« sometimes the memory works | Main | wallace's second birthday »
18 September 2003
the 1,500-pound rodent, and monkeys on strike
This is a hoot: paleontologists have excavated the skeleton of what may have been a 1,500-pound...guinea pig. Or something that's somewhere in between a beaver and a hippopotamus. Think about that: a cross between those two animals, with the name "Patterson's fearful mouse." If only Edward Gorey were alive to provide the illustrations...
I'm going to let that sink in, but if you're curious, James Gorman's article in the New York Times will give you more details. Also not to be missed, the article on the SFGate site gives more details (9 feet in length!) and an artist's rendering.
In other animal news, it appears that a capuchin monkey will go on strike if it notices that another monkey is getting a better reward. On the monkey scale, grapes are much more desirable than cucumbers.
Not to be forgotten is today's tax quote, which also deals with animals: Section 1031(e) of the Tax Code notes that "For purposes of this section [exchange of property held for productive use or investment], livestock of different sexes are not property of a like kind." I'm so glad we cleared that up.
Animal news can be the highlight of the day, especially when compared to what else is going on in the world. I heard a good quote about boy snails and girl snails, too, but I'll save that for another post...