photos by marine biologist thomaspeschak of whale sharks in the gulf of tadjoura, djibouti. his latest book, “sharks and people: exploring our relationship with the most feared fish in the sea,” was released last year.
as thomas notes, whale sharks are docile, slow moving filter feeders that feed by drifting with their capacious mouths open, drawing in plankton, fish, and small crustaceans. but foreign objects, such as plastic, can also be drawn into the shark’s digestive system, causing them harm.
whale sharks, the largest non mammalian vertebrates on the planet, originated some sixty million years ago, but are now listed as a vulnerable species, coming under particular threat from boat propellers and pollution. they are also hunted for their fins, though the u.a.e. banned the shark fin trade in 2008
Fisher is the common name for a largely arboreal, North American carnivorous mammal. Despite its name, this animal seldom eats fish. It is a weasel of the Mustelidae family.
With its speed and agility, the fisher is a remarkable predator that captures a wide diversity of prey: Rabbits, hares, squirrels, mice, grouse, and so forth. Even the well-protected porcupine is captured by the fisher, using a unique technique designed to tire the porcupine until the fisher can kill the large quilled rodent.
The Fisher is a top predator. For thousands of years the dense, lustrous coat of the fisher has been prized.
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
An Eastern Screech owl peeks out a tree trunk with one of his three owlets. Your Shot Producer David Y. Lee writes, “I love it — both of the owls’ eyes say so much. There is something so amusing in this frame, and I love it. Great seeing Lesley. This tree trunk must be huge to accommodate both owls and their owlets.” Photograph by Lesley Mattuchio
I love when the Horn Shark sits on top of the tunnel. #hornshark #shark #aquarium
The Horn Shark
The horn shark inhabits the continental shelf of the eastern Pacific Ocean, occurring off the coasts of California and Baja California from Monterey Bay southward, and in the Gulf of California.
During the day, horn sharks rest motionless, hidden inside caves or crevices, or within thick mats of algae, though they remain relatively alert and will swim away quickly if disturbed. After dusk, they roam actively above the reef in search of food. Horn sharks maintain small home ranges of around 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft), which they may remain faithful to for over a decade, returning to the same shelter every day. The shelter is usually located at the edge of the resident shark’s foraging area. The longest documented movement for an individual horn shark is 16 km (9.9 mi).
There are 19–26 tooth rows in the upper jaw and 18–29 tooth rows in the lower jaw. The teeth at the front of the jaws are small and pointed, with a central cusp flanked by a pair of lateral cusplets; those at the sides of the jaws are much larger, elongated lengthwise, and molar-like.
Weight: about 175 pounds (80 kg) Length: about 5 feet (1.5 m) Appearance: dark body and light bands, or “ribbons,” encircling the neck, each front flipper, and hips; pups are born with a wooly white lanugo coat Lifespan: 20-30 years Diet: pelagic fish and invertebrates, such as shrimp, crabs, squid, octopus, cod, sculpin, pollack, and capelin Behavior: alternate their foreflippers and swing their hindquarters to run across ice, rather than using the caterpillar-like movement typically used by most seals
The ribbon seal is one of nine species of ice seals inhabiting the Arctic and is the only species in the genusHistriophoca. They are strongly associated with sea ice for mating, whelping pups and molting from mid-March through June…
This critically endangered amphibian only grows to be about 10mm in snout to vent length—that’s 0.39 of an inch! Eleutherodactylus iberia is the smallest frog in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s found in eastern Cuba, including in Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt, which is where Museum researcher Chris Raxworthy snapped this photo in 2015 while on the Explore21 Expedition to Cuba. Much remains unknown about this tiny species, as it was first discovered in 1996.
Spotted hyenas don’t really have much of a sense of humor, despite the manic laughing sound they make (usually linked to fear or excitement). This species can crack and crush bone with their powerful carnassial teeth—the last upper premolar and the first lower molar on each side of the jaw. They can also quickly consume an entire carcass, including skin and bones. A group of hyenas was observed finishing off an adult zebra in just 15 minutes! Photo: A_Peach
European honeybees have no innate defense against the hornets, which can rapidly destroy their colonies. Although a handful of Asian giant hornets can easily defeat the uncoordinated defenses of a honeybee colony, the Japanese honeybee has an effective strategy. When a hornet scout locates and approaches a Japanese honeybee hive, she emits specific pheromonal hunting signals. When the Japanese honeybees detect these pheromones, a hundred or so gather near the entrance of the nest and set up a trap, keeping the entrance open. This permits the hornet to enter the hive. As the hornet enters, a mob of hundreds of bees surrounds it in a ball, completely covering it and preventing it from reacting effectively. The bees violently vibrate their flight muscles in much the same way as they do to heat the hive in cold conditions. This raises the temperature in the ball to the critical temperature of 46 °C (115 °F). In addition, the exertions of the honeybees raise the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ball. At that concentration of CO2, they can tolerate up to 50 °C (122 °F), but the hornet cannot survive the combination of high a temperature and high carbon dioxide level. Some bees do die along with the intruder, much as happens when they attack other intruders with their stings, but by killing the hornet scout, they prevent it from summoning reinforcements that would wipe out the entire colony.
