#cantil

Yucatecan Cantil (Agkistrodon russeolus), family Viperidae, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

VENOMOUS.

The Mummy Karl Freund. 1932

Excavation Site Red Rock Canyon, 37749 Abbott Dr, Cantil, CA 93519, USA See in map

See in imdb

A common lab plant that’s been poked and put under microscopes for decades may seem unlikely to keep secrets. But in widely studied Arabidopsis thaliana, scientists have identified the “cantil” — a newly reported plant organ named for its cantilever-like way of branching off of the main stem. The structure appears in only some A. thaliana and only under certain conditions, researchers report online June 15 in Development.

“If you told me of a new organ in a weird plant in Amazonia, I wouldn’t be surprised at all,” says François Parcy, a plant biologist at CNRS in Paris, who was not involved in the study. “What struck me is this happened in Arabidopsis. This is something that’s really surprising.”

Molecular biologist Timothy Gookin first suspected contamination or a mutation when he noticed some A. thaliana with odd stalks jutting out from the stem, like half-finished bridges. It took 12 years of experiments at Penn State to show that the rare stalks are a new type of plant part and to explain their trigger: delayed flowering.

Like many other plants, short days prompt A. thaliana, which is in the same family as cabbage and mustard greens, to shore up resources; long days tell it to churn out flowers. Cantils form when that transition from stockpiling to blooming is postponed, as the plant keeps growing while waiting for the flowering signal,

Yucatecan Cantil (Agkistrodon russeolus or Agkistrodon bilineatus russeolus) from Campeche, México

(Agkistrodon bilineatus taylori) Taylor's cantil

Habitat: Mainly found in mesquite-grassland, thornforest, & tropical deciduous forest in northeastern Mexico. Most often found away from water, on or near rocky hillsides, w/ abundant limestone outcroppings. Limited to Mexican states of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, & Hidalgo (& maybe eastern Coahuila) & usually at moderate or lower elevations of <600 m. 

Activity and Behavior: Mainly terrestrial, & mainly nocturnal. Preys mainly on available lizards, small mammals, & birds, but often also eats grasshoppers & other arthropods. Sometimes basks in morning sunlight. Ovoviviparous w/ 3-10 young/ litter observed for captured specimens.