GIANT WETA - by request
Deinacrida heteracantha
© Louise Murray/Science Photo Library
There are about 70 species of weta, they are large brown wingless insect (family Stenopelmatidae) related to the grasshoppers. This species of weta, also known as the Wetapunga from the Maori language, is native to New Zealand. Adults can measure up to 4 inches/10cm long without including the antenna and legs, and pregnant females can weigh over 2.5 ounces/70 grams, making them the heaviest insects in the world. Giant weta are flightless and have survived on New Zealand since prehistoric times due to the absence of land mammals. The introduction of rats, cats, stoats and other mammals onto New Zealand have reduced the Giant weta populations to Little Barrier Island. The Giant weta is too heavy to jump but when threatened, raise their spiny hind limbs into the air. These nocturnal insects feed on plants and fungi.
Fact & Photo: http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/368584/enlarge
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kUFjtgAPF5U
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![RACCOON DOGNyctereutes procyonoides©waza.org
Something about this photo made me snort coffee through my nose, but Raccoon Dog!
The raccoon dog is a canid indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes. It is considered a basal canid species, resembling ancestral forms of the family. Among the Canidae, the raccoon dog shares the habit of regularly climbing trees only with the North American gray fox, another basal species.[3][4][5] The raccoon dog is named for its resemblance to the raccoon (Procyon lotor), to which it is not closely related.
Native East Asian raccoon dog populations have declined in recent years due to hunting, fur trade and fur trapping, urbanization, an increase of animals associated with human civilization such as pets and abandoned animals, and diseases that may be transmitted between them.
From 1928–1958, 10,000 raccoon dogs were introduced in 76 districts, territories and republics of the Soviet Union in an attempt to improve their fur quality. Following its introduction into central and western Europe, however, it has been treated as a potentially hazardous invasive species. The raccoon dog is now abundant throughout Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and has been reported as far away as Serbia, France, Romania, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon_dog
Other posts:
European Badger
Albino Raccoon
Asian Palm Civet
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rhamphotheca:
The Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), found through out East Asia, this fox sized animal is the only canid that can go into torpor during the winter (no other species of canid truly hibernates either).
* aka “Tanuki” in Japan, it is one of my very favorite animals. :3
(read more)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvq725axAz1qc6j5yo1_500.jpg)
RACCOON DOG
Nyctereutes procyonoides
©waza.org
Something about this photo made me snort coffee through my nose, but Raccoon Dog!
The raccoon dog is a canid indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes. It is considered a basal canid species, resembling ancestral forms of the family. Among the Canidae, the raccoon dog shares the habit of regularly climbing trees only with the North American gray fox, another basal species.[3][4][5] The raccoon dog is named for its resemblance to the raccoon (Procyon lotor), to which it is not closely related.
Native East Asian raccoon dog populations have declined in recent years due to hunting, fur trade and fur trapping, urbanization, an increase of animals associated with human civilization such as pets and abandoned animals, and diseases that may be transmitted between them.
From 1928–1958, 10,000 raccoon dogs were introduced in 76 districts, territories and republics of the Soviet Union in an attempt to improve their fur quality. Following its introduction into central and western Europe, however, it has been treated as a potentially hazardous invasive species. The raccoon dog is now abundant throughout Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and has been reported as far away as Serbia, France, Romania, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon_dog
Other posts:
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The Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), found through out East Asia, this fox sized animal is the only canid that can go into torpor during the winter (no other species of canid truly hibernates either).
* aka “Tanuki” in Japan, it is one of my very favorite animals. :3
VULTERINE GUINEAFOWL
Acryllium vulturinum
© Ariadne Van Zandbergen
The Vulturine Guineafowl is the largest extant guineafowl species. It is a resident in northeast Africa, from southern Ethiopia through Kenya and just into northern Tanzania. The adult has a bare blue face and black neck, and although all other guineafowl have unfeathered heads, this species looks particularly like a vulture because of the long bare neck and head.
Vulturine Guineafowl is a gregarious species, forming flocks outside the breeding season typically of about 25 birds. This species’ food is seeds and small invertebrates. This guineafowl is terrestrial, and will run rather than fly when alarmed. Despite the open habitat, it tends to keep to cover, and roosts in trees. It makes loud chink-chink-chink-chink-chink calls.
It breeds in dry and open habitats with scattered bushes and trees, such as savannah or grassland. It usually lays 4-8 cream-coloured eggs in a well-hidden grass-lined scrape.
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulturine_Guineafowl
Other Posts:
East African Crested Guineafowl
KNYSNA LOURIE or KNYSNA TURACO
Tauraco corythaix
©letspicture.com.br
Habitat: Forests
Distribution: Found only in South Africa.
