Hello from a southern girl

[Calilasseia]

Well, if Merna wants to see some more exotic organisms, she only has to ask. I have thousands of these to present.

[JimC]

Well, if Merna wants to see some more exotic organisms, she only has to ask. I have thousands of these to present.

...waits with bated breath for someone to do a rather simple fix here...

(not me, I'm too pure minded...)

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Well, if Merna wants to see some more exotic organisms, she only has to ask. I have thousands of these to present.

...waits with bated breath for someone to do a rather simple fix here...

(not me, I'm too pure minded...)

Wouldn't the "fix" involved penicillin?

[MernaLouise]

Well, if Merna wants to see some more exotic organisms, she only has to ask. I have thousands of these to present.

Well now, I found that post fascinating. Show me more anytime.

[Woodbutcher]

Hi Merna. Come on in and read. Post when comfortable. Good to have you here, enjoy!

[Calilasseia]

Well, if Merna wants to see some more exotic organisms, she only has to ask. I have thousands of these to present.

Well now, I found that post fascinating. Show me more anytime.

Here you go Merna ... how does a shocking pink millipede that looks as if its made up of a bunch of dried nail varnish brushes strike you?



Say hello to Desmoxytes purpurosea, otherwise known as the Shocking Pink Dragon Millipede. A native of Laos, it was only discovered in the last 5 years or so by scientists, though you would have thought they would have discovered something as conspicuous as that a long time ago. Well, bear in mind that the entire region around Laos has been more or less off limits to scientists for decades, courtesy of various wars, genocides, and the need to clear large tracts of the land of mines. Consequently, it's only fairly recently that scientists were able to investigate the rainforest fauna on a proper, systematic basis, and consequently, they've logged over 1,000 new species in the past 10 years or so.

This particular beastie is brightly coloured for a good reason - it's advertising its poisonous status to would-be predators. It defends itself against predation by producing cyanide compounds, and storing them in its body tissues. Any predator foolish enough to treat it as a meal soon regrets doing so.

Mind you, if you want something really strange, how about a lungless frog?

That's right. Barbourula kalimantanensis, has apparently dispensed with lungs, despite being a bona fide vertebrate animal. Its surroundings are damp enough to permit it to obtain all the oxygen it needs through its skin. Read more about it here.

Oh, and at some point, I'll have to tell you about the caterpillars that fling their crap, and why they do it ...

[charlou]

Very