Mating pair found under a coverboard.
Found about 10 feet apart! My lifers thanks to some new friends
In nest of Formica sanguinea. Only one adult beetle was found, but its larvae were very numerous in several nests.
Started on road and quickly "raced" up nearby Willow.
On Eriodictyon crassifolium.
On this asteraceae: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/220167521
Feeding on grass roots under a wooden board.
An adult bleached earless lizard observed in the late afternoon. This individual sat in an alert posture in the shade of a small shrub, and was only mildly disturbed by my proximity.
It showed less fear (was more approachable) than other earless lizards observed in the general area.
Such photogenic species!
Lucanus ferriei PLANET, 1898.
Japon: Kagoshima-ken : Amami-oshima: Tatsugo-cho : Nagano-toge, 9-VIII-1986, col. Satoshi Arai, leg. Shinya Kawai (1 male).
Locals claimed it before any measurements could be taken. Photo captured by Gerrie Heyns
Day octopus ransacking convict blenny burrow.
killed by taxi, measured 3.52 metres
Found washed up on the beach of santa rosa island near the main pier. Very light and thin material. Mostly white with just a small amount of black/brown on the edges of the end.
"Wow there's so many photographers here today, make sure to get my good side!" - Semipalmated Plover
This observation is of the Fish, rather than the Snake that ingested it (listed separately).
My colleagues and I took this photograph of an actual original and unique X-Ray (physical "hard copy") film made in the Emergency Room of the University hospital in which I worked night shifts back in 2002. It was the regional center for medical treatment of snake bites in north central Florida. This Florida Cottonmouth's (Agkistrodon conanti) coiled body, head to tail, can be measured on the original film by laying a piece of string on the image, tracing the course of the backbone. At 58 inches, or 4 feet 10 inches (147 centimeters) then, this a pretty large snake as Water Moccasins go.
What's more, one of the main reasons we X-rayed it at all was that it had clearly recently eaten something. It had a large bulge in it's stomach, down about a third of it's body length, just past its air-filled lungs that are visible on the film as well defined darker shapes. We found the bulge was a big fish with a large blunt bony skull and easily discernable swim bladder, which we thought to be a catfish (though we lacked an Ichthyologist amongst the E.R. staff of course).
I can follow the fish's spine for much of its length in the image, but lose it somewhere along the snake's lung in the extreme right of the picture. There is an interesting and distinct structure visible at the top that looks to me like a bony spine at the front of the dorsal fin. The skull is about 7 centimeters long, and the fin spine about 3 centimeters long, measured directly from the actual film. I don't know whether the loose dense material below the swim bladder represents the fish's stomach contents, or something else in the snake's stomach. The X-Ray film was 11 by 14 inches in size, so the fish must have been roughly around a foot (30 centimeters) long in total. We did not, in any case dissect the snake in the E.R.
My impression at the time was that this was most likely something like a Brown Bullhead, just judging from what I could make out of its size and shape. It would be fascinating to hear from someone more familiar with fish skeletons and anatomy. I am sure identification from an X-Ray is possible, considering what can be done with even fossil remains among experts. I will defer to anyone with more experience reading fish X-rays.
The Radiological Technician that made the actual exposure for us on film, at my request, wrote the details of the exposure for future reference on the film itself, which, though the film suffered damage when it was later stolen from my vehicle inside a locked briefcase and dumped out in a back alley and further mistreated both by the thieves and the weather, I can still read most of what he wrote with a "magic marker":
"40(or 46) MA
1 MAS
56 KV"
Are there any X-Ray Tech's out there who can confirm that that is in fact a good exposure for a big dead snake with enclosed fish?
With Red-shanked Grasshopper
Collected from fence beneath oak tree. This was next to a normal Metaphidippus manni male, and is substantially larger. @calebcam @salttaxa I would appreciate any input on this- I don't quite know what I'm looking at. Obviously there's something wrong with the palps, but otherwise I'm not sure if this is M. manni or another species entirely, though none else would make sense in this location? Maybe this is an intersex individual??
Oso Flaco Dunes, San Luis Obispo County, California
courtship display in situ!!!!
~2mm, with thin film of web on the aggregate patio, partly under a table leg. I’m hoping someone can narrow it down because I’m not even sure where to begin.
Fast-receding, wind-driven low tide left many large squids stuck on the beach. Gulls were pecking at them while still alive. I saw a fisherman go collect one as bait and dog food.
Permitted by Cal Poly and BLM
I think? Completely dark with no color anywhere on it which is very unusual. The one time I don’t have my camera…
A battle between a San Diego Gopher Snake and California Ground Squirrel that ended in a draw.
Predated by male Kestrel and delivered to female. Kestrel observation in other submission.
Bug Wall