#zoogeography

SciShow: Geology Created Madagascar's Weird Animals

Diversity Maps of vertebrate groups in the United Statest

Find out how these maps were generated here:

John Bartholomew – Scientist of the Day

John George Bartholomew, a Scottish cartographer and publisher, was born Mar. 22, 1860.

Andrew Murray – Scientist of the Day

Andrew Dickson Murray, a Scottish lawyer, entomologist, botanist, and would-be zoogeographer, was born Feb. 19, 1812.  

Why Are There No Sea Snakes in the Atlantic? 

by Natalie van Hoose

Sea snakes are an evolutionary success story. With about 70 species, they’re the most diverse reptile group in the ocean, outnumbering sea turtle species 10-to-1.

They sport a range of physical adaptations for life at sea, including a flattened oar-like tail for paddling and the abilities to smell underwater, hold their breath for hours and go for months without a drink. And although they’re not powerful swimmers, they have spread throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans, ranging from Japan to New Zealand and from South Africa to Central America.

But there is a glaring gap in sea snakes’ near-global distribution: the Atlantic Ocean.

“Why there are no sea snakes in the Atlantic is a question we’ve been asking for a long time,” said Coleman Sheehy, Florida Museum of Natural History herpetology collection manager. “We know why they are where they are. But why they’re not where they’re not has been a mystery...”

Eberhard von  Zimmermann – Scientist of the Day

Eberhard von Zimmermann, a German zoologist, was born Aug. 17, 1743.

In Buffon’s eyes Nature is an infinitely diversified whole which it is impossible to break up and classify. “The animal combines all the powers of Nature; the forces animating it are peculiarly its own; it wishes, does, resolves, works, and communicates by its senses with the most distant objects. One’s self is a centre where everything agrees, a point where all the universe is reflected, a world…

A contribution to the zoögeography of the East Indian islands / by Thomas Barbour. on Flickr.