h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Clear, concise and to the point" as my old Biology teacher used to emphasise to us, when attempting to motivate sullen adolescents into writing decent accounts of such topics.

Well done Skankyrich for this project & well done Bluesue for the photos.

Now, Skanky, you trundle off to The Gambia & return with a similar Guide Entry on African mammals...er, Bluesue, hope that fits in with your New Year plans? Honestly, if you've never snapped a dik-dik at sunrise, you haven't lived!

zdt

not meaning to be narky, I believe Grey squirrels
are introduced species, the polecat once extirpated
was reintroduced and two creatures of the mammalian
order - the echidna and platypus are not live-bearers
- apart from that and a wee bit of grammar-work - a
decent accomplshment. Birds next ? cheers, langsandy

Erm... does this section of the Entry not cover that?

<<>>

As for the platypus & echidna, as far as I am aware; they are not roaming about freely in Britain. Yet.*

*Presumably a grammatical error.

zdt

i'm sorry - my comments were directed
at the author and the specificity of some
of the observations - grey squirrel,
polecat, all mammals, as instanced

Thank you, Terri!

Langsandy, you are incorrect about the polecat, which was never quite exterminated in the UK, but correct about the grey squirrel - as I note in the rodents Entry '...the grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis, was allowed to escape in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries...' The project was intended to include all wild British mammals, not just native species, as Terri points out.

You are also correct that there are exceptions to many taxonomical definitions, the platypus being the most well known, but the taxonomy needs to be explained simply. If I started talking about suborders and superfamilies, the whole section would get very confusing - the purpose really is to explain how animals are split into different groups and therefore how we get the orders I describe.

Hope that explains your concerns, and thank you for your comments.