Comments on: It’s a bug eat fish world.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:17:30 +0000

Well, a tadpole is technically a fish until it transmogrifies into a frog.

By: Paladin

Paladin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:31:25 +0000

the dragon fly is not a bug.

Is it a feature then?

By: Diane G.

Diane G. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:36:45 +0000

Sweet vid! Agree with others that that’s a tadpole. And to be technical, it’s a dragonfly nymph (or sometimes, naiad, to emphasize its aquatic stage), not a larva… 🙂

By: biopunk

biopunk — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:00:06 +0000

Greg, in some frog species the immature tadpoles ("hatchlings" being the correct term to use here...) do have transitional finger-like gills after they hatch as in this woodfrog. Wood frogs also have rather large gill slits relative to the size of their heads, so confusing them with other types of non-amphibian hatchlings isn't that uncommon unless you're somewhat familiar with them.

By: Jim Thomerson

Jim Thomerson — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:22:58 +0000

I don’t think it has gill plates. I think we are just seeing that the head has bony support and the body behind does not. If it is a fish, I have not seen its like before. Notice that it does not have pectoral nor pelvic fins. No, it is not a larval lamprey.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:10:29 +0000

Tadpoles do not have gill plates. That is a fish.

What is probably incorrect is to say that it is a minnow. It is a fry or young something, not necessarily a minnow. And, it is not “bug” eats “fish” … the dragon fly is not a bug.

By: biopunk

biopunk — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:40:04 +0000

looks like a tadpole to me too…

By: luna1580

luna1580 — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:25:54 +0000

are you sure the “victim” isn’t a tadpole? looks more tadpole than minnow to me…

By: llewelly

llewelly — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:19:25 +0000

That’s nothing. In Minnesota, I hear the mosquito larvae are big enough to eat small dogs.

By: Anon

Anon — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:07:48 +0000

Anyone who has not read “Watchers at the pond”, consider this your wakeup call. Yes, it is nearly as old as I am (hardback version, November 1961), but it is a stunning book. Laden’s video immediately brought to mind, from decades ago, the description of a hummingbird captured by a praying mantis. Natural selection is not for the weak or sentimental.