Fish

  

K  E  L  P       B  E  D  S

 A forest worth of marine plantlife provides a nutrient-rich

habitat for hundreds of species tied to the ocean.

Thick kelp runs deep to its seabed roots, continuing on

for many miles, hugging the continental coastline.

The water, weighted with life, drags down the energy 

of currents and storm surf, protecting the land

against erosion.

Here is our self-sustaining community of animals.

Otters bob on the surface, crushing shellfish while

seals dart about for rockfish and salmon, and

octopus linger nearby.  Overhead - pelicans, terns

and gulls.

 A  N  G  L  E  R  F  I  S  H

 The Seadevil lives in a bizarre world 4,500 feet

beneath the ocean's surface.  It is a realm virtually

void of light.  The pressure of this depth is enough

to quickly crush a modern submarine.  And yet,

here life exists.  

The creature above is called an anglerfish

because it has a rod and lure sprouting from the

top of its head.  The lure's bioluminescent light

attracts curious inhabitants to their doom;

gobbled up by an enormous mouth armed with

needle teeth, and forced into a stomach that 

handles most anything that fits into its mouth.

The anglerfish can swallow something its own

size in one gulp.

Down here you don't often get an opportunity

for a meal.

 L  A  M  P  R  E  Y

Had you a ticket to ride 500 million years back

in time you would undoubtedly find many fish 

such as this in the oceans of its time. 

A couple billion generations later here are their

offspring, a living fossil. Today they live on the

fringe of fish diversity as jawless parasites.

No jaw, no bite.  You nab your prey with a

suction cup for a mouth.  Your thorny tongue

creates a nourishing open wound.

Here's a free ride.

So you stick around.

 

 

 F  L  O  U  N  D  E  R

Here is a flatfish having both eyes on the same

side of the head.  One eye migrates to the other

side early in its development.  Why not just have

both eyes born on the same side?  Probably because

larva are just trying to survive and they need to see

everywhere.  The adult hides beneath sand, his eyes

are all that appears above the surface.

They look like gravel.  Maybe a bit too...

crunch.  You're dead.

Plus the flounder is like a chameleon -

it changes color to match its surroundings.

If you're a small fish or crab happening bye,

you're going to get eaten.  

 F  L  Y  I  N  G       F  I  S  H

We start with a very fundamental fish design -

streamlined torso, tailfin, doral fin and so on.

Nearly all fish design begins with this.

The scenario leading to this biological variation

involves how to escape a barracuda, a predator

hot on your tail and faster than you. 

Go where it can't.  The air above.

If you can reach a speed of 35 mph you can

clear the water's surface.  You then fan out your

enormous pectoral fins and glide some 600 feet,

out of reach of the pursuing barracuda.

Six hundred feet.

The Wright brothers' first flight was only 

one hundred and twenty.

 S  E  A  H  O  R  S  E

Must be the product of a coral habitat.

Exotic.  Colorful.  A real animation feature

for the family until we find out dad is pregnant.

Not to worry, though.  It happens all the time.

When the female finds her eggs fertilized 

she passes them into the male's brood pouch.

Here they are nurtured the next two to four weeks.

 Once the brood is hatched the process starts 

over again.  Mom presents dad with a new batch

of eggs to fertilize.

 

*   *   *   *   *

©  Tom Taylor

 OVER   EASY

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good morning jack

  

 

 A  C  T  O  R

 

love 

   dad 

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Primate

  

 T   A   R   S   I   E  R

 This animal moves at night and it is the only primate

that is a one hundred percent meat eater - insects,

small lizards and birds.  It can leap more than fifteen

feet from branch to branch and its eyes are literally

bigger than its stomach.  The eyes are so huge they

completely fill their sockets.  

Like the owl, the Tarsier compensates for the eye's

immobility by being able to rotate their head almost

180 degrees in either direction.  Also, Tarsiers have

created a new tool for personal defense.  They 

vocalize with one another above dog whistle frequency.

 We can't hear their chatter.  No sound to follow.

Quiet and tiny.  The world's smallest primate. 

Slightly larger than your morning mug for coffee.

It's easy to surmise that the first primates may have

been similar to this, living in trees much like squirrels.

Maybe, but true or not the Tarsier of today is far more

sophisticated than its predecessors millions of generations

back in time.

 R  I  N  G  -  T  A  I  L  E  D       L  E  M  U  R

 A highly social primate native to the large African

island of Madagascar.  They travel in "troops" of up

to thirty individuals, with females dominating every

aspect of life.  Somewhere along the path of animal

development the female's  role began expanding

beyond giving birth to running everything. 

We find matriarchal societies all through the

animal world.  With the insects, males are a

mere tool for providing genetic diversity.  For

the female, the male is simply sex and a meal.

