Zoologger: Horror fly returns from the dead

"a mythical beast, not seen for more than 160 years. A nocturnal animal that feeds on the rotten flesh of large mammals. A species active only during the winter months that reportedly emits a luminous glow from its large, orange head. What new horror is this?

It's a fly, the bone skipper Thyreophora ( Read more... )

Panellus stipticus Bioluminescence


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The smooth nylon shrimp (Heterocarpus Laevigatus) employs a particularly efficient chemical defense mechanism to survive in the harsh depths of the Pacific ocean. The shrimp temporarily disorients would-be-predators by discharging a large quantity of bioluminescent liquid from its mouth.

Click to view

Link to sourceSeems to take it a bit to squirt. I would ( Read more... )

Here's the black dragonfish. A long, slender, glowing fish living way down in the ocean's depths.


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Naturally glowing animals such as the Praya siphonophores, fireflies, various fungi, bacteria, and so on are well-known. Engineering animals such as zebra-fish with jellyfish genes to make them glow is now a well-established technique. Even luminous bunnies are old news ( Read more... )

One of the coolest things I have ever done is swim in the ultra-luminescent Mosquito Bay on the island of Vieques, a small island just off Puerto Rico.

I cannot really put into words just how cool this is.  According to tourist information, this bay has one of the highest concentrations of   Pyrodinium bahamense in the world. The bay is protected ( Read more... )

So I know I said I was going to post about Mantis Shrimp, which I will because they are the BEST INVERTEBRATES EVER, but after a conversation with a deeply misinformed person who refused to listen to me ("Releasing extra pet store crickets into the wild is a bad idea; non-native organisms can spread disease, create competition, and interbreed with ( Read more... )