malo kingi or the common kingslayer is an irukandji jellyfish named after victim robert king , a tourist from the united states swimming off port douglas , queensland , who died from its sting .

it was first described to science in 2007 , and is one of four species in genus malo .

it has some of the world 's most potent venom , even though it is no bigger than a human thumbnail .

as an irukandji , it can cause irukandji syndrome , characterized by severe pain , vomiting , and rapid rise in blood pressure .

malo kingi

two malo kingi specimens , opaque due to preservation . credit : lisa - anne gershwin
no one has contributed data records for malo kingi yet . learn how to contribute .
synonymy straehler - pohl 2014 suggests that malo kingi is a junior synonym of malo maxima . no genetic data included . [ details ]
malo kingi , the common kingslayer . credit : gondwanagirl ; distributed under a cc - by 2 . 0 license
malo kingi : a new species of irukandji jellyfish ( cnidaria : cubozoa : carybdeida ) , possibly lethal to humans , from queensland , australia .
( l ) the halo - form tentacle of an adult malo kingi . ( r ) . tentacle of a young pseudo - irukandji form lacking the species ' characteristic halos . credit : lisa - anne gershwin .
gershwin , l . 2007 . malo kingi : a new species of irukandji jellyfish ( cnidaria : cubozoa : carybdeida ) , possibly lethal to humans . zootaxa 1659 : 55–68 . [ details ] available for editors [ request ]
aww look at this tiny jelly ! the common kingslayer ( malo kingi ) is only about 5 millimetres ( 0 . 20 in ) to 25 millimetres ( 0 . 98 in ) wide ( or wider ) and has four long tentacles , which can range in length from just a few centimeters up to 1 metre ( 3 . 3 ft ) in length . wait . wait a sec . why is it called the common kingslayer ? that sounds just a taaaad bit ominous , no ?
a number of nematocysts were recovered from king ' s body and clothing , and were examined by australian jellyfish expert and csiro researcher , lisa - anne gershwin . in her 2007 zootaxa paper she concluded that these nematocysts were like none she ' d ever seen before . she compared cells from these nematocysts with those from several specimens of a new species she had found in 1999 , and it was a perfect match . in 2007 , gershwin named this new species malo kingi , after the scientist it felled .
some species of box jellyfish ( cubozoans ) can weigh up to 2 kg , but many are absolutely tiny . like the bell - shaped body of c . barnesi , m . kingi ' s bell grows to no more than 3 cm high . and not only is m . kingi tiny , it ' s also transparent , making it extremely difficult to spot in the water . the species is distinguished from all others by having strange halo - like rings of tissue encircling its four tentacles .
straehler - pohl , i . ( 2014 ) . critical evaluation of characters for species identification in the cubomedusa genus malo ( cnidaria , cubozoa , carybdeida , carukiidae ) . plankton and benthos researchm . 9 ( 2 ) : 83–98 . [ details ] available for editors [ request ]
gershwin reported that m . kingi ' s danger to humans has been ambiguous , citing several attacks that have resulted in only minor symptoms . in the 1960s , australian medical toxicologist , jack h . barnes , tested the venom of a m . kingi specimen in his collection , and got off lightly . in his report , barnes even named his attacker ' pseudo - irukandji ' , because of its inability to inflict the full force of irukandji syndrome . gershwin noted that barnes happened to choose the smallest , and likely youngest , specimen in his collection , and argued that a life in captivity could have messed with the jellyfish ' s toxicity levels :
gershwin looked into a number of other non - fatal m . kingi attacks , and found that none of them could be attributed to an adult specimen .
it is possible that as pseudo - irukandji matures , it concurrently changes its physical and chemical properties , becoming lethal with halo - form tentacle bands ,
she concluded . so if you ' re going to have an encounter with the kingslayer , make sure it ' s a baby one .
in 2003 , while investigating king ' s death , gershwin suffered a m . kingi sting herself , and just like barnes , her symptoms were mild . her attacker was also small , and gershwin noted that it was missing the distinctive halo - form tentacles , plus gonads , suggesting to her that it was a juvenile .
i was personally stung quite extensively across the palms of both hands by this species in june 2003 at port douglas , without systemic effects ,
she wrote .
however , both hands blistered badly and several layers of skin completely peeled about one week after the sting event . the specimen proved to be immature when examined , and was subsequently used for dna analysis .
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“how’s it feel , kingslayer , to have all the gold in the world but it won’t buy your sword hand back ? “ “a minor setback , if truth be told .
a minor setback , if truth be told . but look - i have spares !
this tiny species of jellyfish is one of the most venomous creatures in the world . thanks to its role in the death of robert king , a nestlé research scientist from ohio , it has been nicknamed the common kingslayer .
in 2002 king had travelled to australia with his partner to spend some time snorkelling in opal reef , which is just off port douglas in queensland . earlier that year , british tourist richard jordan had been stung by a jellyfish 700 km away on hamilton island . the venom from the sting brought on irukandji syndrome , and jordon was its first documented fatality . named after a local indigenous australian tribe near cairns in queensland , irukandji syndrome is brought on by a sting from one of 10 species of venomous jellyfish found in tropical and temperate oceans around the world . many of them are found in australian waters .
( and now would be a good time to mention that there ' s a book by sydney - based author , wendy lewis , that recounts king and jordon ' s tragic encounters with these jellyfish called see australia and die . see australia and die . help i live here and my cat brings spiders into my house through the window . )
while rarely fatal , irukandji syndrome sends most of its victims to hospital . it takes 5 - 10 minutes after the sting for symptoms to set in , but when they do , they ' re excruciating . a typical set of symptoms includes severe lower back pain , vomiting and muscle cramps , and if particularly serious , could result in toxic heart failure , fluid on the lungs or a brain haemorrhage . around 30 % of cases result in some form of heart failure , and one in five victims suffer life - threatening complications and end up on life support .
scale illustration of the irukandji jellyfish , carukia barnesi . credit : anynobody ; distributed under a cc - by 2 . 0 license
jellyfish deliver venom via nematocysts . when a jellyfish ' s tentacle touches its victim , these little harpoon - shaped darts fire into the victim ' s skin to deliver venom into the bloodstream . no nematocysts were recovered from jordan ' s body , which made it difficult to nail down a culprit , but it ' s widely assumed that he was stung by carukia barnesi , a box jellyfish species from the whitsundays area commonly known as the irukandji jellyfish .
his specimens had been in captivity for hours prior to the stinging experiment ; the degree to which the condition of the animal affects its sting ability is undocumented , but i have often observed cubozoans stinging each other and the sides of the collecting container . it is not difficult to imagine that they could have expended much of their stinging ability without sufficient time to regenerate it .
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collins , a . g . ; jarms , g . ( 2018 ) . world list of cubozoa .
habitat : mostly australia but has been found of the coast of japan and florida . status : not evaluted
well… upon further research , this itty - bitty jelly is so cute it might kill you . no , really . and not from like the sheer adorableness of it… but from its insanely poisonous sting . this species of box jellyfish was described as recently as 2007 after an 44 year - old american tourist by the name of robert king was swimming in australian waters and encountered this minute box jellyfish . he was stung and died soon after . that’s where i’s morbid name of ‘common kingslayer’ comes from ( after robert king ) .
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emeraldella is a genus of arthropod known from the middle cambrian burgess shale .

