquitas.

One last thing before we finish up our first episode of the vaquita. I’ve been using the term porpoise a lot and want to clarify the difference between a porpoise and a dolphin. Many people use these two words interchangeably but they are two completely different animals.

The difference is in their appearance including their faces, their fins, and their figures. Dolphins have elongated mouths called beaks while porpoises have very, short mouths that do not protrude past the head. The dorsal fin of dolphins is more curved or hooked while dorsal fins of the porpoise is more triangular. And in general, the dolphin’s body is more lean while our porpoise is a bit more portly.

Dolphins also tend to be more talkative than porpoises but both are capable of making sound. Dolphins are definitely more prevalent than porpoises with 32 species of dolphin and only 6 species of porpoise.

Just as a funny side note for all you trivia fans out there, the word ‘porpoise’ comes from the Latin porcus meaning ‘pig’ and piscis meaning ‘fish.’ So ‘porpoise’ technically means ‘pig fish’.

Thank you for joining me for the first episode of Ten Things I Like About the Vaquita.

Please visit porpoise.org to find out even more about the vaquita and discover what you can do to help this unique animal.

Join me next week for another ten-minute episode focusing on the vaquita.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Pangolins are in danger of extinction but there are people out there trying to help. Join Kiersten as she highlights four organizations that are working toward saving the pangolin.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

Save Pangolins: https://www.savepangolins.org

Zoological Society of London: https://www.zsl.org

Rare and Endangered Species Trust Namibia: https://www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife: svw.vn

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right outside our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode concludes pangolins and my tenth favorite thing about pangolins is all the organizations trying to help keep these amazing animals alive.

I want to highlight some organizations that are working to try and help pangolins survive. Each organization that I talk about in this episode is one that I recommend supporting because they are doing amazing work in pangolin conservation.

Save Pangolins

Save Pangolins is an organization that supports conservation actions in Africa and Asia and raises public awareness of pangolins around the world. The first step to successful conservation efforts is education and awareness. If people don’t know what’s going on with wildlife they have no idea that they need to help. Save Pangolins publicizes the need for pangolin conservation through their extensive social media campaigns and facilitates communication between conservation organizations about pangolins.

They are also a fund raising organization and offer support through three granting programs

Pangolin Crisis Fund: Is a program run in connection with Wildlife Conservation Network that invests in the best projects to stop the poaching of pangolins, stop the trade and demand for pangolin products, and raise the profile of the little known pangolin. They work in 26 countries with 45 projects and 31 grantees. PCF maintains a 100% donation model meaning all the money donated goes directly to the projects they support.
Pangolin Champions Fund: This program supports individual conservationists who are emerging leaders in pangolin conservation. They are currently funding 12 passionate, committed, and inspiring pangolin conservationists.
Innovation Grants: This funds key projects that are creative and innovative and are often harder to find support for such as ATREE, the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment that is currently researching how many pangolins are left in the Darjeeling Himalaya region of India and how agricultural land my be affecting their survival. In Africa, they are supporting the Tikki Hywood Foundation and Pangolin.Africa to develop new fencing technology to save pangolins from electrocution on electric fences used throughout South Africa.

Zoological Society of London

Our second organization is the Zoological Society of London. They have a diverse conservation branch that focuses on saving wildlife from disappearing by working with local communities on monitoring animal populations and habitat use, educating the world about what is happening with the wildlife around the planet, and supporting conservation programs in situ, which means on site where the animal lives, to make the biggest impact for that specific species.

ZSL is working on over 50 conservation projects around the world and protecting pangolins is one of those projects. In 2015, ZSL launched the Pangolin Conservation Initiative. This was a two-year program that help protect four species of pangolin, the giant pangolin, the black-bellied pangolin, the whit-bellied pangolin, and the Sunda pangolin from the black market trade through supporting anti-poaching patrols and law enforcement at sites in Cameroon and Thailand.

In Cameroon, the ZSL team trained and equipped eco-guards to undertake anti-poaching patrols using the SMART method. SMART stands for Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool. This technology lets law enforcement agencies focus their resources on hotspots of trafficking activity.

ZSL also got the community involved by establishing programs to empower locals to report traffickers through anonymous informants and setting up surveillance networks and secure reporting mechanisms.

In Thailand, ZSL also helped set up the SMART technology with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and Plant Conservation in two key areas that are important to the Sunda pangolin. They also tested various survey methods to determine the population of the Sunda pangolin so that we can determine whether the conservation efforts in use are effective.

ZSL knows that supporting these programs is important, but to save these pangolins from extinction due to poaching we must eradicate the demand for pangolin products. So they delved into the market demand to determine why pangolins are being sold so they could develop a public education outreach program to let people know about how these products are affecting pangolin populations.

With the information gained from this program, ZSL was able to do the same in Nepal with the local law enforcement there and to reach out to local hunters to help identify sustainable livelihoods as an alternative to hunting pangolins.

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - Namibia

The third organization I’ll highlight is REST Namibia. It is a non-profit organization founded in 2000 to spotlight the plight of five groups of animals in Namibia including vultures, frogs, snakes, dik dik, and pangolins. REST stands for Rare and Endangered Species Trust and they are based in Namibia. Their mission statement is “To initiate and support the scientific and practical study of rare and endangered species in Namibia and to help develop and facilitate solutions to conservation problems among these species at community, national, and international levels .”

