It’s a plane.

It’s a flying snake and I’m confused why it thinks it’s a thing of flight. (Identity crisis? or efficient technique borrower?)

As if snakes aren’t already enough of an evolutionary oddity without arms and such, this one can fly! Somewhere the species God is laughing at all you Ophidiophobes.

Flight here is more like a controlled fall but still, the effort is admirable. But, I think we all are stressed out enough about sea gulls crapping on our heads at the beach, this is just another added stress for jungle travel.

Check out the flying snake Chrysopelea here: (I apologize for the obnxious narrator).

I think the x-factor is obvious here. Chrysopelea is like this guy:

Image from fundraw.com

Minus the arms, legs and other humanistic qualities like an ego and a fear of hell.

Technically, this Indonesian flying snake is a “glider.” It uses its tummy muscles to push off tree bark and flares out its ribs to make its body a sort of wing/parachute.

This method of travel is efficient and it beats going up a tree, and then coming down a tree, choosing a new tree, and climbing up the tree and going down… -you get the picture.

Don’t worry the snake is only considered “midly venomous” which to me sounds like “mildy deadly,” but I’ve been assured the venom is too weak to hurt humans. So it’s no biggie if it lands on you scaring the bejesus out of you.

Yet, something is familiar about this x-species’ super identity.

Did you see the way it lands ungracefully, though impressively, on those tree branches, wrapping itself around the limbs as if an invisible hand meant it to be there to dislodge an enemy’s weapon or something badass-like?

I’ve seen that form before…

Aha.

It turns out this snake is not just a superhero, but a superhero accessory for a certain Dr. Jones:

Check out more superhero accessories here: Flying Snake Home Page

With our many technological advances we may consider ourselves finalists in the evolution competition:

up...up...up...up...there you go!

(Image from Software Creation Mystery)

But, we haven’t been able to ward of something like cancer.

This is where nature wins.

An unsuspecting character happens to have this skill, immunity to cancer. Please welcome…the naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glabe):

Or sand puppy, desert mole rat, whatever you choose.

Image by Einer flog zu Weit. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Perhaps God had mercy and gave it cancer immunity due to the apparently very, short straw it drew on looks.

Yet, this beauty has more to offer than the ability to ward off cancer.

This eusocial mammal cannot feel pain either due to the lack of a specific neurotransmitter. I think this means that we all need to ask other crucial questions like: Does that mean it can’t feel love either?…

The East African native lives up to 28 years in underground systems and it uses those large protruding teeth to dig new tunnels and eat.

The diet: Well you know the typical tuber and its own FECES!

Naked mole rat eating...? Image from Zooillogix blog.

That’s right they eat tubers that weigh up to 1000 times their own body weight, which is a feat in itself. But when those are scarce, well they recycle. (See, they’re environmentalists too.)

The put back in what just came out: POOP.

Which goes to show you that super skills often come with super trade-offs (non-”wins”).

These thin-legged underground dwellers can’t see well but they can move backwards as fast as they go forwards, which has in humans, been proven to tone the rear.

Which may explain their confidence to go it in the nude like so many other super heros.

Case in point Mystique: Althought I’m pretty sure that’s not a fair comparison…in many ways.

Mystique

So the next time you think or meet a naked mole rat don’t be quick to judge.

Just remember that it in many ways has superhero qualities while it nakedly runs around backwards, painless, cancer-free and eating its own poo poo.

More naked mole rat action in the New York Times.

But wait, don’t stop reading, it’s not kinky, Darwin would think it to be honorable- if that’s a hint.

The large Australian Dawson’s male bee is known to fight over females…to the DEATH, Gladiator style!

The bee is one of 250 species that belong to the Amegilla group of bees.

This specific bee is large and the females burrow in the ground rather than in hives, but when they come to the surface the fight begins!

Dawson's Bee. Image BBC.

The fight is brutal, the males topple each other stinging and biting.

The fights often end with many casualities, most of which are fatal. The BBC describes the results as  ”mass murder” as the male bee fighting machines kill each other and sometimes the female through friendly-stinging.

