excentricat

[excentricat]

if coyotes are just indie wolves and wolves are just bass boosted dogs what the fuck are moths to butterflies

[excentricat]

Round 2 - Chordata - Appendicularia

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Appendicularia (commonly called “Larvaceans”) are a class of tunicates that retain their solitary, free-swimming, tadpole-like larval forms throughout their entire life, with their notochord running through their tail.

Appendicularians are transparent planktonic animals, ranging from 2 mm to up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in length. They are known for the large houses of mucus and cellulose (image 3 and gif below) they build around their bodies. These structures assist in filter-feeding, often comprising several layers of filters and reaching up to ten times the larvacean’s body length. The house consists of external filters which stop food particles too big for the larvacean to eat, and internal filters which direct edible particles to the larvacean’s mouth. In some species, the house surrounds the animal like a bubble, in others it is merely attached to some part of their body, varying in shape. As the animal grows or if the filters become clogged, it will discard its house and build a new one. Some genera can deflate and reinflate their houses in an attempt to clean the filters.

Larvaceans reproduce sexually, with all but one species being hermaphroditic. They reproduce externally, releasing sperm and eggs into the water. Larvae resemble the tadpole-like larvae of ascidians, and go through a short metamorphosis involving their tail twisting into place. Their life cycle is short: the metamorphosis takes place less than one day after fertilization and they reproduce after 5-7 days. They will die shortly after, as their body wall ruptures during egg release, killing the animal.

Due to their soft and delicate bodies, there is no definite fossil record for appendicularians. The Cambrian animal Oesia disjuncta has been suggested as an early form of appendicularian.

(source)

Propaganda under the cut:

Some genera build houses and discard them every few hours. These sinking houses play a key role in the ocean’s carbon cycle, and are a significant component of marine snow: feeding entire ecosystems on the ocean floor. They are responsible for up to one third of carbon transfer to the deep sea.

Some species seem to be able to filter and discard microplastics. However, these microplastics are then trapped within their houses and fecal pellets to later sink to the sea floor: transporting microplastics deeper into the sea.

These are much closer related to us than they are to jellies and I think that’s beautiful

[excentricat]

Lichen-mimic orbweaver, Araneus seminiger, Araneidae

Found primarily in Taiwan and Japan

Photos 1-3 by muyaocraft, 4 by pochung, 5 by papilioshih, 6-8 by dhugallindsay, and 9 (for scale) by jamesmifan

[excentricat]

Did y'all know caddisfly larvae could swim? I sure didn't.

Reddit video credit: u/London_Darger

[excentricat]

Lichen & Moss: unappreciated botanical beauties

[excentricat]

Invertober day 2, Malachite Butterfly.

[excentricat]

[excentricat]

I’m quite fond of scarlet and turquoise together, and Edessa rufomarginata displays them both in the form of a gorgeous stinkbug!

seen in Costa Rica, alongside an equally beautiful juvenile of the same species. they are quite common in this habitat but no less pretty for it!

[excentricat]

This distinctively warty lichen is Melanohalea exasperata (with several friends) on a lushly populated oak twig.

It can be tricky to find as it mostly grows high up in the tree canopy - so far I've only enountered it on branches that have recently fallen to the ground.

[excentricat]

Happy weekend everyone Tumblr 🙏

[excentricat]

From here. If you think arachnids with long legs are just scary please watch this solifugid dig her nest (or try to) like SUCH a goofy little person creature. Look how she shoves dirt with her mouth and then gives it a little pat. Is she even making any progress?!

[excentricat]

Round 2 - Arthropoda - Branchiopoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Branchiopoda is a class of small, mainly freshwater crustaceans that feed on plankton and detritus. They are comprised of 9 orders: Anostraca (“Fairy Shrimp”), Anomopoda (“Water Fleas”), Ctenopoda (also “Water Fleas”), Cyclestherida (“Clam Shrimp”), Laevicaudata (also “Clam Shrimp”), Spinicaudata (also “Clam Shrimp”), Haplopoda (“Predatory Water Fleas”), Onychopoda (“Water Fleas” again), and Notostraca (“Tadpole/Shield Shrimp”).

Branchiopods are found mainly in freshwater, including temporary pools and hypersaline lakes, and some in brackish water. Those that live in temporary pools are known for having eggs that can dry out for long periods of time and hatch once they are submerged in water, as an adaptation to drought. Only two families, one in Onychopoda and one in Ctenopoda, contain marine species. Most eat detritus or plankton, catching them in the setae on their appendages. Notostracans are opportunistic omnivores that will feed on algae, bacteria, other branchiopods like Anostracans, and even small fish.

Branchiopods are characterized by the presence of gills on many of the animals’ appendages, including the mouthparts. Most have compound eyes and a carapace. In the Clam Shrimp, the carapace prevents the use of the legs for swimming, so the antennae are used for locomotion instead, as they are in nauplius larvae.

The oldest known branchiopod was Rehbachiella kinnekullensis of the Upper Cambrian. Notostracans in particular have a good fossil record, with the oldest known species being Strudops goldenbergi from the Late Devonian. Notostracans are often described as “Living Fossils” due to their lack of major morphological change over 250 million years.

Propaganda under the cut:

Both Triops (a genus of Notostracan) and Artemia (a genus of Anostracan) make popular low maintenance aquarium pets, respectively called “Dinosaur Shrimp” and “Sea-monkeys” in the pet trade.

Triops longicaudatus helps control the West Nile virus, as they prey on Culex mosquito larvae.

In Japan, Triops cancriformis are used as biological pest control, kept in rice paddies to eat weeds.

