From invisible squids to bald parrots to deep-sea fish with teeth on their tongues, guardian.co.uk picks the best of of 2010's newly discovered animals.
This image provided by NOAA shows a deep-sea chimaera. Chimaeras are most closely related to sharks, although their evolutionary lineage branched off from sharks nearly 400m years ago, and they have remained an isolated group ever since.
Over six decades at Harvard University he has discovered more about ants than anyone else in history. He has thrown into relief for the general public just how important ants are—how they represent 25% or more of the insect biomass on the planet, how collectively they weigh more than all the humans in the world, how they assist humans by aerating the soil, suturing wounds, or, as in South Africa, harvesting the rooibos seeds for farm workers to collect. And how ancient they are: in 1966 Wilson and his colleagues identified an ant in a shard of amber that was 80m years old. Ants emerged along with flowering plants 130m years ago. By contrast, the genus Homo diverged 2m years ago, has existed as Homo sapiens for a fraction of that time, with a civilization of 20,000 years or so.
An 8-month-old German shepherd named Rebel somehow squeezed his head through a hole in an 18-inch block wall at his Desert Hot Springs home Monday.
Then he got stuck.
Rebel may have been chasing another animal or was just curious about the hole, said Sgt. James Huffman of Riverside County Animal Services. The dog cried and whimpered until a friend of the owner heard him and called authorities. The dog’s owner wasn’t home at the time.
County Animal Services officers arrived about 12:30 p.m. and determined that the dog was not in serious danger. Huffman said they concluded that if the dog was able to get his head into the hole, they would be able to pull him out without damaging the wall, but their main concern was not to hurt Rebel while getting him out.
An officer got on either side of the wall, tucked in the dog’s ears and nudged him back and forth for about 30 minutes before getting him out safely.
This bald, grey-skinned creature was shot and killed in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky, after it emerged from woodland into the garden of a home.
The animal, which has large ears, whiskers and a long tail, has sparked intense debate on the internet, with some claiming it is one of the mythical chupacabras.
An AP-Petside.com Poll, conducted October 13-20, 2010, by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications, found that 53 percent of pet owners plan to get their animals a present this holiday season. Of these, fifty-six percent of the dog owners say they'll buy their pets a gift this Christmas, but only 48 percent of the cat owners plan a gift.
Also interesting: women (56 percent) are somewhat more likely than men (49 percent) to buy their animals a gift. The poll also showed that renters (66 percent) are more apt to pamper their pets than homeowners (49 percent). And while fewer than half of those who attend religious services weekly or more often say they plan to buy their pets a gift, 60 percent of those who never attend services do.
LAKELAND, Fla. -- A reindeer escaped from a nativity scene in Lakeland, but was later caught hiding under an elf house, police said Tuesday.
While the story sounds like a Christmas tale, police say it's true. A caller to police early Tuesday morning said the reindeer had escaped from the nativity scene at Highland Park Church of the Nazarene on Lake Highlands Road.
Church personnel responded to the area where the reindeer, appropriately named Rudy (short for Rudolph, of course), was seen running loose. They chased the deer around the property before finding Rudy hiding under the "elf house," police said.
Rudy, who was unharmed, is now in the care of his owner and being kept at his house to prevent another escape from his enclosure on the church property. Police said Rudy is small in stature and, while he looks like a baby deer, he is actually 3 years old.
A well-researched article in boston.com examines anthropologist Pat Shipman's premise that the unique ability to observe and control the behavior of other animals is what allowed us to become the humans that we are.
While some of Shipman's colleagues are skeptical, others describe her work as a promising new framework for looking at human evolution, one that highlights the extent to which the human story has been a collection of interspecies collaborations — between humans and dogs and horses, goats and cats and cows, and even microbes.
LONDON 7 DECEMBER 2010 --- This evening, one of the most magnificent printed books ever produced, John James Audubon’s Birds of America, sold at Sotheby’s London for £7,321,250/ US$11,542,683, establishing a new world record for any printed book ever sold at auction. A fiery enthusiasm among four collectors bidding on the phones and in the room drove the price rapidly beyond pre-sale expectations (£4-6 million/ US$6.3-9.5 million). The book was bought by London dealer Michael Tollemache, who was bidding in the room and who described the work after the sale as “priceless”.
LONDON -- Sotheby's is auctioning a rare copy of John James Audubon's "Birds of America," billed as the world's most expensive book - a treasure that could sell for 6 million pounds ($9.5 million).
One of only 100 or so remaining copies of "Birds of America," the tome will be on the block Tuesday in London alongside a first edition of Shakespeare's plays expected to fetch at least 1 million pounds ($1.6 million).
The books come from the estate of the 2nd Baron Hesketh, an aristocratic book collector who died in 1955. Another complete copy of "Birds of America" was sold by Christie's for $8.8 million in 2000, a record for a printed book at auction.
The collection of 435 hand-colored prints is made from engravings of Audubon's illustrations.
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*** To celebrate Morton Salt’s new Facebook Fan Page, they have launched a contest, “What’s Your Morton Salt Secret?” They’re looking for readers to share a photo of their best nifty tip, trick or use of Morton Salt.
The grand prize winner will receive a $1,000 AMEX gift card and a Morton Salt prize pack. Morton Salt will also be awarding four Runner-up winners and six Sweepstakes winners with prize packs!
