by Matt Simon
CHAPTER 4:
You Live in a Crummy Neighborhood
Water Bear
Antony van Leeuwenhoek. (1996). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/leeuwenhoek.html.
Bordenstein, S. (n.d.). Tardigrades (Water Bears). Carleton College. Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/tardigrade/index.html.
Courtland, R. (2008). “Water Bears” Are First Animal to Survive Space Vacuum. New Scientist. Retrieved from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14690-water-bears-are-first-animal-to-survive-space-vacuum.html#.VK4D6qZj_Vo.
Dohrer, E. (2012). Laika the Dog and the First Animals in Space. Space.com. Retrieved from http://www.space.com/17764-laika-first-animals-in-space.html.
Goldberg, D. (2012). Why Can’t We Get Down to Absolute Zero? io9. Retrieved from http://io9.com/5889074/why-cant-we-get-down-to-absolute-zero.
Goldstein, B., and M. Blaxter. (2002). Tardigrades. Current Biology, 10.1016/S0960-9822(02)00959-4.
Horikawa, D. (2008). The Tardigrade Ramazzottius Varieornatus as a Model Animal for Astrobiological Studies. Biological Sciences in Space, 10.2187/bss.22.93.
———. (2012). UV Radiation Tolerance of Tardigrades. NASA Astrobiology. Retrieved from https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/seminars/featured-seminar-channels/early-career-seminars/2012/04/24/uv-radiation-tolerance-of-tardigrades/.
Isachenkov, V. (2008). Russia Opens Monument to Space Dog Laika. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-04-11-177105809_x.htm.
Jönsson, K., E. Rabbow, R. Schill, M. Harms-Ringdahl, and P. Rettberg. (2008). Tardigrades Survive Exposure to Space in Low Earth Orbit. Current Biology, 10.1016/j.cub.2008.06.04.
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Incredible Critter That’s Tough Enough to Survive in Space. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/03/absurd-creature-week-water-bear/.
Surface Temperatures of the Inner Rocky Planets (2013). Earthguide and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Retrieved from http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/eoc/special_topics/teach/sp_climate_change/p_planet_temp.html.
Wang, C., M. Grohme, B. Mali, R. Schill, and M. Frohme. (2014). Towards Decrypting Cryptobiosis—Analyzing Anhydrobiosis in the Tardigrade Milnesium Tardigradum Using Transcriptome Sequencing. PLOS One, 10.1371/journal.pone.0092663.
Diving Bell Spider
McCook, H. (1890). American Spiders and Their Spinningwork. A Natural History of the Orbweaving Spiders of the United States, with Special Regard to Their Industry and Habits. Philadelphia: Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia.
Schütz, D., and M. Taborsky. (2003). Adaptations to an Aquatic Life May Be Responsible for the Reversed Sexual Size Dimorphism in the Water Spider, Argyroneta Aquatica. Evolutionary Ecology Research 5: 105–17.
Seymour, R., and S. Hetz. (2011). The Diving Bell and the Spider: The Physical Gill of Argyroneta Aquatica. Journal of Experimental Biology, 10.1242/jeb.056093.
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Incredible Spider That Lives Its Entire Life Underwater. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/09/absurd-creature-week-incredible-spider-lives-entire-life-underwater/.
———. (2015). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Insect That Devours Its Mother from the Inside Out. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2015/01/absurd-creature-of-the-week-strepsiptera/.
Zombie Ant
Currie, C., J. Scott, R. Summerbell, and D. Malloch. (1999). Fungus-Growing Ants Use Antibiotic-Producing Bacteria to Control Garden Parasites. Nature, 10.1038/19519.
Hughes, D., T. Wappler, and C. Labandeira. (2010). Ancient Death-Grip Leaf Scars Reveal Ant-Fungal Parasitism. Biology Letters, 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0521.
Simon, M. (2013). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Zombie Ant and the Fungus That Controls Its Mind. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/09/absurd-creature-of-the-week-zombie-ant-fungus/.
Pink Fairy Armadillo
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Adorable Mexican Mole Lizard Has a Disgusting Reputation. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/12/absurd-creature-of-the-week-mexican-mole-lizard/.
———. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: Pink Fairy Armadillo Crawls out of the Desert and into Your Heart. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/01/absurd-creature-of-the-week-pink-fairy-armadillo-crawls-out-of-the-desert-and-into-our-hearts/.
