animals

This may not be Leviathan, but it is pretty damn big.

“A man-sized grouper that trolls the tropical waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean for octopuses and crabs has been identified as a new fish species after genetic tests.

Called the goliath grouper, the fish can grow to six feet (1.8 meters) in length and weigh a whopping 1,000 pounds (454 kg). Until now, scientists had grouped this species with an identical looking fish (also called the goliath grouper, or Epinephelus itajara) living in the Atlantic Ocean.

“For more than a century, ichthyologists have thought that Pacific and Atlantic goliath grouper were the same species,” said lead researcher Matthew Craig of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, “and the argument was settled before the widespread use of genetic techniques.”

I thought that this story was kind of cool. In fact when I am 110 I intend to emulate the lizard king. 😉

(CNN) — Although he’s 110 years old and hasn’t shown interest in sex for over four decades, Henry is going to be a dad.

A tuatara, a rare species descended from dinosaurs, Henry is a lizard-like creature whose species has been endangered since the 1890s. They are now only found on a handful of New Zealand’s offshore islands.

Henry is the oldest tuatara to mate at Southland Museum on the country’s South Island. His best years as a lady lizard’s man may be ahead of him, though, because he’s actually middle aged. His species can live well past 200.

“I had given up on old Henry,” said curator Lindsay Hazley, who said he had to keep Henry in “solitary confinement” because he attacked females who approached him to mate.

Henry began to overcome his reptile dysfunction in 2002 when veterinarians realized a lump in the animal’s nether regions was a cancerous tumor. They removed it and, over the next few years, his attitude changed.

“If I had a tumor underneath my [genitals], when girls were passing by, I’d be a very grumpy boy, too,” said Hazley, who has cared for tuataras at the museum for 35 years.

In March, Henry mated with Mildred, whose age is estimated between 70 and 80. Last month, she laid 12 fertile eggs — 11 of which are healthy.

This guy has some serious issues.

VAN BUREN, Ark. — A man accused of assaulting and tying up his mother because he was reportedly mad about the death of his pet skunk has been arrested in Waldron, authorities said.

Authorities say 35-year-old Scott Tolles Sullivan was arrested early Saturday in Waldron. He is being held without bail in Van Buren. Authorities say he hid from police in an attic and was arrested after police shot him with a bean bag gun.

Sullivan’s mother, 56-year-old Maria Sullivan, called police Wednesday night after freeing herself from duct tape and rope, authorities said. Maria Sullivan told police that her son became upset when he learned that her dog killed his pet skunk.

Found this story on Live Science and couldn’t help but wonder if the seal was half blind.

“A seal has been caught on camera trying to have sex with a penguin.

This seems to be the first known example of a sexual escapade between a mammal and another kind of vertebrate such as a bird, reptile or fish, “although some mammals are known to have attempted sexual relief with inanimate — including dead things — objects,” said researcher Nico de Bruyn, a mammal ecologist at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

One summer morning, scientists observing elephant seals on a beach on Marion Island near the Antarctic spotted a young male Antarctic fur seal subduing a king penguin.

“At first we thought it was hunting the penguin, but then it became clear that his intentions were rather more amorous,” de Bruyn recalled today via email.

The roughly 240-pound seal subdued the 30-pound adult penguin by lying on it. The hapless bird of unknown sex struggled, rapidly flapping its flippers and attempting to stand and flee, without luck.

The seal then alternated between resting on the penguin and thrusting its pelvis at the bird in vain attempts to insert its penis for 45 minutes. Natural, unsuccessful sexual escapades by this variety of seal with members of its own species may last as long as this penguin assault did, “but yes, it is quite a long time and thus unusual,” de Bruyn told LiveScience.”