Out on a Dinner Date

There's something so poetic about this picture: the dead tree and the gray clouds juxtaposed against the almost romantic pose of this pair of lappet-faced vultures. I can imagine them flying up to get a good view of the new carcass, giving each other a loving squawk, and then descending to bully their way to the front of the gathered carrion-eating crowd to tear at the hide of the dead beast.

Is that so different from when I take my wife out on a dinner date? Um, yes, I guess it is. Please, no one tell her I compared these two to the two of us.

Photo source: Vearl Brown

Rooting for the Mites

Photo source: Michael F. Bernard
I know every creature has its place in the ecosystem, even giant water bugs and mites. But water bugs bite me, and no ecosystem should have something like that. It doesn't help that this picture was taken less than an hour from my home.

So I'm rooting for the mites clinging to the back of this water bug. I'm hoping they aren't hanging on for a ride (phoresy), but that they're really drilling down into the meat of this predator and sucking its juices. I know they won't bring the beast down, but I admire their tenacity.

Caught in Glass

We've all caught bugs beneath a glass, either to catch it and remove it, or else just to stare at it. But I don't think any of us want to catch one that looks big enough to knock the glass over. And look at those beady, red eyes: she's got plans for whoever caught her.

Prepare for shattered glass, a flash of movement, fangs in the jugular, then the skittering of hairy, chitinous legs as it returns to the darkness from whence it came.

Photo source: corblimeys

Velvet Predator

Admit it. You want to pet it. How can you not, with that velvety coat?

The red velvet mite spends its larval stage as a parasite on arthropods. As nymphs and adults they descend to the forest floor to become hunters. But don't try to eat one yourself: they have no natural predators (even ants won't touch them).

But then, if you don't have any natural predators, that leaves you with only unnatural predators, and that can't be a good thing.

Photo source: rayofsunshine_15205

I Don't Think You're Ready for this Jelly

The nomura jellyfish gets over 6 feet in diameter and can reach a weight of over 600 lbs (sounds like an uncle of mine). They are nuisances to Japanese and Korean fisherman (see the last photo). But, most importantly for us, they look like pale bells trailing bundles of viscera.

Oh, and one pleasant little note: if hurt or killed they release countless sperm and eggs that settle onto any nearby surface. So be careful if you're scuba diving among them -- you don't want to be coated with jellyfish...jelly.

Thanks for the photo, Jelo.

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