Superina, M. (2011). Husbandry of a Pink Fairy Armadillo (Chlamyphorus Truncatus): Case Study of a Cryptic and Little Known Species in Captivity. Zoo Biology, 10.1002/zoo.20334.
Naked Mole Rat
Dayton, P., M. Graham, and J. Parker, eds. (2011). The Essential Naturalist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
First Person: Stephen Jay Gould on Evolution. (1995). Voyager Company. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0BhXVLKIz8.
Naked Mole Rat. (n.d.). Louisville Zoo. Retrieved from http://www.louisvillezoo.org/animals/MammalFS/Naked-Mole-Rat.pdf (site discontinued).
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Naked Mole Rat Could One Day Save Your Life. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/09/absurd-creature-of-the-week-naked-mole-rat/.
UIC Research: The Life and Times of Naked Mole-Rats. (2012). University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHm0jmg-sbc.
Yahav, S., and R. Buffenstein. (1991). Huddling Behavior Facilitates Homeothermy in the Naked Mole Rat Heterocephalus Glaber. Physiological Zoology, 10.2307/30158212.
CHAPTER 5:
Turns Out Getting Eaten Is Bad for Survival
Hagfish
Bernards, M., I. Oke, A. Heyland, and D. Fudge. (2014). Spontaneous Unraveling of Hagfish Slime Thread Skeins Is Mediated by a Seawater-Soluble Protein Adhesive. Journal of Experimental Biology, 10.1242/jeb.096909.
Fish Dissection—Gills Exposed. (2012). Australian Museum. Retrieved from http://australianmuseum.net.au/image/Fish-Dissection-Gills-exposed/.
Lim, J., D. Fudge, N. Levy, and J. Gosline. (2006). Hagfish Slime Ecomechanics: Testing the Gill-Clogging Hypothesis. Journal of Experimental Biology, 10.1242/jeb.02067.
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: This Oceanic “Nightmare” Suffocates Foes with Clouds of Slime. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/05/absurd-creature-of-the-week-hagfish/.
Sharks and Rays: Myth and Reality. (2001). American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved from http://www.amnh.org/learn/pd/sharks_rays/rfl_myth/index.html.
Axolotl
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Real-Life Pokémon That Can Regenerate Missing Limbs. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/04/absurd-creature-of-the-week-the-adorable-salamander-that-can-regrow-amputated-limbs/.
Cuttlefish
Barbosa, A., et al. (2008). Cuttlefish Camouflage: The Effects of Substrate Contrast and Size in Evoking Uniform, Mottle or Disruptive Body Patterns. Vision Research, 10.1016/j.visres.2008.02.011.
Deravi, L., et al. (2014). The Structure–Function Relationships of a Natural Nanoscale Photonic Device in Cuttlefish Chromatophores. Royal Society Publishing, Interface, 10.1098/rsif.2013.0942.
Kröger, B., J. Vinther, and D. Fuchs. (2011). Cephalopod Origin and Evolution: A Congruent Picture Emerging from Fossils, Development and Molecules. Bioessays, 0.1002/bies.201100001.
McClain, C., et al. (2015). Sizing Ocean Giants: Patterns of Intraspecific Size Variation in Marine Megafauna. PeerJ, 10.7717/peerj.715.
Ramirez, M., and T. Oakley. (2015). Eye-Independent, Light-Activated Chromatophore Expansion (LACE) and Expression of Phototransduction Genes in the Skin of Octopus Bimaculoides. Journal of Experimental Biology, 10.1242/jeb.110908.
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: Cross-Dressing Cuttlefish Puts on World’s Most Spectacular Light Show. Wired. Retrieved from http:
//www.wired.com/2014/04/absurd-creature-of-the-week-cuttlefish/.
Vendetti, J. (2006). The Cephalopoda. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/inverts/mollusca/cephalopoda.php.
Wood, J., and K. Jackson. (2004). How Cephalopods Change Color. The Cephalopod Page. Retrieved from http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/cephschool/HowCephalopodsChangeColor.pdf.
Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko
Cook, L., B. Grant, I. Saccheri, and J. Mallet. (2012). Selective Bird Predation on the Peppered Moth: The Last Experiment of Michael Majerus. Royal Society Publishing Biology Letters, 10.1098/rsbl.2011.1136.
Gilbert, J. (2015). Secrets of the Orchid Mantis Revealed—It Doesn’t Mimic an Orchid After All. The Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/secrets-of-the-orchid-mantis-revealed-it-doesnt-mimic-an-orchid-after-all-36715.