Once the eggs are fertilized the male is quickly

consumed, providing the young valuable protein 

for which to grow.

The factors leading to matriarchal society in

larger animals are probably shared across species.

Elephants, lions and ring-tailed lemurs - all matriarchal.

What factors determine gender role?

Here's where your scientist enters the story.

Observation comes first.  Grab your notepad and

follow your subject around for the next two years.

Then analyze all your gathered information to

arrive at a possible explanation.  Your reasoning

now provides the basis for your hypothesis.

The next step is to create a test that will determine

the validity of your theory.  Once completed,

a description of your chosen methods and 

your resulting conclusions are published

in a reputable scientific journal for review

by colleagues in your field of study.

They render judgment on your claims.

To what degree did your research

advance the education of humanity?

This is the basis for building scientific knowledge.

 P   R   O   B   O   S   C   I   S       M   O   N   K   E   Y

 This monkey from Borneo stands apart from all

other primates because of the male's long,

drooping nose.  Females apparently favor 

large nosed males.  The bigger schnoz 

indicates a more robust body with larger

testicles and a presumed higher sperm count.

Sounds like speculation based on observation.

Let's make it our hypothesis.

The large nose provides space for an echo 

chamber, amplifying the male's honk! to

a volume that penetrates the surrounding

dense jungle.  That is fact.

And a bit of humor beyond the reason.

 M   A   N   D   R   I   L   L

 Best dressed monkey.  The most colorful, anyway.

They live in dense tropical rainforests, along with 

birds hopping about the jungle canopy, displaying

their own flamboyant and brilliant plumage.

They are all males needing to be seen

despite the thick, stifling vegetation all about.

The jungle can also be filled with plaintive love

calls in the languages of many different species.

It's like Times Square, New Year's Eve...

it's tough getting noticed.

Mandrills lay their colors out thick.

Bright blues and reds do the trick with females.

The more color you have on your face and rump,

the more distinguished you look to the ladies.

It is alleged that your social ranking determines

the intensity of your color.  The higher your rank

the brighter your colors.  Similarly, you fade in 

color as you lose status.

  Arriving at doormat you find your colors drained

to beige.

 G   O   R   I   L   L   A

 Silverback, the dominant male, oversees

the family, but mainly in the role of protector.

The male's chest-beating is meant as a warning.

It is better to ward off your adversary than to risk

a vicious scrap.  You can't afford serious injury

with no one around to tend to your wounds.

Koko was an ape raised in captivity.  During this 

time she built a vocabulary of over two thousand

words using the American Sign Language for the 

deaf.  With these words she was able to convey 

complex emotions, such as grief.

There is a belief among some primate researchers

that gorillas have a consciousness of death

that is similar to what human's experience.

How would you go about testing that hypothesis?

Is a valid test even possible?

 C   H   I   M   P   A   N   Z   E   E

 The thinker.  Life is deeply emotional.

Family dynamics.  Social status.  Compassion.

Lending a helping hand.  Determined enemy.

A war between rival chimpanzee groups involves

ruthless killing until one side or the other is eliminated.

People find them cute as juveniles.  

Their charm is mostly gone once they reach

adulthood and become more as nature intended.

They become an animal named Spartacus, 

demanding respect.  

They aren't stupid.  They use rocks for

hammers, twigs to fish for termites, use chewed

plant to salve their wounds, and eat bitter fruit to

ward off nasty parasites.

They also have strong family values.

*   *   *   *   *

©  Tom Taylor

 

 OVER   EASY

 

 

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good morning jessicca

  

*     P  I  C  K       A       C  A  R  D     *

 

 

love 

   dad

 

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Raptor

  

 C  A  L  I  F  O  R  N  I  A       C  O  N  D  O  R

A large bird of prey with a ten foot wingspan.

These are vultures left over from the Ice Age,

soaring over a landscape rich with Sabre Tooth Tiger,

Woolly Mammoths and ground sloths that appeared

near the size of elephants.  By 1982 the condor was at

the brink of extinction with its population down to

twenty-two.  As scavengers they became the victim

of ranchers who set out poisoned carrion

in order to kill coyotes that preyed upon

their livestock.

A captive breeding program has increased their

numbers to over six hundred, as of 2025.

This vulture loves meat, as any raptor should,

but it first has to already be dead.

Birds of prey are required to have talons

powerful enough to hold fast their struggling

prey, then kill it and carry it away.

A vulture's feet are good only for standing.

There is no need to tightly grasp a

desperate morsel.

 

 

B  A  L  D       E  A  G  L  E

The term Bald in the name is from the Old English

balde, which means "white head", not bald like

a head naked of feathers.

 

Designated by Congress as the National Emblem in

1782, the Bald Eagle was right out of central casting,

an icon of strength, resolve and justice.

