critter-of-the-day

[critter-of-the-day]

26th of August 2025: Festive Parrotfish

Blub blub blub: Festive Parrotfish (Scarus festivus). They’re around 35 cm in length and are found in the Indo-Pacific, specifically on the East Coast of Africa, across Japan, and south until Lord Howe Island [1]. One of the males’ distinctive features is the large lump on their forehead [2].

They are found from sea level until 30 m of depth. They inhabit clear lagoons and seaward reefs, where they feed on benthic algae [2] and occasionally coral [3]. While they have pretty colours later in life, they change colour as they grow, being mostly brown until they reach 20 cm [1]. They may also grow to be up to 45 cm [2].

They are caught and sold by artisanal fisheries, but they aren’t farmed on an industrial scale, so these do not seem to pose a significant threat. They may however face declines in certain local populations due to threats to the coral reef, like many other Parrotfishes [3].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

25th of August 2025: Florida Hermit Crab Sponge

It’s been a while since we’ve had a sponge on here, so let’s look at the Florida Hermit Crab Sponge (Pseudospongosorites suberitoides). They are commonly associated with the Red Flat Clawed Hermit Crab (Pagurus impressus), who may live in the Florida Hermit Crab Sponge [1].

They are widespread across the Central West Atlantic, living attached to hermit crabs at depths of 32-56 m. The original paper describing them found the maximum specimen size to be around 5 x 4 x 4 cm [2]. They can vary wildly in colour, from greyish-green to tan to bright orange [3].

Now originally they were classed under the genus Spongosorites, however even from observation there were already a few issues. For instance, Spongosorites generally have a crumbly, flaky texture, while this one was more waxy and corky. There were also some inconsistencies in the micro structures making up the sponge. However, the original authors simply expanded the definition for Spongosorites until 9 years later someone else came along, and using both the physical differences and some RNA testing they conducted, made the new genus Pseudospongosorities, honouring the original classification through the addition of “pseudo” [3].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

24th of August: Bare-faced Ground Dove

A bird! Specifically the Bare-faced Ground Dove (Metriopelia ceciliae), who can be identified by the pale dappling on their wings and the large orange eyering [1].

They are found on the Andean slopes in cactus land and bushy or slightly wooded areas. They’re frequently associated with human settlements, nesting in the holes in houses when available. Other than that, they may also go for sheltered rock ledges [2]. Depending on which area of Peru, Bolivia, or Argentina they’re found in, they may belong to one of three subspecies [3].

One of the way you could spot these small [1] doves is by listening out to their flight sounds. Their wingbeats are very noisy, and for a while it was believed that aside from this they are silent. However since, they’ve been observed to make very soft coo-ing sounds [4], which you can listen to here:

Also here are the wingbeats:

As one may have guessed from their names, aside from the spots mentioned above, they also nest on the ground [2]. Their mating rituals haven’t actually been observed in the wild, but there has been a study of pairs of Bare-faced Ground Doves in captivity. In it they didn’t observe much courtship, but when it did, it was the male bowing to the female and raising up their tail feathers [3]. Aside from a slightly less pink chest, Bare-faced Ground Doves aren’t really sexually dimorphic [2].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [Image] [Song] [Wing Sound]

[critter-of-the-day]

23rd of August 2025: Rajendran’s Shieldtail Snake

Today’s Snake Saturday concerns itself with Rajendran’s Shieldtail Snake (Uropeltis rajendrani). While individuals of their species were described back in 2016, they weren’t formally described until 2020 [1].

When they were originally found, they were labelled U. cf. ceylanica, which in scientific names essentially means “we know they’re from Uropeltis and we think they might be U. ceylanica but we’re not really sure”. One of the main issues is that U. ceylanica had never been found in the Kolli hills in Tamil Nadu in Southern India, which is where these snakes were discovered, but rather only the Western Ghats, which were about 100 km away [2].

They have an overall length of around 23 cm. Like other shieldtail snakes, they are a burrowing snake, and are thus often observed under fallen logs, rocks, and stones. While they were once spotted around noon at 11:00, they are generally nocturnal [3]. Their hemipenis has been described as “short and stout”, being only 3 mm long, but is generally not too different from other Uropeltis hemipeni [4].

They live in evergreen forests, and while they can tolerate some amount of disturbance, such as through coffee or cardamom plantations, they haven’t been seen in any monoculture tree farms. They also appear to be a common victim of roadkill [3].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

22nd of August 2025: Big-eye Slender-legged Frog

Yippee Friday, yippee frog. This is the Big-eye Slender-legged Frog (Tepuihyla exophthalma), who was discovered in 2001 in Guyana and since has also been found in Venezuela. They’re also suspected to be present in Brazil [1]. Also please excuse the arrows in the image, as the only colour image of them I could find was from an identification guide.

