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Ghost Mantis

Is that a leaf or a mantis? Many people would certainly say leaf, even if they see these moving. The sole member of the genus Phyllocrania, these small species of mantis can be found across Africa. They are very small and can grow only up to 2 inches long. They come in various colors: several shades of brown and greenish gray. They look like dead leaves. In fact, most parts of their body look like leaves that have dried up. They live for up to two years.

Green Plant-Hopper

Also called the torpedo bug, this insect’s scientific name is Siphanta acuta. This beautiful insect feeds on plants and looks like a leaf. When they are at rest, their green wings cover their bodies much like a sloping roof. They are small, with an average length of 15 mm or half an inch. Their name Torpedo Bug is due to the fact that their nymphs can leap to about two feet. They are native to Australia but they can now be found in Hawaii and New Zealand as well. One can find them in California, too.

Stick Insect

As the name suggests, this is an insect that looks a lot like a stick. They actually look more like a eucalyptus twig.  Incidentally, their main source of food is the eucalyptus tree. They have long and slender bodies but they can also fly. They can grow for up to 18 centimeters long. These insects are natives of the southern part of Australia. They have made the woodlands of New South Wales and Victoria home but most of them can be found in places that are nearer to the waters.

Leafy Sea Dragon

What beautiful seaweed! Upon closer inspection, though, you will realize that this is a fish that belongs to the same family as seahorses. Under the water, they look like floating seaweed. They have body parts that look a lot like leaves. These leaf-like body parts of not used for moving under the water. They are simply used for blending in to their environment. What they use to move are fins that are transparent. These fins are difficult to see, making the leafy sea dragon look less like an animal and more like the plant it mimics.

Devil’s Flower Mantis

Another mantis that can mimic plants like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Well, in their world, it IS the most natural thing. The Devil’s Flower Mantis is colorful and actually quite beautiful. It will not be called King of all Mantids for nothing. With its lovely wing and body colors, it is easy to mistake this mantis as a flower or even a leaf. There are many mantis that mimic flowers but this particular species is quite adept at it, largely due to its beautiful appearance.

Weedy Seadragon

This is another relative of the seahorse and the Leafy Sea Dragon mentioned above. Although not quite as strange-looking as the Leafy Sea Dragon, the Phyllopteryx taeniolatus can easily hide in seaweed beds because of their leaf-like body projections. They are native to the southern coast of Australia and can be found mainly in waters between 3 to 50 meters deep. When they are moving over shallow waters, it is easy to mistake them as floating weed. They feed on small crustraceans and zooplankton.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko

These geckos can be found mainly in Madagascar and has a couple of other interesting names. One can also call it the eyelash leaf tailed gecko or the fantastic leaf tailed gecko. The latter is an obvious praise to its ability to mimic plants. What’s interesting about this gecko is its flat tail. Resembling a leaf, the tail makes it easy for the gecko to blend in to its surroundings. Due to this trait, they can hunt for food and hide when they need to.

Frogfish

One of the sea animals known for its aggressive mimicry, there are many things with which the frogfish can turn themselves into in order to find food or hide from predators. Some frogfish look like stones or corals while there are others that can copy sea squirts or even sponges. Some can mimic other marine life, such as sea urchins. Of course, since they have been included in this list, it is essential to point out that there are some frogfish that look like they are covered in algae. Without these natural mechanisms, the frogfish is actually quite helpless against other sea animals.

Leaf Scorpionfish

This is another sea animal that mimics a dead leaf. They do this to catch their prey by surprise. Aside from looking like a leaf, they actually act like the plant that they mimic as well. What they do is hide under corals or float above the sea floor like a dead leaf. They move like they are being rocked by the currents. Their prey, assuming that the Leaf Scorponfish is just harmless plant life, move closer, unaware that they are moving closer to their doom.

Eastern Long-Necked Turtle

These are turtles with necks that they can bend their head sideways into their shells. They are native to Australia and can mostly be found in freshwater swamps, dams, and lakes. Their plant mimicry comes in the form of algae growing on their shells. When they are not moving, they look a lot like rocks, thereby escaping predators or even humans with evil intentions.

