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‘Goatte fly’ (Capricorn beetle) before 1682 by
Alexander Marshal (c1620-1682).
http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/01/marshal-insect-album.html Wikimedia.
(via scientificillustration)
George Titus Ferris, Wonders of marine life. With ninety-five illustrations (1894)
(via scientificillustration)
Clarence Hawkes, Shaggycoat; the Biography of a Beaver (1906) Illustrations by Charles Copeland
(via scientificillustration)
‘A Hedgehog’ (before 1584) by Hans Hoffmann (1530-1591). Watercolour.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eoskins/7249630824/.
Wikimedia
(via scientificillustration)
Black Piranha - Serrasalmus rhombus
The black piranha (also known as the redeye or rhombeus piranha) has recently been discovered to have a bite force as strong as the estimated force of the extinct Megapiranha.
Though the negative stigma towards piranhas is largely undeserved, the mature black piranha is one of the most aggressive fish. This is especially true recently, with the over-fishing of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, depleting the food sources of the adult fish.
Most species of juvenile piranhas feed on the scales and fins of others fish. Yes, they will swim up to, and rip the fins off of big fish, especially as they near maturity, but are not yet large enough to reliably hunt down other fish.
Despite their huge size (up to 1 m long, four times longer than adult black piranhas) and extremely strong bite force, the Megapiranha of the Pleistocene era (8-10 mya) wasn’t believed to have a solely carnivorous diet. Their saw-shaped teeth bear similarities to the Serrasalmus genus, but also to the teeth of the Pacu, or “vegetarian piranha”.
Expédition dans les parties centrales de l’Amérique du Sud, de Rio de Janeiro à Lima et de Lima au Para. Under direction of Le Comte Francis de Castelnau, 1856.
(via scientificillustration)
Clarence Hawkes, Tenants of the Trees (1907) Illustrations by Louis Rhead
(via scientificillustration)
Black Piranha - Serrasalmus rhombus
The black piranha (also known as the redeye or rhombeus piranha) has recently been discovered to have a bite force as strong as the estimated force of the extinct Megapiranha.
Though the negative stigma towards piranhas is largely undeserved, the mature black piranha is one of the most aggressive fish. This is especially true recently, with the over-fishing of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, depleting the food sources of the adult fish.
Most species of juvenile piranhas feed on the scales and fins of others fish. Yes, they will swim up to, and rip the fins off of big fish, especially as they near maturity, but are not yet large enough to reliably hunt down other fish.
Despite their huge size (up to 1 m long, four times longer than adult black piranhas) and extremely strong bite force, the Megapiranha of the Pleistocene era (8-10 mya) wasn’t believed to have a solely carnivorous diet. Their saw-shaped teeth bear similarities to the Serrasalmus genus, but also to the teeth of the Pacu, or “vegetarian piranha”.
Expédition dans les parties centrales de l’Amérique du Sud, de Rio de Janeiro à Lima et de Lima au Para. Under direction of Le Comte Francis de Castelnau, 1856.
I have been informed some of you haven’t yet been educated on the True Facts About the Anglerfish.
=:O
![biomedicalephemera:
Giant Golden Mole - Chrysochloris trevelyani [now Chrysospalax trevelyani]
If there were ever a mammal worthy of being given the common name of “Blorp”, this would be it. But no, they get to be called the “giant golden mole”, despite not being all that giant, or all that golden. I’m still calling them Blorps.
These pudgers are ancient, mostly-desert-dwelling Gondwanan creatures which are remarkably well adapted to climates with significant thermal shifts. During times of extreme heat or cold, their bodies can go into a state of torpor, almost stalling their basal metabolism rate, and completely turning off their internal thermoregulation until the temperature returns to a more amicable range.
The family of golden moles, Chrysochloridae, is not related to the “true moles” (Talpidae), but get their common name from their similar appearance, which developed through convergent evolution. Most scientists agree that the golden moles are more closely related to hedgehogs and shrews than to true moles, though some theories group them with the tenrecs. Until full genetic profiles are established for the Insectivoridae, we probably won’t have a definitive answer.
Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1875.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/56ecf1cb7533c04d7a5c2c61b7a434bd/tumblr_mf8gsmMyHl1qk931ho1_r1_500.jpg)
Giant Golden Mole - Chrysochloris trevelyani [now Chrysospalax trevelyani]
If there were ever a mammal worthy of being given the common name of “Blorp”, this would be it. But no, they get to be called the “giant golden mole”, despite not being all that giant, or all that golden. I’m still calling them Blorps.
These pudgers are ancient, mostly-desert-dwelling Gondwanan creatures which are remarkably well adapted to climates with significant thermal shifts. During times of extreme heat or cold, their bodies can go into a state of torpor, almost stalling their basal metabolism rate, and completely turning off their internal thermoregulation until the temperature returns to a more amicable range.
The family of golden moles, Chrysochloridae, is not related to the “true moles” (Talpidae), but get their common name from their similar appearance, which developed through convergent evolution. Most scientists agree that the golden moles are more closely related to hedgehogs and shrews than to true moles, though some theories group them with the tenrecs. Until full genetic profiles are established for the Insectivoridae, we probably won’t have a definitive answer.
Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1875.
(via scientificillustration)
