View allAll Photos Tagged pigmentation
The black-legged kittiwake is a coastal bird of the arctic to subarctic regions of the world. It can be found all across the northern coasts of the Atlantic, from Canada to Greenland as well as on the Pacific side from Alaska to the coast of Siberia.
Black-legged kittiwakes' wintering range extends further south from the St-Lawrence to the southern coast of New Jersey as well as in China, the Sargasso sea and of the coast of west Africa. There are two subspecies of black-legged kittiwake. Rissa tridactyla tridactyla can be found on the Atlantic coast whereas Rissa tridactyla pollicaris is found on the Pacific coast.
The adult is 37–41 cm (15–16 in) in length with a wingspan of 91–105 cm (36–41 in) and a body mass of 305–525 g (10.8–18.5 oz). It has a white head and body, grey back, grey wings tipped solid black, black legs and a yellow bill. Occasional individuals have pinky-grey to reddish legs, inviting confusion with red-legged kittiwake.
The inside of their mouth is also a characteristic feature of the species due to its rich red colour. Such red pigmentation is due to carotenoids pigments and vitamin A which have to be acquired through their diet. Studies show that integument coloration is associated with male's reproductive success. Such hypothesis would explain the behavior of couples greeting each other by opening their mouth and flashing their bright mouth it to their partner while vocalizing.
As their Latin name suggests, they only possess three toes since their hind toe is either extremely reduced or completely absent.[7] The two subspecies being almost identical, R. tridactyla pollicaris is in general slightly larger than its counterpart R. tridactyle tridactyla. In winter, this species acquires a dark grey smudge behind the eye and a grey hind-neck collar. The bill also turns a dusky-olive color.[7]
Since kittiwakes winter at sea and rarely touch ground during this period, very little is known about their exact molting pattern.
The Kittiwake landed on the ship somewhere between Iceland and Greenland, before flying off again. It looked at me as though to ask to be left alone while it was resting.
The incredible variations in the pigmentation of Faversham's Early Purple Orchids, from near white (A true non-pigmented species does exist, var. alba) light pinks, commonly seen around the south of Faversham and a true rich purple, all seen in a single small spinney just outside Stalisfield this afternoon, nature is fab!
A rock full of terns just off the Boulders Beach penguin colony in Simon's Town. The only ID I am sure of is the large tern in the middle with the yellow bill. This is a greater crested tern sometimes called a swift tern. For some reason it reminds me of Boris Johnson!
The others are either common or arctic terns that have migrated from the Northern hemisphere and developed their non-breeding (Southern hemisphere summer) plumage. This seems to include the loss of red pigmentation and hence my usual way of telling these birds apart (bill colour) when on the ground.
A female Northern Cardinal with a bit of leucism (loss of pigmentation in feathers) that visits my backyard feeders.
Leucism in birds causes partial loss of pigmentation, giving pale,patchy or white colouration of feathers.
Yes it's a puffin but a far from standard Atlantic Puffin; due to a lack of pigmentation most of the bird; but not all, is white. It is not an albino but it is leucistic, fortunately it appears to be accepted by the 'standard' puffins and is not isolated. A lucky find for me!
This is a female Orange Tip Butterfly - Anthocharis cardamines – which is less colourful than the male which has bright orange pigmentation in its wingtips whilst the female has dull grey wingtips as can be seen. Mainly found throughout Europe and temperate Asia they prefer damp habitats where flowers grow for them to feed on. Seen at Martin Mere Wetland.
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Most of us realise that as we age our hair may become grey, a process called achromotrichia, and that’s true of beards too, unlike the Polar Bear that is born white, right? Actually, wrong! Polar Bears have zero pigment in their coats; the hair has no colour whatsoever. The shafts are hollow and clear with light-scattering particles that create an optical phenomenon which causes a luminescent reaction, and therefore give out a white appearance. Human hair follicles are filled with pigmentation made up of two types of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. These are responsible for all the natural hair colours humans, can produce. As we get older we become more like Polar Bears, the production of melanin is reduced and pigmentation becomes disappears. These clear hairs reflect light, appearing white just like the Arctic bears.
Sometimes the gradual onset of the greying beard and hair is called the ‘salt and pepper’ effect because the white hairs are mixed with the dark, and no one knows for sure what triggers one hair to stop its pigmentation production years ahead of its neighbours just millimetres away. There are other factors to why your beard might turn grey, including illness, genetic make-up and environmental influences (diet, stress, toxins etc) but normally it’s age related.
