Have the ID, Now Need the Info

Geoffrey sent me this link. But for the life of me, I can't find out any info about this critter. Are there any biologists or uglophiles out there that can enlighten me as to what the phyllodoce lineata is? If you can hook me up with the 411, then that will be your good deed for the day.

Also, don't forget Dagon the Fish God. He'll open the watery depths and send a shoal of bluefin tuna your way. That is wealth, baby!

Photo source: WikiMedia.org

Thanks, Mother Nature

Check out the Amazonian Horned Frog (ceratophrys cornuta). These hunters are nocturnal, coming out only at night so it can bury itself in the leaves and wait to strike out at any tasty, unfortunate morsels that may come across its path.

I find it to be a particular kindness that mother nature has shown us humans in making frogs like this nice and diminutive. Can you imagine if they were elephant-sized and willing to feast on people? Yes, count your blessings, my friends.

Thanks for the link, Rasmus. Our amphibication is becoming ever more complete.

Photo courtesy: Batraciens-Reptiles.com

Ambitious Appetite

Tyrel sent me the video below of the African Egg Eating Snake. I dug around a bit and found this photo to give you a nice still to look at.

These snakes require ambition to feed their prodigious appetites. They feed exclusively on eggs, and often times the ovoids are several times larger than their heads. Once swallowed, spiny protrusions in the throat slice the egg shell, allowing the innards to be eaten and leaving the shell to be regurgitated in one piece.

Impressive. I find myself jealous of this snake's eating habits. I love the idea of eating one huge meal (dramatically, even) and then going without another meal for a couple weeks. Now that is efficiency! And eggs are so cheap these days...

Photo source: Paula


















Now on to the video. Click only if you want to watch a snake swallow a massive egg. Who wouldn't?

Thanks for the snake, Tyrel.

Rest and Play

Some of you may remember my post on kohona cats. These are a very rare breed, native (in a sense, at least) to Hawaii. Well, Tiffany saw this post, an wanted to send along a photo of her kitty. You've gotta love pet owner pride.

This sequence shows him at rest and at play. Tiffany, does he ever open his eyes? And what is he doing in the second photo? Is he really flipping us all off? Bad cat!

Thanks for the photos, Tiffany.

Oversized Snail

Phlimm sent in this screenshot of a giant snail he came across on YouTube (see video below).

This mollusk can get to almost 8 inches in size. I know for a lot of you boys out there, your first thought was "how much salt?... how much bubbling?..." You're sick, I say. Sick. But I understand.

My first thought centered around placing it on my sisters' pillows. But that was years ago. I'll have to let out my bullying impulses on my daughters.

















Thanks for the abomination, Phlimm.

Better Than Being Vomited On

It's been far too long since my last vulture post. These are among my favorite birds, so I am ashamed of myself (cue cyber tears...).

Ivy sent in this photo of a turkey vulture. Unlike so many of its cousins, this bird is thankfully far from endangered. In fact, I see these all the time in Northern California.

But I've never seen one look at me like this.

Then again, a glare to warn me off is better than being vomited on (as they are wont to do). That would make my life in California far less pleasant. There's nothing like the threat of being vomited on to put a damper on your day.

Thanks for the photo, Ivy.

The Antartic Gives Up Her Uglies

Andrea forwarded to me links to several articles (1, 2, & 3) about recent exploration in Antarctic waters that have yielded about 30 new species of marine life. This study, which was led by researcher Julian Gutt, has discovered animals such as: "deep sea lilies, gelatinous sea squirts, glass sponges, amphipod crustaceans, and orange starfish." That's an impressive list!

But, of course, for our purposes here I am presenting you with some of the uglier critters.

This first one is an Antarctic octopus. It looks like an over-done photoshop project, like someone super-imposed a Hubble telescope image over a drawing. The makers of The Abyss would be so proud.

Photo source: E. Jorgensen, NOAA



















This one is a new species of Shackletonia, an amphipod crustacean sampled near Elephant Island. That pink eye that's staring back at the camera is more than a little disconcerting. But I love that name, 'Shackletonia'. It rolls off the tongue.

Photo source: E. Jorgensen, NOAA



















This last one is my favorite. It's a high-finned ice fish. But it looks like a dragon got grafted to a fish. Are there such things as merdragons?

Photo source: Reuters

A Quick Big Fish Bonus

Check out this post for some amazing photos of big fish caught by bewildered fishermen. You might rethink your hobbies.