Darwin's Deviations

Join the party! We be tripping…over…the complexity of this topic, yes :) We're screwed over by termites again, so heeey... since they're a never-ending source of weirdness, let's talk about them again! Never mind the aggregated colonies of the same species… instead, today we showcase the extramarital inter-species union of termites and Termitomyces mushrooms. You already know why we picked this…both have a mutual love of consuming poop!...which, unfortunately, cannot overshadow our love of blasting your ears with S-bombs!

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Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com (Outro was heavily edited by us)

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image Credit This image was created by user Liz Popich (Lizzie) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES:

My education...cuz today I know what the heck I'm talking about...kinda

Wikipedia: Termitomyces

Wikipedia: Macrotermitinae

Termitomyces: exploring the world’s most mysterious mushroom

The genus Termitomyces, By Tobias Frøslev

ScienceDirect: Termitomyces

Forest Floor Narrative: Fungi Friday; Termitomyces titanicus

Rouland-Lefèvre, Corinne & Bignell, David. (2004). Cultivation of Symbiotic Fungi by Termites of the Subfamily Macrotermitinae. 10.1007/0-306-48173-1_46. 

Korb, Judith & Aanen, Duur. (2003). The evolution of uniparental transmission of fungal symbionts in fungus-growing termites (Macrotermitinae). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 53. 65-71. 10.1007/s00265-002-0559-y.

Brauman, Alain & Bignell, David & Tayasu, Ichiro. (2000). Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology. 10.1007/978-94-017-3223-9_11.  

Rouland-Lefèvre, Corinne & Inoue, Tetsushi & Jojima, Toru. (2006). Termitomyces/Termite Interactions. 10.1007/3-540-28185-1_14. 

Margulis, Lynn, and Dorion Sagan (2002). Acquiring Genomes: A Theory of the Origins of Species, Perseus Books Group, ISBN 0-465-04391-7

Ever feel the existential dread induced by the realization that you are just another corporate entity from the moment of your inception? Well you should, because you are. ALL OF US ARE! The show gets more philosophical and professional, as today we present you our brand new product: a huge episode, on a huge topic, for the huge fan willing to donate a huge portion of their daily attention, and risk having their brain reprogrammed forever! We will tell you not just the meaning of life, but the meaning of reality itself! And as all great philosophers..we will constantly repeat ourselves and never shut up :)

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Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image Credit Frank Fox, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES:

A LOT of Wikipedia articles I cannot possibly list

AlgaeBase: Volvox Linnaeus, 1758

MicrobeWiki: Volvox carteri

Umen, James. (2020). Volvox and volvocine green algae. EvoDevo. 11. 10.1186/s13227-020-00158-7. 

Herron, Matthew & Nedelcu, Aurora. (2015). Volvocine Algae: From Simple to Complex Multicellularity. 10.1007/978-94-017-9642-2_7. 

Szövényi, Péter & Waller, Manuel & Kirbis, Alexander. (2018). Evolution of the plant body plan. 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2018.11.005. 

Herron, Matthew & Michod, Richard. (2008). Evolution of Complexity in the Volvocine Algae: Transitions in Individuality Through Darwin's Eye. Evolution; international journal of organic evolution. 62. 436-51. 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00304.x. 

Herron, Matthew & Hackett, Jeremiah & Aylward, Frank & Michod, Richard. (2009). Triassic origin and early radiation of multicellular volvocine algae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 106. 3254-8. 10.1073/pnas.0811205106. 

Kirk DL. Evolution of multicellularity in the volvocine algae. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 1999;2(6):496-501. doi:10.1016/s1369-5266(99)00019-9

Kirk, David. (2000). Volvox as a Model System for Studying the Ontogeny and Phylogeny of Multicellularity and Cellular Differentiation. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation. 19. 265-274. 10.1007/s003440000039. 

Domozych, David & Domozych, Catherine. (2014). Multicellularity in green algae: Upsizing in a walled complex. Frontiers in plant science. 5. 649. 10.3389/fpls.2014.00649. 

Matt, Gavriel & Umen, James. (2016). Volvox: A simple algal model for embryogenesis, morphogenesis and cellular differentiation. Developmental Biology. 419. 10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.07.014. 

