The Unstartled Steppes of Dream
I am Ashley.
This is my personal blog. If you want just marine biology, go here.
I love the world; I really don't like people.
I balance all this animosity towards the human race with being an almost always kind and gentle being to all creatures.
I'm highly introverted and nature is my primary escape from humanity.
Creepy-crawly-slimy things are my favorites. Dinosaurs are fantastic.
Future marine biologist; presently an amateur entomologist, ichthyologist, artist, biologist, and writer.
Literature, video game, and music connoisseur.
I'm so full of passion for the world that it hurts.
I think a lot, I laugh a lot, I love a lot.
Almost none of the photos are mine and only some of the drawings are mine.
Listen in.
Sunsets over Moon Lake in Theresa, NY.
The ornate cowfish (Aracana ornata), like all cowfish, has a skeleton made of fused bones, essentially trapping it in a barely-flexible box. For this reason, these fish are typically slow movers; however, it does have an advantage: few other fish are able to eat adult cowfish.
(Source)
The Crab Nebula was formed by a supernova that occurred just 900 years ago. This event was recorded by Chinese astronomers who described that one of the stars in the present-day constellation Taurus had suddenly grown as bright as the full moon. Over a period of two years, the supernova faded, leaving behind wispy remnants that are now recognized as the Crab Nebula. As the most easily observable supernova remnant, this nebula has been extensively studied. Studies show that the material within the central portion of the nebula changes within a time scale of only a few weeks.
There are two main theories about what has caused the unusual shape of the Ant Nebula. Either the central star is a close binary, its interacting gravitational forces shaping the outflowing gas, or it is a single spinning star whose magnetic field is directing the material it has ejected. The expelled stellar material is travelling at around 3.6 million km/h and impacting into the surrounding slower-moving medium. The lobes stretch outward more than 1.5 light-years. Observing the Ant Nebula may lead to insight about our own star as its central star seems to be quite similar to the sun.
The family Scolopendridae contains the largest centipede in the world (top left picture), the Peruvian giant yellow-legged centipede, also called the Amazonian giant centipede (Scolopendra gigantea). Scolopendrids are nocturnal hunters and can tackle prey quite a bit larger than themselves. It is not uncommon to see a centipede from this family catch and kill frogs or mice with their venomous claws. In fact, the smallest species are the most deadly within this family and are very capable of holding their own against small vertebrates.
Pictured:
Top Left - Scolopendra gigantea
Top Right - Scolopendra morsitans
Bottom Left - Scolopendra cingulata
Bottom Right - Scolopendra hardwickei
The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) has a rather unique way of eating its prey. As the name implies, this bird feeds on stinging insects; it does this by rubbing the insect’s stinging-end against its perch while squishing the body of the insect to dispel its venom.
Although Temminck’s tragopan (Tragopan temminckii) is naturally brightly colored, when the males engage in their courtship display, they show off even more magnificent colors to garner female attention. To do so, they inflate their throat wattle and shake it around until the female is impressed enough to allow the male to mate with her.
Coming in an array of blues and greens, the green and black poison-dart frog (Dendrobates auratus) belongs to a family of nearly 180 species that includes some of the most poisonous amphibians in the world.
Pontohi pygmy seahorse, Hippocampus pontohi
Photo © Teresa Zubi
