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"Never been seen" in the scientific literature, but if it's from Chile, presumably somebody there has seen it. Instead of sending an expedition, has anybody ask
by mrob 8y ago
"Never been seen" in the scientific literature, but if it's from Chile, presumably somebody there has seen it. Instead of sending an expedition, has anybody asked people who live near muddy beaches there if they recognize it?
- Gibbon1 8y agoYou would think there would be a high school biology teacher in Chile who would be happy to press gang some students into a field trip to find the answer.
- reaperducer 8y agoI wonder how long it would take a high school biology class to scour 2,700 miles of largely remote Chilean coastline for an animal less than half an inch long? Probably just a few hundred years, right?
- isoskeles 8y agoThat would be a long and difficult vacation I mean job.
- pvaldes 8y agoNot so much as you think. Biologists are trained for many years to know where to look for. There are lots of species of Amphipods, but obviously you can discard most species and quickly delimit it to family level if you have a microscope. In this case you need to be able to recognise only one species that is named and described and the genus can be assured looking at the third segment of the peduncle in the first antenna, eyes medium, gnathopod 1 fully subchelate, etc, etc. Scholars should focuse in your studies, and let this kind of work for professionals, obviously. Amphipod specimens need to be dissected for identification, and is too easy to misplace, mistake or miss important facts, distroying unique valuable specimens for nothing.
- reaperducer 8y agoBiologists are trained for many years to know where to look for. But high school students aren't.
- icebraining 8y agoHigh school students can be guided.
- pvaldes 8y agoI had identified amphipods after its remains (there was two or three legs, half a head, part of the coxas and so), and is feasible, but not easy. Inside the chilean complex of this species would be even more dificult. High school students can't really do it, and local fishermen do not have this knowledge or the tools to adquire it. I can think only in one reason to not contact the chilean biologists, or visit Chile, and is a language barrier, easy to overcome since we have google translate and similar tools. On the other hand, amphipods are really easy to keep in aquariums for many months. Females incubate its eggs under the legs in a sort of pouches (kangaroo style) and there is often a clear and obvious sexual dimorphism, so their reproductive life is not dificult to study at all. You can easily observe the breeding behaviour, clutch size, embriology, hatching, season and number of generations by year. Why they didn't it in all of those years is a mystery to me. (Shrug) maybe fear that the species would be disclosed as belonging to a yet described species and became a synonym?.
- batbomb 8y agoMany academic Chileans speak conversational english, either most speak basic english. Most business performed in multi-nationals in "Sanhattan" (Las Condes/Providencia), for example, is conducted in English.
- pvaldes 8y agoThere are chilean experts in amphipods also, Gonzalez, Morrone, De los Ríos-Escalante or Rivera for example. Their address and email are very easy to find. Is unclear if Mr. Bousfield tried to communicate with they, but if not, probably should try it first.
- Gibbon1 8y agoI'll totally sign up for the first 25 years. If the critter hitched a ride from Chile it's probably native to one of the harbors or bays.
- dredmorbius 8y agoNear ballast-harvesting ports conducting commerce with Oakland since 1900 narrows the range a smidge. Compare: amateur astronomer comet-hunters.
- galago 8y agoGood point. Muddy beaches near ports that were active when these types of ships needed ballast. There's a port at San Antonio west of Santiago. Maybe ask someone around there?