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| Obscure Taxa; For interesting or obscure organisms you'd like to share. | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 14 2016, 09:46 PM (48,917 Views) | |
| IIGSY | Dec 15 2017, 05:59 PM Post #691 |
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A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
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What's wrong with dental scaling? |
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Projects Punga: A terraformed world with no vertebrates Last one crawling: The last arthropod ARTH-6810: A world without vertebrates (It's ded, but you can still read I guess) Potential ideas- Swamp world: A world covered in lakes, with the largest being caspian sized. Nematozoic: After a mass extinction of ultimate proportions, a single species of nematode is the only surviving animal. Tri-devonian: A devonian like ecosystem with holocene species on three different continents. Quotes Phylogeny of the arthropods and some related groups In honor of the greatest clade of all time More pictures Other cool things All African countries can fit into Brazil
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| Nyarlathotep | Dec 15 2017, 08:33 PM Post #692 |
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The Creeping Chaos
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These pics demonstrate the issue: ![]() ![]() To sum it up, it is infamously unreliable due to how much teeth vary between individuals and even within individuals. In fact they're probably the least reliable remains to scale from. Least of all because big animals (especially carnivores) usually have proportionally larger heads and teeth than smaller relatives. The studies to determine Giganto's size contained a number of estimates based off the different apes. The largest one was the 3m 540kg estimate you hear from, which is scaled from-modern humans and was publicised due to sensationalism-particularly, Bigfoot. Gigantopithecus was closest to modern Orangutans cladistically and due to its size would probably have had a gorilla like lifestyle. Both of these have much bigger jaws proportionally than humans. Plus the estimate doesn't even fit with the animals it scales from. A 3m tall human (based on 1.8m and 80kg) would be about 370kg and a 3m orangutan would be well over 800kg. So the evidence does not suggest an ape of that size at all. Scaling from fellow East Asian apes and gorillas suggests the largest specimen was about 2-2.1m tall and maybe 270-300kg or so. So still a record breaker. But not Bigfoot. Edited by Nyarlathotep, Dec 15 2017, 08:33 PM.
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| HangingThief | Dec 16 2017, 10:34 AM Post #693 |
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ghoulish
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The net- winged midges, Blephariceridae, are a family of slender cranefly- like midges that breed in fast flowing water. Like all flies their larvae are legless, and in this family the unusual larvae avoid being swept away by the current with cephalopod- like suction cups that adhere them to rocks on the streambed. ![]() ![]() ![]() One noteworthy species is Edwardsina gigantea, the giant torrent midge from Tasmania with a wingspan of over an inch. It's believed to have gone extinct after the only suitable river in its range was dammed. Adult females of this species were predatory, and while most net winged midge larvae are detrivores, E. gigantea may have also been predatory in its larval stage.
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| IIGSY | Dec 16 2017, 01:27 PM Post #694 |
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A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
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Wow. That's amazing. It's sad that the big boi died though. |
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Projects Punga: A terraformed world with no vertebrates Last one crawling: The last arthropod ARTH-6810: A world without vertebrates (It's ded, but you can still read I guess) Potential ideas- Swamp world: A world covered in lakes, with the largest being caspian sized. Nematozoic: After a mass extinction of ultimate proportions, a single species of nematode is the only surviving animal. Tri-devonian: A devonian like ecosystem with holocene species on three different continents. Quotes Phylogeny of the arthropods and some related groups In honor of the greatest clade of all time More pictures Other cool things All African countries can fit into Brazil
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| Flisch | Dec 16 2017, 06:56 PM Post #695 |
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Superhuman
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So basially, they have legs arranged in a single row? *xeno speccing intensifies* |
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| Sayornis | Dec 18 2017, 09:03 PM Post #696 |
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Neotenous
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Caduceia versatilis, informally called "Rubberneckia" is a trichomonad protist found in the hind gut of the termite Cryptotermes. Its "head" can rotate a full 360 thanks to a fluid membrane, and it moves with the aid of flagellated bacteria known as "motility symbionts" living on its cell surface. There's not much information about this species available online, besides the links I posted, but the rotational movement and motility symbionts are definitely of interest for spec inspiration. Edited by Sayornis, Dec 18 2017, 09:08 PM.
