A good read on the sad state of the Venus Flytrap. Carnivorous plants native to the USA are increasingly close to becoming extinct, for absolutely no logical reason. All are easy to cultivate and readily available for under $10-$20. There is no need to poach whatsoever. Help save North American carnivores—we have more genera of carnivorous plant than ANY other continent, including the tropics.
Tag: biodiversity
‘Downright Scary-Looking’ Anglerfish Found in Deep Sea
“A new species of fish that researchers describe as being “downright scary looking” has just been discovered in the deep sea.”
Scary. But cool. There are still so many more secrets to discover from the deep sea.
Read more about this odd creature from Discovery News
Flamingo tongue snail (Cyphoma gibbosum)
The flamingo tongue snail is a species of small but brightly colored sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ovulidae, the cowry allies. This Cyphoma is the most common of several species in the genus which lives in the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to northern coast of Brazil, including the Bermuda, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Lesser Antilles. When it is alive, the snail appears bright orange-yellow in color with black markings. However, these colors are not in the shell, but are only
due to live mantle
tissue which usually cover the shell. The mantle flaps can be
retracted, exposing the shell, but this usually happens only when the
animal is attacked. The shells reach on average 25–35 millimetres of length. It feeds by browsing on the living tissues of the soft corals on which it lives. This species used to be common, but it has become rather uncommon in heavily visited areas because of over-collecting by snorkelers and scuba
divers, who make the mistake of thinking that the bright colors are in
the shell of the animal.photo credits: LASZLO ILYES, H. Zell, reefguide, jaxshells
Blanket Octopus Spotted in The Gulf of Mexico
This creature of the see is pretty rad. It is immune to the stings of the Man O’ War jellyfish and actually rips off the jelly fish’s tentacles and uses them as a whip. The males have a specially modified third right arm which stores sperm, known as a hectocotylus. During mating, the male octopus will detach his arm place into the mantle of the female to fertilize her eggs. The male dies shortly after mating.
Achrioptera fallax
Achrioptera fallax is a stick insect species found in Madagascar. The males are a bright electric blue (with greenish tints) and have two rows of reddish orange spines along the edges of the femur. There are also dark coloured spines going along the sides and underneath the thorax. Males are brachypterous (incapable of flight) and have small reduced wings. Females have a duller outlook. They are a light brown with red spines covering the entire thorax and the top of the head. The male grows up to 13 cm in length while the female is much bigger and can grow up to 18, 5 cm in length. Their diet in the wild is unknown but in captivity they mainly feed on bramble, raspberry, eucalyptus, and oak.
photo credits: thedancingrest, reptileforums
PiraticOctopus 