Recently-Discovered Wasp Species Named For Harry Potter Creature

If you are familiar with the Harry Potter series, you probably remember the dementors: dark, ghost-like beings that suck every positive feeling away leaving nothing but an empty shell. These awful creatures have now made the transition from fantasy to scientific literature, as they are now the namesake of a newly discovered species of cockroach wasp. The name Ampulex dementor  was chosen through public voting and has been described by Stefanie Krause and her team at the Natural History Museum in Berlin. The paper has been published in PLOS ONE.

The wasp, native to Thailand, has bright red and black coloring. It is one of over 200 species of wasp which reproduces by way of a host incubator and this species chooses cockroaches. The female lands on top of a cockroach and using its stinger to inject neurotoxins directly into the roach’s head. The cockroach immediately takes on a zombie-like obedient state, following the wasp back to her burrow. There, she lays her egg inside the cockroach. The roach incubates the egg for a few days until it hatches. The larva then feeds on the roach until it is old enough to go off on its own.

With a reproduction strategy like that, it is no wonder that A. dementor was chosen by museum visitors. Here were the options for the voters, as written in the paper:

A. dementor: “The species name refers to the dementors, which are fictional characters appearing in Harry Potter books. Dementors are magical beings, which can consume a person’s soul, leaving their victims as an empty but functional body without personality or emotions. The name is an allusion to the docility of the paralyzed cockroach.”

A. mon: “The Mon people are one of the earliest known ethnic groups in Thailand. The name is an allusion to the geographic origin of the wasp from Thailand.”

A. bicolor: “Derived from the Latin bi = two and color = color; an allusion to the distinctive, black-red coloration of the wasp.”

A. plagiator: “The new species is an ant-mimic: It tries to imitate ants in its general appearance as well as in its way of moving. One can say that the wasp is a plagiarist of the ant, and who is not reminded of current plagiarisms …?”

The researchers note that some 18,000 species are described each year. Researchers often choose to name new species after sponsors or other people who contributed to the study, but having the public weigh in creates a bond between the voters and the new species, which might boost interest in getting the public to care about conservation status.

Do the tactics of this wasp sound familiar? Many other species of wasp use other insects to incubate/feed their young. We have already introduced you to some which use tarantulas or caterpillars. Also, this isn’t the only creature with a name derived from pop culture. The science of naming organisms has been previously discussed on IFLScience: once with genes and once with organisms.

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House Cat Saved a Little Boy

Cat defends the boy during a vicious dog attack and runs the dog off before the dog can do additional damage.

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Death Match: Tarantula vs. Wasp

With their relatively large, hairy bodies, tarantulas aren’t exactly pretty to look at. Their fear factor goes up when you consider that they they are able to eat larger animals like lizards, mice, and some small birds. However, most of the 900 species have venom weaker than a honeybee and don’t really pose a risk to humans. Besides, if you think these spiders are scary, just imagine the kind of creature that preys on them.

Meet the tarantula hawk:

Adult tarantula hawks are fantastic pollinators and aren't typically aggressive. The males aren’t even able to sting.

The female, on the other hand, is one badass bitch. Though she is pretty docile most of the time, she will strike when threatened. Her sting is described as one of the most severe out of any insect, and for about three minutes, the victim (even a human) completely loses the mental capacity for any other action other than reacting to the pain.

So where do the spiders fit in? Well, when a mommy and daddy tarantula hawk love each other very much want to pass along their genes and come together to fertilize an egg, they want to make sure that it will be well taken care of, as they won’t physically be present to ensure it survives. They need to find a host, and as the name implies, it's a tarantula. Because male spiders will typically forego eating in order to search for a mate, the wasps prefer to target well-fed females.