Premature greying can also be a hereditary factor; if your forefathers have all had white hair as younger men, the chances are you will too.
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Candid street shot, Barcelona, Spain.
A little tattered and torn but still beautiful. Female I think because of the blue pigmentation. Butterfly bush.
There were some neat photo subjects out there today.
Eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) Female
I was looking into a rockpool in an area of limestone, at low tide. There were some beautiful seaweeds. This is another Rhodophyte but here, as you can see, there is still a lot of red pigmentation. (In the later shots, they are entirely bleached.)
The White Tiger by Daniel Arrhakis (2014)
White like a spirit of the forest ... The White Tiger is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West or Bai Hu in Chinese, Byakko in Japanese or Baekho in Korean. Is also believed to have divine power to ward off evil ...
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A rare apparition, the White Tiger (Panthera tigris) is a pigmentation variant of the Bengal tiger. Very rare in Nature, their coloration is dependent on a defective, recessive gene that is passed on from their parents.
Over the past couple of centuries the White Tiger has become even rarer in the wild due to trophy hunting or capture for the exotic pet trade, there has been no recorded sightings of these elusive predators for the past 50 years.
All the Panthera genus are in dangerous of extinction !
This photo was taken in the Zoo of Lisbon, his name is Cristal.
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Here i made a monotone and use some blur operations and vignette but the color of the tiger is the real one ! : )
Highest Explore Position #14!!!...On Monday 26th April 2010....
Red Fox Club - British Wildlife Centre, Surrey, England - Sunday April 18th 2010.
Click here to see My most interesting images
Red Fox Cub ~ Fox is a name applied to any of roughly 27 species of small to medium-sized canids, characterized by possessing a long, narrow snout, and a bushy tail, or "brush". By far the most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), although various species are found on almost every continent. The presence of fox-like carnivores all over the globe has led to their appearance in the popular culture and folklore of many nations, tribes, and other cultural groups.
Etymology ~ The Modern English "fox" is derived from Old English fox. The Old English word itself comes from the Proto-Germanic word *fukh – compare German Fuchs, Gothic fauho, Old Norse foa and Dutch vos. It corresponds to the Proto-Indo-European word *puke meaning "tail" (compare Sanskrit puccha, also "tail"). The bushy tail is also the source of the word for fox in Welsh: llwynog, from llwyn, "bush", Lithuanian: uodegis, from uodega, "tail", and Portuguese: raposa, from rabo, "tail".
General characteristics ~ Most foxes live 2 to 3 years, but they can survive for up to 10 years or even longer in captivity. Foxes are generally smaller than other members of the family Canidae such as wolves, jackals, and domestic dogs. Dogs (male foxes) weigh on average, 5.9kg and vixens (female foxes) weigh less, at 5.2kg (13 lbs and 11.5 lbs, respectively). Fox-like features typically include an acute muzzle (a "fox face") and bushy tail. Other physical characteristics vary according to their habitat. For example, the fennec fox (and other species of foxes adapted to life in the desert, such as the kit fox) has large ears and short fur, whereas the Arctic fox has small ears and thick, insulating fur.
Another example is the red fox which has a typical auburn pelt, the tail normally ending with white marking.
Unlike many canids, foxes are usually not pack animals. Typically, they are solitary, opportunistic feeders that hunt live prey (especially rodents). Using a pouncing technique practiced from an early age, they are usually able to kill their prey quickly. Foxes also gather a wide variety of other foods ranging from grasshoppers to fruit and berries.
Foxes are normally extremely wary of humans and are not kept as pets (with the exception of the fennec); however, the silver fox was successfully domesticated in Russia after a 45 year selective breeding program. This selective breeding also resulted in physical and behavioural traits appearing that are frequently seen in domestic cats, dogs, and other animals: pigmentation changes, floppy ears, and curly tails.
Diet ~ The diet of foxes comprises rodents, insects, worms, fruit, fish, birds, eggs, and all other kinds of small animals. The fox generally consumes around 1 kg of food every day. Foxes that live in neighborhoods mainly depend on household waste and even rodents and birds that keep moving around these areas. Foxes are known to cache their food, burying the excess for later consumption.
They mostly thrive in the higher latitudes, suburban and even urban environments both in Europe and in North America. They are found also in Eurasia, North Africa, India (Ladakh, Himalayas, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Gujarat), China, Japan and in Australia.
