allcreatures:

The world’s smallest chameleon. The 29mm reptile is no bigger than the flies an average-sized chameleon would feed on. Scientists discovered four new species - called Brookesia micra - on a small islet just off the main island of Madagascar. This chameleon is now thought to be one of the smallest reptiles on the planet. Ted Townsend of San Diego State University, who carried out the genetic studies, said: “Their size suggests that chameleons might have evolved in Madagascar from small and inconspicuous ancestors, quite unlike the larger and more colourful chameleons most familiar to us today.î The newly discovered chameleons are only found in an area just a few square kilometers in size. Scientists believe they might be especially sensitive to habitat destruction. Picture: BARCROFT MEDIA

[A tiny gray chameleon climbing someone’s fingernail. The chameleon’s body doesn’t extend across the tip of the finger

(via wnycradiolab)

sovietpostcards:

by A. Isakov (1989)

[A color image of a small rodent clinging to a branch. It faces the viewer, and its tail is curled up under it for balance.]

I felt I needed this in my life where I could find it again. The whiskers! The tiny little digits!

(via scientificillustration)

biomedicalephemera:

Philippe Verheyen (1648-1711) Dissecting His Amputated Limb

By an anonymous artist, ca. 1715. Postmortem painting in honor of a famous Dutch anatomist and surgeon.

Medium: Oil on Panel. Size: 16.3”X16.5”

From the collection of Pieter Deheijde.

[Philippe Verheyen seated at a wooden table, with, indeed, his amputated leg in front of him. He is leaning forward, preparing to cut into the skin.]

Come on, now. Making arrangements ahead of time to ensure you get the chance to dissect your own leg, post amputation? That is pretty hardcore dedication to the pursuit of empirical knowledge, right there.

(via scientificillustration)

[[A crowd of people line a pier to watch as a whale shark is lifted out of the water by several cranes.]]

A whale shark that washed up dead near the fisheries harbor in Karachi, Pakistan today (seventh of Feburary, 2012). Click on the picture for more.

This is an amazing photo! Akhtar Soomro took it for Reuters News Service. Look how the angle emphasizes the sinous curve of the fish’s body, capturing the way gravity acts upon that mass once it’s removed from the water. And the careful juxtiposition of the people who’ve come to get a close look does so many things. It provides scale, for one thing, but their light colored clothes visually counterbalance the dark body of the whale shark and the almost black water.

So lovely.

dendroica:

n192_w1150 by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.

Natural history of New York Div. 1 pts. III-IV Plates
Albany,D. Appleton & co. and Wiley & Putnam;1842-94.
biodiversitylibrary.org/item/93534

Skates, rays, and mouth arrays!

(via scientificillustration)

[A manuscript page with a drawing of aconite, root system exposed - notations in Greek and Arabic are visible around the edges.]

A page from Dioscorides’ Materia Medica, first published in 65 CE. This a picture of a fascimile of a considerably later example - the Anica codex, currently housed in the Austrian National Library.

artstudio360:

ATC by Betsi, made for Collageathon 2012

[A collage piece - two groups of fish swim towards each other - text across the top says “Look out! They’re coming back.”]

artstudio360 had a collage challenge recently - I’m reblogging this one because it makes me laugh every time I look at it, but they’re all clever and lovely. Click on the picture and check out the rest!