7 Amazing Transparent Animals – Wonders of Nature
Nature is fascinating and often weird, it surprises us when we least expect. Some creatures use the camouflage techniques as a hunting and defense mechanism, others show everything they have - like transparent animals. Despite of what we are inclined to think, transparent and translucent animals live also on the ground, not only in the abyss of the ocean and we have visual proof of it. Nothing is photoshopped!
1. Transparent Frog
Umm, not so fast, prof… have you seen the “glass frog” (above), native to the Venezuelan rainforest? Like the transparent frogs selectively bred in the lab from generations of pale-skinned Japanese Brown Frogs, the Glass Frog’s internal organs and eggs can be seen without too much trouble. Word to Professor Sumida: take the grant money and run!
2. Transparent Cave Crayfish
Caves are some of the darkest places on the planet – even sophisticated light-gathering instruments are unable to register a single photon in the deepest, darkest caves. Under these conditions, creatures including fish, spiders, insects and crayfish have evolved into “troglobites”: animals so precisely adapted to living in darkness that they cannot survive outside cave environments. Under such conditions, neither eyes nor pigmentation are necessary.
3. Transparent Sea Cucumber
Slow moving, soft bodied bottom dwellers for the most part, Sea Cucumbers are an ancient lineage of sea creatures who have evolved a variety of ways to survive and thrive over hundreds of millions of years of evolution. For some Sea Cucumbers, being transparent allows them to fly under the radar, as it were, of predators in search of a quick & easy ki**.
4. Transparent Icefish
Fund in the cold waters around Antarctica and southern South America, the crocodile icefish (Channichthyidae) feed on krill, copepods, and other fish. Their blood is transparent because they have no hemoglobin and/or only defunct erythrocytes. Their metabolism relies only on the oxygen dissolved in the liquid blood, which is believed to be absorbed directly through the skin from the water. This works because water can dissolve the most oxygen when it is coldest.
5. Transparent Amphipod
Called Phronima, this unusual animal is one of the many strange species recently found on an expedition to a deep-sea mountain range in the North Atlantic. In an ironic strategy for survival, this tiny shrimplike creature shows everything it has, inside and out, in an attempt to disappear.
6. Transparent Squid
Found on the southern hemisphere’s oceans, the Glass Squid (Teuthowenia pellucida) has light organs on its eyes and possesses the ability to roll into a ball, like an aquatic hedgehog.
7. Transparent Siphonophores
Siphonophores belong to the Cnidaria, a group of animals that includes the corals, hydroids, and true jellyfish. Marrus orthocanna, a deep sea siphonophore. The combined digestive and circulatory system is red; all other parts are transparent.
Great White Shark Hunting: Fearsome Predator in Action
July 31, 2010 by admin
Filed under Animals, Featured, Places and Nature
Predation is one of the most fundamental and fascinating interactions in nature, and sharks are some of the fiercest predators on Earth. However, their hunting pattern is difficult to study because it is rarely observed in the wild. As a result, shark predatory behavior has remained much of a mystery. Researchers have found that sharks hunt in a highly focused fashion, just like serial criminals.
In an awesome display of power and acrobatic prowess, white sharks attack prey with a sudden vertical rush that propels them out of the water. “They hunt solitary juvenile Cape fur seals when light levels are low, stalking them from near the ocean floor to remain undetected, before launching a vertical attack,” Hammerschlag said. “This strategy maximizes a shark’s chances of catching a seal unaware thus initiating a fatal first strike. Stealth and ambush are key elements in the white shark’s predatory strategy.” This hunting strategy of great white sharks can best be observed in these fascinating photographs and artistic CG images of these marvelous animals. More info about white sharks can be found here
Amazing Underwater Base Jumping into a Blue Hole
This amazing underwater base jumping video was made by the free divers Guillaume Néry, world champion free diver and Julie Gautie who wanted to show a different approach to free diving. The film shows Guilaume “jumping” from the top and into Dean’s Blue Hole. A challenge many would simply say a big “No” to. What is even more amazing about this video is the fact that it was filmed in one go by Julie Gautie with a Canon 5D Mark II. I guess both of them held their breath during the filming of this whole video clip. Truly amazing feat worthy of free diving champions.
According to its authors it has been filmed for fictional and artistic purposes.
Newest Extreme Sport “Whale-Wormhole diving”
I bet you didn’t see this in extreme sports magazines. This one is called “Whale-Wormhole diving”. Have you tried it yet. The world record stands at 50 yards before you get sucked in by a gigantic whale. The only thing you can hope for is….that it doesn’t chew 