REST has successfully rehabilitated Cape pangolin babies and adults that are rescued from poachers. They are an invaluable source of information about how to keep them alive in captivity and have shone a light on Cape pangolin behaviors in the wild. This is the home to the most famous pangolin named Honeybun. She was a Cape pangolin rescued from poachers and now resides at the facility but forages for ants in the surrounding land. A REST volunteer follows her around whenever she is on a walk-about and we are learning so much about their behavior because Honeybun does not fear humans. She will one day be on her own out in the wild but if you’d like to see Honeybun in action check out the PBS Nature video titled “The World’s Most Wanted Animal”.

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife

Our Fourth organization is Save Vietnam’s Wildlife a non-profit organization in Vietnam that was founded on the critical need for more effective solutions to secure a future for Vietnam’s wildlife.

They are involved with wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, habitat protection, education outreach, conservation research, and conservation breeding.

The wildlife they rescue are individuals confiscated by the authorities from illegal poachers. Vietnam’s wildlife is poached and illegally traded for consumption, traditional medicine, pets, and souvenirs. SVW takes in those confiscated animals, provides veterinary care and releases those they can into protected areas to give them the best advantage for continued survival.

They have rescued 1,591 pangolins. Those that are releasable are taken to places that are difficult for poachers to travel to so they are not re-caught and those that cannot survive in the wild are kept at their facility. By keeping these pangolins in captivity, they are on the forefront of learning how to keep pangolins healthy and alive in a captive setting. This is valuable information to the future of pangolins.

SVW also makes it a goal to educate local people about the plight of the pangolin. Their mission statement is bringing communities and conservation together. The only way forward to a future filled with both humans and animals living together successfully is education.

If you are looking for a way to help with pangolin conservation, please consider donating to one of these originations. You can find links to their websites in the show notes of this episode. Also consider recommending this podcast to someone you know. Thank you for joining me on this pangolin journey, I truly hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Join me next week for the first ten-minute podcast focusing on the vaquita.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: All pangolins have tails, but each species’ tail is unique. Join Kiersten and a special guest co-host as they discuss pangolin tails.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

Show Notes:

Pangolin ID Guide: https://www.usaidrdw.org//resources/pangolin-species-identification-guide/pangolin-id-guide-rast-english.pdf

pangolins.org

https://arkansasresearch.uark.edu/researcherss-discover-fossil-of-new-species-of-pangolin-in-europe/

Pangolin Conservation Organizations:

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife - www.svw.vn

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right outside our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues pangolins and my ninth favorite thing about pangolins is their tails. Today I have a special guest co-host, my friend Cheryl! Cheryl and I co-host another podcast together called The Feathered Desert and it’s all about bird feeding in the Southwest region of the United States.

Thanks for joining me Cheryl!

Cheryl: Thank you for having me Kiersten! I’m very excited to be here and pangolins are one of my favorite animals.

Kiersten: I know you are as intrigued by pangolins as I am, so I’m glad you could join me for the penultimate episode of my pangolin series! Today we’re going to talk about tails! I know that seems like a strange thing to focus on, but all pangolins have tails. It’s a very important part of their body structure, but each species tail is a little bit different!

As always, let’s start off with our Asian pangolins and Cheryl’s going to kick it off with the Chinese pangolin.

Cheryl: The Chinese pangolin’s tail is 25-40 cm long or 10-16 inches in length. It has 16-19 scales along the edge of the tail. This pangolin’s tail is semi-prehensile which means it can curl the end of its tail around an object to hold or grasp it. They use this adaptation to hold onto branches when they are in trees and to steady themselves when walking over rugged terrain.

Okay, I have a question.

Kiersten: Yes!

Cheryl: The scales on the tail, do they start of larger and get smaller?

Kiersten: That depends on the species, but in general, yes. The scales at the base of the tail will be larger than the scales at the tip.

The Sunda pangolin’s tail is a little bit longer than the Chinese pangolin’s at 35-57 cm or 14-22 inches. They have 21-29 scales along the edge of the tail and it is more slender than the Chinese or pangolin’s tail. The Sunda pangolin’s tail is fully prehensile which means they are able to manipulate items with their tail like a human hand.

Cheryl: Do they do that?

Kiersten: I have not seen any evidence that they pick up things and carry them around or move things because they eat ants, so its not like they need to collect fruit or anything but they certainly have the ability to do it if they need to.

Cheryl: Our third Asian species is the Philippine pangolin. Their tail is 35-52 cm long or 14-20 inches long. They have 28-32 scales along the edge of the tail. Like the Sunda pangolin’s tail, the Philippine pangolin’s tail is fully prehensile which comes in very handy since this pangolin spends most of its time in the trees. They are able to wrap their tail around tree branches as they tear open ant nests (I didn't even know ants would be in trees! How interesting.) and even hang their entire body weight from their tail. The Philippine pangolin’s tail is the longest in proportion to their body of all the Asian species.