Conservation ~ Foxes are readily found in cities and cultivated areas and (depending upon species) seem to adapt reasonably well to human presence.
Red foxes have been introduced into Australia and some other countries for hunting. Australia lacks similar carnivores, and the introduced foxes prey on native wildlife, some to the point of extinction. A similar introduction occurred in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in temperate North America, where European reds (Vulpes vulpes) were brought to the colonies for fox hunting, where they decimated the American red fox population through more aggressive hunting and breeding. Interbreeding with American reds, traits of the European red eventually pervaded the gene pool, leaving European and American foxes now virtually identical.
Other fox species do not adapt as well as the red fox, and are endangered in their native environments. Key among these are the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) and the African bat-eared fox. Other foxes such as fennec foxes, are not endangered, but will be if humans encroach further into their habitat.
Foxes have been successfully employed to control pests on fruit farms, where they leave the fruit intact.
Historians believe foxes were imported into non-native environments long before the colonial era. The first example of the introduction of the fox into a new habitat by humans seems to be Neolithic Cyprus. Stone carvings representing foxes have been found in the early settlement of Göbekli Tepe in eastern Turkey.
Femelle \ Female
Il est peu commun d'observer une femelle avec une aussi forte pigmentation rouge, qui est un gène masculin.
It is unusual to observe a female with such a strong red pigmentation, which is a male gene.
Cliquez pour agrandir \ Click to enlarge
This is a beautiful concrete staircase in the Museum Kueppersmuehle in Duisburg, Germany. The concrete is mixed with a terra cotta pigmentation. The windows and lights finish the job.
White is maybe the most rigorous and psychological color, it seems to purify the surfaces, it’s a color that makes the vacuum merge. The empty spaces have slight contrasts of shape as a value.
I like to deal with this non-pigmentation because its process is a ramification of many harmonic elements that allude to a perfect informality. These pictures may seem incongruous because they are elegant and messy at the same time. They are contemporary, I took familiar objects like: “Burger King” glasses, crumbled pills, glasses of plastic or packs, which I photographed in high key. This kind of illumination, in which high and white tones are predominant, spreads positivity and freshness, which is another element of contrast towards the mess of the scenery, that often has a dirty tablecloth, like someone suddenly left the meal. The position of elements is never random, but it is necessary to highlight the constituent structure: pieces of silverware, pills, bottles, remains of food or dry branches are often put close to each other on levels, like there was a narrative correlation more or less narrow between each other. There is no human presence, but it is re-invoked through the representation of objects, where plasticity alternates with flatness, creating at the same time tension and melancholy.
The black-legged kittiwake is a coastal bird of the arctic to subarctic regions of the world. It can be found all across the northern coasts of the Atlantic, from Canada to Greenland as well as on the Pacific side from Alaska to the coast of Siberia.
The adult is 37–41 cm (15–16 in) in length with a wingspan of 91–105 cm (36–41 in) and a body mass of 305–525 g (10.8–18.5 oz). It has a white head and body, grey back, grey wings tipped solid black, black legs and a yellow bill. Occasional individuals have pinky-grey to reddish legs, inviting confusion with red-legged kittiwake.
The inside of their mouth is also a characteristic feature of the species due to its rich red colour. Such red pigmentation is due to carotenoids pigments and vitamin A which have to be acquired through their diet.
At fledging, the juveniles differ from the adults in having a black 'W' band across the length of the wings and whiter secondary and primary feathers behind the black 'W', a black hind-neck collar and a black terminal band on the tail.
They can also be identified due to their solid black bill. This plumage is a hatch-year plumage and will only remain for their first year. Kittiwakes obtain their mature plumage at 4 years old, but will gradually change their juvenile plumage over time until maturity is reached.
This image was taken on the Farne Islands, off the north east coast of England, in Northumberland
It has been estimated that as many as 1/3 of all the squirrels in Brevard, NC are white. The rare animals also all share a similar coloration with small dark patches on their heads and shoulders, but are otherwise notably ghostly. As they are not albinos, which are totally free of pigmentation, the squirrels are considered an offshoot of the Eastern Gray Squirrel.
There hasn't been a white squirrel around our yard in 10 years. These white squirrels are caused by a genetic anomaly due to a mutated gene from our common Eastern Gray Squirrel and are fairly rare to see. They are not albino squirrels but have leucism (a partial loss of pigmentation in an animal).
