BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK

This national park is located in south-central Utah, and its elevation is between 8,000 and 9,000 feet. It is known for its unusual rock formations called “hoodoos.” [note: these are the largest concentration of “hoodoos,” anywhere in the world]. 

The spire-shaped “hoodoos” were formed by erosion of freshwater limestones of the Eocene-age Claron Formation. These rocks were originally formed a system of freshwater lakes in a flat, low-lying basin where muddy sediments accumulated. Eventually the pinnacles, canyons, bridges, and spires were formed by frost-weathering and stream-erosion processes. These rocks constitute a series of giant natural amphitheraters formed by fresh-water stream-erosion of river and lake beds, which now make up the non-marine Claron Formation.”

The Claron Formation is underlain by marine Cretaceous rocks which have some fossils (early mammals, lizards, etc.). Elsewhere in the park  are some Cretaceous rocks with some dinosaur remains and tracks, as well as some turtle and crocodilians remains, etc. Of course, collecting of fossils is not allowed anywhere in the park!

Bryce Canyon is an interesting place and definitely worth visiting. I visited the site in 1975. If you go there in the fall or winter, bring a warm jacket. 

Figure 1.Scenic view of the "hoodoos" rock formations.

Figure 2. Close-up of some "hoodoos."

Figure 3. View of one of the trails that visitors can hike down into some outcrops of rock. 

BIG BROWN BAT

Southern California has 20 to 25 species of bats. A bat was found on the ground (it later flew away) in a back yard in Santa Clarita, southern California. The animal had apparently been resting in a garden shed and was disturbed in its slumber. It did not allow vertical nor side views of it (no one should ever pick up a bat on the ground), thus its identification as to genus and species is questionable. The bat appeared to be dazed, but after a short time of recovery, it flew away.

As can be seen in the only photograph I have of this bat, its upper wing surfaces, face, and ears are black. Its head and neck area, however, are gray. I do not have information as to the complete coloration of this specimen. Its wingspan is an estimated 10 inches.

The “Big Brown Bat” (?Eptesicus fuscus) is my tentative identification of this specimen. According to Macmillan Encyclopedia (1984, pp. 50-51), a bat with similar coloration and a wingspan of 10.25 inches to 14.5 inches is Eptesicus fuscus.

This bat species is found in southern Canada, throughout the USA, the Caribbean region, and South America (Columbia and Venezuela). Most bats are insectivores and nocturnal, so seeing one in the day was unusual (Wikipedia 2026).

  Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order Chiroptera

Family Vespertilliondae

Genus Eptesicus

Type Species E. fuscus

As with most bats, this bat is an insectivore and is nocturnal. Its life span is about 6.5 years.

References

Macmillan illustrated animal encyclopedia. 1984. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 600 pp.

Wikipedia, 2026.

BOUGAINVILLEA PLANT

The bougainvillea [boo-gan-vill-ee-a] plant is a thorny ornamental vine, bush, or tree (up to 40 feet tall) with purple, pink, red, yellow, and white bracts, which are very thin and wrinkly. There are also some tiny white flowers scattered about among the bracts. This plant has very sharp and numerous spiky thorns. The sap from this tree can cause skin rashes. It can be pruned and is also drought tolerant. 

  Classification

Kingdom Plantae
Clades (4 of them)
Order Caryophyllae

Family Nyctaginaceae

Genus Bougainvillea

The bougainvillea plant likes warm climates. It is native to tropical forests in Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Argentina. Like most plants these days, it is found elsewhere in the world, namely Florida, South Carolina, California, Mediterrranean area, and southern India. The exact number of species of this plant has not fully established. The number ranges from 4 to 22 and reflects whether or not a lumper or a splitter was asked. The geologic time range of this interesting and beautiful plant is unknown.

Figure 1. Many wrinkly red bracts and some scattered tiny! white flowers on a bougainvillea tree.

Figure 2. A cluster of white bougainvillea flowers among red bracts.

Figure 3. Pink bracts surrounding the tiny white flowers of this plant.

GIANT KELP

Macrocystis pyrifera the “giant kelp,” is a common monospecific brown algae"plant" that can be up to about 200 feet (60 m) tall. It is not a true plant because it lack vascular tissue, roots, flowers, and seeds. It obtains its nutrients by absorbing them. It is the largest of all the kelps. Technically speaking, it is not a plant; rather it is a stramenopile.