They are named after their large and protruding eyes. Their skulls show this as well, having more support for their eyeballs than other similar species [2]. Aside from the eyes, they can be recognised by their brown spotting, granular stomach, half-webbed toes, and short snout. Males can grow up to 3 cm long, and females up to 4 cm [3].

They are nocturnal and arboreal, being found in primary forest not far from water. While we know very little about their reproductive habits [3], it is suspected they may be bromeliad-breeding frogs (a bit like our good friend the Mata Do Catolé Heart-tongued Frog). Overall they appear to have a large range and are thus classified under Least Concern [4].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

21st of August 2025: Koh Tao Caecilian

Here’s a type of amphibian you may not have thought about in a while: a caecilian. Specifically, the Koh Tao Caecilian (Ichthyophis kohtaoensis). They were originally described from an individual from Koh Tao island, but have since been found in northern Thailand and other regions in South East Asia, especially since being synonymised with I. bannanicus [1].

They are limbless, burying amphibians [2]. They have tiny eyes and have two main life stages, the larval stage and the adult stage [3]. Visually the larvae look quite similar to the adults, but obviously smaller. The larvae are also exclusively aquatic, and do not have the distinctive yellow stripe or the unique sensory tentacle [4], which helps them track water movement [3]. Adults can grow to around 36 cm in length [2].

While the Koh Tao Caecilian has not been observed mating, it’s assumed that they have penetrative sex, much like other caecilians [4]. During April and May, the females lay eggs in small depressions they dig close to the water [3]. That way, in the rainy season, when the fields flood, they can easily make their way into the water [4].

The larvae will eat algae and plankton [3]. The adults take on earthworms, termites, and ants, though in rare instances, their faecal matter and digestive tracks have also shown examples of oribatid mites, who are generally rarely eaten due to their hard cuticle [5].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

20th of August 2025: Brown Four-eyed Opossum

Are you ready to hear about the only large American marsupial without a pouch [1]? Well you better be, because this is the Brown Four-eyed Opossum (Metachirus nudicaudatus). Their total length ranges between 39 and 70 cm, which is approximately evenly split between their body and tail [2].

They are from the northern half of South America, where they are generally found in mature evergreen forests [3]. They prefer an open undergrowth, with one study tracking them finding most of them avoiding dense canopy cover. They traverse this habitat alone during the early night between 20:00 and 23:00, with no activity documented after 2:00 in the morning. They build spherical nests on the forest floor, sometimes interweaving them with tree roots [4].

They have strong back legs and can move very quickly, even on branches. It’s their primary defensive technique [4]. While they do this silently and are generally quiet animals, they may also click or gnash their teeth and hiss if they feel threatened. Various birds of prey, such as owls or harpy eagles, are known to feed on them [2]. Overall they’re known to be nervous and wary, something one source feels the need to specify as being “unlike other opossums” [3].

They’re omnivorous, opportunistic foragers. The exact proportion of their omnivory varies from study to study, but they tend to agree that they are very reliant on insects, such as flies, millipedes, and ants. In addition, they also eat fruit and even small vertebrates [5].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

19th of August 2025: Anthothoe similis

After yesterday’s marine organism with boatloads* of research, here’s one with barely any: Anthothoe similis. They were originally described in 1896, and it appears their only mention in recent research and encyclopaedic entries is that “their diagnosis needs to be revised” based on the fact that they were only based on one or two specimen [1] and that “very little is known about the biology of these animals” [2].

They were discovered in Port Phillip, which is located in Southern Victoria in Australia. Their colour is described as being a deep, uniform orange, compared to terracotta. Their tentacles meanwhile are a lighter, fleshier colour. They’re about 1.6 cm tall and have the same diameter. Their tentacles are about 2 mm long [3].

Funnily enough their name seems to come from their discoverers just kind of giving up on naming organisms, as the similis derives from them being visually similar to A. australiae, the species the discoverers described just before A. similis. However subtle differences in the musculature merited them being different species [3].

*pun not originally intended but recognised and kept in

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

18th of August 2025: Spiny Spider Crab

It’s time to start off the week with a crustacean, specifically the Spider Crab (Maja brachydactyla), who depending on the source may be specified as being the Spiny Spider Crab [1], the Common Spider Crab [2], or the Atlantic Spinous Spider Crab [3].

