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Obscure Taxa; For interesting or obscure organisms you'd like to share.
Topic Started: Dec 14 2016, 09:46 PM (48,901 Views)
Rebirth
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Ferrets, stoats and weasels are all established in New Zealand. In the 18-1900s attempts to introduce foxes and mongooses were made, and there were proposals for everything from quolls to pine martens to badgers and even Scottish wildcats. Might do a post on the more obscure invasive species of NZ
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Chuditch
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Jun 29 2018, 10:25 PM
Ferrets, stoats and weasels are all established in New Zealand. In the 18-1900s attempts to introduce foxes and mongooses were made, and there were proposals for everything from quolls to pine martens to badgers and even Scottish wildcats. Might do a post on the more obscure invasive species of NZ
It took several attempts to establish foxes in Australia, but once they gained a foothold, they thrived and are now pretty much impossible to exterminate.

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So far, feral ferrets are only known from a few sightings, but these are increasing especially in Tasmania and Western Australia and authorities have been put on alert.
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beingsneaky
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Chuditch
Jun 29 2018, 10:48 PM
Rebirth
Jun 29 2018, 10:25 PM
Ferrets, stoats and weasels are all established in New Zealand. In the 18-1900s attempts to introduce foxes and mongooses were made, and there were proposals for everything from quolls to pine martens to badgers and even Scottish wildcats. Might do a post on the more obscure invasive species of NZ
It took several attempts to establish foxes in Australia, but once they gained a foothold, they thrived and are now pretty much impossible to exterminate.

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So far, feral ferrets are only known from a few sightings, but these are increasing especially in Tasmania and Western Australia and authorities have been put on alert.
the more i look the more foxes i can see
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Tenno
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Here's the red cornetfish, Fistularia petimba.

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They're in the order Syngnathidae with seahorses and pipefish, which you can tell by the distinctive tubular snout. Excellent for sucking up prey as they hang in the water column, their narrow shape hiding their silhouette. Surprsingly, they are quite prized as sashimi.
Edited by Tenno, Jun 30 2018, 07:54 AM.
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beingsneaky
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that fish looks like a distorted fish
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"Young ciliaurrg grow on the rear of the parent and look like small slurrg." - ZoologicalBotanist

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I'm nearly certain that thing has been posted in this thread before.
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beingsneaky
Jun 30 2018, 08:11 AM
that fish looks like a distorted fish
When the animation on your 3D mesh bugs out.
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Zorcuspine
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I can hardly believe that that fish is a real animal. Those might be the weirdest proportions I've ever seen on a large creature.
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Rebirth
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Don't let the "fake animals guy" see that fish. He already denies great whites, sawfish and marlins.




New Zealand is known for a lot of invasive mammals, such as deer, pigs, possums, rats, stoats and ferrets. However, many introduced species, including some mammals, are very obscure to those outside the country, as in people don't know they exist (or existed) in NZ. I'll list several invasives here.
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The rainbow skink or plague skink (Lampropholis delicata) is a small, colorful skink native to eastern Australia and Tasmania. But since the 1960s, it has been an invasive species in the North Island of New Zealand, the only established invasive reptile in the country (so far). They compete with small, native skink species, especially in urban and suburban areas, and are a possible disease risk to native reptiles as well. It is illegal to keep them as pets or transport them, but despite this, a couple of confirmed reports exist from the Picton area of the northernmost South Island.
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In 2013, alpine newts (Ichthyosaura alpestris) were found wild in the Coromandel of the North Island of New Zealand. Undoubtedly illegally smuggled into the country, eradication efforts started in 2014 and are believed to have been successful as of 2017. This averted possible disaster, as the newts were found and were breeding near native frog habitat and were found to be infected with chytrid fungus. Worst of all to me, as a result of this, the legal pet newts of New Zealand (firebelly newts, Cynops sp.), will probably be banned at some point in the near future.

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A population of the laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) has been established in the north-west North Island of New Zealand since the 1860s, introduced by former governor George Grey, who also managed to introduce several species of wallabies to the North Island where they still live today (he also tried stuff with animals like cassowaries, monkeys and zebras). The population is fairly small and appears to be living on a subsistence diet of invertebrates.

