CUBAN LAND SNAIL (Priotrochatella stellata)©Adrián González Guillén
Blaesospira is a genus of land snails with an operculum, terrestrial gastropod mollusks in the family Pomatiidae.
This one is beautiful!
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Transparent FLOUNDER (Bothus Mancus)
It’s what’s on the inside exhibit of Bothus Mancus or Peacock Flounder structure, from a Galapagos exhibit attended by jawsnap while visiting California
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THORNY DEVIL (Moloch horridus) ©steve_shattuck
Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus) is an Australian lizard. It is also known as the Thorny Dragon, Mountain Devil, Thorny Lizard, or the Moloch and is the sole species of genus Moloch. It grows up to 20 cm (8 in) in length and can live up to 20 years, coloured in camouflaging shades of desert browns and tans; these change from pale colours when warm to darker colours when cold. The species is entirely covered with conical spines that are mostly uncalcified. It also features a spiny “false-head” on the back of the neck, the animal presents this to a potential predator by dipping its real head. Females are larger than males. The Thorny Devil’s body is ridged in structure, and enables the animal to collect water from any part of its body, which is then channelled to the mouth.
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorny_Devil
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the thorny Devil (Moloch horridus) is one of Australia’s most impressive reptiles | +
IRREGULAR SEA URCHIN (Clypeaster cf humilis) ©artour_a
Egyptian Red Sea
Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or “test”, is round and spiny, typically from 3 to 10 centimetres (1.2 to 3.9 in) across. Common colors include black and dull shades of green, olive, brown, purple, and red. They move slowly, feeding mostly on algae. Sea otters, wolf eels, triggerfish, and other predators feed on them. Their “roe” (actually the gonads) is a delicacy in many cuisines.
Like other echinoderms, sea urchins are bilaterans. Their early larvae have bilateral symmetry but they develop fivefold symmetry as they mature. This is most apparent in the “regular” sea urchins, which have roughly spherical bodies, with five equally-sized parts radiating out from the central axis. Several sea urchins, however, including the sand dollars, are oval in shape, with distinct front and rear ends, giving them a degree of bilateral symmetry. In these urchins, the upper surface of the body is slightly domed, but the underside is flat, while the sides are devoid of tube feet. This “irregular” body form has evolved to allow the animals to burrow through sand or other soft material.
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_urchin
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PAINTED SNAIL - or CUBAN LAND SNAIL - (Polymita picta)
Their common name the “Cuban land snail” or the “painted snail”, is a species of large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helminthoglyptidae.
The shell of this species is large, brightly colored, and has numerous color varieties.
This species is the type species of the genus Polymita.
This snail is endemic to Cuba.
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymita_picta
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CURLY SUE - an ENGLISH BUDGIE with Feather Duster Syndrome
(Melopsittacus undulatus) ©Maryann Rizzo
Note: I first posted about this genetic mutation in English Show Birds back in December of 2010, but I recently received a post from Maryann Rizzo, an AFA certified Aviculturist who rescues birds and Feather Dusters from Breeders as a hobby and who owned the “Curly Sue” the bird pictured. Here’s what she said…
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Curly Sue was my first of 6 feather dusters. She was a Cinnamon Grey Green color mutation. She was rather high functioning, could perch well, could climb. I kept her in a small cage in case if she fell off the bars, that way she wouldn’t hurt herself.
Feather Dusters do not eat constantly as in an article I read, they eat normally like any other bird, IF they can see the feed dish, which I made sure of.
Curly Sue’ss grooming consisted of shaving/scissoring around the eyes, as you can see in her photos, her vent and scissoring the lower belly and chest feathers as they grew so long she would step on them and trip. They do have an odd croaking noise rather than a chirp, yet, my other hen Candy Girl, did in fact chrip and sing but with a deeper voice, but it was lovely.
Curly Sue lived 10 months. She was the second longest lived of my flock.
She was a VERY sweet, beautiful and friendly bird. They really are lovely beautiful creatures. I simply LOVE the look of them. Alll that curly feather growth, not unlike a frilled canary. The excess feather growth however takes a real toll on their system and if you don’t or can’t keep up with their nutritional needs they go very sparse in feather. All my birds passed away with amazing full feathers.
As I say, very beautiful birds. If you handle them from the nest, they are extremely calm and freindly. If you keep their eyes clear, they can see well and are unafraid.