As one may assume from the last of those names, they are found in the Eastern Atlantic, from the North Sea to Morocco, commonly found along Ireland, Great Britain, France, and Spain [2]. On a similar note, they also have a bunch of spines on the front of their carapace (main body). While they may vary in colour, they’re usually red to orange. This identifying feature may not always be helpful though, considering they’re oftentimes encrusted with algae, which helps them blend in [4].

They’re generally found on rocky and sandy substrates near the shore [3]. They have three life stages, a larval stage, a juvenile stage, and an adult stage, and this will impact where they’re found [5]. The adults will move to shallower waters (<15 m in depth) to breed [4], which the juveniles won’t leave until they’re grown, just chilling there “[performing] limited, non-directional, small-scale movements of less than 10 m per day” for around two to three years [5].

On average, adults have a carapace length of around 14 cm, and while some males might sexually mature earlier, they are unlikely to reproduce until they grow to the regular adult size [6]. This is because Spider Crabs have premating rituals using scent and tactile cues [3] where smaller crabs tend to be disadvantaged [6]. Unlike most other animals, they’ve shown high rates of heteroplasmy, whereby mitochondria are inherited from both parents, as opposed to only from the mother [6]. Apparently they also have “several peculiarities” in their spermatogenesis, but I’ll be honest that I don’t understand enough about regular crab sperm formation to convey why. Check the source if you’re interested [7].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

17th of August 2025: Mount Cameroon Brush-furred Rat

It’s been a while, but once again we have a critter niche enough not to have a photo of them: the Mount Cameroon Brush-furred Rat (Lophuromys roseveari). Luckily for me, the Rusty-bellied Brush-furred Rat (L. sikapusi) has been described as “very similar in size and appearance” [1]. So essentially just imagine the above rat with a slightly thinner skull, and you have the picture [2].

Aside from a difference in skull and teeth, the Mount Cameroon Brush-furred Rat sets themself apart from their compatriots by being the only member of Lophuromys on Mount Cameroon. The Rusty-bellied Brush-furred Rat may be found at the base [1], but Mount Cameroon Brush-furred Rat is found at elevations of 1000 to 3100 metres [3], where they can be encountered pretty frequently [4]. Also just to clarify, Mount Cameroon is found in the country of Cameroon [3].

They’re around 13 cm long, with a 7 cm long tail [1]. On Mount Cameroon, they’re mostly found in grassland and near forests, though occasionally also in gardens or tree plantations [2].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

16th of August 2025: Ruspoli’s Shovelsnout Snake

Today’s snake is Ruspoli’s Shovelsnout Snake (Prosymna ruspolii), named after an Italian explorer and naturalist by the name of Prince Eugenio Ruspoli [1].

They are very small and harmless, with the largest male being 23 cm and the largest females being 30 cm. As other shovelsnouts, they have a sharp snout scale which allows them to burrow through dirt [2]. Thus it should come as no surprise that they are associated with habitats offering soft sand and soil in the semi-desert. They are primarily found in Southern Somalia and Northern Kenya [3].

There hasn’t been much research on their diet in particular, but shovelsnouts in general have only been observed to eat nothing but reptile eggs. This would align with the fact that two captive individuals were very ready to eat the eggs of Hemidactylus angulatus, a common gecko from Southern Ethiopia [2].

Also as a little bonus image, here is the after of the picture above. I felt I couldn’t really leave that out.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [Images]

[critter-of-the-day]

15th of August 2025: Mata Do Catolé Heart-tongued Frog

Now it’s Frog Friday, and how else to follow up yesterday than with an even smaller frog: the Mata Do Catolé Heart-tongued Frog (Phyllodytes edelmoi). They’re from the rainforest in eastern Brazil [1] and average 2.6 cm in length, with a maximum recorded length of under 3 cm [2].

One of the main things worth saying is that they are hopelessly dependent on bromeliads. They are seemingly only ever found in the flowers of bromeliads, either ones close to the ground, or ones growing off trees up to 25 metres in the air [2]. Even their tadpoles develop in the bromeliads, using water which is captured in the leaf axils [1].

The axils and central tube are also where they tend to hang out during the day, while at night the males come out to the leaves to call [3]. Their call is pulsed and lasts around 5 seconds. Unlike some other Phyllodytes frogs, their call is also not harmonic [4]. They appear to specialise in eating ants, with one stomach analysis revealing the vast majority (over 95%) of their stomach contents being ants. This makes sense as the ants can be found in most bromeliads [3].

They were discovered in 2003, and like yesterday’s frog actually also named after the first name of a researcher, in this case Edelmo M. Gonçalves [2]. They are also reported as having a large and stable population, classifying them under Least Concern [1].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

14th of August 2025: Ida’s Bright-eyed Frog

An additional frog this week, as you’re already getting one on Thursday, specifically Ida’s Bright-eyed Frog (Boophis idae), a frog from Eastern Madagascar [1].