21 specimens of emeraldella are known from the greater phyllopod bed , where they comprise < 0.1 % of the community .

emeraldella

other deposits : emeraldella sp ? from the marjum formation , house range , utah , usa .
emeraldella brocki is very rare in the walcott quarry ( less than 0 . 01 % of the community , caron and jackson , 2008 ) .
emeraldella is a rare arthropod of relatively large body size that belongs with the trilobite - like arthropods , artiopoda . e . brutoni n . sp . from the wheeler formation of west - central utah is the second species described and marks the first confirmed occurrence of emeraldella outside the burgess shale of british columbia . an articulated , flagelliform telson , similar to that of the burgess shale taxon molaria , is recognized in emeraldella . evidence for the presence of lamellae on the exopods of molaria is presented , supporting affinity of that taxon with artiopoda . a close relationship between emeraldella and molaria is tentatively suggested , based on the morphology of tergites and telson .
emeraldella brocki was first described by walcott ( 1912 ) . bruton and whittington ( 1983 ) restudied the material in detail , clarifying many aspects of the animal’s morphology . one possible specimen of emeraldella has also been described from the marjum formation in utah ( briggs and robison , 1984 ) . further work examining the phylogenetic placement of emeraldella and the arachnomorphs has been conducted by hou and bergström ( 1997 ) , wills et al . ( 1998 ) , edgecombe and ramsköld ( 1999 ) , budd ( 2002 ) , cotton and braddy ( 2004 ) , scholtz and edgecombe ( 2006 ) and hendricks and lieberman ( 2008 ) .
emeraldella – from emerald lake , peak , pass , river and glacier north of burgess pass , british columbia , canada . emerald lake was named by guide tom wilson in 1882 for the remarkable deep green colour of the water .
bruton , d . l . and h . b . whittington . 1983 . emeraldella and leanchoilia , two arthropods from the burgess shale , middle cambrian , british columbia . philosophical transactions of the royal society of london b , 300 : 553 - 582 .
emeraldella bella is a problematic animal that also occurs in the burgess shale that is usually considered a primitive soft - bodied arthropod of uncertain class . research has also suggested that the animal belongs to a clade related to chelicerata that includes the spiders and scorpions ( araneida ) , horseshoe crabs ( xiphosura ) and the extinct sea scorpions ( eurypterida ) . this specimen is exceptional and rare in the marjum formation of utah and is shown here with both part and counterpart . emeraldella also has some similarities to parapaleomerus sinensis from the chengjiang biota .
description : this unusual specimen has trilobitomorph features , and has as yet not been described in the literature . it is thought to have affinities with the burgess shale genus emeraldella . notice that the pointed telson is present , a feature not always preserved with either the trilobitomorphs or the aglaspidids of the region . notice too the strong segmentation evident in this part / counterpart example .
emeraldella is of uncertain phylogenetic affinity due to the paucity of specimens . it was previously placed in the arachnomorphs , as closely allied either with the chelicerates ( wills et al . 1998 ; cotton and braddy , 2004 ; hendricks and lieberman , 2008 ) or the trilobites and lamellipedians ( hou and bergström , 1997 ; edgecombe and ramsköld , 1999 ; scholtz and edgecombe , 2006 ) , but it has also been considered as a stem - lineage euarthropod ( budd , 2002 ) .
the trunk of emeraldella has eleven broad segments with curved , smooth margins . each segment has a pair of biramous limbs similar to the ones of the head . behind the trunk segments are two cylindrical body tergites and a long , tapering posterior spine . a dark band running the length of the trunk and into the base of the posterior spine may be the alimentary canal . in the head region , the alimentary canal is u - shaped as it leads forward and upwards from the backward - facing mouth .
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brocki – for reginald walter brock , director of the geological survey of canada from 1907 to 1914 .
lectotype – usnm 57702 in the national museum of natural history , smithsonian institution , washington , dc , usa .
middle cambrian , bathyuriscus - elrathina zone ( approximately 505 million years ago ) .
the body consists of a semicircular head shield , segmented trunk and elongated posterior spine , with total body length ( excluding spine and antennae ) ranging between 1 . 1 cm and 6 . 5 cm . with antennae and spine the entire animal would have reached up to 15 cm in length . the body is convex in cross - section and tapers along the posterior half of the trunk . the head shield is smooth , with no evidence of eyes . a pair of long , flexible antennae consisting of over 110 short segments with bristled junctions is attached to the ventral surface at the front of the head . the mouth is ventral and faces backwards . behind the antennae are five pairs of biramous limbs with a segmented inner branch and a lobed outer branch . the inner branch has six podomeres , including the gnathobase ( a robust and spiny basal podomere or segment used for crushing food items ) , four adjacent podomeres that also bear spines , and a slender terminal podomere armed with three sharp claws . the outer branch of the biramous limb is broad and has three main lobes with filaments and blades .
the inner branches of the biramous limbs were likely used for walking on the sea floor , especially the middle eight or nine limbs , which were longer than the posterior limbs . spines on the inner margin of the walking limbs could have been used to grasp soft prey items , and the terminal claws would push food towards the ventral gnathobases . these strong spiny plates would then shred the food and pass it along the underside of the body towards the mouth . the antennae were used to explore the environment and search for live prey or carcasses , perhaps by ploughing through the soft sediment . while the head was tilted down in the search for food , the posterior segments of the body and the posterior spine may have flexed upwards for balance . the outer limb lobes likely served as gills for respiration . the animal might have been capable of short bursts of swimming , using its broad outer limb branches to propel itself through the water using a wave - like motion .
briggs , d . e . g . and r . a . robison . 1984 . exceptionally preserved non - trilobite arthropods and anomalocaris from the middle cambrian of utah . the university of kansas paleontological contributions , 111 : 1 - 24 .
budd , g . e . 2002 . a palaeontological solution to the arthropod head problem . nature , 417 : 271 - 275 .
caron , j . - b . and d . a . jackson . 2008 . paleoecology of the greater phyllopod bed community , burgess shale . palaeogeography , palaeoclimatology , palaeoecology , 258 : 222 - 256 .
cotton , t . j . and s . j . braddy . 2004 . the phylogeny of arachnomorph arthropods and the origin of the chelicerata . transactions of the royal society of edinburgh - earth sciences , 94 : 169 - 193 .
edgecombe , g . d . and l . ramsköld . 1999 . relationships of cambrian arachnata and the systematic position of trilobita . journal of paleontology , 73 : 263 - 287 .
hendricks , j . r . and b . s . lieberman . 2008 . phylogenetic insights into the cambrian radiation of arachnomorph arthropods . journal of paleontology , 82 : 585 - 594 .
hou , x . and j . bergström . 1997 . arthropods of the lower cambrian chengjiang fauna , southwest china . fossils and strata , 45 : 1 - 116 .
scholtz , g . and g . d . edgecombe . 2006 . the evolution of arthropod heads : reconciling morphological , developmental and palaeontological evidence . development genes and evolution , 216 : 395 - 415 .
walcott , c . d . 1912 . middle cambrian branchiopoda , malacostraca , trilobita and merostomata . smithsonian miscellaneous collections , 57 : 145 - 228 .
wills , m . a . , d . e . g . briggs , r . a . fortey , m . wilkinson , and p . h . sneath . 1998 . an arthropod phylogeny based on fossil and recent taxa . pp . 33 - 105 . in g . d . edgecombe ( ed . ) , arthropod fossils and phylogeny . columbia university press , new york .
hou & bergström , 1997 : arthropods of the lower cambrian chengjiang fauna , southwest china . - - fossils & strata , number 45 , 22nd december 1997 , pp . 1 - 116 briggs d . e . g . , and r . a . robison . 1984 . exceptionally preserved non trilobite arthropods and anomalocaris from the middle cambrian of utah . university of kansas paleontological contributions , paper 111 : 1 - 24 .
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parent taxon : arachnomorpha according to d . e . g . briggs et al . 2008
department of earth sciences , university of cambridge , sedgwick museum , downing street , cambridge cb2 3eq , u . k .
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hypsoblennius exstochilus , the longhorn blenny , is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western central atlantic ocean .

