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.
The crocodile newt, also known as the mandarin salamander (Tylototriton verrucosus), is lined and dotted with bright orange markings that let other animals know not to eat it. When attacked, glands in the crocodile newt’s skin exude a distasteful secretion. Typically land-dwelling and nocturnal, this amphibian hunts at night for invertebrates. During monsoon season, they migrate to breeding ponds to lay their eggs before returning to their terrestrial environments.
(Photo source(s))
Order Caudata: Salamanders
Found in temperate and tropical climates around the globe, salamanders are typically small. Most rarely reach a length greater than 15 cm; however, some aquatic species and the Japanese giant salamander can grow longer than 1.5 m.
The Japanese Giant Salamander is one big amphibian. They can reach a length of almost five feet and weigh up to 65lbs. Eating isn’t a priority to these creatures because of their slow metabolisms, so they can go for weeks without nourishment if they need to, but when they do eat, it’s a sight to see. They catch fish, smaller salamanders, worms, insects, crayfish and snails with a rapid sideways snap of the mouth.
(source)
Axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum)
… a neotenic salamander, closely related to the Tiger Salamander. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis, so the adults remain aquatic and gilled. The species originates from numerous lakes, such as Lake Xochimilco underlying Mexico City. Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate limbs.
As of 2010, wild axolotls are near extinction due to urbanization in Mexico City and polluted waters. Nonnative fish such as African tilapia and Asian carp have also recently been introduced to the waters. These new fish have been eating the axolotls’ young, as well as its primary source of food. The axolotl is currently on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s annual Red List of threatened species...
(read more: Wikipedia) (photo: LoKiLeCh)
