Species.com

Many species of deep ocean fish have special adaptations to living in extremely high pressure, low light conditions. Viper fish (Mesopelagic - found at 80-1600 meters - about a mile down) are some of the most wicked looking fish dredged up from the depths. Some of them are black as night all over with l...

I'm still consistently amazed at how often I'm directed to a new species of ugly, and this after almost four years of daily blogging. It's the trilobite beetle of Asia. Photo source: ExoBeetles.de These rare and endangered beetles can sometimes be spotted undulating in rotting wood after a rain. Bu...

You're looking at a close up of a crane fly, though you may know it as a mosquito eater or a mosquito hawk. The fear center of my brain knows them as flying spiders. I'm here to dispel a myth, a myth that I have believed up until about five minutes ago (I'm an office monkey, not a biologist, so cut me some slack...

Little is known about the granrojo jellyfish (discovered in 2003). It's one of the largest jellies, coming in at 2-3 feet across (which isn't as monstrous as I was hoping), and they live at depths of 600 - 1500 meters. They're the only described member of their genus. Despite having no heart, brains, e...

If you think that picture makes it hard to figure out what's going on with this creature, you're right. You'll find that all photos of it have the same problem. Sharing its name with an anti-terrorist unit led by Louis Gossett, Jr., the wolf-trap angler fish is also known as a wonderfish, which sounds m...

More than 1,000 creatures have puffed up and popped Recently, people in Hamburg, Germany were astonished to discover a pond filled to the brim with thousands of exploded frog corpses, which, according to the encyclopedia, is not typically how frogs enjoy their habitats. So what had happened at th...

Whenever I see a hornbill, and I behold that mighty beak and its casque, all I see is a massive wedge of toenail, complete with fungal infection. I want to call my grandpa's podiatrist and have him prescribe these birds some sort of anti-fungus medication, anything to mend what seems to be a jagged mass...

I just want to take a moment to introduce the Khorat big-mouthed frog to the Species community. This frog is among 163 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region of Thailand. How does it feel, you fang-mouthed frog, to know that you have a ready-made forum family awaiting you with open arms th...

Ever wondered what would happen if a jellyfish mated with a sea star? I haven't. But if I had, this is probably what I would have come up with: a large, gelatinous star. This echinoderm, is known as the hymenaster sea star, or giant slime star, and it gets to be about a foot across. Really, if you're going t...

I can't seem to find much out about the turtle frog (Myobatrachus gouldii) of South Western Australia. It seems as though it feeds on termites and lives in open woodlands and scrub plains. From what I can tell, it bypasses the whole tadpole phase of life. But why in the world give up being a tadpole? That...

Are Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs really supposed to get this big in captivity? This one is housed at the Granby Zoo in Quebec, Canada, so I assume it's being properly cared for. Maybe I assume too much... I once had a friend (I know, hard to believe), who owned a pot-bellied pig. The pig, who was by then fu...

Behold your new master. Behold his face and be afraid, behold his arms, outstretched to welcome his new subjects. Or, look at the hind end of a watersnipe fly larvae (Atherix ibis). The presence of these tiny freshwater creatures are actually good indicators of overall water quality. They have noth...

Sometimes caterpillars come with such amazing shapes and colors and spines and fur and toxins and appetites that I wonder why they even bother becoming butterflies. Why give up a life of carefree gluttony for flight and nectar and mating? I think that is a question best answered by the poets among us....

This fish is a real charmer. He was discovered dead off the coast of Brazil. He's a deep-sea jellynose fish (Ateleopodidae). This fish has a scaleless, tapered body and is around six foot in length (I might describe my own body this way). Not much is known about them (as is the case with most deep-sea lif...

The shoebill is one of my favorite birds, though I've never seen one in person. They get very large, upwards of 115-150 cm (45-64 in) tall, with a wingspan of 230-260 cm (91-125 in). I imagine that bill can do some damage, given that it's used to scoop up and devour small crocodiles. They're even reporte...

I always thought that a fly's face looks like a baseball being pulled apart at the seams. In fact, I get so distractd by that split and those eyes and that mouth that I've failed to notice the fly's sideburns. Shame on me. So Steve named this fly Logan (of Wolverine fame, for you non-nerds). Aptly named, t...

