Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Bristol Zoo Part III: Aquarium and Bug World

So a certain thing happened and now we're all fucked.

Now have some pictures of fish and arthropods.

The entrance of the Bristol Zoo's aquarium highlights their work in the conservation of the white-clawed crayfish, a British native currently threatened by invasive crayfish species.

Some mudskippers.

A shotsilk goby. Really a dartfish, not a goby.

The insect house, Bug World, is one of the zoo's highlights. It is likely one of the best insect displays I've ever seen. For starters, the insects are given quite spacious enclosures that put them in the context of their environment, as opposed to simple set-ups that look like those one could have obtained from any pet store.

For another, some quite unusual species were exhibited. Looking at these at a glance, I would have assumed they were stick insects. They are, in fact, horse-headed grasshoppers!

Placed on plaques throughout Bug World are poems dedicated to the exhibit's inhabitants.

The subject of the previously shown poem, somewhat out of focus.

A variety of colorful beetles, including ornate sun beetles, lesser goliath beetles, and horned flower beetles.

A purple jewel beetle living up to its name.

Part of a comic describing conservation efforts on Partula snails. The bottom panel shows a surprisingly graphic cartoon of an invasive giant African snail crushing an invasive carnivorous snail while Bristol Zoo flies in to rescue the Partula.

A shrimp with an unusual name.

A poem for a coral.

A domino cockroach. In appearance it mimics ground beetles that are capable of spraying noxious chemicals.

It's hard to see in this picture, but this is a Lord Howe Island stick insect (sometimes called a tree lobster), one of the rarest insects in the world.

2 comments:

  1. Funniest of your posts of all time..
    "So a certain thing happened and now we're all f!!!!ed.
    A shrimp with an unusual name.
    (S!!y shrimp)
    although I do like this zoo. As well as the post.

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    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed it. For context on the "we're all f*cked" comment, this was written shortly after the 2016 US presidential election...

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