Diet Description: Fruit, insects and earthworms
Socialisation: Knysna louries clamber around in trees, hopping from branch to branch in search of fruit and seeds, which they swallow whole. They exist usually in pairs or small family groups, and noisily defend their territory with a hoarse ‘kow-kow’ noise.
Reproduction: Nests at different times of year, depending on region. The nest is a shallow platform of sticks placed in leafy tree or dense creepers. Although two eggs are laid, usually only one nestling will hatch.
LEOPARD GECKO
Eublepharis macularius
©Shikhei Goh
The leopard gecko is a nocturnal ground-dwelling lizard naturally found in the deserts of southern Central Asia, and throughout Pakistan, to the northwestern parts of India. Unlike most geckos, leopard geckos possess movable eyelids.
The native habitat of the leopard gecko is the rocky, dry grassland and desert regions of south-Asian Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-west India, and parts of Iran. Winter temperatures in these areas can be quite low, below 10 °C (50 °F), forcing the animals underground into semi-hibernation, called brumation, living on fat reserves. As nocturnal creatures, they spend the day hidden under rocks or in burrows to escape the daytime heat and emerge at dusk to feed by hunting insects. These Geckos are solitary, and do not usually live with other animals.
Fact Source & more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_gecko
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DRAGONHEAD CATERPILLAR
Polyura schreiber tisamenus
©Shikhei Goh
Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyura_schreiber
Other photos you may enjoy:
CAYENNE STUBFOOT TOAD
Atelopus flavescens
©Thomas Marent
The Atélope Jaunâtre is a species of toad in the Bufonidae family. It is endemic to French Guiana. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Members of the Bufonidae family live throughout much of the world, including all continents except Antarctica. They do not naturally live in Australia, but people have introduced them there, and the toads are doing well.
BY REQUEST: Most toads eat insects, spiders, and other arthropods. Arthropods are animals that do not have backbones, but have jointed legs. Those that live in rainforests eat quite a few ants, which are plentiful there. Some, like the American toad, will also eat an occasional earthworm. The larger species, including the marine toads, eat a great many insects, but they can and sometimes do eat larger animals, including mice, other frogs, and lizards. More
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BLUE PANSY
Junonia orithya
©J.M.Garg
Junonia orithya is a nymphalid butterfly with many subspecies occurring from Africa, through southern and south-eastern Asia, and in Australia. In India its common English name is the Blue Pansy. In Australia this butterfly is known as the Blue Argus.
More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junonia_orithya
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BRINICLE
A brinicle resembles a hollow pipe of ice reaching down from an ice sheet above the water. Inside the pipe is the super-cold, super-saline water being produced by the growth of the ice above. A brinicle can, under the proper conditions, reach down to the seafloor. However:
If the surrounding water is too saline, its freezing point will be too low to create a significant amount of ice around the brine plume. If the water is too deep, the brinicle is likely to break free under its own weight before reaching the seafloor. If the icepack is mobile or currents too strong, strain will break the brinicle.
Should a brinicle reach the seafloor, it will continue to accumulate ice as surrounding water freezes. The brine will travel along the seafloor in a down-slope direction until it reaches the lowest possible point, where it will pool. Any bottom-dwelling sea creatures, such as starfish or sea urchins can be caught in this expanding web of ice and be trapped, ultimately freezing to death. Source
Captured by BBC cameramen Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson while filming for the Frozen Planet series.
Ice Finger of Death Filmed in Antarctica
by Ella Davies, BBC Nature
A bizarre underwater “icicle of death” has been filmed by a BBC crew.
With a time lapse cameras, specialists recorded salt water being excluded from the sea ice and sinking. The temperature of this sinking brine, which was well below 0C, caused the water to freeze in an icy sheath around it.
Where the so-called “brinicle” met the sea bed, a web of ice formed that froze everything it touched, including sea urchins and starfish. The unusual phenomenon was filmed for the first time by cameramen Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson for the BBC One series Frozen Planet…
(read more: BBC Nature)
* Thanks to njwight for letting us know about this :3
BLACK SPIDER MONKEY
Ateles fusciceps
©Michael Carroll
Spider monkeys are New World Monkeys which are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. The genus contains seven species, all of which are under threat; the Black-headed Spider Monkey and Brown Spider Monkey are critically endangered.