Kiersten: Our last Asian pangolin is the Indian pangolin. Their tails are 40-45 cm in length or 16-18 inches. They have only 14-15 scales along the edge of the tail because their scales are larger in size than our other asian pangolins. Their tails are semi-prehensile and help balance them as they walk along the ground, but can also anchor them if they climb into tree, which they only occasionally. They have the thickest tail of all the Asian species.

Okay. I’m going to continue and take us into our four African species. Let’s start with the Tree or White-bellied pangolin. This is one of my very favorite tails.

Cheryl: (laughs)

Kiersten: I know its a weird thing to say, but it’s true!

This pangolin’s tail is 30-52 cm or 12-20 inches long. They have 34-37 scales along the edge of the tail. Like the Philippine and Sunda pangolin, the Tree pangolin’s tail is fully prehensile, but it has another very cool adaptation at the end of their tail, a scale-free pad at the tip of the tail. This gives them a better grasping ability which allows them to pick up things with their tail like a human hand and gives them an even tighter, more secure hold on tree branches.

Cheryl: That is very interesting. Cool little guys!

Next is the Giant ground pangolin. This is the largest of all the pangolin species and its tail holds true to their size with a length of 50-65 cm or 20-26 inches.

Wow! That’s a long tail.

Kiersten: It is!

Cheryl: They have 15-19 scales along the edge of the tail and their tails are only partially prehensile. They generally use their tails mainly as a counterbalance while walking and digging.

So, prehensile is just so it gives them more flexibility when they need balance.

Kiersten: Yes, I believe so. They could if they ever needed to hold onto a bush or something they could give themselves a little curvature. But mainly theirs is for counterbalance.

Our third African pangolin is the Cape pangolin. They have a tail length of 31-50 cm or 12-20 inches. They have 11-13 scales along the edge. Like the Giant ground pangolin, the Cape pangolin’s tail is partially prehensile. The Cape pangolin is the pangolin species that walks bipedal most often, which mean they only use two feet as they walk. The Cape pangolin will use its tail to counter balance with the front of the body so they don’t tip over as they walk.

Cheryl: (laughs)

Kiersten: They look very cute. They look like little dinosaurs.

Cheryl: I’m sure they do.

Our final African pangolin is the Black-bellied Tree pangolin, ( I like to say that! Black-bellied tree pangolin) also known as the Long-tailed pangolin. As their names implies, they have a very long tail with a length of 50-60cm or 20-24 inches. They have 42-44 scales along the edge of the tail. It is fully prehensile with the same unscaled pad at the tip that the White-bellied pangolin has, which is especially useful to them because the Black-bellied pangolin spends their entire lives in trees. They have the longest tail of all the pangolin species. Wow! Their entire life in trees.

Kiersten: I discovered a fun fact while researching this podcast and I want to share it with you. The Long-tailed pangolin has more vertebrae in the tail than we have in our entire body! Humans have 33 vertebrae from head to tail bone and the long-tailed pangolin has 47 vertebrae just in their tail! They have 75 vertebrae in total! That’s a lot of vertebrae!

Cheryl: That IS a lot of vertebrae. Speaking of vertebrae, did you hear about the pangolin fossil they found in Europe? How often do you get to say that sentence!?

Kiersten: Right! I know!

I did! Researchers found a bone fossil that dates back to the early Pleistocene era in Europe. It’s just one bone, the humerus or upper arm bone, but its accepted proof that pangolins used to roam the landscape of Europe. It was 2.2 million years ago but they were there! (Laughs)

Well, that’s it for pangolin tails. Thank you Cheryl for joining me as co-host.

Cheryl: Well, thank you again for having me. It was fun and I love pangolins too!

Kiersten: I hope you all enjoyed learning about pangolin tails because it is my ninth favorite thing about pangolins.

Please visit savepangolins.org to find out even more about pangolins and discover what you can do to save this unique animal. To help the African Cape Pangolin visit the Rare and Endangered Species Trust at restnamibia.org and to learn more about Asian pangolins and help the Sunda and Chinese pangolin visit Save Vietnam’s Wildlife at svw.vn.

Join me next week for the last ten-minute podcast focusing on pangolins.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: There are many different habitats that pangolins call home. Join Kiersten as she talks about these diverse areas.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes.

Show Notes:

animaldiversity.org

africanpangolin.org

animalia.bio

Pangolin Conservation Organizations:

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife - www.svw.vn

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues pangolins and my eighth favorite thing about pangolins is their diverse habitats and behaviors! Pangolins have a few basic behaviors in common, such as eating ants and termites, curling into a ball to defend themselves, and carrying their pangopups on their backs but there are also some behaviors that are unique to each species.

Asian species:

Let’s start with our four Asian species.

Chinese pangolin - Chinese pangolins can be found in a variety of forest habitats including Primary and secondary tropical forests. Primary tropical forests are pristine untouched tropical forests that exist in its original condition; whereas, secondary forests are those that have been disturbed in some way, such as logging, and then replanted. They are also found in Bamboo forests, Limestone forests, which are unique ecosystems that consist of a limestone ground upon which a forest grows, Broadleaf forests and coniferous forests. They have been found in forests up to 5000 meters above sea level. They can also be found in agricultural fields and grasslands.

