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information and legal binomial nomenclature/taxonomy frequently asked questions terms of location conservation and the IUCN now looking for writers

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Pictured here is a frog ovary at 10x magnification

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The eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus) is a diprotodont (diprotos, meaning "two front" and odontos meaning "teeth") marsupial of south-eastern Australia. It lives in southern Queensland to eastern South Australia and also Tasmania, it is found in rainforest areas.

Eastern pygmy possums are very small, weighing from 15 to 43 grams and having a body length of between 7 and 9 centimetres with a 8 to 11 centimetres tail. They are dull grey above and white below, with big, forward pointing, almost hairless, ears and a long prehensile tail, with thick fur at the base that becomes sparser towards the tip. They have long whiskers, and a narrow ring of dark fur around each eye.

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The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, literally "vampire squid from Hell") is a small, deep-sea cephalopod found throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world. 

The vampire squid reaches a maximum total length of around 30 cm. Its 15-cm gelatinous body varies in color between velvety jet-black and pale reddish. A webbing of skin connects its eight arms, each lined with rows of fleshy spines or cirri; the inside of this "cloak" is black. Its limpid, globular eyes, which appear red or blue, depending on lighting, are proportionately the largest in the animal kingdom at 2.5 cm in diameter. The animal's dark color, cloak-like webbing, and red eyes are what gave the vampire squid its name.

The vampire squid is almost entirely covered in light-producing organs called photophores. The animal has great control over the organs, capable of producing disorienting flashes of light for fractions of a second to several minutes in duration.

The vampire squid is an extreme example of a deep-sea cephalopod, thought to reside at depths from 600–900 metres (2,000–3,000 feet) or more.

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Macropinna microstoma (Large feather [scale], small mouth) is the only species of fish in the genus Macropinna, belonging to Opisthoproctidae (literally Greek, opisthe = behind + Greek, proktos = anus), the barreleye family.

It is recognized for a highly unusual transparent, fluid-filled dome on its head, through which the lenses of its eyes can be seen. The eyes have a barrel shape and can be rotated to point either forward or straight up, looking through the fish's transparent dome.

M. microstoma has a tiny mouth (hence microstoma) and most of its body is covered with large scales. The fish normally hangs nearly motionless in the water, at a depth of about 600 metres to 800 metres, using its large fins for stability and with its eyes directed upward.

Note the small orifices at the front of the fish are not eye sockets but rather nostrils.  

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This baby echidna (or a puggle), born blind, without any spines was left by its mother and the wonderful people at Sydney's Taronga Zoo have been taking care of it.

Echidnas are monotremes meaning they are egg-laying animals that produce live young and suckle their young from patches which secrete milk from pores. 

They are common in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Platypus' are also monotremes.

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Golden silk orb weavers (genus Nephila) are widespread in warmer regions throughout the world, with species in Australia, Asia, Africa (including Madagascar), and the Americas. 

Golden orb weavers are noted for their impressive webs, which can capture animals several times their size.

In 2012 a large individual was photographed killing and consuming a half-meter-long brown tree snake in Freshwater, Queensland. (first image) Species from Taiwan have been known to reach over 5 in, legspan included, in mountainous country

The second photograph is of a Golden orb weaver spider capturing and devouring a Chestnut-Breasted Mannikin. This individual was snapped in Australia. 

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The giraffe weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) is a weevil native to Madagascar. It derives its name from an extended neck much like that of the common giraffe. The giraffe weevil is sexually dimorphic, with the neck of the male typically being 2.5 inches times the length of that of the female.

The extended neck is an adaptation that assists in nest building and fighting. When it comes time to lay her eggs, the female will find a small tree in the family Melastomataceae, she will form a tube out of a leaf and then lay a single egg within the tube. She will then snip the roll from the remaining leaf in preparation of the egg hatching.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons

thefeaturedcreature.com

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Deilephila elpenor, known as the Elephant Hawk-moth, is a large moth found throughout Britain and Ireland. It is spectacularly coloured, seeming to shimmer with green and red when in motion. The adult moths are eaten by some species of bats. This species possesses good night or scotopic vision. Adults have been shown to be capable of making colour discriminations at night-time levels of illumination.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons

tpittaway.tripod.com

niebieskaa

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The monito del monte (Spanish for "little mountain monkey"), Dromiciops gliroides, is a small marsupial native only to southwestern South America (Chile and Argentina). The species is nocturnal and lives in thickets of Chilean bamboo in the Valdivian temperate rain forests of the southern Andes. It eats primarily insects and other small invertebrates, supplemented with fruit.

