biodiversity & natural phenomena

[snoopylovessoup]

[madeleineengland]

The Kodkod, or better known Leopardus Guigna or Huiña, is the smallest of the eight species of New World cats included in genus Leopardus that populate southern America, and it's one of the smallest cats in the world. With a little patience and luck, you can still find them in isolated pockets of forest in southern Chile, especially around Los Lagos and Chiloé Islandl.

[catkurohazama]

Kitty! 😺

[badassdemonsword]

Yellow Globular Springtail

[headlikeanorange]

A “howling” grasshopper mouse. (Untamed Americas - NGC)

[izonhorizon]

‘The Mouse that Roared’ - Hat tip to novel wriiten by Irish American writer Leonard Wibberley.

[unexplained-events]

Sandbox Tree (aka Dynamite Tree)

The Sandbox Tree (Hura Crepitans) grows primarily in South America, the Amazon rain-forest and certain parts of North America. 

This tree is completely dangerous. The pumpkin shaped fruit it grows causes (upon consumption) vomiting, diarrhea and cramps. The sap from the tree is toxic and was once used to poison the tips of darts for combat. It can also cause blindness if it comes into contact with the eye.

The really cool (and also dangerous) thing about this tree is how the fruits explode. When they’re ripe, the hardened seed capsules explode and send flat, hard seeds over a 60 feet radius at 150 MPH (~240 KPH).

SOURCE

[just-a-funny-little-brain]

[sinobug]

Female Iceryine Scale Insects (Icerya sp., Monophlebidae, Coccoidea) by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. Pu’er, Yunnan, China See more Chinese true bugs and hoppers on my Flickr site HERE…..

[ainawgsd]

Springhare

The South African springhare (Pedetes capensis), or springhaas in Afrikaans, is not actually a hare, but a rodent. It is one of two living species in the genus Pedetes, and is native to southern Africa. The East African springhare (Pedetes surdaster) was recognised by Matthee and Robinson in 1997 as a species distinct from the southern African springhare (P. capensis) based on genetic, morphological, and ethological differences. P. capensis from South Africa has fewer chromosomes (2n= 38) than does P. surdaster which has (2n = 40) and some other genetic variations. The East African springhare is found in central and southern Kenya and most of Tanzania.

Keep reading

[typhlonectes]

Unusual Raspberry-like Springtail Discovered in China

Read more:

https://novataxa.blogspot.com/2018/02/rambutanura-hunanensis.html

[chalkandwater]

A small Japanese puffer fish is the creator of one of the most spectacular animal-made structures. To impress the female puffer fish, the male labors 24 hours a day for a week to create a pattern in the sand. If the female finds his work satisfactory, she allows him to fertilize her eggs. She then lays them in the middle of the circle, leaving the male to guard the eggs alone.

Life Story (2014)

[end0skeletal]

The long-tailed slug, or ninja slug (Ibycus rachelae), is a type of semi-slug, being somewhat intermediate in appearance between a snail and a slug. Semi-slugs have a partially visible shell, but the shell is too small for the body to be withdrawn into. Found only in the state of Sabah in Borneo, the long-tailed slug was first described as a new species in 2008.(x x x)

[asapscience]

An albino turtle? Think again.  This turtle is actually afflicted with a condition called leucism, which affects all bodily pigments–not just melanin, as in albinism. It’s a condition shared with white lions and piebald pigeons, and an aesthetically appealing one at that!

[noaasanctuaries]

Weird or cute? We think both! 

This is a warty sea slug, Dendrodoris warta – and it’s pretty easy to see how it gets its name. This sea slug, or nudibranch, was spotted in Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. 

What nudibranchs have you spotted while diving in your national marine sanctuaries? 

(Photo: Greg McFall/NOAA)

[end0skeletal]

Black and rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi) (x x x x)

[dynamicoceans]

Crown of thornes starfish

The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its upper surface, resembling the biblical crown of thorns. It is one of the largest starfish in the world.

Source

[chibisayuri]

Rusty Spotted Cats are the smallest member of the wild cat family, and only found in India and Sri Lanka. Usual sizes range from 14-19 inches, typically under 4 pounds.

They are also adorable. 

[sixpenceee]

Butterfly is a rare sheep-goat hybrid. A male goat and a female sheep created Butterfly. He has a goat face and feet, but is covered in wool.