this species grows to a length of 5 centimetres ( 2.0 in ) tl .

hypsoblennius exstochilus

ever since i first saw a photo of a longhorn blenny — hypsoblennius exstochilus — many years ago , the rare little caribbean fish with cirri extending from its head like a pair of telephone communication towers has been on my wish list of must - see animals . that is until we are enticed to explore bonaire’s “wild side” with bas tol , premier dive guide and king of the island’s lionfish slayers , with a promise of finding our long - sought prize hiding in the surge - swept shallows lining a blustery bay on the windy eastern shore .
greek , hypsi = high + greek , blennios = mucus ( ref . 45335 )
western central atlantic : bahamas ( ref . 5521 ) and cuba ( ref . 26340 ) .
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 5 . 0 cm tl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 26340 )
dorsal spines ( total ) : 11 - 12 ; dorsal soft rays ( total ) : 13 - 15 ; anal spines : 2 ; anal soft rays : 15 - 16 . gill opening extending ventrally to opposite 4th - 7th pectoral - fin ray ; segmented dorsal - fin rays 13 - 15 ; segmented pelvic - fin rays 3 ; last dorsal - fin spine 8 . 5 - 15 . 5 % sl ; dorsal - fin spines slender and flexible ; elongate fleshy flap , which usually projects laterally , present posteriorly on lower lip ; infraorbital bones 4 .
adults inhabit shallow rocky areas ( ref . 5521 ) . oviparous . eggs are demersal and adhesive ( ref . 205 ) , and are attached to the substrate via a filamentous , adhesive pad or pedestal ( ref . 94114 ) . larvae are planktonic , often found in shallow , coastal waters ( ref . 94114 ) .
böhlke , j . e . and c . c . g . chaplin , 1993 . fishes of the bahamas and adjacent tropical waters . 2nd edition . university of texas press , austin . ( ref . 5521 )
phylogenetic diversity index ( ref . 82805 ) : pd 50 = 0 . 5000 [ uniqueness , from 0 . 5 = low to 2 . 0 = high ] .
bayesian length - weight : a = 0 . 00741 ( 0 . 00330 - 0 . 01663 ) , b = 3 . 00 ( 2 . 80 - 3 . 20 ) , in cm total length , based on lwr estimates for this ( sub ) family - body shape ( ref . 93245 ) .
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 2 . 9 ±0 . 2 se ; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
resilience ( ref . 69278 ) : high , minimum population doubling time less than 15 months ( preliminary k or fecundity . ) .
vulnerability ( ref . 59153 ) : low vulnerability ( 11 of 100 ) .
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thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the iucn red list of threatened species website , we are grateful for your input .
eschmeyer , w . n . ( ed . ) . 2014 . catalog of fishes . updated 27 august 2014 . available at : urltoken . ( accessed : 27 august 2014 ) .
smith - vaniz , w . f . , williams , j . t . , eytan , r . i . & smith , m . l .
justification : listed as least concern in view of its wide distribution , presumed large population , and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category .
this species is distributed in the western atlantic from the bahamas ( böhlke and chaplin 1993 ) , and in the caribbean from cuba ( claro 1994 ) , jamaica , and puerto rico to the virgin islands ( williams 2002 ) .
bahamas ; cuba ; jamaica ; puerto rico ; virgin islands , u . s .
this species is known from approximately a dozen specimens ( böhlke and chaplin 1993 ) .
this species is found in rocky areas in water less than 6m deep . typically these areas have rather strong wave action and an eroded bottom that was usually studded with small corals and sea - fans ( böhlke and chaplin 1993 ) . it is oviparous , has distinct pairing , and its eggs are demersal and adhesive ( breder and rosen 1966 ) .
smith - vaniz , w . f . , williams , j . t . , eytan , r . i . & smith , m . l . 2014 .
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beginner ' s aquarium guide ep . 1 - blennies ( + nano news )
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claro , rodolfo , and lynne r . parenti / claro , rodolfo , kenyon c . lindeman , and l . r . parenti , eds .
disclaimer : itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available , and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties . however , it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes . while every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up - to - date information available , ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the united states is a party , wildlife statutes , regulations , and any applicable notices that have been published in the federal register . for further information on u . s . legal requirements with respect to protected taxa , please contact the u . s . fish and wildlife service .
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froese , r . & d . pauly ( editors ) . ( 2018 ) . fishbase . world wide web electronic publication . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
april 17th is national haiku poetry day and to celebrate , we offer blenny haiku . please , no judging or heckling – just having a little fun here – but feel free to contribute your own by commenting at the end of this post . sneaky fangblenny in cleaning stations you lurk no do - gooder , you spinyhead blenny often…
bonaire , september 2013 ~ week 3 of our blenny challenge and we’re a bit silly and punchy from being tossed around in the surf . we wanted to explore the east side of the island – the windward , or wild side as it is known – but conditions have to be absolutely perfect in order for…
bonaire , september 2012 ~ a new species for our life lists but the longhorn blenny images did not come easily . ned describes our adventure in the latest post about our september stay with buddy dive in bonaire over on our travel journal : urltoken but i just had to share another super close - up blenny face here : …
marine life observations from anna & ned deloach . for stories and photos from our life underwater ,
moderately elongate ; short robust head , with very steep front profile ; a very long cirrus with a thick central stalk covered with rear - pointing branches over eye , no cirri at nostrils or on nape ; an elongate fleshy flap at rear end of lower lip ; teeth with blunt flattened tips , in single rows , not movable , no canines on either jaw ; gill openings restricted to sides of body by fusion of gill cover membranes to throat ; dorsal fin xi - xiii ( spines slender and flexible ) , 13 - 16 , with a slight notch between the spiny and soft parts ; pelvic fins i , 3 ; fin rays unbranched , except on tail fin ; lateral line ends under end of spiny dorsal fin ; no scales .
yellowish ; a dark brown bar down through eye to lower body and up along main shaft of eye cirrus ; front and sides of head heavily mottled with white ; white mottling along upper back and front ~ 6 spines of dorsal fin , a dark spot centered on 2nd dorsal spine .
it takes two weeks before the prevailing winds calm sufficiently for us to tackle the shore entry into the rockycove where the blennies make their home . burdened with extra weights , we stumble our way through the minefield of ankle - twisting rocks until we can at last plunge into the relative safety of waist - deep waves .
as the bubbles clear , we find ourselves swimming over an algae garden stretching as far as our eyes can see . within 10 minutes , we find our first blenny poking its head out of a rock hole half - hidden among the billowing fronds . but such glimpses are brief as swells lift us up and away , and we kick , tumble , and struggle for control . with three of us hunting , we locate a longhorn about every 10 minutes or so in depths from three to 10 feet . as it turns out , our blenny hunt is the perfect mission : conditions hover at the edge of doable , yet it’s sufficiently daunting to make for a lively tale . — story and photo by ned and anna deloach
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trichonotus is a genus of marine perciform fishes .

