Harried & Hunted

Feeling frazzled today. My computer at work has been down for several days. IT just got it set back up (we had lots o' crashes all at once), and my boss chose this afternoon to drop by my office, just as I was leaving, to see how a couple of my projects were coming along.

I'm feeling harried, hunted. Exposed. Kinda like these wee beasties. Let's offer our sympathies to a beleaguered tarsier, a compromised cane toad, and a cornered wolf spider. We all have days like this.

Swimming in Myanmar

Vampires the world over, be they genuine undead or wannabes who skulk around downtown cafes, have cause to celebrate. More of their kin has been discovered.

Meet Danionella dracula, a tiny fish that has recently been discovered to have long dracula-style canines (but they aren't true teeth at all). Why the long fangs (sounds like a setup to a joke...)? Well, all the better to tap a jugular. Actually, these fish are avowed non-blood drinkers. They want you to know that. Don't fear them, they're tiny. Just come for a swim in one particular stream of Myanmar (it's Bhurma, curse you!) and find out for yourself. You'll be perfectly safe. Trust them.

Thanks for the article, Rasmus.

Photo source: Ralf Britz, Natural History Museum via Practical Fishkeeping

A Lizard By Any Other Name

I can't believe I haven't ever posted on the gila monster before. The gila monster! A lizard that lives in my backyard (if I extend my backyard about a thousand miles to the south east).

What distinguishes the gila monster from other lizards isn't so much its size (upwards of two feet) or its coloration (black and orange and pink), but its venomous bite. Try to think of any other lizards that have actual venomous bites and you'll be hard pressed to think of anything but the gila monster and its cousin, the Mexican beaded lizard.

The bite is rarely fatal to humans, though it's still unpleasant. Their teeth are equipped with grooves through which the neurotoxin flows. They don't inject the venom like a viper. Rather, it flows into the wound while the gila monster gnaws (my son might be similiarly equipped--his dinner always accedes defeat too readily).

Photo source: Joachim S. Müller


















Isn't the the fame of the gila monster relative to the lesser-known Mexican beaded lizard further proof that the name is everything? That names have power? If the Mexican beaded lizard had been named the Mexican death lizard or even the Mexican monster, it would get a lot more attention. Let that be a lesson to all those who intend to be marketing experts.

The Hyena Men

Here are some more photos of the Gadawan Kura, aka the Hyena Men, a group of entertainers in Africa who specialize in parading about some of Africa's wildlife.

I wonder who underwrites their insurance policies? I wonder if the little girl's mother knows atop what beast she lies. I'm all for the entrepreneurial spirit, and I'm glad these guys have turned to this instead of joining one of the many warlord bands who are actively recruiting. I just hope they know what they're doing.

Ant ID Needed

Yet another ant anomaly (hopefully). Can anyone ID this ant? John took this photo in Melbourne, Australia (his phone number resides beneath that gray rectangle behind the ant). To give you a sense of perspective relative to the size of the ant, that's a common sugar ant gnawing on the large ant's foot. Any clue as to what this might be? Is the Aussie military working on ant-shaped robotics? Is this uber-ant trying to recruit more of its kind for the next ant vortex? How afraid should we be?

John caught this ant beneath a glass and released it outside, well away from his house. He needs some assurances people. Anything will help.

Ugly Bat Boy the Cat

Exeter, NH, has a new favorite icon. Exeter might become the first city to be adopted by Ugly Overload.

Behold Ugly Bat Boy:

The cat's full name is Ugly Bat Boy. He's bald in most places except for flowing fur on his chest, and he spends his days on a warm computer at Exeter Veterinary Hospital, reported WMUR-TV in Manchester, N.H. Bat Boy has become something of a local star.

People come in and take pictures of him on their cell phones," said veterinary employee Christie Hartnett. "He's just great. He's Dr. (Stephen) Bassett's little wonder cat."

For more details, read this article. There isn't anything wrong with him. He's just ugly.

Thanks, Summer, Kat, Ida, and Clair.

Enjoy the video, put to the theme from Carmina Burana.

Ant Vortex

I get very antsy (pardon the pun) whenever I catch wind of ants doing something unusual. I think that if ever there were a creature who could supplant us as the dominant species on the planet, it's ants. In fact, I don't know why they haven't yet.

Milton took this video while at a youth camp a few months ago. Anyone know why they're whirling about in a vortex? Or they summoning something? Channeling some sort of bad voodoo to unleash against their human oppressors?

Thanks Milton. A year from now, people may look back on this footage as the first warning we had that ants were making their bid for global dominance.

UPDATE: Trevor believes this might be an instance of circular milling, aka the ant death spiral.

Devoted Mother

It's not a worm, and it's not a snake. It's not even a legless lizard.

















I'ts a caecilian, and it's an amphibian.






















These creatures are rare among amphibians in that some species of caecilians fertilize their eggs inside their bodies and give birth to fully developed live young (the others do it the time honored amphibian way of laying eggs which hatch into larval young with gills that need to metamorphose later).

Their devoted parenting doesn't end there. Mommy grows an extra thick, slimy, and regenerating layer of skin for the caecilianlings to dine upon until they can fend for themselves. Now, that is motivation for the mother to cut the apron strings as soon as possible.



















Thanks for the caecilian, Jelo.