They were originally discovered in 1867, and named after Mrs. Ida Pfeiffer, a prolific traveller, from whose collection the original specimen of Ida’s Bright-eyed Frog was taken [2]. A book about her life is in the public domain and available for free online here, if you’re interested.

But more importantly, back to the frog. The genus Boophis is mainly arboreal [3], and Ida’s Bright-eyed Frog is no exception, as they can be found on banana leaves, resting during the day, with males calling during the evening or night [4]. They’re found close to still bodies of water, either permanent or temporary, and while they are sometimes found in agricultural areas, they’re always in the proximity of forests, being a rainforest species [5].

They breed in the water, with their tadpoles developing there. Once grown, the frogs can be up to 3.6 cm in length [4].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

13th of August 2025: Adeuomphalus misael

Today’s critter is quite niche, having been described in 2019 based upon one shell and since haven’t really been in any discussions: Adeuomphalus misaeli.

They were found North of Cuba at a depth of 1455 m via dredging, which involves taking part of the ocean floor to sample the organisms living there. They’re absolutely tiny, with the shell having a diameter of 1.16 mm, and a height of around half a millimetre. In the unlikely chance you happen to be hanging out in the bathypelagic zone North of Cuba with a microscope, you could identify them by the lack of keeling in their shell and the irregular size of the ribs on their shell.

Source: [Info and Image]

[critter-of-the-day]

12th of August 2025: Dimorphic Jewel-babbler

Birds are pretty banger, but it’s been a while since we’ve had one, so today I’m fixing that with the Dimorphic Jewel-babbler (Ptilorrhoa geislerorum). They’re from Eastern New Guinea [1], though they have potentially also been found on Yapen Island, which is North of New Guinea [2].

On Yapen, they’ve been only found in eastern uplands of the island. The huge gap within their range could potentially be explained by local extinctions [2]. In general, they’re found in similar locations as the Blue Jewel-babbler (P. caerulescens), but appear at different altitudes. Males of the two species can be distinguished by the grey-brown on top of the Dimorphic Jewel-babbler’s head [3].

The real ease of identification however comes via the female. Unlike other closely related Ptilorrhoa birds in the region, the female looks quite different from the male, being entirely brown aside from the white throat and black band around the eyes and neck. It is also likely that the females of the New Guinea Ptilorrhoa have a rather consistent preference in males, as despite having genetically diverged a while ago, the species still look quite similar [4].

In general they’re more easily heard than seen (the picture above was the best I could find), with their song being a monotonous, medium-pitch note [5]. They feed on insects and other small animals, such as frogs. In order to find them, they forage along the ground, tossing leaves to the side. They’re also territorial [3].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

11th of August 2025: Favites monticulari

What other way to start the week than with a coral? How about the Favites monticularis. They’re a coral discovered in 2013 near North Andaman, an island in the Indian Ocean [1].

They come in large colonies, with the initial one observed being at least a square meter in area. They’re named after their monticule structure, which is the term for the hill-like shapes they come in. Their colour can vary from green to brown [1].

While many official databases do record them as a proper species [2], some scientists actually treat them as a nomen nudum, so basically saying they haven’t been described well enough and that they’re actually part of a different species, in particular Paramontastraea peresi [3].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [Image] 

[critter-of-the-day]

10th of August 2025: Thomas’s Broad-nosed Bat

A third of the way through August, so why not celebrate with a brief bat break looking at Thomas’s Broad-nosed Bat (Platyrrhinus dorsalis). They’re found in Colombia and Ecuador along both slopes of the Andes [1].

They’re considered to be of medium-size, with a forearm length of around 4.5-5 cm [1]. They’re generally found in humid to very humid forests [2], and while they have been recorded at elevations as low as 150 m [3], they are rarely seen lower than 1000 m [2]. While they primarily feed on fruit, one stomach analysis in the 70s also found remains of insects [4].

The genus they were a part of used to be called Vampyrops, having been described as such in 1865, but after some debate within the bat taxonomy community in the 1990s [5], Platyrrhinus, which had been proposed 5 years earlier won out [6]. However Thomas’s Broad-nosed Bat’s taxonomic troubles weren‘t quite done yet, as in 2005 it turned out that there were actually three different species under the label of P. dorsalis [1]. Even now they still have subspecies, as the image above is specifically of the Chocó Broad-nosed Bat (P. dorsalis ssp. chocoensis) [7].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [Image]