Yet again, the American media misleads by uncritically printing unverified, false claims from the U.S. military

2 notes

fuckyeahstrangecreatures:

Because of its weird physical appearance, the Suriname Toad appears to be a dead creature. Other common names of this species include Aparo, Rana Comun De Celdillas, Rana Tablacha, Sapo Chinelo, Sapo Chola, and Sapo De Celdas.

[source]

I want one.

fuckyeahstrangecreatures:

Because of its weird physical appearance, the Suriname Toad appears to be a dead creature. Other common names of this species include Aparo, Rana Comun De Celdillas, Rana Tablacha, Sapo Chinelo, Sapo Chola, and Sapo De Celdas.

image

[source]

I want one.

7 notes

fuckyeahstrangecreatures:

Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis is a frog species belonging to the family Sooglossidae. It can be found in the Western Ghats in India. Common names for this species are Purple Frog or Pignose Frog. It was discovered in October 2003 and was found to be unique for the geographic region.
The body of Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis is shaped similarly to that of most frogs, but is somewhat rounded compared to other more dorsoventrally-flattened frogs. Its arms and legs splay out in the standard anuran body form. Compared to other frogs, N. sahyadrensis has a small head and an unusual pointed snout. Adults are typically dark purple in color. The specimen with which the species was originally described was seven centimeters long from the tip of the snout to the tip of the urostyle. Also, its cry sounds more like one from a chicken.
[source]

fuckyeahstrangecreatures:

Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis is a frog species belonging to the family Sooglossidae. It can be found in the Western Ghats in India. Common names for this species are Purple Frog or Pignose Frog. It was discovered in October 2003 and was found to be unique for the geographic region.

The body of Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis is shaped similarly to that of most frogs, but is somewhat rounded compared to other more dorsoventrally-flattened frogs. Its arms and legs splay out in the standard anuran body form. Compared to other frogs, N. sahyadrensis has a small head and an unusual pointed snout. Adults are typically dark purple in color. The specimen with which the species was originally described was seven centimeters long from the tip of the snout to the tip of the urostyle. Also, its cry sounds more like one from a chicken.

[source]

16 notes

fuckyeahstrangecreatures:

The dugong (Dugong dugon) is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller’s Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. It is also the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of at least 37 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific, though the majority of dugongs live in the northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay. The dugong is the only strictly-marine herbivorous mammal, as all species of manatee utilize fresh water to some degree.
Like all modern sirenians, the dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fin or hind limbs, instead possessing paddle-like forelimbs used to maneuver itself. It is easily distinguished from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail, but also possesses a unique skull and teeth. The dugong is heavily dependent on seagrasses for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats where they grow, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels and the lee sides of large inshore islands. Its snout is sharply downturned, an adaptation for grazing and uprooting benthic seagrasses.

fuckyeahstrangecreatures:

The dugong (Dugong dugon) is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller’s Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. It is also the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of at least 37 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific, though the majority of dugongs live in the northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay. The dugong is the only strictly-marine herbivorous mammal, as all species of manatee utilize fresh water to some degree.

Like all modern sirenians, the dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fin or hind limbs, instead possessing paddle-like forelimbs used to maneuver itself. It is easily distinguished from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail, but also possesses a unique skull and teeth. The dugong is heavily dependent on seagrasses for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats where they grow, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels and the lee sides of large inshore islands. Its snout is sharply downturned, an adaptation for grazing and uprooting benthic seagrasses.

23 notes

fuckyeahstrangecreatures:

A mile and a half (two and a half kilometers) underwater, a remote control submersible’s camera has captured an eerie surprise: an alien-like, long-armed, and — strangest of all — “elbowed” Magnapinna squid.

In a brief video from the dive recently obtained by National Geographic News, one of the rarely seen squid loiters above the seafloor in the Gulf of Mexico on November 11, 2007. The clip—from a Shell oil company ROV (remotely operated vehicle)—arrived after a long, circuitous trip through oil-industry in-boxes and other email accounts.

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Based on analysis of videos not unlike the one captured at the Perdido site, scientists know that the adult Magnapinna observed to date range from 5 to 23 feet (1.5 to 7 meters) long, Vecchione said. By contrast, the largest known giant squid measured about 16 meters (52 feet) long.

And whereas giant squid and other cephalopods have eight short arms and two long tentacles, Magnapinna has ten indistinguishable appendages that all appear to be the same length. 

Referring to the way the tentacles hang down from elbow-like kinks, deep-sea biologist Bruce Robison of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California said: “Judging from that structure, we think the animal feeds by dragging its arms and the ends of its tentacles along the seafloor as it drifts slowly above it.”

The elbow-like angles allow the tentacles to spread out, perhaps preventing them from getting tangled.

“Imagine spreading the fingers of a hand and dragging the fingertips along the top of a table to grab bits of food,” he added.

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[Read the entire article here.]

They’ve been waiting for us…

O_O

44 notes

The ACLU is back to doing fuckin awesome work again.

clusterpod:

Greater Crested Terns, Thalasseus bergii.

The upper individual is a juvenile.

Penguin Island, Western Australia

Fly as hell.

60 notes