Perhaps because the saiga gathers into such large groups to migrate and give birth, they are extremely vulnerable to disease. Between 1980 and 2014 there have been multiple mass die-offs of saiga herds due to disease, showing a contrast to their high reproductive rate. In the summer of 2015, another mass die-off occurred, this one taking the lives of over 120,000 saiga, or nearly half the world population. The cause of this devastating occurrence has still not been determined
Say hello to Conolophus marthae, a Fairy/Ground type.
Native to the Galapagos Islands, the pink iguana is extremely rare. It can be found on one mountain and one mountain only- Wolf Volcano- and it’s pink for some reason.
This species is critically endangered- not because of human encroachment but because it lives on one mountain. There’s only about a hundred individuals and the species was only defined in 2009 (and noticed by park rangers in 1986) because somehow we’ve gone generations without noticing a pink lizard roaming around.
They’re also mysterious. We know next to nothing about them. We’ve never seen a juvenile.
So, to recap: A mysterious pink creature living in one spot on a remote island. There’s no way Team Rocket doesn’t want this thing.
Hey, we have til January 15 to make public comments on setting aside a pretty significant amount of public land for sage grouse habitat, closing it off to new mining interests. Habitat loss and fragmentation is the number one cause of species endangerment and extinction, and it could be a great opportunity to help the sage grouse recover! More details at the link above, to include the email address for public commentary.
Wanna save the sage grouse? This gorgeous critter here?
Then head to the link above and tell the BLM to suspend mining in critical sage grouse territory! Why do we want to save the sage grouse? Because just look how FABULOUS this guy is!
And he’s a got a pretty cute girlfriend, too!
And they need a place to not only mate but safely lay their eggs, like these:
So they can hatch into adorable lil’ babies like this one:
Some of whom may get to grow up and participate in Sage Grouse Olympics:
But in order for that to happen, we have to keep their habitat safe. Their numbers have dropped sharply in the last century. See this landscape here?
That may look like a lot of sage grouse, but historically that entire field would have been filled with them, way back across those rolling hills. Soon there may only be a few left.
So please–take a moment, and make a public comment in favor of suspending new mining activity in order to protect the sage grouse.
The public comment period closes Jan. 15. A map of the areas considered for withdrawal is available athttp://arcg.is/1RFF8cW.
Send written comments to BLM Director, 1849 C Street NW., (WO-200), Washington, DC, 20240. Electronic comments can be emailed to sagebrush_withdrawals@blm.gov.
They have beautiful little shells that come in a vast array of colours and patterns, but that doesn’t mean you’ll actually get to see them…
Button Tops are usually almost entirely buried beneath the surface of the sand. The only things that poke out above the surface are their tentacles, eye stalks and two tubes known as siphons.
One siphon sucks in water and filters out tiny bits of food, the other siphon ejects the water back out again.
Personally, I don’t know what I like better, the face or the shell!
Dark ghost shark (Hydrolagus novaezealandiae) and the pale ghost shark (Hydrolagus bemisi), both are shortnose chimaera of the family Chimaeridae, found on the continental shelf around the South Island of New Zealand in depths from 30 to 850 m.
Both ghost shark species are taken almost exclusively as a bycatch of other target trawl fisheries
I wanted to share this awesome, brand new bird poster from the artists at Pop Chart Lab with you all. This large 39″ x 27″ poster features a stunning 740+ species of native and introduced birds found in North America. They are drawn *somewhat* to scale and grouped by family. Pop Chart Lab is offering 5% off for @becausebirds followers with the code: BBirds5.
In this extraordinary case of mimicry, a harmless katydid (Aganacris sp.), mimics the feared tarantula hawk (Pepsis sp.) This large wasp has one of the most painful insect stings known. Its sting has been described as “Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair dryer has been dropped into your bubble bath” by the Schmidt Pain Index, a measure of severity of insect stings. That’s good news for the katydid, since many predators have learned to avoid insects with the warning coloration of the Pepsis wasp.
is a unique species of bat found only in western mexico. This species gets its name not from its diet but the fact that the bat acts as a pollinator of the banana plant as it feeds on its flowers. The banana bat can feed on flowers due to its hummingbird-esque long snout and freakishly long tongue which is two thirds of the bats body length. These bats are usually seen roosting in small groups in trees and rocky overhangs.
Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) is a Halloween Horror!
There are numerous species in the genus Aconitum found across the northern hemisphere in mountain meadows.
They have a long and storied history and have been known by many names. Names like Devil’s Helmet, Mousebane, Wolfsbane, Leopard’s Bane, Women’s Bane and Queen of all Poisons.
Did you know “bane” comes from old Germanic for DEATH? Later on it came to refer to stuff like poison and it turns out Monkshood is a great, big, horrible poison, capable of killing people within hours by interfering with the rhythm of their beating heart.
Some say it grew from the spittle of Cerberus, guard dog of the Underworld. Others say it was discovered by Hecate, probably the Halloweeniest goddess of them all.
Either way, Monkshood has been used to hunt animals, assassinate Caesars and commit murders for thousands of years and right up to the present day!
Tacua speciosa is a very large Southeast Asian species of cicada. It is the only member of its genus. Tacua speciosa has a wingspan of 15–18 cm (5.9–7.1 in) and a head-body length of 4.7–5.7 cm (1.9–2.2 in). Megapomponia, Pomponia and Tacua are the largest cicadas in the world. Tacua speciosa has black wings, a yellow-green collar, a red transversal stripe on the thorax and a turqouise-blue abdomen.
NOPE
YUSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!
look at its derpy lil face tho
On the inverse, this thing must scream like a goddamn jet engine.
PiraticOctopus 