Strange and lethal animals

[Kyriakos]

Given i am researching some stuff for a new short story, here is a bit:

This is a Sea Anemone:



It is an animal (not a plant) which lives in the bottom of the sea, its one end sunk or dug into the sea floor, and the other having a mouth surrounded by a seemingly serene field of flower-like tentacles. In reality those immobilise any passing fish, which is quickly eaten, and the sea anemone is one of the most voracious predators in the areas that contain its sybaritic presense

Also worth to note that it has a symbiotic relationship with a type of innocent-looking small fish, termed 'Clownfish'. Given that this fish is immune to the poison of the anemone's tentacles, it often hides around them, and this lures its enemies to attack it, but they only end up devoured by its shadowy ally.



A rather gruesome being...

[Ciabhán]

I'd have to say the slow loris. Doesn't look even remotely dangerous. Only mammal that is poisonous and it's also venomous at the same time. It produces poison in a gland in it's arms and smears it on it's young to make them inedible. It also licks up it's own poison in order to give itself a toxic bite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_loris

[hellheaven1987]

[RubiconDecision]

Japanese hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica)

[Magister Militum Flavius Aetius]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conus/

Cone Snails

Also, I did a lot of research into Clownfish when I was a kid. Still love them, such fun little fish.

[RubiconDecision]

One of the most dangerous creatures is a Box Jellyfish. Unlike most jellyfish that drift to filter in food, it hunts. Many lethal creatures are not lethal to humans as long as antivenom is around and administered in time. The patient might end up with tissue necrosis, liver or kidney problems, and other effects, but if treated will probably survive. This species makes an appearance in the film Seven Pounds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish


In terms of the strangest creatures, the elegant deep sea creatures that display bioluminescence are fascinating. At those depths, any human would be crushed by the pressure, and yet they survive.

[Kyriakos]

Hm..



The 'Goblin Shark', which apparently bites by repositioning its whole jaw structure that originally was hidden below the rest of the head..

[Denny Crane!]

Hm..



The 'Goblin Shark', which apparently bites by repositioning its whole jaw structure that originally was hidden below the rest of the head..

Was he letting that bite his arm???

[RubiconDecision]

That's a new one, and with a jaw like the predators from the Alien franchise too. I wonder if they inspired the creatures in those films?



Fugu (puffer fish) is a poisonous fish that inflates. It is very expensive to eat in Japan as it's dangerous to prepare and to consume.

[RubiconDecision]

The jaw tension created depends entirely upon the species. Some predatory animals can bite down hard and won't let go (like pitbulls). Others like aligators can bite down hard but once closed can be held shut with ease with one hand. It all depends upon their teeth and jaw muscles. It may be the Goblin Shark's secondary jaws do the most damage. Often a shark has multiple rows of incisors, and it's their thrashing that results in a bleedout from tearing.

[Denny Crane!]

Well its not that big I guess still...him not me.

[Phier]

I'm going to guess the goblin shark is mostly a blind hunter, the "nose" is an electrical sensor and the extended jaws are to compensate for the nose getting in the way to grab fish and invertebrates like squid.

Aren't gods designs amazing?

[hellheaven1987]

Consider it is a deep sea species it is not surprise eyes are little use; the actual surprise is they still got their eyes, suggest there may be some benefit to still have eyes around even in dark.

[RubiconDecision]

Yes, the fingerprint of God on those creatures is amazing indeed. How could such creatures just happen by random mutation? They are marvelously wrought.

[Phier]

Yes, the fingerprint of God on those creatures is amazing indeed. How could such creatures just happen by random mutation? They are marvelously wrought.

Lets not do this again. The potential for a divinity of some sort can be argued, for evolution, no, its done.

[Denny Crane!]

Cause it ain't random I'm guessing?



This is why "need," "try," and "want" are not very accurate words when it comes to explaining evolution. The population or individual does not "want" or "try" to evolve, and natural selection cannot try to supply what an organism "needs." Natural selection just selects among whatever variations exist in the population. The result is evolution.

