William G. Pullin

Greetings. Unexplained occurrences are reported and talked about by people all around the world, on social media platforms and occasionally in person. While definitive answers to such alleged events are usually not a part of the intellectual exercise, one belief is embraced very quickly, in fact, almost immediately in many instances. The extraterrestrial.  Why is this so? Why is the extraterrestrial explanation embraced so often, to the exclusion of all other reasonable, and unreasonable possibilities? I haven't the foggiest idea, nor will I likely ever be able to explain the situation as it stands now, but the question is certainly worthy of consideration.  When a UFO allegation comes to light, it usually kicks off a spirited discussion about the story, but not from a dispassionate point of view. What happens, in the vast majority of cases, is a biased series of interactions that focus solely on the extraterrestrial explanation. Not hoaxes. Not birds. Not drones. Not weather ...

Greetings. Struthio camelus. First described by modern science in 1758, the common ostrich is the heaviest avian dinosaur in existence on the planet.  Native to the continent of Africa, common ostriches have a widespread population range. Once thought to be related to emus, kiwis, rheas, and cassowaries, recent genetic research has determined that the species is more closely related to the moa of New Zealand and the elephant bird of Madagascar, flightless species recently driven into extinction by humans. Omnivorous and opportunistic, common ostriches feed on plant matter, small reptiles, and invertebrates. Nomadic by nature, common ostriches gather in groups of up to 50 individuals, meandering across their particular habitats in search of food and shelter from predators.  A highly mobile species, common ostriches can run at speeds up to 55 kilometers per hour, with short bursts of 70 kilometers per hour having been observed on occasion. Males are slightly larger than females,...

Greetings. Cryptoprocta ferox, known as the fossa, is a mysterious mammal that has challenged scientists ever since it was first described back in 1833. The largest mammalian predator on the island of Madagascar, the fossa has physical characteristics that are reminiscent of some species of felines, but the species is not related to cats at all.  Often described as looking similar to a small cougar, fossas are somewhat of a mystery, from taxonomic and evolutionary standpoints. Fossil evidence shows that the species' ancestors appeared on Madagascar approximately 20 million years ago, during the Miocene. An extinct species, Cryptoprocta spelea, which was twice as large as the modern fossa, disappeared around the year 1400. Genetic research has suggested that the species is related to veverrids, and not related to cats, dogs, or other similar mammals, despite their outward appearance.  The species is widespread across Madagascar, although in relatively low numbers, which makes t...

Greetings. The Blue Iguana is a reptile native to the island of Grand Cayman. Once critically endangered, the species numbered only 15 wild individuals in 2003, but thanks to the herculean efforts of conservationists, the species' population has rebounded to a more healthy and sustainable status.  A herbivorous reptile, Cyclura lewisi feeds on plants, fruits, and flowers. Adults have no natural enemies, with the only threat posed by human activities like habitat destruction. Young blue iguanas are occasionally preyed on by cats and dogs brought to the island by settlers. Blue iguanas are a prime example of island gigantism, being totally isolated on the island for the past tens of thousands of years, allowing for the species' substantially larger body dimensions. Adults reach lengths of 1.8 meters with weights of 16 kilograms commonly reported. Blue iguanas prefer rocky habitats, open, sunny, and free of forested areas. Armed with powerful limbs and clawed digits, the animals ...

Greetings. The Carboniferous Period lasted from about 359.2 to 299 million years ago. During the Carboniferous, atmospheric oxygen levels attained a peak of around 35%, significantly higher than the current 21% oxygen level, with this high concentration occurring towards the end of the Carboniferous, approximately 300 million years ago.  The high oxygen levels during the Carboniferous were largely the direct result of the vast planetwide growth of swamp forests which absorbed copious amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide, releasing a surplus of oxygen into the atmosphere. The high oxygen levels contributed to the large size of insects and other arthropods during this period, as higher oxygen levels facilitate larger body dimensions.  In addition to having the ideal conditions for the formation of coal, several major biological, geological, and climatic events occurred during this time. One of the greatest evolutionary innovations in the history of complex life on the planet oc...

Greetings. Olson's Extinction, named after paleontologist Everett C. Olson, was a mass extinction that occurred approximately 273 million years ago during the Late Permian period. The extinction predated the monumental Permian/Triassic extinction event by a few million years.  Olson first identified a substantial gap in fossil record strongly indicating an abrupt change between the early Permian and middle/late Permian faunas. This event has been argued by many paleontologists to have affected many taxa, including embryophytes, marine metazoans, and tetrapods. The first signs that indicated extinction came to light when Olson noted a hiatus between early Permian faunas dominated by pelycosaurs and the therapsid-dominated faunas of the middle and late Permian. Initially taken to be a preservational gap in the fossil record, the event was originally dubbed "Olson's Gap." To compound the difficulty in identifying the cause of the "gap," paleontologists had diff...