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I can now be emailed at: animalworldtumblrblog@gmail.com
SLOTH MOTH (Cryptoses choloepi) ©artour_a
A variegated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegates) complete with a sloth moth (Cryptoses choloepi), an insect which lives almost its entire adult life in the fur of a sloth.
Sloth moth is a generic term used to refer to coprophagous moths which have evolved to exclusively inhabit the fur of sloths and to use sloth dung as a substrate for the early stages of reproduction.
Sloth moths are considered to get nutrients from the secretions of the sloths’ skin and/or the algae present on the fur as well as protection from avian predators.
Some three-toed sloths have been recorded carrying more than 120 moths in the fur of an individual sloth. Two-toed sloths are recorded as harbouring lower populations. Several different moth species may coexist on the same animal.
Fact Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloth_moth
http://carmenohio.deviantart.com/art/Sloth-Moth-91756656?q=sort%3Atime+gallery%3Acarmenohio&qo=2
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BROWN-THROATED THREE-TOED SLOTH (Bradypus variegatus)
What Lives On a Sloth?
… The fur of a sloth provides an unique relationship to many species. In fact, there is actually a whole ecosystem thriving throughout this coarse fur. First of all, the sloth has formed a relationship with several species of cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae). The cyanobacteria that live in the fur of the sloth offer a form of camoflage. Not only does this algae provide camoflage but it inevitabley attracts a host of other organisms. One study found 950 beetles living on a single sloth. That’s right, 950 beetles crawling all over and feasting on the cyanobacteria. It doesn’t stop there though, there is a particular type of moth that depends on the sloth to survive. This moth also lives in the fur and when the sloth heads to the ground, the moth will leave very quickly to lay its eggs in the dung before catching a ride back up the tree on the sloth. The eggs will hatch and the caterpillars will turn to moths and eventually find their own sloth ecosystem to live in…
(read more: Wild Facts)
![SNAKEFLY (Raphidia notata) ©reb_daly
[NOTE - this looks like an epic dragon battle]
Snakeflies are predatory, both as adults and larvae. They can be quite common throughout temperate Europe and Asia, but in North America occur exclusively in the Western United States, namely in the Rocky Mountains and westward, including the southwestern deserts.
The morphological characteristics which distinguish the order Raphidioptera from other insect orders are as follows:
neck is lengthened.
head has protuding eyes, long antennae and mandibles (chewing mouthparts).
has two pairs of identical wings.
ten-segmented abdomen without cerci.
lengthened ovipositors.
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakefly
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Stalk-eye Fly
Giraffe Weevil
Ball Bearer Leafhopper
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insectlove:
buggirl: Snakefly w prey!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkg50jfFLe1qa6ws8o1_500.jpg)
SNAKEFLY (Raphidia notata) ©reb_daly
[NOTE - this looks like an epic dragon battle]
Snakeflies are predatory, both as adults and larvae. They can be quite common throughout temperate Europe and Asia, but in North America occur exclusively in the Western United States, namely in the Rocky Mountains and westward, including the southwestern deserts.
The morphological characteristics which distinguish the order Raphidioptera from other insect orders are as follows:
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakefly
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buggirl: Snakefly w prey!
The hag moth larva, sometimes called the monkey slug, is distinctive in form and easy to identify. The full-grown caterpillar is brown, hairy, and about 5/8 inch long. Along the body there are nine pairs of fleshy lateral processes which bear hidden urticating setae. The third, fifth, and seventh pairs of processes are long and sometimes twisted. These have been described as resembling “disheveled locks of a hag”, apparently the basis for the common name.
The caterpillar is generally a solitary feeder, and will feed on foliage of several trees including apple, ash, birch, dogwood, hickory, oak, and willow.
GREEN BEE EATER (Merops orientalis) No Photo credit listed
The green bee-eater (also known as the little green bee-eater) is a small species of bee-eater bird found throughout parts of Africa and Asia. The green bee-eater is one of 26 species of bee-eater, a group of birds that a primarily found throughout Africa and in parts of Asia and the Middle East.
