The ostrich (Struthio camelus) combines large eyeballs and a small head.

Indeed, the mass of the pair of its eyeballs exceeds that of its brain ().

In this Post, I record the exact dimensions of the eyeballs and head.

Struthio camelus massaicus, fully wild (no influence of captivity or domestication)

Location: Wildlife Ranching and Research, later Swara Conservancy, now incorporated into Nairobi National Park
Sample size: n = 3 female adults, measured...

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It is easy to show that the ostrich (Struthio camelus) has a small brain relative to like-size ungulates - with which it is ecologically comparable.

What is more subtle is an allometric comparison of brain sizes between the ostrich and trophically comparable but far smaller birds, particularly Phasianidae (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phasianidae).

In this Post, I suggest that the ostrich is,...

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La planta comenzó a cerrar sus pétalos con los primeros rayos del sol, fue cerrando poco a poco y después de medio día ya estaba completamente cerrada. Fue polinizada por abejas de la región color amarillo y negro.

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Trip Date: 2024-05-18

Cave Zones

I currently use the field "Cave Zone" to indicate where in cave the observation was made. I have used the following definitions:

• Entrance: Where there is enough light for some vascular plants to grow.
• Twilight: Where there is not enough light for vascular plants, but some mosses may grow/
• Dark Zone: No light at all

It appears that another zone between Twilight and Dark is needed. This ...

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I have been waiting for I think 3 or 2 months for a chance to get an observation, but they kept flying away. I am so happy.

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I'm not sure what it is with these little guys, but jumping spiders just do not make me afraid as much as other spiders. It is most likely because I have never had a bad experience with them as a child haha. This little guy here is unique. I haven't been able to find a species for him that matches mostly. He has a white body and black markings, and has been ID'd for now as a "White-jawed Jumping Spider". Perhaps there is some sort of dimorphism? Or is it an entirely different species?

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I have seen two mourning doves in my area for a while. Do you think they are paired up as mates?

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Ci siamo fermati a 130?
Facciamo un po' di conti. Eravamo in 17 e le istruzioni erano di fare le foto ad almeno 10 tra animali e piante.
Quindi 10 x 17 fa 170. Considerato che alcuni di noi hanno continuato a fare osservazioni e ad inserirle, dovremmo aver superato le 200 osservazioni.
Quindi? Cosa è successo?
Coraggio...
Ricordatevi domani, andando e tornando da scuola di avere un po' di occhio, se siete con amici chiedete anche a loro di prestare attenzione.

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I recently photographed a new lichen species during my quest to find and identify lichens, Namaqua lichen Heterodermia namaquana.
Alan Fryday, author of the South African lichen checklist referred me to the paper on this species by Franklin Brusse (Bothalia 22:183 1992) highlighting the characteristics of the species. However, it is apparent that it can be confused with two other species.
Heterodemia erinacea
Heterodermia ciliatomarginata - accepted nam...

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1.-Pareja de Azulejos Garganta Canela son fotografiados por primera vez el día 2 de Febrero en Fraccionamiento Campestre Rincon de Arcentales (km 42) carretera libre Saltillo-Torreón. Municipio de General Cepeda, Coahuila.

2.- Hay evidencia fotográfica que anidaron en un nogal seco (fotografias del 02 03 2024).

3.- 2 fotografias de un juvenil visto a las 11.48 am el 11 05 2024 en la misma zona.

3.- Ultima foto de azulejo garganta canela(adulto) el dia 18 de may...

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We had a total of 792 observations on the first day of the bioblitz, with 320 unique species recorded, from bird’s nest fungi to the white-tipped ctenucha to the Wilson’s warbler to the fringed false hellebore. It's a little breathtaking to see the diversity of nature at Sea Ranch being displayed like this. 

While recording the number of species is key, we also would like to know where they are found, so for example we can document all the places the tanoak are thriving, or where...

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Welcome to our second year of the B-Team Community Science Project at Rogers Center.

We are excited to see so many new observations already this year. I have yet to do much bee photography at Rogers - unfortunately, the warm weather coincides with school programs, so my time is pretty much booked. But on Monday mornings when I'm out leading our Rambles, I'll be taking bee photos when I can!

Soon our new Upstate Institute Fellow, Charlie Tourbaf, will be joining us, to p...

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It's 2024 and we are already off to a great start! I'm seeing lots of new bees already added to our project, which is very exciting.

I'm waiting for a few sunny days when I can get away from my desk and go out on our property at Rogers Center and start recording what we have here. But in the meantime, our Upstate Institute Fellow for 2024, Charlie Tourbaf, will be joining us soon to pick up where Matt McGeary left off last year with the B-Team project. So we hope to be getting...

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6 species:

Round Hickorynut Obovaria subrotunda, 2 observations
crane-fly orchid Tipularia discolor, 1 observation
Fawnsfoot Truncilla donaciformis, 1 observation
northern oak fern Gymnocarpium jessoense, 1 observation
Prairie Crab Apple Malus ioensis, 1 observation
Goosefoot Cornsalad Valerianella chenopodifolia, 1 observation

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Today at 7am: 2201 observations of 443 species for 180 observers Most observed species: Claytonia siberica (35 obs) followed by Tellima grandiflora & Iris tenax with 30 obs each.
To see the full tally of observations per species click on https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/lane-county-wildflower-show-florablitz-2024?tab=species
You can scroll dow...

