Tag: meet the

Meet the Tardigrade

Credit: William R. Miller Tardigrade Reference Center
Credit: William R. Miller Tardigrade Reference Center

Tardigrades are within the Superphylum Ecdysozoa and about 400 species make up the Tardigrada phylum. These 8-legged segmented bits of awesomeness live in water and are the some of the most extreme of all the extremophiles. Tardigrades are able to survive near absolute zero (-459F) all the way up to 304F.

Here is a short video from National Geographic:

Tardigrades are being utilized in research as a model system to examine development driving the evolution of morphology. Follow this link to the Goldstein lab at UNC-Chapel Hill.

“Meet the…” is a collaboration between The Finch & Pea and Nature Afield to bring Nature’s amazing creatures into your home.

 

Meet the Ping-pong Tree Sponge

789a987a5a5c5e3d_mbari_chondrocladia_72The aptly named Ping-pong tree sponge (Chondrocladia lampadiglobus) is a carnivorous sponge. At first glance, you may think “I want that mid-century modern lamp” or “that sponge is adorable”, but the Ping-pong tree sponge is a stone-cold carnivorous killer. Those ping-pong ball looking things are covered in tiny spicules which the sponge uses to catch tiny crustaceans.

Check out another sponge in the same genus-the harp sponge (Chondrocladia lyra).

“Meet the…” is a collaboration between The Finch & Pea and Nature Afield to bring Nature’s amazing creatures into your home.

Meet the Springtail

Orchesella cincta (Photo by Mvuijlst - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)
Orchesella cincta (Photo by Mvuijlst – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)

Springtails are all around us.

Springtails (Collembola) are hexapods but not insects, being members of the insects’ sister class Entognatha (which also includes proturans and diplurans). They are tiny (<6mm), and numerous, occurring at densities up to around 100,000 per square meter of topsoil. They are important components of forest floor ecosystems, and some species can also be found floating on the surface of stagnant water. Continue reading “Meet the Springtail”

Meet the Olm: Salamander Super-Ager


The olm is the only species in the genus Proteus within the Proteidae family (the other genus is Necturus). Olms are cave salamanders found in Southern Europe. Like many other derived groups of salamanders the males courts the females before depositing a spermatophore for her to pick up with her cloaca. Fertilization is internal in the olm. Continue reading “Meet the Olm: Salamander Super-Ager”

Meet the Margay

Photo credit: http://www.felineconservation.org Please check out the link to donate
Photo credit: http://www.felineconservation.org Please check out the link to donate

Shut the front door.

Seriously this cat is incredible and adorable. The margay (Leopardus wiedii) is a bit like a mini ocelot. They are native to the Americas and there is even a record of one found in Texas over 100 years ago!

These cats are nocturnal and live primary in the rainforests from Argentina all the way to Mexico. They are absolutely striking and unfortunately this has made the margay a target for fur poachers resulting in their IUCN status as near threatened.

Most amazingly, the margay can rotate its ankle 180 degrees to climb trees upside down. margayThe picture to the right cannot do the ankle rotation move justice (watch the video 1:23!). They can climb down trees head first and may even nap upside down. Margays can hang from a branch upside down by a single paw. The video below is absolutely gorgeous and worth the time to watch (full screen).

A Margay and Her Kittens from Phil Slosberg on Vimeo.

Video Credit: Phil Slosberg, a talented wildlife photographer in Costa Rica

“Meet the…” is a collaboration between The Finch & Pea and Nature Afield to bring Nature’s amazing creatures into your home.