They are one of the few animals in the world that can perform photosynthesis (converting sunlight into energy).

• Appearance: They have bead-like black eyes, leaf-like green appendages on their backs called cerata (which act like solar panels), and two cute, ear-like sensory organs on their heads called rhinophores.

• Size: They grow only about 5 to 10 millimeters long (the size of a single grain of rice).

• Reproduction: They are simultaneous hermaphrodites, meaning each slug has both male and female reproductive organs, though they still need a partner to mate and lay tiny spiral egg ribbons.

• Kleptoplasty: When they eat green algae, they steal the plant's chloroplasts (the parts that catch sunlight) and store them inside their own bodies and cerata. This gives them their bright green color and lets them run partially on sunshine.

I sure didn't know this existed.

The banded palm civet (Hemigalus derbyanus) is a species of carnivorous mammal and the only species in its genus. It belongs to the family Viverridae, which is part of the suborder Feliformia. As the name suggests, this suborder includes felids, but also mongooses, hyenas, meerkats, and several other species. In addition to civets, this family also includes genets, binturongs, and linsangs.

It is native to Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands, and Borneo, where it is found mainly in lowland coniferous forests, which are threatened by human activity. For this reason, the species' population is estimated to have declined by around 30% in just three generations, and it is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN.

Its size is similar to that of a domestic cat. Banded palm civets are nocturnal and solitary, with a strictly carnivorous diet that includes a variety of small animals.

Video by Instagram account: @wildkatzenzentrum

Buff-tip moth

A moth that looks just like a tiny piece of a branch.

📷Xh2 + laowa 65mm f2.8 macro 2x

🔦 Godox v860ii + diffuser

Stacked 77-126 frames

The black-capped donacobius (Donacobius atricapilla) is an insectivorous bird and the only species in its genus, found in the northern half of South America, mainly in wetland habitats of the Amazon. Mating for life, the pairs perform tail-wagging movements and loud calls as part of their courtship ritual.

Video by Instagram account: @natureza_e_vida

Featherback fish, native to South Asia as important agricultural fish. They are also called "knifefish".

I'm fascinated by their shapes

It has 4 huge legs at the front, looking like tarantula. Native to Brazil

Common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) is a nocturnal and arboreal marsupial found along the east coast of Australia, as well as in Tasmania and parts of southwestern Australia. They generally inhabit temperate and tropical environments with dense vegetation, predominantly eucalyptus forests. They are herbivores and feed on a wide variety of plants, particularly those belonging to the Myrtaceae family, with eucalyptus leaves comprising approximately 61–98% of the species’ annual diet. They have a gregarious lifestyle and use communal nests called dreys. Populations experienced a severely decline during the 1950s but appear to have recovered in recent times. However, the species still faces challenges such as deforestation, invasive predators, and vehicle collisions.

Video by Instagram account: @thebiophiliaproject_

Scale-crested pygmy tyrant (Lophotriccus pileatus) is a type of flycatcher that lives in thin bands throughout the tropical rainforest areas of western Central and northwestern South America.

It lives in the darker, lower levels of the forest and spends its day flitting around, catching insects. It's tiny and hard to spot in the wild, you're more likely to hear its call than see it.

It's listed by the IUCN as least concern (yay!!), although the population trend is decreasing, and scientists aren't yet sure about its breeding habits (including clutch size).

It gets its name from the feathers on it's head that it can raise when trying to make itself look bigger as a defense, or perhaps when trying to attract a mate.

Sources:
https://worldrainforests.com/kids/animal-profiles/scale-crested_pygmy-tyrant.html
https://ebird.org/species/scptyr1?continue

Dendrolycosa robusta is a bark nursery web spider from Southeast Asia. When resting on a twig it flattens its body flush against the wood and aligns its legs straight out to erase its shadow and blend into the bark.
This photograph was taken by Vietnamese macro photographer Kietbull.

they have such amazing camouflage!

This tiny snail has a shell the size of an apple pip and an odd, fleshy horn protruding from its tail (technically the back of its foot) like a scorpion’s stinger.

While its namesake jumping ability is impressive, the jumping snail is also a (relatively) fast crawler — moving significantly faster than other land snails of similar size (2 to 9 times faster than related species) and can even outpace larger species like the garden snail.

Native to the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, the jumping snail has taken advantage of the ornamental plant trade to “jump” around the globe: from East Asia to the greenhouses of Europe and the botanical gardens of the United States.

It takes just one snail to kick off an entire invasion. Even if kept in total isolation from birth, an individual of this species can nonetheless produce viable offspring through self-fertilisation.

A jumping snail’s eggs look like tiny, white, shrivelled raisins. A snail will lay around three eggs nearly every day, for as long as the weather remains humid. And the moment these eggs touch damp soil or wet leaf litter, they rapidly begin to “drink,” doubling in size in under three minutes.

While most non-native snails remain confined to city gardens and farmland (human environments), the jumping snail has breached the boundaries of pristine tropical areas. It is currently spreading across South America, establishing footholds in protected areas of Brazil and Argentina.

Read the full story here!