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[Tormy]

Big isn't enough... they need brains... 

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Someone said dinosaurs?

Dinosaur? Let's see!
A Living Dinosaur -- Komodo Dragon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is a species of lizard that inhabits the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang in Indonesia. A member of the monitor lizard family (Varanidae), it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to an average length of 2 to 3 metres (6.6 to 9.8 ft) and weighing around 70 kilograms (150 lb). Their unusual size is attributed to island gigantism, since there are no other carnivorous animals to fill the niche on the islands where they live, and also to the Komodo dragon's low metabolic rate. As a result of their size, these lizards dominate the ecosystems in which they live. Although Komodo dragons eat mostly carrion, they will also hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals.

Mating begins between May and August, and the eggs are laid in September. About twenty eggs are deposited in abandoned megapode nests and incubated for seven to eight months, hatching in April, when insects are most plentiful. Young Komodo dragons are vulnerable and therefore dwell in trees, safe from predators and cannibalistic adults. They take around three to five years to mature, and may live as long as fifty years. They are among the rare vertebrates capable of parthenogenesis, in which females may lay viable eggs if males are absent.



Big image:

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[Yanlin]

Good thing those Komodo are slow.

[Duke 2.0]

 Ah, but you have forgotten the best part of Komono Dragons!

 You see, they keep rotting meat in their mouths to encourage the growth of harmful bacteria. After a week they have biological weapons in their saliva. Then they need to only nick a grown bull once with a tooth to infect them. After a short while(I believe hours) the bull is dead from blood poisoning from the bacteria. Then the dragons eat and cultivate more harmful things.

 Also, my keyboard is a bastard.

[inaluct]

Ah, but you have forgotten the best part of Kimono Dragons!

Quoted before he changes it.

[Awayfarer]

Ah, but you have forgotten the best part of Komono Dragons!

 You see, they keep rotting meat in their mouths to encourage the growth of harmful bacteria. After a week they have biological weapons in their saliva. Then they need to only nick a grown bull once with a tooth to infect them. After a short while(I believe hours) the bull is dead from blood poisoning from the bacteria. Then the dragons eat and cultivate more harmful things.

 Also, my keyboard is a bastard.

Takes much, much longer than a few hours to kill anything from infection. Generally the infection is not lethal either, it just cripples the prey such that they can't run away or fight back.

[JoshuaFH]

I wonder if we ever learned craploads about genetic engineering and such, we'd be able to preprogram creatures with instincts that'd be beneficial to humans, or to save a species that is instinctively doing harm to itself, like whales.

[Il Palazzo]

or cross a whale with a mantis shrimp

[Siquo]

Found a good one:

http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye.html



The two things above it's mouth are nostrils. It's eyes are the two green hemispheres inside its skull.

Deep-sea == uebercool.

[Il Palazzo]

I've got a vague feeling of deja vu...

[Siquo]

Has it come up before? I read the thread but couldn't find this one in it...

[Il Palazzo]

(the first post)

[Siquo]

Hehe, Oops 

[Tormy]

Okay, let's continue on!..with yet another cute little bastard. 

Tarsier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarsier

Tarsiers are prosimian primates of the genus Tarsius, a monotypic genus in the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all the species living today are found in the islands of Southeast Asia.

They are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on small vertebrates, such as birds, snakes, lizards, and bats. As they jump from tree to tree, tarsiers can catch even birds in motion.[citation needed]

Gestation takes about six months, and tarsiers give birth to single offspring. Young tarsiers are born furred, and with open eyes, and are able to climb within a day of birth. They reach sexual maturity by the end of their second year. Sociality and mating system varies, with tarsiers from Sulawesi living in small family groups, while Philippine and Western tarsiers are reported to sleep and forage alone.

[Emperor_Jonathan]

Found a good one:

http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye.html



The two things above it's mouth are nostrils. It's eyes are the two green hemispheres inside its skull.

Deep-sea == uebercool.

I can't get my head around the two things above its mouth being nostrils :-S

[umiman]

Hehehe... I've actually seen a lot of those tropical rainforest animals like the mousedeer, tapir, and tarsir in the wild.

On the subject of cute, I think baby rabbits are one of the cutest things in the world...

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I like this thing. Went camping once and woke up with a 1ft. one clinging onto my face. It was pretty disturbing.

link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carausius_morosus
Name: Common Stick Insect

Carausius morosus (the 'common', 'Indian' or 'laboratory' stick insect) is a species of phasmid that is often kept by schools and individuals as pets. Culture stocks originate from an original collection from Tamil Nadu, India. Like the majority of the phasmatodea, they are nocturnal. Culture stocks are parthenogenetic females that can reproduce without mating. There are no reports of males, although in captivity gynandromorphs (individuals with both female and male characteristics) are sometimes reared.

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