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What color is a toucan's skull?
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Well, obviously it's white, but take a look at its bill! The attractive 7.5-inch-long bill is possessed by both male and female toucans. Interestingly, they use them during a mating ritual, pitching fruit to one another, but has very limited use as an excavation tool. Toucans make their nests in tree hollows found in rain forest regions of Southern Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean region to which they are native. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
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1163 |
bio_man |
6 years ago |
What does a box and these fish have in common?
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Their name and shape!Ostraciidae is a family of squared, bony fish closely related to the pufferfishes and filefishes. Members of this family occur in a variety of different colors (e.g. right - Hawaiian Blue Boxfish, Ostracion meleagris and the Yellow Boxfish, Ostracion cubicus), and are notable for the hexagonal or "honeycomb" patterns on their skin. Boxfish swim in a rowing manner. Their hexagonal plate-like scales are fused together into a solid, triangular or box-like carapace, from which the fins, tail, eyes and mouth protrude. Because of these heavy armoured scales, Ostraciidae are limited to slow movements, but few other fish are able to eat the adults. Some boxfish also secrete poisons from their skin into the surrounding water, fu ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
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6207 |
bio_man |
7 years ago |
Fruity pebble colored rocks
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Opals (shown above) are is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO 2·nH2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Because of its amorphous character, it is classed as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are classed as minerals. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt. Opal is the national gemstone of Australia. The internal structure of precious opal makes it diffract light. Depending on the conditions in which it formed, it can take on many colors. The one pictured on the left is called the "Virgin Rainbow" opal, being the finest ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
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11202 |
duddy |
7 years ago |
Another beautiful bird
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This species of bird, known as the Plum-coloured Starling or Amethyst Starling, is the smallest of the Southern African starlings, reaching only about 18 cm in length. The sexes are strongly sexually dimorphic, meaning that there is a distinct difference in the appearance of the male and female. The breeding male is brilliantly coloured, with feathers an iridescent shining plum violet colour along the length of is back, wings, face and throat, contrasting with bright white on the rest of the body. Females (and juveniles) are a streaky brown and buff colour, and can easily be mistaken for a thrush. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
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1910 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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Biology Forums Blog |
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1839 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
A purple and blue crustacean
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These brightly colored crayfish are found in Indonesia. While colored crayfish have been sold commercially in Asia since the early 2000s, this recently-discovered sub-species has a distinctive body shape and color from others in the Cherax family.
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Biology Forums Blog |
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4825 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Amazing blue mushroom
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This is the sky blue mushroom ( Entoloma hochstetteri), a species of mushroom found in New Zealand and India. The small mushroom is a distinctive all-blue colour, while the gills have a slight reddish tint from the spores. The blue colouring of the fruit body is due to three azulene pigments. Entoloma hochstetteri is not edible, but whether or not it is poisonous is unknown. This species was one of six native fungi featured in a set of fungal stamps issued in New Zealand in 2002. It is also seen on the reverse side of the $50 bank note, issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in 1990. Source: http://oddstuffmagazine.com/13-bizzare-mushrooms-from-around-the-world.html ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
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19034 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
These aren't party balloons
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These may look like party balloons but they are actually rainbow grapes. These grapes aren't a rare species, they are created during Véraison (when grapes turn from green to purple as they ripen).
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Biology Forums Blog |
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31361 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Clouds that look like rainbows
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'Fire rainbows', also known as iridescent clouds, are a rare phenomenon that only occur when the Sun is higher than 58° above the horizon and its light passes through cirrus clouds made of ice crystals. At the right alignment, the ice crystals act as a prism, and refract the light to look like a rainbow. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
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2491 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A fish that resembles a bird
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This bright blue fish, named the blue parrotfish, can be found in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and spends 80% of its time searching for food.
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Biology Forums Blog |
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2438 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Not all corals live underground
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This is beautiful but deceptive Clavaria zollingeri, also known as the violet or magenta coral. But contrary to its name, it doesn't live underwater - it's a species of fungus that grows in woodland areas in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
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Biology Forums Blog |
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6830 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Birds with purple crowns
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These beautiful birds are called purple-crowned fairy wrens, endemic to northern Australia. The picture was taken by ornithologists (bird banders) studying the birds as part of population monitoring in Australia. The way they are holding them is called "photographer's grip" which gently secures the legs while keeping the rest of the bird free. Handling time is generally very short.
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Biology Forums Blog |
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5970 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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