Miller, K. (1999). The Peppered Moth—an Update. Retrieved from http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/Moths/moths.html.
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko Wears the World’s Most Unbelievable Camo. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/07/absurd-creature-of-the-week-satanic-leaf-tailed-gecko/.
Where Did All of Madagascar’s Species Come From? (2009). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved from http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/091001_madagascar.
Pangolin
Anchors, J. (2002). Zimbabwean Land and Zimbabwean People: Creative Explorations. University of Maine Electronic Theses and Dissertations, Paper 41.
Beebe, W. (1914). The Pangolin or Scaly Anteater. Zoological Society Bulletin 17: 1141–45.
Challender, D., and L. Hywood. (2012). African Pangolins Under Increased Pressure from Poaching and Intercontinental Trade. Traffic Bulletin 24(2).
Chinese Medicine and the Pangolin. (1938). Nature, 10.1038/141072b0.
Darwin, C. (2001). The Voyage of the Beagle. New York: Random House.
Eating Pangolins to Extinction. (2014). IUCN. Retrieved from http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/?17189/Eating-pangolins-to-extinction.
Fasman, J. (2014). Taste for Rare, Wild Pangolin Is Driving the Mammal to Extinction. NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/08/03/337162283/ taste- for-rare-wild-pangolin-is-driving-the-mammal-to-extinction.
Miller, R., and M. Fowler, eds. (2015). Fowler’s Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine. St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders.
Pantel, S., and S. Chin. (2009). Proceedings of the Workshop on Trade and Conservation of Pangolins Native to South and Southeast Asia. Petaling Jaya: Traffic Southeast Asia.
Quammen, D. (February 2009). Darwin’s First Clues. National Geographic
Soewu, D., and O. Sodeinde. (2015). Utilization of Pangolins in Africa: Fuelling Factors, Diversity of Uses and Sustainability. International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 10.5897/IJBC2014.0760.
Crested Rat
Bubenik, G. (2003). Why Do Humans Get “Goosebumps” When They Are Cold, or Under Other Circumstances? Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-humans-get-goosebu/.
Kingdon, J., et al. (2012). A Poisonous Surprise Under the Coat of the African Crested Rat. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 10.1098/rspb.2011.1169.
Neuwinger, H. (1994). African Ethnobotany: Poisons and Drugs: Chemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology. Stuttgart, Germany: Chapman and Hall.
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: This Crazy-Looking Sea Slug Has an Ingenious Secret Weapon. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/11/absurd-creature-week-nudibranch-sea-slug/.
CHAPTER 6:
It Turns Out Not Eating Is Also Bad for Survival
Giant African Land Snail
Bates, M. (2014). Faced with Invasive Snails, a Bird Learns to Use Tools. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/11/faced-invasive-snail-bird-learns-use-tools/.
Giant African Land Snail (GALS) aka Giant African Snail (GAS) (Liss) Achatina Fulica (Férussac 1821). (n.d.). University of Florida. Retrieved from http://miami-dade.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/ornamental/GALS%20ID.pdf.
Giant African Land Snails Fact Sheet. (n.d.). United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Retrieved from http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDA_Giant_African_Land_Snail_Fact_Sheet_92709_7.pdf.
Kleeman, S. (2014). 49 Crazy Headlines That Could Only Be Created by Florida Man. Mic News. Retrieved from http://mic.com/articles/107372/49-tremendous-things-florida-men-accomplished-this-year.
Koplowitz, H. (2014). “Fake Cop” Matt Skytta, Florida Man, Shows IHOP Server His Butt When Free Food Request Doesn’t Work: Police. International Business Times. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/fake-cop-matt-skytta-florida-man-shows-ihop-server-his-butt-when-free-food-request-doesnt-work.
Ovalle, D. (2010). Giant African Snails Smuggled Into Florida for Use in Religious Ritual, Authorities Say. Miami Herald. Retrieved from http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-03-11/news/fl-illegal-snails-santeria-20100310_1_snails-smuggled-search-warrant.
Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: Foot-Long, Sex-Crazed Snails That Pierce Tires and Devour Houses. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/01/absurd-creature-of-the-week-foot-giant-african-land-snail/.
Smith, T., L. Whilby, and A. Derksen. (2010). 2010 Florida CAPS Giant African Snail Survey Report. Florida Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey. Retrieved from http://freshfromflorida.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf_2010_giant_african_snail_survey_report_03-11-2010.pdf.