The truth is more complicated, as you might expect.

Survival is the animal's goal in the wild.

Use your energy efficiently.  Why go to the effort of

killing food when you can eat something that is

already dead, waiting for your appetite?  Eagles

mostly scavenge.  They also resort to 

bullying osprey and other smaller birds of prey

and steal their lunch.

Still, they look spectacular performing their

grab and dash fishing skills while skimming 

a river's surface.

 

 

 R  E  D  -  T  A  I  L  E  D       H  A  W  K

 Look at all the surface area of this bird's wings 

and tail.  Broad wings and a fanned tail sacrifices

speed for the sake of lift.  Warm air carries the bird

upward to great heights, and with little effort on

the part of the bird.  Burn your calories sparingly,

especially in the desert when a meal might be

limited to a scraggly jackrabbit, itself half-starved. 

 

From this floating perch the hawk surveys the

terrain below with a vision that is eight times

sharper than that of a human, looking for mice,

lizards, snakes and anything else small enough

to carry off.

The female Red-Tailed Hawk is about twenty-five

percent larger than the male.  It makes sense

that she have the muscle, since she's the one

left defending the nest.  Also, and this is more

important, a brawny mom is able to wrest meat

from the beak of a male, reluctant to share

his meal with the nestlings.

 P  E  R  E  G  R  I  N  E       F  A  L  C  O  N

 This bird isn't made to soar.

The Falcon is all about speed.

The long, narrow wings and slim, aerodynamic

tail; its sleek airframe tough enough to withstand 

speeds reaching over two-hundred miles an hour

in a dive.  Falcons prey on birds in flight.

Its critical you kill your target with your talons.

A bird to bird collision makes you both

equally dead.

The falcon's vision is comparable to that of the hawk

but each species utilizes this advantage differently.

Hawks look about for small animals to eat from

a great height overhead.  The falcon behaves

as a bullet adjusting its own path in flight to

achieve the perfect, lethal hit.

 

 G  R  E  A  T       H  O  R  N  E  D       O  W  L

 What is the point in having a head that can swivel

nearly all the way around?  There is a reason

behind everything.  In this instance, the neck's 

dexterity compensates for the owl's limited

peripheral vision.  The owl has wonderful eyes.

Why this weakness?  

Rule of everything - nothing's perfect.  

Nature is filled with trade-offs.  You have to

give up something to get something.

One factor contributing to the owl's spectacular

sight has to do with the bird's unusual eyeball

shape.  Its oblong.  And it is this characteristic

that enables the eye to close in on an object,

acting as a telephoto lens does in a camera.

Achieving this feat of vision requires an eye

so large it barely fits its socket, making the eye 

totally unable to move.  

Hence the swivel neck.

Nature gives up something to get something 

in return.  In this case, what is being sacrificed

for game-changing vision?  The individual can

see only straight ahead.  Unacceptable.

The compensatory solution:  a neck that

can twist to 270 of the circle's 360 degrees.

Nature's judgment:  the species thrives with these

choices having been made.

 

 B  R  O  W  N       P  E  L  I  C  A  N

 How do you grasp your prey when your feet are webbed?

Talons are useless for swimming and pelicans 

must be fast swimmers to catch their prey.

The solution for grasping lies elsewhere.

Most birds of prey lead with their feet when attacking

their prey.  They attack with a powerful grip, using their

long claws like teeth.  The pelican attacks head first

in pursuit of a targeted fish.  Growing teeth on their bill

was tried by ancient species, all extinct.  It made the

head needlessly heavy.  Claws became the bird's teeth.

We've ruled out talons and now, teeth as well.

The problem is we are looking to grip the prey

when all we have to do is control it.  Bag it.

A pouch, and one that is elastic would work.

It would expand to scoop up and retain a large,

thrashing fish.  But this expansive gullet is not

for storage.  Once the prey is corralled, the

pelican slings back its head and swallows 

the fish whole.  No arguments.

Just a meal. 

 

 

 

*   *   *   *   * 

©  Tom Taylor

OVER   EASY 

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good morning jeremy

  

M   E   R   C   U   R   Y

 

love

   dad

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Serengeti

  

A  F  R  I  C  A  N       S  A  V  A  N  N  A 

 In this region of west Equatorial Africa

an ancient cycle of life has continued, unchanged,

over the millions of years leading up to now.

Played out on this stage is an endless migration,

vast in the scale of animal movement.  

The grassland, covered with wildebeest, zebra

and gazelle, all on the move, trekking by 

the hundreds of thousands to elsewhere...

someplace that exists only as a feeling,

shared by the individuals involved in 

this Hollywood size epic.

 B  A  O  B  A  B       T  R  E  E

 A giant, drought resistant tree stands much as it has

over the past 200 million years, a glimpse of life 

that prevailed on this land even before

Africa became a continent.