species of trichonotus are distributed throughout the indo-west pacific .

this genus is the only member of the family trichonotidae .

trichonotus

kari pihlaviita added the finnish common name
satulakaivautuja
to
trichonotus setiger bloch and schneider , 1801
.
justification : trichonotus filamentosus is widely distributed . there are no known major threats . it is assessed as least concern .
katayama , e . , h . motomura and h . endo , 2012 . a new species of trichonotus ( perciformes : trichonotidae ) from somalia and redescription of trichonotus cyclograptus ( alcock , 1890 ) with designation of a lectotype . zootaxa 3565 : 31 - 43 . ( ref . 93824 )
a male elegant sand diver , trichonotus elegans , at tulamben , bali , indonesia . source : klaus stiefel / flickr . license : cc by attribution - noncommercial
justification : trichonotus elegans is widespread throughout the indo - west pacific and can be locally abundant . there are no known major threats . it is assessed as least concern .
trichonotus elegans shimada & yoshino , 1984 , japan . j . ichthyol . 31 ( 1 ) : 15 , figs 1 - 4 . type locality : yaeyama islands , japan .
clark , e . & k . von schmidt , 1966 . a new species of trichonotus ( pisces , trichonotidae ) from the red sea . bull . sea fish . res . sta . , haifa 42 : 29–36 .
dorsal soft rays ( total ) : 39 - 41 . trichonotus halstead is similar to t . setiger but has a beautifully colored dorsal fin ( ref . 48636 ) . no free pterygiophores under dorsal fin ( ref 12934 ) .
clark , e . and m . pohle , 1996 . trichonotus halstead , a new sand - diving fish from papua new guinea . environ . biol . fish . 45 ( 1 ) : 1 - 11 . ( ref . 26146 )
randall , j . e . and a . b . tarr , 1994 . trichonotus arabicus ( perciformes : trichonotidae ) , a new species of sand diver from the arabian gulf and oman . fauna of saudi arabia 14 : 309 - 316 . ( ref . 10682 )
trichonotus filamentosus is found in the western pacific from japan and china . it was recently reported from the chesterfield islands ( kulbicki et al . 1994 ) . it also occurs in indonesia , bali , the philippines , papua new guinea , and new caledonia . it is found at depths of 6 to 35 m ( r . myers unpublished data ) .
trichonotus elegans is found in the western indian ocean from the maldives and chagos , and in the western pacific from indonesia and the andaman sea to fiji , north to the ryukyu islands , south to the coral sea ( anderson et al . 1998 ) . this species is found at depths ranging from 1 to 40 m ( allen and erdmann 2012 ) .
trichonotus elegans is found in coastal reef slopes and deep outer reef lagoons in current channels . usually in large groups with several large males ( kuiter and tonozuka 2001 ) . inhabits sand - rubble bottoms ( allen and erdmann 2012 ) . found hovering above sandy slopes . usually forms a harem of one male - phase fish and about a dozen female - phase fish ( shimada and yoshino 1984 ) . normally buried when no current is running ( kuiter and tonozuka 2001 ) .
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, select family and click on ' identification by pictures ' to display all available pictures in fishbase for the family .
, select country and click on ' identification by pictures ' to display all available pictures in fishbase for the country .
, select ecosystem and click on ' identification by pictures ' to display all available pictures in fishbase for the ecosystem .
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greek , thrix = hair + greek , noton = back ( ref . 45335 )
marine ; reef - associated ; depth range 10 - 40 m ( ref . 90102 ) . subtropical
western indian ocean : maldives ( ref . 30829 ) . western pacific : indonesia to fiji , north to the ryukyu islands , south to the coral sea .
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 18 . 0 cm sl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 559 )
dorsal spines ( total ) : 3 ; dorsal soft rays ( total ) : 43 - 45 ; anal spines : 1 ; anal soft rays : 39 - 42 . identified by the long filaments on the dorsal fin of the male ( ref . 48636 ) . body scaleless above and below lateral line on anterior half ( ref 12934 ) .
found in coastal reef slopes and deep outer reef lagoons in current channels . usually in large groups with several large males ( ref . 48636 ) . inhabits sand - rubble bottoms ( ref . 90102 ) . found hovering above sandy slopes . usually forms a harem of one male - phase fish and about a dozen female - phase fish ( ref . 37240 ) . normally buried when no current is running ( ref . 48636 ) .
shimada , k . and t . yoshino , 1984 . a new trichonotid fish from the yaeyama islands , okinawa prefecture , japan . jap . j . ichthyol . 31 ( 1 ) : 15 - 22 . ( ref . 37240 )
) : 24 . 6 - 28 . 8 , mean 27 . 4 ( based on 184 cells ) .
phylogenetic diversity index ( ref . 82805 ) : pd 50 = 0 . 5020 [ uniqueness , from 0 . 5 = low to 2 . 0 = high ] .
bayesian length - weight : a = 0 . 00389 ( 0 . 00180 - 0 . 00842 ) , b = 3 . 12 ( 2 . 94 - 3 . 30 ) , in cm total length , based on all lwr estimates for this body shape ( ref . 93245 ) .
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 3 . 5 ±0 . 5 se ; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
vulnerability ( ref . 59153 ) : low vulnerability ( 12 of 100 ) .
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marine ; demersal ; depth range 18 - 23 m ( ref . 93824 ) . tropical
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 11 . 0 cm sl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 93824 )
dorsal spines ( total ) : 4 ; dorsal soft rays ( total ) : 45 - 46 ; anal soft rays : 37 - 38 ; vertebrae : 53 . this species is distinguished from other congeners in having the following set of characters : elongated dorsal - fin spines in males absent ; d iv , 45 - 46 ; a 37 - 38 ; lateral - line scales 57 - 59 ; free dorsal pterygiophores 2 ; gill rakers 6 + 23 ; in males body markings 12 ; median predorsal - fin scales 10 ; interorbital width 43 . 7 % of eye diameter ; small abdominal scales ( ref . 93824 ) .
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 3 . 4 ±0 . 4 se ; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
vulnerability ( ref . 59153 ) : low vulnerability ( 10 of 100 ) .
in the wild , the blue spot sanddiver occurs in small schools above the sandy flats and slopes where current are the strongest . they will spend their time swimming against the current catching zooplankton out of the water column with their large mouths . when startled , they will quickly dive into the sand and stay submerged for long periods of time . the blue spot sanddiver will do well in established reef aquariums or peaceful fish aquariums utilizing live rock for filtration or decoration . they need at least a 3
sand bed as a substrate and may spend long periods buried in the sand . they are a peaceful fish that will not do well with aggressive tank mates . they need strong , non - laminar water movement , especially lower in the aquarium , to feel comfortable .
the blue spot sanddiver will accept small meaty foods such as brine shrimp . it is advised to purchase live brine with this fish in order to stimulate the feeding response in your aquarium . they will take to other prepared foods once established in their new homes .
due to availability and individuality of each species , colors and sizes may vary .
elegant sand diver hover over sandy - rubble bottoms , diving into the sand when threatened . males usually have a harem of females and juveniles .
males differ from females in both colour and form . males having very long filamentous dorsal - fin spines , taller soft dorsal - fin rays , and a pointed tail .
occurs at the territory of ashmore & cartier islands in the timor sea , and at lizard island , great barrier reef , queensland , and at bramble reef in the coral sea . elsewhere , widespread in the indo - west pacific .
meristic features : dorsal fin iii , 43 - 45 ; anal fin i , 39 - 42 ; pectoral fin 12 - 14 ; lateral line scales 56 - 59 ; vertebrae 53 - 56 . head and anterior half of body mostly naked - except for lateral line scales , 3 - 4 scales behind and below eye , and scales along dorsal and anal - fin bases . males with very long filamentous dorsal - fin spines , taller dorsal - fin rays and a pointed caudal fin ( fin rounded in females ) .
pictorial guide to indonesian reef fishes . part 2 . fusiliers - dragonets , caesionidae - callionymidae
reef and shore fishes of the south pacific . new caledonia to tahiti and the pitcairn islands
shimada , k . & yoshino , t . 1984 . a new trichonotid fish from the yaeyama islands , okinawa prefecture , japan .
as its common name suggests the elegant sand diver can literally dive head first into sandy seabeds .
the species has a very enlongate body and a black spot at the base of the leading dorsal fin rays . these rays are extremely elongate in males .
the map below shows the australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in australian museums . click on the map for detailed information . source : atlas of living australia .
allen , g . r . 1997 . marine fishes of tropical australia and south - east asia . western australian museum . pp . 292 .
hoese , d . f . , bray , d . j . , paxton , j . r . & g . r . allen . 2006 . fishes . in beesley , p . l . & a . wells . ( eds ) zoological catalogue of australia . volume 35 . abrs & csiro publishing : australia . parts 1 - 3 , pages 1 - 2178 .
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froese , r . & d . pauly ( editors ) . ( 2018 ) . fishbase . world wide web electronic publication . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