Chinese pangolins are mainly terrestrial animals which mean they spend most of their time on the ground. They dig burrows with their strong front claws to sleep in and to raise their pups in. These burrows can be up to 8 feet deep and it can take them only 3 to 5 minutes to dig them. That’s rightI I said 3-5 minutes to dig an 8 foot deep burrow!

When they enter their burrows they close up the entrance behind them to camouflage their location while they are sleeping.

Even though they are mainly terrestrial, they have been seen in the forest canopy up to 20 feet above the ground, so they are also good climbers.

The Chinese pangolin is nocturnal and fairly secretive and that is one of the reasons we know very little about their day to day behaviors.

Sunda or Malayan pangolin - The Sunda or Malayan pangolin is typically found in primary and secondary forests typical of southeastern Asia. They can also be found in open savanna country which is defined as an area dominated by grasses with few to no trees. Vegetated areas with thick brush can also be home to the Sunda pangolin. Sometimes they will visit cultivated gardens and plantations.

Just like the Chinese pangolin, they are mainly terrestrial inhabiting burrows when they need to rest. They line their burrows with vegetation for insulation and the burrows can often be found near termite or ant mounds. Why not build your bedroom right nest to the kitchen, right?

Sunda pangolins can climb well and will occasionally spend long periods of time in the trees resting or hunting for arboreal ants.

This species is typically nocturnal and solitary, but pairs have been spotted together in the wild. Whether the pairs are males and females seen together before or after mating, or mothers with young that are almost ready to head out on their own, we do not yet know.

Palawan or Philippine pangolin - The Philippine pangolin is one of the pangolins that we know the least about but when it come to habitat they have been seen in lowland forests, grasslands, and agricultural areas. Due to habitat destruction these pangolins are being forced into more developed areas.

Philippine pangolins are mainly arboreal which means they live in trees. They use their feet and tails to help them climb and cling to tree trunks and branches as they follow their noses to arboreal ant nests. When they sleep they prefer to settle down in a hollow tree. They are mostly nocturnal which is another reason we know so little about them. They are also only found in the Palawan Province of the Philippines.

Indian or Thick-tailed pangolin - The Indian or Thick-tailed pangolins are a bit different from their other Asian cousins in the fact that they prefer slightly drier areas. They are well adapted to desert areas and prefer barren, hilly landscapes. They are often found in subtropical thorn forests.

Thorn forests are defined by their temperate climate, scrub vegetation, and very little rainfall. It is mainly composed of thorny small trees that are deciduous meaning they shed and regrow their leaves yearly.

The Indian pangolin can also be found in the Salt range of India, a mountain range with long escarpments, jagged peaks, rolling hills, and desolate ravines. They can be found up to 2500 feet above sea level. They prefer soil that is soft and semi-sandy. Even though they prefer drier habitats they can survive in tropical forest, open land, grasslands, and areas around villages.

Indian pangolins are mostly nocturnal spending the day time in burrows or in darker areas of trees. When foraging for food they spend most of their time on the ground, but they are good climbers and do spend some time in trees.

African species: Now let’s switch continents and talk about the African pangolins.

Tree or White-bellied pangolin - The African Tree pangolin, also known as the White-bellied pangolin, is most often found in tropical forests. They have also been able to adapt to use mosaic forests found in their region. Mosaic forests are forests that are more of a patchwork of wooded areas combined with open grassland areas or forests that are in various stages of growth. They are typically the result of humans using the land for various reasons such as logging or cattle ranching.

From their name you can probably guess that they are comfortable in trees and they do spend a lot of time there, but they will also spend time on the ground. They are considered an arboreal as well as terrestrial pangolin.

They are also one of two pangolins considered to be completely diurnal which means they are awake during the day. Most of their days are spent hunting for ants and termites. We are not sure why they are more active during the day, since the majority of pangolin species are nocturnal.

Giant ground pangolin - The Giant ground pangolin is the largest of all the species and is completely terrestrial. They are found in forests and savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is the term used to describe the area of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. The Sahara desert is located along the northern most boundary of the African continent.

This pangolin seeks shelter under fallen debris or in burrows. They will dig burrows that are several meters deep or they will use burrows abandoned by other animals.

The giant ground pangolin is restricted to the Sub-saharan region of Africa because it has the most consistent year-round source of ants and termites. Giant ground pangolins are thought to completely nocturnal, spending the daylight hours in their burrows. Even though they are found in forested areas they never climb trees and that may be due to their large size. They can weigh up to 77lbs. It could be pretty difficult getting that weight up a tree!

Similar to the other species of pangolins , the giant ground pangolin lives a solitary life. They do establish home ranges in the areas where they live. A home range is a specific area in which an animal travels in search of food or mates.

It is very common in ground pangolins for males to have larger home ranges than females. These ranges can be so large that individuals will have several burrows spread throughout the area that they can use when needed.

Cape or Temminck’s Ground pangolin - The Cape Ground Pangolin is a bit of an all around habitat pangolin. They can be found in habitats with both high rainfall and low rainfall, such as forests, thick brush habitat, open grassland and savannas. Because of this, they are the most widespread African pangolin species. Their adult size will vary dependent on region with smaller animals living in arid, or dry, environments and larger animals living in more moist environments.

This pangolin is often thought of as nocturnal but this can vary with age and where they live. Pangolins living in the Kalahari region become diurnal during the cooler months of winter. Young juveniles are often more diurnal than adults.

