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Salticidae

$19.00$400.00

The jumping spider family (Salticidae) contains over 600 described genera and more than 5800 described species,[1] making it the largest family of spiders with about 13% of all species.[2] Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among arthropods and use it in courtship, hunting, and navigation. Although they normally move unobtrusively and fairly slowly, most species are capable of very agile jumps, notably when hunting, but sometimes in response to sudden threats or crossing long gaps. Both their book lungsand tracheal system are well-developed, and they use both systems (bimodal breathing). Jumping spiders are generally recognized by their eye pattern. All jumping spiders have four pairs of eyes, with the anterior median pair being particularly large.

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Scorpion

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Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs[1] and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping pedipalps and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger. Scorpions range in size from 9 mm / 0.3 in. (Typhlochactas mitchelli) to 23 cm / 9 in. (Heterometrus swammerdami).[2]

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Phidippus sp.

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Phidippus princeps is a rare species of jumping spider found in Canada and the United States. These jumping spiders’ vision exceeds by a factor of ten that of dragonflies, which have the best vision among insects.

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Engorged Dog Tick

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Dermacentor variabilis, also known as the American dog tick or wood tick, is a species of tick that is known to carry bacteria responsible for several diseases in humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia (Francisella tularensis). It is one of the most well-known hard ticks. Diseases are spread when it sucks blood from the host, which could take several days for the host to experience some symptoms.

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Jumping Spider (Phidippus sp.) about 5 cm long and 1.5 com wide-1 specimen

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Phidippus is a genus in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Some of the largest jumping spiders inhabit this genus, and many species are characterized by their brilliant, iridescent green chelicerae. Phidippus is distributed almost exclusively in North America, with the exception of two exported species (Phidippus audax and Phidippus regius).[1] As of 2004, there are 60 valid described species in the genus. Species previously described in Phidippuswhich are found in India and Bangladesh do not belong in this genus.[1]

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Phidippus princeps

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Phidippus princeps is a rare species of jumping spider found in Canada and the United States. These jumping spiders’ vision exceeds by a factor of ten that of dragonflies, which have the best vision among insects.

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Phidippus princeps

$19.00$400.00

Phidippus princeps is a rare species of jumping spider found in Canada and the United States. These jumping spiders’ vision exceeds by a factor of ten that of dragonflies, which have the best vision among insects.

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Ixodes scapularis (Deer Tick)

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Ixodes is a genus of hard-bodied ticks (family Ixodidae). It includes important disease vectorsof animals and humans (tick-borne disease), and some species (notably Ixodes holocyclus) inject toxins that can cause paralysis. Some ticks in this genus may transmit the pathogenic bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi[3] responsible for causing Lyme disease. Additional organisms that may be transmitted by Ixodes are parasites from the genus Babesia which cause babesiosis, and bacteria from the related genera Anaplasma which cause anaplasmosis.

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Hawaiian Bobtail Squid Theme (Juvenile): Research by Dr. Spencer Nyholm

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The Nyholm lab studies beneficial host-microbe interactions between the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, and the bioluminescent bacterium, Vibrio fischeri. Hawaiian bobtail squid are nocturnal predators, remaining buried under the sand during the day and coming out to hunt for shrimp at night neat coral reefs. The squid have a light organ on their underside that houses a colony of glowing bacteria (V. fischeri). The squid uses this bacterial bioluminescence in a form of camouflage called counter-illumination, masking it’s silhouette by matching moonlight and starlight; thus hiding from predators swimming below. The light organ is attached to the ink sac and it can use this ink like a type of shutter to control the amount of light. This likely helps the squid adjust to variable light conditions, for example cloudy nights or a full vs. new moon. In this image of a juvenile squid, you can clearly see the bi-lobed light organ and ink sac in the center of the squid’s mantle cavity. 

The Hawaiian bobtail squid lay their eggs in clutches on the sea floor, where they take approximately three weeks to develop. This series of macropod images allows us to see the developing squid and monitor embryogenesis. Once the squid hatch, V. fischeri from seawater colonize the light organ within hours. This macropod image allows us to see a close-up view of the ciliated appendage-like structure found on the surface of the juvenile squid’s light organ. Once the squid hatches, the cilia assist in bringing V. fischeri in the seawater to pores at the base of the light organ. These pores lead to inner crypts, where only V. fischeri can enter and colonize. V. fischeri is a relatively rare member of the seawater bacterial community, making up less than 0.1%. The Nyholm lab is trying to understand how the squid’s immune system can differentiate between the symbiont and all the other different kinds of bacteria in seawater.

While the light organ of the squid exemplifies a highly specific beneficial relationship between bacteria and host to provide camouflage at night, this organ is only found in some squid species. All squid, however, are capable of another type of camouflage, cryptic coloration. Squid skin contains special pigmented cells called chromatophores that can change the overall color of the squid in seconds. Each chromatophore contains pigment granules surrounded by nerve and muscle fibers. When these muscles are contracted, the pigment sac expands, creating a larger surface area of color. When the muscles relax, the pigment sac can shrink to a small dot, 15 times smaller than their expanded size, hiding the color. In these macropod images you can see relaxed chromatophores on the mantle and contracted chromatophores around the eyes. The macropod images allow us to see these pigment cells in great detail.