I would say that this is unsuccessful mating, not to mention wooing, if the female is killed in the process. At least, I wouldn’t be impressed.

Plus, the mating (the good stuff) doesn’t even happen.

The fighting ensures that the biggest, baddest, male passes on the pollen of his loins, and he earns the honor to fight in the arena again. That is, if they haven’t all died first.

Remind you of anyone?

Image from gone else where wordpress blog.

This is all best explained by this video that I highly recommend that you watch. The whole thing. You can do it. Why? I would just like you note how during this bee brawl over the females, that a female is DECAPITATED. (Image BBC):

Oops... What do we do now?

I think my dad put it: “Losing one’s head for a piece of tail. You have to be male to understand that logic.”

So apparently decapitation has long been on the male agenda as “head: willing to sacrifice, for piece of ass.”

This, I was not aware of, although maybe I should have been.

But that brings me to my conclusion: no matter the species, guys really are all the same.

The Watchmen was a 12-part comic series published in 1986 and 1987. One of these characters, Doctor Manhattan, had an unforunate run-in with an “intrinsic field subtractor.” I am not sure what that is- a type of calculator? (subtract. ha.) Anyway, the U.S. government contracted some of his superpower work, dubbed him Mr. Manhattan.

Doctor Manhattan, by Dave Gibbons.

Interestingly enough he’s the only Watchman with actual super hero powers- I’m not sure what that says about the story…

And he always seems to be  naked. Not sure about that either, really.

Dr. Manhattan can control atoms, he can breathe in space, and he sometimes sees into the future. All good skills, sometimes.

Run-ins with “Intrinsic Field Subtractors” are more common than you would think. It happens in real life too and these instances may have inspired this nude, blue man.

I am pleased to present an example of such a run-in: the Australian earthworm, Terriswalkeris terraereginae:

Image from American Digest

Do you see where I’m going with this? This earthworm is BLUE. And not like a natural indigo or whatever color- true Doctor Manhattan BLUE. AND it’s naked! AND it seems to be the only worm that is blue among all his colleagues. (Coincidence…? I think not.)

This worm is luminescent and grows up to 2 meters long! (6 feet). It’s rare to get a glimpse of one of these, despite the size, but they are sometimes seen in construction sites and when rain has saturated the soil and it comes to the service.

How did it get so blue? The intrinsic calculator thing may be a safe bet…

Or is the gummy worm industry keeping something from us?

Image from www.retailgourmet.com

Little else is known but check out the science blog here for more wormy facts.

A new discovery has once again proven that The Princess Bride is a story of truth and we should revere it. Folks, R.O.U.S.s are REAL. Our childhood nightmare has come true.

What’s an R.O.U.S you ask? If you have to ask your childhood was missing a significant chapter. Sorry. But I will explain.

What’s The Princess Bride you now ask? Really?  How can you not know? It’s only the best story ever written and subsequent movie that was actually up to par with the book. (See the link above)

R.O.U.S. = Rodent Of Unusual Size.

R.O.U.S. Rodent Of Unusual Size. Image from Flikr

The R.O.U.S. first made it’s appearance when Westley and Buttercup are tearing through the Fire Swamp and Westley is attacked. He fights back, stabs the beast and then it bursts into flames from a flame spurt!

Dramatic.

Well, a BBC expedition has recently discovered an R.O.U.S. in a dormant volcano in New Guinea.

The rat is truly R.O.U.S.-like. It measures at about 82 cm, for all you Americans that’s 32 inches! And for all you American again that’s almost three feet long (and I’m not sure if the tail is included)!

It’s been named, temporarily, the Bosavi Woolly rat. Researchers are probably still brainstorming for some super-rat name that reflects it’s bad-ass-ness. Like…

Bosavi Woolly Rat (Image BBC)

“R.O.U.S.”

The rat has no fear of humans either, like the R.O.U.S., which is a little disconcerting since it’s been living a reclusive life in the Mount Bosavi crater for eternity. Yet, as you can see by this photograph, it’s not quite as aggressive as the one in the story.