Locals call it the Upside-Down Tree because,

when the leaves drop, the branches look like roots

to a tree stuck in the ground wrong-side up.

 I  M  P  A  L  A

 This athletic antelope can clear a ten foot high obstacle

while its pursuer must go around.  It's abilities such as

this that keeps a healthy Impala one step ahead 

of a pursuing lion or hyena.

Moving from grassland to the woodlands

doesn't make you safe.  Leopards and male

lions specialize in ambushing Impalas that

browse the brush, casually nibbling leaves.

Suddenly its neck is being crushed in a

vice-like grip.  All hope for breath ends.

The feast begins even as the last embers

of thought leave the mind.

 L  I  O  N

 A rare social cat that requires for survival a complex

family unit, ruled by a matriarch.  Much of the time

males are on the outside looking in.  The ticket to 

fatherhood requires getting past some battle-scarred

male guarding his harem.  The odds of success 

are made better when young males band together

to take out the previously feared leader.

The victorious lions must now face-off among

themselves as to who is most worthy of 

now becoming the new breeder in chief.

 B  L  U  E       W  I  L  D  E  B  E  E  S  T

 The wildebeest migration never ends; a herd of 

more than a million and a half strong, grazing on

the nutrient-rich savanna grasses that flourish

with the passing rains.  

There is no opportunity to lead a herd that

stretches to the horizon.  There is no decision maker

leading the way.  Instead, wildebeest rely on

"swarm" intelligence.  Movement is collective.

Everyone just follows everyone else.

 S  P  O  T  T  E  D       H  Y  E  N  A

A matriarchal society of carnivores that compete 

with lions for ruling the savanna grasslands.

Hyenas organize into clans that can number

over a hundred.  Adult females are larger than

the males.  In fact, they look more like males

than do the males.  Males are needed to

provide genetic diversity to the species as well

as delivering bonus seasoning to another

individual's life.

 M  A  S  A  I       G  I  R  A  F  F  E

 It takes a twenty-plus pound heart to ensure blood

makes it up that long neck to deliver oxygen to

the brain.  Giraffes can grow to 19 feet in height.

They consume about 75 pounds of leaves daily

to stay healthy.  All those leaves are lassoed by

its 20 inch tongue.  The tongue's pigment is very

dark, protecting it from sunburn.

What a rare and exotic beast.

There is no other animal like the giraffe.

What is it about the habitat of the Serengeti

that it alone could enable an animal such as this

to prevail? 

 A  F  R  I  C  A  N       E  L  E  P  H  A  N  T

 The oldest female runs the herd.  She best knows

the location of water and food in times of drought.

Her top priority being family survival.

Another Serengeti animal of rare and exotic

anatomy is the elephant.  What other animal

relies on its nose to serve as its arm, one sensitive

enough to pick up a blade of grass, yet having  

the power to uproot a tree.

Nature has truly engineered an out of the box solution

for overcoming the challenges an elephant faces

in life.

B  L  A  C  K       M  A  M  B  A

 If you don't have antivenom handy when bit 

you have about thirty minutes to write your

last will and testament. 

The mamba doesn't want anything to do 

with you.  Provide it a path to escape and 

it will leave.  Corner it and you are contending

with the most feared snake in Africa.  It has

extraordinary speed and size.  The mamba

bites you multiple times when it strikes,

injecting lethal doses of toxins that kill nerves

as well as toxins to attack your heart.

May your good-byes be speedy.

 R  U  P  P  E  L  L  '  S       V  U  L  T  U  R  E

An aircraft stuck one of these birds flying at 37,000 feet.

Its exotic hemoglobin protein enables it to breath 

in very thin air.  What advantage would this characteristic

give to this savanna scavenger?  They benefit from

their panoramic view of the savanna to spot carrion

but altitude quickly becomes counterproductive 

when above a couple thousand feet.  

A vulture flying at several thousand feet 

is no longer looking for dinner down below

because they are searching the horizon for

evidence of something big.  

The sight of vultures circling is like a dinner bell

for other vultures working the area.

Come join in on the feast.  

Something found dead and big as a zebra means

everyone that shows up gets a full belly

for the day as its reward.

 O  L  I  V  E       B  A  B  O  O  N

 Females stay with the baboon troop they were

born into, inheriting the social rank of their mother.

Males leave around the age of six and take on

the challenge of establishing their position 

on the pecking order totem pole of another

troop.

Elephants have a defensive alliance with

baboons around waterholes.  The baboons 

provide the alarm when danger lurks nearby.

In turn, agitated elephants ward off hungry

lions, hyenas and leopards - and anyone

else looking to have baboon for brunch. 

*   *   *   *   *

©  Tom Taylor

OVER   EASY

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