Costa mantis (Tenodera costalis)

Costa mantis (Tenodera costalis) is an animal species in the Mantidae, winged and arboreal insects, active predators and cannibals, has a long and slender shape with varying colors, lives solitary in bushes and low trees in forests, agricultural land, abandoned lands and urban.

T. costalis has an elongated and slender shape, the color varies from overall green to brown, the upper surface of the wings is green or brown, the back has white margins with green side lines. The head is triangular in shape with linear lines between the eyes.

A pair of eyes have a large size and dominate the head, green or gray or black. The legs are long and have several joints. The forelegs are large and flattened with rows of spikes and black tips.

Oothecae are often attached to plants such as shrubs and small trees. Costa mantis eat bees, spiders, grasshoppers, cicadas, small reptiles, amphibians to hummingbirds.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Order: Mantodea
Suborder: Eumantodea
Infraorder: Schizomantodea
Superfamily: Mantoidea
Family: Mantidae
Subfamily: Tenoderinae
Tribe: Tenoderini
Subtribe: Tenoderina
Genus: Tenodera
Species: Tenodera costalis

Bush sorrel (Hibiscus surattensis)

Bush sorrel ( Hibiscus surattensis ) is a plant species in Malvaceae, annual shrub, crawling on the surface or climbing, up to 3 meters long, thorny stems, green leaves, yellow trumpet flowers, grows wild in forests and canal edges, widely used for vegetables and treatment. H. surattensis has stems with spines and hairs, branching and reddish green. Petiole emerges from the stem with a straight edge to the side, up to 11 cm long, sturdy, thorny, hairy and reddish green. The leaves have a length of 10 cm, width of 10 cm, 3-5 lobed, each has a bone in the middle with several pinnate veins, sharp tip, sharp and jagged edges, wavy, stiff, green surface. Flowers up to 10 cm long, trumpet-shaped, yellow with a purple or brown or red center, solitary, axillary. Epicalyx has forked bracts, linear inner branches, spathulate outer branches. Stalks up to 6-7 cm. The seeds have a length of 3-3.5 mm and a width of 2.5 mm. Bush sorrels grow in pastures, marshes, abandoned fields and plantations, ...

Golden trumpet (Allamanda cathartica)

Allamanda or golden trumpet ( Allamanda cathartica ) is a species of plant in Apocynaceae, evergreen, woody shrub, upright, up to 2 meters high, old stems are brown due to wood formation and young shoots are green. The leaves have pointed tips, rough surfaces, 6-23 cm long and gathered in 3-4 strands. The flowers are yellow and shaped like trumpets, 9 cm long and 5-7.5 cm in diameter. This species grows around rivers or open areas that are exposed to lots of sunlight with sufficient rain and high humidity throughout the year. This plant is unable to grow in saline or too alkaline soil and cannot withstand low temperatures. A. cathartica grows well and produces flowers in full sun intensity without obstruction. This species grows well in sandy soil, rich in organic matter and well aerated. The right climate for growth is a tropical climate. The native habitat is at an elevation of 0-700 meters, rainfall 1000-2800 mm/year. Flowers grow year-round in many habitats, propagating by seed an...

New living fossil, Amethyst worm lizard (Amphisbaena amethysta), from Espinhaço Mountain Range, Brazil

NEWS - New species from the northern Espinhaço Mountains, Caetité municipality, Bahia state, Brazil. Amethyst worm lizard ( Amphisbaena amethysta ) is the 71st species of the genus with 4 precloacal pores and the 22nd species of Caatinga morphoclimatic domain. Identification of the new species shows the reptiles of the Mountains are far from complete and may contain greater diversity of endemic taxa. A. amethysta can be distinguished by its anteriorly convex snout, slightly compressed and unkeeled, pectoral scales arranged in regular annuli, four precloacal pores, distinct head shield, 185-199 dorsal and half annuli, 13-16 caudal annuli, a conspicuous autotomy spot between the 4th-6th caudal annuli, 16-21 dorsal and ventral segments in the middle of the body, 3/3 supralabials, 3/3 infralabials and a smooth and rounded tail tip. A. amethysta occurs in areas with an average elevation of 1000 meters in patches of deciduous and semi-deciduous forests associated with valleys, slopes, fore...

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