One scientist casually commented that he once had a cat of the same size.

Awesome.

Looks like cats will soon be obsolete to control our rodent populations because no one will know who’s who and who’s food in the alley way.

That’s if they make it over here. As of now, they’re only found in one volcano in New Guinea, and the Fire Swamp.

But did I miss something?  Was the R.O.U.S. misunderstood by Westley and Buttercup? Doesn’t this gold-medal winner for size kind of look cute, fuzzy and friendly?

Image BBC

See the BBC report here.

Nomura Jellyfish

There are more than 200 species of nomura jellyfish and get this, they grow up to 500 pounds!

Just last week one got caught in a net of a Japanese trawler and brought that boat down! Don’t worry the three crew members were rescued.

Could this be nature’s ultimate revenge?

Image by Pierre Denys de Montfo

Probably not because jellyfish don’t have eyes and don’t really know where they’re floating. So a collision with a net is probably an accident.

But, the loss of nets to these creatures can have a devastating financial blow to fisherman. And even if the nets aren’t destroyed the catch are often poisoned thanks to the jellyfish’s stings. (Sabotage!)

Some researchers believe that the jellyfish are showing up in hordes in the Sea of Japan due to -but of course- global warming.

The fish that young jellyfish polyps eat are growing scarce, causing these jellyfish to take things into their own-tentacles.

There’s also word of a new warning system being developed so that nets can be pulled before ships are sunk. The system is probably someone telling someone else that they see a group of MASSIVE jellyfish.

Not that any of us support the economic downfall of a local industry, but there is something raw, dangerous and intriguing about nature accidentally fighting back.

Check out more jellyfish at National Geographic.

The answer: A hummer like anteater- the pangolin:

 

Image by Verdammelt. Retrieved from wikimedia commons.

Yes, this picture is real and it is alive.

And it’s a mammal if you couldn’t tell.

This African species can come in three styles: the giant, the tree, and the ground pangolin and can measure up to six feet long, depending upon the type. The animal feeds on termites which they retrieve with a tongue that’s up to 16 inches long. To put that into perspective the average length of a human tongue is about four inches.

Like the GM Hummer, the outer armoring is ridiculously heavy. A pangolin’s scales make up about 20 percent of its body weight.

Image by George Norkus. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.

Unlike the Hummer, this creature is not useless and it serves purposes that don’t include guzzling gas and making the owner look really, really, needy for attention:

——->

Remember sonic the hedgehog? or a peel bug? That’s right the pangolin can roll itself into a ball and lash out with its razor-sharp scales. If it comes after you, watch out! Make sure you casually stroll away because it’ll kick into gear at about 3 mph. That’s if it hasn’t sprayed you with it’s anal glands first. RAWR!

Image uploaded by Apokryltaros. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.

Unfortunately, humans once again are making a mess of things. Apparently, its scales mixed with some tree bark can dispell evil spirits. (I’ll make sure to tell Harry Potter.) If a pangolin is buried near a man’s door a woman is said to have power over him. (That may be a better strategy for e-harmony.) They can also make rain and be eaten. Damn, this thing is useful. Oh and also, some people believe they look good as boots, jackets and bags- which out of all of these things, we can say is definitely not true.

Image by Shellie. Retrieved from WIkimedia Commons.

+

Image by Itsmine. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.

=

SUPER BEAR!

Wrong.

What you really get is a bear that kind of looks like a grizzly bear, and yes…also kind of looks like a polar bear.

SURPRISE!

That’s basically what a German zoo has concluded. A BBC report that explores the phenomenon states that hybrids: “appear to be a blend of the two.”

No…really?

The population is small, only about 17. Only one hybrid has been observed in the wild. Why only in Zoos you ask? Well, probably because the two different bears are celled together and boredom is bound to kick in.

As stated by Dr Ute Magiera, the conservation coordinator of Osnabruck Zoo in Germany, “‘We were surprised about the offspring, because for 24 years nothing happened.’”

