Morning Dog

When we got our second dog, I never intended for either one of them to be more attached to either one of us. But it seems each one has taken to the habits of each of their owners.

I'm a morning person, while Mrs. Pet Haven is a night owl. When I'm up early to start a new day, it's usually Kelso who's up and about with me. Sometimes he's awake even before I am. As soon as I'm up, he's right there with me, ready for to play with his toys and do "his business."

Rocco, on the other hand, is the night-time dog. He'll lounge on his bed in the morning while Kelso is up and about. Getting them set for their morning walk, it's Rocco that usually fights me a bit.

At night, however, when Kelso and I are falling asleep in front of the TV, it's Rocco who's running about, looking for food, and trying to play. Of course, my wife gets the full night time responsibility...since it's always my side of the bed that Kelso goes to in the morning when he wants to get up before we do.

Who would have thought that my pets could be a morning dog or a night owl?

killifishes Sul-Americanos

Uma revisão feita no gênero Simpsonichthys pelo ictiólogo Wilson Costa que envolve cerca de 50 espécies válidas, subdivide-o em cinco subgêneros: (Simpsonichthys, Hypsolebias, Ophthalmolebias, Xenurolebias e Spectrolebias)

Xenurolebias, encontrados nas planícies litorâneas do Brasil oriental, incluindo somente S. myersi.

Xenurolebias myersi

Ophthalmolebias, encontrado ao longo das bacias dos rios que desaguam no litoral do Brasil oriental, incluindo S. constanciae, S. suzarti, S. bokermanni, S. perpendicularis e S. rosaceus.

Ophthalmolebias constanciae

Simpsonichthys, no Brasil central, no alto rio Paraná, alto Araguaia e nas bacias superiores do rio São Francisco, compreende o S. cholopteryx, o S. parallelus, o S. nigromaculatus, o S. punctulatus, o S. boitonei, o S. santanae e o S. zonatus.

Simpsonichthys boitonei

Spectrolebias, no médio rio Tocantins, nas bacias do médio Araguaia, Xingu, Mamoré e Paraguai; incluindo Brasil, Bolívia e Paraguai, ondem constam o S. reticulatus, S. costai, S. chacoensis, S. filamentosus e o S. semiocellatus.

Spectrolebias reticulatus

Hypsolebias, no rio São Francisco, Tocantins, médio Jequitinhonha e bacias mais baixas do rio Jaguaribe e bacias litorânes isoladas no nordeste do Brasil, compreendendo o S. ocellatus, o S. rufus, o S. stellatus, o S. nielseni, o S. notatus, o S. radiosus, o S. similis, o S. gibberatus, o S. virgulatus, o S. trilineatus, o S. auratus, o S. hellneri, o S. adornatus, o S. fulminantis, o S. carlettoi, o S. magnificus, o S. picturatus, o S. antenori, o S. macaubensis, o S. mediopapillatus, o S. ghisolfii, o S. igneus, o S. flavicaudatus, o S. flagellatus, o S. janaubensis, o S. marginatus, o S. delucai, o S. alternatus, o S. fasciatus, o S. multiradiatus, o S. flammeus e o S. brunoi.

Hypsolebias fulminantis

A revisão estudou todas as 50 espécies detalhadamente, gerando esta nova classificação através das chaves de identificação.

Hypsolebias picturatus

Para mais informação, veja: Costa, WJEM (2007) Taxonomic revision of the seasonal South American killifish genus Simpsonichthys (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheiloidei: Rivulidae). Zootaxa 1669, pp. 1–134.


Adaptado e traduzido por Ricardo Britzke
© Copyright 2008 ©

Black Dog Discrimination

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23472518/

This is an interesting article about how dogs with thick, dark black coats usually take longer to get adopted at shelters. Apparently, the phenomenon is commonplace enough to have earned its own name: "black dog syndrome."

According to one quote in the article, "They're the hardest to adopt out, they're in the shelters the longest and therefore, they're most likely to be euthanized if nothing happens."

But what are the reasons?? Could it be a subconscious thing (like the fear of black cats?). Could it be that in some black dogs (the black pug comes to mind) that it's harder to see the dog's true features? Is it because they just look scarier?

Other theories include:
-Some people turn in their black dogs to the shelters because they've gotten new furniture and don't like the dark fur their pet sheds.
-their black coats can make them invisible in poorly lit kennels.
-Same problem happens with amateur photos on shelters' Web sites, which is how many people find the dog they intend to adopt.
-If people see a lot of black dogs at a shelter, they might think there is something wrong with the dogs.

