Natural Selections

𓆣 2011 ACCOUNT 𓆣 FICTION AUTHOR 𓆣 34/M 𓆣 I LOVE NATURE AND SCIENCE 𓆣 LONG ISLANDER 𓆣

[alphynix]

Flandriacetus gijseni was an early beaked whale that lived during the late Miocene, about 8 million years ago, in nearshore marine waters covering what is now the Netherlands.

Around 4m long (~13'), it had a long snout lined with small sharp teeth – unlike modern beaked whales which are mostly toothless – and much like its close relative Messapicetus it probably led a more dolphin-like lifestyle feeding on small fish near the surface.

It's currently the youngest known example of a long-snouted stem beaked whale, a holdover from a time when these cetaceans were much more ecologically diverse than they are today.

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References:

Bianucci, Giovanni, et al. "New beaked whales from the late Miocene of Peru and evidence for convergent evolution in stem and crown Ziphiidae (Cetacea, Odontoceti)." PeerJ 4 (2016): e2479. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2479

Post, K., Bosselaers, M., & Munsterman, D. "A new longirostrine beaked whale Flandriacetus gijseni Gen. et sp. nov. (Ziphiidae, Cetacea, Mammalia) from the Tortonian of the North Sea Basin." Deinsea 23 (2025): 1-31. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17880020

Ramassamy, Benjamin, et al. "Description of the skeleton of the fossil beaked whale Messapicetus gregarius: searching potential proxies for deep-diving abilities." Fossil Record 21.1 (2018): 11-32. https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-11-2018

Wikipedia contributors. “Beaked whale” Wikipedia, 16 Oct. 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaked_whale

[gastornis]

I'm still around!

I hope everyone reading this is doing well, in spite of everything!

[alphynix]

Dorypterus hoffmanni was a stem-actinopterygian fish that lived during the late Permian, around 259-254 million years ago, in shallow warm lagoons covering what is now northwestern Europe.

About 13cm long (~5"), it had a tall narrow disc-shaped body convergently similar to modern reef fish, and it was mostly scaleless with only a few scales on its underside, below its pectoral fins, and along the top of its tail. It also appears to have been toothless, and probably used its large scissor-like jaws to snip off mouthfuls of soft food such as algae.

But its most distinctive feature was its highly elongated pennant-like dorsal fin, which may be an example of sexual dimorphism – fossils of short-finned individuals have also been found, and although they were originally named as a separate species (Dorypterus althausi) they probably actually represent female D. hoffmani.

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NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

References:

Gill, E. Leonard. "XXXI.—The Permian Fish Dorypterus." Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh 53.3 (1925): 643-661. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0080456800027526

Nelson, Joseph S., Terry C. Grande, and Mark VH Wilson. Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, 2016. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301290410_Fishes_of_the_World_Fifth_Edition

Westoll, T. Stanley. "The Permian fishes Dorypterus and Lekanichthys." Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London B111 (1941): 39-58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1941.tb00042.x

Wikipedia contributors. “Dorypterus” Wikipedia, 23 Dec. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorypterus

[snototter]

A tricolor parrotfish (Scarus tricolor) off the coast of Komba Island, Indonesia

by François Libert

[herpsandbirds]

Bird-voiced Treefrog (Dryophytes avivoca), family Hylidae, southern IL, USA

photograph by Adrian Bara-Popa

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Though small, the island of Aotearoa is home to many unique species, including some of the largest land snails in the world! The genus Powelliphanta consists of 21 recognized species, the largest of which can grow up to 9 cm (3.5 in) across and weigh up to 90g (3.2 oz)!

(Image: Powelliphanta supurba by Kath Walker)

[titipounamu]

big patch of coral slime (Ceratiomyxa sp) being absolutely feasted on by a congregation of springtails :)

[wild-e-eep]

Big crowd; Bunodophoron melanocarpum.

[mammalianmammals]

Oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) melanistic, family Felidae, Cerro de la Muerte, Costa Rica

Also called the tigrillo, northern spotted cat, and little spotted cat.

photograph by Noah Israel

[vintagewildlife]

Tuco-tuco By: Zoological Society of London From: Living Mammals of the World 1969

[spinus-pinus]

California Condor Gymnogyps californianus

3/4/2023 San Diego Zoo Safari Park, California

[historicalbookimages]

🦗 Field book of insects New York, G.P. Putnam’s sons, 1918.

Did u know that the closest relatives of the Mantis are termites & cockroaches! See our #SpeciesOfTheDay in #bhlib

[spinus-pinus]

Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus

10/13/2022 Los Angeles County, California

[contremineur]

Spiny heteromorph ammonites Emericiceras barremense from the Cretaceous (145-66 million years ago) found in Morocco

from here

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Glass: Cobalt blue glass

A deep blue colored glass, cobalt glass is mainly used because of its attractive color, but does have a few practical applications. Cobalt, usually in the form of cobalt oxide or cobalt carbonate, has been added to glass since ancient times purely as a pigment, given that only very small amounts are required to achieve a noticeable effect.

When it is ground as a pigment, cobalt glass (potassium cobalt silicate) is known as smalt, and is used not just in glass making but also in painting and pottery, in a similar manner as cobalt aluminate (also known as cobalt blue).  

Bristol blue glass is a particular type of cobalt glass made in Bristol, England since the eighteenth century, though production ceased in the 1920s and wasn’t restarted until the 1980s. Along with cobalt oxide, Bristol blue glass also contains around 25% lead oxide. Other cobalt blue glasses have been marketed under specific names as well, though Bristol Blue is the most well known. Some Depression glass is cobalt glass. 

Though cobalt glass does not have many technical applications, it is sometimes used as an optical filter in flame tests, specifically to filter out the yellow light caused by sodium contamination and to better see violet and blue hues.

Sources: ( 1 ) ( 2 - images 2 and 4 ) ( 3 )

Image sources: ( 1 ) ( 3 )

[spinus-pinus]

Scarlet Macaw Ara macao

7/29/2023 Guanacaste, Costa Rica

[herpsandbirds]

Bright-eyed Frog (Boophis viridis), family Mantellidae, Madagascar

In 2001, this genus was moved from the family Rhacophoridae to the Mantellidae.

photograph by Artur Tomaszek - Inglourious Reptiles