Starr, R.. “Colony Formation in Algae.”  (1984).

The most asexual episode…that will blow you away with the most F-bombs! Oscillatoria, and all cyanobacteria, are slimy, scummy, invisible…they do not need to be handsome, they are their own partners, and they are EVERYWHERE! You cannot escape them, they will even tear themselves apart in order to hitch a ride on your muddy sneaker….follow you home..and terrorize you with their overt photosynthetic efficiency…and existence…and capabilities to survive for over 3.5 billion years without ever getting laid! However dreadful their lives may seem…they’re more successful than our own :)

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Send us suggestions and comments to [email protected]

Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image Credit (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES:

Wikipedia: Prokaryote

Wikipedia: Cyanobacteria

Microbe Wiki: Oscillatoria

Oscillatoria: Occurrence, Thallus Structure and Reproduction

Oscillatoria – Classification , Occurrence , Structure and Reproduction

AlgaeBase: Oscillatoria Vaucher ex Gomont, 1892

Nuernberg, Dennis & Mariscal, Vicente & Parker, Jamie & Mastroianni, Giulia & Flores, Enrique & Mullineaux, Conrad. (2014). Branching and intercellular communication in the Section V cyanobacterium Mastigocladus laminosus, a complex multicellular prokaryote. Molecular microbiology. 91. 10.1111/mmi.12506. 

Rani, V. & Ulagalanthaperumal, Elaya Perumal & Sonaimuthu, Palanivel. (2016). Morphology and taxonomy of Oscillatoria princeps Vaucher ex gomont (OSCILLATORIALES, OSCILLATORIACEAE). Indian Journal of Education and Information Management. 5. 1-5. 

Muhlsteinova, Radka & Hauer, Tomáš & Ley, Paul & Pietrasiak, Nicole. (2018). Seeking the true Oscillatoria: A quest for a reliable phylogenetic and taxonomic reference point. Preslia. 90. 10.23855/preslia.2018.151. 

Brahamsha, B. and D. Bhaya. “Motility in Unicellular and Filamentous Cyanobacteria.”  (2013).

Ridley, Christian & Faulkner, D & Haygood, Margo. (2005). Investigation of Oscillatoria spongeliae-Dominated Bacterial Communities in Four Dictyoceratid Sponges. Applied and environmental microbiology. 71. 7366-75. 10.1128/AEM.71.11.7366-7375.2005. 

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode portrays genuine emotions…it is the saddest episode thus far, but also the funniest as well!

Linhenykus monodactylus…the one-fingered wonder…if you are looking for a dinosaur which can properly use scissors…you’re at the wrong place :) All this little guy is good for is running..and hugging termite mounds…it cannot even help us create a good episode, even when our show’s future is at stake! Will I be able to hold myself together under the pressure of impending doom? Will AL finally bring us back to the past? Find out now!

This episode is dedicated to my best friend :) Happy birthday, my poopy friend, and thank you for all the love and support you continue to provide me even in the darkest of times :(

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Send us suggestions and comments to [email protected]

Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image Credit Artwork by Julius T. Csotonyi, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES:

Wikipedia: Linhenykus

Wikipedia: Alvarezsauridae

Linhenykus: A weird, one-fingered dinosaur

First One-Fingered Dinosaur Found—Dug for Bugs?

Xu, Xing & Sullivan, Corwin & Pittman, Michael & Choiniere, Jonah & Hone, David & Upchurch, Paul & Tan, Qingwei & Xiao, Dong & Tan, Lin & Han, Fenglu. (2011). A monodactyl nonavian dinosaur and the complex evolution of the alvarezsaurid hand. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108. 2338-2342. 10.1073/pnas.1011052108. 

Xu, Xing & Upchurch, Paul & Ma, Qingyu & Pittman, Michael & Choiniere, Jonah & Sullivan, Corwin & Hone, David & Tan, Qingwei & Tan, Lin & Xiao, Dong & Han, Fenglu. (2011). Osteology of the Late Cretaceous Alvarezsauroid Linhenykus monodactylus from China and Comments on Alvarezsauroid Biogeography. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 10.4202/app.2011.0083. 