Like the giant ground pangolin, they are completely terrestrial. They are seen walking bi-pedally more often than other species of pangolins. This means they walk on their back feet with their front legs pulled up underneath their chest and balance with their long thick tails. As with many other terrestrial pangolins, they do use burrows to rest when not foraging for food. They can dig their own burrows but often use older burrows dug by other animals such as aardvarks, porcupine, or warthogs.

Long-tailed or Black-bellied pangolin - Our last pangolin is the Long-tailed or Black-bellied pangolin. This is a strictly arboreal pangolin spending virtually all of their time in trees. They sleep and rest in hollow trees or epiphytes. Epiphytes are other plans that grow on or in the tree but do not harm the tree, such as ferns or air plants.

They reside in tropical riverine forest, swamp forest, and rainforest. They are excellent swimmers and are almost always found near water. They have actually been seen dropping from tree branches into the water. They prefer the interior of the forest avoiding the outer edges of forests. They spend the majority of their time in the forest canopy. The canopy of a forest is the upper most layer of the forest characterized by the crowns of the trees.

The long-tailed pangolin is primarily diurnal and their black coloration helps them blend into the shadows of the trees as they hunt for arboreal ant nests.

Something that all pangolins share is their importance in the ecosystems where they live. Since all pangolins eat mainly ants and termites, and can eat up to approximately 70 million insects a year, they are extremely important in controlling ant and termite populations.

Our terrestrial digging pangolins are also important in aerating the soil in the ecosystems where they hunt and live.

For more detailed information on the specific regions where these pangolins are found, please listen to the episode titled Pangolins: Species.

Join me next week for another ten minute podcast focusing on another thing I like about pangolins.

(Piano Music Plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Sight, sound, taste, and smell. These senses help pangolins hunt, communicate, and survive. Join Kiersten as she talks about what we know about pangolin senses.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes.

Show Notes:

“Pangolin genomes and the evolution of mammalian scales and immunity.” View Woh Choo, Mike Rayko, Tze King Tan, Ranjeev Hair, Aleksey Komissarov, Wei See Wee, Andrey A. Yurchenko, Sergey Oliver, Gail Tamazian, Agostinho Antunes, Richard K. Wilson. Welsey C. Warren, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Patrick Minx, Ksenia Krasheninnikova, Antionette Kotze, Desire L. Dalton, Elaine Vermaak, Ian C. Paterson, Pavel Dodrynin, Frankie Thomas Sitam, Jeffrine J. Rosie-Ryan, Warren E. Johnson, Aini Mohamed Yusoff, Shu-Jin Luo, Kanal Vizi Karuppannan, Gang Fang, Deyou Zheng, Mark B. Gerstein, Leonard Lipovich, Stephen J. O’Brien, and Goat Jah Wong. Genome Res. 2016 Oct; 26(10):1312-1322. Doi: 10.1101/gr.203521.115

www.savepangolins.org

The Encyclopedia of Mammals edited by Dr. David Macdonald

Pangolin Conservation Organizations:

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife - www.svw.vn

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues pangolins and my seventh favorite thing about pangolins is their senses! Today we’ll talk about their vision, hearing, sense of smell, and taste.

For this podcast I found a fascinating study from some scientists that investigated the pangolin’s DNA. They looked at the genome of the Malayan pangolin and the Chinese pangolin.

Here’s a little scientific background to help this all make sense.

The genome, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is the complete set of genes or genetic material present in a cell or organism. This research paper was published in 2016 and before that a whole-genome map of the pangolin had never been done. Why is this something that we would want to research at all, you may ask? I applaud you for that thought because it’s a great question. The answer is that studying genomes of various mammals helps us understand mammalian evolution which helps us understand current mammalian behavior which in turn helps us understand how to ensure their futures. We still have so many questions about pangolins, such as why they are the only animal alive today covered in keratinous scales. This research can hopefully help us answer those questions.

Without getting too in-depth with this process let’s just say the researchers sequenced these two pangolins’ genomes and learned some interesting things that relate to the topic of this podcast.

Let’s start with vision. Most pangolins are mainly nocturnal, meaning they are active at night. There are some exceptions to this rule, just like any rule of nature, such as the daytime activities of Cape pangolins when the weather is cool and that the long tailed pangolin is often active during the day. Outside of these exceptions, pangolins are typically active during darker times. Many nocturnal animals that are not large predators, such as lions or owls, often have poor eyesight. The pangolin is thought to be one of these animals. At the time of publishing this podcast no one has done any visual tests with pangolins. We do know that their eyes are small compared to the rest of their body, so sight is most likely not their best attribute and interestingly the scientists studying the genomes found an absence of two genes important to good vision.

One deals with visual clarity. Visual clarity is exactly what it sounds like, clear vision. In humans we call it 20/20 vision. Simply, it means you can see objects clearly. The other gene controls phototransduction, Phototransduction has to do with the detection of light. This gene helps nerves register the entrance of light into the eye and triggers a reaction in the brain. That’s about as far as I got in my understanding of phototransduction. Sorry! The absence of these two genes tells us that the hypothesis that pangolins have poor eyesight is most likely correct.

