A Clockwork Naturalist

So, after years and years of never seeing a single mushroom in my yard, (apart from the odd Panaeolus foenisecii), I find myself suddenly overrun with some very peculiar specimens. I’m weak on fungi, and identification sites have been no help, thus far, so I’m hoping that someone out there might recognize them. For reference, I live in New York’s mid-Hudson Valley region.

These grow in an aligned cluster, sort of like fingers on a hand. They’re about an inch to two inches tall, and the cap of each is a half-inch wide, or less.

This picture might be a bit too “arty” to be of any use; sorry. Stemmed, obviously, with lavish gills and an overall frilly appearance, between two and three inches tall.

The world’s least appetizing bowl of spaghetti. Grows on or close to the ground near a tree stump, and is currently about three inches in diameter.

Any clues you can provide as to what these might be would be appreciated!

One of my, and the internet’s, favorite animals.

[Photo credit: Wikipedia]

B. giganteus, or the giant isopod, is a deep-sea benthic, carnivorous, scavenging crustacean that can grow to a length of 79cm, (30in). As you can see from the photo, it sort of resembles a massive wood louse/pill bug - unsurprising, as wood lice are also isopods, and are considered something of a “cousin” to the sea-dwelling varieties. In fact, like terrestrial isopods, the giant isopod can curl up into a ball when disturbed or threatened.

[Photo credit: SeaPics.com]

B. giganteus is found worldwide, typically from the sublittoral zone, (170m/550ft), to the lightless bathypelagic zone, (2,140m/7,020ft). Its impressive size - most isopod species, marine or otherwise, rarely grow larger than 5cm - is an example of a phenomenon known as abyssal or deep-sea gigantism, the tendency of deep-sea dwellers to grow to much larger sizes than their shallower-dwelling relatives, the reasons for which are still not fully understood.

[Photo credit: Wikipedia]

Giant isopods are described as being pale lilac in color - a surprisingly delicate hue for something that a lot of people consider to be high octane nightmare fuel. Maybe the innocuous color just makes it more unsettling? I don’t know. Personally, every time I see one of these, I am struck by an overwhelming urge to pet it. If you feel the same way, the internet offers countless ways to show your isopod love, (though my favorite one is no longer in production).

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t include this:

Oh, it’s real.

[Image credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; source]

South American armored catfish appear to be South Florida’s newest non-native headache. Given that various species of the family Loricariidae are popular algae-cleaners, (sold as “plecos”), in the aquarium trade, this is hardly surprising. In absence of environmental restrictions, this type of catfish has no fixed growth limits - many a hobbyist has started out with a specimen of about an inch or so in length, only to wind up with a two-foot monster, just a few years later. Releasing an animal one can’t handle - and, arguably, one shouldn’t have in the first place - into the wild is no solution, however, as it results in exactly this problem. Although they lack the vicious reputation of America’s favorite invasive fish species, the Northern Snakehead, (C. argus), Florida’s Locricariidae - which are estimated to number in the millions and have no natural predators in Florida lakes - are causing coastal erosion and destroying native plant life, which means diminished food reserves for native fish species. Additionally, according to a 2010 paper published by the Sea to Shore Alliance, (click here for a .pdf), a specific species of Locricariidae - P. disjunctivus, or the Vermiculated Suckermouth Sailfin Catfish - has been attaching itself to manatees and causing disruptions in their normal behavioral patterns. That fish of the Locricariidae family are also extremely difficult to catch - their sucker-like mouth parts make them impossible to hook on a traditional fishing line - further complicates the problem, as removal of the non-native fish from Florida’s lakes at a rate faster than they can reproduce is highly unlikely.