When the female wasp is ready, she attacks. If all goes well, the wasp stings the spider, rendering it paralyzed for a few minutes but does not kill it. The fertilized egg is then deposited into the spider’s abdomen so it will be kept safe and warm. A few days later, the larva emerges and begins to feed on the spider’s juices. As it grows over the next 20 days, it continues to eat the still-living spider from the inside, but is careful not to eat vital organs which would kill the spider, meaning that the larva wouldn’t have fresh food.

The tarantula isn’t typically able to kill the wasp, because the wasp can just fly out of reach. At best, the spider just hopes to escape and fights fiercely, knowing it is a matter of life and death. Despite the wasp’s advantage, the outcome of the encounter could go either way.

Who do you think will win this round?
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Dancing frog species discovered in Indian jungle mountains

Scientists have discovered 14 new species of so-called dancing frogs in the jungle mountains of southern India.

Indian biologists say they found the tiny acrobatic amphibians, which earned their name with the unusual kicks they use to attract mates, declining dramatically in number during the 12 years in which they chronicled the species through morphological descriptions and molecular DNA markers. They breed after the yearly monsoon in fast-rushing streams, but their habitat appears to be becoming increasingly dry.

"It's like a Hollywood movie, both joyful and sad. On the one hand, we have brought these beautiful frogs into public knowledge. But about 80% are outside protected areas, and in some places, it was as if nature itself was crying," said the project's lead scientist, University of Delhi professor Sathyabhama Das Biju.

Biju said that, as researchers tracked frog populations, forest soils lost moisture and perennial streams ran inexplicably dry. He acknowledged his team's observations about forest conditions were only anecdotal; the scientists did not have time or resources to collect data demonstrating the declining habitat trends they believed they were witnessing.

The study listing the new species published Thursday in the Ceylon Journal of Science brings the number of known Indian dancing frog species to 24. They're found exclusively in the Western Ghats, a lush mountain range that stretches 1,600 kilometers (990 miles) from the western state of Maharashtra down to the country's southern tip.

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Exotic Pets - Geckos

Most people are scared of animals like lizards and geckos. However, some of us absolutely adore these creepy crawlers. Others even keep them as pets. Taking care of a gecko isn’t as hard as it sounds like. Here are a few pointers on how you can take care of them as a pet.

First, you need to make sure you get your gecko from a good pet shop or a certified gecko breeder. You want to get a healthy, disease-free gecko. You can also get them online, just make sure the site you get them is reliable.

Get a 10 to 20 gallon aquarium that has a safe screen lid. Geckos can still climb the glass, so make sure you keep the aquarium covered at all times. Never place sand at the bottom of their aquarium, this can actually end up getting into their stomachs which stays and hardens there. Instead, use reptile carpet, paper towel, cabinet liners, tile, or slate tiles.  Place a reptile shelter like a rock cave or log inside as well.

Since geckos originally live in areas with warmer temperatures, you’d need to place a heat pad under their aquariums to keep a steady, warm temperature.

Keep your geckos well fed with meal worms, roaches, wax worms and crickets. Before you give these bugs to the gecko, dust them with calcium and vitamin D powder to help keep their bones healthy. Don’t leave the crickets hopping around the aquarium since they can bite your gecko. Also, leave clean water for swimming/drinking. You should also mist the inside of the aquarium with water every other day to keep it moist.

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Mother's Day: animal moms with their cute babies

Mother's Day should not  be limited to humans alone. Even animals take care of their youngs with the best they could. 

Red panda and cubs

Cat and kitten

Dolphin and calf

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Big mouth! Super rare megamouth shark caught off Japan sheds light on life of this mysterious creature of the deep

A rare megamouth shark has been caught in waters off the coast of Japan. The animal was caught accidentally by fishermen.

An autopsy was performed on the 1,500 pound female shark, while onlookers watched the proceedings. Biologists believe the animal lived around 2,600 feet underwater.

This is only the 58th time in history members of this rare species has been captured or seen by humans. The first megamouth shark was caught in 1976, near Hawaii. The unfortunate shark was caught by an anchor, belonging to a U.S. Naval vessel. When this first animal was discovered, the find forced marine biologists to develop new classifications for family genus of shark.

