strangeorganisms

[strangeorganisms]

Sparkly Ciliates

From @tardibabe on IG:

This sparkly ciliate is most probably from the Prostomatea class and might be from the Holophrya genus (hit me up if you’ve got an idea!). Like its Nassula cousin, it possess an oral basket which is specialized for eating cyanobacteria and other filamentous algae! Prostomateans ciliates live in both freshwater and marine environments and are known to bloom when their preys, such as those causing red tides, are abundant. Some other Prostomateans such as Cryptocaryon irritants, are known to cause skin diseases in marine fish. Prostomatida ciliates such as Holophrya can be abundant in plankton populations and have been found all over the world, from small temporary ponds to soil samples, rice fields and even saline lakes in Europe, Australia and Chad! Since they can be found in soils, they must have the ability to form dormant cysts, just like our little moss piglets! By forming those resting cysts, they can survive long periods of time where water is absent. When it rains or the soil gets flooded, these ciliates can uncyst and be active again 😄 If you ever wish to support my work by making a small donation (any amount counts) and just started a ko-fi page: http://ko-fi.com/tardibabe 💜 Soundtrack is a courtesy of @accelerator.jengold ✨ Video taken with my iPhone mounted on a BA310E Motic microscope with an @ilabcam adapter 🔬 References: Foissner, W., & Hawksworth, D. L. (Eds.). (2009). Protist Diversity and Geographical Distribution. Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation. H., Lynn, Denis (2010). The ciliated protozoa : characterization, classification, and guide to the literature. New York: Springer.

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HAHAHAH too funny not to repost

when you’re babysitting and the kid won’t eat their veggies

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MOSQUITO STD

It’s dengue season, or maybe i should say it’s dengue year in Singapore. Dengue cases have been on the rise. Personally, I’ve known about 9 people who has gotten dengue in the last 5 months. That’s really scary. I could be next. Better standby some papaya leaf extract.

Oh before I forget, let me introduce Mr. Wolbachia Bacteria (first picture). He’s the hero in this story and his nemesis is Aedes Aegypti (mosquito that carries the dengue fever virus). 

His superpowers: making male Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes “impotent”. He makes the mosquito sperm incompatible with the eggs and the result is that the eggs cannot hatch. 

However, his superpowers seem to be ineffective against females. Female Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes infected with this STD can still mate with males and lay viable eggs. Research has shown that it is effective in reducing the mosquito populations by 90%! <3

The Singapore government is doing a very controlled release of these Wolbachia infected males because they are still in the midst of testing.

BTW, papaya leaf extract helps increase platelet count. So if you ever get dengue, take note. Of course, please consult your doctor before taking.

Image source 1, 2

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i love my swirly son

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THE TASMANIAN DEVIL

Well, these creatures do look cute and innocent when they close their mouths. They are named precisely because of their boss level rage they can get into when in defence/ attack mode.

One thing i found really bizarre is that they are able to give birth to 20-30 pups at one go. One would think oh there must be like a million of them with this kind of birth rate.

SADLY, TRAGICALLY, UNFORTUNATELY, they are endangered animals. Why? 

Firstly, they were almost exterminated in the 1800s because people didn’t like them hunting their livestock. 

But there is a worse evil attacking them - devil facial tumor disease. It’s a contagious kind of cancer which basically grows out of control around their face. What kills them is that they have difficulties eating because of the abnormal growths and starve to death. 

But all is not lost, it seems the Australian government is taking the effort to prevent spread and also come up with a vaccine. (:

Image source 1, 2

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After your post on the titan arum, I'm curious: what is the actual largest single flower in the world?

Rafflesia arnoldii, an indonesian corpse flower species that’s usually the size of a car tire! also its a parasitic plant, so it has no readily visible roots or leaves and just saps energy from its very specific host plant, which is a vine species related to grapes. (x) (x) (x) (x)

the little lumps next to the flower in this picture are flower buds!

here’s a helpful diagram of the flower itself:

Rafflesia has male and female flowers, and pollen must be carried from one to another to create a spore-spewing fruit structure when the seed ripens post-pollination:

this is a pretty useful diagram of the entire lifecycle, to give an idea of how much of a nightmare plant this would be if it could grow on humans (x):

we actually…didn’t know for sure if it was a plant or not until 2007??? 

so like, the question for a long time was “is this a fungus or a plant”. some suspicions supporting this:

-we didn’t know what it had evolved from or any of its relatives???????? 

