#bromelia

[hansdurrer]

Santa Cruz do Sul, Brasil, 1 Janeiro 2024

[naturalist-journal]

[odalum-cit]

From this to that. De esto a eso.

[hallomanr]

Bromelia

[dragonthunders01]

Spectember D23: Camouflage/Crypsis

75 million years hence, the canopies of south America jungles dominated by birds, mammals and reptiles species that are somewhat resembling animals of the modern age, through after many radiations and mass extinctions they barely relate to any other of these modern species, arboreal mammals now are composed of derived descendants of rodents, many derived shrews that resemble either carnivoran or xenathrans and the still standing marsupials, birds like passerines or parrots have diversified too, some barely looking like their ancestors, and many types of lizards, quite dominant some endothermic varanids and even geckoes, but there was also another radiation of varanids that became venomous that now have tried another strategy to hunt down their prey.

The Bromeli Viperneck (Squamophytos cryptogeneos) is part of a very diverse group of ambush predatory varanids, many are ground dwelling and inhabit many of the environments that extend across the south American isolated continent, through this is one of few species that colonized the canopy of the tree, the most specialized as well thanks to their peculiar method of mimicry, most of the body remains unnoticeable for any potential prey as is colored like the branch it holds on but its tail has modified in a way it imitates a Bromelia plant, one of the many common arboreal species of plants that still hangs, they often attract pollinators of diverse forms, and so the Bromeli Viperneck takes advantage of its disguise more with a special musk that emit a similar odor to the plant helps to dissimulate further and so when, as it just stand still until a pollinator approach close to its tail, being ready it strikes with its long neck and inject a potent venom to kill fast the victim, providing a food that will last some months until it needs to feed again.

[markunsan]

Dyckia ’Gandalf’

[pcpereira]

bromélia 

[ondastropicais-studio]

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