liu j . y . [ ruiyu ] ( ed . ) . ( 2008 ) . checklist of marine biota of china seas . china science press . 1267 pp . ( look up in imis ) [ details ] available for editors [ request ]
balon , e . k . , 1990 . epigenesis of an epigeneticist : the development of some alternative concepts on the early ontogeny and evolution of fishes . guelph ichthyol . rev . 1 : 1–48 .
clark , e . , 1983 . life in an undersea desert . nat . geog . mag . 164 : 129–144 .
clark , e . , j . f . pohle & d . c . shen , 1990 . ecology and population dynamics of garden eels at râs mohammed , red sea . nat . geog . res . exploration 6 : 306–318 .
clark , e . , m . pohle & j . rabin , 1991 . spotted sandperch dynamics . nat . geog . res . exploration 7 : 138–155 .
clark , e . & j . f . pohle , 1992 . monogamy in tilefish . nat . geog . res . exploration 8 : 276–295 .
hubbs , c . l . & k . f . lagler , 1947 . fishes of the great lakes region . cranbrook institute of science , bloomfield hills . 186 pp .
mabee , p . m . , 1988 . supraneural and predorsal bones in fishes : development and homologies . copeia 1988 : 827–838 .
nelson , j . s . , 1994 . fishes of the world . john wiley and sons , new york . 600 pp .
shimada , k . & t . yoshino , 1984 . a new trichonotid fish from the yaeyama islands , okinawa prefecture , japan . japan j . ichthyol . 31 : 15–19 .
clark , e . & pohle , m . environ biol fish ( 1996 ) 45 : 1 . urltoken
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thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the iucn red list of threatened species website , we are grateful for your input .
eschmeyer , w . n . ( ed . ) . 2014 . catalog of fishes . updated 4 december 2014 . available at : urltoken . ( accessed : 4 december 2014 ) .
carpenter , k . e . & smith - vaniz , w . f .
there are 34 museum records with up to 31 individuals per lot ( accessed through fishnet2 portal , www . fishnet2 . net , march 2015 ) . it is presumed to be locally abundant in some areas .
this species is found on sandy bottoms in shallow waters and is seen singly in coastal and sandy slopes . it feeds on zooplankton and reaches a maximum size of 15 cm ( kusen et al . 1991 ) .
there is no species - specific use and trade information available for t . filamentosus .
there are no known species - specific conservation measures in place for t . filamentosus . it is found in marine protected areas throughout its range ( iucn and unep 2014 ) .
this errata assessment has been created because the map was accidentally left out of the version published previously .
carpenter , k . e . & smith - vaniz , w . f . 2016 .
( errata version published in 2017 ) . the iucn red list of threatened species 2016 : e . t69739591a115473038 .
to make use of this information , please check the < terms of use > .
western indian ocean : known only from delagoa bay , mozambique to durban , south africa .
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 19 . 0 cm tl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 5466 )
dorsal spines ( total ) : 0 ; dorsal soft rays ( total ) : 45 - 47 ; anal spines : 0 ; anal soft rays : 37 - 39 . amber above with turquoise blue and red dots , faint rosy color below ; anal and pelvic fins with dark red dots ( ref . 5466 ) .
heemstra , p . c . , 1986 . trichonotidae . p . 736 . in m . m . smith and p . c . heemstra ( eds . ) smiths ' sea fishes . springer - verlag , berlin . ( ref . 5466 )
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 3 . 4 ±0 . 5 se ; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
marine ; demersal ; depth range 11 - 35 m ( ref . 90102 ) . tropical
western pacific : papua new guinea ( ref . 26146 ) and indonesia ( ref . 28620 ) .
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 15 . 0 cm tl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 48636 )
like other sand divers , it occurs on sand slopes with strong currents at times ( ref . 48636 ) . minimum depth reported from ref . 26146 .
) : 27 . 5 - 29 , mean 28 . 2 ( based on 50 cells ) .
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 3 . 5 ±0 . 48 se ; based on food items .
marine ; brackish ; reef - associated ; depth range 10 - 80 m ( ref . 86942 ) . tropical
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 22 . 0 cm tl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 48636 )
dorsal soft rays ( total ) : 39 - 41 . males recognized by long dorsal fin rays and large size ( ref . 48636 ) . under dorsal fin with 1 or 2 free pterygiophores ( ref 12934 ) .
found in steep sand slopes in large aggregations ( ref . 8631 ) . hovers above clean sandy bottoms ; darts into the sand when disturbed . usually slightly silty habitat . usually seen resting on substrate , leaving substrate to grab prey from zooplankton floating over , or when displaying ( ref . 48636 ) .
randall , j . e . , g . r . allen and r . c . steene , 1990 . fishes of the great barrier reef and coral sea . university of hawaii press , honolulu , hawaii . 506 p . ( ref . 2334 )
) : 24 . 6 - 29 , mean 28 ( based on 932 cells ) .
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 3 . 4 ±0 . 45 se ; based on food items .
vulnerability ( ref . 59153 ) : low vulnerability ( 11 of 100 ) .
marine ; reef - associated ; depth range 10 - 217 m ( ref . 86942 ) . temperate
western pacific : japan and china . recently reported from the chesterfield islands ( ref . 11897 ) .
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 15 . 0 cm sl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 559 )
dorsal soft rays ( total ) : 43 - 44 . recognized by the black spot on the head . males lack dorsal filaments but have a long extended ventral fin ray ( ref . 48636 ) .
found on sandy bottoms in shallow waters ( ref . 32211 ) . seen singly or in coastal sand slopes ( ref . 48636 ) . feed on zooplankton ( ref . 9137 ) .
masuda , h . , k . amaoka , c . araga , t . uyeno and t . yoshino , 1984 . the fishes of the japanese archipelago . vol . 1 . tokai university press , tokyo , japan . 437 p . ( text ) . ( ref . 559 )
) : 17 . 9 - 28 . 1 , mean 26 . 2 ( based on 564 cells ) .
marine ; demersal ; depth range 0 - 2 m ( ref . 10682 ) . tropical
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 14 . 5 cm tl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 11441 )
dorsal spines ( total ) : 3 - 4 ; dorsal soft rays ( total ) : 44 - 47 ; anal spines : 1 ; anal soft rays : 36 - 39 ; vertebrae : 52 - 54 . females with an indistinct narrow dark stripe on body above lateral line and no black on anterior part of dorsal fin ; males with a longitudinal row of 14 brown spots and 3 rows of small , dark edged , pale blue spots on body ; dorsal and anal fins with a row of yellow dots on each membrane .
feeds on zooplankton about half a meter above the sand substratum ( ref . 10682 ) .
) : 26 . 1 - 29 . 2 , mean 27 . 7 ( based on 298 cells ) .
found in steep sand slopes in large aggregations ( ref . 8631 ) . hovers above clean sandy bottoms ; darts into the sand when disturbed . usually slightly silty habitat . usually seen resting on substrate , leaving substrate to grab prey from zooplankton floating over , or when displaying ( ref . 48636 ) .
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eschmeyer , w . n . ; fricke , r . ; van der laan , r . ( eds ) . ( 2017 ) . catalog of fishes : genera , species , references . electronic version . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
( of trichonotops schultz , 1960 ) froese , r . & d . pauly ( editors ) . ( 2018 ) . fishbase . world wide web electronic publication . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
( of taeniolabrus steindachner , 1867 ) nomenclator zoologicus online . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
australia ; british indian ocean territory ; china ; disputed territory ( spratly is . ) ; fiji ; guam ; india ; indonesia ; japan ; kiribati ( gilbert is . ) ; malaysia ; maldives ; marshall islands ; micronesia , federated states of ; myanmar ; nauru ; new caledonia ; northern mariana islands ; palau ; papua new guinea ; philippines ; solomon islands ; taiwan , province of china ; thailand ; timor - leste ; vanuatu
there are 12 museum records with up to 57 individuals per lot ( accessed through fishnet2 portal , www . fishnet2 . net , march 2015 ) . this species is locally abundant in the philippines ( k . carpenter pers . comm . 2015 ) .
there are no known species - specific conservation measures in place for t . elegans . it is found in marine protected areas throughout its range ( iucn and unep 2014 ) .
( errata version published in 2017 ) . the iucn red list of threatened species 2016 : e . t69739558a115472765 .
confused by a class within a class or an order within an order ? please see our brief essay .
to cite this page : myers , p . , r . espinosa , c . s . parr , t . jones , g . s . hammond , and t . a . dewey . 2018 . the animal diversity web ( online ) . accessed at https : / / animaldiversity . org .
disclaimer : the animal diversity web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . adw doesn ' t cover all species in the world , nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe . though we edit our accounts for accuracy , we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts . while adw staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable , we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control .
this material is based upon work supported by the national science foundation grants drl 0089283 , drl 0628151 , due 0633095 , drl 0918590 , and due 1122742 . additional support has come from the marisla foundation , um college of literature , science , and the arts , museum of zoology , and information and technology services .


