All posts in Featured Books

This week we decided to put the power of choosing the book of the week in the hands of our users. So, using the “Questions” app on our Facebook Page, we asked you which book out of the four options given you would like to see featured on our blog. The options were The Snakes of Australia, British Dragonflies, La Galerie des Oiseaux, and A Book of Whales. The winner?

The Snakes of Australia (1869), by Gerard Krefft!

As the planet warms, habitats for a myriad of species worldwide are changing, and perhaps those most affected are the species living in the arctic regions of the globe. These areas are seeing significant increases in average temperatures, changing the dynamics for the life found there.

As the planet warms, habitats for a myriad of species worldwide are changing, and perhaps those most affected are the species living in the arctic regions of the globe. These areas are seeing significant increases in average temperatures, changing the dynamics for the life found there. A poignant example of this is the Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus), a species whose habitat is being encroached upon by the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) as increasing temperatures make the arctic more habitable for the latter (see EOL’s “Threats” tab on the Arctic Fox page).

April 7, 2011 is World Health Day. This year, the focus of World Health Day is Antimicrobial resistance, which is a type of drug resistance where microorganisms are able to survive exposure to antibiotics. To combat the spread of this problem, the World Health Organization is releasing a six-point policy package.

So often with scientific illustration, one finds that the depiction of species or specimens are limited to the isolated rendering of the subject in question, devoid of any habitat or environmental context that gives the reader a clear picture of what life is truly like for the animal in the wild. So, when we came across the illustrations in Deutschlands Amphibien und Reptilien. Eine Beschreibung und Schilderung sämmtlicher in Deutschland und den angrenzenden Gebietan vrokommenden Lurche und Kreichthiere (1897) by Bruno Dürigen, we knew we had to highlight them.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!Along with wearing green, drinking a pint (or maybe more) of some good Irish beer, singing some Irish songs, or any other variety of activities you may be planning to partake in on this festive day, perhaps the most iconic tradition to undertake is the search for a four-leaf clover. The four-leaf clover is a traditional symbol of good luck, with each leaf representing something different: hope, faith, love and luck.

The sad fate of the Eastern Cougar has now been officially declared by the U.S. Government – it is extinct. The status of this animal has long been a subject of controversy, with many, including the U.S. Government, declaring that the animal has been extinct since the 1930s. The disappearance of the Eastern Cougar is directly related to the arrival of settlers to the New World.