TWO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HERON BIRDS 

I am delighted to report that the Great Blue Heron Green and the Green Heron have been seen recently in southern California.

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Ciconiiformes

Family Ardeidae

Genus Ardea herodias (North America's largest heron)

This order of wading birds includes the herons, storks, ibises, and flamingos. These are moderate to large birds with slim bodies, long necks and legs, and large broad wings. Male  and female look alike in most species. Herons hunt is water of varying depth, and they either stand motionless or are wading (Macmillan, 1984, p. 208). 

                                   Figure 1. Green Blue Heron, southern California.

Recently, a family friend who lives near Lake Castaic, just north of Santa Clarita, took a wonderful/beautiful image of the Great Blue Heron, whose scientific name is Ardea herodias. It has a wingspan of 6 feet, and its body is up to 4 feet in length. This magnificent bird has a blue-gray appearance, a long bill, long neck, and flies with its head and neck folded back. This bird catches small fish, frogs, snakes, and other birds by means of slow stalking and then spearing them with is long bill. 

This heron can float like a goose and take off from the surface of water. It nests in colonies, usually in tall trees. This bird is found throughout the United States, and it is also found in central southern Canada. Apparently, this bird is the same as the “Great White Heron,” found in Florida, the West Indies, and Mexico (North American Wildlife, 1982, p. 84). 

                Figure 2. Green Heron, southern California. 

About two years ago, I took the image of the Green, Heron Butorides sriatis which was wading along the shoreline of a man-made lake in Santa Clarita. This individual was about slightly bigger than the size of a large pigeon. This is the only occurrence of this bird that I have seen locally.

References

Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia. 1984. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 600 pp.

Reader’s Digest North American Wildlife.1982.  Pleasantville, New York. 615 pp.

PUFFIN BIRDS

These are pelagic seabirds that live in North Pacific and North Atlantic regions. These birds are characterized by having predominantly black-and-white plumage, a large beak, and short wings. They can beat their wings up to 400 times per minute! Their bills are bright colored during the breeding season but become duller in winter.

Figure 1. Fratercula arctica. Image taken at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Southern California.

 They are underwater hunters for fish and small crabs and use their wings as flippers to catch small fish. They swim on the surface or that can dive in order to catch their prey. 

Puffins nest in burrows and live in large colonies along rock coasts and on offshore islands. Puffins can live up to 30 years!

They originated during late Miocene time (about 12 to 10 million years or so) in the North Pacific region and migrated into the northwest Atlantic Ocean and eventually spread southward.  

There are two main species of puffins:

1) Fratercula cirrhata the “Tuffed puffin” has white tufts that curl around their head and a thick red bill. This species lives in the North Pacific region, especially in Alaska.

2) Fratercula arctica the Atlantic puffin (Figure 1) has a black crown, gray cheeks, and a white body. This species lives in the northeast North America but is most prominent in the southern Atlantic region.

Note: There is also a third species of puffins, the “horned” species,” whose occurrence is relatively minor compared to the other two species. This third species lives in the North Atlantic region.

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Charadrifformes

Family Alcidae

Genus Fratercula (three species)

DWARF-PEACH TREE

This post is # 561 in my continuing sequence of blog posts since I began my blog in 2014.

This post is about a self-pollinating dwarf-peach tree (referred commercially to as the “bonzana” peach bush). It is about 3.5 feet tall and yearly, yields abundant delicious peaches. They are smaller than normal size, but, in my opinion, they taste just as good as regular-size peaches. Such a smaller size tree is ideal, if your garden is limited in size. 

Peaches are classified in genus Prunus, along with almonds, prunes, plums, apricots, nectarines, and cherries. These all belong to the rose family (see below) and are also referred to as “stone fruits” or drupes because their seeds are enclosed in a rock-hard pit. The peaches you grow or buy in a store are classified as Prunus persica.

Genus Prunus has cosmopolitan distribution but is native to temperate regions of North America. The geologic record of Purnus ranges from Eocene to Recent (with possibly a Cretaceous [Middle Cretaceous Albian] record). Today, there are about 340 species in genus Prunus.

  Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clades (6 of them)

Order Rosales

Family Rosaceae (the rose family)

Genus Prunus

Species: Peaches, along with, nectarines are classified as Prunus persica.

Peach seeds look like almond nuts, but, as mentioned above, peach seeds are enclosed in a really hard pit. These seeds are poisonous because they contain amygdalin, which breaks down into hydrogen cyanide when eaten or digested in sufficient quantity. Therefore, do not eat peach seeds that are found inside the hard-shelled pit. The latter requires a hammer to break it open.

Figure 1. Dwarf-peach "tree."

Figure 2. Dwarf-peach tree blossoms.

Figure 3. Broken-open peach pit and the seed that came out of the pit of a home-grown dwarf-peach-tree peach. Scale is in centimeters.

SOME LEFT-HANDED COILED SEA SHELLS

             

This post is # 560 in my continuing sequence of blog posts since I began my blog in 2014.

