Where Does the Canada Lynx Live: Using Common Names to Determine the Native Land of Various Animals

In a PREVIOUS POST, we started looking at different Latin and Greek roots, and how you can sometimes use these to tell a little about an animal, just by looking at its scientific name.  Today, we are going to learn an even more helpful skill: how to tell where some animals live, just by looking at their common name!

This can be a bit of a tough concept, so let's look at a few easier examples to start out.  First off, meet the lynx.  There are three species of lynx alive today, Lynx lynx, L. canadensis, and L. pardinus.  First off, let's look at Lynx lynx, commonly called the Eurasian lynx.  Let's try to figure out where this animal is from by breaking down its name.  Let's first try the "lynx" part of the name.  Can you think of anywhere in the world called "lynx?"  Neither can I, so let's try the first part of the name, "Eurasian."  Can you think of a place called "Eurasian?"  Although maybe not by that exact name, the word "Eurasian" is actually formed from combining the words "Europe" and "Asia," and is a term commonly used in biology, as there is not really a distinct geographic barrier that separates these two continents, as there is between, say, Asia and Australia.  So using this knowledge, where do you think the Eurasian lynx might live?

If you guessed Europe and Asia, then you were exactly right, as you can see in the range map of the Eurasian lynx below!  If you are still having a little trouble with this, go ahead and review the first paragraph before continuing on, and see if you can figure out why you got this question wrong.

Next, let's look at L. canadensis, commonly called the Canada lynx.  We've already established that "lynx" doesn't seem to refer to a place on Earth, so let's look at the "Canada" part of the name.  A quick Internet search comes up with an exotic country by the same name, "Canada."  Let's make a hypothesis about where the Canada lynx makes its home.

If you guessed "Canada," then you are spot on again, as you can see in the range map of the Canada lynx below!  Again, if you are still having some trouble, go ahead and review before you move on again.

Now, the third lynx, L. pardinus, is actually pretty tough.  Called the "Iberian lynx," this Critically Endangered cat is native to only a small bit of the "Iberian Peninsula," in Spain and Portugal.  I knew you guys weren't ready for this one yet, so that's why I skipped it.  Don't worry, you will have another shot at a tough one like this later.

There are actually four members of the genus Lynx, but we've only talked about three so far.  What about the fourth?  And can you tell where all animals live, just by using their common name?  You actually can't always tell, as we can see with Lynx rufus, commonly called the bobcat.  If you break down the name "bobcat" into its component parts, "bo" and "bcat," you can see that neither part of the name refers to a specific place in the world.

I know I'm moving pretty fast, so feel free to hang back for a minute or two if you need a moment for a breather, to recuperate.  Meanwhile, let's take a look at a few more examples.  First off, where do you think the recently discovered Omani owl is from?

As many of you guessed, the country of Oman is exactly right!  Although researchers aren't positive that this is a new owl as scientists haven't been able to closely examine a specimen, initial investigations indicate that this might be a brand new species of owl!

Let's look at the four living members of the penguin genus Spheniscus, Spheniscus mendiculus, S. magellanicus, S. humboldti, and S. demersus.  The first, S. mendiculus, is often called the Galápagos penguin.  Do you think it is named after the Galápagos Islands?  (For those of you who don't know where the Galápagos are, you can consult the map below the picture of the Galápagos penguin.)

Exactly right!  The Galápagos penguins is indeed found in the Galápagos!  The next two, S. magellanicus and S. humboldti, (the Magellanic and Humboldt penguins) aren't actually named for where they live: they are named for famous explorers!

A picture of a Humboldt penguin that I took at the Denver Zoo.

Finally, the African penguin, S. demersus.  You guys have got this by now, I think: where is the African penguin from?

A huddle of African penguins, also at the Denver Zoo.

You guys are getting so good at this, I don't think I need to do any more examples!  I do want to point out real fast that you always need to keep in mind whether the common name of these animals references a place on the globe, or something else.  For example the name of the great-horned owl doesn't refer to the fact that it lives in a place called "great-horn."  It merely refers to the fact that the owl appears to have two little horns on its head!

