Weird Animals

the jug-band call is great and i love their temple-sweeped "ears"

okay folks: we got ancient genitals

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/science/assassin-bug-penis-fossil.html

Among them were the insect’s basal plate, a stirrup-like structure, and hints of the pouch-like phallotheca, which supports the penis. In living assassin bugs, the entire package looks not unlike a Darth Vader mask, or a translucent athletic cup.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/science/dinosaur-cloaca-fossil.html

Dr. Kelly said she strongly suspected that most dinosaurs would have been of the penis-toting variety: “For the most part, if you have internal fertilization, you have some method of sticking it in.”

hot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl_MbvSUvTk

33-Year-Old Bat: I am the night.

Caretakers: You are an adorable senior citizen. pic.twitter.com/pgxAa9JORG

— Sonya The Outsider (@sable_sonya) February 2, 2021

http://i.imgur.com/qkyeCoZ.png
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2021/01/tiny-chameleon-smallest-reptile-discovered-madagascar/

Scientists have discovered a tiny new species of chameleon in a patch of rainforest in northern Madagascar. This so-called nano-chameleon is about the size of a sunflower seed, fits on the tip of a finger, and may be the smallest reptile on Earth.

Officially known as Brookesia nana, or B. nana for short, the new species is so tiny it’s thought to survive on a diet of mites and springtails, which it hunts down in leaf litter.

Finding such a small reptile raises interesting questions about the lower limits of body size in vertebrates. It also highlights the astonishing—and highly threatened—biodiversity of Madagascar. Scientists suspect the chameleon will soon be listed as critically endangered.

B.nana!!!!

In other wholesome weird animal news, would you believe a vegetarian spider?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygn8V5mHUBk

The horrifying feeding habits of the world's largest single celled organisms in Antarctica

In Antarctica, there’s a single-celled foram that’s big enough for you to see and even pick up. And it is possibly the most terrifying predator on Earth. pic.twitter.com/WZUb1vBb13

— 𒇷 𒁯𒅗 (@Lee__Drake) February 6, 2021

that is bonkers

holy shit

Terrifying, but also not an animal, which are all multicellular.

Sorry, that comes off as gatekeepy! Whatever its taxonomy, it's a cool addition!

https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-discover-strange-creatures-under-a-half-mile-of-ice
not super charismatic but the video is dope

Ibex are fucking insane btw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG9TMn1FJzc

why not put out a salt lick you assholes

lol srsly

gotta get that sweet sweet footage

whoa
http://i.imgur.com/VfwaTwY.png
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews-science/king-penguin-captivates-world-its-rare-dandelion-colored-plumage-180977070/

re: Ibex, y'all really missed out on the "They crave that mineral" meme?

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/882/052/483.png

new one on me. i am all for more ibex memes.

Glow in the dark shark dropped, at nearly six feet long it is the largest known bioluminescent vertebrate

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56256808
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/174D/production/_117356950_fmars-08-633582-g003.jpg

separately, cuttlefish show more restraint than gen xers
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/03/cuttlefish-can-pass-the-marshmallow-test/

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/03/this-sea-slug-can-lose-its-head-and-regenerate-new-body-in-three-weeks/

yeah, i kept meaning to post that. what a fuckin' weirdo!

The urutaú, or ghost bird, is known for its cry similar to a human wail and is rarely seen during the day. pic.twitter.com/s90dQld7y8

— 🌊🌊Raymond Alvarado, LLM🌊🌊 (@Raymond_LLM) March 9, 2021

Thirsty worms done in by their thirst: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cone-snail-venom-sea-worms-pheromones

That Cornetto looks tasty.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/hundreds-of-new-and-unusual-insects-discovered-in-the-amazon-canopy-feature?loggedin=true
super beautiful images here

and one more
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/skeleton-photos-getting-boost-gelatin-fluorescent-light

\m/__OO__\m/

http://i.imgur.com/1Y2sT35.png

old, but wow

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-thoughts-of-a-spiderweb-20170523/

https://www.amnh.org/calendar/pteropods

Geologist Rosie Oakes will introduce us to the world of pteropods–tiny ocean creatures that migrate more than 650 feet (200 meters) every day from the surface to the bottom of the sea. Find out about the function of these fascinating critters within the larger ocean ecosystem, as well as their daily struggles as they fight predators, currents, and pollution in order to survive, in this family-friendly presentation.

Join the Facebook watch party on Thursday, March 25, at 2 pm ET, or view on this page at the designated time.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/science/blackwater-photography-fish-larvae.html
This whole deep-sea photography piece is a delight but especially

http://i.imgur.com/BeRYITs.png

... which i am recommending people start posting as a meme to any music discussion where they're fed up with the dialogue

Who sez scientists don't have a sense of humor?

Microscopic wasps are weird:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb5Q-wQh4GI

https://gizmodo.com/these-mutant-rabbits-walk-on-two-legs-and-geneticists-1846562358

Ok, that's a weird one

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit%2Cf_auto%2Cg_center%2Cpg_1%2Cq_60%2Cw_965/io3s71xgqcor9iliz1py.png
come on now
https://gizmodo.com/adorable-porg-pterosaur-flapped-above-jurassic-china-1846696801

Lots of pterosaurs in the news lately: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/monkeydactyl-jurassic-pterosaur-oldest-fossil-opposable-thumbs

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/conservation-cant-just-be-a-popularity-contest

Save the Numbat!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coyix7w4u_c

also:
https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/n0bdch/the_tallest_mallard_duck_to_have_ever_lived_since/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/science/instagrammable-bird-frogmouth.html

“I thought this method, the I.A.A. score, will be a great tool to investigate bird photographs in terms of aesthetic appeal and inform people which birds are the most photogenic,” said Dr. Hayn-Leichsenring, also a postdoctoral researcher at University Hospital Jena. “Or possibly, I just wondered why nobody likes my own bird photographs.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/05/giant-wood-moth-found-queensland-australia-school
fuuuuu
http://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f12614c6b69bbf1443fd074f37c55d4b1557a64f/0_54_720_432/master/720.jpg

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
http://i.imgur.com/nrubdtl.png

Content 4 U

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2021/5/5/22408390/crazy-jumping-worms-invasive-earthworm-garden-soil

https://www.kqed.org/science/468582/the-once-in-a-lifetime-ladybug-love-in

http://livescience.com/marine-worm-with-100-butts.html

https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/552711-beachgoer-stumbles-on-rarely-seen-deep-sea

Also the polybutt worm definitely makes our threat to make a quiz out of weird animal butts that much closer to reality.