The “Acorn Woodpecker” is common in the western US (where oak trees are present) and I see them daily in my yard. However, I had never seen one all white also known as “leucistic”. This is described by as “an abnormal condition of reduced pigmentation affecting various animals (such as birds, mammals, and reptiles) “. There’s actually two of them in this park. The other one has black spotting.
The Common Buckeye is one of the prettier butterflies in my opinion.
For anyone evaluating the colors I would like to point out that some of the color is actually not due to pigmentation but rather is produced by wave interference as light bounces off of successive layers of thin membrane. The process is called thin film interference (TFI) and produces angle dependent color similar to what you might see on a soap bubble. Unlike a soap bubble these layers of scale are firm and so the color is more predictable yet it is iridescent. By that I mean the colors change with angle.
Which colors do you think are a result of thin film interference. I have posted some more shots of Buckeyes on July 12 so you can compare. This is about 12 photos to the left. Or you can look at the Buckeye Album.
The answer is the turquoise blue along the front wing edge, the bright blue in between the orange rectangles, and some of the purple and blue in the eye spots. The orange and to a lesser extent some of the eye spot colors are a result of pigment.
Look closely at feathers and you will appreciate the iridescence due to TFI.
The old dead chokecherry finally broke near the ground and 3 species of Ichneumon wasps were laying eggs in the stump. This Long-tailed Giant Ichneumonid Wasp (Megarhyssa macrurus) is alternating brown, black and yellow. Body over 2 in long with much longer ovipositor. Home, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 15 June 2023 This is a laying female with an out of focus male in front.
Source: Wikipedia
Megarhyssa macrurus, also known as the long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp[1] or long-tailed giant ichneumon wasp,[2] is a species of large ichneumon wasp.[3] It is a parasitoid, notable for its extremely long ovipositor which it uses to deposit an egg into a tunnel in dead wood bored by its host, the larva of a similarly large species of horntail.
Description
Megarhyssa macrurus has a reddish-brown body of up to 2 inches (51 mm) long.[5] It has black and yellow-orange stripes.[6] Its wings are transparent and the body elongated. The body and ovipositor together can be more than 5 inches (130 mm) long in the female. Males are smaller and have no ovipositor.[6]
The ovipositor
The ovipositor looks like a single filament, but it comprises three filaments, the middle one of which is the actual ovipositor, which is capable of drilling into wood. This central filament also appears to be a single filament, but is made of two parts, with a cutting edge at the tip. The two parts interlock and slide against each other.
Although very thin, the ovipositor is a tube and the egg being laid moves down a minute channel in its center. The outer two filaments are sheaths which protect the ovipositor; they arc out to the sides during egg-laying.[6]
Distribution
M. macrurus is found across the eastern half of the United States, reaching into the extreme south of Canada near the Great Lakes.[7]
Behaviour
M. macrurus is harmless to humans;[6][8] they are parasitoids on the larvae of the pigeon horntail (Tremex columba, Symphyta), which bore tunnels in decaying wood.[9] Female Megarhyssa macrurus are able to detect these larvae through the bark; they paralyse them and lay their eggs on the living but paralysed larva; within a couple of weeks the Megarhyssa larvae will have consumed their host and pupate, emerging as an adult the following summer.[6] www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47963-Megarhyssa-macrurus
'There is no other North American Megarhyssa species with two black spots on the wings. The patterns on the metasoma (abdomin) can vary somewhat between individuals. See bugguide.net/node/view/84171' enature comment on inaturalist.
Identification
Females of M. macrurus are distinguished from those of M. greenei by having the forewing pigmented along the basal vein (such that 2-3 distinct regions of pigmentation are present) and by the longer ovipositor length of about 2.2-2.3x the body length (3.0x forewing length). They also have dark vertical stripes on the face.(2)
Males are distinguished from all other species in the genus by the presence of pigmentation on the forewing (at the base of cell 2R1). They are also the only members of the species to have vertical lines on the face.(2)
Range
e NA to Rocky Mtns. / n. Mex. (BG data)
Food
Larvae parasitize Pigeon horntail (Tremex columba, Siricidae)
- Range: e. NA to Calif.
