Image: Biopix, G Drange |
Friday 30 December 2011
Bristle Millipede
Wednesday 28 December 2011
Lion's Mane Mushroom
Image: Wikipedia |
This here is the Lion's Mane Mushroom, also known as the Bearded Tooth Mushroom, Pom Pom Mushroom and lots of other names involving beards and hedgehogs. Also Hericium erinaceus, and according to Google Translate erinaceus means 'hedgehog'. So that's nice.
Sunday 25 December 2011
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
I'm saying 'Merry Christmas!' to everyone, see?
Also Boxing Day. May your cold turkey remain unusually palatable for a long time to come.
Friday 23 December 2011
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Christmas Tree Worm
Image: Wikimedia |
Sunday 18 December 2011
You scratch my dorsal fin, I'll scratch yours
Image: Aleš Kocourek Giant Moray |
Friday 16 December 2011
Atolla Jellyfish
Image: NOAA |
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Spitting Spider
Image: Michel Vuijlsteke via Flickr |
Spitting Spiders do exactly what it sounds like they do. I remember Spider Man could squirt out a gooey mess, and he was 15 when he got bitten by that radioactive spider so... no, never mind. The point is, was Spider Man's gooey mess poisonous? I don't think it was!
Monday 12 December 2011
Himalayan Relict Dragonfly
Image: chochoensis |
Sunday 11 December 2011
What's the Difference Between Damselflies and Dragonflies?
Image: Colon Archilla, Alfredo Red Setwing, Dythemis rufinervis A Dragonfly |
Dragonflies and Damselflies together form the order Odonata and also happen to comprise some of the objectively best, living things in the world, ever... FACT!
Being so closely related you can appreciate that they'd be pretty similar, but there are also some clear differences. It isn't that the local villagers have to offer up a Damselfly every year to stop the ferocious Dragonfly from coming into town all angry and hungry, but the Dragons are the more formidable beast.
Let's see!
Friday 9 December 2011
Thursday 8 December 2011
Kitefin Shark
Oh dear.
Oh dear me, no.
It wasn't long after the Cookiecutter Shark that I discovered they have a big brother. It's in a different genus and dissimilar in many ways, but the Kitefin Shark is more closely related to the Cookiecutter than it is to any other shark. Also... TEETH!
Oh dear me, no.
It wasn't long after the Cookiecutter Shark that I discovered they have a big brother. It's in a different genus and dissimilar in many ways, but the Kitefin Shark is more closely related to the Cookiecutter than it is to any other shark. Also... TEETH!
Wednesday 7 December 2011
Sunday 4 December 2011
Cookiecutter Shark
Oh No! There's a shark!
Arrrggghh!
It's only 50 cm (19 inches) long.
Phew!
Wait... it's a Cookiecutter!
AAAARRRRGGH!
Arrrggghh!
It's only 50 cm (19 inches) long.
Phew!
Wait... it's a Cookiecutter!
AAAARRRRGGH!
Friday 2 December 2011
Japanese Spider Crab
Image: Wikipedia |
Thursday 1 December 2011
Red-footed Cannibalfly
Image: Lynette S. via Flickr |
When you come across something called the Red-footed Cannibalfly, you don't keep it to yourself. You glory in his name!
Wednesday 30 November 2011
Robber Fly
Image: Wikipedia |
It's a bit like being aware of a movie that was out when you were a child, you never saw it but you know you would've really loved it if you had.
Well, I'm glad to finally find out some more about this formidable, aerial predator. And I must say, I'm impressed!.
Sunday 27 November 2011
Friday 25 November 2011
Greater Adjutant
Image: Wikipedia |
Wednesday 23 November 2011
Boneworm
Image: Adrian Glover, Natural History Museum |
It's amazing what the kin of the humble earthworm is able to get up to!
Here, however, is something a little different. Alongside the weird appendages and sticky-out bits, Boneworms, members of the genus Osedax, have also lost some stuff. Important stuff. Stuff like a mouth and stomach.
Sunday 20 November 2011
Friday 18 November 2011
Giant African Millipede
Wednesday 16 November 2011
Red Eyed Crocodile Skink
Image: Henk Wallays |
Dragging myself out of bed, joints cracking with every move, my back so stiff it felt like it was made of a single plank of wood.
Monday 14 November 2011
Microscopic Worlds, a great video!
I saw this and just had to share, it's amazing!
In the original post you can find out all the labours that went into making it. There were many! Also, the galleries at Microworlds Photography have lots of incredible microscope images to gawp at.
The video features several familiar characters, like Copepods, Water Bears and the squishy, all-conquering tower of malice that is the Hydra. There are also a whole lot more we'll have to get round to!
by Daniel Stoupin.
In the original post you can find out all the labours that went into making it. There were many! Also, the galleries at Microworlds Photography have lots of incredible microscope images to gawp at.
The video features several familiar characters, like Copepods, Water Bears and the squishy, all-conquering tower of malice that is the Hydra. There are also a whole lot more we'll have to get round to!
Labels:
cnidarian,
crustacean,
insect,
multi monster,
other group,
plant
Sunday 13 November 2011
Sponge
Image: California Academy of Sciences |
Friday 11 November 2011
Microwhip Scorpion
Yet another arachnid that gets called a scorpion but isn't a scorpion at all! This time we're discovering one of the most overlooked and unknown of them all. You might need a magnifying glass for this one.
