Five favorite species?

[urbpan]

livsmama tagged me to list my five favorite species. It should go without saying that this is entirely impossible. But what the heck, I'll list five that are undoubtedly among my top 500 favorite species. Also, since there is actual information relevant to the theme of my journal here, this will be a rare public post of a meme. Without further ado:



1. Scutigera coleoptrata. The house centipede is a harmless and positive presence indoors, patrolling the walls at night, hunting for insects. Despite this, it is frequently cited as the only creature that freaks out otherwise calm animal loving people. I get more questions when I use this icon than any other.



2. Columba livia. The rock pigeon is found worldwide, wherever people are. Many people claim to hate them, but they are well-loved enough that they have been brought to rooftop dovecotes by hobbyists on every continent and island. Originally kept for food, and then for their remarkable homing abilities, the modern urban pigeon is a triumph of artificial selection, surviving by the billions while their wild ancestor dwindles toward extinction in the Mediterranean.


3. Buteo jamaicensis. One of the newest animals to become an urban fixture is the unlikely-seeming red-tailed hawk. All across North America, it has parlayed federal protection and a diet of pigeons and rats into rule of the city skies. A charismatic predator as well as a scavenger of roadkill, the red-tailed hawk gets to have the appearance of a noble being and a secure niche in the human-altered landscape.


4. Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The invention of stored grain created food surpluses that allowed cities to develop. The controlled spoilage of stored grain produced alcoholic beverages, and human society has never looked back. A fungus that evolved the trait of being single celled, metabolizes the sugars of grains into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The alcohol prevents meddlesome bacteria from taking advantage of its food supply, and carbon dioxide makes you burp when you drink it. What's not to love?


5. Homo sapiens. If someone asked me what the weirdest animal is, without hesitation I would say "humans." The set of evolutionary mistakes that turned an arboreal fruit eater into the agent that will change the planet forever boggles the mind and strains the imagination. If it hadn't happened, no one would believe it--in fact many people (mostly in naive cultures that reject science that contradicts religious scripture) still do. Humans still cling to the inevitable but ridiculous conclusion that God made us to resemble himself--non-functioning nipples, stinking armpits, bad backs and all. Despite the needless self-centered nihilism that a great many of these animals display, humans are capable of great generosity and works of breathtaking beauty and they are still one of my favorite species. Call it a bias.

Comments

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

I'm totally with you on the pigeons. :)

[livsmama.livejournal.com]

a nice list. Thanks:)

[droserary.livejournal.com]

#4: "What's not to love?"

As a quasi-methyphobe (sort of), I'd have to say "quite a bit." Stare at me with raised eyebrows, but the stuff doesn't appeal to me. Except when baked into a good zabaglione or other dessert. ;-)

But good choices, all!

[urb-banal.livejournal.com]

number one is a favourite of mine too, although I have difficulty convincing people that it's not dangerous, my kids included.

number five, I dunno.

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

Hey,

Agree on #1, violently disagree on #5. We make Ebola and Plague Locusts look like Slow Lorises.

My list:

1 Giant Squid
2 Maribou Stork
3 Black Widow and various Geographical variants
4 Thylacine
5 Great White Shark