Xanthoria elegans is commonly known as the elegant sunburst lichen. Like all lichens, it is formed by fungi associated with an alga. This species grows on rocks and is recognized by its bright orange or red pigmentation with a circular distribution. It was one of the first lichens to be used for the rock-face dating through lichenometry. Many Xanthoria species growing in areas with intense UV radiation contain more carotenoids than those grown in more shaded areas.( Moledo beach, Portugal)
Xanthoria elegans é vulgarmente conhecido como o líquen-solar-elegante. Como todos os líquenes, é formado por um fungo associado a uma alga. Esta espécie desenvolve-se nas rochas e é reconhecida pela sua pigmentação vermelha ou laranja forte, que se distribui em círculo. Foi um dos primeiros líquenes a ser usado para a datação de paredes rochosas através da liquenometria. Muitas espécies Xanthoria que crescem em áreas com radiação UV intensa contêm mais carotenóides do que as que se desenvolvem em áreas mais sombrias. (Praia de Moledo, Portugal)
A Black Barn Owl or Melanistic Barn Owl belong to the same species as the Tyto Alba family.
An increased amount of black or nearly black pigmentation of an organism, resulting from the presence of melanin.
Melanistic is the opposite to an albino.
The incredible variations in the pigmentation of Faversham's Early Purple Orchids, from near white (A true non-pigmented species does exist, var. alba) light pinks, commonly seen around the south of Faversham and a true rich purple, all seen in a single small spinney just outside Stalisfield this afternoon, nature is fab!
Greater-Flamingoes (Phoenicopterus roseus)_w_2288
Ot of the six species of flamingo on our planet, the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most common and widespread member of the flamingo family.
The Greater Flamingo is an easily identifiable, colourful wading bird and is often found flocking together with the Lesser Flamingo in the great salt lakes across Africa.
These famous pink birds can be found in warm, watery regions on many continents and also occur in Asia in the coastal regions of India and Pakistan, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and in Southern Europe.
When flamingos flock together, they are referred to as a ‘colony’ or a ‘stand’.
The closest relatives to the Greater Flamingo are the Chilean Flamingo, Caribbean Flamingo and the Lesser Flamingo. There are no subspecies of the Greater Flamingo.
GREATER FLAMINGO CHARACTERISTICS
The Greater Flamingo is the largest species of flamingo and stands around 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall in height and weighs between 2 – 4 kilograms (4.4 – 8.8 pounds). The Greater Flamingo has a wingspan of between 1.4 and 1.7 metres (4.5 – 5.5 feet). The Greater Flamingo’s large size allows it to wade into deeper water than most other flamingos.
The flamingo’s plumage is pinkish/white in colour, with red wing coverts and black primary and secondary flight feathers. Their long, downward bending bills are pink with a black tip and their long, thin legs are also pink. Greater Flamingos have peculiar shaped heads on long, lean, curved necks with a distinctive downward bend. Flamingos have yellow eyes.
GREATER FLAMINGO HABITAT
Greater Flamingos are found in a variety of saltwater habitats including salt or alkaline lakes, estuaries, shallow coastal lagoons and mudflats. The Greater Flamingo rarely inhabits areas of freshwater other than using freshwater inlets for bathing and drinking. Greater Flamingos that live outside the tropics often migrate to warmer climates for the winter months.
GREATER FLAMINGO DIET
Greater Flamingos are omnivores and filter-feeders. Flamingos mainly feed during the day and use their long legs and webbed feet to stir up the bottom of the water where they then sweep their bills upside down through the water. A flamingo’s bill has a filter-like structure to remove food from the water before the liquid is drained.
Water is sucked in through the partly opened bill. As it is squeezed out again by the tongue, a row of spines or lamellae along the edge of the bill filter out the tasty morsels within. They usually feed with their head fully immersed in the water and they can remain that way for up to 20 seconds. Flamingos pump their tongues up and down, 5 – 6 times per second, pushing the water out of their beak.
Flamingos also feed up on mollusks, plankton, crabs, tiny fish and insect larvae. Plant material is also eaten, including grass seeds and shoots, decaying leaves and algae.
The flamingo’s pink colouration comes from its diet of Shrimp and other pink crustaceans.
Flamingo feathers are tinged a beautiful rose pink colour due to coloured materials called carotenoids in the tiny shrimps that they feed on. If they do not eat the shrimps, their feathers turn pale. Flamingos in captivity tend to be paler than wild species unless their diet is supplemented. In captivity, they are fed special food that contains these natural pigments to ensure that their feathers are coloured.
