Fauna Fabula: Unreal Animals in the Real World

oceanportal: Sea butterflies, a group of swimming sea snails,...

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:16:15 -0400

Sea butterflies, a group of swimming sea snails, are canaries in the coal mine for the ocean. Delicately beautiful and highly sensitive to the changing oceans, these tiny creatures—most smaller than a pinky nail!—present a unique way to gauge climate. One-quarter of the carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere dissolves into the ocean, which makes the water more acidic and makes it more difficult for these animals to build their own shells.

Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History are studying them to learn how ocean acidification will affect a wide array of ocean animals. Read our article at Smithsonian Magazine about the animals and scientists studying them—with stunning photos.

All photos © Karen Osborn (Smithsonian biologist)

tr1ple-sp1ral: choonimal: Peter Lipton look at this excellent...

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:19:25 -0400

tr1ple-sp1ral:

choonimal:

Peter Lipton

look at this excellent post

Photo

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 08:51:08 -0400

Atretochoana eiselti Atretochoana eiselti is a species of...

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:48:56 -0400

Atretochoana eiselti

Atretochoana eiselti is a species of caecilian known only from two preserved specimens until its 2011 discovery in Brazil.

Biologists discovered six of the unusual-looking creatures - each about a metre long - at the bottom of the river-bed on the Madeira river in Rondonia, in Brazil. It is actually more closely related to salamanders and frogs, but appearance-wise looks more like a snake.

Biologist Julian Tupan, who works for Santo Antonio Energy - the company which constructed the dam - said: ‘Of the six we collected, one died, three were released back into the wild and another two were kept for studies.

‘Despite looking like snakes, they aren’t reptiles and are more closely related to salamanders and frogs.

Mr Tupan added: ‘We think the animal breathes through its skin, and probably feeds on small fish and worms, but there is still nothing proven.

adrifts: If you are terrified of snakes then I suppose this...

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:35:08 -0400

adrifts:

If you are terrified of snakes then I suppose this beautiful Serpents series by Paris based artist Guido Mocafico isn’t really your cup of tea.

mad-as-a-marine-biologist: natureofnature: <3 Ctenophore...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 15:11:27 -0400

mad-as-a-marine-biologist:

natureofnature:

<3

Ctenophore [Phyla] also known as comb jellies. Their most distinctive feature is the “combs”, groups of cilia they use for swimming, and they are the largest animals that swim by means of cilia – adults of various species range from a few millimeters to 1.5 meters (59 in) in size. Like cnidarians, their bodies consist of a mass of jelly, with one layer of cells on the outside and another lining the internal cavity.

Kookaburras (genus Dacelo) - Requested by Anonymous Kookaburras...

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:54:51 -0400

Kookaburras (genus Dacelo) - Requested by Anonymous

Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea. They are large to very large, with a total length of 28–42 cm. The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ‘guuguubarra’, and is onomatopoeic of its call.

Kookaburras are best known for their unmistakable call, which sounds uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter – good-natured, but rather hysterical, merriment in the case of the renowned Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae); and maniacal cackling in the case of the slightly smaller Blue-winged Kookaburra (D. leachii).

Kookaburras are carnivorous. In the wild, kookaburras are known to eat the young of other birds and snakes, and insects and small reptiles and even other small birds, such as finches if they are lucky enough to catch them.

Dragon/Xenodermine/Java Tubercle Snake (Xenodermus javanicus) -...

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 06:18:00 -0400

Dragon/Xenodermine/Java Tubercle Snake (Xenodermus javanicus) - Requested by Anonymous

Found in Burma (Myanmar); Thailand, West Malaysia (Grandison 1977); and Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Borneo).

Though discovered in 1846, this unique serpent, called Xenodermus javanicus by scientists, is very rare in the pet trade, and is still quite unknown, even amongst herpetologists. There is very limited information about this snake on-line or elsewhere, and its relative ambiguity, has led to several common names, adding to its mystery. Commonly called the Dragon snake, Javan Mudsnake and Tubercle Snake, this animal, found in Southeast Asia, and belongs to its own genus, meaning that it currently has no close relatives currently accepted by science.

all real animales?

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 06:04:30 -0400

:) Yes, all real.

Griffin

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 08:02:00 -0400

I’m sorry but that is NOT a real animal. :);;;

Please keep in mind that this blog is for animals that only seem to appear in fantasy.

allcreatures: Flapjack (or pancake) devilfish (or octopus) are...

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:14:45 -0400

allcreatures:

Flapjack (or pancake) devilfish (or octopus) are rarely seen swimming in open water, preferring to flatten themselves on the bottom, when the reason for their name becomes apparent.

Deep sea wildlife photo gallery by Lia Barrett

tiny-forest: Red cage fungus mushroom blog Technically,...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:16:00 -0400

tiny-forest:

Red cage fungus

mushroom blog

Technically, not so fauna but gosh, nature sure is wonderful, isn’t it?

stpitbull: THIS IS WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY I WANT A GIANT DOG

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:22:01 -0400

stpitbull:

THIS IS WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY I WANT A GIANT DOG

bananaslugbud: Motherfucking Rain Frogs.

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:15:18 -0400

bananaslugbud:

Motherfucking Rain Frogs.

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 02:13:16 -0400

animalworld:

GIANT REDHEADED CENTIPEDE
Scolopendra heros
©TL McCormick

The Giant Redheaded Centipede is a species of centipede found in North America. It has an average length of 6.5 inches (170 mm), but can reach up to 8 in (200 mm). Its trunk bears 21 or 23 pairs of legs. It is aposematically [brightly] colored, to warn off potential predators, and a number of color variants are known in the species.

S. heros is found in northern Mexico and the southern United States, from New Mexico and Arizona in the west, to Arkansas and Missouri in the east. It remains underground on warm days, emerging in cloudy weather. Source

Other posts you may like:

Purple Long-Legged Centipede

Two Pink Dragon Millipedes

Onychophora spitting goo

—-

winsect:

Scolopendra heros, Giant Redheaded Centipede

North America

allcreatures: Won’t Lose Her Marbles. Photograph courtesy...

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 14:32:00 -0500

allcreatures:

Won’t Lose Her Marbles. Photograph courtesy S.D. Biju.

A previously unknown caecilian from India watches over her clutch of eggs in the lab of University of Delhi amphibian biologist Sathyabhama Das Biju. Biju and his team were surprised to discover that females of this newly named species, Chikila fulleri, remained protectively coiled around their developing offspring for up to three months. “The mother is guarding the eggs for almost 95 days without eating anything,” Biju said. “Always the mother is with her eggs.” Such levels of maternal care are rarely seen in amphibians, the study team noted.

Pictures: New Amphibians Without Arms or Legs Discovered

parasitize: Hopper (sp. Phrictus quinqueparitus) with wings...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:20:00 -0500

parasitize:

Hopper (sp. Phrictus quinqueparitus) with wings open.

insectlove: fuckyeahbeetles: Darwin’s beetle (Chiasognathus...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:30:14 -0500

insectlove:

fuckyeahbeetles: Darwin’s beetle (Chiasognathus grantii) is a Chilean beetle of the Lucanidae (stag) family. When it was collected by Charles Darwin on his Beagle voyages, he noted that the fearsome mandibles were “not so strong as to produce pain to finger”. Instead, these huge structures, only found in males, are used for wrestling over females. Due to their arboreal lifestyle these wrestles often result in the loser being thrown from great heights, back to the bottom of the tree.

natureofnature: Phyllosoma larvae of coral lobster

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:45:21 -0500

natureofnature:

Phyllosoma larvae of coral lobster

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:33:40 -0500