Tag ocelli

Southern Damselfly

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The Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) is a medium-sized insect in the Coenagrionidae family of damselflies which are similar to dragonflies. It is also known as the Mercury Bluet.

The Southern Damselfly has a long, cylindrical, slender abdomen with ten segments. The male is bright blue with black markings. The female is less colourful. It has a mark on the second segment of its abdomen that resembles the symbol for the planet Mercury. It has forewings and hindwings which are similar in appearance and are membranous. It has compound eyes (like the eyes of house flies) and three simple eyes (ocelli) on its forehead. It has small antennae. 

The joint between its head and prothorax is flexible, which enables the damselfly to swivel its head. 

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Spring Heath Robber Fly

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The Spring Heath Robber Fly (Lasiopogon cinctus) is an insect in the Asilidae family of robber flies. 

The Spring Heath Robber Fly is hairy with bristles and smoky-coloured wings. Its body has three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. Its dark body is long and tapered with yellow-grey bands on its abdomen. It has a short proboscis (sucking nose) and three simple eyes, called ocelli, between their two compound eyes. Its antennae are short with three segments. It has six spiny black legs. It has a sharp ovipositor (egg-laying segment). 

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Dragonfly eyes

Dragonfly Eyes

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What do dragonfly eyes look like? 

The dragonfly has a large head with three small simple eyes and two extremely large compound eyes that meet in the centre.

Compound eyes have thousands of ommatidia – tiny, independent photoreceptors that have a cornea, lens and light-sensing cells. 

Compound eyes can’t see very well, but they can see all around them and they can sense movement, especially fast movement.

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Box Jellyfish

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The Box Jellyfish (Chirodropus sp.) is a marine (saltwater) planktonic scyphozoan in the Chirodropidae family of venomous box jellyfish. It belongs to the Cubozoa class. It is a cnidarian. It is also known as the Sea Wasp.

The medusa form of the Box Jellyfish has a cube-shaped, or box-shaped, bell. From each of the four lower corners hangs short stalks called pedalium which have about 15 slender, hollow tentacles. The rim of the bell is folded inwards to form a shelf known as a velarium. The velarium creates jet propulsion, which makes it move through the water. 

In the centre of the box is a manubrium, which looks like an elephant’s trunk. This is where its mouth is located. Other jellyfish have ocelli, which are light sensing organs, instead of eyes. However, the Box Jellyfish has about 20 ocelli in addition to true eyes, set in a cluster, with retinas, corneas, and lenses. The eyes are located in pockets halfway up the outer, flat surface of the bell.

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Upside-Down Jellyfish

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The Upside-Down Jellyfish (Cassiopea ornata) is a marine (saltwater) planktonic scyphozoan in the Cassiopeidae family of upside-down jellyfish. It is a cnidarian. It is also known as the Sunbathing Jellyfish. 

It is a photosynthetic jellyfish. It is the only jellyfish that rests with its bell or umbrella on the ocean floor and its tentacles pointing upwards. It does this to receive light so that the symbiotic algae living on it can produce carbohydrates for the jellyfish to use as food for energy. 

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White-Spotted Jellyfish

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The White-Spotted Jellyfish (Phyllorhiza punctata) is a marine (saltwater) planktonic scyphozoan in the Mastigiidae family of jellyfish. It is a cnidarian. It is also known as the Floating Bell, the Australian Spotted Jellyfish, or the Brown Jellyfish.

The White-Spotted Jellyfish has a deep-brown colour due to the algae living on the tissue. It has a bell-shaped dome with little spots. It does not have stinging tentacles. It does not have eyes. Instead, it has light-sensing organs called ocelli. It is composed of 95% of water, which enables it to float.

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White-Legged Snake Millipede

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The White-Legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodolulus niger) is a diplopod in the Julidae family of millipedes. It is also called the Black Millipede. It is not an insect because it does not have 6 legs. It is a diplopod, which means double legs.  

The White-Legged Snake Millipede has a long, cylindrical, segmented, shiny, black body with a hard exo-skeleton. It has around 100 pairs of white legs. It has 41-56 body segments with two pairs of legs on most segments. It has a short head with a number of simple eyes called ocelli – and poor eyesight. It has short antennae.

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Leafhopper

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The Leafhopper (Coelidiinae subfamily) is a small insect in the Cicadellidae family of leafhoppers.

The Leafhopper can be varied in colour, from brown to multi-colours. Most of them are dull and not very conspicuous. It has strong hind (back) legs that are modified for jumping. The back legs are covered with hairs. It has short antennae. It has two simple eyes, called ocelli, on the top of its head. It has two sets of wings – the front wings and the hind wings. It has a mouthpart with a sucking and piercing part that enables it to stick into plants to sip the juices. 

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Pacific Sea Nettle

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The Pacific Sea Nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens) is a marine (saltwater) planktonic scyphozoan in the phylum Cnidaria of jellyfish. It is also called the West Coast Sea Nettle.

The Pacific Sea Nettle has a golden-brown bell-shaped dome with a reddish tint. From the bell, there are 24 long reddish tentacles and long white, spiral-shaped, oral arms. It has light sensing organs called ocelli. 

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Giant Round-Backed Millipede

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The Giant Round-Backed Millipede (Pachybolus) is in the Spirobolida Order and Pachybolidae family of round-backed millipedes. It is not an insect, nor an arachnid. It is a diplopod. 

The Giant Round-Backed Millipede has a thick, elongated, cylindrical, segmented body with a hard exo-skeleton. It can be brown-black, red or yellow. Although millipede means a thousand legs, it actually has about 200 legs. It has two pairs of legs per body segment. It has a short head with a number of simple eyes called ocelli – and poor eyesight. It has short antennae.

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Robber Fly

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The Robber Fly (Asilidae sp.) is an insect. It is also known as the Assassin Fly.

The Robber Fly is hairy with bristles. Its body has three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. Its body is long and tapered, and can be brown, black, or grey. It has a short proboscis (sucking nose) and three simple eyes, called ocelli, between their two compound eyes. Its antennae are short with three segments. It has six spiny legs. It has a sharp ovipositor (egg-laying segment). It has smoky-coloured wings.

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CREATURE FEATURE: Blue Tree Monitor Lizard

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The Blue Tree Monitor (Varanus macraei) is a reptile in the Varanidae family of arboreal (tree-living) lizards. It is also known as the Blue-Spotted Tree Monitor.

The Blue Tree Monitor is black with scattered blue scales. The tip of its nose is light-blue and its lower jaw is white with green scales along its neck, forming a V-shaped pattern. Its legs are spotted with turquoise eye-spots, called ocelli. Its throat is light with dark spots.

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Housefly

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The Housefly (Musca domestica) is a common worldwide insect in the Muscidae family of true flies.

The Housefly has a head, thorax (chest), and abdomen (stomach).  It is black with four dark, longitudinal lines from its head to its tail. Its body and legs are slightly hairy. It has large, red, compound eyes. Near the compound eyes are three small simple eyes, called ocelli, and a pair of short antennae. It has six legs and one pair of membraneous (transparent) wings. Its mouthpart has a proboscis to suck liquid.

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Swamp Bluet Damselfly

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The Swamp Bluet (Coenagrion lyelli) is a medium-sized insect in the Coenagrionidae family of damselflies, similar to a dragonfly. It lives across the globe in most climates, near streams, pools, and lakes.

The Swamp Bluet male is bright blue with black markings. The abdomen is long and slender with ten segments. It has compound eyes (like house flies) and three simple eyes (ocelli) on its forehead. It has small antennae.

The joint between head and prothorax is flexible, which enables the damselfly to swivel its head.

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