Costasiella Kuroshimae

Costasiella kuroshimae

Is also known as “leaf sheep” is a kind of sea slug who feeds on algae.

What makes it so interesting is that it is the only organism in the entire world that is not a plant yet is able to photosynthesize.

Costasiella Kuroshimae are shell-less and range in size from 5mm to 1cm (1/4 to 3/8 inch) in length.

They were first discovered in 1993 off the coast of the Japanese island Kuroshima.

The interesting fact about these slugs is that they are capable of a physiological process called kleptoplasty, in which they retain the chloroplasts from the algae they feed on.

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Argema mittrei

Also known as comet moth lives in Madagascar.

The male has a wingspan of 20 centimeters and a tail span of 15 centimeters. Which makes it one of the world’s largest silk moths.

The female lays 120-170 eggs.

They unfortunately live only between 6-8 days.

When the moths emerge from their cocoons as adults they no longer feed on plants to survive. They do have a mouth and a gut but neither function.

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Smaug giganteus

Isn’t it funny that they named it after Smaug, the DRAGON?!

It is named after the dragon Smaug from the fantasy book “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The second part of its name „gigangeus“ is Latin meaning gigantic, because it is the largest member of the Cordylidae family.

They grown up to 35-40cm (15 inches).

Unlike other girdled lizards they don’t live on rocks, they make shallow burrows in open grassland. They live in South Africa.

Byasa polyeuctes

Also known als the common windmill or windmill butterfly. It is very common in India and belongs to the windmill genus “Byasa”

These butterflies prefer forests and woods as habitat.

The length is between 1.1 and 1.4 cm

Clione limacina

Sea Angel

Did you know that 2 Pokémon’s were based on the clione? (Manaphy and Phione)

They’re found from the surface to greater than 500m (1.600 feet) depth.

It was first described by Friderich Martens in 1676. It was the first gymnosomatous (without a shell) to be described.

They feed on the sea butterflies of the genus Limacina. They live around 2 or more years.

They breed during spring and summer and the eggs are about 0.12mm (4.7 thou)

Clione are usually found in the Arctic Ocean or cold regions of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Langaha Madagascariensis

Malagasy leaf-nosed snake

The special thing about this snake is its nose.

It has a strange nasal appendage that is pointy in males and leaf-like in females. The males are dorsally brown and ventrally yellow while the females are mottled grey.

They are usually found in Madagascar and are poisonous (not dangerous for humans). They lay in trees with their snouts hanging down from the branches, resembling vines.

To be more plant like they swing with the wind. They can grow up to 1m (3 feet) in length.

They mainly eat frogs and lizards are oviparous with clutch sizes ranging from 5 to 11 eggs.