I didn't believe it at first. Is the Mwanza Flat-headed Rock Agama (Agama Mwanzae) for real? Does Spiderman really have a reptilian cousin? This Sub-Saharan African lizard is becoming all the rage among pet owners. And even though I abominate fad pets (or rather, the fad itself), I must admit to feel...

What does this face have to do with sericulture? Everything. Sericulture is the art/industry of raising silkworms for the purpose of harvesting their silk. Bombyx mori is the most common of the silkworm species. It is totally dependent of humans for reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in t...

The shark didn't long survive captivity (too warm, too shallow). Sidenote: They bear live young, typically 2-12 pups. I never knew that baby sharks were called pups. That's even cuter than 'fry.' http://...

	Forum	Replies	Views	Last Post
Alien Animals Water Species Fish Life in the Deep (Preview)	Alien Animals	1	1916	Sep 15, 2009 by Jollyjo
Many species of deep ocean fish have special adaptations to living in extremely high pressure, low light conditions. Viper fish (Mesopelagic - found at 80-1600 meters - about a mile down) are some of the most wicked looking fish dredged up from the depths. Some of them are black as night all over with l...
Insects Alien Animals Bug Trilobite (Preview)	Insect Species	0	4182	Sep 18, 2009 by Dj Quiva
I'm still consistently amazed at how often I'm directed to a new species of ugly, and this after almost four years of daily blogging. It's the trilobite beetle of Asia. Photo source: ExoBeetles.de These rare and endangered beetles can sometimes be spotted undulating in rotting wood after a rain. Bu...
Inseccts Parasites Alien Animals Crane Fly Myth Dispelled (Preview)	Insect Species	0	1936	Sep 19, 2009 by Dj Quiva
You're looking at a close up of a crane fly, though you may know it as a mosquito eater or a mosquito hawk. The fear center of my brain knows them as flying spiders. I'm here to dispel a myth, a myth that I have believed up until about five minutes ago (I'm an office monkey, not a biologist, so cut me some slack...
Water Species Alien Animals granrojo jellyfish (Preview)	Water Species	0	2261	Sep 24, 2009 by Dj Quiva
Little is known about the granrojo jellyfish (discovered in 2003). It's one of the largest jellies, coming in at 2-3 feet across (which isn't as monstrous as I was hoping), and they live at depths of 600 - 1500 meters. They're the only described member of their genus. Despite having no heart, brains, e...
Water Species Alien Animals Wolf Trap Anglerfish (Preview)	Water Species	0	3248	Sep 24, 2009 by Dj Quiva
If you think that picture makes it hard to figure out what's going on with this creature, you're right. You'll find that all photos of it have the same problem. Sharing its name with an anti-terrorist unit led by Louis Gossett, Jr., the wolf-trap angler fish is also known as a wonderfish, which sounds m...
Amphibians Birds Alien Animals exploding toads (Preview)	Amphibian Species	0	3171	Sep 24, 2009 by Dj Quiva
More than 1,000 creatures have puffed up and popped Recently, people in Hamburg, Germany were astonished to discover a pond filled to the brim with thousands of exploded frog corpses, which, according to the encyclopedia, is not typically how frogs enjoy their habitats. So what had happened at th...
Bird Species Alien Animals Silvery-cheeked Hornbill (Preview)	Bird Species	0	2162	Sep 26, 2009 by Dj Quiva
Whenever I see a hornbill, and I behold that mighty beak and its casque, all I see is a massive wedge of toenail, complete with fungal infection. I want to call my grandpa's podiatrist and have him prescribe these birds some sort of anti-fungus medication, anything to mend what seems to be a jagged mass...
Amphibians Alien Animals New Animal Species fang-mouthed frog (Preview)	Amphibian Species	0	2104	Sep 30, 2009 by Dj Quiva
I just want to take a moment to introduce the Khorat big-mouthed frog to the Species community. This frog is among 163 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region of Thailand. How does it feel, you fang-mouthed frog, to know that you have a ready-made forum family awaiting you with open arms th...
Water Species Alien Animals giant slime star or hymenaster sea star (Preview)	Alien Animals	0	1756	Oct 12, 2009 by Dj Quiva
