Questions from the Naturalist Center

What does the size of a scorpion's claw mean?
Credit: kevinzim on flickr.com

The exhibits you see on the museum floor of the California Academy of Sciences are just the tip of the iceberg of the Academy's work. In fact, 90% of what we do is the education and research that happens behind-the-scenes. It is this ongoing research that in turn generates the exhibits and programming that guests enjoy.

The Naturalist Center, located on the 3rd floor, is a direct link for visitors to the education, research, and resources of the vast research collection that lies behind-the-scenes of the museum. Guests can ask questions at the Naturalist Center and they will get a reply from an Academy researcher or educator versed in that subject.

Below are some interesting questions guests have posed recently and the responses from experts on staff.

Q: How many copies of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" were published initially?
A: The first edition and printing had a print run of 1250 copies. All the copies sold on the first day of sale according to "The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin".

Q: You have a specimen in your collections that is noted for being the most poisonous bird in the world. Do you have more information on it?
A: It is the Hooded Pitohui (Pitohui dichrous). An Academy researcher, Jack Dumbacher, experienced the toxicity of these birds first-hand when he was doing research in Papua New Guinea and decided to study them more. He found that they sequester poisons from something they feed on, much like poison dart frogs.

Q: Do owls really see in total darkness like your matching game says?
A: Renowned for their solemn, spooky mien, owls have large eyes that face forward, and arrangement that's rare even among predatory birds. This gives them binocular vision and the resultant depth perception necessary to judge distances with almost pinpoint accuracy. These fast-focusing eyes are also equipped with a mirror-like membrane that lets them sample extremely dim light twice, and a dense concentration of light-sensitive cells in the retina. While owls may not be able to see everything in total darkness, they can see what other nocturnal predators might miss.

Q: What is Arsenic and Strychnine made out of?
A: Arsenopyrite is an iron arsenic sulfide (FeAsS). Strychnine is an alkaloid extract obtained from the dried ripe seeds of Strychnos nux vomica, a small tree of the East Indies.

Q: Someone told me that the red-winged blackbirds only have that red flash in mating season - is that correct?
A: According to Western Birds, QL 683 .W4 P4 1990, these epaulets are 'most conspicuous' in the spring time, suggesting that they are there all year round but brighter in the mating season.

Q: Do you know that saying about claw and tail sizes of scorpions that tells you which ones are more poisonous than the other?
A: The simple, although not universal, rule is that scorpions with thin pedipalps (claws) and thick tails tend to be more venomous than those with stout pedipalps and thinner tails. Working through this in a logical way, we can think that a scorpion with a large claw may be able to subdue its prey with the claw. If it has thin claws, it may need to rely more on the venom from the stinger to make up for its lack of strong claws. For more information about scorpions, click here. There is also a very well written amateur information page here.