Is there also a hidden punchline in this, that none of the examples in the screenshot are caused by Exidopsis?
I remember reading a journal article about how that species is in/on old wood substrates, so you get the cool ice crystal effect coming out of fallen logs in woods.
Pseudolithos cubiformis:
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1441633-Pseudolithos-cubiformis
https://www.flickr.com/photos/olafpronk/3367091699/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/olafpronk/3671273461/
http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/SUCCULENTS/Family/Asclepiadaceae/12762/Pseudolithos_cubiformis
seconded, i just wanna see some square trees
Here is the video my son found and showed to me during his recent âPanamĂĄâ campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yiZbI9Rr1o
BIG gap on iNat. For Somalia, even if I go all the way up to family - still not a sign of the Pseudolithos!
Heh, we should check in the âno evidence of organismâ DQAâs from Somalia and take a second look at ârocksâ in there.
Update: Speaking of Africa, plants and geometry, a decent public-facing description of a recent research publication just came up in my local newspaper: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/13/fairy-circles-namibia-australia-desert-mystery/
In this case, plants donât make geometric forms within or upon themselves. Instead, they make the geometric forms across the whole desert terrain where they live! (Spoiler: No straight lines are involved though.)
Update 2 for @dianastuder, also desert plant related- I havenât ever heard the word fibonacci used outside of academic circles, yet Iâve seen it at iNat twice in the last couple of weeks! Here from @bobmcd above, and in that one plant obs that was uh, painted by cavemen one time maybe? If you have that obs link handy, it might fit well in this thread too. :)
200 plant observations in the country, Iâm not surprized one group wasnât observed.
That Pseudolithos cubiformis is really weird!
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/56944372
It was this obs. Prehistoric rock art link is in the second last comment.
~6500 BP must be the longest record for human observation on iNat?
Those ancient Maya were really something, werenât they? What is it about the Quadrangle of the Birds that fascinates him more than other Maya structures?
Depending on which side of Darien it is on, you might be able to drive there. Road trip!!
While a road trip is technically possible, it would be approximately a 44 hour drive, and that is if all roadways are in working order. My no stands.
He is fascinated by all Maya structures equally, more or less, because history, his preferred topic. He brought up that particular one because the conversation was about a project of his older brother, who works in concert sound and lighting design. (To be clear, both my children are young adults, in their early to mid-twenties.)
Sound and lighting is not a conversation at all interesting to my younger son, and he used to always abruptly change less interesting conversation to more favored topics, but now he will look for points of intersection. So once when his older brother was talking about work, he shared the sound qualities of the US Capitol and Dumbarton Oaks (DC), how something whispered in one place is heard some distance away. Another time he mentioned of course the quetzal sound effect generated by clapping oneâs hands in front of the main temple of ChichĂ©n ItzĂĄ.
This time, it was Uxmal, because the Quadrangle of the Birds has its own sound effects, in that the calls of the birds who fly overhead (zanates, I think?) are amplified and stereofied. So he wanted to share about that with his brother and his brotherâs girlfriend, who is Maya herself. And then because he knows the pyramid at Uxmal is strikingly different in structure, I am guessing his brain pinged from there.
(He also loves Legos and pixelation so I cannot be sure of the leaps of thought.)
Sorry this is so long! Yes, the ancient Mayas were amazing and we really still do not fully appreciate the extent of their knowledge. There are unexplored ruins everywhere here (see below) so his love of history and discovery is constantly fed with new discoveries from INAH.
Certain beetles (Red Milkweed Beetles, and Meloe oil beetles) have square thoraxes, and the Red Milkweed Beetle has a raised hexagon on its thorax.
Revel in the glory of Eucalyptus tetraptera, the square-fruited mallee:
https://botanyphoto.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/2015/01/eucalyptus-tetraptera/
This is awesome. I cannot wait to show him when he wakes up! Thank you!
The most squarish beetle I know of:
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/341823-Platysoma-elongatum
Pretty square and pretty rare â I wonder if the rarity is tied to the squarity? I am not trying to be funny; I wonder if there are few square beetles because that shape is less survival-fit than others. I wonder why this one is so square.
They are not rare, but standard iNat users seldom look between bark and wood of dead trees, that is where Platysomatini can be found⊠Shape is clearly an adaptation to an almost bi-dimensional way of life.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/373780-Platysomatini/browse_photos .
Ah, that is like a tiny beetle here that tucks into the folds at the base of very new Solanum leaves and so is overlooked by most people because it 100% looks like lizard poop. It appears to be really rare but I think it is probably more common than it seems and just when seen mentally processed as âpoopâ.
Nature, like the Art of War with wich it has a lot in common, is based on deception.
This cuckoo wasp has a pretty distinct square pattern appearance on its mesosoma https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/168823135
