Pinocchio Shark

Dear Moonstruck,

It has been a long time since the last time we saw each other. I apologize for my absence but I was busy looking and visiting some new dark corners of the earth, and guess what! I found a ton of new creepy creatures that I will share with you further on.  

Today I will take you deep into the ocean to one of my favorite dark corners of nature. Get your equipment, take a big breath and enter in the Moonstruck´s submarine. Lets start this creepy journey into the deep.

Pause it here... If you get scared easily I strongly recommend you to stop reading, if not I will introduce you to our new and eccentric creepy creature.

We start at the beach, we pass the continental slope, we keep going deeper until we reach the abyssal plain. Everything is dark and cold, we keep exploring but we can't see anything. Wait, we see a shade approaching the submarine, I see a big snout! I see a fish! I see a Goblin Shark!

Its extremely weird aspect, long snout and sharp teeth make the Goblin shark one of the main characters in the Darkest Corner of Nature.

What is this creature? Well it is a shark, a cartilaginous carnivorous fish. His scientific name is Mitsukurina owstoni  and he belongs to the Mitsukurinidae family,. SAY WHAT? such a hard name to pronounce! His name resembles an exotic Japanese dish, may be because the goblin shark was discovered by Japanese people. 

Enough of scientific names! Lets talk about food! Can you guess what does our Goblin shark eat? Well, not. he does not normally eat humans. Even though they measure from 3-4 m long, these guys normally feast on high quality seafood such as fish, lobsters, octopuses and squids.

You should be grateful from this random encounter since you are in front of what we may call a living fossil. Let me explain, the cousins and other close relatives of this shark have been roaming the oceans for about 125 million years. What an old guy! 

What about his look, it is way more different than any other shark species. Lets explain some of his characteristic physical traits:

First of all, what about that giant nose. This is called a snout and is one of his main physical traits. Despite being an awkward and ugly organ, it has a very particular purpose. It is fully covered by small sensitive organs called ampullae of Lorenzini. These ampullae allow the shark to detect the electrical field in the water, mainly to detect other fish and eat them.

The jaws of this shark are like a little toy.  never get to close! His jaws are protusible, meaning that he can unfold his scary sharply teeth from its snout anytime he wants. So when the prey is out of reach, the shark can easily extend an elastic tissue out of his mouth to grab the unlucky prey.

Here we can see the Goblin Shark´s favorite toy: His jaws  (The shark above with its jaws inside, the one below extending them out).

Apart from that cool Pinocchio nose, the Goblin shark holds a flabby body and really small fins. Making its outfit even more eccentric.

One last curious thing, since these weird looking creatures dislike the sun, they have earned the cool creepy nickname of "Vampire shark". Be careful my dear moonstruck, you don´t want this ocean vampire eating from your little human flesh.

The shark fin trade is one of the main reasons for the declining in shark´s populations.

Sharks have changed very little since they populated the earth, this is due to their greatly aerodynamic shape, which confers them all the thinks they need in the oceans. However these awesome biological machines should be taken care of since the fin trade and ilegal hunting has had a negative effect on the shark populations worldwide. We need to take care of our creepy creatures, one example would be avoiding shark meet and support shark conservation projects.

Until next time my dear Moonstruck.

Mr. Tomato Face

Dear Moonstruck,

Tonight I will talk about the Red Uakari. Wait...  What is that?  Some exotic food?  A new Japanese electronic device? or some funny-taste candy?  Well, none of them.  The Red Uakari is actually an incredible Amazon rainforest monkey.

Despite the fact that monkeys are adorable and have cute looks, this new creepy creature has quite amazing features. What do you think?  Want to hear some interesting facts about this bizarre red faced guy?

The Red Uakari  with his spectacular red face and his bald head is among the weirdest animals on earth.

The Red Uakari is found in the Amazon region of the world. Brazil, Peru and Colombia are its native countries. Within the amazon jungle he prefers the spots where water is abundant, that means he loves the river basins. Because of the big floods and heavy rainfall, they move mainly in the forest canopy. Now picture yourself over the top of the highest amazon trees, having the best view ever. The best part: they don´t pay for this five star hotel. What a good life huh?

The Red Uakaris are adapted to the life over the jungle canopy. Their hair coat varies from red to white.

Now lets talk about their awesome physical aspect, but first of all, remember our creepy friend the Coconut Crab from the last post? (if you don´t, go back to the post call Crabzilla and read it!) Well, the Uakaris are approximately the same size, attaining a length of about 45cm, weighing 3kg and living up to 30 years.

