Two octopi in love, embracing each other for dear life. Not knowing what’s to come if they fall into the abyss that is your cleavage — via Etsy
No wild black rhinos remain in West Africa, according to the latest global assessment of threatened species.
The Red List, drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has declared the subspecies extinct.
A subspecies of white rhino in central Africa is also listed as possibly extinct, the organisation says.
The annual update of the Red List now records more threatened species than ever before.
The IUCN reports that despite conservation efforts, 25% of the world’s mammals are at risk of extinction. As part of its latest work it has reassessed several rhinoceros groups. — via BBC News
Spring Colour in the Morning, originally uploaded by Red Wolf.
Spring Colour, originally uploaded by Red Wolf.
Spring Colour, originally uploaded by Red Wolf.
Some squid and octopuses can switch between two different types of camouflage according to which predators are nearby, scientists have found.
In the cold, dim environment between 600 and 1,000 metres deep — known as the mesopelagic zone — some creatures have evolved to be transparent to avoid being seen from below against ambient light. However, some predator fish get around this using light-emitting organs called photophores that function as biological searchlights, scattering blue light from the eyes and internal organs of their prey.
For this reason, many animals in the lower depths are naturally red or black to reflect as little light as possible at blue wavelengths. But this means their silhouettes are easy to see from below.
Japetella heathi, a bulbous, short-armed octopus, and Onychoteuthis banksii, a squid, have the best of both worlds in that they can switch rapidly between the two states.
The study is published in the journal Current Biology — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Is it a tree or is it an octopus? I’m not sure it knows — via RedBubble
— via Pharyngula
Along came an albino
spider — and it’s shocked scientists in Australia.
I nearly fell over when I saw its white head,
Mark Harvey, senior curator at the Western Australian Museum, said via email.
The new-found trapdoor spider isn’t a true albino, since it still has some pigment—its body is brown, like those of other trapdoor spiders.
But the 1.2-inch-wide (3-centimeter-wide) arachnid has been dubbed the albino trapdoor spider until it’s formally described as a new species — via redwolf.newsvine.com
The owner of a Central Australian cattle station is angry that camel carcasses have been left to rot after recent culls.
Ian Conway runs Kings Creek Station near where 5,000 camels have been shot from helicopters in the past fortnight.
Mr Conway has acknowledged that camel numbers need to be cut because of the significant ecological and pastoral damage the animals cause.
But he says previous culls have shown it is cruel to shoot them and leave them to rot — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Shauna Richardson crochets beautifully crafted sculptures of animals that she calls crochetdermy
.
Her work is currently in the exhibition, The Power of Making
at the Victoria and Albert Museum — via CRAFT
Geckos inspire robots, but there’s no reason to limit one’s imagination. Why not use the fantastic properties of gecko feet to make something everyone needs: tape?
At the University of Kiel in Germany, a group led by Stanislav Gorb has made a silicone tape patterned after the feet of the lizard. Unlike your garden-variety scotch tape, this stuff is strong, it can be used over and over again, and it doesn’t leave sticky goo behind. In fact it is so strong a piece a bit less than 8 inches by 8 inches (20 cm on a side) can hold up the weight of a fully grown person.
How does this work? Geckos and some insects have tiny hair-like structures on their feet called setae, and each one end in a flat structure called a spatula. When they touch a surface, the attraction between molecules, known as the Van der Waals forces, pull on them and cause them to stick. This is the same force that makes water droplets stick to the ceiling or to the side of a glass — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A rare strain of a disease never seen in the southern hemisphere before has been discovered in Tasmania.
Two women contracted tularaemia earlier this year after being bitten and scratched by sick possums in western Tasmania.
Tularemia is an infectious bacterial disease which affects a range of species and is transferred through direct contact or biting ticks — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A Brazilian Tapir baby named Little Ron, at only 9 days old, is now out and about in his paddock at Marwell Wildlife. Born with a very pretty coat of pale spots and stripes on a reddish brown background, he is delighting visitors with his striking appearance. When he is about a year old he will lose his markings and develop a beautiful light brown colour, just like his mum Summer and sister Quito. He’s named Little Ron
in memory of his Dad, Ronaldo, who sadly died at the park last month after an acute illness — via ZooBorns
The Squidulus line of skateboards from Stimulus Skateboards features superb squid designs. The Squidulus artwork was designed by Joe Scordo — via Laughing Squid
My Squid Costume (hat) for Halloween, originally uploaded by Hine [hee-neh] Mizushima.
The gigantic, man-eating squid featured on this bag has snared a scuba diver with his chopsticks. If you think it’s hard to use chopsticks with your fingers, try doing it with tentacles — via Archie McPhee & Co
Caterpillar, originally uploaded by Ana Maria Rincon.
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