Posts tagged with "nature"
Amazing Volcanic Photography of Martin Rietze
holy moly
(via luminousinsect)
A rock hyrax, whose closest living relative is the African elephant. (Wild Arabia - BBC)
(via theanimalblog)
Rhodotus is a genus in the Physalacriaceae family of fungi. It is a monotypic genus and consists of the single mushroom species Rhodotus palmatus, known in the vernacular as the netted Rhodotus, the rosy veincap, or the wrinkled peach.
Chalcedony-coated Mordenite (by fluor_doublet)
A female Blanket Octopus might get to about a meter or 2 (3.3 to 6.6 feet) in length, but her first 2 pairs of legs are extra specially long. Attached to them is a huge span of webbing that is normally hidden away.In times of need, this drapery is unfurled, spread out and left to billow in the water. This makes her look far larger and more threatening than she actually is, hopefully scaring off any predators. If it doesn’t seem to be working so well, bits of her blanket can even detach from the rest to act as a decoy.
Blanket Octopus are immune to the stings of the Portuguese Man o’ War. They can rip off a few of the Man o’ War’s tentacles and wield them like whips. Poisonous, stinging whips.
if i was beast boy this is what i would be 24/7
(via jessversus)
(Source: darkangelsbride, via dethjunkie)
Tarantula infected with Cordyceps. Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi that includes about 400 described species. When a Cordyceps fungus attacks a host, the mycelium invades and eventually replaces the host tissue, while the elongated fruiting body(ascocarp) may be cylindrical, branched, or of complex shape. The ascocarp bears many small, flask-shaped perithecia containing asci. These in turn contain thread-like ascospores, which usually break into fragments and are presumably infective. Some Cordyceps species are able to affect the behavior of their insect host: Cordyceps unilateralis causes ants to climb a plant and attach there before they die. This ensures the parasite’s environment is at an optimal temperature and humidity and maximal distribution of the spores from the fruiting body that sprouts out of the dead insect is achieved.
(Source: dadoodoflow, via luminousinsect)
Polar Bear’s Snow Addiction Is ‘Out of Control’
In what is an all too familiar tale, celebrity polar bear cub Siku has fallen victim to the scourge of addiction. His substance of choice? Snow.
“The pressures of being a celebrity are just too much to, uh, bear for many young polar bear cubs. Sadly, they often turn to substance abuse,” explained certified bearologist Toby Park. “Snow is readily accessible where Siku lives.”
According to sources close to the situation, Siku plays in the snow almost every day.
“The stuff is basically free here,” said one insider who wished to remain anonymous. “And Siku has money, so he’s buying the white stuff by the pound. He’s out of control.”
On a serious note, it’s International Polar Bear Day! Celebrate by taking part in the “Thermostat Challenge,” and adjusting your thermostat up or down a few degrees (depending on where in the world you live) in an effort to lower carbon emissions and help save polar bears. Learn more at Polar Bears International.
Photos courtesy of Explore.org. See more photos of Siku here.
(Source: xigh, via namesofthedead)
Meteorite plunges into ocean off Australian coast
We’ve recently seen the fireworks show that happens when a blazing meteorite unleashes a fireball across the daytime sky, as this one recently did in California. We have also seen the amazing new and exotic minerals that they hold, some of them even older than Earth.
But I’ve never seen a shot of a meteor falling through the waning light of a sunset before. This beautiful photo was captured by Perth resident Gavin Trought as a meteor likely disintegrated through the path of the setting sun.
(via profesormoriarty)
Fiery-throated Hummingbird by Glenn Bartley
(Source: earth-song, via colinaut)
File under, evolution is awesome! (via Aliens on Earth: macro photographs of insects by Igor Siwanowicz - Telegraph)
