Pearls in situ
A giant fluorescent pink slug Triboniophorous aff. graeffei found only in the misty Mount Kaputar area of north-western New South Wales, Australia. By day it hides under leaf mould but on rainy nights locals have long reported sightings of hundreds of the astonishing creatures that come out to feed off mould and moss.
Picture: MICHAEL MURPHY/AFP/Getty Images (via Pictures of the day: 29 April 2013 - Telegraph)
This is one of the best slugs.
”The Hawaiian creation myth relates that the present cosmos is only the last of a series, having arisen in stages from the wreck of the previous universe. In this account, the octopus is the lone survivor of the previous, alien universe”, - Dixon, Roland Burrage (1916). The Mythology of All Races: Oceanic 9. Marshall Jones. p. 15.
CEPHALOPODS!
I revamped my old “strangest cephalopods” article with some updated and correct info, a few new images and condensed it onto one page. Learn things about tentacles!!
Not a sculpture, a CG model or a movie prop.
This is a real close-up shot of a real colossal squid. This is what the eyes of large squid look like.
<3
Eastern Emerald Elysia
Elysia chlorotica is a “solar-powered” marine sea slug that sequesters and retains photosynthetically active chloroplasts from the algae it eats and, remarkably, has incorporated algal genes into its own genetic code. It is emerald green in color often with small red or white markings, has a slender shape typical of members of its genus, and parapodia (lateral “wings”) that fold over its body in life. This sea slug is unique among animals to possess photosynthesis-specific genes and is an extraordinary example of symbiosis between an alga and mollusc as well as a genetic chimera of these two organisms.
More solar sea slugs. Yes, they’re animals, but they do act and even look a lot like plants…
Octopuses have three hearts. Two branchial hearts pump blood through each of the two gills, while the third pumps blood through the body. Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein hemocyanin for transporting oxygen. Although less efficient under normal conditions than the iron-rich hemoglobin of vertebrates, in cold conditions with low oxygen pressure, hemocyanin oxygen transportation is more efficient than hemoglobin oxygen transportation. The hemocyanin is dissolved in the plasma instead of being carried within red blood cells and gives the blood a bluish color. Octopuses draw water into their mantle cavity where it passes through its gills. As mollusks, octopuses have gills that are finely divided and vascularized outgrowths of either the outer or the inner body surface.
A praying mantis takes a ride on a snail’s back in Seruyan, Indonesia. Macro photographer Nordin Seruyan, who captured the moment in Borneo, says the insect was knocked from a leaf by heavy rainfall and plummeted into a puddle. Luckily it managed to climb onboard a passing snail and hitch a lift to safety.
Lifeguard snail! So cute.
No way to determine the species but I love this type of “shelled slug”…I don’t think any like this are found outside tropical rainforest but I could be wrong.
A simple dome-shaped shell is embedded deep in their back, partially covered by a “lid” of skin. Probably offers a little protection to some vital organs, though either way just having one hard part can discourage some predators who would otherwise love to slurp up a slug.
There are many other “gradients” between what we call a slug and a snail. A shell gives a snail emergency shelter and can help it avoid dessication, but limits its options when it needs to hide, and can be smashed by larger carnivores or a bad fall. A slug might seem less defended, but can squeeze itself into any available crevice and flee where a snail can’t go.
A gastropod like this one has some of the advantages and disadvantages of both!