Nearly all gastropod (snail) sea shells are right-hand coiled (dextral), but there are a few species that have left-hand coiled (sinistral). The reason why seashells coil in a left-landed way (sinistral) is related to genetic processes. This blog post illustrates examples of each type of coiling. 

Figure 1. The shallow-marine seashell genus Busycon carica [the so-called “knobbed whelk”] lives in bays and offshore on the east coast of the United States. Most shells of this genus are dextral coiled, like the example shown here: when viewed with the apex of the shell upward, the aperture (opening) in the seashell is on the right. The shell illustrated here is about 17 cm (6.5 inches) in height.

Figure 2. Busycon perversum (the “lightning whelk”). I am not sure what the size of this specimen is, but the maximum height for this species is about 30 cm (13 inches). It lives in nearshore waters on the east coast of the United States. This shell is an example of a sinistral coiled shell. Image from North American Wildlife (1982, p. 246). 

Figure 3. The closely related gastropod Busycotypus canaliculata was introduced in 1938 in the San Francisco area. There is no certain information as to how or exactly when this species reached the west coast, but it possible that it was brought along with oysters or lobsters from other regions (Hanna, 1966, p. 49). The illustrated specimen shown here is dextrally coiled and 16 cm (6.5 inches) in length. This species, which has also been found from Orange County, southern California (L.T. Groves, personal commun.) can have a shell up to 8 inches in height. (Information and photograph kindly provided by Lindsey T. Groves, Collections Manager of Malacology, Los Angeles County, California).

SOME OTHER MARINE SINISTRAL GASTROPODS

Triphora shells, typically 2 to 10 mm in length, are also a sinistral gastropods. For an example, see one of my previous blogs (October 16, 2023).

There are two other extant marine gastropod genera that can have sinistral shells: 1) Sinistralia [in the family Fasciolariidae] and 2) Antiplanes [recently reclassified as being in family Pseudomelatomidae].

I also detected in the literature, two extinct marine gastropod genera that can have sinistral shells. These are the east coast (Virginian to Florida) Conus adersarius, of Plio- Pleistocene age, and also the northern Atlantic Neptunea angulata of Plio-Pleistocene age.

References

Abbott, R.T. and S. Peter Dance. 1982. Compendium of seashells. E.P. Dutton, New York, 410 pp.

Hanna, G D. 1966. Introduced mollusks of western North America. Occasional Papers of the Academy of Sciences, no. 48, 108 pp., 4 pls.

North American Wildlife: An illustrated guide to 2,000 plants and animals. Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville, New York. Editor S. J. Wernert, editor. 615 pp.

Wikipedia, 2026. 

WoRMS (https://marinespecies.org)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Lindsey T. Groves, Collections Manager of Malacology, Los Angeles County, California.

HELICOPRION: AN ANCIENT FISH WITH AN UNUSUAL WHORL OF TEETH

The word, Heliocprion, [pronounced “he-lee-co-pri-on”] translates into “spiral jaw.” This  extinct ocean-dwelling cartilaginous creature has been commonly inferred to be an ancient (but unusual) shark. In actuality, however, it is most closely related to the modern-day chimeroform ratfish (= “ghost sharks”) [which are not sharks.] Some reports say that the body of Helicoprion was bigger than the size of a modern-day "Great White Shark," but because the skeleton of Helicoprion was cartilagnous (i.e. that type of material does not preserve well), a full body of Helicoprion has not been found. 

Heliocprion ranged from early to late middle Permian time (approximately 250 to 275 million years ago) [see Fig.1]. It lived in in ocean waters in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. The first fossils of this animal were found in 1886, in Western Australia. 

The only part of an Helicoprion that is fossilized is the mineralized (=hard material) tooth whorl. As mentioned above, the rest of its skeleton consisted of soft cartilage. Thus the body shape of Helicoprion is based on inference, not on an actual specimen (see Fig. 2).

The teeth of Helicoprion occur only in its lower jaw, and they occur in tooth whorls (for example: a 23 cm in diameter whorl, with about 117 serrated teeth) [see Fig. 2]. The only remains of Helicoprion are about 100 known examples of these tooth whorls. The teeth occur only in the lower jaw. Unlike sharks, Helicoprion did not shed its teeth; instead, it added them during its lifespan.

Exactly how Helicoprion fed has been the source of many different interpretations. Also, it is likely that they ate squids and fish.

  Classification (via Wikipedia, 2026)

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Chondrichthyes

Order Eugeneodontiformes (extinct)

Family Helicoprionidae (extinct)

Genus Helicoprion (extinct: its teeth are unique in that they are arranged in a tooth whorl inside the mouth).

Only three species of Helicoprlion are known.

Figure 1. Geologic time chart. Helicoprion ranged from Permian into Triassic time.