Most of us, by now, know that koala are not really "bears."
But did you also know that koalas are social animals and can communicate with each other over long distances? But the most important fact about koalas is that the impact of intense urbanization has resulted in the destruction of their habitat, while the attacks of other animals, like domestic dogs and foxes, and traffic accidents, are causing the koala population to decline.
During this happy season of gift giving, please take a moment to give a gift to a hard working, tireless, and very worthy Animal Welfare or Animal Rescue organization in your neighborhood.
i-pets.com appreciates and supports the hard work and valuable services performed by animal welfare agencies and rescue organizations, so we offer them FREE SHIPPING on their orders. If you are ordering for a welfare or rescue, please e-mail me for the coupon code and you will receive free shipping on any order delivered to a rescue, welfare, or humane society address.
If you're looking for the best value, to gift many rescued animals, consider USA Rawhide Seconds/Irregulars, 10 pounds of USA Rawhide (approx. 15 to 25 pieces) for $22.50, or Dog Toys, starting as low as $1.00 each.
i-pets.com also has a great selection of Christmas Themed treats and chewies, some in bulk packs of 50 pieces - great gifts to keep homeless pets busy and happy at any time.
So much to be THANKFUL for . . . . . . Loving family . . . Great friends . . . Delightful pets . . . A beautiful world ...
Have an excellent Thanksgiving, everyone.
PEACE!
Photograph by Michael McEvoy, DEEP Indonesia/Barcroft/Fame Pictures
A close-up of a blue-eyed moray eel in Indonesia captured an honorable mention in the "Indonesia Residents" category of the fourth annual Deep Indonesia International Underwater Photo Competition, whose winning photos were released to the press earlier this month.
Known to grow as long as about 5 feet (1.5 meters), moray species generally lack pectoral fins, unlike most other eel species.
In the early 1940s, a woman in Washington, DC, adopted a squirrel after she found the critter orphaned in a tree. The squirrel, dubbed Tommy Tucker by the family -- of which he soon became a part -- accompanied the lady of the house on shopping trips, visits to the local children's hospital, and the like. She also, it turned out, enjoyed dressing him up in specially made outfits.
Wouldn't it be great if more wealthy celebrities would do this? ... This holiday season, Ray is donating 100 percent of proceeds from her Nutrish and Just 6 pet food and treat lines to animal shelters nationwide, giving away a total of $775,000 before Dec. 31.
Currently on the road to promote her newest cookbook, Look + Cook, Ray is also sponsoring pop-up adoption events for the shelters she's supporting in the hopes of raising awareness for her cause. "We only give to no-kill shelters," she says. "But we give to small and large; no one's excluded. We want to keep as many animals alive as possible."
The mountains of southeastern Arizona have been a favorite collecting site for lepidopterists for generations. Yet new species continue to be described at the rate of about three per year.
One of the latest discoveries is the largest member of the genus Lithophane, a group of particularly large and beautifully coloured moths. Lithophane leeae has a forewing length 25% larger than the previous record, measuring 25mm, and more extensive and brighter pink coloration. So far known from a single female collected at 7,700ft elevation in mid-June in the Chiricahua Mountains, this species is predicted to feed on pine, like related species.
Russian PM Vladimir Putin hugs and kisses the Bulgarian Shepherd puppy that his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov presented to him in Sofia on Saturday, Nov 13.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister has a passion for canine pets and the Bulgarian Shepherd Dog is his favorite breed. He states that politicians should be like these dogs, explaining that a Bulgarian Shepherd is "faithful, strong, fights predators and bad people, and is a very good guard."
Another male puppy of Borisov's is reportedly being secretly trained as a gift for present US President Barack Obama.
This image provided by NOAA shows a deep-sea chimaera. Chimaeras are most closely related to sharks, although their evolutionary lineage branched off from sharks nearly 400m years ago, and they have remained an isolated group ever since.
An 8-month-old German shepherd named Rebel somehow squeezed his head through a hole in an 18-inch block wall at his Desert Hot Springs home Monday.
This bald, grey-skinned creature was shot and killed in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky, after it emerged from woodland into the garden of a home.
LONDON -- Sotheby's is auctioning a rare copy of John James Audubon's "Birds of America," billed as the world's most expensive book - a treasure that could sell for 6 million pounds ($9.5 million).
What a great idea!
Most of us, by now, know that koala are not really "bears."
During this happy season of gift giving, please take a moment to give a gift to a hard working, tireless, and very worthy Animal Welfare or Animal Rescue organization in your neighborhood.
Photograph by Michael McEvoy, DEEP Indonesia/Barcroft/Fame Pictures
FT. LEONARD WOOD, MO -- Families and friends said their farewells to about a dozen military men, women, and dogs Monday.
The mountains of southeastern Arizona have been a favorite collecting site for lepidopterists for generations. Yet new species continue to be described at the rate of about three per year.
Five month-old Tungo was found on a beach in Rio de Janeiro with a shattered bill that had been damaged by a boat propeller.
This incredible scene was captured minutes after a herd of buffalo tried to drive a lioness and her babies from their den.
UK supermarket Lidl is under fire for stocking reindeer meat and is accused of destroying the magic of Christmas.
Russian PM Vladimir Putin hugs and kisses the Bulgarian Shepherd puppy that his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov presented to him in Sofia on Saturday, Nov 13.
