Magnificent Bolas Spider, Ordgarius Magnificus, Araneidae

Oh no

always blows my mind as a european when people talk about states like “yeah theres nothing in ohio/montana/wyoming/etc” because i look at a map like but. but theyre so big. every state could qualify as its own country what do you mean theres nothing there. and then i ask people from those states and theyre like “yeah theres nothing here” what do you mean theres nothing there!!!

THEFT

this green honeycreeper exhibits a genetic mutation known as bilateral gynandromorphism, where one half of the body is male and one half is female. the bird was spotted in the wild in columbia; researchers suspect the bird is not able to reproduce, but appears to be in good health. they are the second known example of a bilateral gynandromorph green honeycreeper; the last was recorded over 100 years ago.

Chinese hourglass spider - 里氏盤腹蛛 - Cyclocosmia ricketti

The Chinese hourglass spider is a fascinating species of arachnid, a very rare one at that ! Between the years 2000 and 2016 ONLY six of these spiders have been spotted in China, that we know of.

@hispaatra, @zick-the-fairy more on the awesome seal :D

Description

Cyclocosmia ricketti has a very distinctive disk on its abdomen which resembles an ancient coin, a seal, or even a grinding disc. The male Cyclocosmia ricketti are about 20.5 millimetres in length while the females of the species tend to be slightly bigger at around 25.83 to 30.0 millimetres in length. The largest known specimens can exceed 30 millimetres. The disk located on its abdomen typically has a radius of around 16 millimetres.

Extract from 'Zhu, Zhang & Zhang, 2006 : Rare spiders of the genus Cyclocosmia (Arachnida: Araneae: Ctenizidae) from tropical and subtropical China.' Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, vol. 54, No. 1, p. 119-124

According to Zhao Li, Director and Senior Biological Engineer of the Insect Museum of West China in Chengdu, Sichuan, Cyclocosmia ricketti is a nocturnal animal.

Predation behaviour

Cyclocosmia ricketti, like many other trapdoor spiders, dig burrows which are closed off by hatches in the ground. They do this instead of making webs, as they are not good at spinning silk, to catch their prey. They line their burrows with silk threads and mud. They use their disk to plug the opening of the burrow. When a small insect would step on its disk, Cyclocosmia ricketti will then purportedly shrink its abdomen to allow its prey to fall further into its burrow to be devoured. The disk also makes it difficult for its prey to escape from its grasp.

Cyclocosmia ricketti doesn't always use this method to hunt, as when its confronted with a non-threatening insect, Cyclocosmia ricketti will get out of its burrow and then directly grab it to eat it. This spider can also use the coin-shaped disk on its abdomen to protect itself from enemies by blocking the entrance to its burrow with it, and using it as a shield, a phenomenon called 'phragmosis'.

Distribution

Cyclocosmia ricketti are found in the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Sichuan. They are primarily found living in caves. The farthest north they are known to have been found is Sichuan, this is notable as it was previously believed that Cyclocosmia ricketti were not able to survive in places where the temperature could drop below 13 degrees Celsius. Winters in the province of Sichuan are known to get even colder.

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Image sources:

1.

https://za.pinterest.com/pin/604186106296940858/

2.

https://spidershoppe.com/products/cyclocosmia-ricketti-chinese-hourglass-trapdoor-sub-adults

3.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070811074158/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/54/54rbz119-124.pdf

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Text references:

1.

Zhu, Zhang & Zhang, 2006 : Rare spiders of the genus Cyclocosmia (Arachnida: Araneae: Ctenizidae) from tropical and subtropical China. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, vol. 54, No. 1, p. 119-124

https://web.archive.org/web/20070811074158/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/54/54rbz119-124.pdf

2.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclocosmia_ricketti

In 1982, quite by accident, a zookeeper at Izu Shaboten Zoo in Shizuoka Prefecture discovered that capybaras absolutely loved soaking in hot water, and the practice of providing them an onsen, or traditional Japanese hot spring, was born. Source Massimo; video @yu_haradakei.

if a supervillain said "you wont kill me thatd make you just like me" i would simply say "no it wouldnt id be saving millions of people" and the villain would say "but youd be dooming yourself. could you really live knowing youre a killer" and id say "well id certainly have trouble. ill probably be very sad about it. definitely a lot to unpack" and theyd say "so you wont do it" and id say "oh no im still gonna" and theyd say "what" and id say "youre a supervillain responsible for countless deaths and yet here you are desperately trying to bargain for your life. you want to live. which means you can easily live with yourself after being responsible for countless deaths. i, on the other hand, will at the very least have tremendous difficulty with even killing just one person and at worst might just jump out a window right after i do it. the very nature of this whole conversation about whether we are the same has proven to me we are very much not the same and i am certain killing you to save millions is the morally correct decision here" and theyd say "what" and id say "get killed idiot"

pathfinder 2nd edition is out and succubi are now so horny that they take psychic damage when their advances arent reciprocated

also you can rub it in how much you’re not into them to cause more psychic damage

Hi i wanted to share this fucking insane moment I read today

just made the worst pizza ever