Happy world oceans day! (photos)

Coastline in Colombia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Celebrated since 1992, today is World Oceans Day! As apart of the day’s festivities, conservation organization Oceana is asking people to become Ocean Heroes by pledging to recycle, clean up a local waterway, or eat only sustainable seafood for the summer! Purple-striped jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Leopard shark in a kelp forest at Monterey...

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Photo: caterpillar invasion

Caterpillars in Manu National Park, Peru. We have been unable to identify this species, if you know please contact us. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.

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Photo: world’s prettiest grasshopper looks like something out of Avatar
Feb22

Photo: world’s prettiest grasshopper looks like something out of Avatar

Native to Madagascar, the incredibly colored Rainbow Milkweed Locust (Phymateus saxosus) is toxic due to its propensity to eat milkweed. The stunning colors and wild patterns make this species look like it belongs on Pandora, the alien moon setting of James Cameron’s film Avatar. Photo by: Rhett A....

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Photo: If you really love them, name a giant hissing cockroach after them

Nothing says happy Valentine’s Day like Madagascar’s giant hissing cockroach. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. Running late on your valentine’s gift? Have no idea what to get your special someone? Well, according to Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo, nothing says ‘I love you’ like naming a giant hissing cockroach after your sweetheart! WCS is offering brave romancers the chance to name...

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Photo: not tic-tacs, but millipedes
Feb08

Photo: not tic-tacs, but millipedes

While it may look like someone spilled a a container of dark green tic-tacs, these are actually a swarm of young Malagasy emerald pill millipedes. Photographed in Madagascar these millipedes are classified in the order of Sphaerotheriida. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of millipedes (and...

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Just how big is a giant earthworm?

A bottlecap allows one to see the true size, er length, of this giant earthworm photographed in Suriname. We haven’t been able to identify the species in this image. If you have ideas, please contact us. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler . Click to see more photos from...

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Biodiversity matters
Oct18

Biodiversity matters

Today marks the opening of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya, Japan. Ten years ago member states pledged to stem the tide of biodiversity loss. By all accounts they have failed. Now, they are back at the drawing board, attempting to find ways to save the diversity of life on Earth. The US is one of three nations that is not a member of the CBD. Biodiversity provides a number long-overlooked advantages to humanity,...

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