Bad and Naughty Hornets will be cooked in the Ḅ̖͔͓̤̜̘̀͂ͮ͌͊̂ ͓̥̥̒ͭ̔̒Ẹ͎͎̫̠̞ͩ͒ ̲̥̦̲͒̏Ë̘́̏̾ͮ̒ ͉̬̦̹̳̜͈̋͗̀̇̍̌ ̱͕̱̤̣̟̓̽ͧ ̗̗̲ͮ͒ͧ͂̇ ̯̔͊͑͆̈Ŏ͔̝̔͌͒̓ ̞͈̩V̪͕̲̳̥̖ͩ ̙̺̲̫ͥ̔̽̏̓ͨͬȄ̹͈̦ ̼͓̻͉̫̖́̄̑͌ͣͤ̄N̜̝̖̠̬ͨͮ̾
The ocellate river stingray is a species of freshwater stingray in the family Potamotrygonidae. It was the first species to be described in the family and is also the most widespread, ranging throughout much of the Río de la Plata, Amazon, Mearim and Orinoco basins in tropical and subtropical South America.
TheGiant Pacific Octopus are known to grow up to lengths of 16 feet and weigh as much as 110 pounds, with the largest ever recorded setting the bar at 30 feet and more than 600 pounds.
Geese do not have teeth made of bone and enamel, but have serrated tooth-like ridges of cartilage along the mandibles. These are handy for cutting through grasses and pulling up roots and vegetation from the bottom of ponds.
Geese also have spiky tongues that act like a sieve, allowing the bird to filter food particles from the water.
An agitated goose will chase, bite and hiss at humans, usually by males during nesting season. Goose bites are generally not serious, but they are painful and can leave bruises.
Found in Namibia and South Africa, the Desert Rain Frog lives on the narrow strips of sandy shores between the sea and the sand dunes. The locations in which this frog is found have at least one hundred foggy days per year.
It has a distinct feature: On the underside it has a transparent area of skin through which its internal organs can be seen.
Its total range is small and fragmented. The IUCN lists this frog as Vulnerable. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by opencast diamond mining, road making and increased human settlement.
The helmeted water toad is found in central Chile, and possibly adjacent west-central Argentina. This very large toad weighs up to 0.5 kg. It is aquatic and found in deep ponds and small reservoirs. It is threatened by capture for human consumption, habitat loss, pollution, and introduced trout. It can reach a snout–to-vent length of up to 12 cm in males and 32 cm in females. Their food in the tadpole stage is vegetation. Adults vary their diets to live animal prey, feeding on fish, invertebrates, small birds, small mammals and frogs.
Spotted garden eels burrow into the sandy sea bottom to make their home. They eat tiny planktonic animals that float by them in the water current. Spotted garden eels live in the warm parts of the Pacific Ocean and the Red Sea in colonies on the sandy flats and slopes that border coral reefs at depths of 7- 45 m. They can also be found in areas dense with seagrass; this makes it easy for them to blend in with their surroundings.They grow to 40 cm in length and have a body diameter of 1.3 cm.
Endemic to Madagascar, the leaf-tailed gecko is somewhat of an expert at avoiding predators, not only through their incredible mimicry of leaves, but through a number of behaviors. They can flatten their body against the substrate to reduce the body’s shadow, open their jaws wide to show a frightening, bright red mouth, and voluntarily shed their tail in order to trick a predator.
Because manatees tend to hang near the shoreline, munching pounds of seagrass, boat strikes have long been a threat to manatee population. By keeping our eyes out, motors up, and boat speeds low, we can all do our part to help protect these lovable creatures.
It’s Manatee Appreciation Day! These gentle giants can grow to over 14 feet in length and weigh in at over 3,000 pounds. Also, known as “sea cows,” manatees feed on seagrasses and other aquatic plants. Today, the total population is estimated to be at least 13,000 manatees, with more than 6,500 in the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico. When aerial surveys began in 1991, there were only an estimated 1,267 manatees in Florida.
