Name that critter

[brontodocus]

Hehe, they aren't easy to find, they are endemic to China. Kidding, I knew they'd be a bit harder to find out. BTW, only the males look like that.

[Ana]

Hehe, they aren't easy to find, they are endemic to China. Kidding, I knew they'd be a bit harder to find out. BTW, only the males look like that.

OK, I found it, it's Vibrissaphora boringii  Emei moustache toad, yes?

[brontodocus]

OK, I found it, it's Vibrissaphora boringii  Emei moustache toad, yes?

Yes, that's it. Congrats!

[Ana]

OK, then here is one pretty bird to guess

[Varanus]

Hmm, it's a bulbul of some type.  Perhaps the White-spectacled Bulbul, Pycnonotus xanthopygos?

[Ana]

Yes, exactly this one What is Your animal to guess?

[Varanus]

One of my favorite fish



Sorry about the poor photo, it was the only I could find that didn't have the name in the url.

[Himmapaan]

I'm not making any guesses, but I just wanted to observe that the Cyclocosmia which Andre posted on the last page looks as though it could be designed by a Mesoamerican culture. Amazing!

[brontodocus]

Hehe, it really does. _{But it was Adam who posted it.}

[Himmapaan]

Hehe, it really does. _{But it was Adam who posted it.}

Ack, sorry! I honestly meant Adam but typed your name!  It's late and I've been working all evening. 

[brontodocus]

Just to let you know, I'm still having a hard time trying to figure out what fish this is. My first thought was a fusilier but I found none that match. Or a Fusilier Damselfish, Lepidozygus tapeinosoma, but that doesn't match properly, either. Many colourful reef fish are hard to identify and highly variable in colour and growth stages may look completely different (as males and females often do, too). Phew, I won't say I give up but I don't think I'm really close to identify this one, it may well be something completely unrelated to those I was thinking of.

[Varanus]

Just to let you know, I'm still having a hard time trying to figure out what fish this is. My first thought was a fusilier but I found none that match. Or a Fusilier Damselfish, Lepidozygus tapeinosoma, but that doesn't match properly, either. Many colourful reef fish are hard to identify and highly variable in colour and growth stages may look completely different (as males and females often do, too). Phew, I won't say I give up but I don't think I'm really close to identify this one, it may well be something completely unrelated to those I was thinking of.

No, not a fusilier, good guess though.   Here's a hint:  the family this fish belongs to is popular with aquarists, though they are not particularly hardy; it also contains larger species that are popular sportfish.  A note about what you said on the variability of coloration: this species has an amazing ability that is comparable to that found in cephalopods, but on a much more colorful scale.

[AnimalToyForum]

Flashing tilefish (Hoplolatilus chlupatyi)‎. Oooo - how cheeky to pick an animal that can change its appearance! So, I see your tilefish and raise you a:

[Varanus]

Flashing tilefish (Hoplolatilus chlupatyi)‎. Oooo - how cheeky to pick an animal that can change its appearance!

Hmm, well yours is clearly a katydid or grasshopper of some sort (and a very well camouflaged one at that!), but what kind....



....I'm back, and I think it's a Spiny Tree Katydid, Phricta spinosa.  I'm probably way off, there's so many well camouflaged katydids out there!

[AnimalToyForum]

You are right about it being a katydid, but it is a different genus.  There's a clue in the picture to its common name - what's the green stuff it's sitting on? 

[brontodocus]

So then it would be a Moss-mimic Katydid, Haemodiasma tessellata? And apparently it's still a nymph.

[AnimalToyForum]

So then it would be a Moss-mimic Katydid, Haemodiasma tessellata? And apparently it's still a nymph.

I think you are correct! The original picture (taken in Costa Rica) doesn't specify what genus it is, and so I had identified it at a moss katydid (Championica montana), or spiny moss katyid (C. pilata). However, I don't know for sure, and so I readily bow to your wisdom! Both genera are from Costa Rica, in any case. So...your turn

[brontodocus]

I'm not entirely sure. It may be a Championica or a Haemodiasma. I've never seen them other than on photos and I don't know to which of these the nymph in the photo belongs. Well then...
Hmm, I hope this one isn't too easy. It was first described from a certain place in Europe...

[Varanus]

Is that the predatory flatworm Bipalium kewense?

[brontodocus]

Hehe, yes, it is! It was first described from Kew Gardens.