Giant Creatures

Full story here. And here’s our rhyming round-up of other ancient, giant versions of modern mammals:

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Glow Worms

Image Credit: Janek von Byern, GIF’d by Maddie Sofia

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Frog Spit is a Non-Newtonian Fluid

"The researchers used high-speed photography and an instrument called a Rheometer to analyze frog saliva under prey-capturing conditions.­­­­­­­ The scientists think frog tongues could one day help engineers design reversible soft adhesives that could work at high speeds.

Read more about it here."

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Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2015

"The newly-launched Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards hopes that you’ll chuckle when you see one of their images. You aren’t laughing at them, rather, but with them—these lighthearted photos are meant to be hilarious. The unusual competition combines funny portraits of animals with technical proficiency to showcase works that’ll have you admiring nature’s beauty while smiling at its silliness." - http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/comedy-wildlife-photography-awards

 See the website here

Here are the finalists:

Winner: Julian Rad

Second Place: William Richardson

Third Place: Oliver Dreike

The bold and unusual Sweet Petite Acanthanura

"Sweet Petite Acanthanura

Almost every time I head out into the Dandenong Ranges (Melbourne, Australia) - at this time of year (autumn) - I find an Acanthanuraspringtail. They are usually active on the surface on the surface on wet, mossy, logs: diurnally. Perhaps they are out at night too but it’s more difficult taking pictures at in the dark especially at high magnifications. Mostly I find fully grown adults, stunning animals that they are.

This week I found a baby. At least I’m guessing it is likely the baby of the species I commonly see as a grown up in the area. It was about 2.5 mm long (1/10 inch) and very quick, foraging on the surface of the log, not cryptically like most collembola, but openly. Do the spines and colours scream ‘don’t eat me’ even for something this small?"

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Home Furnishings Affect Tigers

 

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2YQb8S/vermontwoodsstudios.com/content/tiger-conservation

"Did you know...
...there are only about 3200 tigers left in the wild? This tiger subspecies, the Siberian Tiger-- the world's largest cat is literally on the brink of extinction with only about 400 individuals remaining in their natural habitat. If you can't stand the idea of letting these magnificent creatures disappear forever, there's something you can do about it. Consider where you and your friends, family and neighbors shop and what you buy. Avoid purchasing imported forest products that result in destroying the tigers' habitat. Here's why:

Siberian tigers live mainly in Russian forests which are now under assault by global timber conglomerates. Tiger habitat is beingsystematically decimated to provide illegal timber that's used to make cheap furniture, flooring and other forest products which are marketed mainly in the USA. In fact, up to 90% of the furniture you see for sale in our country is made of illegally harvested wood that is clear cut from ecologically sensitive habitats like this tiger's habitat."

Juji the Big White Dog

Here is a neat example of photoshop and perspective, as well as the incredible healing power of animals and relationships.

 

"Photographer Christopher Cline and his Goldendoodle Juji (pronounced Joo-ji) are a match made in Photoshop heaven. After moving from Virginia to Minnesota a few years ago, the artist was feeling homesick and "sliding into a sad place in life." Then, his girlfriend Christine brought home Juji. "I wasn't exactly open to getting a dog," Cline told Mrs. Sizzle, "but I immediately fell in love with him. He has turned my life completely around and we are now absolutely inseparable. I have found a new outlook on life and in my artwork and I owe it all to him."

After Juji came into his life, Cline began expressing himself through Photoshop. He'd take photos of himself and Juji and later alter them to make it look as though his canine pal was a giant. "I just wanted to share a little of our adventures together," Cline explains, adding that he wants his edits to have a "kids’ book feel." Whether they're lounging on the couch or taking on outdoor adventures, both Juji and his human seem to have a ton of fun together—no matter what their size!" 

 

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The Glasswinged Butterfly

"The Glasswinged Butterfly. 

The pretty creature, who is a native of Mexico and South America, does not lack the tissues that make up a full wing, but rather the coloured scales that other butterflies have."

http://asapscience.tumblr.com/post/68294856978/the-glasswinged-butterfly-the-pretty-creature