Category Archives: academia
Honey Badger: who you calling honey mister?
Don’t make the mistake, dear reader, of judging a badger by its nomiker: this one’s no honey. Named for their predilection for eating honeycombs pilfered from beehives, Mellivora capensis is also famous as a snake-killer. The honey badger uses its … Continue reading
Chickcharnie
When sightseeing on the Island of Andros, dear readers, keep your eyes peeled for a creature that Bahamian folk tales describe as a three-toed elf, a red-eyed man-beast or a birdlike creature with a lizard’s tail and a fluffy mane, … Continue reading
Filed under academia, extinct species, folklore, human behavior, Phobia-inducing, Uncategorized
California Academy of sciences promises to let you watch
Another link to love, dear readers: California Academy of Sciences promises to let you watch the penguins “swim, flirt, nest, and relax” via its penguin-cam. You can also watch the tuxedoed charmers feed every day at 10:30am and 3:30pm. As … Continue reading
Filed under academia, exceedingly cute, links to love, marine life, Uncategorized
The Borneo frog: it’s itsy bitsy and it crawled up the pitcher’s spout
Apparently, Dear readers, the author of BV is on a tiny animal kick. The newest addition to the list being Microhyla nepenthicola, recently discovered by researchers in Borneo. These little buggers live and breed in the muck that accumulates at … Continue reading
BV-worthy new exhibit
The California Academy of Sciences has long been beloved by the author of BV, figuring in her elementary school field trips, and, more recently, looming large in her consciousness as an example of stunning sustainable architecture. And a friend is … Continue reading
Filed under academia, endangered species, extinct species, human behavior
Dissertation Owls Asleep on the Job
Folkes, while the dissertation elves, tiny little owls that creep into grad students’ bedrooms to madly type pages whilst the tortured souls sleep, are on furlough, I have been working furiously on my thesis. The result? A certain lack of Beastliness. And vocabularity. This … Continue reading
Filed under academia, folklore, Uncategorized
Banana Slug: “hard” life.
Beloved by alumni of UC Santa Cruz, banana slugs seem to have a pretty good thing going. Sure, they’re slow and eat detritus on the forest floor. But they’re beloved. …Just, you know, not by each other. In fact, … Continue reading
Echeneis: stubborn little bastard of a fish.
Isidore of Seville, who is, let’s face it, quite the hero for BV, named it the “delay,” for obvious reasons In the 1st century CE, Lucan wrote of it as ”…the sucking fish / Which holds the vessel back though eastern … Continue reading
Filed under academia, extinct species, folklore, marine life, medieval, Phobia-inducing, Uncategorized
The missing link: Darwinius masillae, Sweet as Apple cider
The sound of the name “Ida” has suddenly become sweet sweet music to paleontololical ears. This is because “Ida,” a 47 million year old fossil hidden in a closet for 20+ years has recently been unveiled. Apparently, a … Continue reading
Filed under academia, extinct species, Uncategorized
Humanatee: A dying breed
The humanatee is an ancient, intelligent beast, most often found in large “schools.” When members of far-flung schools gather together in large, gregarous groups called “conferences.” During these sporadic expeditions, humanatees may demonstrate dominance by flashing the “TT” position. These … Continue reading
Catobelpas: Head of an Ox, Tail of a snake, Bad dinner date.
To all of the singletons reading this entry: the author of BV would like to caution you about the Catobelpas, for according to Pliny the Elder, this next member of our medieval bestiary series, which is “of moderate size and inactive … Continue reading
Interactive Penguin Cam: time waster extraordinaire
Finaly, dear readers, an un-ironic post. The link below takes you to National geographic’s interactive program, which allows you to build, attach, and follow a “penguin cam’ under the ice in the Antarctic. You can follow this link to … Continue reading
The Ant-lion (lion ant)
The entire premise of Bestiarum Vocabulum, as some of you might know, rests on the genre of the medieval bestiary ( or bestiarum vocabulum). It is therefore meet that we occasionaly visit the archives for entries, as part of an … Continue reading
Amazonian Weasels
As always, the author of BV seeks to bring you information that is relevant and revelatory regarding animal behaviors. News today is that a new species of weasel– the hypocritical amazonian weasel. You may sign a petition protesting Amazon’s … Continue reading
Filed under academia, rated NC17, Uncategorized
