It couldn’t have been very old as it still had its eyes closed, but it had obviously been dead a while as it was completely cold. I’m guessing it’s mother had been moving it to a new den, when something must have disturbed her — hopefully she had more cubs and managed to move them safely.

I guess it’s all part of life’s cycle, but it did make me a bit sad when I found it.

The round disc in the photo is a 2 pence coin, used to show the size of the cub.

Chikilidae with a clutch of eggs

New species, genus and family
The new family of tailless burrowing caecilians was described based on differences in external and internal appearance compared to the nine families of legless amphibians already known. Scientists performed DNA analysis of the specimens and confirmed that it is an entirely new family. They have named this new family as Chikilidae and the new genus as Chikila. The scientific name Chikilidae is derived from Garo (a Northeast Indian tribal) language for caecilians.

Caecilians
Caecilians lead a secretive, under-soil, lifestyle making it extremely challenging to find them. This remarkable discovery came following an unprecedented fieldwork effort of soil-digging surveys in about 250 localities spread over five years (2006-2010) in various parts of every Northeast Indian state, including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Darjeeling district of West Bengal. The work is the most extensive systematic program of dedicated caecilian surveys ever attempted.

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Discovery of a new vertebrate (animals with backbone) family is a rare feat in science and most of the world’s 61 amphibian families were described in the mid-1800s. The majority of new discoveries come from remote tropical rainforests. However, the new family described here is mainly from human-inhabited areas. “This makes the conservation of species more challenging”, said Prof SD Biju from University of Delhi who led the research.

Source and more information can be found here: New family of legless burrowing amphibian discovered in India’s vanishing habitats

A huge crustacean has been found lurking 7km down in the waters off the coast of New Zealand.

The creature – called a supergiant – is a type of amphipod, which are normally around 2-3cm long.

But these beasts, discovered in the Kermadec Trench, were more than 10 times bigger: the largest found measured in at 34cm.

Alan Jamieson, from the University of Aberdeen’s Oceanlab, said: “It’s a bit like finding a foot-long cockroach.”

“I stopped and thought: ‘What on Earth was that?’ This amphipod was far bigger than I ever thought possible.”

Source: ‘Supergiant’ crustacean found in deepest ocean

World's smallest frog discovered

A frog species that appears to be the world’s smallest has been discovered in Papua New Guinea by a US-based team.

At 7mm (0.27 inches) long, Paedophryne amauensis may be the world’s smallest vertebrate – the group that includes mammals, fish, birds and amphibians.

The researchers also found a slightly larger relative, Paedophryne swiftorum.

Presenting the new species in PLoS One journal, they suggest the frogs’ tiny scale is linked to their habitat, in leaf litter on the forest floor.

Source: World’s smallest frog discovered

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The video shows wild mountain gorillas visiting an ecotourism tented camp, the guy ‘John’ is speechless as the baby gorillas touch him and it also looks like one of them kisses him on the cheek!

I guess the more they interact with humans, especially the younger gorillas, the more tame they will become, which might not be such a good idea.

40ft Sperm Whale on Norfolk Beach

A 40ft sperm whale has been washed up dead on an East Anglian beach, with what appears to be a large gash in its stomach.

The sand around its tail did not appear disturbed, suggesting the creature was dead before the tide carried it onto the sands at Old Hunstanton, Norfolk.

Large crowds gathered to see the whale, which is near the high tide mark.

A spokesman for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said it may have been the same whale which had been seen dead on the RAF’s bombing range on the other side of the estuary, at Holbeach, some weeks ago.

Scientists from the Zoological Society have already taken samples from the animal, which will be left to be carried away by the tide to decompose naturally.

Updated: Video of Sperm Whale on Old Hunstanton Beach

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The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbour, Florida announced on its website that Cheetah died on December 24 of kidney failure.

Sanctuary outreach director Debbie Cobb told The Tampa Tribune that Cheetah was outgoing, loved finger painting and liked to see people laugh. She said he seemed to be tuned into human feelings.

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Links: Suncoast Primate Sanctuary

Incredible electric-blue lobster saved from food market

The lobster was caught off the east coast of Scotland before being displayed at a market in London.

Fishmonger Rex Goldsmith thought the lobster was too nice to eat, so bought it and handed it over to researchers at the Natural History Museum.

Scientist believe the lobster, which is normally a much darker blue has got its unusually bright blue colour due to a genetic variant.

The lobster will soon be on display at the London Aquarium, but first it has to go through quarantine to safeguard the other lobsters on display.

Source: Saved from the pot: Fishmonger rescues stunning electric blue lobster from the dinner table

Blinky Three-Eyed Fish

A group of fishermen on a reservoir in the Córdoba province of Argentina landed something a little bit different. The fish they caught had an extra eye.

The reservoir where the three-eyed wolffish was reeled in has hot water from a nearby nuclear facility pumped into it, prompting concern among locals.

One of the fishermen, Julián Zmutt told infobae.com: “We were fishing and we got the surprise of getting this rare specimen. As it was dark at that time we did not notice, but then you looked at him with a flashlight and saw that he had a third eye.”

Source: Three-eyed fish caught near nuclear power plant