Neogene cats and Permian bears

Ela, 30s. personal blog is plio-cavedeposits (no longer active). Other blogs and about

[fiiishman]

[fiiishman]

[herpsandbirds]

Red Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum syspila), family Colubridae, Southern Illinois, USA

photograph by Rick Byrnes

[randomanimaloftheday]

Day 285#: Blunt-Headed Tree Snake

Today's animal of the day is the Blunt-Headed Tree Snake (Imantodes cenchoa)!

Photo credit: Geoff Gallice

Also known as the fiddle-string snake, this species of arboreal snake can be found in the tropical rainforests of Mexico as well as both Central and South America. They can reach a maximum size of 4 ft 11 in long and are known for their long, slender bodies with comically large heads. Their eyes are also incredibly large compared to the rest of their bodies, and take up nearly 26% of their total head space. While this might look really goofy, it actually helps improve their vision significantly compared to other species of snakes, which are known for having very poor eyesight. Most other snakes rely mostly on their sense of smell as well as vibrations to detect predators and prey, but since the blunt-headed tree snake needs to be able to clearly see the branches of the trees it's climbing, they need to have better vision than the average snake. The slitted shape of its pupil even allows it to look down without moving its entire head, which most snakes are unable to do.

Photo credit: Max Hofmann

Blund-headed tree snakes are active mostly at night, which is another reason they need good eyesight, and will forage through the vegetation in search of prey. Their diet consists mostly of lizards, but they'll also often go after frogs and have been known to eat eggs when the opportunity presents itself. Females tend to be larger than males, meaning that they can take on larger prey. Size isn't the only difference between the sexes. In fact, the populations in the north and south actually seem to exhibit two very different types of sexual dimorphism. Northern males tend to have longer tails than southern males and both types of females, while southern females tend to have much larger heads.

Photo credit: Laurent Hesemans

These snakes are members of the Colubrid family, which also includes hognoses, garters, kingsnakes, and many other species of snakes. Like many of its cousins, the blunt-headed tree snake is technically venomous, but they are rear-fanged venomous instead of front-fanged. This is a useful adaptation when a good portion of your diet consists of frogs and toads, but it isn't really well-suited for injecting venom into humans, since it would require letting the snake chew on you for a good while before it could envenomate you. Luckily, even if you did let one chew on you, their venom is pretty mild, and they're not considered dangerous to humans.

[strflr]

Snowy Egret

links / print

[soymoss]

emo heron in boots

[gumi-megpoidd]

not her name????? fuck you

[usik-paleo-illust]

Doolysaurus

[herpsandbirds]

Hentz's Wolf Spider (Rabidosa hentzi), female, family Lycosidae, southern AL, USA

photograph by Seth Patterson

[pliocenecat]

Yeah, you can look at your likes starting with the oldest now. But i remember the time when likes had pages so you could easily look at the likes in the middle too, like go to page 50 or 100

[ieafy]

I can’t stop drawing mantises I fear

[natedraws]

Gift for a user on Kofi, thankyou for the support!

[accessible-art]

[ID edited from Alt: A digital illustration of a praying mantis sat on a leaf with its wings out. End ID]

[252mya]

Titanis walleri: the only terror bird tough enough to make it all the way to North America. This Pleistocene apex predator prowled Florida’s grasslands on powerful legs, armed with a massive hooked beak that made short work of its prey. Art by Emily Higgs. Available now at 252mya.com/titanis.

[knuppitalism-with-ue]

On tonight's Walking With Flocking #paleostream we covered Ornithocheirus, Brontoscorpio, Liopleurodon and Koolasuchus.

It was a stream in memory of Benjamin Bartlett who passed away the other day, among other things he composed the soundtrack for Walking With Dinosaurs, Beasts and Monsters.

[pliocenecat]

Thank you for standing with my family. I know I keep asking, but your donations are what keeps us alive, especially after the recent bombing that injured us all.

Our main focus now is saving my brother Samer. Securing his vital medications and evacuating him for treatment is our only hope.

Please share our story and encourage others to donate.

@hazemsuhail

Donate to Help my family survive and start a new life, organized by Hazem friend

Hello everyone, I hope you take a minute to read our story. I’m Ha… Hazem friend needs your support for Help my family survive an

[mosabfamily]

Unfortunately, my wife will die — this is what awaits her if help does not arrive today.

I am writing now so that this sentence does not become our reality tonight while she is still breathing.

I hold my wife close, counting her breaths, bargaining with time.

Donations are scarce; every second matters.

Please, stop.

Share, donate now. Your kindness could change tomorrow and keep her alive today please, now.

Silence is killing my wife faster than her pain.

Every ignored post steals minutes from her life.

I beg you, stop here: donate, share, choose compassion before this silence becomes her ending.

Verified by #520

[mosabfamily]

Only €26 in two days this is all we have received.

Stopping support means leaving us to die in silence. Share or donate now

[mosabfamily]

310 reblogs and just one €5 donation. Please, don’t let us be alone. Even the smallest donation can save us.

[mosabfamily]

You are our last hope. If you leave us now, we will not survive. Please donate before it is too late

[mosabfamily]

My eyes are overflowing with tears there are no donations I don’t know how I can go on without your support

[mosabfamily]

Please don’t scroll past my pain today.

My heart is exhausted from begging alone.

A simple reblog could reach someone who saves us.

Your support means more than you can imagine

[mosabfamily]

Please don’t ignore this plea

I’m extremely exhausted from asking for help alone.

A simple reblog could reach someone who can save us.

Your support could change everything for us.

[mosabfamily]

Please don’t leave us alone in this nightmare.

You are our only hope.

Please donate now before it’s too late

[sophiaslittleblog]

Hay guys I’m still homeless and in between jobs. I’m trying to raise $230 to cover my end of the month bills. These bills include my storage unit fees, my cellphone and my car insurance. Funds can be sent to $SophiaChes,paypal [email protected] and Sophia-Chester-1. Also funds can be sent to my GoFundMe. Funds are due by this Friday 01/30/26! Thank you all so much!

Donate to Medical Debt, organized by Sophia Christele

Hi everyone! My name is Sophia. I had surgery this past September to remove fibroids from my uterus. My … Sophia Christele needs your suppor

[sophiaslittleblog]

Hay guys my storage unit payment is due this Friday 05/29/26. It’s $170. Please share my post.

[sophiaslittleblog]

I’m $120 away from reaching my goal! Funds are due this Friday!

[sophiaslittleblog]

FUNDS ARE DUE TOMORROW FRIDAY MAY 29th!!!

[sophiaslittleblog]

FUNDS ARE DUE TODAY AND IM $120 AWAY FROM MY GOAL!