Finalists of Nikon's best microscope images of 2012

These recently hatched lynx spiders were imaged by Walter Piorkowski of South Beloit, Illinois.

Geir Drange from Norway captured this ant carrying its larva.

 More images found at: www.nikonsmallworld.com

Dinosaurs Developed Feathers To Attract Mates, Not Fly

 In news that shouldn't surprise anyone who finds them so irresistible, paleontologists are now claiming that the earliest dinosaurs to develop feathers did so for courtship purposes and not to soar like giant, sexy eagles.

"They may have initially evolved as a secondary sexual characteristic," says a paper published Thursday in the prestigious journal Science.

 "Because they're in these large dinosaurs, (wings) haven't evolved for flight," Zelenitsky says. "(And) because these wing-like structures develop later in life, that suggests they were used for purposes like display or courtship or egg-brooding."

Peacock in flight

Coconut Octopus

 Amphioctopus marginatus, also known as the "coconut octopus" or "veined octopus",
 is a medium-sized cephalopod belonging to the genus Amphioctopus. It is found in
tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean. It commonly preys upon shrimp, crabs,
and clams, and displays unusual behaviour, including bipedal walking and gathering
and using coconut shells and seashells for shelter. Source: Wikipedia

The main body of the octopus is typically around 8 centimeters (3 in) in size, and, with
 arms, approximately 15 centimeters (6 in) long. In this amazing capture by photographer
 Mario Neumann, the contrast of the white suckers to the rest of the octopus and sea
floor makes it look like some kind of alien spaceship.

The defenceless newborns sitting under the vicious sting are the scorpion's own
offspring, tended by their mother until they are big enough to survive on their own.

Unlike most other arachnids they are viviparous: rather than laying eggs they give
birth to live young. The juveniles are unable to feed or defend themselves, or
regulate their moisture levels - they need their mother's protection.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Phyllodes Imperialis

The caterpillar of the Imperial Fruit Sucking Moth (Phyllodes imperialis). The moth is of the Noctuidae family. The species can be found in north-eastern Queensland to northern New South Wales, Papua New Guinea, Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

 It's menacing head and intricate markings are meant to thwart would be predators. In it's adult incarnation, the moth has vibrant pink under-wings, but most significantly, an impressive cryptic design capacity to transform itself into a thoroughly convincing dead leaf.

"Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, part of a National Nature Reserve owned by the National Trust for Scotland. It is formed entirely from hexagonally jointed basalt columns within a Paleocene lava flow.

 Cooling on the upper and lower surfaces of the solidified lava resulted in contraction and fracturing, starting in a blocky tetragonal pattern and transitioning to a regular hexagonal fracture pattern with fractures perpendicular to the cooling surfaces. As cooling continued these cracks gradually extended toward the centre of the flow, forming the long hexagonal columns we see in the wave eroded cross-section today. Similar hexagonal fracture patterns are found in desiccation cracks in mud where contraction is due to loss of water instead of cooling."

From: Wikipedia.org