Okay, let’s move on to their sense of smell. Almost every source I’ve referenced about pangolin senses says they have a strong sense of smell. Once again no scientific testing has been done to determine this in a controlled setting, but considering they eat things that can’t easily be seen and we have just established that pangolins do not rely on their eyesight for much, it becomes obvious that they most likely have an excellent sense of smell.

The scientists that mapped the genome of the Chinese and Malayan pangolin also discovered evidence to support this. As they were evaluating their results, the scientists compared the genomes of other animals such as cats, dogs, horses, and even humans to the pangolins and found that the pangolins had many more genes in the olfactory receptor family (whispers: that’s their nose!) indicating that pangolins have a heightened sense of smell.

There is another reason, besides hunting ants, for the pangolins to have an excellent sense of smell and that’s communication. In pervious episodes, I’ve mentioned that pangolins are generally solitary animals, but they do need to communicate with other pangolins. The way they do that is through scent marking. Pangolins have well developed scent glands in the anal region (whispers: that’s their bums) that they use to spray or rub scent on trees and rocks to communicate territory boundaries. Females will also scent mark structures whenthey are ready to mate with males. It’s a great way to communicate when you don’t know when someone will come by to get your message because the scent can last for days, weeks, maybe even months.

Moving on to our next sense, hearing. We don’t know too much about hearing in pangolins. That’s probably not much of a surprise to you by now, especially if you’ve listened to my other podcasts. There is so much we don’t yet know about pangolins. But we believe that they have excellent hearing. They use this sense to help them navigate at night and listen for predators, as well as listen for the tell-tale sounds of ants and termites. With both a heightened sense of smell and excellent hearing it makes them superheroes at finding underground ants and termites. Who needs vision when you can sniff out your prey?!

One really cool thing we know about pangolins hearing is that they can close their ears. I wish I could do that without using my hands! They do this when they’ve dug into an ant mound so they can keep ants from crawling into their ears while they’re enjoying a good meal! Brilliant!

Our final sense is taste. Pangolins must have some sense of taste because it has been reported that they tend to favor specific species of ants when they are forging for food. Now, ants produce formic acid inside their bodies. They use it to protect themselves and their nest. That’s why an ant bite hurts and itches so bad. But when eaten by other animals, the formic acid has a specific taste.

Apparently in some parts of the world people eat ants. I’m not judging, but I don’t know if that’s going to be on MY menu any time soon. Anyways, it has been reported that different species of ants taste differently. Some may taste spicy, while others taste sour, and some even taste citrusy! I’m not sure which ones the pangolins prefer but it seems that they do have a preference.

There is so much more we have to learn about pangolin senses, but I hope you discovered something fascinating about pangolin senses from this podcast because it is my seventh favorite thing about pangolins.

Join me next week for another ten minute podcast focusing on another thing I like about pangolins.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: Pangolins have one of the strangest gaits in the animal kingdom! Join Kiersten and a special co-host as they talk about pangolin feet and gait.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes.

Show Notes:

Pangolin ID Guide: https://www.usaidrdw.org//resources/pangolin-species-identification-guide/pangolin-id-guide-rast-english.pdf

The Encyclopedia of Mammals edited by Dr. David Macdonald

Pangolin Conservation Organizations:

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife - www.svw.vn

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues pangolins and my sixth favorite thing about pangolins is the way they walk!

For this explode, I have a guest co-host, my husband Georgiy, say hello Georgiy!

Georgiy - Hello, everyone!

Kiersten - He is going to help me talk about pangolin feet and their gait (G-A-I-T), which is the way they walk.

Welcome Georgiy. Are you excited to get started?

Georgiy - Da!

Kiersten - (whispers: That means yes! ) I’m excited to have you with me too! Let’s get started with the structure of pangolin feet!

Georgiy - I know you have done a little research on pangolin feet, can you tell our listeners what you have learned?

Kiersten - Absolutely! Pangolins have 4 feet. Each foot has 5 toes. Each toe has a claw. The front feet of each species has 3 long, curved claws and 2 shorter claws. Their back feet also have five toes and five claws. The paws of each species isa bit differnt. The Giant ground pangolin, the Cape ground pangolin, the Chinese pangolin, and the Indian pangolin have front claws that are much longer than their back feet. The claws on the back feet are more like nails, sort of like a dog’s nails, rather than claws. Tree pangolins such as the Black-bellied and White-bellied pangolins have only slightly longer claws on their front feet compared to their back feet. But if we compare tree pangolin back feet to ground pangolin back feet, the tree pangolin’s back claws re longer than the ground pangolin’s back claws.

Georgiy - Wow! Why do you think the claws are different between the species?

Kiersten - I don’t know, but it may be because they use their feet a little differently. Ground pangolins walk on flatter surfaces more than tree pangolins so the shorter nails on the back may make it easier to walk and help steady themselves when they dig burrows, while tree pangolins spend most of their time in trees and having claws that are a bit longer on all four feet allow them to grasp the tree more tightly, help them propel upwards when they climb up a tree and help steady them when they are sleeping.

Georgiy - That’s fascinating.

