moreanimalia: “ astronomy-to-zoology: Southern Marbled Newt (Triturus pygmaeus) “ Also known as the pygmy marbled newt, the southern marbled newt is a species of salamander found throughout Portugal and parts of Spain. Like most newts the southern...
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moreanimalia: “ astronomy-to-zoology: Southern Marbled Newt (Triturus pygmaeus) “ Also known as the pygmy marbled newt, the southern marbled newt is a species of salamander found throughout Portugal and parts of Spain. Like most newts the southern...
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moreanimalia:

astronomy-to-zoology: Southern Marbled Newt (Triturus pygmaeus)

Also known as the pygmy marbled newt, the southern marbled newt is a species of salamander found throughout Portugal and parts of Spain. Like most newts the southern marbled newt is commonly found near rivers, marshes, temperate forests and moist areas where it hunts for insects, worms and other invertebrates. The southern marbled newt once was though to be a subspecies of the marbled newt T.marmoratus but recent molecular data suggested other wise and it is now its own species. Currently the southern marbled newt is listed as near threatened due to habitat loss.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Chordata-Amphibia-Caudata-Salamandridae-Triturus-pygmaeus

Image Source(s)

(via moreanimalia)

Source: astronomy-to-zoology

saltwater-breeze: “ normanbecile: “ brsis: “ lets talk about this fella here a moment this baby is a ribbon eel, part of a group of fish called the moray eels. moray eels are basically hilarious because they are always fucking delighted (they can’t...
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saltwater-breeze:

normanbecile:

brsis:

lets talk about this fella here a moment

this baby is a ribbon eel, part of a group of fish called the moray eels. moray eels are basically hilarious because they are always fucking delighted (they can’t actually close their mouths so basically they’re grinning from ear to ear every moment of their lives).

wait i hear you say, if they can’t close their mouths how do they eat. pharyngeal jaws, my friend, pharyngeal jaws. don’t know what those are?

have you ever seen alien?

i shit you not, moray eels have a second set of teeth in the back of their throats that are spring loaded to jump out and grab things that swim into their mouths.

now if that wasn’t awesome enough, the ribbon eel is the only protandric moray. that means that although this little fella is clearly, by his colouring, a young adult male, give him a long enough lifespan and he’ll get bigger, turn yellow-brown, and become female.

that’s right, this is a species made entirely of young pretty men and powerful older women.

also if you put them into captivity they stop eating and die within about a month. the ribbon eel lives to be free~

That’s fabulous

That’s so cool!

(via pale-tide-blog)

Source: lunaton