Identifying the Diet of a Deceased, Unidentified Animal

"Suppose you found the bones of an unidentified animal.  How could you learn about what the animal ate?  What specific structures would give you clues about the creature's diet?"



If you were to find the bones of an unidentified animal, your first thought probably wouldn't be, "I wonder what this animal ate when it lived among us in space and time."  But lets pretend that this was your first thought regarding the animal.  How would you find the answer to the question?  Well, you would look at the teeth.  What kinds of teeth are among the bones?  If they are mostly molars and premolars, then that would mean that the animal generally ate a diet which would require it to grind and crush the food in it's mouth.

A good example of this sort of animal is the horse.  The horse's diet is made up of foods such as oats, grass, grain, and hay.  All of these require the horse to grind and crush the food using it's molars.

Likewise, if the animal's teeth are mainly incisors and canines the animal was probably be a flesh eating, ferocious best from the underworld.  Either that, or it could be a harmless little chihuahua that generally wore little booties and doggy dresses...both work I suppose.  My point is that incisors and canines are characteristics of meat-eaters.

This is one of the fascinating ways that you can identify an animal's diet.

I hope that you have found this essay informational, as well as enjoyable!  Please leave me some feedback; I would love to hear from you!      

Arthropods and Their Potential Economic Benefits

"Could a deeper understanding of arthropods lead to tangible economic benefits?"



Arthropods make up an extremely diverse range of life, and because of this, there are more potential benefits.   A deeper understanding of these creatures could certainly lead to "tangible economic benefits" in my personal opinion.

a caterpillar

I would like to use both the butterfly and moth as an example.  These arthropod's larval stage (the caterpillar) happens to be quite harmful to gardens.  If we were to do more research on the caterpillar, we would likely be able to find better ways of deterring this "pest" from our plants.  In deterring them, we would be able to produce a better harvest.

I think that I will also use the crab as an example.  Everyday we feast on crab legs, and restaurants as well as fishermen make their incomes in part because of this animal.  What if we were to conduct research on the crab that would help us to better locate them.  Perhaps we could develop a kind of "crab sonar" which would make it easier for fishermen to find large numbers of crabs.  If we could figure out exactly where the largest crab populations are, then we would be able to better fish for them, as well as protect them from over-fishing.

Just think of all the opportunities that the research of arthropods could create in the next 5-10 years!  I have no doubt that we will be making several discoveries that could aid us economically because of our research.

Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!

How Fungi are Helping us in Our Busy Lives

Fungi are helping us in several fascinating ways.  Fungi are helping our bakeries through yeast which is used in allowing bread to rise, they are assisting in cleaning up the environment by acting as decomposers, and some can even be eaten as food by us.  I will give an example.

There is a kind of mushroom called a truffle that is extremely valuable to those who harvest it, and it is considered a delicacy to those who buy this mushroom.  In this way the mushroom is both helping people to get something to eat, but it is also helping our economy as a source of income.

Fungi are even helping us to collect important medical information that will help us in our lives.  

As you can see, fungi are helping us in absolutely amazing ways everyday, just as they have throughout the history of our ancient world.  The world is filled with strange, intriguing, disturbing, and beautiful things, and although each of these things only makes up a small part of the picture, when they are put together they make a brilliant painting filled with wonders nearly beyond our comprehension.  My point is that although fungi may seem small and insignificant in the makeup of our world, they play a vital role in the survival of nature.

I hope that you have found even a small portion of enlightenment from this essay, and I hope that you have a lovely day enjoying our magical planet!  

Horace's Ethical View

"What was Horace's concept of personal ethical cause and effect?" 


     Horace's concept of ethical cause and effect was not half bad.  Using his Stoic view of the world he said to be much like the ant.  The ant stores food for the winter and eats it during the colder months in order to stay alive.  The little creature does not hoard the crumbs until she dies having not even touched them.  He said that people should also not hoard money or food.  When you die, an heir of yours may come into possession of it and use it anyways.

     Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!