Weird World: Animals

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Lizard that ain't a Chameleon - The Carolina Anole :

The Carolina Anole or Green Anole is a very interesting type of Lizard. Another name that you may hear it called by is the American Chameleon because it can change colors. That does make things a bit confusing though because scientifically this Lizard doesn’t fall into the category of Chameleon at all.
Being able to change their color based on mood or habitat is a great feature for the Carolina Anole or Green Anole. This can help them to remain well protected from various predators in their natural environment. Most of the time they are lime green with a cream or white belly. They have a very long tail that gets thinner the further away from the body.

Photo Credits : Source

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gare1uLUx3g/URPuh0NnpOI/AAAAAAAAEP8/gq86ELyi8j0/s1600/mas+goreng.png

World’s Leggiest Animal Has 750 Legs :

First seen by government scientists in 1928, Illacme plenipes—”the acme of plentiful legs” has more legs than any other animal! It's a millipede, of course. What else could it possibly be?
The strange thing is how tiny it is. We're talking scarcely more than 3 cm (1.2 in) long and about half a millimetre (0.2 in) wide. In this diminutive frame they pack some 750 legs!
Isn't that amazing? You'd think they'd have legs on their back, legs on their sides and legs on their legs... just pure legs everywhere! Instead it's a skinny but otherwise perfectly normal millipede. They just happen to be unbelievably leggy.

Photo Credits : Source

Rare Blue Lobster Found Near Ocean City :

A blue lobster caught in waters off the coast, is said to be a 1-in-2-million exception to the rust-colored norm.He has been staying in his own container in Martin's Fish Co.'s lobster tank since the crew of the Pot Luck fishing boat brought him in with the Thursday catch.

"We like to name all our lobsters," assistant manager Ginger Nappi said Friday while people gathered around the tank, checking out Toby.

Toby is blue because of a genetic variation that shows up in about one of every 2 million born that causes the lobster to produce an excessive amount of a particular protein that gives it that pigmentation, according to the University of Maine Lobster Institute.Even more rare: A yellow lobster, estimated to be a 1-in-30-million anomoly, and the 1-in-100-million albino lobster, the Lobster Institute said.

Is there really a blue tiger called the Maltese tiger?

The Maltese tiger, or blue tiger, is a reported but unproven coloration morph of a tiger, reported mostly in the Fujian Province of China. It is said to have bluish fur with dark grey stripes. Most of the Maltese tigers reported have been of the South Chinese subspecies. The South Chinese tiger today is critically endangered, and the "blue" alleles may be wholly extinct. Blue tigers have also been reported in Korea, home of Siberian tigers. The term "Maltese" comes from domestic cat terminology for blue fur, and refers to the slate grey coloration. Many cats with such colouration are present in Malta, which may have given rise to the use of the adjective in this context.

Rattlesnake can bite even after its Dead :

Did you know that a rattlesnake can bite a victim even after its head has been removed? Scientists say that its a reflex action (a response that is built into its nervous system and doesn't need to be learned ). Rattlesnake heads have been known to make their striking motions for up to one minute after decapitation.

Camel Hair Art at Bikaner Camel Festival :

Every January, thousands of visitors go to Bikaner, India to see the famous Camel festival. It begins with the procession of beautifully decorated camels, a competition for best decorated camel, fur cutting design, camel milking and the best camel hair cut. Next day, the fleetest camels of the region take part in the camel races.

According to photographer Osakabe Yasuo, preparing camel’s hair for the competition may take up to three years to create. First, the hair needs to be grown for two years. Then the hair is trimmed into intricate patterns and dyed for the dramatic effect you see below.

In the first two years, camel hair just grows, it is only slightly shortened in a special way. In the third year, on the eve of festivals, camel hair cut off to form complex patterns of great beauty, and painted in a special way.

^{Photo Credits : Source}

Bizzare Insect - The Golden Tortoise Beetle :

This pretty little molten gold beetle has been doing the rounds of the Internet lately, because not only does it look like nothing else on Earth, but it can also completely change colours. And it’s just as pretty when it does.
This is golden tortoise beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata, previously known as Metriona bicolor), a tiny, metallic North American insect that belongs to the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae, which includes flea beetles, asparagus beetles and longhorn beetles. Nicknamed ‘goldenbugs’, golden tortoise beetles grow to around 5.0 to 7.0 mm in length and favour foods such as sweet potato and morning glory.