Despite their large mouths, the docile animals are filter-feeders who consume vast quantities of krill to survive. Mouths are used to filter large quantities of water, straining out the small, protein-rich organisms. They are believed to grow to about 17 feet in length.

Megamouth sharks are rarely seen by humans, but they are known to inhabit the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They have only been spotted 13 times in waters off Japan. Sperm whales are their only known predator which can stretch more than 60 feet in length.

A fishing expedition off the coast of the Philippines also accidentally caught one of the rare animals in a fishing net. The 1,100 pound creature died after capture, and was brought to shore. There, the shark was butchered and eaten.

By examining this specimen, biologists hope to uncover information about the species. They also hope to learn about how the reclusive animals behave deep underwater.

"Along the inner lining of its gills are rows of cartilage-cored, finger-like gill rakers, which the animal almost certainly uses to strain food from the surrounding seawater. Known prey of the Megamouth Shark consists entirely of animals [that eat plankton], Yet most plankton is found near the surface, so it is something of a mystery how Megamouth manages to find enough to eat," Elasmo Research, a group dedicated to shark education, wrote on their website.

Just a few days ago, fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico caught an elusive goblin shark, which was the first ever captured in those waters. That animal survived the ordeal, and was released back into its native habitat.

More than 1,500 people gathered to watch the autopsy of the megamouth shark. Now, the remains are on display at the museum.

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"Pinocchio Rex": T. rex's long-snouted cousin discovered

Dead men tell no lies, but perhaps dead dinosaurs do. A new dinosaur species found in China and nicknamed "Pinocchio Rex" was a long-snouted cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex.

The narrow-nosed beast was slightly smaller and more slender than T. rex, but was still a top predator, researchers say. It roamed the Earth more than 66 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period, just before the space-rock impact that is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs.

The new creature heralds the existence of a new clade, or group, of dinosaurs, according to the study detailed May 7 in the journal Nature Communications.

"People have a picture of tyrannosaurus apex predators -- the biggest, baddest, meanest dinosaurs," said study researcher Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland.

The new dinosaur fits that image in some ways, but not quite as closely as T. rex does. Although big and at the top of the food chain, the long-nosed dino wouldn't have been able to "crunch through bone" like T. rex, Brusatte told Live Science. [Image Gallery: The Life of T. Rex]

Long-nosed dinos

Researchers previously found the complete skull and parts of the neck, back, hind limbs and tail of the new dinosaur, Qianzhousaurus sinensis, at a construction site in the Nanxiong Formation in southeastern China. Brusatte and his colleagues then analyzed the fossils, which are now housed at the Ganzhou Museum in Ganzhou City, China.

The new specimen had a long snout with many teeth, and horns on its nose. The creature probably weighed a little less than a ton and was probably 25 to 30 feet (7.5 to 9 meters) long, compared with a full-grown T. rex, which weighed about 5 tons and was about 40 feet (12 m) long, the researchers said.

"It really is a beautiful specimen," Brusatte said.

Previously, scientists had discovered two other long-snouted tyrannosaur fossils, from the Alioramus genus, in Mongolia, but researchers had debated whether these represented a new class of dinosaur or merely juveniles of a known tyrannosaur.

'Pinocchio Rex,' which is twice the size of these other dinosaurs and was close to adulthood when it perished, offers "pretty clear evidence" that these long-snouted fossils represent a new group of tyrannosaurs, Brusatte said. The fact that specimens have been found from Mongolia to southeastern China suggests the animals were fairly widespread, he added.

Top predator?

The long-muzzled beast likely lived alongside other tyrannosaurs, such as Tarbosaurus, the Asian equivalent of T. rex. But "Pinnochio Rex" didn't compete with those species directly, because it probably hunted other, smaller prey, researchers said.

