Pet cats in Neolithic Cyprus

All house cats are descended from one of five females of the wild species Felis silvesteris lybica, which originated in the Middle East. cats likely first became domesticated as they moved into human settlements, and were efficient at rodent control in homes, and in fields of wheat. and barley. There's no indication that a "Tweety" bird accompanied Felis Sylvesteris:).


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/science/29cat.html

The origin of the domestication of cats goes back far beyond ancient Egypt. A grave where a human and cat were buried together that dates back 9500 years was discovered on Cyprus in 2001 in the Neolithic village of Shillourokambos. Cats are not native to Cyprus but appear to have been brought to the island about this time, as were pigs, goats , deer and cattle. Cats likely served a dual function; as pets and as a means of rodent control. It's clear that cats did have a special meaning, due to the proximity of cat and human in the grave. The grave also contained a number of ceremonial offerings, such as ochre and seashells.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0408_040408_oldestpetcat.html


Here is the grave.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3611453.stm

Here is a recent video of cats in Cyprus.

Axolotls - Mexico's endangered salamander

I ran across an article the other day about axolotls, an exotic species of salamanders I didn't know much about. They are now nearly extinct in their native habitat, the Xochimilco Valley of central Mexico. Only about 700-1200 are estimated to survive. The reduction in population is due to a number of factors, including the continuing expansion of Mexico City, which has reduced both the available habitat and quality of water needed by axolotls. The introduction of exotic species, such as tilapia, which compete with axolotls for resources, and eat their larvae, also has been a factor.

They are interesting for many reasons, including their often exotic coloring, their ability to regenerate limbs, and perhaps most of all because they are neotenic, which means they ordinarily remain in a larval stage throughout their lives, and remain strictly aquatic.

Here are several varieties of axolotls.These photos are from:

http://www.axolotl.org/genetics.htm



The "wild type"




The "white axolotl"





This has black eyes and it not a true albino.

An albino axolotl:



A great axolotl site:

http://www.axolotl.org/index.htm

An article on the danger of axolotl extinction:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8220000/8220636.stm

Axolotls as pets:

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/amphibians/a/axolotls.htm

Lots of axolotls here:

http://www.caudata.org/photoplog/index.php?c=118

and some videos: