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New Mammal Species Found in Borneo
lemonysam writes "The BBC is reporting that a new mammal species has been discovered in Borneo by a conservation group trying to document the local species, as part an effort to prevent the destruction of their habitat by logging and agriculture. The species, which has not been identified by local experts or the indigenous population, is roughly the size of a domestic cat and is believed to be carnivorous."
The article mentions:
"It's more likely to be a viverrid - that's the family which includes the mongoose and civets - which is a very poorly known group," Dr Isaac said.
That being said, they only have two photographs of it so far, so it's hard to tell what it is...
Everything I need to know about copyrights I learned from Slashdot.
> I have a question: Aren't class, order, genus, and family entirely arbitrary? Shouldn't we now classify living things entirely with genetics?
Not entirely arbitrary. What's somewhat arbitrary is how high in the tree of life the branches that get those labels are. Unfortunately it's a big messy tree that wasn't designed for the convenience of classification.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
It really looks like a Fossa - usually native to Madagascar. Wikipedia Fossa.
It's a member of the Viverridae family, which is fairly poorly known, due to their being a) nocturnal b) rare and c) furtive.
Bear is not carnivorus, it is omnivorus like pig and human. Whale is not carnivorus, it eats plancton. Dogs are canivorus. Many fish are also eating other fish, I don't know if they qualify. Tyranosaurus are carnivorus too, never eat one of them.
Million Dollar Screenshot
As a matter of fact: France fought the most wars in modern history (that's since the 15th century). It fought more than Great Britain, Prussia and Austria (the other large nations in Europe with many battles) together. As far as I remember, it was more than 2000 wars with french involvement, compared with 500-700 for each of the other nations. The U.S. come not even close to a 10th of the numbers of France. And if french troups have surrendered here and there, the quote is still smaller than that of other nations (otherwise France would not be here anymore).
Jokes about France surrendering sheet more light on uneducated jokers than on french national characteristics. If you really want a nation to make jokes about because of constant bad luck in battles, take Saxony: No major victory in battle since the second siege of Vienna. Frederick the Great of Prussia once joked: Saxony is like a sack of flour: You can beat it as often as you want, there is still something coming out (Yes, I am of saxon origin).
I did indeed eat bears in the Bush in Alaska, and still do. Besides eating salmon, they also eat carrion, baby moose, ground squirrels (they spend a day digging for them), whale carcasses, etc. They only eat grass when there's nothing else to eat, or their too old, and they only eat berries before going to bed. Also, in the fall the baby Moose and Caribou are too fast and smart to catch.
Of course not.
The whole area of the filing of lifeforms - taxonomy - is in a state of flux, and the best way to get a grip on it is to read the popular writings of Jay Gould, who is so sadly no longer with us. Classification with genetics is at an early stage and we still do not know how to measure genetic difference reliably - which is why there is now disagreement over how closely human beings and chimpanzees are related. We can measure very small genetic divergences in the same species, but measuring the size and significance of genetic diferences between related species is very hard.
Disclaimer - I am not a taxonomist, just someone who is interested in the subject. Which is why I urge you to read Jay Gould. Even if you aren't really that interested in the subject, his writings should be familiar to any reasonably well informed slashdot reader.
Pining for the fjords
Giant squids have been confirmed for some time now, what they managed recently is photographing a live one.
Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
But even if bears are classified in the carnivora order,
"Bears live in a variety of habitats from the tropics to the Arctic and from forests to snowfields. They are mainly omnivorous." (Wikipedia)
About dogs: "Presently, there is academic discussion as to whether domestic dogs are omnivores or carnivores. The classification in the Order Carnivora does not necessarily mean that a dog's diet must be restricted to meat. Unlike an obligate carnivore, such as a cat, a dog is not dependent on meat protein in order to fulfill its dietary requirements." (Wikipedia)
Million Dollar Screenshot
This came out faster than researchers could verify the results, and before they obtained a live capture.
I think we should all take this with a grain of salt, that picture could have been taken anywhere.
Keep in mind these people have an agenda to stop logging in the area. Though a noble effort, a bad though crafty way to go about acquiring results. However, it may be that there is no logging going on in these parts in which case they are lying to make sure the area is declared forest preserve. It may be that this ends up working, and the area ends up protected in the future as a result.
Just something to think about.
Sorry, that's elementary school science bullshit. We have intact glass vessels from the Romans. A couple hundred year-old windowpane didn't flow, it was wedge-shaped to begin with and installed in the stongest possible way.
The overall gist of your comment is pretty right on, though.
Toothed whales cannot (as far as I know) eat plankton, so they are definitely carnivores. Krill is animal, as are zooplankton (as opposed to phytoplankton, which is plant, and bacterioplankton, which is bacterial). This means that Baeleen whales are eating both plant and animal, so are technically omnivores.
Dogs are also omnivores - well, maybe I should say that they THINK they're omnivores. T. Rex was probably omnivore - there is evidence it ate plant material - and if they ever extract any DNA from the T. Rex organic material they've found, you may yet get the chance to eat one. Or vice versa.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)