#wlgotw

[weird-little-guy-of-the-week]

No. 5 Ribbon Eel Rhinomuraena quaesita

Found in reefs and shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific.

All ribbon eels are born male, only turning into the entirely yellow females later in life. At this point they develop female reproductive organs, lay eggs and then die all within a month.

[v-spicata]

Hello everyone, I'm starting a new fun, little side project!

✨Weird Little Guy of the Week✨

Each week, I'm going to choose an animal from the slightly excessive spreadsheet I've made, draw and then upload it. It'll be very light on info unlike some other excellent blogs as I want to keep it just as a casual and chill side project.

All the animals I've chosen are ones I'm drawn to in being a bit unusual. Some are very obscure but there's also plenty of more well known species mixed in. All of them are definitely worthy of appreciation. As the blog goes on hopefully it'll grow to be a really nice showcase of the weird and wonderful diversity of life.

Each one's scheduled for Monday morning. Give me a follow if you're interested. 😊

[weird-little-guy-of-the-week]

No. 10 Fantastic Least Gecko Sphaerodactylus fantasticus

Found in the Caribbean on the islands of Dominica, Montserrat and Guadalope.

Lives and feeds on the forest floor, preferring a deep layer of leaf litter.

The genus Sphaerodactylus contains many species dotted around the Caribbean including the Jaragua Dwarf Gecko (S. ariasae), a contender for the title of the world’s smallest known reptile at ~14-18mm in length.

[weird-little-guy-of-the-week]

No. 3 Silky Anteater Cyclopes sp.

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No. 12 Pretty Worm-Lizard Aprasia pulchella

Found in rocky terrain in South-West Australia.

Lives under stones and boulders where it feeds mainly on ants.

Belongs to the family Pygopodidae, another lineage of legless lizards separate to the Amphisbaenians. The Pygopodids are an off-branch of the Geckos and share some characteristics with them such as their skull and inner ear anatomy.

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No. 11 Ugly Worm Lizard

Cynisca feae

Found in West Africa.

Fairly small, approx. 16cm in length.

A member of the Amphisbaenians, one of the several legless lizard lineages. Amphisbaenians are characterised by their vestigial eyes and unusual skin, consisting of rows of scales which allow them to move and burrow with a stretching-contracting motion similar to earthworms.

[weird-little-guy-of-the-week]

No. 6 Fried Eggs Worm Archipheretima middletoni

Found only in old growth forest on Luzon in the Philippines.

Can grow to almost a foot long.

Does not burrow and lives almost entirely in the leaf litter, apart from the juveniles which live solitarily in pandan trees and tree ferns.

The yellow and white spots may act as disruptive camouflage on the forest floor.

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No. 9 Tibetan Fox Vulpes ferrilata

Found on the steppes of the Tibetan Plateau from Northern India through to Western China.

More specialised carnivores than other foxes, Tibetan foxes primary prey are pikas which they have been observed hunting alongside brown bears opportunistically.

Their distinctive thick fur, small eyes and ears are all likely to be adaptations for the cold of the high altitude.

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No. 4 Long-Wattled Umbrellabird Cephalopterus penduliger

Found in Columbian & Ecuadorian rainforest.

The male’s wattle may be retracted in or extended at will and can be roughly 80% its body length.

Filled with air sacs, the wattle is slowly inflated and used to power the male’s deep, fluting calls during leks.

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No.7 Dracula Parrot Psittrichus fulgidus

Found in upland forest of New Guinea.

Most commonly known in English as Pesquet’s Parrot.

Specialises in feeding mainly on figs. The bare head may be a convergent adaptation with vultures to avoid matted feathers from sticky liquids – fruit juices with Pesquet’s Parrot and other less wholesome fluids with vultures.

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No. 1 Mediterranean Shame-Faced Crab Calappa granulata

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No. 2 Pyburn's Pancake Frog Otophryne pyburni

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No.8 Castleback Orbweaver Micrathena gracilis

Found in forests of North and Central America.

Small spiders, 2-10mm in length.

Can vary in colour from black and white to entirely yellow.

[weird-little-guy-of-the-week]

No. 13 Hammer-Headed Bat Hypsignathus monstrosus

Found in lowland forests across West and Central Africa.

They are the largest species of bat in Africa.

Only the males have their distinctive, boxy head profile. Their sinuses act as a resonating chamber for their calls during the breeding season, where they gather in leks and 'honk' loudly to impress the females. Here's a link to a recording on Xeno-Canto by Frank Willems of these calls in Zambia.