Sources:

Wikimedia Commons

weirdimals.wordpress.com

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The Portuguese Man O' War (Physalia physalis), also known as the Bluebottle, is a jellyfish-like marine invertebrate of the family Physaliidae. Its venomous tentacles can deliver a powerful sting.

Despite its appearance, the Man o' War is not a jellyfish but a siphonophore, which differs from jellyfish in that it is not actually a single creature, but a colonial organism.

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The Mexican mole lizard, (Bipes biporus), is one of four amphisbaenians (legless, worm-like reptiles; snakes) that have legs. They are pink 15–23 cm lizard-like reptiles that live for 1 to 2 years and eat ground dwelling insects and earthworms. The Mexican mole lizard lives in Baja California, Mexico. It is an opportunist carnivore and eats ants, termites, ground dwelling insects, larvae, earthworms, and small animals including lizards.

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The European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, is a  song bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, spending time during winter in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka. 

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly-coloured, slender bird. This is a bird which breeds in open country in warmer climates. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets. Before eating its meal, a European Bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface. It eats some 250 bees daily. Lizards and frogs are also taken.

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Paedophryne amauensis is a species of frog from Papua New Guinea discovered in August 2009. At 7.7 mm in length, not only is it the smallest frog species but, the world's smallest known vertebrate.

P. amauensis, has an average body size of only 7.7 millimetres. The frog lives on land and its life cycle does not include a tadpole stage. Instead, members of this species hatch as fully formed adults. They are capable of jumping thirty times their body length.

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The volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi) is a small rabbit that resides in the mountains of Mexico. It is the world's second smallest rabbit, second only to the pygmy rabbit. It has small rounded ears, short legs, and short, thick fur and weighs approximately 390–600 grams. It has a life span of around 7 to 9 years. The volcano rabbit lives in groups of 2 to 5 animals in burrows (underground nests).

It is adorable.

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A frog that's purple, has a pig nose and sounds like a chicken.

Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis is a frog species belonging to the family Sooglossidae. It can be found in the Western Ghats in India. Common names for this species are purple frog, Indian purple frog, pignose frog or doughnut frog.

Adults are typically dark purple in color. The specimen with which the species was originally described was seven centimeters long from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail. Also, its cry sounds more like one from a chicken.

Image source:

The featured creature

EDIT

To hear it's croak (which has a likening to a chicken) click below:

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The horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus), also called African horned cucumber or kiwano, is a vine in the cucumber and melon family. It is considered to be the ancestor of the other cultivated melons. It is grown for its fruit, which looks like an oval melon with horn-like spines. The fruit of this plant is edible, but it is used as often for decoration as for food. When ripe, it has a yellow-orange skin and a lime green jelly-like flesh with a tart taste, and texture similar to a cucumber. The horned melon is native to Africa, and it is now grown in California, Chile, Australia and New Zealand as well.

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The coconut octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) is a medium-sized cephalopod belonging to the genus Amphioctopus. It is found in tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean. It commonly preys upon shrimp, crabs, and clams, and displays unusual behaviour, including bipedal walking (walking on two 'feet') and gathering and using coconut shells and seashells for shelter.

In March 2005, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, published an article in Science where A. marginatus was reported to have a bipedal behaviour i.e. it "walked" on the sea floor like a human would. It is one of only two octopus species known to display this behaviour.

Researchers from the Melbourne Museum in Australia observed the creature's use of tools for defense, and the use of available debris to create a defensive fortress. The researchers filmed A. marginatus collecting coconut shells, discarded by humans, from the sea floor, carrying them up to 20 meters, and arranging the shells to form a spherical hiding place akin to a clamshell.

Photos:

io9

flickr