Bizarre Creatures

[Cynic]

Diana Northup can get extreme about extremophiles, microbes that thrive in environments that would terminate us humans in seconds flat. "We think we're superior beings, but these guys are really where it's at," says Northup, a microbiologist and associate professor at the University of New Mexico and an associate in the university's Museum of Southwestern Biology.

As often as she can, Northup and other members of SLIME (Subsurface Life in Mineral Environments), a loose affiliation of cave scientists working on geomicrobiological interactions in caves, don their caving gear and descend into caverns like Lechuguilla and Mexico's Cueva de Villa Luz ("Cave of the Lighted House"). They go in search of bacteria that gobble up hydrogen sulfide gas and other noxious chemicals like we do bread and water. As this interview reveals, she and other SLIME members are finding that these bizarre creatures may hold clues not only to the earliest life on Earth but to the possibility of life in outer space.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/caves/extremophiles.html
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/cave_slime.html

 

[Jaymes]

Image of rare white giraffe photographed in Africa. Credit: Charles Foley/Wildlife Conservation Society

Wow! I wonder how it managed to survive into adulthood...

 

[Valjean]

Giraffs rely more on size, sight and speed than camouflage, perhaps.

 

[Jaymes]

That's true, but in the past when researchers have attempted to use things like nontoxic spraypaint to mark giraffes, they've been picked out from the 'crowd' by predators... I'm really amazed a white giraffe survived as long as it did. Maybe there are less predators in the area?

 

[ChrisP]

Maybe he's protected by the mighty Photoshop 7 :biglaugh:

 

[Jaymes]

Unlikely--it's on MSNBC as well.

 

[ChrisP]

True? Then that's truly amazing, and a tribute to African Wildlife parks, and how well they are protecting from the evil shifty poachers !!!


*hates poachers* :149:

 

[Bennettresearch]

Kool sight Cynic.

I think that extremophiles are the most fascinating. THose bacterial microbes that produced oxygen billions of years ago were producing something that was toxic to other microbes. I can't cite the facts exactly but scientists have found bacteria miles down below the surface of the earth where life as we know it cannot exist. This is what excites those who are looking for life on other planets.

 

[Quoth The Raven]

Naked mole rats.
They have some questionable habits, such as feeding their babies feces once they're weaned.
They're sort of like mamalian termites or bees, in that only the 'queen' breeds, and they apparently have soldier and worker castes.

 

[Cynic]

Maybe this is where the mythological kraken comes from:

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

 

[Feathers in Hair]

*runs and hides from the Kraken*

One of my favorite 'bizarre creatures' is the Aye-Aye

 

[darkpenguin]

what the heck is this?

 

[Djamila]

 

[darkpenguin]

thats a good one Djamila, a very bizzare creature if ever i've seen one lol

 

[ayani]

the pig-like Babirusa, native to Indonesia

 

[Ody]

May I post some Cryptids?

 

[ayani]

May I post some Cryptids?

only if the photos are crystal-clear and not in any way shadowy or blurry.

sure!

 

[Ody]

*runs and hides from the Kraken*

I suppose I can.

The famous Dover Demon, which matches the description of the local Riverside river monster :yes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover_Demon

 

[Ody]

The Lusca.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusca

 

[Ody]

Mokele Mbembe, the most famous living dinosaur of popular myth (world wide)
http://www.mokelembembe.com/