Jordan Wellington investigations

July 11th / 12th, 2012

Te Papa

The Great White Shark

•Largest predatory fish on Earth.

•Lives in temperate seas around the world.

•Preys mainly on marine tetrapods such as dolphins, penguins and pinnipeds.

•You need a bigger boat.

Colossal Squid

•This specimen was caught near Antarctica recently.

•Like all known cephalopods, colossal squid are predatory, feeding on various aquatic animals.

•Lives in tents under the sea.

Frilled shark

•Lives in deep sea environments worldwide.

•Preys on deep sea fish and squid.

•One of the most primitive shark species.

•Scared of apples.

Dimetrodon

•A large, predatory synapsid from the Permian of Texas.

•Reached lengths of up to 3 meters long.

•Lived 250 million years ago.

•Was fond of ice cream.

Undescribed pterosaur

•Scapula found by Joan Wiffen in a river near Hawke's Bay.

•Currently unnamed due to fragmentary remains.

•Likely fed on small animals such as fish and young dinosaurs.

•Lived around 70 million years ago.

•Died out due to the evolution of lawyers.

Shortfin mako shark

•Close relative of the great white.

•Feeds on large fish such as tuna, marlin and swordfish.

•Prefers temperate seas, but can often be found in the tropical Pacific.

•Loves chocolate.

Tuatara

•Only found on islands off the coast of New Zealand.

•Omnivorous, feeding mainly on insects, small birds and lizards but will sometimes eat berries.

•Is the only surviving sphenodont.

•Goes berserk upon seeing dead kittens.

Dog

•The dog is the orange animal in the center of the image.

•Dogs are domesticated carnivorous mammals that have been used as companions for thousands of years.

•Many breeds of dog exist, including the pit bull, the pug and the Jack Russell terrier.

•Dogs are well known for using crossbows as novelty helmets.

Moa

•Moa were gigantic, flightless birds native to New Zealand. They were wiped out by early settlers.

•Moa were herbivorous, feeding on tussock grasses, berries and other plant material.

•Surviving relatives of the moa include the ostrich, the kiwi and the emu.

•The eggshells of the moa consisted entirely of chocolate.

Deinonychus

•Note: These models are not very accurate. Real Deinonychus had feathers. The wrists are also inaccurate.

•Deinonychus was a carnivorous theropod dinosaur which lived 115 million years ago in Western North America.

•Despite popular belief, there is no hard evidence that Deinonychus hunted in packs. Fossil packs more likely represent separate individuals attracted to a carcass, much like modern Komodo dragons.

•There is evidence that this animal loved to hunt children in kitchens.

Here is a list of reptiles that you can keep as pets in NZ.

•Blue-tongued skink.

•Bearded dragon.

•Leopard gecko.

•Water dragon.

•Reeve's turtle.

•Red-eared slider.

•Snake-necked turtle.

•Hermann's tortoise.

•Greek tortoise.

•250 million years ago, the greatest mass extinction in the history of the world happened.

•Many successful groups, such as the trilobites and eurypterids, were completely wiped out. Other groups, such as the crinoids and brachiopods, were greatly reduced.

•The mass extinction was probably caused by massive volcanic activity. In Siberia, 250 million year old rocks have revealed evidence of massive volcanoes. These are known as the Siberian Traps.

•The volcanic eruptions would have released huge amounts of CO2 into the oceans, making them acidic. This acid would have killed many marine invertebrates, causing massive ecological collapse.

•Overall, 90-95 percent of Earth's species went extinct.

•Another possible cause for it is Jordan's farting.