Yosemite climber

I think this is the best photo in latest National Geographic magazine - May 2011. Have you check this mag yet?

Albino baby turtle

Albino baby turtle

Khram Island, Thailand, June 17, 2009--A Thai Navy sailor holds a baby albino green sea turtle at a nursery for the reptiles, which are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

About 15,000 green turtles and hawksbill turtles are hatched and housed at the navy's conservation center annually until the animals are old enough to be released into the sea.

Lemur Leaf Frogs

Click to enlarge

Lemur Leaf Frogs Hylomantis lemur
• Photographed: At Zoo Atlanta, Georgia
• Size: Up to 2 inches
• Location: Central America
• Status: Critically Endangered

Giant stingray reeled in Thailand

February 24, 2009--Fishers and scientists announced this week the catch, and release, of what is likely the world's largest known freshwater giant stingray.

The giant stingray, weighing an estimated 550 to 990 pounds (250 to 450 kilograms) was reeled in on January 28, 2009, as part of a National Geographic expedition in Thailand.

The stringray's body measured 6.6 feet (2 meters) wide by 6.9 feet (2.1) meters long. The tail was missing. If it had been there, the ray's total length would have been between 14.8 and 16.4 feet (4.5 and 5 meters), estimated University of Nevada Biologist Zeb Hogan.

Hogan was in Thailand searching for giant fish as part of the Megafishes Project—an effort to document Earth's 20 or so freshwater giants.

The new find gives Hogan hope that the giant stingray, once overfished, may be more abundant than previously thought. And it may confirm the giant stingray as the heavyweight champ of the Megafishes Project.

Link

Weird fish with transparent head

February 23, 2009--With a head like a fighter-plane cockpit, a Pacific barreleye fish shows off its highly sensitive, barrel-like eyes--topped by green, orblike lenses--in a picture released today but taken in 2004.

The fish, discovered alive in the deep water off California's central coast by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), is the first specimen of its kind to be found with its soft transparent dome intact.

The 6-inch (15-centimeter) barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) had been known since 1939--but only from mangled specimens dragged to the surface by nets.

Link

Bizarre assassin spiders from madagascar

With its fearsome appearance, poisonous bite, and deadly hunting skill, this newly discovered creature lives up to its name: assassin spider.

Researchers working in Madagascar recently discovered this and eight other species of assassin spiders—a family of arachnids that feast on other eight-leggers—during a four-year survey of the island nation's forests.

Link

National Geographis Jigsaw Puzzle

nice jigsaw puzzle from national geographic. play it here.

thanks to my friend cristina for this link.

Study says, early whale had leg

An early whale had large back legs, a tail like a dog's, and a hip-wiggling swimming style, according to a new fossil study.

The discovery helps pinpoint the advent of "modern" whale flukes to between 38 and 40 million years ago, scientists say.

Flukes are the two wide, flat triangular lobes on a whale's back end and are made of skin and connective tissue, with bones in the middle.

Scientists have known whales evolved from semiaquatic, four-footed creatures with long, thin tails to today's fully aquatic mammals with fluked tails, no back legs, and flippers instead of front legs. link

See-through frog

Click to enlarge

The see-through skin of an inch-long glass frog reveals her eggs. Native to Venezuela, the frogs lay eggs in bushes and trees overhanging streams. Tadpoles hatch, then tumble into the current to be swept away.

Colorful Harlequin Frog Discovered

PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Colorful Harlequin Frog Discovered:

March 12, 2008—With such flashy looks, this aptly named harlequin frog seems like it would be easy to spot.

But scientists hadn't seen one of its kind for 14 years, until it was "rediscovered" last month in the mountain forests of Colombia.

The rare find—technically known as a Carrikeri harlequin frog—is some welcome good news for South America's amphibian species, which have been disappearing at an alarming rate, experts say.

Link

Self inflating fish

Link

Weird Amphibians

p/s salamander ni dlm bahasa melayu apa ya.. mcm katak pun ada..

January 22, 2008—A man holds a Chinese giant salamander, one of ten species to garner conservation attention as part of the EDGE Amphibians program announced today by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). The initiative is dedicated to preserving what the group says are some of the world's strangest and most vulnerable amphibian species.

The Chinese giant salamander, which ZSL says is the world's largest amphibian, is part of a distinct evolutionary lineage from the age of dinosaurs and can reach the size of human—almost 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length.

In addition to fragmented habitat, the creature —a distant relative of the newt—has been hunted to near extinction, so part of ZSL's conservation efforts include educating local people about the animal.

link

Rare albino alligators stolen in brazil

Thieves are likely responsible for the disappearance of seven rare alligators from the same brood as the alligator pictured here in São Paulo, Brazil, on January 4, 2008, authorities say.

The extremely rare alligators are worth about $9,700 apiece, according to the director of the zoo that lost the reptiles.