Varona, E. (2012). Escargot? More like Escar-No! USDA APHIS. Retrieved from http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/04/19/escargot-more-like-escar-no/.
Wright, C. (2014). Deputies: Drunk Man Called 911 to See if Tax Return Had Come In. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved from http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/deputies-drunk-man-called-911-to-see-if-tax-return-had-come-in/2164927.
Aye-Aye
Darwin, C. (1958). The Autobiography of Charles Darwin. New York: W. W. Norton.
Gould, S. (2002). The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Gross, C. (1993). Hippocampus Minor and Man’s Place in Nature: A Case Study in the Social Construction of Neuroanatomy. Hippocampus 3(4): 403–15.
Owen, R. (1863). Monograph on the Aye-Aye (Chiromys Madagascariensis, Cuvier). London: Taylor and Francis.
Simon, M. (2013). Absurd Creature of the Week: Aye-Aye Gives World the Highly Elongated Finger. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/09/absurd-creature-of-the-week-aye-aye-gives-world-the-highly-elongated-finger/.
———. (2015). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Tiny Primate That Was Probably the Inspiration for Yoda. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2015/01/absurd-creature-of-the-week-tarsier/.
Switek, B. (2008). Richard Owen, the Forgotten Evolutionist. Science Blogs. Retrieved from http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2008/10/09/richard-owen-the-forgotten-evo/.
Mantis Shrimp
Patek, S. (2004). The Shrimp with a Kick! TED Conferences. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sheila_patek_clocks_the_fastest_animals.
Simon, M. (2013). Absurd Creature of the Week: Enormous Hermit Crab Tears Through Coconuts, Eats Kittens. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/12/absurd-creature-of-the-week-2/.
———. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: Ferocious, Fearless Mantis Shrimp Is the Honey Badger of the Sea. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/01/absurd-creature-of-the-week-4/.
———. (2015). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Extraordinary Light Show of the Disco Clam. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2015/05/absurd-creature-of-the-week-disco-clam/.
Bone-Eating Worm
Barry, K., G. Holwell, and M. Herberstein. (2008). Female Praying Mantids Use Sexual Cannibalism as a Foraging Strategy to Increase Fecundity. Behavioral Ecology, 10.1093/beheco/arm
156.
Danise, S., and N. Higgs. (2015). Bone-Eating Osedax Worms Lived on Mesozoic Marine Reptile Deadfalls. Royal Society Publishing Biology Letters, 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0072.
Goffredi, S., et al. (2005). Evolutionary Innovation: A Bone-Eating Marine Symbiosis. Environmental Microbiology, 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2005.00824.x.
Rouse, G., et al. (2015). A Dwarf Male Reversal in Bone-Eating Worms, Current Biology, 10.1016/j.cub.2014.11.032.
Rouse, G., S. Goffredi, and R. Vrijenhoek. (2004). Osedax: Bone-Eating Marine Worms with Dwarf Males. Science, 10.1126/science.1098650.
Tresguerres, M., S. Katz, and G. Rouse. (2013). How to Get Into Bones: Proton Pump and Carbonic Anhydrase in Osedax Boneworms. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 10.1098/rspb.2013.0625.
Wilson, E. O. (1999). The Diversity of Life. New York: W. W. Norton.
Tiger Beetle
Bouchard, P., ed. (2014). The Book of Beetles: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred of Nature’s Gems. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Friedlander, B. (1998). When Tiger Beetles Chase Prey at High Speeds They Go Blind Temporarily, Cornell Entomologists Learn. Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/1998/01/tiger-beetles-go-blind-chasing-prey-high-speeds.
Lomakin, J., et al. (2011). Mechanical Properties of the Beetle Elytron, a Biological Composite Material. Biomacromolecules, 10.1021/bm1009156.
Pearson, D. (2011). Six-Legged Tigers. Wings: Essays on Invertebrate Conservation. Retrieved from http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Wings_sp11_tiger-beetles.pdf.
Pearson, D., and A. Vogler. (2001). Tiger Beetles: The Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity of the Cicindelids. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 10.1002/mmnz.20040800126.
Walks and Treks FAQs. (n.d.). British Heart Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/events/training-zone/walking-training-zone/walking-faqs.
Wallace, A. (2000). The Malay Archipelago. North Clarendon, VT: Periplus Editions.
Zurek, D., and C. Gilbert. (2014). Static Antennae Act as Locomotory Guides That Compensate for Visual Motion Blur in a Diurnal, Keen-Eyed Predator. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 10.1098/rspb.2013.3072.