On the photos: "true" Taiwanese weasel (Mustela sibirica davidiana, 2 photos) from Taroko Gorge and mainland Siberian weasel (M. s. manchurica) from an introduced population in Japan. Paper: doi.org/10.2108/zs25...
Ever since I saw a "Siberian" weasel in Taiwan I couldn't believe it wasn't a separate species. Local zoologists insisted that their molecular results showed it to be the same. The situation is compounded by populations of introduced mainland weasels on the island. A new paper vindicates me 🙂 (1/2)
How exactly do greater noctule bats hunt birds half their weight? Turns out they turn their lack of hollow bones into an advantage during dive chases. richardconniff.substack.com/p/tally-ho-e...
On a separate note, Hamas is obviously even more afraid of Barguti than Israel is. And it should be. Just like both our parties are rightfully afraid of Mamdani who exposes the sad fact that both of them are hopelessly obsolete.
This autumn is very dry, so I thought there'd be no mushrooms. I was wrong. There are some; two weeks ago I saw numerous hens-of-the woods, a.k.a. maitake (Grifola frondosa), in Great Swamp NWR. This one had red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) inside, probably looking for slugs & millipedes.
This introduced American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) was hunting baby crabs around a tidepool on a beach near Kanazawa, Japan. I had no idea they are so tolerant of saltwater.
Japanese badgers (Meles anakuma) used to be difficult to see, but last summer I saw a lot of them during night drives and even in daylight. I don't know if it was a particularly good year for them, or they are becoming more common in general.
Last summer I found a great spot for True's shrew-mole (Dymecodon pilirostris) in Chubu-Sangaku National Park. This tiny cutie probably isn't that rare in Japanese forests above 1500 m, but is very difficult to find (there were no reports on iNaturalist). On the photos are multiple individuals.
Large-billed crows (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis) are abundant in Japanese cities. In Tokyo wastebins have to be covered with mesh at night to prevent the contents from being scattered early in the morning.
(2/2) The spores produced are spread by fungus beetles. Fuligo septica has the highest zinc tolerance of any living organism, and might be able to convert sunlight into energy.
In separate news, Bolsonaro was found guilty of attempted coup today. I bet Trump is now trying to find out of Otto Scorzeny is still available for hire.
A lot of people were killed in the world yesterday. Most of them were innocent. I feel sorry for those people, and not for some Nazi shit who totally deserved it.