Oh and did I mention that golden tortoise beetles, as larvae, protect themselves by sticking old skin and faecal matter to their anal forks – otherwise known as faecal parasols – to form a shield? How did something with an anal fork get to be so pretty?

Photo Credits : Source

Female Kangaroos Have Three Vaginas :

Female Kangaroos, Koalas, Wombats and Tasmanian devils all have 3 vaginas. The diagram below explains the complicated plumbing. This set-up is shared by all marsupials – the group of mammals that raise their young in pouches. Koalas, wombats and Tasmanian devils all share the three-vagina structure. The side ones carry sperm to the two uteruses (and males marsupials often have two-pronged penises), while the middle vagina sends the joey down to the outside world. Note that the ureters, which carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder, pass through the gaps between the three tubes. In placental mammals, like us, the ureters develop in a different way, and don’t go through the reproductive system. As we develop, the precursors to the reproductive tubes eventually fuse into a single vagina. In marsupials, this can’t happen.

Photo Credits : Source1, Source2

Mohawk-Monkey - Cotton-top Tamarin :

The Cottontop tamarin is a small species of monkey found in the forests of South America. The Cottontop tamarin was named because of it's elegant white fur that flows over it's head and shoulders. The cottontop tamarin is found in tropical forest edges and secondary forests from Costa Rica to north western Columbia where the cottontop tamarin spends the majority of it's life in the trees.

Cottontop tamarins are among the smallest of the primates with a body length of 17 cm and tail length of 25 cm. The forelimbs of the cottontop tamarin are shorter than the hind limbs, and unlike other monkeys the thumb of the cottontop tamarin is not opposable and it does not have a prehensile tail.

Today, the cottontop tamarin is considered to be a critically endangered species with an estimated wild cottontop tamarin population of just 6,000. The main reason for the severe decline in the cottontop tamarin population is that they have lost more than 75% of their natural habitat to deforestation.

Photo Credits : Source

Wendy - The Schwarzenegger dog

Wendy has been called the Schwarzenegger of doggies, but she didn’t have to work out for hours to achieve her look. She was born that way. She is what is called a “bully Whippet.”
It's the result of having two mutated copies of the myostatin gene. Whippets with one defective copy of the gene have increased muscle mass that can enhance racing performances in the brisk-running breed, which can reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour.
But whippets with two mutated copies of the gene, like Wendy, become "double-muscled," which looks a lot like it sounds. The muscles on her 30-kilogram body bulge, dwarfing her small head and dainty, whippet-thin legs.

Photo credits : Source1, Source2, Source3

Weirdly Beautiful Gasteracantha Spiders :

Gasteracantha cancriformis. It has many different common names, including star spider, spiny orbweaver spider, crab-like orbweaver spider, jewel spider, spiny-bellied orbweaver and jewel box spider, and it is found throughout the tropics.Spiny crablike orb weavers, G. cancriformis, live in woodland edges and shrubby gardens. Many of the studies on this spider have taken place in citrus groves in Florida. They frequently live in trees or around trees in shrubs. Gasteracantha cancriformis showed marked sexual dimorphism in size. Females are 5 to 9 mm in length and 10 to 13 mm in width. Males are 2 to 3 mm long and a small amount shorter in width. Six abdominal spines are present in all morphs, but color and shape show geographic variation. Most individuals have white spots on the underside of the abdomen, but the color of the back and spines may be red, orange or yellow. Also, a small number of spiders have colored legs. Theses are pics of various species of Gasteracantha Spiders :

Gasteracantha cancriformis showed marked sexual dimorphism in size. Females are 5 to 9 mm in length and 10 to 13 mm in width. Males are 2 to 3 mm long and a small amount shorter in width. Six abdominal spines are present in all morphs, but color and shape show geographic variation. Most individuals have white spots on the underside of the abdomen, but the color of the back and spines may be red, orange or yellow. Also, a small number of spiders have colored legs.

Spiny crablike orb weavers, G. cancriformis, live in woodland edges and shrubby gardens. Many of the studies on this spider have taken place in citrus groves in Florida. They frequently live in trees or around trees in shrubs.

Photo Credits : Source

Little Meysi - The World's Smallest Dog :

A tiny yorkshire terrier the size of a coke can is vying to be named the world's smallest dog. Little Meysi is 7cm tall, 12cm long and weighs just 150g - about the same as a hamster.
She was so small at birth her owner mistook her for a bit of placenta and nearly threw her in the trash before noticing she moving. The puppy, now three months old, was born 16 times lighter than the heaviest of her five siblings in Jarocin, Poland.

