Defpuma - Untitled

Two Unique Beetles in Arizona, Kentucky Go Extinct After Lengthy Delays in Protection

I am saddened by the announcement from U.S. Fish and Wildlife that confirms the extinction of Stephan’s riffle beetle (Heterelmis stephani) from Arizona, and the Tatum Cave beetle (Pseudanophthalmus parvus) from Kentucky. 

This will not be front page news. These are not charismatic species and they’re not widely known. This announcement will not generate widespread attention. I predict it may not be picked up by popular media at all - I learned the news from a tweet by Derek Hennen’s (@entoderek), and he’s an entomologist deeply interested in these topics.

Those reasons ^ are partly why I am upset, because I see the lack of attention as indication that people were never given a reason to care in the first place. I did not know of either species until learning, too late, that they are gone. 

But another reason I’m upset is because the dwindling numbers of each population did not happen overnight. According to the announcement, Stephan’s riffle beetle was identified as needing protection under the Endangered Species Act 32 years ago, in 1984. Tatum’s cave beetle was similarly recognized ten years later, in 1994. 

We’ve done a video on the Endangered Species Act, and with that episode we highlighted some of the challenges and roadblocks in place when it comes to receiving governmental protection. The ESA has done a lot of good… but it’s nowhere near perfect. Because of our inability to act nimbly and responsively, these species, and the ecosystems in which they played any number of roles, suffer. 

With announcements such as this - with the knowledge we’ve lost a little more, and are poorer in diversity - I wonder, what can I do? How can I help? What options do we give other people to help? I’ll never have a comprehensive answer, but I will keep generating small answers, sharing ideas and resources, and continue to promote lifelong learning and curiosity. Maybe along the way, we’ll catch the eye of someone interested in helping us fix some of these systems.

Netflix’s new site is a giant “f*ck you” to Comcast and Time Warner

Netflix launched a site late Wednesday night called Fast.com, where — in one click — anyone browsing the internet can see how fast their internet speed is. Although it’s great for consumers, some internet providers might not be happy about the new website.

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Penelope.

The “dinosaur bones” that you see on display at the Museum aren’t really bones at all. Through the process of fossilization, ancient animal bones are turned into rock. 

Most ancient animals never became fossils. Their carcasses were likely consumed by other organisms, or worn away by wind or water. But sometimes the conditions were right and their remains were preserved. The most common process of fossilization happens when an animal is buried by sediment, such as sand or silt, shortly after it dies. Its bones are protected from rotting by layers of sediment. As its body decomposes all the fleshy parts wear away and only the hard parts, like bones, teeth, and horns, are left behind. Over millions of years, water in the nearby rocks surrounds these hard parts, and minerals in the water replace them, bit by bit. When the minerals have completely replaced the organic tissue, what’s left is a solid rock copy of the original specimen.

Learn more on the Museum’s Dinosaur website. 

American paleontologist O.C. Marsh with assistants.  c. 1872.

Ball is life.

China Unable To Recruit Hackers Fast Enough To Keep Up With Vulnerabilities In U.S. Security Systems 

BEIJING—Despite devoting countless resources toward rectifying the issue, Chinese government officials announced Monday that the country has struggled to recruit hackers fast enough to keep pace with vulnerabilities in U.S. security systems. “With new weaknesses in U.S. networks popping up every day, we simply don’t have the manpower to effectively exploit every single loophole in their security protocols,” said security minister Liu Xiang, who confirmed that the thousands of Chinese computer experts employed to expose flaws in American data systems are just no match for the United States’ increasingly ineffective digital safeguards.

More.