eophrynids lived during the carboniferous period in what is now modern europe and north america.the family is probably found within the ' eophrynid assemblage ' clade ; ( aphantomartus ( alkenia ( pseudokreischeria ( kreischeria ( eophrynus + pleophrynus ) ) ) ) ) .

eophrynidae

1930 ) wird erneut beschrieben und als der älteste bekannte vertreter der eophrynidae zur familie der eophrynidae gestellt . dies legt nahe , daß die trigonotarbiden sich bereits während des unterkarbons in die aus dem oberkarbon bekannten familien aufgespalten hatten .
eophrynidae is a family of the extinct arachnid order trigonotarbida . eophrynids lived during the carboniferous period in what is now modern europe and north america .
1930 ) , is redescribed and referred to the family eophrynidae as the oldest known eophrynid . it suggests that trigonotarbids had diversified into the recognised upper carboniferous families by the lower carboniferous .
this page is based on the copyrighted wikipedia article eophrynidae ; it is used under the creative commons attribution - sharealike 3 . 0 unported license ( cc - by - sa ) . you may redistribute it , verbatim or modified , providing that you comply with the terms of the cc - by - sa
a new eophrynid trigonotarbid ( arachnida : trigonotarbida : eophrynidae ) from the pennsylvanian ( kasimovian ) astrasado formation of the kinney brick quarry , new mexico is described . this fossil – the first arachnid to be recorded from the astrasado formation – is preserved primarily as a dorsal opisthosoma . pleophrynus hawesi sp . nov . diagnostically preserves evidence for three pairs of posterior opisthosomal spines rather than the two usually seen in other eophrynids . a comparison of opisthosomal tuberculation patterns among the best known eophrynid species is included . at ca . 304 . 0–306 . 5 ma , our new taxon represents one of the youngest records of eophrynidae , while the kinney brick quarry is only the twelfth site in north america to yield trigonotarbid arachnids ; compared to more than 60 such localities in europe .
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full reference : f . karsch . 1882 . ueber ein neues spinnenthier aus der schlesischen steinkohle und die arachniden der steinkohlen - formation überhaupt . zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen gesellschaft 34 : 556 - 561
parent taxon : trigonotarbida according to j . a . dunlop et al . 2013
see also brauckmann et al . 2003 , haase 1890 , petrunkevitch 1945 and petrunkevitch 1949
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( eds . ) paleotectonic investigations of the mississippian system in the united states part 1 : introduction and regional analyses of the mississippian system . - u . s . geological survey professional paper 1010 - c : 13–48 , washington .
1994a . palaeobiology of the trigonotarbid arachnids . - unpublished ph . d . thesis , university of manchester .
— 1994b . the palaeobiology of the writhlington trigonotarbid arachnid . - proceedings of the geologists’ association
— 1995 . a redescription of two eophrynids ( arachnida : trigonotarbida ) from the coal measures of ostrava , czech republic . - neues jahrbuch für geologie und paläontologie , monatshefte 1995 : 449–461 , stuttgart .
1990 . land animals in the silurian : arachnids and myriapods from shropshire , england . - science
1913 . a monograph of the terrestrial palaeozoic arachnida of north america . - transactions of the connecticut academy of arts and science
— 1953 . paleozoic and mesozoic arachnida of europe . - memoirs of the geological society of america
( ed . ) treatise on invertebrate paleontology , pt . p , arthropoda 2 , chelicerata : 42–162 , geological society of america and university of kansas press ( lawrence / kansas ) .
1924 . beitrag zur geologie des steinkohlengebiets im südharz . - jahrbuch des halleschen verbands für die erforschung der mitteldeutschen bodenschätze und ihrer verwertung
pocock ( basal stephanian ; prov . león , n . w . spain ) , with remarks on aphantomartid taxonomy . - boletin geológico y minero de españa
1987 . new terrestrial arachnids from the devonian of gilboa , new york ( arachnida , trigonotarbida ) . - american museum novitates :
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hallan , j . ( 2000 - current ) . biology catalog . web compilation accessible at urltoken ( accessed june 2012 ) .
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hasse , e . 1890 . beiträge zur kenntnis der fossilen arachniden . zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen gesellschaft , 42 : 629 - 657 .
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hephaestus books represents a new publishing paradigm , allowing disparate content sources to be curated into cohesive , relevant , and informative books . to date , this content has been curated from wikipedia articles and images under creative commons licensing , although as hephaestus books continues to increase in scope and dimension , more licensed and public domain content is being added . we believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge . this particular book contains chapters focused on prehistoric arachnids , and trigonotarbids . read less
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acanthaspis petax is a species of assassin bug that preys on ants .