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| Chuditch | Dec 19 2017, 02:00 AM Post #697 |
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Dasyurid
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The Honey Possum (Tarsipes rostratus), also known as the Tait or Noolbenger (the latter of which I use and will therefore be used here), isn't one of Australia's most obscure marsupials, something as unique as this is bound to gain some attention. However, it is indeed a very interesting animal. Below are some interesting facts.![]() - Noolbengers are the world's only truly nectivorous marsupials, and have an extremely high metabolic rate. It is an important pollinator of many plants. - Little is known of their ancestry. It is the only known species of its genus and family. Strangely, DNA seems to show that the Monito del Monte is its closest living relative. Thus, if this is true it must have split from other Australian marsupials incredibly long ago. It still seems to be a diprotodont however. - Honey Possum is a misleading name. This animal is only distantly related to possums and doesn't eat honey. That's why I prefer to use Noolbenger (ngool-boon-gor), other than the fact it is a native name. - Their scientific name means beak, due to their long snout similar to that of an echidna. This snout is used for the same purpose as that of a hummingbird, sunbird or honeyeater; to poke inside flowers to find nectar. Also like nectar-eating birds, its tongue is covered in tiny bristles to collect pollen. This tongue flicks out at around three times a second when feeding. - It is restricted to South-west Western Australia, where it inhabits Banksia woodlands, sandplain heathlands and low open woodlands. They prefer areas where it hasn't burnt for many years. It is believed to have evolved here, due to the high diversity of flowering plants blooming 12 months a year for such a long time. - They are mainly nocturnal, but will come out during the day in cold weather. During the day, they sleep in rock crannies, abandoned bird nests, a tree cavity, a hollow inside a grass tree or similar shelter. Like many small marsupials, they can enter a state of torpor during very cold or wet weather. - Females are promiscuous, meaning they mate with a large number of males. - Male Noolbengers are smaller than females, but are remarkable in having the largest testes of any mammal compared to body size, taking up to 4.2% of their body weight. They also have the largest sperm of any mammal; three times the size of a human sperm, and much bigger than that of a Blue Whale! Incredible for one of the smallest marsupials. - While having the largest sperm, they also have the smallest young of any mammal. They also have quite short lifespans in the wild, living 1-3 years. - They live in small groups of no more than 10 individuals, which helps keep combat to a minimal. - Their greatest threat is habitat loss. With even a small drop in flower diversity, local extinction can occur. They can't migrate to other areas like birds and bats. However, they seem to be doing fine in the modern world, and are classified as Least Concern. As long as habitat is intact they are common, and seem to be coping with introduced species. |
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| HangingThief | Dec 21 2017, 05:25 PM Post #698 |
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ghoulish
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The chinaman leatherjacket (Nelusetta ayraud) is a large filefish found on the southern coast of Australia. Most species of filefish are omnivores that feed on some combination of algae, seagrass and cnidarians or other sessile and slow moving invertebrates. The chinaman leatherjacket, which grows to nearly three feet in length, is a carnivore that feeds not only on tunicates and small mollusks, but also large, active creatures such as fish and crustaceans. Their jaws and teeth are strong enough to bite through fishooks, and while they do have some fishery value, they present a nuisance as they destroy fishing equipment and devour caught fish as large as marlins before they can be reeled in. They grow quickly and have a relatively short lifespan (never more than 10 years) and their population seems to undergo boom and bust cycles, with large swarms of them occasionally stripping coastal waters of food and driving out or eating other fish species. ![]() Anyway, here's a terrifying video of a group of these filefish killing and eating an apparently healthy octopus. Supposedly they also bite divers. Oh, and this is what their teeth look like: ![]() The takeaway? Don't mess around with tetraodontiformes. Edited by HangingThief, Dec 21 2017, 05:34 PM.
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| IIGSY | Dec 21 2017, 05:51 PM Post #699 |
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A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
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How can they eat marlins? |
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Projects Punga: A terraformed world with no vertebrates Last one crawling: The last arthropod ARTH-6810: A world without vertebrates (It's ded, but you can still read I guess) Potential ideas- Swamp world: A world covered in lakes, with the largest being caspian sized. Nematozoic: After a mass extinction of ultimate proportions, a single species of nematode is the only surviving animal. Tri-devonian: A devonian like ecosystem with holocene species on three different continents. Quotes Phylogeny of the arthropods and some related groups In honor of the greatest clade of all time More pictures Other cool things All African countries can fit into Brazil
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| lamna | Dec 21 2017, 06:06 PM Post #700 |
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Hooked marlins, on a fishing line. |
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Living Fossils Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural 34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur. [flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash] | |
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| Chuditch | Dec 29 2017, 11:08 PM Post #701 |
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Dasyurid
