moreanimalia:

why-animals-do-the-thing:

speciesofleastconcern:

bogleech:

There can be no death in the animal kingdom so simultaneously horrifying, pathetic and hilarious than just getting swallowed whole head first by a big snail while you’re fucking sleeping

#are you kidding me#that snail has through millions of years evolved to be a predator#and that fish has evolved to escape from predators

I like how this hearkens back to some of the most primitive single-celled predators: you just fucking engulf the entire other animal, glomp.

There are so many cool things to talk about with cone snails and their predation habits that this only brushes the surface of it! 

Cone snails are nocturnal predators with some really impressive chemical weapons at their command - they not only paralyze their prey but are thought to release chemicals into the water to help calm prey before they even attack. Each type of cone snail is super super-specialized for the type of prey they go after and how they hunt. Some snails are vermivores that hunt and eat worms, some snails are molluscivores that eat other shellfish, and some (like this one) are piscavores who hunt and eat fish. All cone snails use toxins to immobilize their prey and assist with the hunt, but what’s incredible is that within the piscavore cone snails there are two separate sub-groups - they hunt differently and utilize different types of venom. 

Most fish-eating cone snails paralyze their prey by sticking them with an envenomed “harpoon” they extend out from their body - once the prey is stuck, they reel it back toward their body and then engulf it. The conotoxin mixture used in this hunting method paralyzes the fish in a rigid posture so it can be reeled back to the snail without risk of injury or escape. 

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Some piscavores, though, use a ‘net feeding’ technique like what is seen in this video. It’s often used to engulf multiple small fish, but the snail in this video is using it to grab a prey item much larger than itself. Once the prey is mostly in the snail’s net, it is jabbed with a “harpoon” carrying conotoxins that paralyze them in a relaxed posture so they can be more effectively swallowed. 

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For more information about the incredible that is cone snails and some great videos, go to The Cone Snail. (Hunting snail images are sourced from one of their great articles). 

Nature ….

(via moreanimalia)

Source: bogleech

fight to the death

0ct0pus:

Diver shot an incredible footage of two octopuses fighting. The brawl lasts for almost a minute before the larger specimen overpowers its rival, killing it with a bite from its fearsome beak before dragging its lifeless corpse away into the darkness.

6 days old, already more than 8000 views on youtube !

is it cannibalism ?

Many sources talk about cannibalism. The dailystar use for example the title: “INCREDIBLE footage shot by a scuba diver shows the moment an octopus killed and ate its rival during an underwater fight to the death”.

To me, the video is not crystal clear: the larger octopus definitely uses its beak to administer the final blow, but after that it seems more likely that its transports the dead corpse. If you watch closely, the corpse is located at the tips of the tentacles, not inside the octopus’ mantle. So not cannibalism.

image

BUT, studies show that octopus vulgaris occasionally eat each other. As Spanish researchers report:

In [most] cases, the predator octopus was much bigger […]. Once captured and dead, the prey was transported to the den which in turn was plugged with stones of different sizes. The predator began to eat its victim by the tips of the arms.

So even if we didn’t witness actual cannibalism, the act could have happened afterwards.

Is cannibalism disgusting/pure barbarism ?

In our case, I would definitely say no. It is actually very intelligent and down-the-earth. Indeed: 1) the other octopus is already dead anyway, 2) octopuses are higher per-gram in protein than mussels, 3) opening mussels and capturing other small preys is tricky and energy consuming. 

So it seems logical not to let the corpse drift on the floor for someone else to eat, but to eat it oneself. Right ?

Octopus hunts down stone fish, one of the most venomous animals in the ocean

video-newsflare-yahoopartner:

Footage of the incredible moment an octopus bravely hunts down an extremely venomous stone fish off the coast of Egpyt.

The video, filmed by a diver in June this year, shows the large octopus chasing down the creature, apparently unconcerned by its lethal stings.

The filmer later wrote online: “Why does the stone fish not use its incredibly poisonous stings?

“Maybe the octopus is immune to this lethal predator or he is intelligent to a point that he knows how to catch the stone fish, avoiding the dangerous stings.”

bone-lust: “ These images are making the rounds without any info. So here’s the only info that was posted with the original photos in a Facebook group called “New Mexico Shed and Game Hunters” by Henry A. Mondragon Jr. on April 18, 2016 - “Friend’s...
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bone-lust:

These images are making the rounds without any info. So here’s the only info that was posted with the original photos in a Facebook group called “New Mexico Shed and Game Hunters” by Henry A. Mondragon Jr. on April 18, 2016 - “Friend’s dad was out hiking and stumbled onto this, thought I’d share!” Malinda Marie Martinez commented - “This picture was taken in the Zuni Mountains. It was my father who found it. You could tell he tried to get out his horns were busted up pretty good.” She also mentioned that her Dad kept the part of the antler that was missing.

Believe it or not what you see here in not that uncommon. A truly horrifying way to die without a doubt. Although there is a chance he could have died rather quickly from suffocation, from the ribcage getting compressed. Still not a great way to die but not slowly suffering at least. Cattle, moose, bison, sheep, deer and other animals have been found like this as well. Even fossilized. RIP poor beast.

(via sarlione)

Source: bone-lust