Mystery Creature

Mystery Creature revealed – Leaf nosed snake

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Week 24th to 30th June 2013

How did you do with this week’s Mystery Creature?  A few correct answers… it is the Leaf nosed snake (Langaha madagascariensis)!

photo credit: wil p via photopin cc


These snakes are unique to Madagascar and have these unusual extended “nose” appendages.  The shape of the snout varied between the sexes (sexually dimorphic), the female’s is more broad and serrated and the male’s is longer and more pointy.  The females are typically  grey in colour while the males are usually brown on top and yellow on the underside of their bodies.

photo credit: David d’O via photopin cc

The nasal appendage is present from birth, though it is folded in to expose the egg tooth.

Leaf nosed snakes feed mainly on lizards and frogs and are thought to be ambush feeders.  They are arboreal snakes and are often observed hanging straight down from branches, noses pointing to the ground.  Their shape and colouring camouflage them well.  They are found in deciduous dry forest and rain forests.

Mystery Creature – Elephant nose fish

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Week 17th – 23rd June, 2013

A good few correct answers this week… This week’s Mystery Creature goes by the name of Elephant Fish, Elephantnose Fish or, most commonly, Peters’ Elephantnose Fish (Gnatonemus petersii).

photo credit: Joachim S. Müller via photopin cc

Peters’ elephantnose fish is common in certain parts of Africa, found in muddy, slow moving rivers and pools with heavy vegetation.  it are nocturnal, preferring to hide away during the day.  It grows to about 20 -25 cm in length and is grey/black to brown in colour.  The most striking feature of these little fish is their trunk like “nose”, which is not actually a nose at all but an extension of their mouth, or more specifically their chin.

These fish have quite poor vision but can navigate and seek out food very well using active electroreception; they generate small electric fields by flexing muscles in their tails and then detect any interference in the path of these fields.  Its “trunk” like mouth extension is covered in more than 500 electroreceptors (which are also found on much of the body) which can detect the feedback signals.  The fish moves forward with its “trunk” pointing downwards, passes it back and forth, just like a metal detector.  Active electroreception can be likened to echolocation in other animals such as whales and bats.  The detail these fish can gleam from their electrical scan of their environments is quite remarkable.  In order to process the information they are constantly receiving their brains are very large, larger than that of a human, relative to their overall body size.

In their native environment they feed on small worms and some aquatic invertebrates.  They have become popular additions to domestic aquariums though, particularly in America, and appear to accept common fish food in such environments.

Buff tip – Phalera bucephala

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Week 10th – 17th June 2013

How did you do with this week’s Mystery Creature? This charming moth is called a “Buff tip” (Phalera bucephala).

Image Credit: Michael Bell (Nature Learn)
Image Credit: Michael Bell (Nature Learn)

As most moths are nocturnal they need to rely on  good hiding areas or camouflage to survive during the day.  The Buff tip is a true master in the art of camouflage.  Not only does its colour and markings blend in among the branches of the trees upon which it rests but its body shape is also ideal to make it look just like a twig.

These moths are fairly common in Ireland and throughout Europe.  They have a wing span of between 4 and 7 cm.  The Buff -tip over winters in the crysalis state underground, emerging in adult form in early Summer. The female lays large groups of eggs which hatch en-masse.  The black and yellow larvae tend to feed in large groups after hatching, moving towards a more solitary lifestyle as they grow.  They feed on a variety of deciduous trees such as birch, hazel, alder and oak.  In the Autumn they pupate underground and the cycle begins again.

photo credit: Deanster1983 via photopin cc

These images (unless otherwise stated) were kindly provided by Michael of Nature Learn, a Nature Education program for schools and public groups.  Keep watching for another Mystery Creature from Nature Learn in the coming weeks!

Hornworm caterpillar

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Week 3rd to 9th June 2013

This week’s Mystery creature certainly got a lot of discussion; not surprised as it was a tricky one; a lot of species look very similar!

To put you all out of your misery … it was a HORNWORM CATERPILLAR! (more specifically the TOBACCO HORNWORM).

photo credit: CameliaTWU via photopin cc

…and the adult moth is the SPOTTED HAWK MOTH  (Manduca sexta), also known as the SPHINX MOTH.

The adult moth (image source: wiki commons)

This species is very common in America (and probably only present in Ireland as imports).  Horworm caterpillars can grow up to three inches in length.  The tobacco hornworm is often confused with the tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) as both look very similar and can each feed on similar plants.  The tobacco hornworm has white stripes along it’s body and a red “horn” while the tomato hornworm has V-shaped markings and a black “horn”.

Horworm eggs are typically laid on the underside of leaves.  When the caterpillar emerge they will eat through a large amount of leaves for a month or so before pupating in the soil, building a small hole a few inches below the surface.  The adult moths, commonly known as shinx, hawk or “hummingbird” moths emerge from the ground and feed on nectar.  The life cycle can be competed in 30 to 50 days and under the right temperatures, there can be two hatches in one Summer.

