Taxonomy

A hamster is not a gerbil,
‘Though a tortoise is a turtle.
Mosquitoes are what you swat at -
Hundred twelve genera for that.

If you want to classify,
Taxonomy is what you try.
You compare for what is the same
And then give them a Species name.

But now the fun has just begun --
Two's too different to be one.
They aren’t the same but share sameness;
Let us give them the same Genus.

The Genera with common traits
In a Family can be mates.
Families in the same border
Can be placed in the same Order.

The Orders can combine en masse
To make a very diverse Class.
We almost there to compile a
Joining of Classes into Phyla.

The last step is the mighty Kingdom
Under which the broad Phyla come.
Some add in sub- and super- levels --
Let’s ignore hair-splitting devils.

New dinosaur discovery

ELKO, Nevada – Scientists at Nevada State University announced the discovery of a new dinosaur, the remains of which were uncovered in nearby mining operations. Operations were halted and the university’s geologists and biologists were called in when the underground construction of an air shaft unexpectedly broken into a large, open chamber.

Embedded in the floor of the chamber were the fossilized remains of an unknown species, estimated to have been approximately 1.8m tall while standing in its normal bipedal posture. With its raptor-like front limbs, it mostly closely resembles our common image of a tyrannosaur, but in miniature.

But, according to Dr. Edwina Halsey who led the research team, the most intriguing discoveries in the chamber were the numerous marking on the walls. While they are judged to be consistent with scratching that could have been made by this creature’s front claws, as the scientists recorded and catalogued them, they began to suspect they saw patterns and repetitions in the strokes. Consulting linguist Dr. Robert Kurweiler concluded that the inventory of markings represent a lexicon of at least 2,800 distinct words or terms.

The scientific conclusion offered is that the creature is the world’s earliest Thesaurus.