Flash Spider

Tommy sent along this site. It's a flash spider, and you can manipulate its size, scale, color, etc. You can also drag it around the screen (map of Europe), have it eat insects, and much more. The only thing you can't do is smash it (though you can flee from it--my typical response to spider encounters). This will either be therapeutic to you arachnophobes, or make you get the willies every time you think of your computer monitor.

Enjoy. Thanks, Tommy.

Pugilist Spider

Is it spider season? I'm getting bombarded with spider submissions (which is a good thing, people, keep them coming). They seem to be coming out of the woodwork (quite literally in some instances).

Yvonne and her husband encountered this monster on the ceiling of Yvonne's home office. Her husband sat safely on the couch and ten feet away (this scenario has played out in my own household too often), while the brave and intrepid Yvonne took out a deli container and captured it. After taking a few snapshots and firing them off for our viewing pleasure, she released the monster in her back yard, where it will have to contend with tarantulas and Great Danes--and probably win.

Anyone know what kind of spider this is? It looks like a huntsman, but this spider was found in Arizona, US. As Yvonne noticed, it appears to be wearing boxing gloves. Pugilist spider? Mixed Martial Arts Spider? Anyone? Hello?

The Bornean Bearded Pig

Anyone care to take a stab at guessing why this creature is called the Bornean Bearded Pig? Let's go ahead and unravel this etymological mystery.

Borneo: it's native to the forest floors of Borneo.
Bearded: it looks like it's bearded.
Pig: it's a pig.

This pig is not unlike it's other less bearded cousins. Pigs are highly intelligent, some would argue smarter than dogs. They can even be trained to play computer games (though they were disappointed with Halo 3, and Wii remotes are useless in their cloven hooves). They are highly social and hygenic. Bear in mind that most of the live pigs you have seen are at a farm, fair, petting zoo, or factory. In the wild, they organize along familial lines in herds, are gregarious, and the sows make for very devoted mothers.

If Charlotte's Web had featured the Bornean Bearded Pig, she might have woven, "That Pig's Got Hops!". They can leap a seven foot barrier.

Someone should contact Gillette and have them recruit this critter for their new mascot. Gillette, or Nike. I see a corporate sponsorship in the future.

Photo source: digitalART2

Manhunter Gibbon

I've always enjoyed going to the zoo and visiting the gibbon exhibit. My girls love imitating their calls, and I've always thought of them as cute little monkeys (lesser apes, for you sticklers). But I don't think I've ever seen them bare their fangs before.

This is a yellow-cheek crested gibbon, native to portions of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. They are frugivorous, and inhabit the canopies of lowland forests... Wait, frugivorous? Of what use are those fangs in eating fruit? Are southeast Asian fruit rinds that thick? I'm thinking the researchers have it wrong when it comes to our little Nomascus gabriellae. Most of what we know about these primates comes from studying them in captivity. In the wild they must put those fangs to full effect as ravenous manhunters.

Photo source: AP Photo/Heng Sinith via Yahoo!

Hornworm Host

John took this photo of a wasp-cocoon infested tomato hornworm caterpillar near his him in Troy, NY, US.

I abominate the tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata). The caterpillars are enormous (up to 4" of undulating length), and the helicopter-moths (technically Hawk, Sphinx, or Hummingbird moths), are even worse, with a wingspan of 5 inches. I've had cats drag these monsters into the house and release them, forcing me to bring out my anti-aircraft weaponry to bring them down off the drapes.

But let's get back to the wasp-cocoon infestation I mentioned. Those little white rice-looking protuberances on the caterpillar are the cocoons of small braconid wasps (Cotesia congregatus). Earlier, the wasplings had been dining on the innards of the caterpillar, and the caterpillar could do nothing about it. But now that they're pupating, the caterpillar's life is almost over. It will die when the parasitoid wasps emerge. If you see a tomato hornworm so infested, and you hate them, as I do, leave it be. The wasps once hatched will seek out other hornworms. This is nature's way of protecting her tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes.

Thanks, John.

Stowaway Spider

I gave us all a slight reprieve from spider posts, but they're back. Spiders are ubiquitous folks, as all invert lovers are wont to point out.

Ari encountered this quarter-sized spider in his camera bag. The spider was good enough to oblige him and pause for a photo shoot. Any clues as to what kind of spider this is? Ari lives in Oregon, but he is a world traveler, so the spider could have stowed away anywhere between Oregon and Finland. The spider doesn't have his passport on his person, so a specific ID isn't likely.

Worm Ball

Time for more worms. It's been awfully wormilicious around here lately . Don't tell my wife. She can't even say the word 'worm.' She calls them gusanos (Spanish) instead, just to short-circuit her gag reflex.

When last I posted on Morgan's selection of nemertean worm photos, I focused on the prettier ones. Now I think you're primed and ready for the uglier batch (plus, Morgan called me on it). Remember, these creepy-crawlies aren't your average earthworm. These aquatic worms are meant for one purpose: hunt and consume (well, and procreate, but I don't want to consider that). So enjoy the nemertean tangles below. I don't think I'll ever look at a ball of tangled Christmas light strands the same way again.

Thanks, Morgan.

Photo source: Luke Miller


















Photo source: Marlin.ac.uk

When Goblin Sharks Attack

Both Leland and Ida sent me this video. It's of the rarely seen goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni). Check out how those jaws extend Alien-style to snap at the diver's arm.

The goblin shark is so named because it is known to live in closets and under beds, where it lies in wait to scare small children. They are closely related to gremlin and gnome sharks, and are prone to causing mischief and mayhem. The green variety throws bombs and actively hunts the spider shark.

Actually, the goblin shark is a deep sea fish (growing to upwards of 3.8 meters) that hunts the oceans all over the world, though they are concentrated in the waters off the Japanese coastline. Though rarely spotted, they are not considered to be under threat. The same can't be said of the diver's arm.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.