Categoria: Sem categoria

biomorphosis:

The Lybia crab is a species of small crab in the family Xanthidae. It is also referred to as Hawaiian boxer crab, pom-pom crab, cheerleader crab, mosaic boxer crab among many other nicknames.

The crabs are known for their signature move of always carrying a small living sea anemone around in each of its claws. 

By waving sea anemone into different routines its dances its way to a free meal, gathering debris and food particles from the ground around the crab’s hiding place. 

If provoked or attacked by a predator, the pom-pom crab (boxing crab) will threaten the aggressor and try to deter it by waving it’s anemones around, the tentacles of which are well armed with cnidocytes (stinging cells). Video

kearunning:

khrysdiebee:

b33tl3b0y:

lovely palmetto tortoise beetle sons. look at their sweet feets, look at their darling dimples

LOOK AT THE LITTLE FEET

These little feet are not only pretty, they are extremely functional! 

Like a gecko, this tortoise beetle (Hemisphaerota cyaneae) sticks to surfaces using many many tiny hairs on it’s feet! The hairs are coated in oil, and the combined surface tension of the oil keeps the beetle stuck down. When faced with danger (Ants!), the beetle clamps down and will not be moved. 

I remembered reading this in a book once, and after a bit of research I found it! In Tomas Eisner’s For Love of Insects, (phenomenal book, btw), he showcases an experiment where researchers tested the strength of this little beetle’s feet using a pulley system, wax, and a succession of larger weights. The beetle was able to withstand 2g of lift-pressure, 148x its own body weight! So yes, please do look at their feet, they are really amazing. 

sacculetta:

edge-of-existence-edge:

The maleo is a megapode, which is a large, chicken-like bird known for using alternative means to incubate its eggs rather than body heat.  Most megapodes construct massive mounds of rotting vegetation with the eggs buried within, warmed by the heat given off by decay.  Maleos are endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, and are found nowhere else in the world.

“why raise my babies when garbage can do it for me”