History Blog / TetrapodZoology

** [[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2014/05/24/ratite-evolution-part-ii/ The longest comment thread in the history of the blog]] made "Permian bears" a running gag for a while.[[note]]To elaborate, the discussion was in large part about different proposed explanations for geographic distribution of members of various groups of animals. The discussion was joined by two panbiogeographers, who argued that if members of particular group are present on more than one continent, then the group must have originated back then those continents were connected. This might be true in some cases, but they tended to reject possible alternatives, such as oversea dispersal, no matter how well supported by fossil record and other evidence. This led them to advocate things like a [[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1463-6409.2009.00411.x/abstract Jurassic origin for primates]] and, in the specific Tet Zoo comment thread, also a Jurassic origin for ratites. One commenter then sarcastically suggested that, taking into account the geographic distribution of bears their Permian origin should be considered, and thus a RunningGag was born.[[/note]]

* RunningGag: There's a recurring gag among commenters that someone will guess "gorgonopsian" or "[[PteroSoarer ropen]]" whenever Naish does any "guess the animal" posts.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: Naturally, as Naish is a dinosaur paleontologist.

* StockDinosaurs: All of them, and then some.

* PricklyPorcupine

%%* SeldomSeenSpecies: Too many to list.

Due to the blog's diverse content as well as its frequent coverage of [[SeldomSeenSpecies obscure tetrapods]] and [[MundaneMadeAwesome obscure facts on well-known tetrapods]], readers are almost ''guaranteed'' to learn something new. Unusually for the Internet, the comment sections on the blog are often just as valuable and informative as the blog posts themselves due to a tendency for readers (as well as Naish himself) to provide additional information and discussions in the comments.

[[http://tetzoo.com/ Tetrapod Zoology]] is a blog by British paleontologist and zoologist Dr. Darren Naish that covers varied topics regarding tetrapods (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians both extinct and extant). It is widely considered one of the best (if not ''the'' best) zoological blogs in the blogosphere, for although Naish is a dinosaur paleontologist by profession, he maintains a healthy interest in tetrapods of all kinds and his knowledge on them can border on almost-terrifying levels.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: There were [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/07/02/biggest-ever-fish-has-been-revised/ a]] [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/09/01/inside-natures-giants-ser-2-shark/ few]] [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/10/13/ing-giant-squid-special/ cases]] when Naish wrote posts about animals that aren't tetrapods. This was also the way he [[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2014/12/17/300-articles-at-tet-zoo-ver-3/ celebrated]] the 300th post at Tet Zoo V. 3.

** [[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2014/05/24/ratite-evolution-part-ii/ The longest comment thread in the history of the blog]] made "Permian bears" a running gag for a while.[[note]]To elaborate, the discussion was in large part about different proposed explanations for geographic distribution of members of various groups of animals. The discussion was joined by two panbiogeographers, who argued that if members of particular group are present on more than one continent, then the group must have originated back then those continents were connected. This might be true in some cases, but they tended to reject possible alternatives, such as oversea dispersal, no matter how well supported by fossil record and other evidence. This led them to advocate things like [[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1463-6409.2009.00411.x/abstract Jurassic origin for primates]] and, in the specific Tet Zoo comment thread, also Jurassic origin for ratites. One commenter then sarcastically suggested that, taking into account the geographic distribution of bears their Permian origin should be considered, and thus a RunningGag was born.[[/note]]

* BearsAreBadNews

* CirclingVultures
* ClamTrap: There was a series of posts showing how this sometimes happens to shorebirds. It usually ends badly for the birds.
* CleverCrows

* DolphinsDolphinsEverywhere
* EverythingsBetterWithCows: Especially those that eat birds.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys
* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins

* NobleWolf[=/=]SavageWolves

* SeldomSeenSpecies: Too many to list.

* TurtlePower
* TyrannosaurusRex

* [[SeaMonster Giant Swimmer]]: Whales, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, etc.
** One of the [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/07/02/biggest-ever-fish-has-been-revised/ only times]] Tet Zoo has ''ever'' dedicated a post to a non-tetrapod it was to the giant Jurassic fish ''Leedsichthys''. Ironically, the post was about how said fish was probably not as large as often reported. It was still large enough to fit this trope though.

* GiantSwimmer: Whales, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, etc.

* EverythingsSquishierWithCephalopods: [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/10/13/ing-giant-squid-special/ Yes]], in spite of them not being tetrapods.

Due to the blog's diverse content as well as its frequent coverage of [[SeldomSeenSpecies obscure tetrapods]] and [[MundaneMadeAwesome obscure facts on well-known tetrapods]], readers are almost ''guaranteed'' to learn something new. Unusually for the Internet, the comment sections on the blog are often just as valuable and informative as the blog posts themselves due to a tendency for readers (as well as Naish himself) to provide additional information and discussions in the comments. ''Tetrapod Zoology'' is also associated with a [[http://tetzoo.com/ podcast]] (which Naish co-hosts with artist John Conway), as well as a [[https://twitter.com/TetZoo Twitter feed]].