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Moose (Alces alces), the largest extant species in the deer family, were introduced to Fiordland on New Zealand's west coast in 1910 (four bulls and six cows). The area is not ideal moose habitat, and despite initial breeding and hunting, the last proven moose sighting was in 1952. I've read about a moose antler being found in 1972, and that alleged DNA tests in 2002 found that some hair found in Fiordland were from a moose, but I am very skeptical of any being alive today. It's basically New Zealand's bigfoot, albeit slightly more plausible. Today the only deer species in NZ are red deer, fallow deer, sambar, rusa, sika, whitetail and elk (though the lattermost is hybridized with red deer now).

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Populations of the sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) occur in the North Island of New Zealand, as well as Banks Peninsula and the Catlins in the South Island, being introduced in the late 19th century. They live in both exotic and native forest, as well as farmland. They have slowly spread over the years, though their numbers are still relatively small. They largely feed on exotic plants and are a crop pest, so their impact on native species is minimal.




Just a sprinkling of many obscure and failed invasive species of NZ. Here is a good article on failed proposals to bring other invasive carnivores to the country: Foxes, mongooses, badgers and martens, oh my!
Edited by Rebirth, Jun 30 2018, 09:15 PM.
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alpine newts (Ichthyosaura alpestrisç
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Ichthyosaura
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and were found to be infected with chytrid fungus
newts were t,hpe ones affected'
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Tenno
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Here's something not so weird, but with a bit of lore attached. Introducing the crocodile needlefish/garfish/long tom, Tylosurus crocodilus, of the family Belonidae.

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This is a fish built for speed. Their narrow jaws hold dozens of wickedly sharp teeth, great for snapping up tiny shrimp and fish along the surface of the shallows around the Indian Ocean.

Beloniformes are known to attack humans accidentally. Perhaps dazzled by the artifical lights used by divers and fishing boats, they will leap out at speeds reaching 60km/h and impale their sharp rostrums through eye sockets and lungs. Here's an incident where a kitesurfer gets impaled in the knee. There are reports of deaths due to the needlefish's beak piercing the heart, lungs or a major artery.

www.thekiteboarder.com/2013/07/needlefish-nightmare-small-beak-big-problem/

The needlefish takes center stage in a little legend from my home country of Singapore. Back in the 1500s when it was a trading hub for the Malacca Sultanate, the raja of Singapore had a problem. Needlefish (the common version of this legend calls them swordfish, but 1. there aren't any here 2. swordfish don't go to the shallows 3. needlefish are known to attack people 4. some retellings use "garfish" which is an old name for beloniformes) were infesting the waters and maiming the fishermen and sailors.

He sent his warriors to spear the fish, but they too got slaughtered. A young lad by the name of Hang Nadim gave a solution: line the beaches with posts cut from banana tree stalks. When the needlefish attacked, their rostrums got stuck in the soft stems of the banana trees, and were easily dispatched.

The coastal district of Tanjong Pagar is named after this, being Malay for "cape of stakes". The legend ends with the Raja, fearing that the cunning young boy would one day usurp his throne, sending assassins to kill Hang Nadim. As he died, his blood flowed and flowed, dyeing the soils of Singspore red (it's more of an orange colour, due to the iron content).


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Jul 1 2018, 06:37 AM
3. needlefish are known to attack people
Swordfish have killed people, though, and in much the same way that needlefish have.
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Time for some weird Australian waterfowl.

The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is not obscure, probably one of the best known swan species, definitely the most distinctive, and common throughout Australia, even on city ponds and rivers. However, what it represents is rather interesting. Before Europeans discovered Australia, black swans were considered impossible, like flying pigs and purple cows. However, they came to a land down under and boom, there's swans that are black. The swan now lends its name to the Black Swan Theory, that nothing in science can be truly proven, only falsified.

They also apparently have the longest necks of any swan species.

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Jumping over the ditch to New Zealand for a sec, I'd thought I'd just include the extinct New Zealand Swan or poūwa (Cygnus sumnerensis). Going extinct after the arrival of Polynesian settlers, when the fossils of the bird was first found, it was considered a new species. It was then reclassified as a subspecies of Australia's Black Swan. However, as of 2017, it is once again its own species, being considerably larger and heavier than its Australian relative. People have suggested that it was heading towards flightlessness. Black Swans have since been introduced to New Zealand, and may have taken over the niche their Aotearoa relative left.

