#subfamily

[lykzoi]

i haven't posted in forever; here's some sort of quick and simple study(?) of what i consider the "big 3" macaques (rhesus, pig-tailed & long-tailed)

[dinictis]

Cicindella scutellaris lecontei specimen, focus stacked photo.

[border-collie]

Phentypically, a spaniel isn't even a dog

[machairocat]

Do you have any ocs that are tigers? 👀

you know, i actually don’t right now! which is strange, considering they’re probably the most visually striking and memorable big cat around right now.

i had an idea in the works for a silver/grey amur tiger shapeshifter named tatiana, but that concept is so half baked i havent even drawn her yet.

she might be a rival to aster, my amur leopard shapeshifter.

[many-gay-magpies]

HOLY SHIT LESBIAN HUMMINGBIRD

[thethingything]

shoutout to Feniseca tarquinius for being North America's only butterfly species with carnivorous caterpillars, which sometimes wear the corpses of their prey as camouflage.

the adults don't drink nectar, but do feed on honeydew and drink from mud, dung, and apparently carrion

[gaytobymeres]

Taxonomy really takes the piss sometimes what the fuck is Woodwardioideae

[rattyexplores]

Unidentified Cyclamen

Unidentified, genus Cyclamen

20/03/23

[tysonfurybattlepass]

btw the answer to if clouded leopards are big cats or little cats depends on how inclusive you believe the term “big cat” to be so uh. dealer’s choice i’m sure they don’t mind either way

[yourstormthlaylirahh]

[sandpaperoctopi]

future wasps 👀

That first one was inside a caterpillar that was caught by a spider (see the silk-wrapped former caterpillar attached on the right). You can see the caterpillar and spider on my iNat observation here.

[natequarter]

i want to learn so many languages but french is miles easier than any other language i've looked at... rip

[cacodaemonia]

Misleading names image is from here:

I have just learned that Mountain Goats are NOT, in fact, actual Goats.

[aquatic-batt]

Representative of genus Arborvitis, known as species Arborvitis vespertilio, common name bat dragon.

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Pill Scarab Beetles: these beetles are covered in plates that perfectly interlock when the beetle folds its limbs, lowers its head, and curls itself into a ball

Above: Eusphaeropeltis sp. (top/bottom left) and Ceratocanthus aeneus (bottom right), two different species of pill scarab beetle

Beetles of the Ceratocanthinae subfamily (also known as pill scarab beetles) rely on a unique form of conglobation to conceal themselves. As the beetle tucks its head down and folds its legs up against its belly, the plates on its head, thorax, abdomen, and legs all come together to form a solid shield; the plates on its legs even have grooves and corresponding ridges that allow them to neatly interlock.

As this blog post explains:

Adult Ceratocanthinae are best known for their ability to conglobate: rolling into a nearly perfect ball. The elytra, pronotum, head, and all six tibiae interlock with each other by means of grooves and corresponding ridges, forming a tightly connected external surface. Many beetles take the form of a tight compact structure when threatened, however in Ceratocanthinae the tibiae of all six legs participate in forming the external hard surface of the sphere, unlike in other beetles.

Above: Ceratocanthus sp.

The Ceratocanthinae subfamily contains many different genera/species, and they are all collectively known as pill scarabs. Many of them have a colorful, metallic appearance; they may be green, red, blue, brown, black, or multicolor.

Above: Germarostes globosus

Sources & More Info:

Gil Wizen: Transformers (Ceratocanthinae Beetles)

Communications Biology: The Evolution of Conglobation in Ceratocanthinae

Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny: Rolling into a Ball: phylogeny of the Ceratocanthinae

ZooKeys: The Ceratocanthinae of Ulu Gombak

Pavel Krásenský Photography: Scarabaeidae (this site is written in Czech)

[neofelis----nebulosa]

When you have to delete a whole post bc you accidentally included misinfo in the tags bc tumblr dot com won’t let you take out the tags and re-save the post without them