zoology
grrlscientist | February 20, 2007This is a video of wild chimps using stone tools to crack open nut shells so they can get at the nutmeats inside. Most of the chimps have a baby sitting next to them, learning about the reward to be had after crushing the nut with a rock.
grrlscientist | February 16, 2007
The Panamanian golden frog, Atelopus zeteki,
is one of roughly 110 species of harlequin frog (Atelopus),
many of which are dying out. Although this species still survives, its
numbers have fallen significantly.
Image source.
Zoos around the world are collecting thousands of threatened species of amphibians to protect them from a deadly fungus. They plan to breed and rear them in captivity until the fungus can be stopped.
The rapid loss of amphibians, particularly many species of frogs, is a growing threat due to the chytrid fungus, which infects the skin of frogs and other amphibians,…
grrlscientist | February 16, 2007
Brenthia hexaselena, a species of metalmark moth,
flares its hind wings (HW) and spreads its forewings (FW) to mimic a jumping spider.
In lab trials, spiders caught 6 percent of the metalmark moths presented to them, as opposed to 62 percent of other moth species. What's more, the spiders sometimes made territorial gestures at the metalmarks -- and occasionally backed away.
For most moths, the sight of a jumping spider makes them panic as they try to escape its lethal pounce. But not so for metalmark moths in the genus Brenthia. These moths stand their ground with hind wings flared and…
grrlscientist | February 14, 2007
Madagascar blind snake, Xenotyphlops mocquardi.
A rare blind snake has been rediscovered in Madagascar a century after its last sighting. The snake, which looks like a long, skinny pink worm, was only known from two other specimens, both discovered in 1905.
"They're really rare because they're subterranean," said blind-snake expert Van Wallach of Harvard University who described the new specimen. "You can't just go out anytime you want and collect these things. You can dig forever and never find them."
Scientists captured the snake, called Xenotyphlops mocquardi, alive in 2005 during an…
grrlscientist | February 14, 2007
The film captured the squid, Taningia danae, in action: 1 The squid swims towards the bait; 2 It spreads its arms wide; 3 It swims around the bait, twisting its body; 4 It grabs the bait with its eight arms.
Japanese scientists have discovered that large deep-sea squids produce flashes of bioluminescent light on their tentacles as they attack their prey. These light flashes are thought to disorient their prey, making it easier for the squid to grab their potential victim with their eight tentacles.
Writing in a Royal Society journal, the paper's authors say that squid are far from the…
grrlscientist | February 9, 2007
Manduca sexta, the tobacco hornworm hawkmoth, in flight.
Image: A. Hinterworth.
Researchers have discovered that moth antennae have gyroscope-like sensors to help them control their flight through the air. Because they fly at night, the source of their smooth and graceful flight was a mystery because they could not rely on visual cues.
But a research team headed by Sanjay Sane, a biologist at the University of Washington, Seattle, found a structure at the base of the antennae that senses when the moth's body begins to pitch or roll, it relays this information to the brain, which causes the…
grrlscientist | January 23, 2007tags: Microraptor gui, microraptor, biplane, bird flight, evolution
The ancestors of modern birds are thought to have been small, feathered, dinosaurs, the theropods. One of these small feathered dinosaurs is Microraptor gui, a feathered dromaosaur that lived 125 million years ago in what is now China. According to the evidence, Microraptor gui was one of the earliest gliders. But unlike modern birds, it appears to have utilized four wings, like a biplane, because it had long and asymmetric flight feathers on both its hands and feet.
According to initial interpretations, Microraptor flew…
grrlscientist | January 22, 2007
The humping tortoises were spotted in the highlands of Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands.
The male didn't seem at all put off by having half a dozen voyeurs taking photos. The
female was totally unimpressed by everyone, including the male, and wanted to go
back to sleep.
Image: Annie.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a…
grrlscientist | January 21, 2007
Unknown beetle species on wild prickly rose
at the photographer's house in Eagle River, Alaska 25 June 2006
using a Canon 5D, with a 100mm macro lens.
Image: David Lee.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them…
grrlscientist | January 20, 2007
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio canadensis,
on rhubarb at the photographer's house in Eagle River, Alaska 22 June 2002.
Photo was taken using a Kodak DC-4800, some images with a lens adapter and a 7x or 10x (or both) lens, at full camera resolution (2160x1440).
Image: David Lee.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are…
grrlscientist | January 19, 2007
Bumble Bee, Bombus species,
on wild geranium at the Eagle River Nature Center in Alaska, 29 June 2002.
Photo was taken using a Kodak DC-4800, some images with a lens adapter and a 7x or 10x (or both) lens, at full camera resolution (2160x1440).
Image: David Lee.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world…
grrlscientist | January 17, 2007
A prairie falcon, Falco mexicanus.
This photo was taken on Christmas Eve in north-central Kansas.
Image: David A. Rintoul.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-term monetary gains. But…
grrlscientist | January 16, 2007
A couple of grunion on a sandy beach, spawning.
The photographer said, "I like how colorful they turn out to be - honestly, when you're standing there looking at them late at night with flashlights they don't look much more than gray." This photo is one of a series.
Image: Carl Manaster.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We…
grrlscientist | January 14, 2007
A small wasp washing its face.
The photo was taken on the path that runs behind the photographer's house.
Image: miz_geek.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: wasp, insect,nature, entomology, zoology
grrlscientist | January 12, 2007
One of the Arizona desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii that the photographer is a care taker of. It is probably Aphrodite.
Image: Mark Newton.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: tortoise, reptile, nature, zoology
grrlscientist | January 11, 2007
A southern alligator lizard, Elgaria multicarinata.
It was sunning itself on railroad ballast near Hood River, Oregon, spring of 2006. Specifically, on the Hood River Railroad, along Hood River, just east of the town of Hood River.
Image: Conrad Frost, Fisheries Biologist.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with…
grrlscientist | January 8, 2007
Woodland Skipper, Poanes melanae,
puddling at a seep in the Deschutes National Forest
on 18 July 2006.
Skippers are ubiquitous. This is a fairly small, compact
butterfly. When a large number are nectaring in a
concentrated fashion, one can hear the fast flutter
of their wings.
Image: Biosparite.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email…
grrlscientist | January 7, 2007
Recently emerged Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis.
Image: Bev Wigney.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, amigos bonitos, and I am overwhelmed by the beauty of these images and the creatures and places depicted. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
.
tags: Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, entomology
grrlscientist | January 6, 2007
Following (below the fold) are a few of the bird posters that I saw yesterday at SICB.
Class. Substantial data exists on the behavioral endocrinology of temperate-zone birds, yet ornithologists are just beginning to examine and compare tropical birds to temperate zone birds. In a recent comparative study, tropical birds had lower mean peak testosterone levels on average than temperate birds. However, several tropical species in the study had comparable or higher peak testosterone levels than temperate species. In contrast, in a study of peak testosterone levels in three species of the genus…
grrlscientist | January 6, 2007
I also managed to see a lot of posters today -- some of which I will tell you about below the fold (I primarily focused on those posters that discussed birds or molecular evolution of certain characters);
Albers. The mosquito larvae of the genus Ochlerotatus actively regulate of the osmotic pressure of their body fluids so as to maintain homeostasis of the body's water content, a process known as osmoregulation. For this reason, some species are restricted to freshwater habitats while others can successfully osmoregulate in saline waters that greatly exceed the concentration of seawater.…