Wednesday 9 November 2011
Honduran White Bat
Image: Wikimedia |
For the most part you'd be right, but the Honduran White Bat is a little different.
Sunday 6 November 2011
Friday 4 November 2011
Bobbit Worm
Image: Wikipedia |
Wednesday 2 November 2011
Upside Down Jellyfish
Image: Lyndi&Jason via Flickr |
Sunday 30 October 2011
Natural Born Hallowe'en Horrors
It's Hallowe'en! That time of year when we celebrate death, join hands with darkness and are thankful for all the wonderful things that evil brings to our lives. Woo!
Behold Death. He's out of his coffin, handing out drinks, telling jokes and being the ironic life of the party he always knew he could be.
Here be Darkness. She's put down the razor blades and is now coaching zombies and ghouls on how to lead a full and purposeful life.
Yonder is Evil. He's dressed up in a long, white robe with a little cardboard halo fixed onto his head with a piece of wire. He does that every year but it's hilarious every time!
But there are some creatures out there that are ever so slightly ghoulish all year round. They just can't help it! Let's take a look at a few of them:
But there are some creatures out there that are ever so slightly ghoulish all year round. They just can't help it! Let's take a look at a few of them:
Labels:
bony fish,
crustacean,
fungus,
insect,
mammal,
multi monster,
plant,
reptile
Friday 28 October 2011
Arrow-shaped Micrathena
Image: cotinis via Flick |
Wednesday 26 October 2011
Flapjack Devilfish
Flapjack Devilfish are 20 or so species of deep sea octopus in the genus Opisthoteuthis. They are closely related to our very own Dumbo Octopus and boy does it show!
Sunday 23 October 2011
Vampire Finch
Sharp-beaked Ground Finches are from the Galápagos Islands. They eat seeds and invertebrates. A perfectly respectable diet. But there is a subspecies of this particular finch that lives in rather dry areas. Areas where fresh water is hard to come by. They'll need to find water from somewhere. I wonder where they could possibly find it?
Friday 21 October 2011
Flatid Leaf Bug, Phromnia rosea
Adult Image: Frank.Vassen via Flickr |
Adults Image: Wikipedia |
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Tripod Fish
It must be so strange. You take a submersible or a remotely operated underwater vehicle into the deep sea. You fiddle around with the controls, the lighting and camera equipment so you can see what you're looking at. You reach the ocean floor and what do you find? Camera equipment!
Sunday 16 October 2011
A Stapeliad by any other name would smell as rotten
Stapelia variegata Image: Aqua-Marina via Flickr |
Friday 14 October 2011
Fire Ice Worm
Anyone here ever passed wind? I know, I know, once at Christmas in the early 80s but you decided not to do it ever again. Still, people have bacteria in their guts that help them digest food. Some people, though not all, have bacteria that release methane. Ruminants have loads of them, and it all helps in creating a most undesirable side-effect - an almighty stink.
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Tuesday 11 October 2011
When lizard meets groin
This video may reduce you to tears. Of laughter! I wonder if I should say 'elevate to tears'?
Anyway, I was all on my own *sniff :(* watching it and it made me cry with laughter. This is quite an accolade because I usually need other people around to get into that state.
My only regret is that this thing has been up for over 4 years and has had over 3 million views, so I'm really late to the party. Still, it really ought to have around 18 or 21 billion views minimum. That's at least 3 for each person on the planet.
Contemplating all the things the poor guy was trying to do and trying not to do is a real delight!
Sunday 9 October 2011
Skeleton Shrimp
Image: Gail Ashton |
This little chap is the Skeleton Shrimp, thus named because he looks a tad skeletal. As is so often the case, it's not an actual shrimp at all, but an amphipod.
Less common is that they are an utterly wonderful blend of the sweetly delightful and the scandalously monstrous.
Friday 7 October 2011
Short-tailed Whip Scorpion
Image: Wikipedia |
Wednesday 5 October 2011
Sea Anemone
Image: Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory |
Sunday 2 October 2011
It'a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a... Frog?
Image source |
There are many other animals in the world who give flight a go. Most only reach gliding, allowing them to extend jumping distance and avoid the usual "plummet to your untimely death" consequence.
Labels:
amphibian,
bony fish,
cephalopod,
insect,
mammal,
multi monster,
plant,
reptile
Friday 30 September 2011
Triton vs. Crown of Thorns Starfish
Image: Jonathan Lavan, Underwater Pressure World |
We looked at the vicious Crown of Thorns Starfish and its arch nemesis the Triton snail a while ago. Here we see them in battle and to make it clear, the Triton will kill and eat the starfish. In fact, that process appears to be well under way.
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Giant Gippsland Earthworm
Some things in the world are just wrong. Amiss. Askew. Perverse... BAD! I think an earthworm that can stretch to over 3 metres (10 feet) in length may well be one of those.
Sunday 25 September 2011
Venus' Flower Basket
Friday 23 September 2011
Laetmogone violacea, A Deep Sea Sea Cucumber
Image source |
Wednesday 21 September 2011
Arrow Crab
Image: NOAA Photo Library via Flickr |
Sunday 18 September 2011
Emerald Cockroach Wasp
Image: Wikipedia |
It is no wonder that she is also known as the Jewel Wasp. This 'Cockroach' thing raises questions, though. Gosh, I sure hope her personality is as utterly charming as her visage! (Literary device)
Friday 16 September 2011
Platyctenid Comb Jelly
Image: Wikipedia |
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