Saturday, December 08, 2012
CARL MARSHALL: A fine example of convergent evolution
This is Pseudoproscopia latirostris also commonly known as a stick
grasshopper or more specifically a horsehead grasshopper.
There are more than 130 species of stick
grasshopper which belong to the taxonomic family Proscopiidae.
At first glance these grasshoppers look very much like stick insects
(Phasmatodea) however their large orthopterian hind legs enable them to jump,
albeit not particularly far.
Much like stick insects, stick grasshoppers spend most of their time
swaying side-to-side on leaves in an attempt to mimic twigs and sticks moving in
the wind, thus avoiding predators.
This species in particular has become popular among enthusiasts as it is
easy to breed and feeds readily on bramble, much like many phasmid
species.
We have bred these bizarre little hoppers many times and even though this
is not all that difficult I personally think they're fantastic and a fine
example of parallel evolution, and for anybody passionate about hoppers or
phasmids they are a must have for any collection.
I ORIGINALLY ASKED "CAN ANYONE PROVENANCE THIS FOR ME?"
But yesterday I heard from Andrew May who wrote: "Sorry,
I was being nosy and had a peek at a blog post you have in draft called "Can
anyone provenance this for me?" (I can look at previews of your stuff on Blogger
because I'm a contributor to the blog). It's fairly easy these days to find the
source of an image. If you go to Google Image search, the search box has a
little camera icon. If you click on this, you can paste in an image URL (in this
case, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCkld8aU8_PqKF4oNbIvBjqNpAY-x4iQcX2pAkEiyu8TSNckVEyJcArD_7pgNCqDr5fKrsG1SVmkODu0cE1wJR8YxvO6rV1-7tZyFZyKo2C7wv5vh68SVEE7eFNCZhyphenhyphen5qDAWEyvw/s1600/odd+creature.jpg
). It immediately comes up saying "Best guess for this image: compendium
rarissimum totius artis magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos artis hujus
magistros". Isn't technology wonderful?
It certainly is. This is an image of Beelzebub from Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros published in 1775. Thank you Andrew
DALE DRINNON: Chupacabras, bigfoot, Cedar and Willow, Benny's Blogs
New at the Frontiers of Zoology:
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/12/chupacabras-drawing-from-facebook.html
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/12/bigfootor-another-unknown-humanoid.html
And a special announcement from Benny on the Thelma Todd Blog:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/12/pearl-harbor.html
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/12/bigfootor-another-unknown-humanoid.html
And a special announcement from Benny on the Thelma Todd Blog:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/12/pearl-harbor.html
Latest on Cedar And Willow: I would
have thought I would have this part include her marriage to King Ycranos but it
looks like shall need a fourth part. This does cover Perry Rhodan (Possibly),
Battletech and Star Trek, as well as her presumed final death while she was
Captain of the Enterprise:
http:// cedar-and-willow.blogspot.com/ 2012/12/ the-perils-of-peri-brown-part-3 .html
New on Frontiers of Anthropology:
http:// frontiers-of-anthropology.blogs pot.com/2012/12/ how-ancient-africans-were-first -nerds.html
http://
New on Frontiers of Anthropology:
http://
FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES (CFZ)
In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that - whereas the study of out of place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot, or lake monsters - it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean Zoologist to be interested in. So, after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo, Corinna has taken the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.
I'M YER GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN
And so here we are at another weekend. Time
seems to go so fast when you are older; perhaps that is why I still haven't got
around to having a haircut for over ten years now. Christmas is looming up over
the horizon, and I - for one - will be terribly glad when it is over. Hopefully
I will spend the afternoon editing some of the footage or Auburn and Jefferson
Starship from Southampton back in October, and Prudence may even take mother and
me out for a walk.
* The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...
* The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginitavely - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link:http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
Issue three of the Gonzo Weekly newsletter goes out
later today and features: JON ANDERSON, YES, FRANK ZAPPA, PAUL BUFF, HAWKWIND,
JEFFERSON STARSHIP, DAVE BRUBECK, HUW LLOYD LANGTON, ED CASSIDY, SPIRIT,
AUBURN
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/gonzo-newsletter-3-goes-out-later-today.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/gonzo-newsletter-3-goes-out-later-today.html
Some news on the forthcoming single by Asia
featuring John Payne
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/single-news-from-asia-featuring-john.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/single-news-from-asia-featuring-john.html
A little film for you about me, Graham, computer
worries, Auburn and Jefferson Starship. Features never before seen JS
footage
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-cautionary-tale-featuring-cfz.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-cautionary-tale-featuring-cfz.html
Our daily visit to Thom the World Poet
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_8.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_8.html
Rob Ayling pays tribute to Huw Lloyd Langton
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/those-we-have-lost-rob-ayling-remembers.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/those-we-have-lost-rob-ayling-remembers.html
Graham Inglis remembers Huw Lloyd Langton
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/those-we-have-lost-graham-inglis-on-huw.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/those-we-have-lost-graham-inglis-on-huw.html
* The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...
* The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginitavely - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link:http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
* Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures is an old hippy of
53 who - together with his orange cat - puts it all together from a converted
potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon. He is ably assisted by
his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his mother-in-law, and a
motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange
cat?
OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today
Yesterday’s News Today
On this
day in 1980 John Lennon was in the studio.
This was the song they had been recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SqHx5k_DlM