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Vaterite … from fish ears to crystal lattices

Deep within the ear of a fish you will find a little bone, an otolith. This bone acts as part of the sensory system of the ear, part accelerometer, part gravity sensor, part sound sensor. Otoliths are formed from calcium carbonate minerals, and different species of fish exploit different types of CaCO3 mineral. These CaCO3 “polymorphs” all have the same chemistry, but the arrangements of atoms within the crystal lattice of each are different, just as diamond and graphite are two polymorphs of carbon. Usually, a fish otolith grows as aragonite, sometimes as calcite, a different polymorph of calcium carbonate, and sometime as the third CaCO3 polymorph, vaterite.

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Updated visalization of every Vaquita left on Earth

There are supposed to be 5000 of them. Now there are 30.

What has been done so far has not worked, including the ban on gill nets, and the capture effort that is coming will probably be far too late.

This is humanity’s fault.

China for pushing the market for totoaba swim bladders, Mexico for allowing it until this point, and the rest of us for not stepping up until they are at death’s door.

This species will most likely be gone in one or two years, and it will be the second cetacean species to die out in a little over ten years, the second in the entire 200 000 year history of the human species.

Plate 12. Jellies. Histoire naturelle des zoophytes. Acalèphes. 1843.

Uncovering the Willow Ptarmigan Diorama 

OKAY SO THIS IS COOL. The Reptile Hall is getting ready to undergo some renovations, and the first step in the process was to dismantle the square diorama case which previously housed Carl Akeley’s striped hyenas in the corner of the hall. But what NOBODY EXPECTED was to find a hidden diorama that had been blocked from view for ??? years. 

Not only that, this is a really, really cool diorama because it’s actually two dioramas in one. The lighting mechanism isn’t functional right now, but when you approach you notice that it’s dark. The idea is that there’d be two lighting sources, two scenes (with two animals) that mirror one another, and a two way mirror. 

The photos I snapped depict a willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) in a summer scene, sporting its summer plumage. In the winter, the bird’s plumage turns white. Here, the summer diorama is actually mounted to the ceiling of the diorama case, so when you shine a light through the front of the glass, that’s what is reflected back from the two way mirror. That means, behind the mirror is the second diorama: the winter scene, with a reversed taxidermied ptarmigan in a mirrored, winter landscape. Visitors could then approach the diorama and experience two different camouflage phases of the same animal, seamlessly fading from one to the other. 

I hope we can fix up the lights again soon because this is AWESOME 

Ptarmigan Bird Exhibit, Seasonal Plumage, Hall 20 diorama © The Field Museum, Z86694 and © The Field Museum, Z86693.

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

I have been following @rachelignotofsky on Tumblr for several years, and I’m truly happy to see her creative art of brilliant scientists now being in a book. These amusing illustrations together with educational information make a fantastic combination. I’m getting the book for my little sister but it’s definitely a great read for everyone.  You can order the book HERE.

Just some lesser known facts about octopuses you guys might like.

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A starfish walking back to the water.