Holtz, Thomas. (2018). Evolution: New Branches on the Alvarezsaur Tree. Current Biology. 28. R941-R943. 10.1016/j.cub.2018.07.014. 

Join us as we attempt to pander to completely foreign cultures and expertly emulate their language! Sitta whiteheadi is the very frenchily-named, very mainland-France-inhabiting tiny dinosaur who’s hobbies include getting laid…and getting VERY ILLEGALLY shot (a.k.a. formally, scientifically discovered) by those pesky Englishmen >:( Prepare to be offended in the name of another appropriated culture, as we doubt the French and Corsican listeners will last ‘till the intro music :)

P.S. I love my French audience and please stay around….I don’t have any other fans :’(

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Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image Credit Àlex Milian, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES:

French Wikipedia: Sitelle Corse

Wikipedia: Nuthatch

Wikipedia: Corsica

Wikipedia: List of birds of Corsica

Fat Birder - Birding Corsica

WWF - Mediterranean Sea: Corsica Island

Brichetti,  P. and Carlo Di Capi. “Conservation of the corsican nuthatch sitta  whiteheadi sharpe, and proposals for habitat management.” Biological Conservation 39 (1987): 13-21.

THIBAULT, JEAN-CLAUDE & Jenouvrier, Stéphanie. (2006). Annual survival rates of adult male Corsican Nuthatches Sitta whiteheadi. Ringing and Migration. 23. 10.1080/03078698.2006.9674349. 

Thibault, J.-C & Villard, P.. (2005). Reproductive ecology of the Corsican Nuthatch Sitta whiteheadi. Bird Study. 52. 282-288. 

Thibault, Jean‐Claude & Prodon, Roger & Villard, Pascal & Seguin, Jean-François. (2006). Habitat requirements and foraging behaviour of the Corsican Nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi). Journal of Avian Biology. 37. 477 - 486. 10.1111/j.0908-8857.2006.03645.x. 

THIBAULT, JEAN-CLAUDE & HACQUEMAND, DIDIER & MONEGLIA, PASQUALE & PELLEGRINI, HERVÉ & Prodon, Roger & RECORBET, BERNARD & Seguin, Jean-François & VILLARD, PASCAL. (2011). Distribution and population size of the Corsican Nuthatch Sitta whiteheadi. Bird Conservation International. 21. 10.1017/S0959270910000468. 

Join us as we attempt to assemble this fragmented monster of an episode! So many legs. So many pop culture references. So many research papers to sift through! We try our best to separate fact from video game, and find ourselves caught in the crossfire between science and media. Our reputation may be at stake, but in the end…our mutual fascination with poop may unite us all! 

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Download SCAM: Supreme Coelenteratan Advanced Multiplayer on you mobile devices NOW! Become the Ultimate HAC-er! May eternal be thy Squishy! 

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Send us suggestions and comments to [email protected]

Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image Credit (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES: 

ARK: Survival Evolved Wiki: Arthropleura 

Dinosaur Wiki: Arthropleura 

The Fossil Forum: Lycopods on the Menu? A herbivore coprolite mystery... 

Wikipedia: Carboniferous 

Wikipedia: Trace Fossil 

Largest Land-Dwelling “Bug” of All Time 

National Geographic: Carboniferous Period 

Why Giant Bugs Once Roamed the Earth 

Arthropleura, the Giant Prehistoric Millipede 

Czech Paleontological Society - Images of Arthropleura armata fossils 

Whyte, Martin. (2018). Mating trackways of a fossil giant millipede. Scottish Journal of Geology. 54. sjg2017-013. 10.1144/sjg2017-013.  

BRIGGS, D. E. G., PLINT, A., PICKERILL, R. K. 1984. Arthropleura trails from the Westphalian of eastern Canada. Palaeontology, 27, 4, 843–855. 

Rolfe, W. D. Ian and J. Ingham. “Limb structure, affinity and diet of the Carboniferous ‘centipede’ Arthropleura.” Scottish Journal of Geology 3 (1967): 118 - 124. 

Pearson, P. (1992). Walking traces of the giant myriapod Arthropleura from the Strathclyde Group (Lower Carboniferous) of Fife. Scottish Journal of Geology, 28, 127 - 133. 