this species uses carcasses of its preferred prey item to disguise itself from predation from spiders in the salticidae family .

this insect lives in east africa near lake victoria , in countries including uganda , kenya , and tanzania .

it measures about 1 cm ( 0.4 in ) in length .

acanthaspis petax

the wierd but facinating acanthaspis petax in khao yai national park . inset is a jumping spider seen on an adjacent branch at the same time
robert jackson and simon pollard from the university of canterbury have been studying a pretender with a much more gruesome disguise – the ant - snatching assassin bug acanthaspis petax , which covers itself with the corpses of its own prey .
heres turmeric , shes an asocial assassin bug , based on milkweed assassin bug and acanthaspis petax . she carved those skulls out of wood in hopes people would just leave her be , shes old and tired and not great with socialization
acanthaspis petax is famous for it ' s incredible use of dead ants to perform a macabre form of aggressive mimicry . as you can see from the photograph this assassin bug covers itself by stacking the exoskeletons of dead ants into its back and carrying them around like a rucksack !
but why do the assassin bugs refrain from using other insects in the same way ? the researchers suggest that acanthaspis petax may actually be relying on the spiders’ inherent reluctance to attack ants . because ants have a tendency to swarm and may secrete chemical weapons , the spiders don’t typically hunt them .
for years , scientists debated why acanthaspis petax engaged in this unusual behavior . it hunts several different types of prey , but appears to exclusively stack ant bodies on its back . some suggested that the ant corpses may provide olfactory camouflage when hunting , while others thought the mound of bodies may be used as a visual distraction for larger creatures that are hunting the assassin bug .
it is believed that they perform this grizzly feat in order to mask themselves from the predatory jumping spiders ( salticidae ) that sometimes feed on them . it is thought that jumping spiders do not normally attack ants due to their nature of swarming and use of acids as defence . an incredible form of camoflague and defense by acanthaspis petax showing just how complex the interactions of species in bio - diverse habitats like khao yai national park can be .
a fascinating find by ian edwardes in khao yai national park is the assassin bug acanthapsis petax . known to exist in africa , malaysia and the philippines this incedible member of the reduviidae family is now known to be found in thailand also .
this is acanthaspis petax , a member of the reduviidae family , which is found in east africa and malaysia . like other assassin bugs , it hunts its prey by piercing it with its proboscis , injecting paralysis - inducing saliva and an enzyme that dissolves tissue , then sucking out the innards . but unlike other bugs , it then fashions empty ant exoskeletons into protective outerwear . the insect can carry as many as 20 dead ants at a time , and binds them together with a sticky excretion into a cluster that may be larger than its own body .
assassin bugs are insects of the family reduviidae and while reduviidae is a large family one species ( acanthaspis petax ) from malaysia does something extraordinary , when the assassin bug attaches its prey it injects it with a enzyme that liquefies the its innards so the bug can easily suck them out leaving the prey as an empty husk of an exoskeleton . the assassin then takes the empty shell and attacks it to its back using a sticky substance to keep them in place , the bug will pile these carcasses high making a mound of twenty or more exoskeletons . these trophies provide the bug several benefits as the mound of dead prey will make any predator think twice before attacking the assassin bug , and if a predator does attack the expendable mound of husks will serve as the first line of defense so the bug can escape .
many animals in our world are known to collect things : cats can start collections of garden gloves , birds will steal beads and bottle caps for their nests , squirrels hoard stashes of nuts . most often , animals collect and store food . even if they’re not hungry now , food is too good to pass up , so they will store it for later when they need it . those who don’t collect food often run their collections for aesthetic reasons . birds build their nests with brightly colored objects to attract mates ; decorator crabs and sea urchins add bits of ocean debris to their camouflage . some insect larvae will spin bits of trash into their cocoons in order to strengthen them . or my personal favorite , the acanthaspis petax collects the carcasses of ants that it has eaten and stores them on its back , so it looks bigger , badder , and is less likely to be eaten by its own predators .
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the nymphs cover themselves with their victims ' bodies . three nymphs and one adult are in the video , but there were eight nymphs hanging around . this is one of my favourite bugs .
this modern - day assassin bug stacks dead ant bodies on its back to confuse predators .
imagine you’re wandering in the forests near lake victoria , in kenya or tanzania , when you spot something strange crawling on a leaf . it looks like a dozen or so ants , stuck together in a ball . but look more closely and you’ll see the ants are dead . and there’s a nasty - looking insect underneath , hauling these ants corpses along like a miniature backpack .
in 2007 , a team of researchers from new zealand carried out an experiment to test whether the insect’s corpse - carrying strategy truly helped protect it from predation . in the study , they left assassin bugs alone in glass cages with several species of jumping spiders , which are their natural predators . some of the insects were carrying balls of ant carcasses on their backs ( the researchers called these “masked” bugs ) while others were left naked . since the jumping spiders have excellent vision but a poor sense of smell—they hunt by using their acute sense of sight to make a precisely gauged leap and land on their prey—the experiment would indicate if the ant bodies served as visual camouflage or not .
the result : the spiders attacked the naked bugs roughly ten times more often than the masked ones . the researchers even repeated the experiment with dead , preserved assassin bugs , to control for the effects of movement and behavior , and the results remained the same . carrying that ball of dead ants , it turns out , is a great strategy for the assassin bug to use in trying to survive for its next meal .
the scientists speculate that the large mound of corpses changes the visual form of the insect to the point where the spiders can’t recognize it as prey .
joseph stromberg is a science reporter for vox . com . he was previously a digital reporter for smithsonian .
a mongoose is lightning fast and has razor - sharp teeth . a black mamba can kill 15 grown men with just one bite . which of these two mortal enemies will win ?
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sand strikers , also known as bobbit worms , are primitive - looking creatures that lack eyes , or even a brain . despite this , they are savage predators who shoot out grapple - like hooks to reel in passing fish .
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well it ' s halloween and while that is not really a thing here in australia i thought i should choose an appropriate creature for my slowly growing american audience . i thought of some sort of bat ( of which i have many ) or something which looks evil like last week ' s leaf tailed gecko but i decided that
would be perfect . it is a bug which makes a costume out of the dead bodies of its prey .
reduviidae ( assassin bugs ) are one of my favorite families . they have a curved
and raptorial spiny forelegs which make they use to deadly effect when catching prey .
( these sems are my own work , they are of a reduviid in the genus oncocephalus . if you want to use them for any purpose in any form you can , without condition . if you do use them i would appreciate a link to this blog if possible . )
many members of this family are highly specialized in the prey which they catch and have developed some really cool tricks for killing prey , which has earned the family the common name assassin bug .
is a voracious predator of arthropods . it is an ant hunting specialist and has a horrifying trick . when it kills an ant and sucks out its fluids , as assasin bugs do , it uses the dried out remains to disguise itself . it excretes a glue like substance and sticks the ant husk to itself . it can stick up to 20 ants onto itself at a time .
