Discoveries, New and Old

“If it were a snake, it’d bit you.”

“If it were a snake, I wouldn’t have been looking for it.”

“And it still woulda bit ya.”

And so it goes with most discoveries. We usually discoverthem while looking for something else we can’t find.  Newton was looking for a tasty way to preserve his figs, anddiscovered that lying under falling rocks was no way to accomplish this.

In Newton’s day the world was newer. Discoveries could befound everywhere. You couldn’t throw a rock without discovering something. Idon’t believe that has changed, even though the world is older. I do believewe’ve stopped throwing things.

Too many glass houses? Probably, but I also think we’vegrown complacent. I believe there are new things everywhere; we just need toopen our eyes to see them.

In Tucson, a scientist opened his eyes to discover a newbreed of scorpion. How many breeds do we need, you might ask. I don’t know, Iwould answer, but now Tucson has one more.  According to Zookeys, a website dedicated to new species anddiscovery, there are now ten species of mountain scorpions now living in theSky Islands, a group of mountains north east of the city.

Because of the region’s seclusion, creatures survive withouthuman interference. At least until now. Now we’ve found them. Who knows howthey’ll fare. Be careful though: they aren’t snakes, but they still might biteyou, if you go looking. Then again, you may just discover an eleventh species.

See how that works?

Look.

The new scorpion is actually quite distinctive, compared tothe old scorpions. Vaejovis brysoni (as the new scorpion is called) is a smallbodied scorpion, medium brown in color, with legs that vary in color from brownto yellow.  The female is a littleover an inch long.

 

The old scorpions are pale and Germanic in nature, alsoquite small, and cling to their youth with fierce pinchers. Usually drawntoward loud noises, scorpions can be found, “on the hunt tonight, for love atfirst sting.”

What were you expecting to find here? I’ve been sick for aweek.

You were looking for my blog, and you found it.

It’s good to be back. That’s my new discovery.