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Questions related from Russell Engelman
I have an endocast that I am trying to measure the volume of the olfactory bulbs from. I have the data segmented in Avizo, but unfortunately because of the way the specimen was scanned (it was a...
20 October 2021 1,452 1 View
There are two extant species of Hydrochoerus: Hydrochoerus isthmius, the lesser or Panamanian capybara, and the genotype species H. hydrochaeris. The latter is the more common species of capybara,...
12 February 2021 4,139 14 View
I have been working on a study trying to estimate body mass in mammals using a skeletal proxy in R. My dataset has high phylogenetic signal (Pagel's Lambda = 0.9) and I am interested in removing...
27 January 2021 7,287 3 View
I have a regression equation in which I am curious if the amount of scatter around the regression line is driven by phylogeny. I know there is a lot of phylogenetic signal because Pascal's lambda...
23 December 2020 1,252 1 View
In his 2007 book Chasing Kangaroos, Tim Flannery rather extensively discusses the idea (treated in the text as something supported by scientific research, rather than an untested hypothesis) that...
10 January 2020 7,167 2 View
Does anyone know first-hand or know of a recorded observation as to what hemocyanin (the oxygen-binding molecule in the blood of most arthropods and mollusks) smells/tastes like? I know that...
26 April 2019 7,160 4 View
I remember quite some time ago I came across an interesting quote which I believe was attributed to the evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky. If I recall right, it was in one of G.G....
20 April 2019 6,842 3 View
I have often heard in the "gray" literature and from several informal statements by researchers that there has been some suggestion that hyaenodontid "creodonts" may eventually be found to be...
03 September 2015 5,298 13 View
I am doing research on Carboniferous "griffonflies" for a personal side project (I am not an entomologist by trade), and I am trying to find out just how similar or different these animals were to...
27 August 2015 5,208 2 View
I have heard several authors and seen several reconstructions that have portrayed some ornithischians, particularly heterodontosaurids and basal ceratopsians, as omnivorous. I was wondering, is...
13 December 2014 2,056 4 View
I realize this is more of a subjective question, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with what is the best way to present a phylogeny in a visual aid? I am making several signs for...
25 November 2014 475 3 View
Why does nearly every study nowadays use the term "Metazoa" to describe the clade formed by animals rather than "Animalia". From what I can tell Animalia Linnaeus, 1758 has nearly a hundred years...
25 November 2014 6,523 4 View
How does one distinguish between cursorial and generalized terrestrial modes of life in lizards? I know that in mammals it is relatively easy to distinguish between a cursorial and non-cursorial...
20 November 2014 6,343 4 View
I know that in years past, it has often been suggested that predatory maniraptoran dinosaurs (mainly troodontids and dromaeosaurids) used their forelimbs to catch food. Indeed, Ostrom originally...
30 October 2014 8,461 3 View
In a recent paper (>5-6 years ago), I remember seeing a paleogeographic reconstruction of South America (it looked something like the attached link, but for South America) during the period it...
28 October 2014 8,730 3 View
Does anyone know whether the correct binomen for the monito del monte is Dromiciops gliroides or Dromiciops australis? Looking at the taxonomic history of the species, it looks like australis was...
21 October 2014 7,748 3 View
So obviously the largest salamanders living today are the cryptobranchids, the hellbenders and members of the genus Andrias. However, these salamanders are extremely specialized...
02 October 2014 2,177 7 View
Most abundance counts in paleontology and zooarchaeology use one of two major methodologies, Number of Identified Specimens (NISP) or Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI). However, in many...
14 September 2014 1,255 4 View
I have recently been looking up data on the extinct giant (hummingbird-sized) Eocene ant Titanomyrma, as well as the closely related and possibly synonymous form genus Formicium. However, the only...
30 May 2014 8,051 4 View
I recently read on Catalogue of Organisms (http://coo.fieldofscience.com/2014/05/wasps-with-fangs-on-their-feet.html) that pimpline ichneumonid wasps have enlarged claws on their hind tarsi that...
26 May 2014 5,416 1 View
Exactly what it says on the tin.
10 May 2014 5,771 2 View
I realize that this question basically boils down to "which species had the brain that was least small", but given the amount of geological time and diversity present in these animals, one would...
27 April 2014 1,152 2 View