A picture of the great-horned owl that Anne Price and the folks at the Raptor Education Foundation bring to the raptor shows at the Best Western Denver Southwest dinosaur hotel!

And finally, just like the name of the great-horned owl, the name of the red-tailed hawk doesn't mean that the hawk is from "red-tail," it simply refers to the fact that the hawk has a red tail!

You guys sure did great: now go out there and try and make some new friends by telling them all of your new knowledge!

Aquarium Spotlight: Georgia Aquarium

In 2006, my family and I visited what would soon become my most favorite aquarium I have ever been to: the Georgia Aquarium!  It was fantastic, and they had a ton of really cool animals that I had never seen before!  So join us for this Aquarium Spotlight on the Georgia Aquarium, with a bunch of pictures that my mother took while we were there!  Let's start off with the penguins.  The Georgia Aquarium has a colony of adorable African penguins there, sure to be a favorite on your trip!

Another animal that is sure to be a favorite is the whale shark.  The largest shark and, for that matter, largest fish, still alive today, the whale shark behaves more like a whale than a shark, being a filter-feeder, consuming copious quantities of krill.  (Like that alliteration back there?)

Now, the photo below I originally thought was a whale shark, but it looks like its tail might move up and down like that of a whale, dolphin, or porpoise as opposed to side-to-side like that of a whale shark, so I'm not really sure what the heck that is!

The four whale sharks are all in an enormous tank with a ton of other animals, such as large schools of fish, stingrays, and guitarfish, amongst others.  Something that seems to be pretty standard in aquariums these days is the circular walkway thing (pictured below), but, in my opinion, that never gets old!

 

 A stingray

A guitarfish (left) and a stingray (right)

Another fast-favorite will undoubtedly be the beluga, one of my favorite animals of all time!

 

Another smaller and more unassuming creature that is just as interesting as the African penguin, whale shark, or beluga is the leafy sea dragon, THE SUBJECT OF A PREVIOUS ANIMAL SPOTLIGHT. 

 

Another really cool animal was the giant Japanese spider crab!  Inhabiting the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean near Japan between 150 and 1000 feet below the surface of the ocean, the giant Japanese spider crab has evolved to be able to cope with the extreme cold and lack of light experienced so far down in the ocean.

A sea turtle swimming around.

 

 

Greatly interactive, the Georgia Aquarium also has a number of touch tanks for a hands-on experience!

 

Finally, some jellyfish!

Jasper on Dwellable

Aquarium Spotlight: Monterey Bay Aquarium

When my family and I visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, we saw a ton of really cool things!  So let's take a look at some pictures of some of these animals now in our very first....Aquarium Spotlight!  First off, the sea otters!  They were really super cute and were swimming ALL over the enclosure, as it was feeding time, and some of the zookeepers were doing a feeding demonstration with training.

 

 

 

 

 

Sea otters weren't all that they had, though!  Another thing that the Monterey Bay Aquarium had was a pretty good jellyfish exhibit.

 

 

 

They also had one of my most favorite animals, the African penguin!

 

 

They also had a few fairly large tanks too, with large schools of fish that looked super amazing and really pretty.  My mom tried to get some good shots of them, but it was dark and they didn't really come out super well.

 

 

 

 

Finally, the other main thing that I thought was worthy of mention were the sea turtles, they had some pretty cool sea turtles!

 

 

 

 

Photo credit for all of these pictures goes to Julie Neher.

Monterey on Dwellable

Meeting the African Penguins!

I also was just able to upload another one of the many videos that I took when me, my dad, my grandma and grandpa, and my friend Masaki Kleinkopf went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo a month or so ago and got to meet the African penguins there!  This video takes place before we actually enter the enclosure, while we are still looking in on the penguins at the entrance to the exhibit!  Enjoy, and be sure to check out some of the other videos on there while you are at it!

 Meeting the African Penguins!

Pikes Peak Area on Dwellable