Ever wondered what would happen if a jellyfish mated with a sea star? I haven't. But if I had, this is probably what I would have come up with: a large, gelatinous star. This echinoderm, is known as the hymenaster sea star, or giant slime star, and it gets to be about a foot across. Really, if you're going t...
Amphibians Alien Animals turtle frog (Myobatrachus gouldii) (Preview)	Alien Animals	0	1845	Oct 12, 2009 by Dj Quiva
I can't seem to find much out about the turtle frog (Myobatrachus gouldii) of South Western Australia. It seems as though it feeds on termites and lives in open woodlands and scrub plains. From what I can tell, it bypasses the whole tadpole phase of life. But why in the world give up being a tadpole? That...
Alien Animals Mammals Vietnamese pot-bellied pig (Preview)	Alien Animals	0	1624	Oct 12, 2009 by Dj Quiva
Are Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs really supposed to get this big in captivity? This one is housed at the Granby Zoo in Quebec, Canada, so I assume it's being properly cared for. Maybe I assume too much... I once had a friend (I know, hard to believe), who owned a pot-bellied pig. The pig, who was by then fu...
Alien Animals Insects Larvae watersnipe fly larvae (Atherix ibis) (Preview)	Alien Animals	0	1950	Oct 13, 2009 by Dj Quiva
Behold your new master. Behold his face and be afraid, behold his arms, outstretched to welcome his new subjects. Or, look at the hind end of a watersnipe fly larvae (Atherix ibis). The presence of these tiny freshwater creatures are actually good indicators of overall water quality. They have noth...
Alien Animals Insects ugly caterpillars (Preview)	Alien Animals	0	2647	Oct 13, 2009 by Dj Quiva
Sometimes caterpillars come with such amazing shapes and colors and spines and fur and toxins and appetites that I wonder why they even bother becoming butterflies. Why give up a life of carefree gluttony for flight and nectar and mating? I think that is a question best answered by the poets among us....
Alien Animals Rare Animals New Animal Species Water Species Bizarre Gelatinous Fish Found in Brazil \| Jellynose Fish (Preview)	Water Species	0	2050	Nov 8, 2009 by Dj Quiva
This fish is a real charmer. He was discovered dead off the coast of Brazil. He's a deep-sea jellynose fish (Ateleopodidae). This fish has a scaleless, tapered body and is around six foot in length (I might describe my own body this way). Not much is known about them (as is the case with most deep-sea lif...
Bird Species Alien Animals Shoe Bills (Preview)	Bird Species	2	1989	Feb 17, 2010 by Shem
The shoebill is one of my favorite birds, though I've never seen one in person. They get very large, upwards of 115-150 cm (45-64 in) tall, with a wingspan of 230-260 cm (91-125 in). I imagine that bill can do some damage, given that it's used to scoop up and devour small crocodiles. They're even reporte...
Insect Alien Animals Logan the Fly (Preview)	Insect Species	0	1977	Nov 21, 2009 by Dj Quiva
I always thought that a fly's face looks like a baseball being pulled apart at the seams. In fact, I get so distractd by that split and those eyes and that mouth that I've failed to notice the fly's sideburns. Shame on me. So Steve named this fly Logan (of Wolverine fame, for you non-nerds). Aptly named, t...
Alien Animals Reptillian Species Mwanza Flat-headed Rock Agama (Preview)	Reptillian Species	4	2707	Dec 16, 2009 by Shem
I didn't believe it at first. Is the Mwanza Flat-headed Rock Agama (Agama Mwanzae) for real? Does Spiderman really have a reptilian cousin? This Sub-Saharan African lizard is becoming all the rage among pet owners. And even though I abominate fad pets (or rather, the fad itself), I must admit to feel...
sericulture Alien Animals Bombyx mori (Preview)	Other Animal Species	0	1880	Jan 22, 2010 by Dj Quiva
What does this face have to do with sericulture? Everything. Sericulture is the art/industry of raising silkworms for the purpose of harvesting their silk. Bombyx mori is the most common of the silkworm species. It is totally dependent of humans for reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in t...
Alien Animals frilled shark (Preview)	Water Species	0	3887	Apr 13, 2010 by Dj Quiva
The shark didn't long survive captivity (too warm, too shallow). Sidenote: They bear live young, typically 2-12 pups. I never knew that baby sharks were called pups. That's even cuter than 'fry.' http://...