The blog started out on [[http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/ Blogspot]] in 2006, then moved to [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/ Scienceblogs]] in 2007, and then to [[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/ Scientific American]] in 2011. In 2018, it moved to the independent website tetzoo.com, thus sharing the same platform as the podcast. Naish has also made the majority of his technical papers (several of which were covered on his blog) freely available [[http://darrennaish.wordpress.com/publications/ here]].

[[http://tetzoo.com/ Tetrapod Zoology]] is a blog by British paleontologist and zoologist Dr. Darren Naish that covers varied topics regarding tetrapods (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians both extinct and extant). It is widely considered one of the best (if not ''the'' best) zoological blogs in the blogosphere, for although Naish is a dinosaur paleontologist by profession, he maintains a healthy interest in tetrapods of all kinds and his knowledge on them can border on almost-terrifying levels. Due to the blog's diverse content as well as its frequent coverage of [[SeldomSeenSpecies obscure tetrapods]] and [[MundaneMadeAwesome obscure facts on well-known tetrapods]], readers are almost ''guaranteed'' to learn something new. Unusually for the Internet, the comment sections on the blog are often just as valuable and informative as the blog posts themselves due to a tendency for readers (as well as Naish himself) to provide additional information and discussions in the comments. It also has a podcast, which is found, with John Conway, [[http://tetzoo.com/ here]]. There's also [[https://twitter.com/TetZoo a Twitter feed]].

The blog started out on [[http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/ Blogspot]] in 2006, then moved to [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/ Scienceblogs]] in 2007, then to [[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/ Scientific American]] in 2011. In 2018, it moved to tetzoo.com, thus sharing the platform with the podcast. Naish also made the majority of his technical papers (several of which were covered on his blog) freely available [[http://darrennaish.wordpress.com/publications/ here]].

[[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/ Tetrapod Zoology]] is a blog by British paleontologist and zoologist Dr. Darren Naish that covers varied topics regarding tetrapods (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians both extinct and extant). It is widely considered one of the best (if not ''the'' best) zoological blogs in the blogosphere, for although Naish is a dinosaur paleontologist by profession, he maintains a healthy interest in tetrapods of all kinds and his knowledge on them can border on almost-terrifying levels. Due to the blog's diverse content as well as its frequent coverage of [[SeldomSeenSpecies obscure tetrapods]] and [[MundaneMadeAwesome obscure facts on well-known tetrapods]], readers are almost ''guaranteed'' to learn something new. Unusually for the Internet, the comment sections on the blog are often just as valuable and informative as the blog posts themselves due to a tendency for readers (as well as Naish himself) to provide additional information and discussions in the comments. It also has a podcast, which is found, with John Conway, [[http://tetzoo.com/ here]]. There's also [[https://twitter.com/TetZoo a Twitter feed]].

The blog started out on [[http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/ Blogspot]] in 2006, then moved to [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/ Scienceblogs]] in 2007. In 2011, it moved to [[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/ Scientific American]]. Naish also made the majority of his technical papers (several of which were covered on his blog) freely available [[http://darrennaish.wordpress.com/publications/ here]].

* KidnappingBirdOfPrey: Naish's [[http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/01/when-eagles-go-bad.html very first blog essay]] focused on this. The conclusion he reached was that large eagles are definitely capable of killing a small child, but not necessarily of carrying one off.

* KidnappingBirdOfPrey: Naish's [[http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/01/when-eagles-go-bad.html very first blog essay]] focused on this. The conclusion he reached was that large eagles are definitely capable of killing a small child (and indeed, he points out that this probably really has happened), but not necessarily of carrying one off.

* KidnappingBirdOfPrey: Naish's [[http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/01/when-eagles-go-bad.html very first blog essay]] focused on this. The conclusion he reached was that large eagles are definitely capable of killing a small child, but not necessarily carrying them off.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Naish normally allows cranks to comment as they please. (Thankfully, as far as popular blogs go there Tet Zoo hasn't suffered as many cranks as one might expect.) But when he ''does'' decide to reply to them, or finds that one really has overstepped the mark... (Though by that time the crank is likely to have been already torn apart by regular Tet Zoo commenters who are less likely to hold back.)
** And God help you if he actually writes an entire ''post'' in response to something a crank has said.

* FeatheredFiend: Notably, the first ever Tet Zoo post covered [[http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/01/when-eagles-go-bad.html eagle attacks on large prey]]. Other topics on this trope have included [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/05/17/cassowaries-kick-ass/ aggression in cassowaries]], [[http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/05/make-that-ten-most-beautifully.html aggression in steamer ducks]], [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/03/31/passerine-birds-fight-dirty/ the brutality of bird fights]], [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/11/30/epic-cat-fight/ a video of a hooded crow pair goading two cats into fighting one another]], etc.

* NobleBirdOfPrey: Appropriately, [[http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/01/when-eagles-go-bad.html the first ever Tet Zoo post]] covered recorded incidents of eagles killing large prey (possibly including humans).

* ClamTrap: There was a series of posts showing how this sometimes happens to shorebirds. It usually ends badly for the bird