This is a beautiful perentie monitor lizard in Karijini National Park, Western Australia. It is the largest monitor lizard (or goanna) in Australia and the fourth largest lizard on Earth. Typically, they are not a common sight due to their extreme shyness and the remoteness of their natural habitat.
The green covering over this saltwater crocodile owes its vibrant colour to chlorophyl, a natural pigment found in living plants, algae and some bacteria. It makes for the ultimate environmental camouflage. To perfectly blend into the natural colours of a billabong gives this reptile a further edge over its already stealthy predation tactics.
So we all know that there is a heirarchical structure within our world. Atoms make up molecules. Molecules make cells. Cells make tissues. Tissue make organs. Organs make organ systems. Organ systems make organisms. But It doesn’t stop there!
When we get organisms of the same type, with a common gene pool which can interbreed to produce fertile offspring, we have a species. When they live in a particular place, they are a ‘population’. For example, humans are a species, but each city or town has it’s own population of people. So we have organisms making populations. When many species or populations interact in a given area, it is known as a community (living organisms only). For a community, we could look at a corner of your garden, where bugs and grasses and small mammals like mice are interacting, either through predation (hunting), symbiosis (mutualism, commensalism or parasitism) or competition (for resources). The ecosystem is the sum of all biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors in a particular area. These include animals, plants, wind, rain, sun, soil, and nutrient availability. Common habitats that may be considered to hold a single population of a species are savannas, grasslands or woodlands in a given area. Within these places there would also be a community. When considering the abiotic environment it would also be seen as a whole ecosystem. Communities are often defined by the form of vegetation that is most abundant, such as a “river red gum” community.
Photograph by Martin Oeggerli, National Geographic
Dryas iulia
Perched on the tendril of a Passiflora plant, the egg of the Julia heliconian butterfly may be safe from hungry ants. This species lays its eggs almost exclusively on this plant’s twisted vines.
There is obviously no love in the jumping spider species world, and competition for food is top priority. This one a female Green Jumping Spider. The poor little spider in her mouth, I had shot earlier, and watched in horror as he was consumed by the bigger spider, leading me to conclude that the larger is a ‘Big Meanie’.” Photograph by Flickr user AdamNoosa.
The onion-like structure of a mouse eye is revealed in this technicolour image that won first place in thephotography category. Researchers shaved a super-thin slice of the eye, then used a specialised staining technique to colour-code different types of cells. Rings of pink, for instance, are light-sensitive photoreceptor cells, whereas the gold shapes on the left are muscle cells.
A rural property in Wagga Wagga is covered in spider webs, after the arachnids were forced to re-build their homes after the flooding, en masse.
Giant Clams, Kingman Reef Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic Giant clams, Kingman Reef, 2007 Swimming through the waters of Kingman Reef is a feast for the eyes: Gardens of giant clams clutter the bottom, their neon-colored mantles glowing vibrantly, and are juxtaposed with brightly hued mushroom corals ranging in size from silver dollar to dinner plate. (From the National Geographic book Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry)
A Fantastic Leaf-tailed Gecko, also known as a Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko blends in perfectly with brown leaves in Andasibe-Mantadia National Park in Madagascar
Photograph by Enric Sala
This frogfish looks just like its rocky seafloor perch—a guise to tempt a potential meal into coming a bit too close. The fish can change texture and even color to blend with its surroundings. It can also lure potential prey with a fleshy “fishing rod” complete with a wormlike lure. The frogfish is so well adapted to life on the bottom that it uses pectoral fins to waddle, rather than swim, along the seafloor.
