Cautionary Tales

This tiger leech is a parasite after my own heart. I appreciate its audacity, daring, and appetite.

It was picked up by Michiel (yes, that's his thumb) while on a jungle trek on Borneo. Of all the wildlife to be seen, the ladies on the trip were the most adept at spotting leeches, since they had all been told lovely taking-a-shower-and-finding-these-blood-sucking-friends-in-your-pants stories. Um, yeah. Those stories would have gotten my attention as well.

Photo source: Michiel Souren

Yet Another Record

I know I just posted on the naked mole-rat, but my favorite animal has just made the news yet again, so it deserves another mention.

Recent research has shown that naked mole-rats have set yet another record (among many): they can go the longest of all mammals without oxygen. Their warrens are disgusting and stuffy--high in carbon dioxide and low in oxygen. But still they thrive. In fact, they can go six times longer in a hypoxic conditions than other rodents.

We mammals have all endured low oxygen environments: the womb. But somehow, the naked mole-rat, who is also immune to pain, is able to maintain an infant-like ability to go without oxygen. This has great significance for humans, as further research into this ability might be able to help those who have suffered damage from low-oxygen conditions, such as those caused by heart attacks and strokes.

Oh, and this rodent is one of the longest living of their kin: the pregnant female below is 15-years-old.

Thanks for the link, Ida.

Photo source: Rochelle Buffenstein/City College of New York via LiveScience.com

Bitter Irony

Imagine yourself as a happy little toadstool, content in your place in the circle of life. You enjoy the shade and dampness, the tender warmth of decomposition. But then...

...WHAM, your assaulted by a parasitic fungus. A fungus preying upon a fungus! Oh, the bitter irony!

Specifically, these mushrooms have a bad case of bonnet mould. With the many dangers facing fungi, including ending up in my spaghetti sauce and the depredations of Italian plumbers looking for extra lives, fungi need to learn how to get along.

Photo source: Amadej Trnkoczy

Behold the Piglet Squid

The piglet squid is actually adorable, so it has no right to be here. But, it is a mollusk, and mollusks should always feel welcome at Ugly Overload.

Like so many squids, it's hard for me to find much information on the piglet. They get to be about 10 cm in mantle length (the cylindrical portion of their body), and they sport their legs above their eyes. That's right, they've broken the mold. They don't do the squid thing like anyone else, no, not the piglet. How's that for outside-the-box-thinking?

The next time my boss has an all-staff meeting to motivate us and encourage us toward innovation, I'll be sure to mention this guy.

Thanks for the new squid, Jelo.

Hairy Armadillo

A couple of observations about the hairy armadillo: 1) I love animals and I love babies, but it took me a couple of seconds to convince myself that a baby hairy armadillo isn't something less than cute. And even now I'm wavering. The longer I stare, the more convincing I need.

Photo source: Baz Ratner via Yahoo!



















2) How have I never heard of these creatures? They're fantastic! These South American armored beasts don't get any better looking with age. It's amazing how you can take an otherwise cute-ish animal (the regular armadillo) and add some bristles and you've got something that would make you recoil if your flashlight beam encountered it in the dead of night.

Photo source: AmericaZoo.com

Fecal Encased Beetle

Case-bearing leaf beetles are known for wearing a case made from excrement until they reach maturity. Mothers make the cases around the freshly-laid eggs:

"Specifically, they compress fragments of their feces into flat squarish plates using structures in their abdomen that are part of their genitalia," said researcher Daniel Funk, an evolutionary ecologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Isn't that a fantastic quote? When the beetle larvae hatch, they don't toss aside mommy's poo case. Rather, they wear it, and even add their own fecal material to it, enlarging it as they grow.

Photo source: CHristopher Brown via LiveScience.com

What benefit does wearing a case made of poo offer the beetle larvae? Simple: it's armor.

Researchers offered up the larvae to three would-be predators: the spined soldier bug, the common cricket, and the lynx spider. In most instances, the predators simply ignored the larvae, assuming that no creature would choose to live in poo. Those that did notice the larvae usually hesitated, which gave the larvae a chance to scamper away to safety.

Among those who actually attacked the larvae, they were usually thwarted by the armor. Since the beetle excrement ultimately came from plant matter, it still contained much of the plant's protective juices (think chile heat). Some beetles even coated the armor in sycamore fibers, which is known to kill crickets.

I'll tell you what, nature never ceases to amaze me. I would never recommend wearing your own poo, but in the case of this beetle, it's hard to argue with survival.

And please, no one mention this to my toddler son. He's just learning how to take off his diaper, and he doesn't need any more convincing that wearing his own poo is a good idea.

Thanks for the link, Ida.

Floss Needed

I have coworkers like this, where it seems like every time you see them they've got something in their teeth. And it's not always some speck of pepper or broccoli from their lunch. No, the festering lump of food caught between their teeth looks to have been there for days. It's hard to look them in the face, or concentrate on the conversation, since you keep thinking of dental floss and tooth picks.

Thanks for the photo, Mike.




















Of course, they don't have the excuse that naked mole-rats have. These rodents have their front teeth outside their lips, so that they can burrow with their mouth closed (such polite burrowing). I never thought of it before, but our lips also serve as squeegees for our teeth.

You've Come a Long Way

Photo source: REUTERS / Alexander Natruskin

The Eight Annual International Cats Exhibition was held in Moscow this December, and this Sphynx cat was one of the many participants.

Is it wearing makeup? How much can we do to this cat? We've bred away its hair, curled its ears, wrapped it in a coat, and painted it.

You've come a long way from your ancient, forest-dwelling ancestors, Mr. Sphynx. You now live in the lap of luxury, and that trajectory is something that most humans aspire to. But I'm not sure that's what you would have wished for.