@velocity--raptor

@sealriously-sealrious​

Brush jewel beetle, Julodis viridipes, Buprestidae

Found in South Africa

Photos 1-2 by rjbasson, 3-4 by botaneek, 5-6 by padraicflood, 7 by ryanmtippett, 8 by yakovlev.alexey, and 9-10 by tonyrebelo

may i present to you: echidna puggles

YEAR OF THE TIGER (isopod)

I wanted to paint different frog life stages, so here’s the life cycle of a red eyed tree frog, I guess?

It’s up here and here if you also love frogs.

Here we see a very nice blunt-headed burrowing frog [Glyphoglossus molossus] photographed in Kaeng Krachan, Thailand. These frogs are known locally as balloon frogs due to their large, spherical bodies. Although common in some areas, these frogs are threatened by over-catching [as a food item] and habitat loss. Images by Tom Charlton.

Pumpkin Toadlet (Brachycephalus ephippium)

Family: Brachycephalidae (Flea Toad Family)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

This tiny, brightly-coloured frog is found only in Southeastern Brazil where it inhabits humid montane forests and lives among the leaf litter on the forest floor. Reaching an average length of 18mm it is one of the smallest frogs in the world, and as such it feeds on only the smallest arthropods, particularly springtails (small, superficially insect-like arthropods that primarily live in soil.) During the breeding season, which lasts from October to March, male Pumpkin Toadlets carry out elaborate courtship displays by lifting their heads, inflating a pouch under their chins and producing a high-pitched call comparable to the buzzing of cicadas, although bizarrely females lack the range of hearing to actually detect the males’ calls and seem to select a partner based solely on the visual elements of the display. Female Pumpkin Toadlets lay their eggs on the forest floor and roll them in soil to help them blend in with their surroundings, and around 64 days later the eggs hatch as small yet fully-developed frogs (making the Pumpkin Toadlet one of the only species of frog that does not begin life as a tadpole, and one of the only amphibians that does not require a source of water to breed.) Although they are born with brown skin to help them camouflage with leaf litter, the young toadlets eventually develop the ability to secrete a potent toxin from their skin when threatened, and once they are able to produce these poisons they take on the bright orange colouration seen in adults to warn potential predators of their toxicity.

Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/24492-Brachycephalus-ephippium

Conservation Plan for the Ozark Hellbender

Read more here: http://ow.ly/rMti50Gsatg

Photograph: USFWS | Jill Utrup 

I thought this was an animatronic at first but apparently it’s real lol

this is a shoebill and they are living muppets

I really hope this animal sounds exactly how I want it to