John Orcutt · @GonzagaMEATLab
239 followers · 56 posts · Server ecoevo.social
#FossilAdventCalendar Day 13
#TerrestrialTuesday
#BritishColumbia is full of #lagerstätten (sites of exceptional #fossil #preservation), including the sites of the #Eocene #Okanagan. Here, a series of #ancient #lakes preserve #fossils of #leaves, #insects, and the oldest #salmon. Rarest of all are #arachnids: this fossil of the #spider Palaeoperenethis thaleri in the #RoyalOntarioMuseum is the only one of its kind, but it's #preserved well enough to identify it as a relative of fishing #spiders
#fossiladventcalendar #terrestrialtuesday #britishcolumbia #lagerstatten #fossil #preservation #eocene #okanagan #ancient #lakes #fossils #Leaves #insects #salmon #arachnids #spider #RoyalOntarioMuseum #preserved #spiders
John Orcutt · @GonzagaMEATLab
219 followers · 46 posts · Server ecoevo.social
#FossilAdventCalendar Day 6
#TerrestrialTuesday
This #fossil, Erpetonyx aresnaultorum from the #RoyalOntarioMuseum, may look a bit like a #lizard, but it's something else entirely. Uncovered from the #Carboniferous #EgmontBay Formation on #PrinceEdwardIsland 🇨🇦, it's one of the oldest #parareptiles, a lineage of #animals related to but distinct from true #reptiles. While they were among the first vertebrates to transition to life on land, parareptiles went #extinct over 200 million years ago.
#fossiladventcalendar #terrestrialtuesday #fossil #RoyalOntarioMuseum #lizard #Carboniferous #egmontbay #princeedwardisland #parareptiles #animals #reptiles #extinct
John Orcutt · @GonzagaMEATLab
189 followers · 32 posts · Server ecoevo.social
With a snowstorm rolling in this #TerrestrialTuesday, I can't help reminiscing about warm weather and the #saguaro #cactus of the #SonoranDesert. These iconic #plants, seen here in #Phoenix's #DesertBotanicGarden, are important for #desert wildlife, including #birds. For the curve-billed #thrasher, it's a convenient perch. Gila #woodpeckers - which nest in them - and white-winged #doves - which rely on them as a source of food and water - have an even closer relationship with #saguaros.
#terrestrialtuesday #saguaro #cactus #sonorandesert #plants #phoenix #desertbotanicgarden #desert #birds #thrasher #woodpeckers #doves #saguaros
John Orcutt · @GonzagaMEATLab
178 followers · 28 posts · Server ecoevo.social@alxsim This is an excellent idea! The big one I would add would be #FossilFriday. I've also been trying out #TerrestrialTuesday to complement #MarineLifeMonday, but I may be the only person on the whole Internet to have actually used that hashtag...
#fossilfriday #terrestrialtuesday #MarineLifeMonday
Gonzaga MEAT Lab · @GonzagaMEATLab
134 followers · 15 posts · Server ecoevo.social
Since #MarineLifeMonday is a thing (and I'm REALLY hoping it catches on here), how about #TerrestrialTuesday to feature your favorite land-living organisms? My offering is Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, a #squirrel known by many common names. While many #squirrels feed on seeds and nuts, this species prefers the cones of #conifers and is often found in places with more of these evergreen #trees. This one was spotted in #Gatineau, #Quebec at the far southern edge of #Canada's great northern #forests.
#MarineLifeMonday #terrestrialtuesday #squirrel #squirrels #conifers #trees #gatineau #quebec #canada #forests