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.
Creobotra elegans is a species of flower mantid, all of which belong to the family Hymenopodidae. The family (almost 300 species) is characterized by bright, contrasting colors that often allow the insects to be camouflaged on flowers.
The nymphs of flower mantids are able to hunt their own prey immediately after their cuticles have hardened.
These mantids have an ultrasonic ear that they use to detect predators, and some species have a second ear that can hear much lower frequencies. The exact purpose of this second ear is unknown, but it is probably useful for hunting or avoiding predation.
(Source)
One of the most colorful of all the marine arthropods, the peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyallarus) has garnered a certain amount of media attention in the scientific community for a number of reasons. Contrary to its name, it is not an actual shrimp, but it is a crustacean, in the same sub-phylum as lobsters, crabs, and shrimp. The eyes of peacock mantis shrimp are mobile, compound eyes that see not only in color but in some ultraviolet shades as well; they are the only animals in the world with hyper-spectral vision. These eyes are an important asset to the species, as they allow it to see approaching prey very easily.
When its prey is within reach, this mantis shrimp shoots out one of its enormously powerful front legs at a velocity of 120 kilometers per hour and up to 100 times the force of its own body weight. This force is generated by a joint in the legs that acts like a spring. It is strong enough to break aquarium glass and it allows this mantis shrimp to take on prey larger than itself, such as other crustaceans and mollusks. Like other mantis shrimp, they live in burrows on the ocean floor and in crevices in rocks, which can lead to their accidental transportation to aquariums.
(To hear more and see one swimming around, click here.)
Photos © Ryan Photographic
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(via insectlove)
allcreatures: A praying mantis on a camera at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) world championships in Daegu, South Korea. Photograph: Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images
(Source: Guardian, via insectlove)