Two Toed Amphiuma

Two Toed Amphiuma

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Week 27th May – 2nd June 2013

How did you do with this weeks “Mystery Creature”? A few correct answers… it was a two toed Amphiuma!

photo credit: brian.gratwicke via photopin cc
photo credit: brian.gratwicke via photopin cc
The two toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) is a snake like salamander found primarily in Southern USA.  They are often (incorrectly) called conger eel, congo eel or congo snake. It has four short legs with two toes on each which appear to serve no purpose.  These creatures can grow up to one metre in length and are nocturnal, feeding usually on small fish, snails, small salamanders, small frogs and even some snakes.  They tend to live in acidic waters in swampy areas.
The Amphiuma has a very slimy skin which make them very difficult to handle.  They do not pose any chemical (poisonous) threat to humans but can harm physically as they have a very fast sharp bite, with a double row of razor sharp teeth.  They are also thought to generate suction to draw in their prey.  Typical of salamanders they do not have a tongue, but unlike other salamanders they are not mute, but instead are know to make a whistle type sound.
The female lays up to  as many as 150 to 200 eggs, laid in a long string and then coils around them to incubate them for almost five months (20 weeks), until the young hatch.

Robin eggs

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Week 13th – 19th May 2013

How did you do with this week’s mystery creature?  Did you like the little twist this week… can you name this EGG?  So what common back garden bird laid these eggs?…

This week’s mystery creature… robin eggs!

It was a Robin! These six beautiful speckled eggs were laid by a robin right outside my kitchen window.  I have been charmed watching her gather the nest materials and then “sitting casually” on the fennel plant to distract any threatening on watchers of her ultimate path to her new home.  She prepared her nest on the ground alongside my herb garden, in a clump of scutch grass.  As we do not wish to disturb this nest in any way the possibility of grass cutting or weeding in that area of the garden has been put on hold…. can you hear my husband’s sigh of relief?

The female does all the nest building and then lays four to six eggs (one a day); the male helps out by helping  to feed his mate during these busy times.  The incubation period is approximately 13 days and, judging by the  haggard look of the birds over the last few days, I would say their little brood have hatched….. I remember that stage in my own life!
Blue Sea Slug

Blue Sea Slug

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May 6th – 12th 2013

Well did you guess what this week’s creature was?  For those of you who had it just on the tips of your tongue … let me put you out of your misery… its a Blue Sea Slug, also known as a sea swallow or a sea dragon!

Image source: wikimedia commons
Image source: wikimedia commons

Blue sea slugs float on their backs on the top of the sea, so the beautiful blue colours we see are actually the underside (foot) of the creature.  Their backs, submerged in the water, are actually a silvery-grey colour.  They are able to float due to a large sac in their stomach which they fill with air.It’s official name is a Glaucus atlanticus and it is a nudibranch (a shell less* mollusck). These little creatures usually only reach about three to four cm in size but don’t let that fool you…. they have a mean sting!  The blue sea slug preys on larger toxic sea dwellers such as the Portuguese Man O’ War (Physalia physalis).  It is immune to the stinging cells (nematocytes) within these creatures and is also capable of storing these deadly toxins within its own body and using them for its own defense.   The more venom it accumulates the deadlier its sting!

*Nudibranches may have shells during early stages of development but are shell less when fully mature).

Goblin Shark

Goblin Shark

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Week: 29th April – 5th May 2013

Only a few correct answers to this weeks mystery creature…. it is the GOBLIN SHARK.

 

Image source: Wikimedia commons
Image source: Wikimedia commons

 

The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) is another deep sea dweller and is often referred to as a living fossil as its lineage can be traced back 125 million years.  It is unique among sharks with its unusual protruding snout and extendable jaw. The colour of these sharks ranges from pinkish grey to a deep pink.  Its muscle tone is weak and it is thought to be a poor swimmer.  It uses electric field receptors within its snout to detect its food, mainly crustaceans, cephalopods and certain deep sea fish.  Goblin sharks typically grow to two to three metres in length, with the females thought to be the larger of the sexes.

Kayan slow loris

Kayan slow loris

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Week: 22nd – 28th April 2013

How did you get on with this weeks CAN YOU NAME THIS CREATURE?  Did you guess it?  Got a fair few correct answers from people;  It is a Kayan slow loris!!!

Image credit: Ch’ien C. Lee

The slow loris is a close relative of the lemur and can be found in South east Asia.

These cute looking animals are listed as endangered and have been coveted as pets; not only do they not make good pets but they are also rare among primates in that they have a poisonous bite…. so their teeth are often removed as they are passed into the pet trade.  They often die of infection from such mishandling!

The slow loris is recognised by it’s large eyes, distinctive fur markings and lack of tail.  The Kayan slow loris was only recognised as a distinct species of slow loris is 2012 when more detailed recording of markings and features where recorded among the slow loris of Borneo.

Stay tuned for a new CAN YOU NAME THIS CREATURE post tomorrow!