Feeling crabby? Feast your eyes on today’s Exhibit of the Day, the Museum’s Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi). This species is the biggest living crab and the largest arthropod in the world, measuring up to 13 ft (4 m) from the tip of one outstretched leg to another! Its diet includes dead fish, invertebrates, and algae, but it occasionally snatches live prey with its strong claws. This scavenger can be found on the seafloor off Japan’s Pacific coast, inhabiting depths of more than 984 ft (300 m). You can spot a model of one in the Museum’s Hall of Ocean Life! Photo: The American Museum Journal, Volume IV 1904
Croc-a-doodle doo! ‘Tis the season for eggs, even if this one isn’t eggsactly what you were expecting to see. 🥚An adult Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) might be a powerful predator, but it starts its life as a tiny hatchling—emerging from an egg that weighs only 4 oz (0.1 kg). Mother crocs lay clutches of nearly 60 eggs in underground nests, guarding them for up to 14 weeks. Fun fact: Nest temperature has a direct effect on the sex of baby crocs. Females hatch from cooler eggs, below 88° F (31° C), while males hatch from warmer eggs! Photo: Veronik80000, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
It’s Wednesday, so hang in there like the silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus)! This critter, which spends most of its life in the trees, uses long claws and a prehensile tail to hang high above the ground. It’s the world’s smallest anteater and only grows about 17.7 inches (45 centimeters) in length, much of it tail. Fun fact: This mammal’s ideal home is a ceiba tree because the tree’s seed pods are similar in appearance to the anteater’s own silky fur, camouflaging this small species from predators.
Photo: Quinten Questel, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
📣 Big news: The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the Museum is opening to the public on May 4! This new building, designed by Studio Gang, includes exhibition galleries, state-of-the-art classrooms, a unique immersive experience venue, a redesigned library, and a major collections facility housing millions of specimens, with floor-to-ceiling exhibits. Learn more: https://bit.ly/40UX0b0
It’s time for another Trilobite Tuesday. Sometimes fossilized trilobites are little more than flat impressions upon a rock surface. Other times, however, they're preserved as near-perfect three dimensional reliefs—like this 2.4 in (6 cm) Nankinolithus! This critter, which lived during the Ordovician some 460 million years ago, was found in what is now Scotland.
Meet blue-ringed octopuses, members of the genus Hapalochlaena. They inhabit coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Though they usually measure less than 8 inches (20. 3 cm) at their largest, keep your distance: Blue-ringed octopuses are among the world’s deadliest cephalopods. Their venomous bite can instantly paralyze, and even kill, a human. Photo: Angell Williams, CC BY 2.0, flickr https://www.instagram.com/p/CqggM3uqGEK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
This Fossil Friday, let’s travel back to the Triassic to meet the mighty Prestosuchus chiniquensis. With large claws, a huge head, and sharp-toothed jaws, you might think this animal was a dinosaur. But, Prestosuchus was actually closely related to crocodylomorphs, a group that includes living crocs and their extinct relatives! At around 20 ft (6 m) long and 900 lbs (408 kg), Prestosuchus was one of the most formidable predators of its time—inhabiting what is now modern-day Brazil some 210 million years ago. Photo: Image no. ptc-6435 © AMNH (circa 1996) #amnh #museum #fossils #fossilfriday #paleontology #paleoart https://www.instagram.com/p/CqdKaLmrbNk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Meet the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock (Rupicola peruvianus). Wondering how this bird got its unique name? It’s a reference to this species’ habit of building nests on rocky outcrops. Found at high elevations in the cloud forests of South America’s Andes Mountains, it can reach lengths of up to 12 in (30.5 cm). Males sport vivid red-orange plumage and a disc-shaped crest, but this bird’s appearance isn’t its only unusual trait. Have you ever squeezed a rubber chicken? The Andean-Cock-of-the-Rock makes a similar sound during courtship rituals, which include squeaking, grunting cries! Photo: Doug Greenberg, CC BY-NC 2.0, flickr #amazingnature #wildlife #wildlifeplanet #birdsofinstagram #birdsonearth #nature https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqal_7IrvyJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Why the blue tongue? For this reptile, it’s a form of self defense! Meet the blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides). Found in Australia and New Guinea, this lizard can reach lengths of nearly 2 ft (61 cm). Its body is covered in overlapping scales, supported by bony plates called osteoderms, which protect it from predators. But when faced with persistent foes, the blue-tongued skink has another defense: It will open its mouth, hiss, and reveal a bold blue tongue—startling foes with a flash of vibrant color. Photo: Doug Beckers, CC BY-SA 2.0, flickr #nature #amazingnature #wildlife #herpetology https://www.instagram.com/p/CqYvG5ivbkT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Meet the world’s smallest bear: the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus). Named for the golden patch on its chest, this species typically weighs only around 103 pounds (47 kilograms)—about half the size of an American black bear! The sun bear, which can be found in parts of Southeast Asia, is an excellent climber and uses its long claws to help it move from tree to tree. This bear sometimes even makes nests of branches high in the treetops, where it snoozes up to 128 feet (40 meter) off the ground. Photo: Reinhold Möller, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons #wildlife #nature #amazingnature #animalkingdom #animalfacts https://www.instagram.com/p/CqWKLLfNGR-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Monday mood? This grumpy-looking fennec fox (Vulpes zerda). Found in the deserts of North Africa, this critter is the smallest canid of all, typically reaching weights of only 3 pounds (1.4 kg)! It also has the largest ears (relative to body size) of any canine, which disperse heat and help this mammal hear prey moving under the sand. This critter is well-adapted to its arid habitat: It’s able to go long periods without drinking water by obtaining moisture from its food! Photo: Tambako The Jaguar, CC BY-ND 2.0, flickr #wildlife #nature #animals #animalkingdom #natureisamazing https://www.instagram.com/p/CqS4TOML_Gz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
