Skinny and Baldwin

I'm always impressed by pet owners who submit their own pets to this blog. They understand what it's all about. We celebrate their ugliness, we revel in it, we offer them up as as a counterbalance to all the sugary cuteness you find out there. It doesn't take much effort to fall in love with a puppy or a kitten. It takes a bit more to love a hairless rodent.

Such is the case with Bianca from Holland. Enjoy her skinny and Baldwin guinea pigs. Enjoy her site. Thanks, Bianca.

Withered Skittle

A couple of people turned in images of this bug to WhatsThatBug, and I can understand why. It looks like something that fell out of my uncle's belly button. How do you possibly identify something like that?

It's actually a giant scaled insect. They spend most of their adulthood as sedentary sap suckers on herbacious plants (a lifestyle I'd aspire to if I were a bug). But then, can you expect more of something that has straws for mouth parts and looks like a withered Skittle?

Thanks for the link, Jaden.

Photo source: Kimberly via WhatsThatBug

Alligator Spear

My ancestors tell of young Gar who fell in love with grumpy Alligator. Gar was mischievous and never heeded her parents counsel. They forbade her from seeing Alligator anymore, but she snuck away one night into the bayou and ran away with Alligator. They were soon wed and had children. But they were mutant children.

That's a cautionary tale I've cooked up for my daughters.

The alligator gar has the distinction of being not only the world's largest gar, but also North America's largest exclusively freshwater fish. Adults measure between 8 - 10 feet and weigh at least 200 lbs. The largest alligator gar caught bowfishing was 365 lbs.

I love it when animals are aptly named. Alligator? That's obvious, especially in the second photo. Gar? That's Old English for 'spear.' So what you've got in this fish is a massive alligator spear. Thankfully, they are generally passive, non-aggressive, and solitary ambush hunters. The lower Mississippi River Valley and the Gulf Region would be different places if they were otherwise.

Thanks for the gar, Jelo.

Underrated

Monkeys are severely underrated when it comes to hairdos. Take this critically endangered southern-bearded sakis monkey for instance. He comes equipped with two ends upon which to sit.

Much like some coworkers I've had in the past.

Thanks for the link, Susan.

Photo source: Telegraph.co.uk

Robberfly vs. Dragonfly

In an aerial maneuver any ace fighter pilot would be proud of, this robberfly (Triorla interrupta) took this male dragonfly (Common Whitetail) on the wing, midair, and bore him to the ground. After about a minute of buzzing and flailing and tumbling about, the robberfly ended up on top, and the dragonfly with his innards being sucked out.

Robberflies are able to take out prey quite a bit larger than them. Just goes to show: it's not the size of the fly in the fight, it's the size of the fight that's in the fly. Try saying that ten times fast.

Photo source: Thomas Shahan (opoterser)

Means and Propriety

I'm sure this silverback gorilla is just yawning. But you've got to give respect to a beast that is seven times your strength, with fangs that large, and with a jaw that can open that wide. Couple all that with the fact that that green stain on his upper lip just above his middle teeth is residue from some poo he was eating earlier, and you've got a beast with both the means and the lack of propriety needed to rend you apart.

Photo source: Hauke Steinberg

Plush Spider

The cephalothorax of this Argiope bruennichi (photographed in de Hekslootpolder in Haarlem --the Netherlands ) looks nice and fuzzy, like I'd expect it to. But that abdomen, it looks so soft, almost like a plush stuffed animal. I almost want to touch it.

But I know that's just what she wants of me, to lure me in so she can strike, wrap me up in a cocoon, and transform me into a living zombie so that her offspring can feast upon me when they hatch. Either that, or she'd skitter away if I got to close and hide in the shadows. One of the two.

Photo source: Ge van 't Hoff

A Stroll Through the Jungle

Imagine yourself on a leisurely stroll through the jungle of Nouragues, French Guiana, when you look up and see this sight. Well, I guess if you're the type to take a stroll at night through the jungles of French Guiana that this is exactly the sort of sight you're looking for. Little microbats, getting ready for an evening full of squeaks, fluttering, and bugs.

Photo courtesy: Sean McCann