It is common along the Pacific Ocean shoreline, from southeastern Alaska to Baja California. In cold, nutrient-rich waters, this kelp can grow at the rate of 2 feet (60 cm) per day, and is one of the fastest growing organisms on Earth. It lives in intertidal to shallow tidal depths. It anchors itself to the sea floor by means of a root-like tangle, called a "holdfast." Gas-filled bladders, located at the base of each leaf-like blade, provide buoyancy so the fronds can float vertically.

Figure 1. A typical kelp growth on the ocean floor, with a scuba diver standing next to, in order to show its relative size. This image was taken at the Aquarium of the Pacific in southern Los Angeles, California. 

“Giant kelp forests” provide excellent cover and habitats for numerous kinds of marine animals. It can also be used as food for humans.

The genus is widespread and is found in subtropical, temperate, sub-artic, and sub-anarctic areas: from Alaska to Peru. South Africa, southern Australia, and New Zealand (Wikipedia, 2026).

TUCKEROO TREE

It took me one year to identify this tree, which is growing in the front yard of one of my neighbors. I had to wait until this unusual tree bore its fruit. Then, I was finally able to make a positive identification . Otherwise, the size, shape, and overall features of this tree are not that distinctive.

The tuckeroo tree, technically known as Cupaniopsis anacardiodes, is native to eastern and northern Australia. It is also found in Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, and Fiji. It is considered to be an “invasive plant” in Pakistan and in the USA, where it is mainly found in the latter in Florida and Hawaii. 

This tree also is known as the “carrotwood” tree. It prefers rocky beaches, hilly scrublands, and rainforests. It grows up to about 36 feet tall (Figure 1). Its leaves are sort of rubbery-looking and fairly long. They narrow toward the base of the leave, thus it has paripinnate leaves.

Its fruit consists of semi-spherical, orange-colored capsules that can be tinged red (see Figure 2). The fruit attracts birds and butterflies.

  Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clades (4 of them)

Order Sapindales

Family Sapindaceae

Genus Cupaniopsis

                                        

              Figure 1. A tuckeroo tree growing in southern California.

                    Figure 2. Leaves and fruit of a tuckeroo tree.

THE WHITE RHINO

This mammal is an odd-toed ungulate, whose wild representatives are mostly confined to southern Africa. These animals faced extinction in the early 20^th century, but, today, their populations are “hanging in there,” with many of these animals now in wildlife parks and in some zoos. Poaching remains a constant threat for those that live in the wild. 

  

                                              Figure 1. “White rhino” at a wildlife park in San Diego County, southern California.

Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order Perissodactyla (= odd toed ungulates)

Family Rhinocerotidae

Genus Ceratototherium

Type Species C. simum

Rhinos originated in North America during the early middle Eocene time, about 40 million years ago. By the end of Oligocene time (23 million years ago), they had mostly died out in North America but some migrated into Africa. Subsequently, they evolved and spread into India, Sumatra, Indonesia, and Java. Today, there are three remaining species of rhinos in this general area and are represented by the Indian, Sumatran, and Javan rhinos. Also, during the Pleistocene Ice Age, some rhinos lived in northern cold regions in North America. 

Today, there are only five extant species of rhinos, and they live either in Africa or in the Indonesian region (some in the wild, some in wildlife parks, and some in zoos).

THE "TELESCOPE" FISH

There are only two species (Gigantura chuni and G. indica) known of this medium-sized (up to 26 inches long), deep-sea fish, which has magnified eyes, an elongated, scale-less body with silvery coloration, ribbon-like tails, and many needle-like teeth.

Figure 1. The head and mouth of an adult-stage mouth of Gigantura indica (public domain image via the Smithsonian Institution).

These fish live in cold waters, in deep-sea (500 to 2,000 m depths) that underlie warm tropical to subtropical surface waters.

"Telescope" fish use their large eyes to help capture their prey in very low-light conditions. "Telescope fish," furthermore consume all available prey, regardless of size! They basically have raptorial feeding that is similar to moray eels.

Figure 2. Adult-stage head and eyes of Gigantura indica. A public domain image via the Smithsonian Institution.

The larvae (nearly microscopic in size) and juveniles (a few inches long) (Figure 3) of these types of fish undergo remarkable transformations, with two stages of transformation that are very different-looking. In fact, for 80 years, scientists did not know that these early-stage forms represented Gigantura indica.

Figure 3. A late-juvenile stage of Gigantura indica (“telescope” fish). A public domain image via the Smithsonian Institution.

  Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Actinopterygii

Order Aulopiformes

Family Giganturidae

Genus Gigantura

Type Species Gigantura indica

_____________

Information about this fish is rather scarce. For the only overview I am aware of, see the online article entitled “The Remarkable Teleoscope Fish”--by D. Olson at:  http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/remarkable-telescopefish