At the opposite end of the scale, natural selection is sometimes interpreted as a random process. This is also a misconception. The genetic variation that occurs in a population because of mutation is random — but selection acts on that variation in a very non-random way: genetic variants that aid survival and reproduction are much more likely to become common than variants that don't. Natural selection is NOT random!

[sumskilz]

Cause it ain't random I'm guessing?



This is why "need," "try," and "want" are not very accurate words when it comes to explaining evolution. The population or individual does not "want" or "try" to evolve, and natural selection cannot try to supply what an organism "needs." Natural selection just selects among whatever variations exist in the population. The result is evolution.

At the opposite end of the scale, natural selection is sometimes interpreted as a random process. This is also a misconception. The genetic variation that occurs in a population because of mutation is random — but selection acts on that variation in a very non-random way: genetic variants that aid survival and reproduction are much more likely to become common than variants that don't. Natural selection is NOT random!

Further evidence of the lack of randomness is that similar pressures lead to similar results:







“[People] find - both in themselves and outside themselves - many means that are very helpful in seeking their own advantage, e.g., eyes for seeing, teeth for chewing, plants and animals for food, the sun for light, the sea for supporting fish... Hence, they consider all natural things as means to their own advantage. And knowing that they had found these means, not provided them for themselves, they had reason to believe that there was someone else who had prepared those means for their use. For after they considered things as means, they could not believe that the things had made themselves; but from the means they were accustomed to prepare for themselves, they had to infer that there was a ruler, or a number of rulers of nature, endowed with human freedom, who had taken care of all things for them, and made all things for their use. And since they had never heard anything about the temperament of these rulers, they had to judge it from their own. Hence, they maintained that the Gods direct all things for the use of men in order to bind men to them and be held by men in the highest honor. So it has happened that each of them has thought up from his own temperament different ways of worshiping God, so that God might love them above all the rest, and direct the whole of Nature according to the needs of their blind desire and insatiable greed. Thus this prejudice was changed into superstition, and struck deep roots in their minds.” ~Baruch Spinoza

[Roma_Victrix]

“[People] find - both in themselves and outside themselves - many means that are very helpful in seeking their own advantage, e.g., eyes for seeing, teeth for chewing, plants and animals for food, the sun for light, the sea for supporting fish... Hence, they consider all natural things as means to their own advantage. And knowing that they had found these means, not provided them for themselves, they had reason to believe that there was someone else who had prepared those means for their use. For after they considered things as means, they could not believe that the things had made themselves; but from the means they were accustomed to prepare for themselves, they had to infer that there was a ruler, or a number of rulers of nature, endowed with human freedom, who had taken care of all things for them, and made all things for their use. And since they had never heard anything about the temperament of these rulers, they had to judge it from their own. Hence, they maintained that the Gods direct all things for the use of men in order to bind men to them and be held by men in the highest honor. So it has happened that each of them has thought up from his own temperament different ways of worshiping God, so that God might love them above all the rest, and direct the whole of Nature according to the needs of their blind desire and insatiable greed. Thus this prejudice was changed into superstition, and struck deep roots in their minds.” ~Baruch Spinoza

That Spinoza quote has so much brilliance and win packed into it; it summarizes early man's attitudes towards nature perfectly (leaving out, of course, divine punishment instead of providing bountiful rewards and means, which is another issue). Thanks for sharing! It's a shame he died so young; he had so much potential.

[Visna]

Dragonflies. They start their lives aquatic, like small predatory tadpoles that breathe through gills in their rectum and use their asses as a means of propulsion by pumping water through, and then develop into one of the fastest insects in the world. They aren't lethal to us of course, except in Norway where they're aptly named Eyepokers (I love Norwegians), but if you're a moscito or a fly or some other small critter unfortunate enough to be on the menu, they're bad news indeed. They're one of, if not the, most effective hunters in the animal kingdom with a whooping 97% succes rate.

[Magister Militum Flavius Aetius]

Cookie Cutter shark. They just take holes out of anything. Whales, people, etc. I've heard Scuba divers get hit by em a lot.