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This strange animal can drink through its feet
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The thorny dragon ( Moloch horridus) is an Australian lizard that grows up to 20 cm in length, and it can live for up to 20 years. Not only is it covered entirely with conical spines, it has the uncanny ability to suck in water from all over its body - including its feet - through capillary action.
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32039 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
The rainbow eucalyptus tree has its name because of its vibrant colored bark
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Eucalyptus deglupta, commonly called rainbow eucalyptus, is a very large, fast-growing, broadleaved evergreen tree that is native to moist humid tropical forested areas with high rainfall in New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippine Islands (Island of Mindanao). It is perhaps best noted for its smooth orange-tinted trunk bark which peels in summer to reveal a unique and sometimes stunning multi-colored bark (as described by the common name of rainbow eucalyptus) consisting of streaks of pale green, red, orange, gray and purple-brown. ...
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26077 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
A Chinese mystery, can you guess what these are?
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The photo shown below was taken at a market in Shanghai, China. Can you guess what they are?If you guessed, water caltrop 菱, you're right! Water caltrops ( Trapa natans) are the seeds of a floating annual aquatic plant that's native to warm temperate parts of Eurasia and Africa. The plant grows in slow-moving water up to 5 m deep, and bear an ornately shaped fruit that resembles the head of a bull or the silhouette of a flying bat. Each fruit contains a single very large, starchy seed. T. natans and T. bicornis have been cultivated in China and the Indian subcontinent for at least 3,000 years for the edible seeds that are used in pastries, served steamed or boiled from street vendors, and even as a remedy for inebriation. ...
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15223 |
bio_man |
7 years ago |
This animal's tongue is connected to its pelvis
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Pangolins, often called "scaly anteaters," are solitary, primarily nocturnal animals, are easily recognized by their full armor of scales. If that's not impressive enough, their tongues are attached near its pelvis and last pair of ribs, and when fully extended is longer than the animal’s head and body. At rest a pangolin’s tongue retracts into a sheath in its chest cavity.
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13281 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
This turtle has a pig's nose
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This strange little guy is the aptly named pig-nosed turtle. Native to the Northern Territory in Australia and parts of New Guinea, it uses that odd, piggy snout just like a double-barrelled snorkel.
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9835 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Unworldly looking mushrooms
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Phillipsia subpurpurea is a species of fungus in the family Sarcoscyphaceae. It is found in Australia where it grows as a saprophyte on wood. It's cup-shaped fruit bodies lack stipes and have purplish interior surfaces.
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9176 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
A cat the size of a mouse
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Mr. Peebles from Pekin, Illinois, USA was claimed as the world's smallest cat. Mr. Peebles is two years old cat weighing just three pounds and measuring 6.1 inches in height. This anomaly is caused by a genetic disorder.
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9148 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Prickly crab
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This is the porcupine crab ( Neolithodes grimaldii), found in the deep sea bed along the continental slopes of the Atlantic Ocean. A member of the king crab family, its carapace, or body, can stretch up to 18 cm long, and it can weigh over 2 kg. But that's nothing compared to the blue king crab ( Paralithodes platypus) from Alaska, which weighs a whopping 8 kg. ...
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9141 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Heart-shaped watermelons
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Japanese farmer, Hiroichi Kimura, has perfected growing the heart-shaped watermelon.
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8964 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
This strange disease turns one's skin into bone
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Known an fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive, or FOB for short, this disease can suddenly turn a person’s tissues and muscles into bone, thereby permanently immobilizing parts of the bodies. Joints such as elbows or ankles may become frozen in place; jaw motion can be impeded and the rib cage fixed, making eating or even breathing difficult. Currently, no cure exists to combat this rare condition.
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7951 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
Getting paid to sleep
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These are the ‘pillownauts,’ and they just got out of bed for the first time in 21 days. The paid volunteers for the European Space Agency laid with their feet up in a medical facility while scientists poked and prodded them to try to understand the effects of spaceflight on astronauts’ bodies. One of the subjects who took part in this investigation said: “The first days of each session were the worst. The body needs to adapt and I had migraines and backaches."
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7871 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A marine animal that looks like you know what
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This is Urechis unicinctus, a species of marine spoon worm. It is also know as the fat innkeeper worm or (I bet you'll never guess why) the penis fish. They live in burrows of sand and mud and are commonly eaten raw with salt and sesame oil in Korea and parts of Japan.
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7620 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Halla tree fruit
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This is the fruit of the Halla tree ( Pandanus tectorius). The tree grows to 4–14 m (13–46 ft) tall and is found from Port Macquarie in New South Wales to northern Queensland, Australia and Indonesia east through the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and is a major source of food in Micronesia. ...
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7087 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
Sunda pangolins
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Sunda pangolins have become the most frequently seized mammal in the illegal wildlife trade in Asia, as smugglers sell the creatures to meet culinary and medicinal demand. These gentle insectivores are now on the endangered species list.
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6497 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
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6043 |
duddy |
11 years ago |