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus Megaptera.
The adult humpback whale is generally 14–15 m (46–49 ft), though longer lengths of 16–17 m (52–56 ft) have been recorded. Females are usually 1–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in) longer than males.
The species can reach body masses of 40 metric tons (44 short tons). Calves are born at around 4.3 m (14 ft) long with a weight of 680 kg (1,500 lb).
The body is bulky with a thin rostrum and proportionally long flippers, each around one-third of its body length.[15][16] It has a short dorsal fin that varies from nearly non-existent to somewhat long and curved.
As a rorqual, the humpback has grooves between the tip of the lower jaw and the navel. They are relatively few in number in this species, ranging from 14–35. The mouth is lined with baleen plates, which number 270-400 for both sides.
Unique among large whales, humpbacks have bumps or tubercles on the head and front edge of the flippers; the tail fluke has a jagged trailing edge.
The tubercles on the head are 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) thick at the base and poke up to 6.5 cm (2.6 in). They are mostly hollow in the center, often containing at least one fragile hair that erupts 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) from the skin and is 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) thick. The tubercles develop early in the womb and may have a sensory function as they are rich in nerves.
The dorsal or upper-side of the animal is generally black; the ventral or underside has various levels of black and white coloration. Whales in the southern hemisphere tend to have more white pigmentation. The flippers can vary from all-white to white only on the undersurface.
The varying color patterns and scars on the tail flukes distinguish individual animals. The end of the genital slit of the female is marked by a round feature, known as the hemispherical lobe, which visually distinguishes males and females.
This image was taken from the breakwater at Honningsvag Harbour in Norway
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl:
The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a paedomorphic salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. It is unusual among amphibians in that it reaches adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of taking to the land, adults remain aquatic and gilled. The species was originally found in several lakes underlying what is now Mexico City, such as Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco. These lakes were drained by Spanish settlers after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, leading to the destruction of much of the axolotl's natural habitat.
A sexually mature adult axolotl, at age 18–27 months, ranges in length from 15 to 45 cm (6 to 18 in), although a size close to 23 cm (9 in) is most common and greater than 30 cm (12 in) is rare. Axolotls possess features typical of salamander larvae, including external gills and a caudal fin extending from behind the head to the vent. External gills are usually lost when salamander species mature into adulthood, although the axolotl maintains this feature.[15] This is due to their neoteny evolution, where axolotls are much more aquatic than other salamander species.
Their heads are wide, and their eyes are lidless. Their limbs are underdeveloped and possess long, thin digits. Males are identified by their swollen cloacae lined with papillae, while females are noticeable for their wider bodies full of eggs. Three pairs of external gill stalks (rami) originate behind their heads and are used to move oxygenated water. The external gill rami are lined with filaments (fimbriae) to increase surface area for gas exchange. Four-gill slits lined with gill rakers are hidden underneath the external gills, which prevent food from entering and allow particles to filter through.
Axolotls have barely visible vestigial teeth, which develop during metamorphosis. The primary method of feeding is by suction, during which their rakers interlock to close the gill slits. External gills are used for respiration, although buccal pumping (gulping air from the surface) may also be used to provide oxygen to their lungs.[15] Buccal pumping can occur in a two-stroke manner that pumps air from the mouth to the lungs, and with four-stroke that reverses this pathway with compression forces.
Axolotls exhibit diverse color variations driven by mutations in their pigmentation genes. These genes play a crucial role in determining the coloration of these unique creatures.
Ever since seeing that photo of the black Gorse shieldbug (www.flickr.com/photos/leonvdn/17124441182) , I've been on the look-out.... (you never know!). This is by far the darkest one I've found yet with a lot more black pigmentation than others in their autumn attire (as below in comments - viewable large).
Lyth Hill - Shropshire
A cardinal with a little extra flare. Her head is almost all white due to a condition called leucism which means a lack of pigmentation. It differs from albinism in that the eyes are not affected. She has been showing up to the feeders and birdbaths in my yard and the surrounding property since this past summer.
Montell, Uvalde County, Texas
An unusual melanistic Barn Owl. Melanistic means an increased amount of black or nearly black pigmentation of an organism, resulting from the presence of melanin. It is the opposite of albino, which occurs due to lack of melanin. This bird is captive bred.
