Age of Arthropods

In 1985, a new species of supposed protochordate origin was described. It was dubbed "one of the most remarkable and bizarre organisms ever discovered", and not without good reason. The animal had one giant lobe protruding ventrally from it's head. It contained a huge "capsule", which was interpreted as part of the digestive system, specifically the foregut. It also had a well-muscled tail with a segmented rod forming its base. In contrary of being identified as a protochordate, it supposedly possessed a singular compound eye. It was named Ainiktozoon , meaning "ridling or enigmatic animal" (Ritchie 1985). Obviously, there was something wrong with this interpretation. The combination compound eyes and a notocord seems odd and completely contradicts basic chordate anatomy. Because all other aspects of its anatomy were so obscure, it was decided that it is "advisable to use noncommittal names for the various parts", and it is quite clear to s...

In 2019, the 1000th California condor chick was born. It marked an important milestone for the California Condor Recovery Program and those who participated in the project were overwhelmed by joy (Rosane, O., 2019). After all, the population consisted of only 22 condors in 1982. The California Condor Recovery Program began in 1979, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service realized the condors wouldn't make it without the help of humans. It was decided to capture all wild California condors and integrate them into an already existing breeding program. Because the population was so crucially low, conservationists did everything to keep them as healthy as possible. In order to get rid of any parasites, all condors were deloused and treated with pesticide. But there was one thing that no-one took into consideration: the birds were home to a species-specific louse called Coplocephalum californici . As the population of their hosts were declining, their numbers were also going do...