The green bee-eater is an easily distinguishable bird due to it’s bright green plumage and attractive long tail-feathers. The green bee-eater also has a long, but sharp and narrow black beak which is perfectly designed for catching flying insects. The green bee-eater is known to be a slow starter in the mornings and may be found huddled next to one another with their bills tucked in their backs well after sunrise. The green bee-eater is also known to sand-bathe more frequently than other bee-eater species and will sometimes bathe in water by dipping into water in flight. Green bee-eaters are usually seen in small groups and often roost communally in large numbers of up to 300 birds.
Fact Source: http://true-wildlife.blogspot.com/2010/11/green-bee-eater.html
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BLANKET OCTOPUS ©www.oversodoinverso.com
Tremoctopus is a genus of pelagic cephalopods, containing four species that occupy surface to mid-waters in subtropical and tropical oceans. They are commonly known as blanket octopuses, in reference to the long transparent webs that connect the dorsal and dorsolateral arms of the adult females. The other arms are much shorter and lack webbing.
These species exhibit an extreme degree of sexual dimorphism. Females may grow to over 2 metres in length whereas the tiny males are at most a few centimeters long. The males have a specially modified third right arm which stores sperm, known as a hectocotylus. During mating, this arm detaches itself and crawls into the mantle of the female to fertilize her eggs. The male dies shortly after mating. The females carry over 100,000 tiny eggs that are attached to a sausage-shaped calcareous secretion held at the base of the dorsal arms and carried by the female until hatching.
These species have evolved an unusual defense mechanism: blanket octopuses are immune to the poisonous Portuguese man o’ war, whose tentacles the male and immature females rip off and use for defensive purposes. Also, unlike many other octopuses, the blanket octopus does not use ink to intimidate potential predators. When threatened, the female unfurls her large net-like membranes that spread out and billow in the water, greatly increasing her apparent size.
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanket_octopus
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SIDEWINDER (Crotalus cerastes) TRACKS ©HeyPugshund
The common name sidewinder is an allusion to its unusual form of locomotion, which is thought to give it traction on windblown desert sand, but this peculiar locomotor specialization is used on any substrate that the sidewinder can move over rapidly. As its body progresses over loose sand, it forms a letter-J shaped impression, with the tip of the hook pointing in the direction of travel. Sidewinding is also the primary mode of locomotion in other desert sand dwellers, and many other snakes can assume this form of locomotion when on slick substrates (e.g., mud flats).
The species is nocturnal during hot months and diurnal during the cooler months of its activity period, which is roughly from March to November (probably longer in the southern part of its range).
A small venomous pit viper species, with adult specimens measuring between 43 cm and 76 cm (17 to 30 in) in length. Most adults are 50–80 cm (19.8 to 32 in) in length. The females are larger than the males, which is unusual for this group of snakes.
Midbody there are usually 21 rows of keeled dorsal scales.
Sometimes referred to as the horned rattlesnake because of the raised supraocular scales above its eyes. This adaptation may help shade the eyes or prevent sand drifting over them as the snake lies almost buried in it.
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_cerastes
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Northwestern Neotropical Rattlesnake
MALTESE RUBY TIGER MOTH (Phragmatobia fuliginosa ssp. melitensis) ©Macrojunkie
The Maltese Ruby Tiger Moth is a moth endemic to the Maltese Islands which falls under the family Arctiidae.
This moth, known as the Rubin in Maltese, can grow up to 20mm. Its two forewings are dark brown in color whilst the back wings are reddish-pink in color. One can also see certain markings on the wings with the forewings having one spot each and the back wings having around four markings each.
The caterpillar looks rather furry, a feature common in Arctiidae caterpillars. In fact, the caterpillars are known as ‘woolly bears’.
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_Ruby_Tiger_Moth
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LESSER GREEN BROADBILL (Calyptomena caudacuta) ©Phil Liew - 996sps
By Request for “habitat of the green broadbill” (there’s also an African Green Broadbill in case this is the wrong bird :)
14 - 17cm. A plump, green bird with a short bill and a short tail.
Females are paler green, lack black markings and have a less pronounced forehead tuft.
Juveniles resemble females.
Found from southern Burma south to southwest Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and adjacent islands. Locally common.
Found in understorey and lower levels of rainforest and mixed dipterocarp forest. Also found in overgrown plantations, rubber estates, cocoa plantations and timber plantations close to forest. Occurs mostly in lowlands.
Feeds on fruit, takes sometimes also invertebrates, particulary insects. A resident species with some movements related to seasonality of fruiting trees.
Fact Source: http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Lesser_Green_Broadbill
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