Proctor, C.. “Arthropleurids from the Westphalian D of Writhlington Geological Nature Reserve, Somerset.”  (1998). 

McGhee, G. (2018). Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction: The Late Paleozoic Ice Age World. New York; Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/mcgh18096

It is finally here, the culmination of spooky season :) HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Join us around the campfire as we discuss scaaaary topics, which may include copyright infringement, weirdly shaped genitalia, underground trafficking of....the disembodied weirdly shaped genitalia, and also.....freaky simulated sex with the weirdly shaped genitalia. Also...please be warned that the episode does NOT contain explicit content :O Ohhh...I'm disturbed just at the thought of that!

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Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image Credit: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES:

Wikipedia 1

Wikipedia 2

Weird genitalia article 1

Weird genitalia article 2

A site dedicated to weird genitals

The most AWESOMEST research paper!!!

Another awesome research paper

The YouTube video much cooler than my episode

They snuggle together to form a bundle of fluffy cottonballs....they are the bat species Ectophylla alba, and they are out to get you....with fuzzy cuteness!!! Just kidding :) These little guys are shy and hide under leaves. They suffer from daddy issues and wouldn't hurt a fly...well...maybe the ones who live inside figs.

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Send us suggestions and comments to [email protected]

Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image Credit: Charlie Jackson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES:

Wikipedia: Honduran white bat

Wikipedia: Communal roosting

Bat Roosting | HowStuffWorks

The World of Tent-making Bats | Bat Conservation International

Animal Diversity Web

Timm, Robert. (1982). Ectophylla alba. Mamm. Species. 166. 10.2307/3503942. 

Herrera, Bernal & Ceballos, Gerardo & Medellín, Rodrigo. (2011). Ecological Aspects of the Tent Building Process by Ectophylla alba (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). Acta Chiropterologica. 13. 365-372. 10.3161/150811011X624839. 

Timm, Robert & Mortimer, Jeanne. (1976). Selection of Roost Sites by Honduran White Bats, Ectophylla Alba (Chiroptera: Phyllostomatidae). Ecology. 57. 10.2307/1934829. 

May lethal be thy squeaky :) In this episode, we delve into the wonderful world of bug farts, and pit beaded lacewings (Lomamyia latipennis), mites (Womersia strandtmanni) and termites against each other, in a battle to determine who is the most fartiest, and deadliest, of them all! These silent ASSassins give Agent 47, and Desmond, a run for their money!

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The House of the Atmospheric Coelenterata want YOU! Seek out your local HAC recruiter today! May eternal be thy Squishy!

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Send us suggestions and comments to [email protected]

Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image Credit: Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES:

Wikipedia...duuuh

Do Insects Fart? (They Sure Do!)

Insects emit “Silent but Deadly” toxic gases to immobilize prey!

Termites fart methane, but their mounds filter it from the air

Silent and Deadly: Fatal Farts Immobilize Prey

Hackstein, J H, and C K Stumm. “Methane production in terrestrial arthropods.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America vol. 91,12 (1994): 5441-5. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.12.5441

Johnson, J., Hagen, K. A neuropterous larva uses an allomone to attack termites. Nature 289, 506–507 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/289506a0

Huber I. Prey attraction and immobilization by allomone from nymphs of  Womersia strandtmanni (Acarina: Trombiculidae). Acarologia. 1979  Jan;20(1):112-5. PMID: 474050.

In this episode...we go on a date with a fish (Chiasmodon). She is a petite and flexible lady with giant ambitions and many talents. She can be a bit clingy, but inspires us to write poetry. She also has an eating problem that may lead her to an early grave. Can we save her from these destructive habits? Find out today :)

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Send us suggestions and comments to [email protected]

Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror)  3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Image credit (Episode image is heavily edited, the image owner reserves all rights to their image, and is not affiliated with our podcast)

SOURCES:

Wikipedia...of course

Amazing Reddit post

Fish Swallows Four Times Bigger Prey Fish!

Fish Index

Melo, M. R. S.. “Revision of the Genus Chiasmodon (Acanthomorpha: Chiasmodontidae), with the Description of Two New Species.” Copeia 2009 (2009): 583 - 608.

The House of the Atmospheric Coelenterata want YOU! Join us. Spread the word. May eternal be thy Squishy!