![]() Post free (or PWYW), ready-to-use, playtested DM resources that YOU createdģ. Some lures even contain bioluminescent chemicals for use in deeper water where sunlight cannot penetrate.We are a library of resources and we're here to help!Ģ. Unlike the snapping turtle, some anglerfish take this lure to the next level, with the lures varying in shape from globular to looking like fleshy worms. These growths act as fishing lures – similar to the alligator snapping turtle – and are used to attract prey towards their open mouths. This group of fish is characterized by the presence of a fleshy growth on the front of their heads. ![]() We couldn’t do a list of aggressive mimics without including the anglerfish. There, they ignore the bees, choosing instead to feed on the sugary honey stored inside. These insects do not use vision-based mimicry instead, they mimic the smell of bees, allowing them to get close to hives without being stung. Identifiable by the skull-like markings near their head, death’s-heads include three species of moths found in Europe and Asia. These moths became iconic in the minds of the public after their appearance in Silence of the Lambs, where they were placed in the mouths of a serial killer’s victims. Once the snail is eaten by a bird, the broodsac develops into adults, reproduces, and then lays eggs in the bird’s droppings, ready for another snail to come along and eat them. What’s more, the snail has a reduced dislike of sunlight, making them more likely to appear in the sunlight and attract birds. The sac pulsates with bright red, yellow, and green, resembling a caterpillar. After a snail eats it, the sac makes its way to the eyestalks of the snail, causing both physical and behavioral changes in its host. Each ‘worm’ is in fact a sac of many hundreds of small larval flatworms. ![]() The broodsac gets its name from the way it creates a sac of larvae. This incredible flatworm uses a lure not to get prey, but to get eaten. Green-banded Broodsac ( Leucochloridium paradoxum) Other mantis species go in the opposite direction, disguising themselves as dead leaves to avoid suspicion and predation. In other words, to their prey look like better flowers than the real flowers themselves. Orchid mantises act as a hyperstimulus they are more appealing to their prey than the real orchid flowers, as their coloration is more vivid than the petals they are copying. The orchid mantis presents itself as the flower of an orchid, with its wide limbs and bright coloration looking like the petals. This makes the katydid a remarkably versatile predator of Australian cicadas. These insects mimic the mating calls of female cicadas, and are able to mimic not only multiple species, but also species that they have never heard before. It’s hard to tell just what this colorful katydid is trying to mimic by looks alone, and for good reason – the spotted predatory katydid is on this list because of its ability to mimic the sounds of its prey. Spotted Predatory Katydid ( Chlorobalius leucoviridis) Like something out of a horror movie, the false head splits open to reveal a pair of needle-like fangs, used to pierce prey and deter rival spiders. Adding insult to injury, in males the mouthparts are enlarged and elongated to resemble the head of an ant. Waving a pair of legs in the air like antennae, they go unnoticed as they ambush lone ants and drag them away to be eaten. ![]() These spiders specialize in feeding on specific species of ants, with some species even going as far as to just mimic ants of specific age groups, with different colors for different ant maturities. The antmimicking spiders of the genus Myrmarachne are part of a group known as jumping spiders. Instead of cleaning the fish, these blennies will instead take bites out of the fish they are ‘serving’. The false cleanerfish is a blenny that mimics the coloration and signaling of the true cleaner wrasses, waiting for a large fish to come along expecting to be cleaned. As with any good relationship, there is always something that exists to exploit it. The cleanerfish is fed, and the big fish is cleaned. The cleanerfish swims between the mouths and gills of the larger fish, picking off parasites, dead tissue, and other unwanted hitchhikers. ‘True’ cleanerfish are a species of wrasse that set up ‘cleaning stations’ for larger fish, such as groupers. False Cleanerfish ( Aspidontus taeniatus) This growth mimics the movement and appearance of a worm, with the turtle acting like a true fisherman, lying in wait until a fish takes the bait and becomes dinner. Despite their powerful bite, these freshwater turtles disguise themselves among the dead wood and mud at the bottom of rivers and lakes, wiggling a small growth on their tongue within its open mouth. With a set of jaws as large as those of the alligator snapping turtle, you'd be justified to wonder why the alligator snapping turtle would need any form of camouflage. ![]()
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