Smithsonian Museum of Natural History was our only Smithsonian museum for today. It is a huge one with something for everyone! We needed one just for fun. Just entering the museum evokes entertaining images from “The Night At the Museum” movies!
The extinct mega-toothed shark was the biggest predatory fish that ever lived.
That open jaw size is incredible for a fish!
THREE Ocean Zones:
Surface Zone – This is the smallest zone. It is only 5% of the average ocean depth. The depth of the surface area is 0 – 200meters. Its upper reaches are fully lit at midday. Pressure ranges from 1 atmosphere (14 psi, same as on land) to 21 atmospheres (294 psi). It is usually the warmest zone, though temperature varies with season and latitude.
Twilight Zone – This includes about 20% of the average ocean depth. It reaches from 200 meters down to 1000 meters (3,280 feet). It ranges from dimly lit to dark at midday. The pressure rages from 21 atmospheres to 101 atmospheres. It is cold here and is not affected seasonally.
Deep Ocean – This is the largest zone consisting of 75% of the average ocean depth. It is from 1000 meters down to the ocean floor. No sunlight reaches the deep ocean zone. The pressure is greater than 101 atmosphere – increasing with depth. It is constantly cold – just above freezing!
What does it take to survive in the twilight zone?
Huge eyes and distinctive coloring are essential. Survival often depends on seeing…and not being seen. Midwater animals have evolved specialized eyes to see in dim light, and color patterns that help them avoid being seen.
BIOLUMINESCENCE
Land animals that produce light are very rare (Lightning bugs/Fireflies), but in the “twilight zone”, is it the norm. From single-celled organisms to large squids, more than 90% of species here produce light (bioluminescence). Some glow to attract mates. Others use light to attract prey or avoid predators.
Shifting Baselines – Accepting a more degraded ocean ecosystem now as normal.
Ghost Fishing: Ghost fishing is when abandoned fishing lines, nets, and traps continue to catch and kill marine life. ACTION: Don’t leave these behind in the water or where they will end up in the water! Recycle or repurpose them.
POLLUTION and DEATH through PLASTIC
Plastic trash looks like food sources to marine animals. Because they cannot be digested, animals that consume it may starve to death from blockages, suffer internal injuries.
Hard to believe this poor bird had that much plastic trash in its belly! AND only one plastic spray cap was enough for the demise of the mother bottlenose whale below after it became lodged in her stomach!
This Finned Octopod model reminded me of Piglet from Winnie the Pooh – maybe dressing up for Halloween. LOL
SPIDERS
DON’T kill tarantulas! They look scary, but are gentle, hairy giants
A Wolf spider is actually helpful around the house! They take care of a variety of insects.
Variety of Webs
INSECTS vs BUGS
Frog Beetles
Never expected to see two grasshoppers “doing it”!
We have these in Yuma…
Can you identify the animal solely from its skeleton?
GEMS and Minerals
Stunning aquamarine!
I was never a fan of my birthstone till I realized there was blue topaz! Of course I didn’t realize it was because it had been irradiated.
Like most blue topaz sold today, the gems below – and a fragment of the large crystal below were irradiated and heated to produce the deep color. The paler blue color of natural blue topaz probably comes from defects in the atomic structure caused by natural radioactivity.
I was fascinated with these – the colors! the shapes! the textures!
I’ve seen gold nuggets, as well as silver and copper, but this was the first time seeing platinum.
MINERALS THAT GLOW IN THE DARK
When certain mineral are exposed to invisible ultraviolet light, they give off visible light. Franklin Sterling Hill, New Jersey, is the fluorescent mineral capital of the world. Over 70 kinds of minerals from this location fluoresce, creating a riot of color under ultraviolet light.
Some mineral contain atoms with electrons that are boosted to to higher energy levels by ultraviolet light. These electrons constantly fall back to their original energy levels, giving off energy in the form of visible light. This continues for as long as the atoms are exposed to UV light.
Geyserite – Geyser cones of siliceous sinter. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. After steam and hot water erupted, as the water cooled and evaporated, it deposited geyserite silica a variety of opal. You definitely see this all around Yellowstone.
City built of ROCK
I did not realize…
OPALS are a very delicate gemstone…here’s why.
