Mystery Holes

Ever wander the beach, find the perfect shell, and flip it over only to find that there is a perfect little hole drilled into it? I've had it happen dozens of times. I always wondered what caused it, but for some reason assumed that the mystery holes formed postmortem.

Thanks to Jelo, the mystery of the shell holes is solved.

Enter the moon snail. These large snails cruise the sandy foam of the shoreline and tidal pools in search of their prey: clams, mussels, etc. If it's got a shell, it's food. They're like gastropod bulldozers with one mission in mind: a seafood dinner.

They look too big for their shells, don't they? That's because when they come across a less mobile clam, they envelop it with their over-sized mantle and go to work drilling their way through the shell while the clam lies there helpless.


















They do so with a raspy tongue (radula) that scrapes a perfect hole in the shell (aided by secreted chemicals). Once they've made their way through the shell, they proceed to dine. It's a slow process, but snails are patient (more snail wisdom to come in future posts). There are lots of ways to die in the ocean. This one seems like one of the less pleasant ones.

Think the snail won't fit inside the shell? Just pick one up and start poking it. It will shed water like a little sprinkler system until it fits inside. Go on. I dare you. Be sure to video it.























Thanks, Jelo. Now I know who the culprits are.

Falling Ticks

David Pearson removed this from a patient's ear. It's most likely Dermacentor variabilis, an American dog tick. You can even see a scrap of the ear canal that got removed along with the tick.

Ticks are very common disease vectors, meaning that, like the mosquito, they are responsible for carrying a variety of illnesses from host to host. If you end up with a dog tick in your ear, perhaps you'll be relieved to know that while you might contract Rocky Mountain spotted fever, you won't get Lyme disease. That's carried by the deer tick. I imagine in such a situation, you'd scramble for any form of solace.

It's also a relief to know that ticks don't fly or jump. They usually just fall. Sounds a lot like my son, who's just learned how to walk. No one tell him that I compared him to a tick.

Photo source: David Pearson

Monkey Chimera

Chimeras of Greek lore didn't come in monkey varieties as far as I know, but there's a first time for everything.

This fellow looks like an amalgam of several creatures: brown-coated rodent for hindquarters, a yeti upper half, and a bat-eared face of evil. Can it fly? Does it shoot iron spikes out of its tail?

Anyone know what kind of monkey it is? I imagine that with a simple peeling back of its lips it could flash some hefty canines.

Photo source: Richard Lowkes

Species Divergence and Pink Iguanas

Charles Darwin gave the Galapagos fame, but the gave the pink iguana the shaft. In his defense, Darwin couldn't have possibly cataloged every species in the Galapagos (it's hard to visit more than 100 islands), but that's of little consolation to this lizard, who is only found on one of the islands, on the shoulders of a volcano. He's only recently received his fifteen minutes of fame. But maybe he'll be assuaged with the knowledge that my daughters are thrilled at the discovery of pink iguanas (pink anything evokes squeals).

Maybe you scientists and evolutionists can weigh in on this one. Genetic analysis of the pink iguana supposedly hints at species divergence far earlier than Darwin's famous finches. How does that impact the conclusions Darwin arrived at? The article gives some good cursory information, but doesn't bring it home. So what? What does that mean? Why? Why not? Who am I? What's for dinner? Where was I? Australia...no the Galapagos.

Anyone?

UPDATE: Lab Boy points out that Greg Laden has a good post on this creature (it's also a much better post than mine, since Greg actually knows what he's talking about, and he addresses the evolution angle head on).

Thanks for the article, Ida.

Photo source: Michael Kahn via Reuters via Yahoo!

Cnidarians Beware

A little while ago I posted on a sea spider, which National Geographic had described as an actual arachnid. They were wrong, as many of you pointed out. But in the end, I'm responsible for passing along misinformation. Consider yourself now re-informed (overwrite old data with new). They are pycnogonids (thanks, Epicanus).

I was also remiss in not mentioning, as Christopher Taylor pointed out, that they are equipped with a tubular proboscis that allows them to siphon out the insides of their cnidarian prey.

And Morgan wanted to show off this pycnogonid's egg sac. Looks like she carries it in a similar fashion to the wolf spider. Cnidarians beware! The pycnogonids, which are little more than spider-shaped jelly-sucking vampires, are reproducing, and your jelly-filled selves are in danger.

Thanks for the photo, Morgan.

Photo source: AWI.de

Dangling Sloth

Rebecca sent me this link from listverse.com, in which they layout what they believe to be the ten ugliest animals on the planet. I'm happy to report that each and every one of them has appeared here, along with a couple of the exact photos they used.

But I was charmed by this sloth photo, and had to share. These creatures are omnivores, and are known to dine on small lizards. How embarrassing would it be to be a small lizard and be caught by a sloth? My dying efforts would be spent hoping that none of my friends watched me get nabbed. That's not how I would want to be remembered.

An interesting side note: a sloth's fur lays in an opposite direction from most mammals. Most mammals have hair that grows toward the extremities. Not so with Mr. Sloth. His hair grows towards his torso, since he spends to much time dangling.

Thanks, Rebecca.

That's Some Prolific Pig

I know, I'm posting on something that's already been covered by Cute Overload. But bear in mind I'm looking at the adult, not the adorable piglets.

Anyways...



















China knows how to do pigs right. Well, wrinkly at least. Just like so many of their other animals (think shar pei and pug). You're looking at the meishan pig, which is a domesticated breed known for being slow growing and delicious. They are also one of the most prolific pigs. They reach puberty by the time they're three months old, and can have two litters a year. Add to that a high embryo survival rate, and you've got yourself a pig that can take over the world. I'm thinking Animal Farm here, only with a Chinese flavor to it. Not terribly inappropriate.

Thanks for the meishan, Laura.

Only Four Inches Across

Poor Lauren is having to contend with some very large orb weavers on her property. This is what awaits her in her eaves every day. The big one is six inches across. What isn't shown is another pair, where there is a smaller spider around four inches across. I truly don't know if I could live in a place where the smaller spider is only four inches across.

Can anyone help with a more specific ID? Are we looking at pairs that are about to mate? We need to allay Lauren's fears and to instruct her as to what sort of body armor and weaponry she needs to carry when she goes gardening.

UPDATE: Looks like we've got an ID for you, Lauren. Deborah pegs it as a Golden Silk Orbweaver (Nephila clavipes), and I tend to agree. An alternative would be something from the Argiope genus (thanks Lindsay). Amanda thinks, like I do, that you're dealing females and males, not youngins. You're in for a large brood coming hatchling season.