Thanks for your visit… Any comment you make on my photograph is greatly appreciated and encouraging! But please do not use this image without permission.
In morphology the masked palm civet resembles other civets. Unlike most civets though, its orange-brown to gray fur completely lacks spots, stripes, and other patterns besides a mask.
That mask consists of a prominent white stripe stretching from nose to forehead (sometimes extends farther but has greatly reduced thickness) that halves a black mask that extends laterally to the far edges of the cheeks and caudally up the forehead, past the ears, and down the back of the neck before stopping just under the shoulder blades. The eyes are surrounded by white fur that can vary from faint, incomplete outlines to well-defined blotches. The lips, chin, and throat are white. In some, white stripes of fur, comparable to sideburns on humans due to shape and location, curve up from the throat. These curves vary in thickness and have ends that terminate either in small blotches at the ear base or large blotches that surround the base of both darkly furred ears.
No matter which coat it sports, masked palm civet's feet are always dark, often black, and the melanism usually extends partway up the legs in varying distances and intensities depending on the individual. The end of a masked palm civet's tail is sometimes darker than the majority of its coat. This difference in pigmentation can vary from a few shades darker than its coat to solid black and can cover a fourth to half of the tail.
The main body varies from 51 to 76 cm (20 to 28 in) in length, to which is added a tail of 51 to 63 cm (20 to 25 in). It weighs between 3.6 and 6 kg (8 and 13.2 lb).
O how agreeable a sight
Those hanging mountains do appear
Which the unhappy would invite
To finish all their sorrows here
When their hard fate makes them endure
Such woes as only death can cure
Henry Purcell
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus Megaptera.
The adult humpback whale is generally 14–15 m (46–49 ft), though longer lengths of 16–17 m (52–56 ft) have been recorded. Females are usually 1–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in) longer than males.
The species can reach body masses of 40 metric tons (44 short tons). Calves are born at around 4.3 m (14 ft) long with a weight of 680 kg (1,500 lb).
The body is bulky with a thin rostrum and proportionally long flippers, each around one-third of its body length.[15][16] It has a short dorsal fin that varies from nearly non-existent to somewhat long and curved.
As a rorqual, the humpback has grooves between the tip of the lower jaw and the navel. They are relatively few in number in this species, ranging from 14–35. The mouth is lined with baleen plates, which number 270-400 for both sides.
Unique among large whales, humpbacks have bumps or tubercles on the head and front edge of the flippers; the tail fluke has a jagged trailing edge.
The tubercles on the head are 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) thick at the base and poke up to 6.5 cm (2.6 in). They are mostly hollow in the center, often containing at least one fragile hair that erupts 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) from the skin and is 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) thick. The tubercles develop early in the womb and may have a sensory function as they are rich in nerves.
The dorsal or upper-side of the animal is generally black; the ventral or underside has various levels of black and white coloration. Whales in the southern hemisphere tend to have more white pigmentation. The flippers can vary from all-white to white only on the undersurface.
The varying color patterns and scars on the tail flukes distinguish individual animals. The end of the genital slit of the female is marked by a round feature, known as the hemispherical lobe, which visually distinguishes males and females.
This image was taken near Isafjordur in Iceland
It is a telephoto shot. I was not close using 300mm end of zoom! Sealions are normally placid and sunbath a lot on our beaches but this one was suddenly upset and shaking the sand off to get ready to charge (off camera person on Left) It only went a few meters then stopped having established its territory on the beach. Thanks if you have time for a comment!
Edit: They can take a fish or penguin with a bite so wouldn't annoy them up close. Stay back 10 m and don't walk between them and the sea which is their escape route.
From DOC website:
NZ sealions are the rarest in the world almost hunted to extinction for their fur in early 1800s.
In 1993, a female sea lion nicknamed “Mum” decided to have her pup on an Otago Peninsula beach. This was the first sea lion born on the mainland in over 100 years. Now, over 150 sea lions live on the mainland, and the Otago peninsula averages 4 new pups born each year, almost all related to “Mum.”
NZ sea lions are also starting to breed in the Catlins and on Stewart Island.
This one is I think a mature male and brown to black in colour with well-developed mane reaching to the shoulders.
Females are lighter in colour, predominantly creamy grey with darker pigmentation around their flippers.
Adult females (rāpoko): length 1.6-2.0 m, weight 100-160 kg
Adult males (whakahao): length 2.4-3.5 m, weight 250-400 kg.