This is the Short Faced Bear, it lived in California 11,000 years ago. It’s the largest known mammalian carnivore and it might have hunted humans. Imagine coming face to face with this guy, and all you’ve got to defend yourself is a stone-age handheld axe.
A beautiful map of all the known asteroids in the Solar System. What if a map like this is the precursor to space exploration and mining, like the early cartographical maps of the Americas? (Image comes from u/hellofromthemoon on Reddit)
This Lion monument is from Heracleion, a sunken Egyptian city. Before the 2nd Century BC it was the primary port of Egypt. But after a catastrophic flood, its soil liquified and the entire city gradually sunk into the Mediterranean sea.
A panorama from the surface of Mars. You could walk outside tonight, point up at a light in the sky, then pull out your phone and see what it looks like on the surface.
Image source: NASA
This hummingbird sitting on a ‘Heliconia rostrata’. Neither creature is conscious of it, but both have been made for each other by a multi-million-year-old evolutionary partnership between their species. Among other things, the flower became downward-facing and vibrantly red, and the bird became small, long-beaked, and long-tongued.
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🔥 This crab is using an upside down jellyfish for the perfect protection.
Posted by Cyber_Being_ in r/NatureIsFuckingLit
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Scientists made an incredible discovery in the ocean’s ‘twilight zone’ off Tahiti
(CNN) Deep in the ocean off the coast of Tahiti, scientists made an incredible discovery in November: acres of giant, pristine, rose-shaped corals blossoming from the sea floor in what’s known as the ocean’s twilight zone. And until its latest discovery, the vast majority of the planet’s known coral ecosystems were believed to extend to a depth of just 25 meters, illustrating how much of the ocean — which covers more than 70% of Earth’s surface — still needs to be explored. The discovery suggests that there are, in fact, many more large reefs out in our ocean at depths of more than 30 meters, which have not been mapped, Barbiere said. Though the Tahiti reef appears healthy right now, there’s still concern that the effects of climate change will reach it, said Steven Mana’oakamai Johnson, a postdoctoral research scholar and marine scientist at Arizona State University. The big takeaway is that [the UNESCO team] found this track of reef that’s in good condition, which definitely speaks to how little we’ve done to truly map the ocean, said Johnson, who is not involved with the research.
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The Reddish Egret, a particularly glamorous heron, is best known for its startling antics in capturing fish. When fishing, the egret sprints across the lagoon, weaving left and right, simultaneously flicking its broad wings in and out, while stabbing into the water with its bill. Fish startled at the egret’s crazed movements become targets of that pink dagger. At times, the bird will raise its wings forward over its head, creating a shadow on the water. It then freezes in this position for minutes. Fish swim in, attracted by a patch of shade and . . . well, you know the rest. Learn more at BirdNote.org.
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Lichen colonies often remind me of thriving coral reefs. 🐠
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