Kiersten - Another difference between terrestrial and arboreal pangolin feet can be seen in the shape of their feet. Ground pangolins back feet are a bit more flat than their front feet. Think of a rhino’s feet that are flat and round, that’s kind of what the Cape pangolin and Giant pangolin feet look like. Their front feet are also a bit flatter than tree pangolins but they are more similar to a hand rather than a foot. The more arboreal pangolins front and back feet look more like hands with slightly longer more separated toes, kind of like mouse feet.

Georgiy - What else do they use those claws for?

Kiersten - To tear open ant mounds, of course, to find their favorite food. Ants! Males will also use the long claws to fight each other during breeding season.

Georgiy - Well those long claws sound very useful but it seems like it might be kind of hard to walk with them.

Kiersten - It is! Pangolins do use all four feet to walk but with the longer claws it’s more like a shuffle. Terrestrial pangolins will actually balance on the outer edges of the front feet.

Georgiy - How does that work?

Kiersten - Well, Ground pangolins tuck the long claws on their front feet under to protect them and they walk on the edges of their front feet, it’s kind of like if you fold your fingers down flat against the palm of your hand and only use to side of your hand to touch or hold things. That gives them an unusual shuffling gait.

Georgiy - That’s cool! But it sounds like they all move pretty slow?

Kiersten - On average, they do walk slowly but they can move quicker when the need to. And by quicker, I mean 3 mph which compared to an animal like a cheetah, that can run for short distances at 80 mph, is still pretty slow but for a small ,short legged mammal it’s fairly impressive. To move quicker, though, they have to change their center of balance.

Georgiy - How do they do that?

Kiersten - I am so glad you asked because this is my favorite thing about how they walk. When they need to move more quickly on the ground pangolins can lean back and hold all of their weight on their back feet, they hold their front feet up under their chest, kind of like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and use their tail to help balance themselves. Then they can take off like the wind!

Georgiy - Really? The wind?

Kiersten - Okay, maybe more like a slight breeze. It is one of the most unusual gaits in the animal kingdom. They look like a hunched over old man.

Georgiy - Or a dinosaur!

Kiesten - (laughs) Or a dinosaur. I’ll agree with that!

Thanks for helping me talk about pangolin feet Georgiy.

Georgiy - You’re welcome!

Kiersten - It is my sixth favorite thing about pangolins.

Join me next week for another ten minute podcast focusing on another thing I like about pangolins.

(Piano Music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

View Details

Summary: How do pangolins defend themselves from predators? They actually have five different strategies. Join Kiersten as she talks about her fifth favorite thing about pangolins.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes.

Show Notes:

animaldiversity.org

bioweb.uwlax.edu

iucn.org

www.savepangolins.org

The Encyclopedia of Mammals edited by Dr. David Macdonald

Pangolin Conservation Organizations:

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife - www.svw.vn

Transcript

(Piano music plays)

Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

(Piano music stops)

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This episode continues pangolins and my fifth favorite thing about pangolins is how they protect themselves!

The pangolin’s main defense is the thing that they are most well known for, their scales. They are covered from snout to tail in hard, thick scales made of keratin. These precious animals are often referred to as the scaly anteater and for a more visually amusing nickname, walking artichokes. The scales have an overlapping patten on body that resembles a suit of armor and hides all of their soft skin on their back and legs. Their scales are a pretty good defense against anything that might want to eat them, as well as protecting them from what they eat, ants. For a more in depth discussion of pangolin scales, please listen to the first episode in this series.

Scales are the first layer of defense, but next steps will depend on the species of pangolin which is further dependent on whether it is a ground pangolin or a tree pangolin.

Ground pangolins dig burrows to sleep in and to raise their young. As they forage for food they can wander far from their burrows, but if they are close enough to them when threatened they will try to flee to their burrow to escape predators, such as lions and hyenas in Africa, and large cats such as leopards in the Asian areas. Tree pangolins, if on the ground, will quickly head to the nearest tree. If they encounter a predator in a tree, they will climb down just as quickly or scurry out to the far reaches of a branch where a predator cannot go. They have been known to swim into water to flee from predators that will not follow them there. Pangolins are great swimmers.

If ground pangolins, including the Giant pangolin and the Cape ground pangolin, cannot get to their burrow they will use their tail like a club and swing it back and forth. The edges of the scales on their tails are sharp. The sharpness derives from the design of the scale, it tapers to a thinner width toward the end of the scale and the scales are also honed to a sharpness by rubbing against the rough ground and rocks similar to sharpening a knife on a whetstone. The pangolins are able to raise the scales on their tails slightly and combined with a slashing motion can be extremely deadly to a predator. Imagine an ancient Mayan club-like weapon with blades made out of sharpened obsidian on the sides. swinging this into an enemy could leave quit a wound. That’s what pangolins can do with their tail.

Tree pangolin scales are also sharp but I have found no reports of them using their tails in this manner. That doesn’t mean that they don’t, it just means we haven’t seen them do it.

The next defensive step that pangolins will take is something that all pangolins do and that is curl up in a ball. And when I say ball, I mean a ball. When they curl up they are perfectly round.

