The Resplendent Quetzal

Earlier this week I wrote about the (alleged) crown of Montezuma.  The main element of that crown was not a gem or gold structural elements, but the exquisite iridescent emerald feathers of Pharomachrus mocinno, the resplendent quetzal.  These birds live in the rainforests of Central America from southern Mexico down across Guatemala and into western Panama.  They are solitary birds which generally eat fruit (which they supplement with small animals).  They are weak fliers and are preyed on by hawks, eagles, owls, and even toucanets and squirrels (it must be embarrassing to be eaten by a small mean toucan or a squirrel).

Because of their exquisite feathers resplendent quetzals were associated with the flying snake god Quetzalcotl by various Mesoamerican civilizations.  Elite individuals of the Maya and the Aztecs did indeed wear headdresses made from quetzal feathers, and it was taboo to kill the bird.  Feathers were collected from captured birds which were set free (for quetzals do not flourish in captivity).  They were seen as symbols of divinity, freedom, and wealth (Guatemalan money is known as the quetzal).

I wish I could tell you more about this jewel-like bird, but they quietly keep their secrets.  A myth of the conquest is that before Spaniards came to the Americas, quetzals sang beautifully and had plain breasts, but since that time their breasts have been red with blood and they have been silent.  They do indeed seem to be a stupendous visual phenomenon (like today’s post which is really about the pictures of this exquisite animal).

 

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Wagner’s Mustached Bat

This is Wagner’s mustached bat (Pteronotus personatus), a somewhat ridiculously named bat which is a master of echolocation.  The little flying insect hunter is tiny:  bats have a body length of 6 to 6.7 centimetres (2.4 to 2.6 in).  They are strictly nocturnal insectivores.  They fly over rivers at night feeding on moths and mosquitoes.  Wagner’s mustached bat is notable as one of only a handful of Doppler-shift compensating bats in the new world: the little animals.  To quote Michael Smotherman’s article in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America , Wagner’s mustached bats “adjust the frequency of their [Constant Frequency] component to compensate for flight-speed induced Doppler shifts in the frequency of the returning echoes.” This is no mean feat for an animal without any onboard computers or slide rules.

Wagner’s mustached bat ranges from southern Mexico, down through Central America to the Pacific coast of Ecuador. It is found in a broad swatch of South America in a band through Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and across central Brazil to the Atlantic.  Not only does the bat intuitively understand Doppler shift effects, it also exhibits an interesting coloration feature.  The species has two color phases: some bats are sable colored with grey underparts; others are reddish-orange with cinnamon colored underparts.   Ferrebeekeeper needs to talk about polymorphism (maybe later this week) and this little mustached creature is a good start on explaining the concept.

Camazotz, the Death Bat

One of the most horrible deities of the underworld comes from the violent and frightening cosmology of the Maya civilization of Central America. The Mayan god of darkness, violence and sacrifice was Camazotz a flying bat god who inhabited Xibalba, the Mayan hell. Originally an anthropomorphic bat monster worshipped by the Zapotec Indians of Oaxaca, Camazotz was adopted into the Mayan pantheon as a vampire killer who reveled in slaughter. The deity appears throughout classical Mayan art and sculpture. Camazotz also features in the post-classical compendium of Mayan myths, the Popul Vuh, where he is master of a house of were-bats like himself.  There he (or one of his minions) claws off the heads of one of the story’s twin heroes during their attempt to defeat the lords of Xibalba in a marathon ball tournament.

Classical Mayan sculpture of Camazotz

The Armoured Catfishes

Armoured Catfish (photo by Elaine Dockery)

There are about 40 known families of catfishes–give or take a few extinct families and a few mystery species (which will probably be classified as their own families in time).  The largest family of catfish in terms of diversity is the Loricariidae family—the exquisite armoured catfishes of Central and South America.  Nearly seven hundred species are known, and more are being added all of the time.  The extraordinarily successful family is characterized by suckermouths for closely grazing on vegetation and detritus.  They have long slender tapering forms with heavy bony plates around the head and body.  The Locariidae frequently have exquisite fanlike dorsal fins which they can open for display (the dorsal fin is the top fin, which you can see extended in some of the “out-of-the water pictures in the gallery below).  In Fishes of the World Joseph S. Nelson describes additional armament carried by this family, “When present, the adipose fin usually has a sharp spine at the forward edge.” Because of the vagaries of the Amazon and the other tropical rivers they inhabit, Locariidae are adept at breathing air and can survive for more than a day out of the water.

Adult Male Armoured Catfish of Baryancistrus genus (photo by Brian Glover) note the omega-shaped pupil

In addition to their maxillary barbells, which are loaded with sensory organs, the Locariddae are completely covered with taste buds.  The fish are therefore extraordinarily attuned to changes in their environment.  Even their fins and tails have tasting sensors.  Pretty much the only part of the fish’s external body not covered with taste buds are their eyes, which are remarkable in their own right.  Locariidae (save for one subfamily) have highly adjustable omega shaped pupils which give them excellent vision in night or day (additionally, to my way of thinking, they further enhance the creatures’ already endearing personality.)  The male catfish are loyal parents.  In most armoured catfish species, fathers will guard the eggs until they hatch–and they will frequently stick around to defend the larval hatchlings after that.

Hypostomus plecostomus

Aquarists will instantly recognize the family for a famous member, Hypostomus plecostomus, which find service as algae eaters in many tropical hobby tanks.  Most specimens of the Loricariidae for sale at aquarium shops are colloquially known as “Plecostomuses”, “plecos”, “suckermouths” or ”algae eaters”.  A glimpse at the list of Locariidae species from the “CATelog” of “Planet Catfish” will reveal why these catchall terms are used.   I have included a random sampling of these fish from images I found at “Planet Catfish” (I  tried hard to correctly cite the photographers and spell the fish names right).  You should visit that site and check out these amazing successful animals in their spell-binding diversity.

Loricaria similima (Johnny Jensen's Photographic Library)

Pseudancistrus barbatus (Photo by Rémy Ksas)

Pterygoplicthys gibbiceps (photo by Mark Sabaj Pérez)

Rhadinoloricaria macromystax (photo by Mark Sabaj Pérez)

Sturisomatichtys leightoni (photo by Paul E. Turley)

Peckoltia compta (photo by Jacob Lihn)

Leporacanthicus triactis (photo by Håvard Støre Andresen)

Lamontichtys stibaros (Johnny Jensen's Photographic Library)

Farlowella amazonum (Johnny Jensen's Photographic Library)