HomesickAlien

prologue

epilogue

No flippant responses, please.

Much like PolarizeMe's anniversary thread, it doesn't look like anyone else can be fussed to create this one, so I've come out of my semi-dormant state to do it myself. http://youtu.be/dIWR23IVXNM Again, better late than never. :cheers:

Better late than never. :cheers: http://youtu.be/euNZfVnITyw

Amen, sister. http://www.therushfo...d/#entry3261786

http://youtu.be/GytDHQtVTXw

http://youtu.be/6_cDmwlbVkg

http://i.imgur.com/499s0Hm.gif?1

TOST V. 16: 5 user(s) are reading this topic 4 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users HomesickAlien, That One Guy, Day of Light, Union 5-3992 http://i.imgur.com/RySXxsE.gif

2 user(s) are browsing this forum 0 members, 1 guests, 1 anonymous users Mr. Not* http://i.imgur.com/8T2Kcb9.jpg?1 http://i.imgur.com/EEQxRDa.gif

3 user(s) are browsing this forum 1 members, 1 guests, 1 anonymous users HomesickAlien

Thank you, my friend. Did you take a little vacation from TRF? I was just about to ask Mr. Not what happened to you. :hi: :cheers: Oh, I've been around... lurking more than posting. I never realised you had such a bawdy sense of humour. http://www.therushfo...20#entry4192656 ;) I'll never live that down I guess. But it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I read the comments about humor. Lost my head for a moment. It's not something I'm proud about. I could have deleted it, but ...... That's hardly anything to be ashamed about. For a minute there, I lost myself... http://youtu.be/IBH97ma9YiI

Thank you, my friend. Did you take a little vacation from TRF? I was just about to ask Mr. Not what happened to you. :hi: :cheers: Oh, I've been around... lurking more than posting. I never realised you had such a bawdy sense of humour. http://www.therushfo...20#entry4192656 ;)

Happy belated anniversary, my old comrade... better late than never. :cheers: :hi: :dweez:

http://www.bbc.com/n...t-arts-38178353 http://youtu.be/s6EaoPMANQM

Truly a sign of the apocalypse... Lorraine is online in the wee hours on the west coast of the U.S. :hi:

09 November 2016 Wednesday Banana Bat The most distinguishing feature of the banana bat (Musonycteris harrisoni) is its extremely elongated snout, hence its alternative name of 'trumpet-nosed bat’. This medium-sized, highly-specialised bat also possesses a remarkably long tongue, which measures an incredible two-thirds of its body length when fully extended. The banana bat has a relatively small distribution, being found only in western Mexico in the states of Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Jalisco and Morelos. The banana bat feeds primarily on the nectar of a variety of plants, including native cacti and the introduced banana plant, using its specialised elongated snout to feed from particularly long-tubed flowers. It also feeds on insects, and bites or pulls off anthers from flowers to feed on the pollen. While feeding, some of the pollen may become stuck to the spiny hairs around the bat’s face and neck, and is then carried to the next flower the bat feeds from. As a result, the banana bat acts as a pollinator of bananas and other plants. The banana bat may undertake short seasonal migrations in order to find flowering plants on which to feed. The banana bat typically roosts in small colonies in trees, under rocky overhangs, or in caves. Although studies of reproduction in the banana bat are scarce, it is thought to reproduce once a year during the dry season, between mid-March and mid-April. The main threat facing the banana bat is habitat loss. The dry forest habitat of the banana bat is one of the most endangered habitats in Mexico, due to the pressures of an increasing human population. The banana bat is protected by Mexican law and occurs in at least two protected areas, which should offer its habitat some level of protection. As the banana bat appears to be reliant on undisturbed forests that contain its preferred food plants and suitable roost sites, it is important that the remaining dry forests of western Mexico are protected. http://i.imgur.com/8JeL0Xp.jpg BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL

Wow, such a bizarre shape for a fungi. They look like cigarette butts affixed to the trees with suction cups.