24 years?! Now I really don’t blame them for trying.

As for the wild hybrid, I think we can safely assume that that was an accident, probably by a polar bear meeting an albino grizzly bear, or a color-blind grizzly bear meeting a polar bear. In any case, I’m sure they regret it.

I’m not going into too many details of the report, but there is a lot of: “The hair of the hybrid bears display a blend of both.” etc. etc. etc.

No word yet whether it’s going to be named a “Prizzly” or “Grolar” bear, but I think it’s a good guess that it will be one of the two, because, well, you know, they both are kind of a mixture of each bear’s name. Kind of, sort of. Kind of like the bear.

One thing is for certain.

It looks like the “Liger” (Lion/Tiger)…

Image by Алексей Шилин. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.

has a new friend.

Not that spiders aren’t fantastic and biologically fascinating, but they always seem to be the butt of all the jokes, fear and apparently wasps.

The Ichneumon wasp, is frankly, a wasp of nightmares. It would be the ultimate, manipulative bad guy.

Image by Richard Bartz. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

It is classified as a parasitic wasp, for it uses a long eerie tail to drill through material such as wood into fellow insect larvae, its own larvae are planted inside and then the stranger insect larvae are then eaten…alive!

And you thought yellow jackets were bad.

But now to the spider. So if thought that eating other insect larvae alive just wasn’t enough to give this wasp a gruesome reputation, how about this:

The Ichneumon wasp attacks a spider such as the Plesiometa argyra, temporarily paralyzes it by a sting, and lays a larvae on its stomach. When the spider snaps out of it it resumes normal spider activity.

Over the next week or two the larvae hatch and feed on the spiders blood, apparently without the spider noticing. (I think this is where its crucial we point out that pros of having a neck that can rotate and look around. Or the skill of being observant.)

The larvae carefully plan their kill. On the night of the murder the larvae somehow convince to build a cocoon web, the larvae than kill its host, moult, and spin a pupal larvae from the cocoon.

eeek.

This usually happens in Costa Rica, but don’t worry, if you feel like you’re missing out on the action we have parasitic wasps here too, such as the pelecinid wasp.

If you need more proof, this same wasp made Darwin doubt the existence of god. Which he was kind of already on the way of doing by laying the foundation for the proof that dinosaurs were not in fact Jesus Horses. But still, I find this compelling of the wasp’s bad-guy attributes.

“I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars…” –Charles Darwin

More wasp action at Nature

Yet, Bilbo probably wouldn’t have been so terrified of these dragons. In fact, these may be the nicest, most well-behaved dragons the world has ever layed eyes upon. They feed on tiny crustaceans and zoo plankton which they suck up their snouts.

Not really the type of dragon to hoard gold, kill humans and fight off hobbits.

And they may be a descendents of the Lochness due to their aquatic status.

There are two dragons I have in mind live off the coast of Australia. One is “weedy”:

Image by Fernando Estel. Retrieved from Wikipedia Commons.

And the other is clearly weighed down by extra baggage. It is of the “leafy” variety:

Image by Drold. Retrieved from Wikipedia Commons.

Ok, I lied they’re not related to the lochness monster but they are a type of pipefish, much like the seahorse.

You’ll be glad to know that these species are hard-core FEMINISTS.

Oh yes, these dragons, along with the sea-horse, and the pipefish are the only fishes where the male of the species carries the eggs until they are hatched.

They are true dream boats, those male sea dragons. Eye candy too I might add. While those female sea dragons are out romping around the coral sea reefs, the males are pulling a double work day, fighting off the glass coral reef shelf, and ensuring posterity.

That in itself is worth superhero status in the fish world.

I think it’s safe to say that both species procreate, but the BBC’s new series on natural history called Life has recently caught  the weedy sea dragon doing it on camera. The beautiful courtship dance is described as a “mirror dance,” in which the male and female mimic each other.

Watch it and let the voice of David Attenborough woo you. (You know he always does). And make sure you get to the end because even though the babies aren’t fuzzy they are definitely adorable.