Of Sexual Dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is an interesting thing. Thanks to it, as a card-carrying male Homo sapiens sapiens, I'm possessed of physical prowess, tremendous hunting skills, the ability to fend off rival males, the intellect needed to understand spacial relationships and perceive potential threats...(...um, er, not really, but I make a meager salary in accounting...).

Among celebes crested macaques, sexual dimorphism bestows upon the females a large, pink, pillowy buttocks. I'll keep my salary, and you macaque ladies keep your bottoms. I think we'll be happier that way. I wouldn't know how to sit down, and you wouldn't be able to keep up with the mortgage payments (a task I have yet to master).

Photo source: Yahoo!

SF Seeking SM with Long Eye Stalks

Martina was watching Animal Planet's "Most Extreme" a few days ago and was presented with this gem. Everyone say hello to the several hundred species strong family of stalk-eyed flies: Diopsidae.

You can find these insects in Old World tropics for the most part. This first one is of Achias rothschildi.




















Yes, those are eyes at the end of the stalks. That's also where the antennae are. I'm not sure what benefit the eye stalks offer this fly. But if the male wants to find a lady, he had better be sporting some impressively long eye stalks.

How many animal characteristics are there that serve no function but to find a mate? Why did these females decide that the length of eye stalk is the most important factor? What about earning potential, sense of humor, paternal devotion? I wouldn't fair well among the lady stalk-eyed flies, not with my hominid binocular vision.

Thanks for the stalk-eyed fly, Martina.

Photo source: Harold Schillhammer

Nuestra Senhora de las Iguanas

Graciela Iturbide is a celebrated and influential Latin American photographer, whose work has promoted feminism and cultural awareness. So why on earth would any of her work condescend to appear here? In a word: iguanas.

One of her most famous photos is of Nuestra Senhora de las Iguanas, or Our Lady of the Iguanas. Yes, she's wearing a head dress of living iguanas. This is one of the few extant photos of Nuestra Senhora; the iguanas wouldn't cooperate by posing properly, so most of the other photos were scrapped.

What's fascinating about this photo (as if an iguana hat weren't enough) is that it highlights a throwback to pre-Columbian Mexico and Zapotec life. I'm very curious to know what's keeping all those iguanas in place. But maybe I'm better off knowing.

Thanks for the story, Niner.

Alone

Wolf fish are known to be inquisitive, even friendly fish. But this one's giving off the same vibe I give when I've just woken up, my wife's opened the blinds, and I really, really need just a little bit more sleep. Or, it could be the same look my dog used to give when he knew he had just been naughty.

Either way, I think he wants to be left alone. Alone with his favorite little plume of invertebrate marine life. So cute, just like my daughter with her favorite blankies...

Photo source: Alexander Semenov

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

Some days you just don't want to be bothered. You've had enough. You want to sun your scaly hide on the bank of a palm-lined swamp and not be bothered by humans swimming nearby, or having those same humans molest you. Where's an alligator to go to find such a sanctuary?

Why, beneath a sign just like this one. Such a smart gator.

Christie (who has a fantastic blog named Observations of a Nerd, devoted to all things biological), found this guy in the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St Petersburg, FL. I imagine he wouldn't mind being fed, but that's the price he's willing to pay for some peace and quiet.

In the second shot you can see just how at peace he is. Don't worry, little gator, I won't molest you. And I'll take my swim trunks and find another, less fangy hole in which to get swim.

Thanks for the photos, Christie.

Star Light, Star Bright

Wait, what's this? Cute little seastars? Wombat, I've bought pillow versions of these and slept on them. If anything, this photo makes me want to eat some lemon meringue pie.




















I know, the cushion star isn't ugly by any means. It's almost adorable, with its poofy nubs for arms and radial symmetry. At worst it deserves a starring role in Sponge Bob Square Pants.

























I'ts not until you hold Pteraster tesselatus, aka cushion star or slime star, or see it threatened that, its true nature is revealed. That's right. That's slime. Oodles and oodles of it.

Native to the Pacific coastline from the Bering Sea to Carmel Bay, California, this seastar secretes a copious amount of slime as a defense mechanism. Predatory fish and mollusks have been known to suffocate after being smothered with seastar slime.

It may not be pretty, but if it works, it works. I'm wondering if you can use seastar slime in place of egg whites, just like with hagfish slime. Anyone care to find out?

Thanks, Jelo.

Pink Menace

Alexander Semenov is a Russian diver and scientist. He's also a masterful photographer. He's pointed me in the direction of his Flickr sets, and I'm eager to share. I'll be doing several posts on Alexander's work. He took these photos this past Summer while diving at the White Sea Biological Station of Moscow State University. Enjoy this first, very diminutive creature.

You're looking at a skeleton shrimp (Caprella linearis), most likely of the male persuasion, given its elongated head. They're too small to batter and fry, or to serve with cocktail sauce, so you'll only be able to take it in through your optic nerves. I doubt the shrimp minds.




































































In case you're wondering how he took these photos in the murky depths of the White Sea, here's how. Look at that setup! I need to go apply some rouge to my face to counterbalance the envy-green tinge it has just assumed.

Lying in a Nest of Scorpions

A lot of us are looking to carve out a little niche for ourselves on the stage of life. Maybe find a little fame, perhaps a little fortune. It's hard though. You've got to find something you're decent at doing, maybe find something no one else is willing to do, and try to be the first one to do it. Novelty can take you places.

Kanchana Kaetkaew has done just that...

Thailand's 'Scorpion Queen' Kanchana Kaetkaew, 38, poses with scorpions inside a glass room at the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum in Pattaya, January 24, 2009. Kanchana set a new 33 day record for the longest stay with 5,000 live adult scorpions from December 22, 2008 to January 24, 2009. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

So to you, Ms. Scorpion Queen, I tip my hat. Hey, your gig beats blogging any day.