I stumbled across this image of Helicocranchia pfefferri a little while ago – easy to see why this little cephalopod is called the ‘piglet squid’! Image (c) Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s news release tells us that these little animals ("about the size of a small avocado") are a deep-water species with a […]
Continue readingCategory: animal diversity
is this fish evil?
On Facebook a while back, I noticed a post with an image of a fish under the caption, "Is this fish evil?" What with the way FB stuff rapidly disappears down the plughole timeline to the past I couldn’t find that post again (where’s Dr Who when you really need him?), but this is that […]
Continue readingstingray x-ray
Another in the occasional series of rather lovely biological images: an x-ray of a stingray (Heliotrygon sp.) (from NatGeo, via Pharyngula) The genus name means ‘sun stingray’, a name that was given for the way that the cartilage fibres that support its body (like sharks, stingrays have a skeleton that’s based on cartilage, unlike the […]
Continue readingsweet memories
I’ve just found a new blog that is a must-follow: Becky Crew’s Running Ponies. Run, don’t walk, over there – and read wondrous posts such as her discussion of a study that found chocolate** appears to enhance snails’ ability to form lasting memories. I wonder what will happen to chocolate sales at the uni shop, […]
Continue readingtraumatic insemination? ooh that sounds painful!
Bedbugs. One of the critters that I’d prefer not to encounter on my travels. They come out at night and bite sleeping humans (& other animals), retreating during the day to their dark hideaways, often in cracks in furniture, walls, or floors. This sounds very insanitary but the species that bites humans, Cimex lectularius, isn’t generally regarded […]
Continue readingan ambulant toupee?
No, it’s a megalopygid moth caterpillar (via Science Alert on Facebook). Image: Rainforest Expeditions (on Facebook) Megalopygids are also called ‘flannel moths’ (you can see images of both adults and larvae here – the larvae are quite diverse in appearance). I do wonder, after looking at this adult, if they aren’t related to the poodle […]
Continue readingthis is a poodle moth…
… and I shall call it… no, not Ben. That name’s taken. This is Ben. The And this is a poodle moth (via Animal Story): The photo’s all over the internet (especially via pinterest: there’s a particularly lovely image collection here). However, neither scirus nor google scholar searches return a scientific name for this lovely […]
Continue readingwhat constitutes beauty? – tarantulas!
Wellington Zoo has just imported 106 Chilean rose tarantulas as part of a captive breeding program for these lovely animals. From the tone of a letter in today’s Waikato Times, the spiders are also in need of a public relations officer.
Continue readinganother stunning biological image
(And once again, I found this via PZ Myers.) Although it looks like a flower , this is an image of a limpet embryo, stained to show 4 different proteins and viewed (& photographed) using a confocal microscope. There are several other stunning images at the Node, which is an on-line community site for developmental […]
Continue readinga bag moth in residence
When I took the cover off the barbecue the other day, a tiny insect caught my eye. It was moving in short, fluttering hops so was fairly easy to catch, and once I had it in a jar I could have a better look. It was less than a centimetre long, dark blue with lovely […]
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