vanhoutan's Favorites
Photos / Sounds
What
Eastern Striolated-Puffbird (Nystalus striolatus)Observer
vanhoutanDescription
This is a Striolated Puffbird (Nystalus striolatus) that I photographed on a small mountain in southeastern Peru near where the Tambopata and Tavara rivers meet. It had been raining and we were hiking a steep trail, it was just sitting right there.
Photos / Sounds
What
Mazzaella oregonaObserver
vanhoutanDescription
This amazingly iridescent specimen was originally designated as Iridaea heterocarpa and then Mazzaella heterocarpa along Calif, Oreg, Wash, and Canada. But through molecular analysis was revealed to have consistent DNA to the holotype specimen of Iridaea oregona Doty. Note the many, obvious fruiting structures (cystocarps) that red algae generate after fertilization.
See more here:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1529-8817.2001.01048.x
This observation is of a preserved specimen from the Ocean Memory Lab that was analyzed as part of the below study on the use of herbarium macroalgae in reconstructing past ecosystem information. Serving the broader interest of open-access science, and as senior author on this study, I am archiving these images here, using iNaturalist as a third-party repository.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.0732
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2020.0732
