Evaluation and Identification of J'BaFofi the Giant Spider of Congo and Mokele-Mbembe in Congo Rain Forest

1) The author observed the development of a clutch of 30 eggs of the frog Oocormus microps from the time they were discovered until well after metamorphosis. 2) The non-aquatic tadpoles hatched with a large yolk sac and direct developing limbs, indicating terrestrial development. The entire larval stage lasted only 17 days. 3) Characteristics like eye coloration and lack of an external ear confirmed the eggs belonged to O. microps. The tadpoles remained in the nest where the eggs were laid.

235 evolution Gives our Biodiversity 7 © Kendall Hunt Publishing Company eSSentiALS Bats evolved echolocation to prey on insects such as moths Island without moths; Ecosystem low in diversity…today Father and Son Sailing The island once had many moths © b ik e ri d e rl o n d o n /S h u tt e rs to ck .c o m © JH V E P h o to /S h u tt e rs to ck .c o m © P a n a io tid i/S h u tt e rs to ck .c o m © S te p h e n R e e s/ S h u tt e rs to ck .c o m ch07.indd 235 11/12/15 4:39 pm F O S T E R , C E D R I C 1 6 9 2 T S 236 Unit 3: We Are Not Alone! the Case of the Quiet island I was a young student studying biology in Wales when I talked with my father into sail- ing with me. I had seen my friend sail a small boat earlier in the season, and it looked fairly easy. So my father and I set off to visit an island that our family once vacationed on when I was a child. The wind was at our backs, so we zipped along toward the island with ease. I thought, “I should buy a sailboat and make this my new hobby; I am really great at sailing.” We docked the boat within a few minutes and began walking the island. It was just a few miles around On an earlier trip I had noticed that the island had many different creatures – plants, birds, bats, and lots of moths, one of my least favorite insects. My father noticed that it was very quiet – very peaceful and a great place to read – I think he was telling me I should get away to this island and quit bothering him with my studies. We hiked up its small hills and took leaves and plants for study. We noticed that there were very few insects buzzing around us. “How great,” I thought, “no bugs around to bother us.” I had always disliked the arthropods, all of the insect classes, in fact. I recalled times when deer flies bit through a shirt into my neck when I was gardening. “They are good for nothing,” I reminded myself, happy to be relieved of them for at least this walk. There were only small farms on the island, which consisted of quiet country- side cottages. Oddly though, on our walk there were neither birds nor insects to make noise–well, peace at last. The island had developed a great deal of farming, and the crops looked very healthy. My father commented, “This is what England needs, productivity. Big farms like this one will make Britain strong again!” I had read in a journal article that two-thirds of Brit- ain’s 337 large moth species are in significant decline. It was evening, and I again appre- ciated that there were no moths buzzing around our heads by the lamplights on the road. “A nice quiet night but where were the moths that I once watched in the lamps along the road?,” I envisioned, recalling their bulbous bodies. As a biology student, I knew that moths were an insect class, Lepidoptera, with 150,000 known species. Moths were not beautiful like butterflies and were pretty gangly, throwing themselves at lights. I would never be an.

235 evolution Gives our Biodiversity 7 © Kendall Hunt Publishing Company eSSentiALS Bats evolved echolocation to prey on insects such as moths Island without moths; Ecosystem low in diversity…today Father and Son Sailing The island once had many moths © b ik e ri d e rl o n d o n /S h u tt e rs to ck .c o m © JH V E P h o to /S h u tt e rs to ck .c o m © P a n a io tid i/S h u tt e rs to ck .c o m © S te p h e n R e e s/ S h u tt e rs to ck .c o m ch07.indd 235 11/12/15 4:39 pm F O S T E R , C E D R I C 1 6 9 2 T S 236 Unit 3: We Are Not Alone! the Case of the Quiet island I was a young student studying biology in Wales when I talked with my father into sail- ing with me. I had seen my friend sail a small boat earlier in the season, and it looked fairly easy. So my father and I set off to visit an island that our family once vacationed on when I was a child. The wind was at our backs, so we zipped along toward the island with ease. I thought, “I should buy a sailboat and make this my new hobby; I am really great at sailing.” We docked the boat within a few minutes and began walking the island. It was just a few miles around On an earlier trip I had noticed that the island had many different creatures – plants, birds, bats, and lots of moths, one of my least favorite insects. My father noticed that it was very quiet – very peaceful and a great place to read – I think he was telling me I should get away to this island and quit bothering him with my studies. We hiked up its small hills and took leaves and plants for study. We noticed that there were very few insects buzzing around us. “How great,” I thought, “no bugs around to bother us.” I had always disliked the arthropods, all of the insect classes, in fact. I recalled times when deer flies bit through a shirt into my neck when I was gardening. “They are good for nothing,” I reminded myself, happy to be relieved of them for at least this walk. There were only small farms on the island, which consisted of quiet country- side cottages. Oddly though, on our walk there were neither birds nor insects to make noise–well, peace at last. The island had developed a great deal of farming, and the crops looked very healthy. My father commented, “This is what England needs, productivity. Big farms like this one will make Britain strong again!” I had read in a journal article that two-thirds of Brit- ain’s 337 large moth species are in significant decline. It was evening, and I again appre- ciated that there were no moths buzzing around our heads by the lamplights on the road. “A nice quiet night but where were the moths that I once watched in the lamps along the road?,” I envisioned, recalling their bulbous bodies. As a biology student, I knew that moths were an insect class, Lepidoptera, with 150,000 known species. Moths were not beautiful like butterflies and were pretty gangly, throwing themselves at lights. I would never be an ...