What Gives Minerals Their Colors?
Visible light is composed of a spectrum of colors. Certain atoms within the minerals absorb some of these colors. We see the colors that are not absorbed. Minerals that absorb all light appear black, while those not absorbing any light will appear white.
Minerals that are only in shades of blue and green are colored by the presence of copper. When atoms of copper combine with oxygen, the atoms absorb all colors form white light except blue and green – which reflect back to our eyes. Whether blue or green dominates depends on how the copper atoms are placed in the structure.
NOW TO THE ANIMALS!
Mammals First
The red kangaroo is one of the largest pouched mammals, and hops for miles at 15.1 mph. But in an emergency, it will hop at twice that speed.
European Rabbit – Europeans introduce this small but prolific hopper in 1858. It quickly colonized (in true rabbit reproduction fashion) the southern half of Australia, where it now competes for food with many native mammals.
Red fox – With litters of four or more, red foxes quickly colonized much of Australia after they were introduced in the 1860s for hunting.
WHAT??? A platypus is a mammal, but it lays eggs????
Sun-filled Rainforest Canopy of South America
The red howler monkey is the largest monkey of South America. It feeds almost exclusively on leaves.
Southern Squirrel Monkey is a nimble monkey that forages for insects, nectar, and ripe fruits. They avoid the uppermost branches where eagles hunt. (Pictured below with the baby on its back)
The tayra pictured on the top limb in the picture above is a large weasel that spends its nights in tree hollows or ground holes. Tayras are closely related to badgers, skunks, and otters.
After dark the Brazilian porcupine forages for fruit and leaves, climbing small vines and branches with its gripping feet and tail.
Most mammals (including us) have 7 vertebrae, but the three-toed sloth has 9. Those extra two vertebrae enable the sloth to swivel it’s head about 270 degreed without using energy to move their body.
Giant anteaters have sticky saliva and tiny barbs on their long tongues to enable them to collect a lot of insects. Good thing since they eat about 30,000 insects a day! Unfortunately, they are usually repelled by irritating ants and termites within a minute of digging into a nest.
Look at the claws on that armadillo! Those massive claws aid in digging out insects and small animals form the forest floor.
The tapir is a hoofed mammal that plucks fruit and leaves from low branches with its flexible upper lip. It is one of the largest mammals in the South American rainforest.
A capybara and a red-rumped agouti:
Capybaras are the largest living rodents. Some extinct rodents were larger than N. American grizzly bears! The agoutis gnaw nuts that fall to the forest floor. Long legs, hoof-like feet, and a streamlined body help this rodent flee through underbrush to avoid meat-eaters.
There is only one monkey worldwide that is active during the night instead of sleeping. That is the Northern Night Monkey.
The kinkajou – is sometime mistaken for the northern night monkey. The kinkajou is related to the raccoon. Its green eyeshade, sharp claws and grasping tail give its real identity away.
Carnivores – The ultimate mammal predators
How weird to see gray seals with the Eastern spotted skunk! (Skunk is posed for emitting its defensive spray.)
New term for me: Ungulate – one that has grinding teeth and hoofed feet. Below: fallow deer, mouflon (one of the smallest wild sheep), and the wild boar
American Bison
I had not heard of sand owls, let alone seen any before our Yuma friends, Nancy and Jimmy Richardson introduced us to the ones that live in Yuma off of Pacific Ave before we headed to Los Alogodones, Mexico. They are cute little guys! It was so cool to see them right from the car! So many people drive by each day and don’t have a clue they are RIGHT THERE!
American mastodons are more distantly related to living elephant than mammoths are – more like third cousins than siblings.
It was unexpected to see a working fossil lab within the museum, and being able to watch them work from the plexiglass windows.
This has been a fascinating, and fun museum today. There was so much to take in, but just fun and interesting. We needed this Smithsonian today. 🙂
We thought about Isaac and Mona throughout our visit. They would really get a kick out of seeing all the animals and of course experiencing the size of some of the dinosaurs. We picked out shirts for each of them. Dinosaurs for Isaac and the cute panda for Mona. (We will be going to the National Zoo later this week where we will see live pandas!)
Tomorrow we get a special tour of the “People’s House” – the US Capitol Building thru our Florida Representative Kat Cammack.