REFERENCE: The URL’s these days are becoming so complicated and long, it is just more simple to do the following: to see an excellent video of this fossil animal, just go to YouTube and type in: Helicoprion. Then, click on Helicoprion: The Buzz Saw Shark.

Figure 2. A sketch of the anterior half of a Helicoprion. 

Two Examples of Primarily, Late Paleozoic Marine-Invertebrate Fossils

These fossils are from the mid-continent region (e.g., Oklahoma, Texas, etc.) of North America. One of the fossils is a calcareous sponge, and the other fossil is a marine gastropod (snail). 

___________________

Example Number 1. The calcareous sponge: Cotyliscus ewersi? See King (1943). Note: Intact sponge fossils are uncommon!

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Porifera

Class Demospongea

Order Agelasilida

Family uncertain 

Genus Catyliscus? 

Type Species: C. ewersi 

Side and top views of a specimen of the calcareous sponge Cotyliscus?. Height 22 mm, diameter 30 mm. [note: Intact Paleozoic sponges, like the one shown here) are uncommon]. For a discussion and images of the type species of Catyliscus, see King (1943, pl. 3, figs. 2 and 3---cited herein, below).

___________________

Example Number 2. The marine gastropod (snail) Worthenina tabulata. It lived during Devonian to Cretaceous time, in marine communities in the mid-continent region of North America, but most of its occurrences are late Paleozoic age. 

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Mollusca

Class Gastropoda

Order Pleurotomaiida

Family Lophospiridae

Genus Worthenina

Type Species: Worthenina tabulata

The geologic time range of this genus is Devonian to Triassic, but most occurrences are of Pennsylanian age.

Front and back views of a specimen of the gastropod (snail) shell of Worthenina tabulata. Height 20 mm, width 20 mm. This turban-shaped shell has a raised ridge along the margin (a so-called slit band) of the whorls. Small nodes occur along the edge of the whorls. The aperture opening of this species is large.

The geologic time range of this genus is Devonian to Triassic, but most occurrences are of Pennsylanian age.

Reference:

King, R. H. 1943. New Carboniferous and Permian sponges. Kansas State Geological Survey Bulletin 47, p. 1-36 [available online and for free].

THREE REPRESENTATIVE AMMONITE FOSSILS FROM WESTERN USA

Ammonites are extinct cephalopods (mollusks) that had soft parts that resembled squids but also had a hard, external shell (used for protection).

1) MIDDLE TRIASSIC NEVADITES AMMONITE FROM WESTERN NEVADA

 

In 1975, I collected specimens of the ceratitid ammonite Nevadites hyatti? (Smith) from anoxic black shale/limestone = the Middle Triassic Prida Formation, which was deposited along the ancient continental coastline that existed at that time.

Fig. 1. Back side of a specimen of the Middle Triassic ammonite Nevadites hyatti from Nevada.

2) UPPER CRETACEOUS SCAPHITES AMMONITE FROM       NORTHWESTERN NW NEW MEXICO

In 1968, when I was a summer field assistant working for Shell Oil Company in northwestern New Mexico, I collected specimens of this ammonite. They occurred only in heavy concretions that had weathered out from nearby cliffs. I had to bust up a representative concretion with a sledge hammer in order to recover any fossils, which were predominantly the ammonite Scaphites sp. Not much time was spent by the crew I was with, when it came to collecting fossils. We were there to measure a stratigraphic section, but the fossiliferous concretions were a wonderful “bonus” for me!

 

These ammonites are of Late Cretaceous age (about 92 million years old, from the Gallup Sandstone, which correlates with Upper Cretaceous Turonian Stage). The ammonites are heteromorphs, meaning that their shell became uncoiled with growth (the uncoiled parts were broken off on the specimens I collected). I identified these ammonite specimens as Scaphites.

Fig. 2. Back side of the Late Cretaceous ammonite Scaphites sp. from northwestern New Mexico.

3) UPPER CRETACEOUS HOPLOSCAPHITES AMMONITE FROM MONTANA

This widespread genus of shallow-marine ammonite was previously reported as confined to Late Cretaceous age rocks. In recent years, however, shallow-marine Hoploscaphites ammonites have been reported in Early Paleocene (Danian Stage) rocks in Denmark, the Netherlands and in the USA. This new information does not support the previous viewpoint held by most earth scientists that all ammonites died out at the end of the Cretaceous Period. 

In North America, Hoploscaphites lived primarily in the Late Cretaceous warm waters of the Western Interior Seaway---from eastern Alaska to northern Mexico. The early part of the shell of this animal was tightly coiled, but with growth the shell became somewhat uncoiled (i.e., J-shaped). This genus has complicated septa (= curved partitions that divide the shell into chambers). 

Overriding the septa are complicated suture lines (white on these images). The suture lines of Holploscaphites are especially complicated  which indicates that this genus was an advanced form of ammonite that lived during Cretaceous time.

Figure 3. Back side of the Late Cretaceous ammonite Hoplocsaphites sp. from Montana (this specimen was a gift given to me).