Life Science, Earth Science, Astronomy, and Exploration
A total of 114 times in 110 years. That’s how many times researchers have observed the elusive Stygiomedusa gigantea, a giant deep sea jelly with a bell 1.4 meters wide and broad … Continue Reading Invertebrate of the Week #17 – Stygiomedusa gigantea
The stars of the show this week are the wonderfully weird Gorgonocephalus basket stars. Members of the Class Ophiurodea, these bizarre deep sea echinoderms are members of the same evolutionary group that brought us all … Continue Reading Invertebrate of the Week #15 – Gorgonocephalus Basket Stars
Invertebrate of the Week returns with this emerald-colored stunner. Meet Elysia chlorotica, often hailed as a “solar-powered marine sea slug” and affectionately named the “Eastern Emerald Elysia.”E. chlorotica inhabits the waters along … Continue Reading Invertebrate of the Week #14 – Elysia chlorotica: a (possibly) “solar-powered” marine sea slug
This ‘Invertebrate of the Week’ is posted in support of a crowdfunded research appeal involving these remarkable little spiders. Learn more about how you can help!Jumping spiders (Family: Salticidae) are a remarkable group of animals and … Continue Reading Invertebrate of the Week #13 – Habronattus Jumping Spiders
London-based illustrator Carim Nahaboo knocked my socks off this afternoon with his fantastic invertebrate illustrations.At first glance, it would be easy to mistake many of his illustrations for photographs. The level of careful … Continue Reading Top Notch Photorealistic Illustrations by Carim Nahaboo
Up to this point, arthropods have dominated the Invertebrate of the Week series so I am going to give them a rest and head over to a different invertebrate lineage: the sponges … Continue Reading Invertebrate of the Week #11 – ‘Venus’s Flower Basket’ (Euplectella aspergillum)
Note: This post features a few photos with unknown authors. If you are aware of who took these photographs, please let me know in the Comments section below so I … Continue Reading The Sublime Waitomo ‘Glowworm Grotto’
Meet the spectacular Spiny Flower Mantis (Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii) which hails from Africa.P. wahlbergii is a member of a polyphyletic group of mantises referred to as flower mantises which employ of a … Continue Reading Invertebrate of the Week #10 – Spiny Flower Mantis (Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii)
In 2009, the Norwegian capital of Oslo set in motion an ambitious endeavor to revitalize Vulkan, the industry-heavy west bank of the Akerselva river. The ultimate goal was to take an area dominated … Continue Reading Oslo’s Vulkan Beehives
This week we are highlighting the eye-catching planthopper Cerogenes auricoma which can be found in Central America. A member of the Family Fulgoridae, this magnificent little animal feeds on the phloem … Continue Reading Invertebrate of the Week #4 – Cerogenes auricoma
Last week, we highlighted a tarantula that uses structural characteristics to produce a vibrant blue color so this week, I thought I would continue with the structural color theme, but … Continue Reading Invertebrate of the Week #2: Sea Sapphires (Genus: Sapphirina)
We’re a little late out of the gate today with Week #1 of our new “Invertebrate of the Week” series, but I hope it was worth the wait. This week, … Continue Reading Invertebrate of the Week #1: Cobalt Tarantula (Haplopelma lividum)