The plains spadefoot (Spea bombifrons) is toadally cute. But did you know that this stout amphibian, which inhabits arid regions of western North America, is an “explosive” breeder? After mating, females can lay as many as 2,000 eggs! These eggs might hatch in as few as two days, and the resulting tadpoles can develop rapidly, sometimes maturing in just 13 days. This species reproduces en masse after warm heavy rains. Photo: Andrew DuBois, CC BY-NC 2.0, flickr #nature #naturegram #amazinganimals #wildlife #animalsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CqQLtlur2S3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
For your daily dose of fluff, meet the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)! When disturbed, this critter can raise the hairs on its back, doubling in size to intimidate foes. Found in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and India, it prefers open habitats like savannas and scrublands. This hyena is typically a scavenger that feeds on carrion, but it also supplements its diet with fruits, seeds, and leaves. Photo: Dop Rushikesh Deshmukh, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons #nature #natureworld #wildlife #wildlifephotography #amazingnature https://www.instagram.com/p/CqOe4sVPROB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
What a croc! 🐊 This Fossil Friday, let’s take a bite out of the weekend with Deinosuchus—a giant crocodilian that lived alongside the dinosaurs some 75 million years ago. Reaching lengths of more than 35 feet (10.7 m) and weighing more than 8,000 lbs (3628.7 kg), Deinosuchus was as long as a school bus and as heavy as an elephant, making it one of the most powerful predators in its ecosystem. In fact, partially healed bite marks found on the bones of a tyrannosaur in North America match this giant croc’s teeth, suggesting Deinosuchus could go toe to toe with even the most formidable of dinosaurs. This image is a historical reconstruction from 1942 and is not representative of current size estimates. Photo: Image no. 318634 © AMNH Library #paleontology #fossils #dinosaurs #fossilfriday #amnh #museum https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLMKD5M5cW/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
🦇 Any guesses about how the big-eared woolly bat (Chrotopterus auritus) got its name? With a wingspan of over 1.5 feet (0.5 m), this critter is one of the largest bats in the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Argentina. Scientists think it uses its oversized ears for echolocation, emitting high-frequency squeaks and listening to the resulting echoes to find prey. The big-eared woolly bat is an omnivore with a taste for meat: Birds, mice, opossums, and other bats are on the menu. It typically consumes large prey from the head down, and can take up to 20 hours to finish a single meal! Photo: edward137, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist #animals #nature #wildlife #amazinganimals #amazingnature https://www.instagram.com/p/CqI1JLtroQy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Does the work week have you feeling like an aye-aye? You are not alone. Rarely seen in daylight, the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a nocturnal primate found only in Madagascar. This animal, which prefers a solitary lifestyle, spends nearly 80% of its evenings foraging for fruits, seeds, and insect larvae. It uses its elongated middle fingers to find and skewer food! Photo: Frank Vassen, CC BY 2.0, flickr #wildlife #didyouknow #amazinganimals #nature #amnh #wildlifephotography https://www.instagram.com/p/CqF_ahVsQ9l/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
🚨 New research alert! Carnivores typically have forward-facing eye sockets to ensure stereoscopic (3D) vision—an important trait for judging the position of prey during hunting. But the “marsupial sabertooth” Thylacosmilus had wide-set eyes and laterally facing sockets, adaptations seen more often in herbivores than meat-eaters. So how could it maintain an estimated diet of 70 percent meat? A team of researchers, including Museum scientist Ross MacPhee, think special adaptations allowed Thylacosmilus to see in 3D despite its unusual anatomy. Using CT scanning and 3D virtual reconstructions, they’ve compared this predator’s visual system to those of modern and extinct carnivores. Learn more about their findings! Link in our bio. Image: © Jorge Blanco #paleontology #paleoart #science #amnh #museum https://www.instagram.com/p/CqDdE3pNEa_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Monday mood? The rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus). Known as the “hummingbird of cats,” this species is one of the world’s smallest felines, reaching weights of only 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg). Primarily nocturnal, this cat uses its large eyes to hunt under the cover of darkness. It can be spotted in parts of Southeast Asia including India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Photo: Cloudtail the Snow Leopard, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, flickr #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #nature #wildlife #amazinganimals https://www.instagram.com/p/CqAzQX_rrSU/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Hop into the work week with the Indian bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus)! 🐸 This large frog grows up to 7 inches (17.8 centimeters) and weighs around 1.3 pounds (0.59 kilograms). Small prey, like insects and earthworms, are on the menu… but so are larger animals like mice and birds! During breeding season, males turn from olive green to a brighter yellow with contrasting blue vocal sacs. In addition to India, this semi-aquatic frog might be spotted in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Photo: Danielnasika1, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons #wildlife #nature #amazingnature #animalkingdom https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp-LKUENtvc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=