I'm curious to hear from people with black dogs. Even a lot of the pet stores I go to don't offer a lot of black dogs for sale, so this is quite an interesting topic of discussion.

Dog Eat Mud - dirty dirt eater

So I have discovered that in addition to having a sweet tooth for my electronics, my dog also loves to eat mud. Why do dogs eat dirt? There are plenty of articles on the web with explanations of why dogs eat grass, but why do dogs eat dirt?

The ground is starting to thaw and today on our morning walk, our little shichon started chowing on some mud. Yes, our dog was eating mud. Not just sniffing, not tasting, full out eating mud.

I quickly realized that we had this problem before. I dont really have a problem with it, except that they get very dirty. They burrow their snouts into the ground and their faces get extremely muddy.

A quick check around the internet confirms that once again I am not the first one having this problem. Here is a response to a question of "Why does my dog eat dirt" on Healthy Pet:

Most cases of dogs eating dirt or grass are behavioral problems. It is usually nothing to be worried about

Since the zuchons come from seemingly "clean" breeds I didn't think we'd have this problem. Also, its not clear whether we should stop his dirt eating or just let it continue.

It looks like there are forums of folks chatting about this problem. Interestingly, looks like eating dirt is not the dirties of habits... there are a lot of dog poop eaters - YUCK. At least he is not eating his own poop.

"Guard Dog"

Kelso loves to keep watch out the window and bark at everything that walks by...but yet he's so harmless!

Secondhand Smoke Killing Your Pets??

It’s no secret that secondhand smoke, also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is associated with serious health risks for people, including heart disease, cancer, asthma and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). According to an article at Petside.com, "It makes sense that the same toxins that endanger human lives might also threaten the health of our pets. "

The full link of the article can be found: http://www.petside.com/portal/site/PetSide/menuitem.ab01e14a6f0d37e0cf306d28f93c2d04/?vgnextoid=5700edf183da7110VgnVCM10000075c1d240RCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Personally, I don't smoke, so that's one issue I don't need to worry about. For for those pet lovers looking for another reason to quit, look no further then your furry friend.

The article makes some interesting points, such as: "Lymphosarcoma is the most common feline cancer. It starts in the lymph nodes and spreads throughout the body. Studies suggest that cats who live with a smoker are twice as likely to develop lymphosarcoma as cats of nonsmokers, and three times as likely if they live with a smoker for more than five years."

Stats like this always add legitimacy to a point. More to the point, there is really nothing good that can come from smoking, as shown in this article.

Nova Espécie de Ciclídeo Africano

Nova espécie de Ciclídeo descoberta no lago Tanganyica

Benthochromis horii

Una nova espécie do gênero Benthochromis foi descoberta no lago Tanganyika e descrita por Tetsumi Takahashi da universidade de Kyoto. A espécie nova, nomeada Benthochromis horii em honra a primeira pessoa que o reconheceu como uma espécie distinta (Michio Hori). Benthochromis horii é distinto de outras espécies do gênero (Benthochromis melanoides e Benthochromis tricoti ) por possuir um olho menor, uma boca mais larga e um numero diferente de raios na nadadeira dorsal (geralmente 30 a 31 contra 28 a 29).

Lago Tanganyca visto do espaço

O número dos dentes externos nos pré-maxilares tende a ser menor na nova espécie do que nos seus congêneres, embora as escalas sobreponham pela maior parte entre a espécie (46·6±4·9 no B. horii contra. 54·9±7·4 do B. tricoti e 53·1±8·8 do B. melanoides). Os machos grandes da nova espécie, também são distinguidos dos seus congêneres devido sua nadadeira pélvica ser mais longa (30 % maior que as outras espécies desse gênero), a presença de três linhas longitudinais verde pérola pelo corpo e a nadadeira peitoral e caudal terminam em fitas compridas.

Lago Tanganyica

Benthochromis horii foi encontrado nas águas profundas da região sul do lago Tanganyika, fora de Mtondwe no Zâmbia.

Para mais informação: Takahashi, 2008 - Descrição de uma nova espécie Ciclídeo do genero Benthochromis (Perciformes: Cichlidae) do lago Tanganyika. Jornal da biologia 72 dos peixes, pp. 603-613.

Fonte: practicalfishkeeping

Adaptado e traduzido por Ricardo Britzke
© Copyright 2008 ©