🪼Daily Cnidarian Fact:🪼

Fast Fauna Facts #3 - Winged Argonaut (Argonauta hians)

Family: Argonaut Family (Argonautidae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Like the other small octopuses in the argonaut family many Winged Argonauts appear to have spiral-shaped external shells similar to those of nautiluses or ammonites, but this isn't quite the case - what appears to be an argonaut's shell is only seen in adult females, and is actually a thin-walled, calcium-based case secreted from and held by a specialised pair of arms in order to carry fertilized eggs until they hatch. Found in non-polar waters worldwide, Winged Argonauts are found mainly near the surface in the open ocean (in contrast to most octopuses, which are bottom-dwellers,) feeding on small floating invertebrates and often using their suction cups to cling to flotsam or larger animals (sometimes including other argonauts) for protection; when faced with a predator, they may attempt to position the animal they're riding on between them and the perceived threat to act as a meat shield.

-----------------------------------------------------

Image Source: Here

<-Previous (Parrot Waxcap) I Next (Pink Jasmine) ->

Made by Sea-Blog

What makes the dark shyshark (Haploblepharus pictus) so shy? When threatened, this critter might curl up into a ring and cover its eyes with its tail. Scientists think this defensive posture makes it harder for predators to gulp the dark shyshark down for an easy meal. Found in parts of the southeast Atlantic Ocean, this shark can grow to about 22 in (55.8 cm) long. Its diet includes crustaceans, mollusks, and fish.

Photo: Raoulco, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

Thank you dear Eurovision audience. Not only a black ocean but also booing but what did the tv station do? Fake cheering....but at least we know how it really went down. I am so not watching btw

I put it to you that Scaphiophryne marmorata is peak frog.

Why?

Well first, it's pretty round, which is key.

Now get a load of those fingers.

Big, expanded discs at the end, ideal for climbing.

But what's happening back there with those toes? No discs there. Those are good for walking and hopping around on the ground.

Now, let's gently turn them over

First, excellent tum, 17 out of 10, no notes.

But what's that at the base of the foot? Those big projections? Yep, those are spades. This climbing, hopping frog is an excellent digger!

I like to think of these Scaphiophryne as all-terrain frogs. They're basically good at everything. They defy our categorical labels of 'arboreal', 'terrestrial', or 'fossorial', and say 'por qué no los tres?'—but in Malagasy, so 'nahoana no tsy izy telo?'