this may seem like a fairly useless disguise , but the purpose seems to be to give the bug the appearance of being an ant swarm . predators are reluctant to attack ants because they are fairly unpalatable and they tend to defend themselves in swarms . this has been shown to work in experiments with jumping spiders . there has also been speculation that the dead ants act as a visual and / or olfactory camouflage which assists them in capturing ants .
is from malaysia , which i was a little confused about because i had always thought it was african . upon trying to find out weather this meant the malaysian peninsula or borneo i could not find any records of asian specimens in the literature . according to the literature i have read , they all seem to come from africa , most commonly uganda , but some records from west central africa exist . i ' m not sure where this discrepancy comes from .
unused creatures in my backlog . if i can ' t thick of anything else to add to the list i will run out of material on 22 / 03 / 2017 . if you have any creatures to suggest , please let me know , details are on the contact me page .
this is an old article , reposted from the original wordpress incarnation of not exactly rocket science . i’m travelling around at the moment so the next few weeks will have some classic pieces and a few new ones i prepared earlier .
the animal world is full of charlatans . some have bodies shaped by natural selection to fade into the background or resemble other harmful species . yet others , like chameleons and octopuses , have the rare ability to actively change their colour or shape to actively hide themselves from view .
many species disguise themselves through their behaviour rather than their bodies ; like human soldiers in camouflage gear , they don special suits to remain inconspicuous .
decorator crabs , for example , coat their shells with a collection of sea anemones , algae , corals and sponges , held on with velcro - like bristles while other crabs actively carry these living masks with specially modified legs . these species have the cartoonish air of a man carrying a pot plant in front of him while sneaking past on tip - toes . but some charlatans are not so amusing .
the word ‘bug’ has a specific technical meaning – it refers to a group of insects , the hemipterans , that have sucking mouthparts . most , like aphids , use these to gulp plant sap but the assassin bugs use them for murder . they grab passing insects , stab them with their syringe - like mouthparts , inject paralytic saliva and digestive enzymes and suck up the broken - down bodily fluids .
most species discard the lifeless husks but the ant - snatcher secretes fine sticky threads from its back and there it sticks the remains of its prey . an earlier study suggested that the assassin bug’s cadaverous backpack protected it from other predators and now , jackson and pollard have tested this theory by pitting the bugs against jumping spiders .
jumping spiders are superb stalkers that use keen vision and accurate leaps to ambush prey . jackson and pollard let three species of jumping spiders loose upon either naked assassin bugs or those bearing ant - coats .
they found that the spiders attacked the naked bugs about ten times more than the covered ones , even if the bugs in question were actually dead and preserved .
the fact that the dead shielded bugs were just as uninviting as their living peers suggests that the disguise has nothing to do with a change in the bugs’ behaviour or motion but everything to do with the ants they carried . clearly , when faced with a jumping spider , wearing a coat of dead ants can mean the difference between life or death to an assassin bug .
why does it work ? unlike the decorator crabs , the assassin bugs weren’t plastering themselves with local wildlife to blend in . certainly , the experiments were done in glass cages with no other ants around . instead , jackson and pollard suggests that the ants break up the bug’s form so that instead of a characteristic shape that the spider can tag as ‘prey’ , it sees a jumbled mess that doesn’t look like anything it has ever eaten before . it sees the bug , but doesn’t register it as a meal .
there is a final possibility though . ants are not easy prey – they have chemical weapons and strength in numbers and many small predators give them a wide berth . so the bugs’ grisly defence may rely on using ants in particular and jackson and pollard are now putting this idea to the test .
reference : jackson , r . r . , pollard , s . d . ( 2007 ) . bugs with backpacks deter vision - guided predation by jumping spiders . journal of zoology , 273 ( 4 ) , 358 - 363 . doi : 10 . 1111 / j . 1469 - 7998 . 2007 . 00335 . x
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here is another example , seen in pang sida national park , of a creature using the exoskeletons of insects as protection . its a larval nymph but of what i have absolutely no idea .
i do not know the answer . what i do know is that my gps struggles in deep valleys to ' contact ' the . . .
500 pf f5 . 6 about to be announced . . . 24 cm long . . . . . 4300 usd expensive for f5 . 6 but 24 cm is . . .
if there is a clear ' trail ' forming from the bite site ( see pic below for example ) , then likely it . . .
its about time for a redesign of the web site - this design has served us well but its now time to . . .
good to hear the chicks of the blue - banded kingfisher have fledged successfully .
the draco is d . blanfordii and the calotes is c . emma . the calotes emma can be distinguished by the . . .
an interesting article here . . . we make no comment . . . . . we leave it to you to read between the . . .
i sat by a leaf i saw a neocollyris bonelli ( i think - the smaller tiger beetles can be confusing ) . . .
thanks ton ! heres a couple more . without a doubt the biggest earwig that i have ever seen - . . .
. . . . . i call on all citizens , businesses and governments to play their part in protecting the world’s wild animals and plants . the actions taken by each of us will determine the fate of the world’s wildlife . the future of wildlife is in our hands !
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the pokémon world is interesting because many of their animals have evolved to look like man - made objects , such as voltorb or klefki . klefki is the key ring pokémon , who mischievously collects keys and jingles them at its foes . it makes sense that , if its goal is to collect keys , it would evolve to look like a keyring so it could potentially trick people into giving them their keys . klefki’s shape is it’s own form of unique camouflage , but it begs the question : why does kelfki want the keys in the first place ?
our first clue is in the pokédex : “these key collectors threaten any attackers by fiercely jingling their keys at them” , making noise is an excellent way to scare off predators , and if klefki isn’t capable of making threatening noises itself it has to resort to using tools . orangutans have been known to strip leaves from a branch and hold them in front of their mouths before they scream out an alarm ; a very primitive megaphone , and one of the only examples of animals using tools to manipulate sound in our world .
perhaps many wild pokémon have learned to associate human sounds with danger . if they hear the opening of a pokéball , the whir of a chainsaw , or the jingling of keys , wild pokémon know that humans are nearby and they may be in trouble . klefki uses this to its own advantage – by collecting and jingling keys , it can make other pokémon afraid of it .
so back to klefki . we know klefki uses its keys to make noises , but it probably does it for other reasons as well . for example , a klefki with the most keys is probably the loudest and strongest , meaning that it would be more attractive to other klefki in the interest of survival of the fittest . because of this , klefki became the little kleptomaniac that it is . collecting keys became a part of the species’ culture and survival .
for reference , the earliest known lock and keys in our world date back to the ancient egyptians , around 4000 bc . although the first all - metal key is from about 900 ad .
evolution ( of the darwinian variety ) , as you might know , is a very long and slow process . biologists estimate it takes on average one million years for major changes in a species to occur . if klefki did evolve into a keychain with the purpose of collecting keys , the pokémon world must have had keys around for much longer than we have , considering we’ve only had keys for 6000 years . either that , or their evolution happens much more quickly ( which we already knew , anyways ) .
klefki collects keys to makes noises and scare off predators by tricking them into thinking humans are nearby . it evolved to look like a keyring so it could more easily collect keys .