Most branchiopods feed on small plankton and detritus, but some are large(r) predators, and Notostracans aren’t the only ones! The Giant Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta gigas) can get up to 86 mm (3.4 in) long, lives in hypersaline lakes and rivers, and eats copepods and other branchiopods: mainly other fairy shrimp.

The genus Artemia, also known as Brine Shrimp, are commonly bred to feed fish and crustacean larvae, both in fish farms and in aquarium tanks, due to their ease of rearing, richness in nutrients, and tendency to be the preferred snack of small fish. Daphnia, a genus of Anomopod, are also often bred as fish food, as well as for amphibian larvae.

Artemia urmiana was once abundant in Lake Urmia of Iran, but drought has caused their population to drastically decline, leading to fears that they were nearly extinct. However, a second population has been discovered in Koyashskoye Salt Lake of Ukraine, giving hope for their recovery.

Scientists have taken the eggs of Artemia salina to outer space to test the impact of radiation on life. The brine shrimp eggs traveled on U.S. Biosatellite 2, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17 missions, and on the Russian Bion-3 (Cosmos 782), Bion-5 (Cosmos 1129), Foton 10, and Foton 11 flights. On Apollo 16 and Apollo 17, the cysts traveled to the Moon and back. Unfortunately, the results showed A. salina eggs are highly sensitive to cosmic radiation… 90% of the embryos died at different developmental stages.

Clam shrimp convergently evolved a shell similar to a bivalve. Both valves of the shell are held together by a strong closing muscle. The animals react to danger by contracting the muscle so that the valves close tightly and the crustacean floats motionlessly to the bottom of the water.

Daphnia are used in scientific studies as a model organism. Because they are nearly transparent, their internal organs are easy to study in live specimens. They are often used to test the effects of toxins and climate change, assisting with the assessment of ecological impacts caused by human disturbance.

One time, while looking at pond water under microscope, I saw a Chydorus sphaericus and squealed out loud cause it was so cute, and my professor made fun of me. But look at this. The Cheat lookin ass:

[excentricat]

Round 2 - Arthropoda - Malacostraca

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Malacostraca is the second largest class of crustaceans, and what most people picture when they hear the word crustacean! It contains over 40,000 species separated into 17 orders: Leptostraca, Stomatopoda (“Mantis Shrimp”), Decapoda (“Crabs”, “Lobsters”, “Crayfish”, “Shrimp”, and “Prawns”), Euphausiacea (“Krill”), Thermosbaenacea, Mysida (“Opossum Shrimp”), Stygiomysida, Lophogastrida, Spelaeogriphacea, Mictacea, Bochusacea, Cumacea (“Hooded/Comma Shrimp”), Tanaidacea, Amphipoda, Isopoda, Anaspidacea, and Bathynellacea. Many are scavengers, some are predators, some are herbivores, some are filter feeders, and some are parasites.

Malacostracans live worldwide, in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments, and have a large diversity of body forms. They are united by their segmentation of 20-21 body segments divided into a 5-segmented head, an 8-segmented thorax, and a 6-segmented abdomen with a telson, except in Leptostraca which has 7 abdominal segments. They have a pair of jointed appendages on each abdominal segment, though some groups have lost them secondarily. In some, three thoracic segments may be fused with the head to form a cephalothorax, the associated legs becoming maxillipeds. They have two pairs of antennae, which often branch into two parts. Their mouthparts have a pair of mandibles, maxillules, and maxillae. Many taxa have compound eyes on moveable stalks. Some have a carapace which covers the head, part or all of the thorax and some of the abdomen. The carapace may be fused with some of the thoraacic segments or hinged with two parts. This is one of the most diverse classes in the animal kingdom, and their anatomy and behavior would be hard to summarize further in just one paragraph!

The oldest malacostracans are the Leptostracans, which first appeared as fossils from the Cambrian period.

Propaganda under the cut:

“Carcinisation” has become a meme meaning “everything becomes crab”, but it actually only refers to the phenomenon of decapods convergently evolving crab-like anatomy. The Infraorder Brachyura contains the “True Crabs”, but at least 5 groups of unrelated decapods have evolved similar anatomy: a flat and broad cephalothorax.

Stomatopods (“Mantis Shrimp”) are known for their excellent color vision, but they probably can not actually see “shrimp colors.” They can see ultraviolet and polarized light, but their excess of photoreceptor cells actually lets them process their environment faster than we can, rather than differentiate between a multitude of different colors. This allows them to have quick reaction times, either to escape predators, fight or flee from rivals, or strike at their prey with amazing speed.

Malacostraca contains the largest living arthropods: the Japanese Spider Crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) with a legspan of up to 4 metres (13 ft) long, and the American Lobster (Homarus americanus), which can get up to 20 kilograms (44 lb).

Many species of malacostracans are commonly kept as pets, including crabs, crayfish, shrimp, mantis shrimp, and isopods.

Cute creb eat a cherry:

[excentricat]

Oh oh! Not a bug, but still an invert! Have yall ever seen a baby land hermit crab?

These little guys start out as zoeae, and then morph into this stage: the megalopa stage. After this they choose their first shell and head to land to become a full land hermit crab!

I’ve been working with an organization called Hermit House to raise captive bred land hermits. This is the furthest I’ve gotten! Both didn’t survive their first molt (molting is hard), but I know I can do it next year!!

I haven't seen one! They are very cute. Sad they didn't get past their first molt, but hopefully you have better luck in the future :)

[excentricat]

[excentricat]

Yellow long-horned moth, Tisis sp., Lecithoceridae

Photographed in Malaysia by Nicky Bay // Website // Facebook

Photos shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!