Oriental whip snake (Ahaetulla prasina)

Gadung or Asian vine snake or oriental whip snake (Ahaetulla prasina) is a species of snake that is most often found which resembles the tops of vines, up to 2 meters long, although generally only 1-1.5 meters, arborial and live in tropical regions and Asian rain forests.

A. prasina has a pointed head like an arrow, eyes are rather large with horizontal pupils as if they were closing their eyes, long tail and functioned as a clutch of branches like other tree snakes.

The top is green or gray-green with black, white or pale blue edge scales. The lower part is paler or yellowish green with thin yellow lines on both sides.

Oriental whip snake live in trees, plants and wild bushes that thrive in open forests, plantations and house yards. The main food is a tree lizard, tree frogs, sometimes also chicks that are left by their mother.

Asian vine snake will bend his neck to form like the letter "S" and flatten the neck when they feel threatened, so the edges of the scales that are black, white or blue pale so that the intruders go away.

Females present 4-10 babies, each measuring between 24-49 cm long. This species records at least four subspecies: Ahaetulla prasina medioxima, Ahaetulla prasina preocularis, Ahaetulla prasina prasina and Ahaetulla prasina suluensis.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Ahaetulla
Species: A. prasina
Subspesies: A. prasina medioxima, A. prasina preocularis, A. prasina prasina and A. prasina suluensis.

A deep-sea isopod Bathyopsurus nybelini adapted to feed submerged Sargassum algae

NEWS - Incredible footage shows a marine species, Bathyopsurus nybelini , feeding on something that sinks from the ocean’s surface. Researchers using the submersible Alvin found the isopod swimming 3.7 miles down using its paddle-like legs to catch an unexpected food source: Sargassum. Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Montana, SUNY Geneseo, Willamette University and the University of Rhode Island found the algae sinking, while the isopod waited and adapted specifically to find and feed on the sinking nutrient source. The Sargassum lives on the surface for photosynthesis. The discovery of a deep-sea animal that relies on food that sinks from the waters miles above underscores the close relationship between the surface and the deep. “It’s fascinating to see this beautiful animal actively interacting with sargassum, so deep in the ocean. This isopod is extremely rare; only a handful of specimens were collected during the groundbreaking Swedis...

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