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This is either the bravest or most stupid cat ever.

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The professional underwater photographer and diver says: ‘I was looking through the view finder of the camera when I suddenly saw this huge mouth and teeth.  The 42-year-old professional underwater photographer and diver says: ‘I was looking through the view finder of the camera when I suddenly saw this huge mouth and teeth.  ‘It is only because of the camera I was not bitten. Sharks bite because that is how they find out what something is – they use their mouth as we use our hands -  and it had its mouth wide open, about to bite me.  “In that moment I managed to get one shot of the inside of its mouth. Thankfully sharks are attracted to cameras and bit that instead, giving me vital seconds to swim away.’

It was only afterwards I realised the camera had probably saved my life and how fortunate I was.’  Despite his lucky escape, Mr Easton, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne maintains the shark was not trying to hurt him.

He says: ‘I don’t think he was attacking me. He was just curious and wanted to know what I was so was going to take a nibble to find out.

The problem is a tiger shark’s mouth is so large and it’s teeth so sharp that if a shark takes a nibble out of you, the bite is so huge it is often fatal.’  Despite the close call the seasoned diver is due return to Cat Island, Bahamas to photograph sharks and is looking for a sponsor.

In August last year shark experts in the Seychelles claimed a tiger shark may have been  responsible for the death of British newlywed Ian Redmond, who was killed in front of his wife on their honeymoon.  The couple, from Lancashire, were enjoying a dream honeymoon when 30-year-old IT consultant Mr Redmond went snorkelling and was killed  He and his wife Gemma had been married for just 10 days when the attack took place.  It was the second shark attack in the area in a matter of weeks following the death of French holidaymaker Nicolas Virolle.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

One of the rarest and least known primates in the world, Miller’s Grizzled Langur, has been found alive – it was thought the species had been wiped out in 2004. The species has a distinctive dark face and white, Dracula-esque ‘collar’ of fur.

Some of the only photos in existence of the rare animal were snapped by camera traps and have provided the first solid evidence that it is still alive.

One of the rarest and least known primates in the world, Miller’s Grizzled Langur, has been found in Borneo – despite the fact that it was thought the species had been wiped out in 2004

Some of the only photos in existence of the rare animal were snapped by camera traps and have provided the first solid evidence that it is still alive and well
The endangered monkey was discovered living in the Wehea Forest, East Kalimantan, Borneo, a largely undisturbed rainforest where it was previously not known to exist.

Brent Loken, from Simon Fraser University Canada, said: ‘While our finding confirms the monkey still exists in East Kalimantan, there is a good chance that it remains one of the world’s most endangered primates.’
‘I believe it is a race against time to protect many species in Borneo. It is difficult to adopt conservation strategies to protect species when we don’t even know the extent of where they live.’

Brent Loken, from Simon Fraser University Canada, said: ‘While our finding confirms the monkey still exists in East Kalimantan, there is a good chance that it remains one of the world’s most endangered primates.’

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The cocker spaniel-poodle cross – a cockapoo – suffered just a broken toe and a chipped tooth in the death-defying fall.

The one-year-old was being taken for a walk by owners Denise and Kevin Rowell when he spotted the sea bird perched on the grassy edge of the cliff.

While the couple sat on a bench to enjoy the scenery, Bobby went after the gull and fell off the sheer cliff.

Denise and Kevin couldn’t fathom where the black dog had gone until a member of the public gave them the bad news.

Kevin, a 48-year-old train driver, dialed 999 for help before kneeling over the precipe to find Bobby sat on the shingle beach below yelping out.

With no way of reaching the dog the coastguard team, who arrived at Old Harry Rocks, near Swanage, Dorset, summoned a lifeboat to fetch him.

The Swanage RNLI crew found Bobby sheltering against the cliff face.

They lifted him to safety and motored to a nearby beach where he was reunited with his relieved owners.

The rescue was recorded on a helmet-mounted camera worn by one of the lifeboat men.

Bobby was taken to vets and had a bandage strapped on his front left paw for the broken toe.

He is now recovering well at his home in Poole.

Kevin said: ‘We went for a long walk along the coast path and when we reached Old Harry Rocks Denise and I sat on a bench for a rest.