"It's a cool specimen," said Thomas Holtz, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Maryland, in College Park, who was not involved in the study but was a reviewer on the paper. "It helps show that tyrannosaurs were pretty diverse and weren't all the big bruisers that Tyrannosaurus or Tarbosaurus were."

Brusatte and colleagues said Pinocchio Rex was a "top predator" in its ecosystem, likely feeding on small, feathered dinosaurs or lizards.

David Burnham, a paleontologist at the University of Kansas, in Lawrence, said the description of the specimen's long snout and tiny front teeth more resembles a fish-eating creature such as a crocodile than a top predator.

Though that idea is interesting, Brusatte said, there are many anatomical differences between long-snouted, fish-eating crocodiles and the long-snouted tyrannosaurs.

Mark Norell, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, agreed with Brusatte's interpretation. "I think [the new specimen is] fairly closely related to Alioramus," the previously discovered long-snouted dinosaurs, Norell told Live Science.

The study researchers say they expect more specimens from this species and others will be discovered in Asia in the coming years.

"People are finding new species of dinosaur about once a week," Brusatte said. "China is the frontier in paleontology now."

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Acid-spewing beetle inspires hot foam-spewing ATMs to deter thieves

Beetles that spew acid at predators have inspired inventors to create what may be the next wave of security devices for automated teller machines (ATMs). Their new system would eject hot foam at any would-be thieves attempting to rob the machine.

Bombardier beetles use a mixture of hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide, along with other chemicals, in a potent chemical defense. This tiny insect has one of the sternest defense mechanisms in the world for an animal of its size.

After the mixture is compounded in the abdomen of the beetle and ejected, the acid is powerful enough to kill ants. Accompanied by a loud popping sound, this spray can even scare off frogs who were hoping for a quick snack.

Researchers at the ETH Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences in Switzerland wanted to develop this unique system into a new security design.

"When you see how elegantly nature solves problems, you [realize] how deadlocked the world of technology often is," Wendelin Jan Stark, a professor from the ETH Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, said.

The new technology is composed of layers of plastic, each of which holds a reactant. When the surface of the machine is damaged during theft or vandalism, the chemicals mix, producing a hot, potent acid.

Each layer is composed of a network of honeycomb structures. Half of these are filled with hydrogen peroxide, and the remainder with manganese dioxide. When the cells are ruptured, the chemicals react, forming water, oxygen, and heat. The chemical product can reach temperatures over 175 degrees Fahrenheit.

Researchers believe their new invention could do more than just protect ATMs. These could be used to protect nearly anything, including rare trees, which could otherwise be damaged by animals.

Current technology to secure ATMs is capable of spraying attackers with chemicals. However, these systems are automated, and will not function when the electricity is shut off. Unlike the new passive system, motor-driven security devices are also expensive.

The new security layers can also incorporate a mixture of dye and DNA encased in nanoparticles. This can mark money, which makes it unusable, and the DNA allows investigators to track cash following a robbery. In addition to defacing the money taken in a heist, the dye will also mark the thieves, making identification easy during an attempted getaway.

Mechanisms like this one are "imitating nature and [realizing] simple ideas with high-tech methods," Stark stated in a press release.

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T. rex claws may have been for digging, not tearing

Therapod dinosaurs—a group made famous by Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor—are generally thought of as dangerous carnivores, with sharp claws on their fingers and toes and equally sharp teeth for chowing down and tearing flesh. But a new look at the claws of other therapods shows that they could have been used for other things aside from cutting into prey.

Dr. Stephan Lautenschlager from Bristol's School of Earth Sciences focused his research on the therizinosaurs, a subgroup of therapods that lived 145 to 66 million years ago. Previous studies on the shape of their teeth and jaws suggested that unlike other therapods, therizinosaurs were herbivores. They were also quite large, reaching up to 7 meters tall and with large claws up to 90 cm long on their fingers. A close relative of modern-day birds, therizinosaurs were covered by a coast of primitive, down-like feathers and had hollow bones.

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