Happy Birthday. :cheers: http://i.imgur.com/cfYXqFI.jpg?1

Happy belated birthday, Babycat. :cheers: http://i.imgur.com/24IAj5z.jpg?1

06 November 2016 Sunday Camillea leprieurii Camillea leprieurii is a fungus dependent on rainforest trees for survival but can only be easily detected when observed growing out of dead branches. It is familiar to mycologists surveying rainforests in South America and is strange owing to its fruiting structures taking two forms. The charcoal-stick form is the most frequently noted, which has black pencil-like structures, but this fungus also grows immersed in dead wood with only its uppermost surface visible. Tiny spores are ejected from the ends of the fruiting structures. Camillea species are thought to live within healthy living trees, with their microscopic colonies lying dormant until the tree dies naturally. They are then in an ideal position to grow actively using nutrients from the dead wood, out-competing fungi without endophytic stages and thereby recycling the tree to fertilise the soil for its seedlings. The fungus and trees are thus entirely dependent on each other for survival. Camillea leprieurii is only visible as fruiting-structures, which develop from a complex network of microscopic filaments that grow within the dead wood and bark of the host tree. The matt black charcoal-like fruiting-structures (stromata) burst through the bark and are either cylindrical or almost flat. The elongate form measures about 10−40 mm in length and 2.5−5.0 mm in diameter and develops from a slightly broader disc on the bark surface. It is widely distributed in the rainforests of South America, but suitable habitats for C. leprieurii are currently disappearing as old-growth forest is destroyed, and threats to it along with a myriad of other species of fungi are increasing at an alarming rate. It is not known to grow on cultivated trees, and we know nothing about its potential needs for growth in secondary forest. http://i.imgur.com/gCr77ie.jpg Camillea leprieurii fruiting structures growing from a dead trunk in Ecuador

05 November 2016 Saturday Pygmy Three-toed Sloth With only a small population confined to a single tiny island off the coast of Panama, the pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus) is the most endangered of all sloths. As its name suggests, this recently discovered species is a dwarf compared with its mainland relatives. In addition to its small size, the pygmy three-toed sloth is characterised by usually blotchy, pale grey-brown fur and a tan-coloured face with a distinctive dark band across the forehead, from which long, shaggy hair hangs over the face, giving a hooded appearance. Sloths have an unusual means of camouflage to avoid predation; their outer fur is often coated in algae, giving the animal a greenish tint that helps hide them in their forest habitat. Three-toed sloths (Bradypus) can be distinguished from their distant relatives, the two-toed sloths (Choloepus), by the three digits on their forelimbs, blunter muzzle, and simpler, peg-like teeth. Very little is known about the biology of the pygmy three-toed sloth, although much can be inferred from what is known about three-toed sloths generally. Three-toed sloths are arboreal folivores that eat the leaves of a variety of trees. This is an energy-poor diet, and these animals have a very low metabolic rate. Their main defences are camouflage, stealth and stillness, whereby they avoid predation largely by avoiding detection. However, should they be attacked, sloths also have a remarkable capacity to survive due to their tough hides, tenacious grips and extraordinary ability to heal from grievous wounds. The pygmy three-toed sloth has an extremely restricted range on one very small island, Escudo de Veraguas. Although the island is uninhabited, fishermen, farmers, lobster divers and local people are all seasonal visitors, and are thought to hunt the sloths illegally. The growing tourism industry is also a potential threat to the species, by degrading its habitat. http://i.imgur.com/BQFI7wY.jpg

So that's what a mandrake is...! :D I tried growing mandrake once, but the plants didn't survive long enough to bloom. :|

04 November 2016 Friday Titicaca Water Frog The Titicaca water frog (Telmatobius culeus) is the largest truly aquatic frog in the world. It has a broad, flattened head with a round snout and large eyes. The most distinctive feature of the Titicaca water frog is the extremely loose skin which hangs from its neck, legs and stomach, giving it a rather ugly appearance. It has well developed, long hind limbs and webbed digits on the hind feet. The diet of the Titicaca water frog is mainly composed of amphipods, snails, insects, tadpoles and fish. The multiple-folded, capillary-rich skin of the Titicaca water frog is a unique adaptation that enables it to remain underwater without needing to surface for air. It possesses greatly reduced lungs, which are rarely used except when there is too little oxygen in the water or on the rare occasions when the frog is on land. When in poorly oxygenated water this species performs a movement to pass more water over the folds in its skin, allowing more oxygen to diffuse into the blood. Another adaptation to its high-altitude habitat is its high red blood cell count and the small size of its red blood cells, which help the blood to deliver oxygen to the body tissues and remove carbon dioxide more efficiently. The Titicaca water frog is endemic to Lake Titicaca, which lies on the border between Peru and Bolivia. Lake Titicaca is a cold, oxygen-saturated lake at an elevation of around 3,810 metres. The surface temperature of the lake ranges between 11 and 17 degrees Celsius and the bottom temperature is a constant 10 degrees Celsius. The Titicaca water frog usually prefers the shallower areas of the lake, where it shelters among the reed beds. It is also found in the small ponds and rivers in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca, as well as on the rock ledges at the edges of the water. The Titicaca water frog is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. One of the biggest threats to the Titicaca water frog is overcollection for human consumption. The frog is collected and transported to nearby markets, where it is blended with other ingredients to create a juice which is thought by local people to cure many ailments. http://i.imgur.com/8QxjWme.jpg 10,000 TITICACA WATER FROGS FOUND DEAD IN PERU