Another funny trait is their tail. In spite of having a tiny stump, no one cut their tails! It´s just that unlike other American monkeys, this fellow has an extremely small tail because it provides him with a good balance when moving among the big trees. This jungle Tarzan is capable of jumping over 10 meters from tree to tree and moving up to 5 km per day. They prefer to travel along in groups known as troops, sometimes gathering up to 100 individuals, what a fun party!

As a good vegan, he eats mainly seeds. Occasionally he also feeds on fruits, flowers and small animals. Due to his eating habits, he owns a big pair of powerful jaws. Pay attention, a little bite from this guy and you´ll get a free ticket to the nearest hospital.

Now lets talk about their main attribute, Whuhu! Time to talk about what seems to be a creepy red mask covering them. Despite the fact that he is covered with hair almost fully, his head is completely hairless. This bald creepy look seems to be a fashion-top trait among the Red Uakaris.  Moreover he will certainly be the envy of many, as he has no fat on his cheeks neither dewlap.

Question time: Why do you think they have this red face stunning feature?

First of all the answer is no! Despite what you think, he was not brutally burned by the sun. This characteristic red shrimp color is due to the lack of skin pigment and the abundance of blood capillaries around it, what we can literally call a "bloody monkey face". Nevertheless the main cause for this bizarre look is the female sexual selection.

Female sexual selection is the preferential choice of females over certain traits in the males. Why would the females possibly prefer this red weird look over the cute lovely hairy look that other primates have on their faces?

The Red Uakaris Sex Symbol, with his red bright face and his good shaved head he is "The Big Daddy" among this monkey species.

Well, sexual selection has enhanced the red face trait because the redder and the brighter is the face of a male, the strongest, healthiest and handsome he is to the females. Due to their range habitat, these funny primates are prone to contract malaria quite easily, this condition makes them pale, loosing their bright tomato color and thus becoming less attractive to the females. The natural immunity to malaria is strongly linked to the red bright color of the male faces. Trait selected by the females throughout evolution.

Thanks to a specialized gland located near the olfactory system, the females secrete an attracting love scent to call the attention of  a suitable monkey prince. Six months after mom found daddy, a healthy red face monkey baby will be born.

I am afraid this creepy creature will become a legend. Due to the intensive hunting for ilegal pet trade and habitat loss, this marvelous animal is under the threatened category. However you should still be frightened of coming across him because after conservation efforts, their populations have increased over this past few years.


 When they live in captivity their Tomato face looses its brightness and becomes a pale sad pink face.

Crabzilla

Dear moonstruck:

This is your lucky day! Today I´ll take you to the paradisiac islands in the Pacific Ocean. So let´s pretend we go to Fiji, Zanzibar, Tahiti or Bora Bora, any of those fancy expensive stupidly beautiful islands. We get off the airplane or the boat or whatever kind of transport we took to get there and we just want to chill out in the sun with a beautiful ocean view and some pina coladas.

One of the islands where we can find our next creepy creature.

You may now wonder why I took you here, where are the monsters? Everything is so pretty and amazing, but wait, Oh, Oh! you just felt a big smash next to you, some kind of a mild earthquake. Something really big of about 4 kg just fell down from the palm. Afraid, you turn your head to see what´s behind and suddenly you see this massive creature, he looks back at you with his big bulging eyes, it´s the biggest terrestrial arthropod on earth: The Coconut Crab!

This terrestrial giant (Birgus latro) can grow up to 40 cm in lenght.

This massive terrestrial hermit crab is also known as palm thief, no wonder why he was trying to steal the coconuts of your next pina colada. Just as its name suggests he feeds on coconuts, he climbs all his way to the top and cuts off the coconuts to feed on them.  These clumpsy individuals often take the short way to get down the palm and let themselves free fall, making what we can literally call a crab rain. Nevertheless they survive unhurt this falls from over 4.5 m. What a superheroe!

Just like your dog, these crawling creatures have an excellent sense of smell, but instead of having a big goofy humid nose, they have specialized organs located in their antennae that help them detect odors from quite far away.  He will be able to detect the stinky smell of putrid garbage and be immediately attracted by it. I´ll give you an advice: Next time you take out your dirty old laundry be aware! because someone will be impatiently waiting for it.

The massive Coconut Crab (Birgus latro) is scavenging for some food in someone´s garbage can.