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![]() Meet the Pig-footed Bandicoot (Chaeropus ecaudatus), a rather bizarre peramelemorph (bandicoots and kin) that is presumed to be extinct. Along with the Thylacine, it is one of two Australian extinct animals that there is nothing else like it still alive today, which makes its extinction all the more saddening. Once grouped with bilbies in the subfamily Chaeropodinae of the family Peramelidae, it has now been given its own family, Chaeropodidae, reflecting its uniqueness (bilbies have also achieved family status). And what a unique animal it was. While its upper body, tail and head are rather ordinary, its the limbs and feet that set it apart from other bandicoots. The legs are long and quite thin, while the feet end in almost hoof-like digits, thus earning it the name 'pig-footed bandicoot'. ![]() From the scant reports we have, it seems that this species was the most herbivorous of all peramelemorphs, although aboriginal people tell it ate grasshoppers, ants and termites, and captive animals were fond of meat. Very few have observed it in life, and the only report on behaviour we have tells that it moved, "like a broken-down hack in a canter, apparently dragging the hind quarters after it", although this statement contradicts what the aboriginals have to say on the subject. They say when disturbed it could move at fast speeds by galloping like a tiny ungulate. Given that the aboriginals knew the animal much better, I would say the latter is more likely. The little marsupial was an arid-land specialist, inhabiting some of the most remote parts of the continent. The last specimen was captured in 1901, they were seen up until around 1945, and aboriginal reports tell they survived until even more recently. However, given that they inhabit the most remote areas of the continent, and are fairly small and evasive, is it possible that it still survives? Certainly. We found the Night Parrot after all, and that was believed extinct for much longer than the bandicoot, but now we are finding them all across the outback. Its much more likely to still be alive then say, the Thylacine. So could it be rediscovered in the future? Let's hope so. |
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| Cool_Hippo43 | Dec 30 2017, 02:13 PM Post #702 |
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Hippo
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hum, some of you may not know these Brazilian species, so I'll show them here. To start with we have this fine fish called "carandiru", people are very afraid of it for a certain reason ...It can enter your penis / anus Candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa) is a freshwater fish. It is found on the Rio Tocantins, on the Madeira River and its tributaries and has a reputation among natives of being the most feared fish in those waters, even more than the piranha. The species grows up to eighteen centimeters and is eel-like, making it almost invisible in water. The candiru is a parasite. He swims into the fish gill cavities and lodges there, feeding himself with blood on the gills, thus receiving the nickname "vampire fish". He is much feared by the natives of the Tocantins region. The fish can straighten their fins, urine flow (in the case of the naked bather) and swim until it penetrates the urethra, anus or vagina. He then settles down and can not get back the way he entered because he opens the back of the body and his fins are shaped like umbrella. According to some scholars, it feeds on the blood and tissue of the host agent and can only be removed by surgery ![]() and there is also this fish called pacu that has nothing too much, it only has teeth similar to those of a human "is a common name used to refer to several species of omnivorous South American freshwater fish which are related to the piranha, and the piranha has not similar teeth, the main difference being jaw alignment; the pronounced underbite, whereas pacu have squarer, straighter teeth, which are uncannily similar to human teeth. " "There are also rumors that this fish bites people's testicles, but I do not believe it that much" ![]() https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacu Edited by Cool_Hippo43, Dec 30 2017, 02:14 PM.
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| Chuditch | Jan 2 2018, 02:22 PM Post #703 |
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Dasyurid
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![]() Bosavi Woolly Rat (Mallomys sp. nov.), a new species discovered in 2009. Being restricted to the crater of an extinct volcano named Mount Bosavi, they show no fear of humans. Woolly rats (Mallomys species) are highland rodents endemic to New Guinea. Like their name suggests, they are covered by woolly fur to keep warm in the upland rainforest and alpine areas of New Guinea's rising mountains. These very large rats weigh between 0.9 and 2 kilograms. Little is known about their behaviour, but they are believed to feed on leaves, grasses and other plant material. There are 7 currently known species, 3 of which have yet to be described scientifically. |
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| Dragonthunders | Jan 6 2018, 07:11 PM Post #704 |
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The ethereal archosaur in blue
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New update of the first page, added table of contents (updated to this date) to facilitate navigation of the topic. I recommend before posting a species can check if such obscure organism has been added before to avoid any repetition of entries. |
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Projects "Active" projects The Future is Far Welcome to the next chapters of the evolution of life on earth, travel the across the earth on a journey that goes beyond the limits, a billion years of future history in the making. The SE giants project Wonder what is the big of the big on speculative evolution? no problem, here is the answer Coming one day Age of Mankind Humanity fate and its possible finals. The Long Cosmic Journey The history outside our world. The alternative paths The multiverse, the final frontier... Holocene park: Welcome to the biggest adventure of the last 215 million years, where the age of mammals comes to life again! Cambrian mars: An interesting experiment on an unprecedented scale, the life of a particular and important period in the history of our planet, the cambric life, has been transported to a terraformed and habitable mars in an alternative past. Two different paths, two different worlds, but same life and same weirdness. My deviantart | |
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| Sayornis | Jan 6 2018, 09:59 PM Post #705 |
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Neotenous
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Thanks for keeping the list updated! However, you omitted this post of mine on Caduceia/"Rubberneckia". I'm not sure if these qualify as a distinct taxon, but they're certainly odd: the cottonwood trees of Anton Valley, Panama grow with square trunks. Even their growth rings are quadrilateral: ![]() The Atlas Obscura article mentions a study from the University of Florida on how local conditions shape the trees' odd growth, but I can't track it down. While I'm on the subject of square life-forms, the archaean Haloquadratum, found in brine pools, has square cells: ![]() Radiolaria, a clade of marine protozoa, are also known for their geometric forms of their silica skeletons: Polyhedron-shaped radiolaria illustrated by Ernst Haeckel Edited by Sayornis, Jan 6 2018, 10:01 PM.
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7:21 PM Jul 10