Link

New giant rat found

December 17, 2007—Mammal expert Martua Sinaga holds a 3-pound (1.4-kilogram) rat that may be a species new to science. The rat was found in the remote Foja Mountains of western New Guinea, Indonesia, on a June 2007 expedition, experts announced yesterday. Link

Sea Monsters - A Prehistoric Adventure (NG wallpaper)

:: visit official film website




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World's ''monster'' fishes

Biologist Zeb Hogan holds a taimen, a giant member of the salmon family, while searching for megafishes in Mongolia.


Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas). Maximum Size: 118 inches (300 centimeters), 661.4 pounds (300 kilograms). Habitat: Mekong River Basin, Southeast Asia.


Mississippi paddlefish (Polyodon spathula). Maximum Size: 87 inches (221 centimeters) including paddle. Habitat: Mississippi River Basin, North America.


Wels catfish (Silurus glanis). Maximum Size: 197 inches (500 centimeters), 675 pounds (306 kilograms).


Name: Alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula). Maximum Size: 120 inches (305 centimeters), 300 pounds (136 kilograms). Habitat: Mississippi River Basin, North America.


Name: Nile perch (Lates niloticus). Maximum Size: 79 inches (200 centimeters), 441 pounds (200 kilograms). Habitat: Nile River Basin, Africa


Name: Giant freshwater stingray (Himantura chaophraya). Maximum Size: 197 inches (500 centimeters), 1,323 pounds (600 kilograms), body diameter 95 inches (240 centimeters). Habitat: Mekong River Basin, Southeast Asia.


Name: Arapaima (Arapaima gigas). Maximum Size: 177 inches (450 centimeters), 441 pounds (200 kilograms). Habitat: Amazon River Basin, South America.


Name: Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii). Maximum Size: 79 inches (200 centimeters), 250 pounds (113.5 kilograms). Habitat: Murray River Basin, Australia.


Name: Giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis). Maximum Size: 118 inches (300 centimeters), 661.5 pounds (300 kilograms). Habitat: Mekong River Basin, Southeast Asia.

source: National Geographic






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NG - Photo of the day

A baby snapping turtle and baby bullfrog take advantage of unusual circumstances to get a good look at each other at Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Once full-grown snapping turtles are at the top of the pond food chain, but until then they are lunch to adult bullfrogs and other predators.

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"Strange Owl" seen in wild for first time

A tiny bird so rare and unusual that its scientific name means "strange owl" has been spotted for the first time in the wild, scientists announced yesterday.

Conservationists working in Peru got their first natural glimpse of the long-whiskered owlet last month while working in a private mountain reserve.

The species wasn't even known to exist until 1976, and since then the only known living specimens have been those caught in nets at night.

"Seeing the long-whiskered owlet is a huge thrill," said David Geale of Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos, who was part of the research team, in a press statement.

The American Bird Conservancy, which partnered in the research, described the sighting as "a holy grail" of bird biology.

As few as 250 of the owlets are thought to exist, scientists said, and the birds are as distinctive as they are rare.

With their diminutive size, bright orange eyes, and wild, wispy facial feathers, the dainty birds belong to their own genus, dubbed Xenoglaux, or "strange owl."

The owlets owe much of their survival to the remoteness of their dense mountain habitat, the researchers said. But as human activity encroaches on Peru's northern forests, the birds' future looks dimmer.

"Due to the rapid destruction of its forest habitat and its tiny range, it is inferred that the species is in serious decline," Geale said.

"Until recently, the owlets key habitat was completely unprotected."


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Jiwa kacau

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Green Iguana

Green, or common, iguanas are among the largest lizards in the Americas, averaging around 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length and weighing about 11 pounds (5 kilograms).

They are also among the most popular reptile pets in the United States, despite being quite difficult to care for properly. In fact, most captive iguanas die within the first year, and many are either turned loose by their owners or given to reptile rescue groups.

The green iguana's extensive range extends from the rain forests of northern Mexico, through Central America and the Caribbean Islands, down as far as southern Brazil. They spend most of their lives in the canopy, descending only infrequently to mate, lay eggs, or change trees.

Primarily herbivores, iguanas are active during the day, feeding on leaves, flowers, and fruit. They generally live near water, and are excellent swimmers. If threatened, they will leap from a branch, often from great heights, and escape with a splash to the water below. They are also tough enough to land on solid ground from as high as 40 feet and survive.

Their stout build gives them a clumsy look, but they are fast and agile on land. They have strong jaws with razor-sharp teeth and sharp tails, which make up half their body length and can be used as whips to drive off predators. They can also detach their tails if caught and will grow another without permanent damage.

Other members of the iguana family include the Fiji Island banded iguana, the desert iguana, and the Galápagos Islands marine iguana. Their appearance, behavior, and endangered status vary from species to species.

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