Animal Facts - Blog Posts
Vida's Sheep Jumping Spider: researchers believe that these tiny spiders developed their "woolly" appearance as a way to mimic lacewing larvae or scale insects
The scientific name for this species is Oviballus vidae, but it has also been referred to as the "sheepy jumping spider" or "Vida's jumping spider." It was discovered in 2015, and first described (in a formal context) back in 2020.
As this article (PDF) describes:
Recently, two new salticids, R. legitima and Oviballus vidae were described from South Africa, and suggested to be mimics of either scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) or lacewing larvae (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), due to their white colouration and the presence of peculiar tufts of white setae on the body.
The possibility of [scale insects] being the model is supported by Oviballus vidae being regularly collected from plants with woolly scales, although the movements of O. vidae quite closely resemble those of chrysopid larvae.
In fact, a fourth species of possible scale mimic, a new Rhene species, was recently discovered in a collection of salticids from southern Mozambique, indicating that this phenomenon may be more widespread than has previously been known or even suspected.
O. vidae was named after Vida van der Walt, the photographer who captured some of the first images of these spiders back in 2015, just after the species was discovered by Dr. Galina Azarkina. Vida van der Walt also took the photographs that appear in this post.
Sources & More Info:
Arthropoda Selecta (scientific journal): Rediscovery and Redescription of Rhene cooperi, another possible mimic of scale insects (PDF)
Spider Club of South Africa: Two New Species Named After SA Photographer (PDF, with the relevant info on page 5)
Field Guide to the Spiders of South Africa: Section on Vida's Sheep Jumping Spider
Have You Heard Of The 🔫🦐❓
www.factsbybriggs.com
The shape of a fish's caudal tail can tell you a lot about how fast the fish moves! A rounded tail is the slowest and a lunate tail is the fastest! The lunate tail has the most optimal ratio of high thrust and low draw, making it the fastest.
Ichthyology Notes 2/?
If there’s one thing I know it’s that you can freak anybody out with strange facts about animals and food.
Octopi and Squids have donut shaped brains!!
(I feel like more people should know this)
Um.. if .. they eat something too big they will die.. uh y'know, since their esophagus runs though the donut hole of their brains
If you want to learn more l suggest the monterey bay aquarium website!
my mood has been lifted!! :D
the ride there was rlly pretty since the sun was setting and i got to see so many cool bones, plants n taxidermy (also learning along the way lolol)
cool facts i think yall might like: moon snails have super sharp tounges + acid-like stuff that they use to cut holes in shells to eat AND they have little trapdoors they use once they retreat back into their own shell so stuff cant get in!
pangolins scales are made out of the same material as our fingernails which i find kinda weird- does that mean our nails count as scales too?? T_T
O YE AND AS U SAW IN THE PHOTO ABOVE...I MET A BABY CAPYBARA! her name was pumpkin and i got to feed her kale >:D she was so cute and i adored her sm
TW BELOW: UNALIVE BIRD WING (no blood or anythin its just taxidermy)
got to see how big bird wings were and heres one to my arm XD i forgot what species it was but now im wondering what the albatrosses wingspan is cuz like dang T_T
heyall its sorta a downer day today (species dysphoria,general depression,etc) xdd
dreamed about an old friend n thats about it
might not post tomorrow might do with a whole new mood who knows :P
i am going to a museum experience thingi tho based on evolution so im hopin thatll lift my mood echo be keepin me company <3
cool snake fact: long
Behold the rufous and black and rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi)! Despite its diminutive size, this critter is more closely related to elephants than it is to shrews. It’s also distantly related to manatees, dugongs, and hyraxes. It uses its long snout to scoop up worms, ants, termites, roots, berries, and shoots to eat. To move around its territory, this fast-moving mammal creates networks of foraging trails, which also serve as escape routes from predators.
Photo: Smithsonian's National Zoo, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, flickr
In case anyone was wondering, the top 20 animals with the highest homosexuality rates are:
- Necking giraffes
- Bottlenose dolphins
- Bonobos
- Albatrosses
- King penguins
- Chimpanzees
- Bats
- Sheep
- Flamingos
- Gentoo penguins
- Spider monkeys
- Macaques
- Lions
- Orcas
- Ducks
- Sea lions
- Garter snakes
- Elephants
- Rams
- Snails
Have You Heard Of The 🔫🦐❓
www.factsbybriggs.com
Random Fact Of The Day: Did You Know Bee’s, Wasps, & And Any Other Bug With Stingers, Are Venomous? Their Stingers Are Filled With Various Amounts Of Venom That Can Cause Allergic Reactions!
fun fact, did you know that sharks existed before the North Star even formed? they also existed before TREES!
i love sharks
This little guy is an Eastern Screech Owl. Although small, he is considered fully grown. An eye injury sustained from a car collision keeps him from thriving in the wild on his own, so he will remain with the SNC as a permanent resident and educational ambassador.
The Eastern Screech Owl is considered a bird of prey. So its sharp talons and curved beak have adapted to ripping and tearing prey as opposed to the straight and long beak of something like a heron that has been adapted for fishing.
Our resident Barred Owl did an impressive display today of how owls can turn their heads up to 270 degrees. This is due to a special adaptation on their vertebrae.
Barred Owls are native to Florida, but this one cannot be released back into the wild due to a permanent injury. He would not be able to survive in the wild on his own. Instead, he now has a happy home with dedicated care takers and sometimes makes himself visible to the public as an educational ambassador.
“Barred Owls are easiest to find when they are active at night—they’re a lot easier to hear than to see. Visit forests near water (big bottomland forest along a river is prime Barred Owl habitat) and listen carefully, paying attention for the species’ barking “Who cooks for you?” call.” - The Cornell Lab https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/overview
This is a reminder that tortoises can NOT swim like other turtles. If tortoises are dropped in water, they will drown. You can tell the difference between a swimming turtle and a tortoise by looking at their feet. Turtles will have webbed feet that help them swim, or flippers. Tortoises do not have webbed feet.
Metasepia Pfefferi, aka the flamboyant cuttlefish! These little guys have a much smaller cuttlebone relative to their body size (compared to other cuttlefish species), and therefore cannot swim for very long. For this reason, they can often be found walking around on the sea floor using their lower arms.
Aside from bees and butterflies, bats are one of the most important pollinators on the planet - especially in tropical and desert regions.
I don't think he has quite enough pollen on him
Mourning Gecko (Picture from TheBioDude.com)
This tiny gecko is the basis of the main characters of Wizard Lizard Chronicles. While our protagonist is human-sized, these creatures are small enough to crawl on your thumb. They reproduce by parthenogenesis (mom lays egg, clone hatches), so they're almost entirely female.
Like other geckos, they can climb just about anything and don't blink. They can also detach and regrow their tails.
The biggest proof that hyenas are cats is that they can loafing!! ☝😊