Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

Ganges River Platanista - Platanista gangetica

Also known as the blind river dolphin, Gangetic platanista, susu, bhulan, or South Asian river dolphin, this big-flippered, long-beaked, and sightless freshwater cetacean has about as much charm as a gharial with poked-out eyeballs - a far cry from its "charismatic" ocean-dwelling cousins.

But hey, at least the massive, curved, two-inch-long teeth don't last forever! No, if the dolphin lives more than a few years (never a sure thing in the over-trafficked and heavily polluted Ganges and Indus rivers), those skewers are broken and ground into little pegs, only adding to their charm. Though the big teeth help to catch and hold fish and shrimp when the dolphin is young, if they make it beyond their first decade, they're adept enough at catching prey that the little pegs are enough.

Note how big the melon on their foreheads is. Like all toothed whales, the susu uses echolocation to find its food, but unlike many of the others (such as oceanic dolphins), the susu lives its entire life in a very murky, dark environment. It finds mates (as they live most of their life alone, they don't have a pod to find females in or with), avoids predators, and conducts its entire life via echolocation, as its eyes are only capable of distinguishing light from dark.

Despite their less-than-charming looks, the susu is an integral part of the ecosystem in both the Ganges and Indus riverways, and is endangered in all parts of its habitat. There are less than 4000 individuals left in the wild, and none in captivity. Hunting for "traditional medicine" (yeah, these guys are "aphrodisiacs". Go ahead, try to wrap your head around that) and poisoning from pollution due to factory runoff are still their primary threats.

Nevertheless, the reduction of runoff in the Indus in the past decade, and subsequent rise in its dolphin population proves that we can save these creatures - none of the three subpopulations are at a level where they're safe, but all three can be salvaged if we just make a few changes. Not to mention, people use both of those rivers for water, bathing, and fishing. It really benefits everyone if we stop pouring chemical waste into them.

Older susu: "The Strange and  Beautiful River Dolphins." Kate H, September 2011.

Young adult susu skull cast: Children's Museum of Indianapolis via Wikimedia Commons

Susu illustration: Illustrations of Indian Zoology, Part 2. Major-General Hardwicke for John Edward Gray, 1833-1834.

Athene albifacies (now Sceloglaux albifacies) - The Laughing Owl

This now-extinct owl of New Zealand was in a monotypic genus (meaning there was only one species in the genus), and was one of the most genetically distinct owls, having been isolated from other Strigidae for longer than any other genus.

Collection of the owls for museums, food, and predation by introduced animals led to their extinction sometime around 1912. Interestingly, these owls actually adapted surprisingly well to the intrusion of introduced species such as rats. They weren't ground-nesters, so their eggs weren't threatened by the fat Norway rats that were not as keen on climbing as other rats were, and the big rats made a fine meal for owlets. So really, their extinction was caused by direct predation by humans.

The Zoology of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus & Terror, 1839-1843. John Richardson and J. E. Gray, 1845.

Strigops habroptilus - The Kakapo

Kakapos are some of the goofiest animals out there, and sadly, one of the most endangered, too. Also known as the owl parrot and night parrot, they lost their power of flight long ago, and as is too often the case, were nearly wiped out by settlers and their introduction of dogs, cats, ferrets, and stoats. Since the kakapo had evolved without a fear of those animals, their natural boldness wound up getting many of them eaten by the invasive species - and that's not even counting the fact that they were apparently "delicious".

The kakapo (one named Sirocco, specifically) is the bird that attempted to mate with Mark Carwardine's head in the remake of "Last Chance to See", with Stephen Fry. If you haven't seen the clip yet, it's fantastic. "You've been shagged by a rare parrot!"

The Zoology of the Voyage of the HMS Erebus & Terror From 1839-1843. John Richardson and John Edward Gray, 1845.

Jacchus rufiventer [now Sanguinus labiatus rufiventer] - Red Bellied Marmoset [Red-Bellied Tamarin]

This is actually NOT a marmoset, as the authors believed it was. Tamarins are closely related to marmosets, but they have canine teeth that are larger than their incisors. This means that they can't gnaw on tree bark to eat the gum underneath, like marmosets do. Despite this, their diet is largely the same as their close cousins.

Zoology of the H.M.S. Erebus & Terror. John Richardson and John Edward Gray, 1844.

Aptenodytes pennantii (now Aptenodytes patagonicus) - The King Penguin

The lil brown guy is a juvenile king penguin. Just like the slightly larger Emperor Penguin, they have a fairly long breeding cycle for a bird - juveniles are dependent upon their parents for between 14 and 16 months. When they're growing up and their parents are out at sea at the same time, king penguin chicks hang out together in massive tight-knit rookeries. 

Sir Nils Olav, the mascot and Colonel in Chief of the Royal Norwegian Guard, is a king penguin...well, a series of king penguins, but you get the idea.

Zoology of the Voyage of the HMS Erebus & Terror Under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross. 1839-1842.