Photo Credits : Source1, Source2, Source 3

The tallest living horse, Big Jake :

At 210.2 cm (82.75"), 11-year-old Belgian gelding Big Jake stands as the world's tallest horse. There's a lot of accommodation to be made for such a large animal. Everything has to be big! His stall is 20X20 feet when an average stall is about 12X12 feet. While there's a lot of food that could fit in that stall, Big Jake is on a strictly healthy diet, consuming 1 1/2 bales of hay and 40 quarts of oats per day.
"We are proud to hold the record and enjoy the people who visit the farm," said Jerry, Jake's owner. "We enjoy the reactions and when people leave our farm happy from the experience of seeing Jake."

Photo Credits : Source1, Source2

Squirrel joins in the Halloween fun with terrifying toy :

This little scamp is really getting into the seasonal spirit as he scares onlookers with a skull suspended on a string. The grey squirrel turned up in the garden of Vicky Freeman's home in Fareham, Hamshire, and made short work of the treats she'd hidden inside the macabre mask. The 54-year-old grandmother said: 'I always hang stuff up in my garden for the kids at Halloween but was surprised to see a squirrel so fascinated by the macabre skull it - looks really scary!'

Photo Credits : Source

Dog Saved From Shark-Bait Fate :

It happened on the French-controlled Island of Réunion, a small volcanic island off Africa’s East coast.
There were multiple cases reported of using dogs as baits for high-sea fishing business, particularly shark fishing. Several parts of the body or simply alive bleeding animals were hooked and thrown overboard!
       In the picture you can see a veterinarian on the island of Réunion, just off the coast of Africa, prepares to remove a fishing hook from a pet dog's snout this past summer. The dog had escaped fishers who planned to use it as shark bait, according to the animal rights group that shot the video from which the image is taken.
       Though apparently restricted to a few amateur fishers, the practice is now seen as a problem on the French-controlled island, which teems with stray dogs and cats. Local authorities this month fined a man for hooking a puppy, and the French government has issued a statement condemning the illegal practice.
   The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in Friday Harbor from Washington State is announcing now a reward amount of US$1,000 for island’s police districts. This money will be used for searching, arrests and preventions from those barbarian methods of using life dog and cats as bait for sharks. There is new low about making it’s illegal for fishing boats to carry any live or dead animals has been issued.

Photo Credits : http://www.alldogsnews.com/archives/44

The Owl in the Window :

This is Gandalf the Great Grey Owl and he gets scared flying out in the open so his owners have built his aviary inside a brick shed. He now loves spending his days watching the world go by out of his window.
Photo by Mark Bridger, Location: Liverpool

Photo Credits : http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/photo-contest/2012/entries/177817/view/

Beautiful species of Peacock Spider :

Maratus volans, better known as the Peacock Spider, is the dandiest, the cutest little thing you’ll see today. The male of this species has two rounded, most brilliantly colored skin-like flaps on either side of his abdomen that are folded down close against the sides of the body, like a shawl. The brilliant colouring is not just for decoration, he uses it when he courts his mate.
The Peacock Spider is extremely tiny – a mere four millimetre in length. Hiding in the undergrowth, it is the sort of thing an average Australian bushwalker would pass right by, but not Dr Jurgen Otto who captured these shots on his camera.

Maratus speciosus

Maratus harrisi

Darlington’s peacock spider

Maratus linnaei

Undescribed species of Maratus from Tasmania

Maratus mungaich

Maratus splendens

Photo Credits : www.flickr.com/photos/59431731@N05

Lizard that ain't a Chameleon - The Carolina Anole :

World’s Leggiest Animal Has 750 Legs :

Rare Blue Lobster Found Near Ocean City :

Is there really a blue tiger called the Maltese tiger?

Rattlesnake can bite even after its Dead :

Camel Hair Art at Bikaner Camel Festival :

Bizzare Insect - The Golden Tortoise Beetle :

Female Kangaroos Have Three Vaginas :

Mohawk-Monkey - Cotton-top Tamarin :

Wendy - The Schwarzenegger dog

Weirdly Beautiful Gasteracantha Spiders :

Little Meysi - The World's Smallest Dog :

The tallest living horse, Big Jake :

Squirrel joins in the Halloween fun with terrifying toy :

Dog Saved From Shark-Bait Fate :

The Owl in the Window :

Beautiful species of Peacock Spider :

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