‘Bobby was by us the whole time. But we took our eyes off him for 30 seconds and in that time he had bolted.

‘I couldn’t see him anywhere and then a couple came up and said ‘your dog has gone over there’ and they pointed to the edge of the cliff.

The spokesman reminded dog owners to keep their pets on a lead whenever they are near cliffs Kevin and Denise, a 40-year-old administrator at lettings agents, have thanked and praised the coastguards and RNLI for rescuing their dog.

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Look at this incredible ball of hawk and a snake fighting for own life.

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We Want an Attenborough’s Pitcher, Not a Belly Itcher

With a name that evokes images of the game of baseball, the newly discovered plant named the Attenborough’s pitcher is actually similar to a football in shape and size. Discovered on the island of Palawan in the Philippines, this plant uses fluids in its long pitcher to trap insects and rats, and then eat them.

Bombardier Worms: Mean, Green Bombers

Discovered in the deep seas off the coast of California, the bombardier worm is also known as the “green bomber.” When having to protect themselves, mature and juvenile bombardier worms will detach modified, illuminating gills (see top images) that scare off potential predators and thus give these swimming worms their cool names.

Don’t Be Such A Bug-Eating Slug All of Your Life

As its name suggests, this slug eats bugs. What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, when considering that all other slugs eat algae; this insect-eating slug discovered on the Gulf of Thailand is certainly unique, as evident by the fact that it was categorized into its own family of slugs.

Straight Out of Transylvania: The Dracula Minnow

I’m not sure I’ll be using the Dracula minnow any time soon when fishing for bigger keepers. With its unique tooth-like fangs, the Dracula minnow is certainly a bit intimidating upon an up-close view; however, these fangs are not used to suck blood but rather to spar with other males.

Killer Sponges: Soaking ‘Em Softly

Discovered last year in deep sea waters off of New Zealand, the killer sponge was more than sponge worthy when getting named to the top list of new species. Unlike other softer sponge species, the killer sponge stands out with its spiky skeleton-like structure. While looking relatively harmless to the eye, this sponge is carnivorous and more dangerous than it appears.

Omars’ Banded Knifefish: Not What It Appeared to Be

For more than 30 years, researchers in Uruguay have been using this electric fish (see top image) to understand electro communication. However, after comparing this fish with other members of the Gymnotidae family (see other images), it turned out that Omars’ banded knifefish was actually its own unique species that had been misidentified the entire time. Oops! Talk about flushing 30 years of research down the drain.

Psychedelic Frogfish: “I’m Freaking Out Man!”

Discovered in Indonesia, Histiophryne psychedelica (what’s more commonly known as the psychedelic frogfish) is not only unique for displaying a trippy pattern of concentric rings that cover its entire body, but having a flat face. I don’t know about you, but the psychedelic frogfish certainly would have worked over its fair share of Hippies back in the day.

Coming Soon to IKEA: The Uber Orb-Weaver

What the heck is an uber-orb weaver? It’s actually a spider (with the common name of Komac’s golden orb spider) that is part of the Nephilidae family, which is known for spinning some of the largest webs around. Recently discovered in South Africa, the uber orb-weaver (also known as Nephila komaci) is especially interesting in that females have body lengths that are 5 times longer than those of males.

Can You Do Me A Small Favor?

No, I’m not talking about borrowing some money but rather learning about a new stinkhorn fungus recently found in an isolated West African island country. Also known as Phallus drewesil, this two-inch mushroom is characterized by not only its sexually-suggestive shape but a foul odor that attracts flies to spread its spores.

Udderly Weird Yam: A Name That Doesn’t Disappoint

Discovered in Madagascar, the udderly weird yam is in fact edible, thought it’s not likely to be on my Thanksgiving dinner table any time soon due to its gross look and critically endangered status. For more on the udderly weird yam and the other top new species, visit the ASU International Institute for Species Exploration.

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Snakefish

Giant Isopod

Aye-aye

Star-nosed Mole

Frilled Lizard

Giant leaf-tailed Gecko

Kerivoula Kachinensis

Desert Mole Rat

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