What I Want to Study in Grad School

Thesis Title: "An Investigation of Every Cool Biotic and Abiotic Component of Earth and the Universe" Well, now I'm actually in grad school, and I study spiders!

[matthewvonhumboldt]

Fossil Spiders and Ancient Salt Lakes - Instrumentl

Crowdfunding campaign to investigate spider biodiversity in the fossil record, led by Matt Downen at the University of Kansas.

So, I'm competing in a crowd funding competition to get my research funded through donations. The first person to raise 50% of their goal wins an extra $500 toward their research. Check out my campaign page and if you can donate - awesome! if not, then check out some cool spider fossils!

[princesscockroach-deactivated20]

Gasteracantha cancriformis! I’m really enjoying my visit in Florida so far! 

[matthewvonhumboldt]

Very cool documentary about life inside a leaf cutter ant colony!

[matthewvonhumboldt]

dapkitsch

I rocked one of these bow ties at the geology banquet. Every scientist needs a good bow tie.

[astronomy-to-zoology]

Lamprima adolphinae

…is a species of stag beetle that is native to the island of New Guinea in Indonesia. L.adolphinae ranges greatly in color and individuals can sport green, gold, brown, and blue coloration. Despite their ‘menacing’ appearance L.adolphinae are not carnivorous and feed mostly on tree sap and rotting fruits. Male L.adolphinae sport two large mandibles which are used for fighting other males. These fights will usually be over mating rights but may also be over food. Like other stag beetles L.adolphinae larvae are deposited into rotting wood where they will develop until they pupate.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Arthropoda-Insecta-Coleoptera-Lucanidae-Lamprima-adolphinae

Image Source(s)

[kimberellasuglystepsister-blog]

I am rather surprised that I have never blogged any images of Kimberella. 

[matthewvonhumboldt]

Beecher Bed trilobite at gem and mineral show

http://www.fossilmall.com/fossil-shows/tucson/TucsonFossilShow.htm

[matthewvonhumboldt]

Anomalocaris fossil, Burgess Shale

http://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/science/burgess-shale/03-fossils.php

[matthewvonhumboldt]

500 million year old arthropod found

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17119273-500-million-year-old-sea-creature-unearthed

[paleoillustration]

Jaekelopterus rhenaniae catching a Ventastega curonica

and Chasmataspis laurencii 

by Guillermo Navalón Ferná.

1- “A dramatic scene in the Middle Devonian where you can see the huge pterygoid eurypterid Jaekelopterus rhenaniia (2,5- 3 m) hunting the tetrapodomorph fish Ventastega curonica. This reconstruction is highly hypothetical and is mostly based on its relative Pterygotus, much better known. In contrast to another eurypterids, Jaekelopterus lived in fresh water and some scientists think that it was able to walk on land. Done for an university investigation about arthropod evolution.”

2- “Chasmataspis laurencii from the Ordovician in Unites States. Thought to be in its discovery a young specimen of a eurypterid, now we know that it is a representative species of a “sister” order of eurypterid and xiphosurans, much more related with eurypterids than xiphosurans. 

The long metasome is thought to be used as a stabilizer in its brief incursions to the surface.

Done for an university arthropod-evolution investigation in about two hours of hard work.”

[matthewvonhumboldt]

Beach Wolf Spider on the Kansas River. Spotted it during a field trip. I think it's a female because the pedipalps aren't swollen. It's body length is about 2cm but with it's leg span it's about 5-6cm.

[matthewvonhumboldt]

The most fabulous caddisfly larva ever.

http://www.ecouterre.com/artists-enlist-caddisfly-larvae-to-build-jewelry-from-precious-metals/

[thagomizers]

Brachyopterus stubblefieldi (1951)

Pterygotus anglicus (1844)

Eurypterus remipes (1825)

[rhamphotheca]

Pacific flying squid (Todarodes pacificus) leap out of the water and take flight in the northwest Pacific Ocean, 600 km east of Tokyo. The mollusc propels itself out of the ocean by shooting a jet of water at high pressure, before opening its fins to glide at up to 11.2 metres per second, and then fly more than 30 m (100 feet)…

(read more: Telegraph UK)

Picture: AFP PHOTO / HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY / KOUTA MURAMATSU

[rhamphotheca]

The Ant-loving Crickets (family Myrmecophilidae)

… are rarely encountered relatives of crickets, and are obligate inquilines (animals that live commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species) within ant nests. They are very small, wingless, and flattened, therefore resembling small cockroach nymphs. There are a few genera, containing fewer than 100 species. Ant Crickets are yellow, brown, or nearly black in color. They do not produce sound, and lack both wings and tympanal organs (“ears”) on the front tibia…

(read more: Wikipedia)             (photo: Gyunther Tschuch)

[matthewvonhumboldt]

This would be an incredible find! A fossil ant and orthopteran. Check out this blog.

http://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/tag/eocene/#

[sciencesoup]

Spider Senses!

Though spiders and their leg hairs are generally creepy to most people, they are actually very interesting. The hairs found on many Arthropods, like spiders, are called Setae which are bristles protruding from the spiders’ tough outer layer called a cuticle. What is amazing about these leg hairs is that they can do everything from allowing them to walk upside-down or on water, sensing touch and temperature, gravity and acceleration, even equivalents of hearing and taste. Because spiders don’t have ears, they can “hear” you with their leg hairs, called trichobothria, from the pressure waves created from flying insects, and others can sense tiny vibrations in the ground to help locate walking prey. Other setae branch into smaller bristles called setules, which increase the effects of two forces—“capillary adhesion” and “van der Waal’s forces”—allowing spiders to climb on walls and smooth surfaces just like the gecko. These setules are numbered in the thousands and are each tipped with spatula fibers which are almost as small as the wavelength of visible light! Similar hairs allow them to “walk on water” but in this case the hairs are coated in super-hydrophobic wax and are bumpy to increase surface area, allowing them to essentially be pushed up to the surface by the water itself. Spiders are missing the sense of taste in their mouths as well, but they are still able to taste things because their leg hairs are sensitive to chemicals. These hairs come into contact with whatever the spider is interested in, whether it be food or a potential mate, and “tastes” the object. A similar process goes for smelling; in this case chemicals floating in the air are “smelled”. Think of that the next time a spider is on your wall—it’s not just looking at you.

Guest article written by Brian Devonshire (thesciencellama.tumblr.com)

(Image Credit: 1, 2, 3)