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This sweet fruit grows in the most unbelievable place
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The Brazilian Jaboticaba tree well and truly takes advantage of all the surface area on its trunk by growing its sweet, grape-like fruits all over it. It's said to have evolved its trunk-fruit so animals could reach them and distribute the seeds.
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4177 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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13147 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Gliding spiders
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These tropical arachnids known as selenopid spiders (pictured above) possess the rare ability to steer themselves in the air and jump between trees - an unexpected talent for spiders, which have no history of flight. Researchers theorize that this behavior may have evolved because tree trunks are a far better place for a tree-dwelling spider than the forest floor, an unfamiliar territory crawling with creatures looking for a meal. ...
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11146 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
The versatility of trees
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How this bicycle got up in the tree has been the subject of plenty of local legend around Washington’s Vashon Island. The real story involves a boy in the 1950s who left his bike in the woods while playing with friends, because he didn’t like it. The bike was placed about two meters high in the tree, which eventually grew around it.
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4925 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
A monster of an ant
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The bullet ant, or Paraponera clavata, lives throughout Central and South America. What makes this ant a formidable insect are its large mandibles and stinger. The bullet ant is one of the largest ants, growing to a length of just under 1 inch. Most notable about the ant is its ability to produce an excruciating sting.
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3283 |
bio_man |
10 years ago |
Colorful trees
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These are rainbow eucalyptus trees ( Eucalyptus deglupta) and they hail from the Philippine Islands. The trees get their name from the striking colours observed on their trunks and limbs. Although it may look like someone took a paintbrush to them, these colours are entirely natural. Unlike most trees, the rainbow eucalyptus does not have a thick, cork-like layer of bark on its trunk. The bark is smooth and as it grows it 'exfoliates' layers of spent tissue. This exfoliation technique occurs at different stages and in different zones of the tree. Once a layer is shed, a new fresh green bark is exposed. As this new bark ages, we can see the tissue change colour to dark green followed by a bluish colour, then to purple and pink-orange and then f ...
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4070 |
savio |
10 years ago |
New species discovered in the Western Hemisphere
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Meet olinguito, or Bassaricyon neblina, the first species of carnivore discovered in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. This cute teddy bear-like nocturnal mammal is native to Central and South America, and spends most of its time in the treetops, coming down to the forest floor occasionally to eat fruits such as guava.
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3939 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
This is not an optical illusion
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See anything peculiar? If you look closely, you'll see an Eastern screech owl hiding in plain sight. These owls are nocturnal and their amazing camouflage allows them to go largely unnoticed in the daytime. These owls only grow to about 22 cm (8.5 in) tall and weigh about 244 grams (8.6 oz), but they have been observed hunting squirrels and rats who rival them in length and weight. Eastern screech owls are found in North America from Canada all the way down to Mexico. ...
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3179 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Walking leaves
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This stunning creature is the Amazonian leaf-footed bug ( Diactor bilenatus), a species that can be found throughout South American, in parts of Central America and on some Caribbean Islands. Although they look beautiful, when threatened the insect releases a bitter, unpleasant odour to scare of potential predators.
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7437 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Monkeys can purr too!
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This is the Caqueta titi monkey, and its babies purr just like cats when they're happy. It is one of more than 400 new species of animals and plants that have been discovered in the past four years in the Amazon rainforest, along with a vegetarian piranha and a flame-patterned lizard.
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6493 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Here's how to preserve the Amazon rainforest
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In 2005 Swedish millionaire Johan Eliasch purchased a 400,000-acre (1,600 km 2) area of land in the heart of the Amazon rainforest from a logging company for the sole purpose of it’s preservation. Johan Eliasch, born in Sweden, is the Chairman and CEO of Head N.V. the global sporting goods group, and is the former Special Representative of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In 2005, Johan Eliasch created the Rainforest Trust and purchased for preservation purposes a 400,000-acre (1,600 km2) rainforest area in the heart of the Amazon rainforest near the Madeira River. Johan Eliasch co-founded Cool Earth in 2006, a charity he co-chairs, which sponsors local NGO's to conserve endangered rainforest and has over 120,000 registered members. ...
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4564 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
How apes go fishing
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This is the first photograph taken of an orangutan using a tool to fish in Borneo. The photo captures a moment when this male was using the pole to catch fish trapped in the locals’ fishing lines.
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3132 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Foxfire or Firefox, take your pick!
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Foxfire, also called "fairy fire" is a crazy glow in the dark fungus. The bluish-green glow is attributed to luciferase, an oxidative enzyme, which emits light as it reacts with luciferin. It is widely believed that the light attracts insects to spread spores, or acts as a warning to hungry animals, like the bright colors exhibited by some poisonous or unpalatable animal species. Although generally very dim, in some cases foxfire is bright enough to read by. ...
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1890 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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2555 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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6315 |
duddy |
9 years ago |