Hairy Museum of Natural History

Congratulations are in order for artist, long-time friend of the HMNH, and our Curator of Ich-theology Ray Troll. Its been 20 years since he drew up a salmon-crossed Jolly Roger bearing the motto “Spawn Til You Die,” and emblazoned it across the chest of a stylin’ black t-shirt. Over the next two decades, that shirt has been sighted on rock-stars and athletes, and popping up in the occasional movie and music video. It has become one of his most recognizable and widespread images.

To mark the anniversary, Ray has re-released the original black-and-white design with a commemorative neck-chop. Check it out via his online store at trollart.com.

—Matt Celeskey.

File under: Bony Fish, Friends of the HMNH, Ich-Theology.

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A post from the HMNH Curator of Ich-theology, Ray Troll:

Image by Ray Troll

Scientists have determined that the giant Devonian placoderm Dunkleosteus had one of the most powerful bites of any animal ever. This monstrous armored fish reached the size of a school bus and ate darn well anything it pleased. It’s gaping maw apparently opened at an amazing speed and was able to chomp down with astounding force. How one is able to draw conclusions like this from a pile of ancient bony plates is a bit beyond me…but hey it’s been written up in the Royal Society’s journal called Biology Letters. One thing is for sure though: Dunkleosteus was one of the wickedest looking fishes to ever swim the seas!

Further Reading:
Anderson, P. S. L., and Westneat, M. W. 2006 Feeding mechanics and bite force modelling of the skull of Dunkleosteus terrelli, an ancient apex predator. Biology Letters FirstCite early online publishing doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0569

The official press release.

The story at Science Daily.
An in-depth article from the Chicago Tribune.

Yahoo News has the story also.

—Ray Troll.

File under: Chordates, Devonian, Ich-Theology.

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A portrait of Tiktaalik roseae

This and all other art by Ray Troll

If you trace our family tree 370,000,000 years back to the Late Devonian, this could well be the face of our long-lost mother. Meet Tiktaalik roseae, the newly described lobefinned fish from Nunavut, Canada. The name Tiktaalik comes from an Inuit word for the fish we call burbot, after local elders noted the similarity between the fossil and the large living fish they catch.

Unlike its namesake, however, Tiktaalik is a member of the great fish clan Sarcopterygia. Sarcopterygians acheived enduring fame, glory, and eventually cheeseburgers after certain members evolved the means to crawl out of the water and taking the first steps (literally) to a totally landlubbing lifestyle. Tiktaalik fits into this story quite well, sporting a set of characters more amphibian-like than all other fish, but more fish-like than the earliest amphibians.

Our very own curator of Ich-theology (the study of Fish Worship), Ray Troll, appreciates more than most the duality of being a totally terrestrial tetrapod while embracing our fishy lobe-finned heritage.

Ray created this suite of Tiktaalik art after learning about this amazing find. Not only that, it inspired him to write and record The Devonian Blues, a lament for wayward sarcopterygians (download the mp3). You can read his thoughts about Tiktaalik, peruse his art, and watch The Devonian Blues music video at his website.

Pharyngula has all the technical imagery, and Palaeoblog has some additional restorations.

A Devonian tetrapod-like fish and the evolution of the tetrapod body plan. 2006. Edward B. Daeschler, et al. Nature 440: 757-763

—Matt Celeskey.

File under: Bony Fish, Devonian, Ich-Theology, Recent Discoveries, Tetrapods.

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A post from the HMNH curator of Ich-theology, Ray Troll:

You know that snarky feeling you get when you blow your nose too damn hard and you blow your eardrums out? Well it just might be that we have our fishy ancestors to thank for that lovely sensation. We all know that the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone but only vaguely suspect that our lungs are connected to our ears. But once upon a time, way, way back in the Devonian days, our fishy ancestors may have been able to breathe through their ears! How cool is that? Just imagine the possibilities if we could still perform such a feat: you could fake your own drowning death in the family bathtub, win all those driving-by-the-graveyard-and-holding-your-breath contests, and snorkels would be obsolete.

“One Small Step for a Fish”
Panderichthys (bottom) and Acanthostega (top)
© Ray Troll

But seriously, Drs. Martin Brazeau and Per Ahlberg closely reexamined the inner ear chambers of the Devonian lobefin fish Panderichthys and came to the conclusion that the fish used it’s ear to gulp air. Their findings are published in the January 18, 2006 issue of Nature . Read all about it at Nature online.

I’ve long been curious about the positioning of the nostrils on the lower part of the head in this group of fish and this theory helps answer that puzzle.

—Ray Troll.

File under: Bony Fish, Devonian, Ich-Theology.

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Just in time for 2006, we’ve set up a dedicated page for Ray Troll’s Devonian Blues, containing even more lobe-finned art.

We’ve also included the lyrics to the song. You inherited your lungs from our Devonian ancestors, so do them proud and sing it loud!

Here’s wishing everyone a Happy and Hairy New Year!

—Matt Celeskey.

File under: Bony Fish, Devonian, Ich-Theology.

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