The disproportionately long limbs and long prehensile tail makes them one of the largest New World monkeys and gives rise to their common name. Spider monkeys live in the upper layers of the rainforest and forage in the high canopy, from 25 to 30 m (82 to 98 ft). They primarily eat fruits, but will also occasionally consume leaves, flowers, and insects. Due to their large size, spider monkeys require large tracts of moist evergreen forests and prefer undisturbed primary rainforest. They are social animals and live in bands of up to 35 individuals but will split up to forage during the day.
Recent meta-analyses on primate cognition studies indicated that spider monkeys are the most intelligent New World monkeys.
More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_monkey
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Old Blue Eyes. A resident Spider Monkey at Fota Wildlife Park in Co Cork, Ireland. This guy looked straight down the lens with his amazing blue eyes. Photographer Michael Carroll :)
Unusual Blue color phase of the GREEN TREE SNAKE
Dendrelaphis punctulata
©Steve Bullock / Bullock Photos – www.bullockphotos.com
Also known as the COMMON TREE SNAKE or AUSTRALIAN TREE SNAKE, Dendrelaphis punctulata is a slender, large-eyed, non-venomous, diurnal snake of many parts of Australia, especially in the northern and eastern coastal areas, and into Papua New Guinea.
This common snake is harmless, readily recognised as it is an agile snake with a very slender body and tail. The body color varies from green to olive-green to black, frequently pale yellow on the throat and belly but other pale colours (including blue) have been noted, blue flecks are present on the flank. Eyes are larger than in most snakes. Found in a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to woodland to urban areas where it preys on fish, frogs and small animals.
More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrelaphis_punctulata
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NICOBAR PIGEON
Caloenas nicobarica
©buto28
The Nicobar Pigeon is a pigeon found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Nicobar Islands, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau.
The Nicobar Pigeon roams in flocks from island to island, usually sleeping on offshore islets where no predators occur and spends the day in areas with better food availability, not shying away from areas inhabited by humans. Its food consists of seeds, fruit and buds, and it is attracted to areas where grain is available. A gizzard stone helps to grind up hard food items. Its flight is quick, with regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings, as is characteristic of pigeons in general. Unlike other pigeons, groups tend to fly in columns or single file, not in a loose flock. The white tail is prominent in flight when seen from beind and may serve as a sort of “taillight”, keeping flocks together when crossing the sea at dawn or dusk. The young birds’ lack of a white tail is a signal of their immaturity clearly visible to conspecifics – to an adult Nicobar Pigeon, it is obvious at a glance which flockmembers are neither potential mates, nor potential competitors for mates, nor old enough to safely guide a flock from one island to another.
This species nests in dense forest on offshore islets, often in large colonies. It builds a loose stick nest in a tree. It lays one elliptical faintly blue-tinged white egg.
More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicobar_Pigeon
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BIG-NOSE CHAMELEON
Calluma nasutum
©pbertner (his blog)
One of the smallest of the arboreal chameleons, the big-nosed chameleon is named for the large, paddle-like appendage which projects from the nose region. This flexible appendage is larger and more square-shaped on males, and is believed to be used to recognize potential mates.
Male big-nosed chameleons can also be distinguished by the more pronounced casque, a bony head crest. The skin of both sexes is usually a shade of brown, reddish-brown, tan, or light green, with females not receptive to mating rapidly developing a striking display of whitish-blue to turquoise spots on top of the head and on the sides of the nasal appendage. Like other chameleons, this big-nosed species has a prehensile tail, fused toes, distinctive turret-like eyes and an impressively long tongue.
Fact: http://www.arkive.org/big-nosed-chameleon/calumma-nasutum/
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![FLASHLIGHT FISH Photoblepharon palpebratus©courtneyplatt
From the Photographer: At 100 feet on a vertical wall at night [in Grand Cayman], my buddy and I turned off our dive lights and scanned the millions of bioluminescent lights for pairs that moved in unison… that would be a flashlight fish! Approaching with lights still off until I was very close I suddenly stunned the light sensitive fish with my lights, caught it in my left hand as it made for a hole in the reef and shot with right hand. It cuddled into my hand as if it found some sense of safety there. Flashlight fish are very rarely seen by divers due to their nocturnal behavior and habitat. Not many divers want to turn off their flashlights at 100 feet, on a vertical wall that drops to 6,000 feet, in the middle of the night. It’s kinda spooky. Shot on film back in the day and scanned.
Text and Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15030185@N05/1579619273/
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Atolla Jellyfish and another
Eye Flash Squid
Predatory Ctenophore](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lv79i9Vno21qeeqk5o1_500.jpg)
FLASHLIGHT FISH
Photoblepharon palpebratus
©courtneyplatt
Text and Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15030185@N05/1579619273/
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