Aditionally, this Crabzilla also likes to feed on bananas, nuts, baby turtles and some dead animal bodies! What a perfect salad, Yummy... Not to forget he´s been documented eating human corpses, no wonder why he stars in the darkest corner of nature.

Last but not least, I´m afraid you won´t be able to sleep tonight! So I´ll tell you a little secret, this Crabzilla is not as invencible as it looks like. Have in mind that this though guy has some weaknesses.

• Unlike his marine crab cousins, the adult Coconut crabs can not tolerate being in the ocean for more than an hour, otherwise they would drown since they have lungs instead of gills.

• His populations are considered threatened by humans; they are hunted and cooked since their meat is considered to be a delicacy and an aphodisiac in some Asian countries.

• If you ever get stuck in this crab giant pincers, just as if he was a sweet little baby, try to tickle him on his softparts, without hurting him he will let you go. What a nice way to get off a prick like this guy.

Last advice my dearest moonstruck: Have in mind that The Coconut crab tends to be the star of quite a number of legends. With misterious natives names such as ayuyu, kumba or kaveu, native people are convinced dead people spirits return in the form of Coconut crabs. So I would never mess with these ancient spirits if I were you.

Have a gloomy creepy night.

It´s not a parasite, It´s my husband!

Dear Moonstruck:                    

Today I´ll talk about one of the cutest animals in the oceans. Did you really think I was being serious? Of course not, this is a blog for terrifying creatures. If you want to see cute animals, go on and search for baby seals. If you decided to stay, then be ready to learn something about the fearsome deep-sea anglerfish.

This freaky friend lives 3 km below the sea level. That means he lives under the most unfriendly conditions. Imagine living in a freezing environment without light and scarce food. The anglerfish is adapted to live under this conditions, that´s why he resembles a flat old balloon.

                                    

                                     The deep sea anglerfish (Order: Lophiiphormes).

Females have a big wide mouth to catch whatever they encounter in this hostile environment, of course living there, you should catch any creature you come across, that's why they can expand their stomach more than twice their size. Another amazing feature is the included lamp they have between their eyes. This natural light bulb can shine in complete darkness due to photo bacteria that live inside. This magnificent gadget allows them to attract preys and of course a proper husband.

                                    

Between their eyes they have an amazing natural lamp which will light their way in the darkest corners of nature.

Females are bigger than males, sometimes 10 times bigger! Males are small and do not present lamps on their heads, their only goal in life is to find a female quickly, once they hatched they should find a wife right away, otherwise they will die since their mouth and intestines are not suitable to function for a long time.

You may now wonder why does this happens?  

Well, this is the best part of the article, one of the most amazing reproductive systems on earth: Sexual parasitism. Attracted by the light and smell of the female, once a male finds a female, it will attach himself to her for the rest of her life. A little intense huh? Imagine living attached to your partner for the rest of your life. And that is not all, once the male bites the female, we will secrete special proteins which will melt his mouth with his wife´s outer skin, making a big couple fusion. The circulatory system of the female will join that of the male and this smart fellow will become a parasite to his wife. She will have to feed him and take care of him. But now she will have a new pair of shiny new testicles to brag off.

                                 

The big female deep-sea anglerfish attached to what seems to be a small annoying parasite which is actually a male.

But what does she gain out of this big mess? Having a small husband attached sucking from your blood is not the smartest idea in nature. Well she gains one of the best presents nature has to offer, she can reproduce  whenever and wherever she wants, she doesn't need to wait until she finds a male to fertilize her eggs. Since mom and dad are one individual now.

Welcome to the Darkest Corner of Nature

Dear moonstruck:

Have you ever wondered what is hidden in the darkest, deepest, lonely corners of the earth? Well then, if that is your case, I hope you are mentally and physically prepared for some of the most weird, strange, bizarre, freaky, odd, grotesque animals earth has ever seen.

Welcome to the Darkest Corner of Nature, a blog where you'll be able to read about some of the most eccentric creatures on earth. May be you never knew they existed or some of them you have only saw  in your worst nightmares. I will be posting different species, animals found from the deep of the oceans to the top of the Amazonian trees. From small fish to giant hermit crabs, from crawling insects to creepy monkeys. You won't regret entering this blog and learning something about this grotesque but incredible creatures.

The Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascarensis), ambassador of this blog is one of the leading weirdest creatures in earth. Soon I will be posting more about this creepy fellow.

One last thing dear reader: once you enter in the Darkest Corner of Nature you will never leave it...