Back over to Australia now. The Australian Wood Duck or Maned Duck (Chenonetta jubata) is another species of waterfowl common across Australia, grazing on front lawns and footy fields as long as there is water nearby. Despite being ducks, they have taken a rather goose-like form, and spend most of their time on land, grazing on grass. They display sexual dimorphism, and are the only members of their genus. Their feet are only partly webbed and they like to perch in trees.

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Moving on from a goose-like duck to what is possibly an actual goose, I introduce the Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae). Named after Cape Barren Island where they were first seen, these geese have a patchy distribution across the southern coast. They don't need to be near freshwater, as the spend most of their time on land and have the ability to drink saltwater. The classification of this bird is a little uncertain, but the extinct New Zealand Geese (genus Cnemiornis) may be its closest relatives.

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Another bird labled a goose is the Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata). I assume it's well-known around here, but I'll include it just in case. This bird is the only living member of the Anseranatidae, an ancient lineage that split off from other waterfowl in the Cretaceous, before the extinction of the dinosaurs, making it one of the most unique waterfowl on earth. Several extinct genera are known, and the modern species is abundant in northern Australia, but has disappeared from much of the south. It is a symbol of tropical wetlands, where fast flocks form, making their distinctive honking calls. Like the wood duck, they can perch due to their lack of webbing.

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The Freckled Duck (Stictonetta naevosa) is an Australian endemic, found in the southern areas. It is unique enough to be classified in its own subfamily, the Stictonettinae. It is also a threatened species. Not much else to say on this one, but it is a rather good-looking bird.

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Time for perhaps the most bizarre of them all, the Musk Duck (Biziura lobata). This species has been mentioned on the thread before, but you can't do a post about weird Australian waterfowl without it. Another Australian endemic, like the Black Swan and Cape Barren Goose it has an extinct relative from New Zealand known from fossils (Biziura delautouri). This duck derives its common name from the peculiar musky odour it emanates during the breeding season. It sits very low in the water like a cormorant, and its legs are set far back on the body, making it clumsy on land. This is a duck adapted to life in water. Males in the breeding season have a large bill lobe.

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The courtship of the male is just as weird as the duck itself.



It lifts its tail over its back, inflates its lobe and flicks water with its wings. Truly a bizarre bird.

The classification of the Musk Duck is a little uncertain, but their is increasing evidence it is related to another bird who's relationships are equally uncertain, the Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus), yet another Aussie endemic, though being a nomad it occasionally goes off course and ends up in New Zealand as a vagrant. The 'pink ear' is only able to be seen at close range, and so perhaps its other common name, the Zebra Duck, is more appropriate. These birds are true nomads, and can turn up anywhere. If a dry lake fills up in the middle of the outback, these ducks, along with many other waterbirds will migrate vast distances to take advantage of the temporary resource. And, surprise surprise, it has an extinct Zealandian relative (Malacorhynchus scarletti).

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To end this, may I just say RIP to all those New Zealand species. Swans, geese, submarine ducks and stripy bois. You will be missed.
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Tenno
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The name Balmain Bug refers to a few species of slipper lobster in the genus Ibacus.

There's some tough competition, but these are by far one of my favorite crustaceans. Look at their perpetually-confused eyes and shovel-like antennae! And their alien carapaces with all manner of spines and serrations! Here's I. brucei.

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Ibacus lobsters usually use their large flattened antennae to shovel the substrate in search of molluscs and polychaetes to eat. When threatened, they lack the reflexive body curling action that most lobsters use to swim away, so they hunker down and hope for the best.

Here's some other slipper lobsters not from Ibacus. Lobsters aren't an animal one would describe as "colorful", but just look at these guys. Those backwards antennae! This one should be Scyllarides.

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Edited by Tenno, Jul 2 2018, 02:06 AM.
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Oops, forgot one. This is the Hardhead (Aythya australis).

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Not a particularly unique duck, other than the fact it's the only true diving duck in Australia. What's strange about it is the name. Why was it given that name? Because it has a particularly thick cranium? No. It was called a 'hardhead' because early taxidermists found that the head was the most difficult part of the duck to process!
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