#Animal of the day

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Flying Gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans)

(Photo from Shorefishes)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Atlantic Ocean

Size (Weight/Length)- 50 cm

Diet- Crustaceans; Small fish; Aquatic worms

Cool Facts- The flying gurnard is a magnificent fish with its gorgeous ‘wings’. These ‘wings’ are just extremely long pectoral fins. They are displayed when the fish grows excited or nervous and allows its body to look much larger, and harder to swallow, than it did a few seconds ago. They tend to stick to the sandy bottom of the shallow ocean, walking on the floor using their pelvic fins. Flying gurnards can only swim for short bursts using their ‘wings’ like a gliding mechanism through the water. These fish are capable of making a low, grunting noise by vibrating their swim bladder. Scientists believe they may use these noises to communicate with each other or possibly frighten predators.

Rating- 12/10 (Their wing-tips are edged in phosphorescent blue.)

[animal-of-the-day]

Could you do a post about some kind of cute lil snail? :3

(Hope I am not annoying with the multiple requests ^-^" also didn't know if I should request them all together or alone, thought each as one alone might be better for keeping track)

Animal of the day: Desmoulin's whorl snail !

Whorl snails are tiny terrestrial molluscs found in wetlands across Europe. The latin name of this species is Vertigo moulinsiana, named after the French naturalist Charles des Moulins. They are certainly very cute :)

Their shells grow up to 2.6mm long, made up of 4-5 curling structures known as whorls, hence why they are called whorl snails ! The shells are more pointy when they are young, but as they grow up they become more rounded. Like most snails they are hermaphrodites (they produce both types of gametes) and reproduce by exchanging gametes or self-fertilisation.

Their tiny size means they cannot travel far on their own, but research has found that they can float on water currents and attach themselves to larger animals which enables them to colonise larger ranges.

Due to draining of water sources and land use change, whorl snails are classified as a vulnerable or even endangered species on the IUCN Red List. We must protect wetland habitats to keep these little guys safe :(

[thiscountry]

mouthful

[halltastic]

[theanimalkingdom]

Animal of the Day:

Rufous Hummingbird

[gskiphotography]

Have an adventurous weekend…

@gskiphotography

…just like this brave turtle walking through the Tanzanian safari with his head up.

[rinusuarez]

The digital sticker album is almost done. I will begin with Perissodactyla order which contains the rhinos, horses, and tapirs families. Is looking good and the mechanics are working. More of it soon. Let's see the animal of this week. Māui Dolphin This is a subspecies of Hector's Dolphin (The one I showed you the last time). Also, live uniquely on New Zealand coasts, but more specifically in a very small range of the West of the North Island of the country. Sadly, less than 60 animals exist in the wild, making it the most endangered dolphin in the world. There are several programs that are in action in order to protect it from extinction and the results have been somehow optimistic. Fishing, Toxoplasmosis (an infection caused by a parasite called Toxoplasma), Brucellosis (a Bacteria), Oil and gas operations, and Climate change are the reasons why this dolphin is on the brink of extinction. It's always sad to see an animal fading away. I hope the programs that are working to recover their numbers work. Here is a link to one of them in case you want to know more. Maui63 ______________________________________________ Credits: Māui Dolphin _____________________________________________ Thank you guys for your love and support. Don't forget to give it a Like or reblogs if you like the content. You also can follow the page or check out my store if you want to give some support. See you next week.

[troythecatfish]

Hellbender Appreciation Post

[kojidesu]

yall ever heard of binturongs? well now you have!

these lil fellas are also called bearcats! dont let the image fool you though. these guys are quite big! they can be up to 84cm (thats not including their tail which can add up to another 69cm).

these guys are assessed as vulnerable as their populations are declining as much as 30% since the 1980s. unfortunately a lot of this decline is down to logging and degradation of forests leading to habitat loss. another big factor is that these guys are captured for trade and consumption.

some facts about binturongs!

they are the only animal in the arctictis genus still alive today.

their urine is said to smell like popcorn.

despite the name bearcat, they are closely related to neither species. they are actually a species of the viverridae family.

they are one of only two carnivorous species that have prehensile tails - the other being kinkajous.

i found out about these guys a little while ago and on monday i got to see one in real life for the first time. i just want everyone to know about these wonderful creatures because they are truly beautiful and i have so much love for them.

[lordofthecoffee]

Visited the Marine Life Center in Bellingham yesterday. It's a small educational center at the port, free to the public, and so so very cool!

Their touch tanks are currently closed keep the tanks' parameters in check for the health of all the inhabitants, but most specifically to protect the various sea stars at the center which are vulnerable to sea star wasting syndrome.

They had lots of crabs and shrimp ((the spider crabs and hermits had fantastic moss and algae camo))

Feesh

Anemones

And you already know what I'm about: nudibranches! Lemons and a leopard dorrit

Plus scallops (zoom waaay in and you can see the small dots around the mantle-- those are actually their many eyes) and the orange sea cucumber, which wedges its body in rocks and uses tentacles for feeding

[wtfcl0ud]

gonna find all the possible daily x things i can add to rss feed hehehehe

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Tasmanian Giant Crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas)

(Photo in Public Domain)

Conservation Status- Unlisted

Habitat- Coastal Southern Australia

Size (Weight/Length)- 17 kg; 46 cm width

Diet- Carrion; Crustaceans; Starfish

Cool Facts- Being one of the heaviest species of crab, the Tasmanian giant crab is the apex of its environment. These crabs live a slow life due to their size. They eat as many bottom dwellers as they can, helping to build up their extremely thick carapace. Despite being relatively slow, they can slam their giant claws with enough force to crack open mussels and other crabs. Once every nine years, Tasmanian giant crabs molt their carapace and can be threatened by large species of sharks and seals. People see the crabs as a delicacy, but their harvest is carefully regulated and only specific sizes can be gathered.  When a crab has enough strength to snip off a finger like a carrot, I salute anyone who gets within pinching distance.

Rating- 12/10 (Carcinization at its finest.)

[thiscountry]

I am the boss!!

[halltastic]

[theanimalkingdom]

Animal of the Day:

Lutra

[gskiphotography]

Gray Langurs & Toque Macaque

@gskiphotography

Mirror or no mirror! I present to you the Grey Langurs and Toque Macaque - Old World monkeys endemic to Sri Lanka.

How much do they resemble us, our behaviours!

Their species is listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature due to habitat destruction and hunting, and also for the pet trade.

Check out more on my ig: https://instagram.com/gskiphotography?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=