-this plant only has a really small amount of a type of DNA that all other plants have, and what it does have of this is literally transferred from the host vine to the plant????

-the roots of this plant are there, but are super small and transparent filaments somewhat resembling fungi?????

-so the suspicion was, what if this was a fungus that just ended up having flower-like traits???

in 2007, we found out through DNA testing that it actually was, in fact, a plant! we now think that the evolutionary tree for this species looks something like this (now that we know its closest relatives):

(note that others in this tree have super tiny flowers. we think it has something to do with adapting for smell and resemblance to a dead rotting animal on the forest floor)

there are 13 species of Rafflesia known right now (all are parasitic plants that look and act kind of similar), but only Rafflesia arnoldii is the largest in the world! 

ok so like. a few months ago i saw a gif of this species blooming on reddit and i had to track it down for this answer because like. its so memorizing and amazing like. i have this gif saved on my phone

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Predatory Tunicate - The Venus Fly Trap of the sea. 

It always looks like it’s laughing except when its mouth has some food in it. It works similar like the venus fly trap. When an unsuspecting prey swims and flirts with PT by darting into it, the mouths clamp shut and digests the prey. 

picture source: 1, 2

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A rare case in which an octopus’s tentacles mutated and branched off beyond the normalcy… 

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Basilosaurus

Tropical Oceans // Eocene (~30 million years ago) // Cetacea // image source

When fossils of Basilosaurus were first discovered, it was thought to have been a marine reptile, hence its name meaning King’s Lizard. It was later correctly classified as an early whale.

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Omg they’re called Woolly Bear Caterpillars...

This caterpillar reminds me of Pokémon cauz it has several defence abilities. When it evolves into an adult, it also learns a new ability. 

Level one defence: curl up into ball. its hairs are quite stiff (but not poisonous)

Level two defence: eat plants that have weird-tasting chemicals so they will taste gross to predators.

Level three defence: This is when it evolves into an adult. they make sounds that screw with bat’s echolocation so they won’t become a meal. 

>>> Tiger Moth uses CONFUSION on Zubat.

>>> Enemy Zubat is confused! 

It hurt itself in the confusion!

Picture source: 1, 2 

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Nickname: paddlepop macaron 

Nerd name: Cotyledon Orbiculata Variegated

Honestly it looks quite tasty. They’re really rare and i can’t find much pictures of this beauty on google. I just thought that it’s still worth posting about this because it’s pretty strange and mysterious. 

Also, a friend who has Trypophobia read my blog recently and felt pretty squeamish after that. I think i’ll brighten up this blog a little!

Oh, read the reddit thread where i got this picture from. Click on the link below.

Picture source

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The Sand Octopus!

This species might not be able to change colors, but it can blow it self under sand to escape from predators using jet propulsion!

To learn more visit The largest octopus fan club at www.instagram.com/octonation

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DescriptionPorpita porpita, or blue button, is a marine organism consisting of a colony of hydroids found in tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. Although it is superficially similar to a jellyfish, each apparent individual is actually a colony of hydrozoan polyps.

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Chills down my spine man..

A Centipede Mother Holding Its Babies.

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Hangingfly

North America // Conservation Status Unknown // Arthropoda // image source

Fun Fact: They are called hangingflies because they often hang from surfaces by their front legs. The scorpion-tail-like appendage is actually the male reproductive organ.

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Bearded Tooth Fungus also called Lion’s Mane mushroom, Hedgehog Mushroom and Pom Pom Mushroom.

It is said to have a similar texture to seafood like octopus and squid and the flavor of lobster. Oh i guess it can be eaten then.

Picture source