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Novedades

El día 18 de mayo pudimos observar un ejemplar de mantis patapalo (Hypsicorypha gracilis) camuflada entre los arbustos de la zona.

Si estás interesado en ver la observación de iNaturalist, haz click

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I've just created a new project to collect observations of things that feed on ferns, and all are welcome to join! https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/feasting-on-ferns

It may seem like not much eats ferns, but many insects and other animals do, either casually or exclusively--including sawfly larvae, moth caterpillars, agromyzid and anthomyiid fly larvae, leafhoppers, foliar nematodes, ...

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Dobiliśmy do 3000 taksonów!!!
Z tego gatunków ze stopniem badawczym 2042, natomiast łączna ilość obserwacji to ponad 16 300.
Przybywają kolejne interesujące gatunki oraz wiedza o rozmieszczeniu tych już znanych.
Następny kamień milowy ... niech będzie 3500 :)

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Dragonflies are in the air in increasing numbers now. The number of observers is also on the rise.

We are on pace with 2023 (which set new high records) for numbers and species. For 2024, there are over 3,000 observations, over 250 observers, over 70 species. The weather for the next 10 days is also favorable.

There are a number of new County Records and also some new Early Flight dates. It's challenging to keep up with everything when I want to be in the field!

...

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1. Introduction

Acanthaspis is a genus (Reduviidae: Reduviinae) of assassin bugs found in Africa and parts of Asia. The most recent large publication concerning the oriental species deals with species found in China. You can read mo...

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alle Quadranten
Tragopogon orientalis - Orientalischer Bocksbart
Euphrasia officinalis - Gewöhnlicher Augentrost

neu
Iris sibirica - Sibirische Schwertlilie

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Provate ad approfondire la conoscenza di una delle vostre osservazioni.
Utilizzate la piattaforma e vedrete che potrete arrivare a conoscere tutto su quella pianta o animale e anche imparare a riconoscerla meglio rispetto a chi le somiglia.
Buon divertimento!

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The ostrich (Struthio camelus) is the largest living bird.

It has an uniquely large intestine for a bird, resembling ungulates in this way.

In this series of Posts, I compare the ostrich with ungulates in terms of

• body sizes,
• organ sizes,
• habitats, and
• diet.

This provides a basis for ecological comparison between the ostrich and African ungulates.

I find that the ostrich shares the same body mass as several co...

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Congrats, everyone, the Bindea project has just ticked over 100 species recorded!

You can see which are the most frequently recorded species (and the whole list) here:

https://inaturalist.nz/projects/bindea-porcupine-reserve-and-surrounds-plants-animals-and-fungi?tab=species

We are also at over 170 observations.

...

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A Sunday morning walk in Omahu Bush Reserve

Grey and cloudy

There was

A lichen with long pale stems and delicate antler shaped branches
INaturalist suggested it to be in the Genus Stereocaulon - foam or snow lichens

Raoulia glabra
Growing on a bank. I did not know what it was until Inat gave the answer. It may not be correct.
A diminutive treasure

White climbing rātā, Metrosideros diffusa
Growing up a Pseudowintera colorata a...

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Breve introducción
Las hojitas caminantes del género Typophyllum muestran un importante dimorfismo sexual, con los machos de apenas la mitad del tamaño de las hembras. Eso es relacionado con el comportamiento de apareamiento, con el pequeño macho inicialmente aferrado al costado de una tegmina de la hembra. Así que macho y hembra de una sola especie pueden aparecer completamente diferentes. Normalmente solo los machos tienen en las tegminas una emarginación ...

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Einladung Bioblitz am Campus:

22.Mai: Internationaler Tag der Biodiversität
BioBlitz: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/bioblitz-tag-der-artenvielfalt-2024-campus-der-uni-wien

World Biodiversity Day
Am 22. Mai wird daran erinnert, dass der Schutz von Arten, Lebensräumen und genetischer Vielfalt weltweit viel stärkere Anstrengungen ...

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Having just gotten back from an outing, I find it's easier to just take photos using my smartphone camera (not the camera on the iNat app) because it takes too long on the app with the spotty connection. The smartphone camera will record the time and location, and you can upload the photos to the app and identify them when you get home using the "Photo Library" feature.
--Ailene

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Poking around the iNat forums I found this really cool tool (https://kildor.name/inat/new-species) that shows new species for projects. This is something I've struggled with in this project is knowing what new species were added.

For 2024 these 11 are new species added.
11 species:

Pale Apple Leafroller Moth Pseudexentera mali, 3 observations
Filigreed Moth Chimoptesis pennsylvaniana, 2 ...

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90% rule

• Allium sp. onions, garlic
• Rubus sp. brambles
• Ribes sp. Gooseberries, currants
• Malus sp. Apples, crabapples
• Thistles
• Vaccinium sp. Blueberries, cranberries, huckleberries, etc
• Violet sp. Viola
• Rose fam Rosaceae
• Aster fam Asteraceae
• Mustard fam. Brassicaceae
• Grass fam Poaceae
• Mint family Lamiaceae

Look for

• Huckleberry
• Gooseberries
...

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