Now, It doesn’t help them get away from a predator that is trying to eat them but it does protect all of their soft body parts. The scales that are their first layer of defense do not cover the end of the nose or eyes nor do they cover the underbelly. In fact, their underbelly is only covered with fur and can be a vulnerable spot if a predator can get their claws or teeth on it. So when a pangolin curls up, their outer scales completely cover their delicate nose and soft underbelly. Their long tail actually wraps over their nose and head and flattens down their back essentially locking in place. A rolled up pangolin looks a bit like a perfectly round spiral.

The abdominal muscles of the pangolin are extremely strong and can be held taught making it virtually impossible to uncurl them against their will. If a predator tries to unfurl a pangolin, they will cut their paw or mouth on the sharp edges of their scales. Pangolins can hold the ball for some time, not indefinitely but usually long enough that a predator looking for an easy meal will tire and leave them be.

In Africa, scientists and filmmakers have seen prides of lions actually give up trying to get into a curled up pangolin. The lions will bat it around to try and make it uncurl, pick it up in their mouths, which usually doesn’t work out because the scales are pretty slick, and try to bite through the scales, which also doesn’t work because the scale are too thick. The lions eventually just walk away and leave the pangolin alone and after a few minutes the pangolin unfurls and goes on his or her way unharmed.

Believe it or not there is one last layer of defense the pangolin can use if a predator is able to pick them up. They have scent glands at the base of their tails they use for communication with other pangolins. When they are threatened they can spray a noxious liquid from their scent glands that will hopefully make the predator think twice about continuing to bother the pangolin.

Now who exactly are pangolins protecting themselves from. Who are their predators? As I mentioned before, in Africa pangolins need to worry about lions, hyenas, the smaller tree pangolins must all watch out of African Golden cats. The Asian species must beware of leopards and pythons. The Giant ground pangolin found in Africa has no natural predators.

There is one other predator that pangolins must be aware of including the Giant Ground pangolin, but, reluctantly, none of these defensive mechanisms protect them from this predator. Humans.

Pangolins have become the most trafficked animal on the black market. Illegal hunting of them happens everywhere they are found. Traditional Chinese medicine uses their scales in various remedies, such as curing lactation difficulties in women and treating arthritis, but there is no evidence that these remedies actually work and there are far better and easier remedies that do not use animal parts as treatment that have proven results. Their meat is also considered a delicacy by the ultra rich in China and Vietnam. All eight species of pangolin are considered Endangered or Vulnerable by the IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature which is widely considered the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to protect it. None of the pangolin’s defense mechanisms protect them from us.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the five defense mechanisms that pangolins use to survive because this is my fifth favorite thing about pangolins!

Join me next week for another ten minute podcast focusing on another thing I like about pangolins.

(Piano music plays)

This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

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Summary: Baby pangolins! Join Kiersten for a quick discussion of pangolin reproduction.

Show Notes:

animaldiversity.org

bioweb.uwlax.edu

“Reproductive Parameters of the Sunda pangolin, Manis javanica.” Fuhua Zhang, Shibao Wu, Li Yang, Li Zhang, Ruing Sun, Shaoshan Li. Folia Zoologica, 4(2): 129-135 (2015). https://doi.org/10.25225/fozo.v64.i2.a6.2015

“Successful captive breeding of a Malayan pangolin population to the third filial generation.” Dingy Yan, Xiangfan Zeng, Miaomiao Jia, Xiaobing Guo, Siwei Deng, Li Tao, Xiaolu Huang, Baocai Li, Chang Huang, Tengcheng Que, Kaixiang Li, Wendi Liang, Yao Zhao, Xingxing Liang, Yating Zhong, Sara Platto and Siew Woh Choo. Communications Biology 4, 1212 (2021). Https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02760-4

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Summary: Did you know there is more than one species of pangolin? Kiersten didn't either! Join her to find out how many species of pangolin there are and where they're found.

Show Notes:

References for this episode - The Encyclopedia of Mammals edited by Dr. David Macdonald

www.savepangolins.org

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/facts-about-pangolins

treepangolinresource.weebly.com/digestion

bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/grosshue_crai/diet

Pangolin Conservation Organizations:

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife - www.svw.vn

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Summary: The amazing digestive tract of the pangolin includes a 27 inch long tongue and a stomach with teeth! Join Kiersten as she travels through the incredible digestive tract of the pangolin.

Show Notes:

References for this episode - The Encyclopedia of Mammals edited by Dr. David Macdonald

www.savepangolins.org

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/facts-about-pangolins

treepangolinresource.weebly.com/digestion

bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/grosshue_crai/diet

“Expression Profile of the Digestive Enzymes Manis javanica Reveals Its Adaptation to Diet Specialization” by Fuhua Zhang, Na Xu, Yishuang Yu, Shibao Wu, Shaoshan Li, and Wenhua Wang; doi:10.1021/acsomega.9b02845

Pangolin Conservation Organizations:

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife - www.svw.vn

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Summary: What is a pangolin? It's an amazing creature that looks like a living breathing artichoke! Join Kiersten as she begins this series of podcast talking about this mammal's scales. That right, this is a mammal with scales!

Show Notes:

References for this episode - The Encyclopedia of Mammals edited by Dr. David Macdonald

www.savepangolins.org

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/facts-about-pangolins

Pangolin Conservation Organizations:

Rare and Endangered Species Trust - www.restnamibia.org

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife - www.svw.vn

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