IT’S OFFICIALLY SPOOKY SEASON, SO LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO SOME OF MY FAVORITE CREEPY CRITTERS:
Credit: Brian Gratwicke; Hellbender Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
First to the line up is the snottiest, slimiest salamander of them all: the H E L L B E N D E R! Nicknamed "Snot Otter" for its thick mucous covering, the largest amphibian in Georgia can be found creeping along the bottom of cold, clear, fast-flowing mountainous streams. During the day, hellbenders spend most of their time under large rocks, emerging at night to stalk their prey and swallow it whole! Their diet mostly consists of crayfish, but hellbenders will also consume fish, frogs, snakes, small mammals, and even OTHER HELLBENDERS! (That's CRAY-zy! Get it? Because they eat crayfish?) You may be completely creeped out at this point, but, as slimy as they are, hellbenders are harmless to humans. In fact, their presence in our North Georgia streams indicates to biologists that the water is oxygenated, silt-free, and unpolluted.
Credit: T. Lawrence, Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
This creepy critter lacks jaws, scales, paired fins, and even bones! (Zoinks!) It's the L A M P R E Y fish! These cylindrical creatures average about two feet in length, but have been documented at over three feet long. Some species filter-feed on detritus (that's dead stuff), micro-organisms, and algae by burying themselves in soft sand and producing long strands of mucus to trap food particles (yummy?). Other species are parasitic, and feed by burrowing holes in the flesh of large fish and sucking out their blood and bodily fluids! (Are vampires real? You decide.) But worry not wildlifers! Native parasitic lamprey and other fish species have co-existed for millions of years. Lampreys help to maintain aquatic ecosystems, and are studied by medical researchers for their ability to heal themselves from nerve damage. Creepy AND cool, in my opinion.
Credit: Darvin DeShazer; Hydnellum peckii
While it may not be a critter, it sure does look like a part of one! This creepy, pale, flesh-colored fungus is called B L E E D I N G T O O T H because of the (you guessed it) thick, red fluid oozing from its pores. Looking at these images, your first instinct is probably to plop this velvety mushroom straight into your mouth (can you smell the sarcasm or is it just the fungus?), but BEWARE - while it's not toxic, bleeding tooth fungus is rumored to be so bitter it's inedible. In addition to the oozing pores, this fungus also has tooth-like projections underneath the mushroom cap (look if you dare), and a mycelia (root system) that can spread up to 11 feet across the forest floor! Although biologists are unsure what the red, seeping liquid is exactly, we do know that bleeding tooth fungus has a symbiotic relationship with the coniferous tree roots it attaches to (that means that they're friends). The fungus receives carbon from the tree roots and in turn improves the tree's mineral absorption. Bleeding tooth fungus is also valued as a natural dye. So if you bump into this critter, maybe instead of trying to eat it, you can use it to dye your shirt BROWN! (You thought I was gonna say red, didn't you?)
Credit: Peter Paplanus; Wood frog (Rana sylvatica)
Ever wonder where W O O D F R O G S go in the winter? (Probably not.) Some animals migrate to warmer climates, others burrow deep underground, but this creepy critter utilizes ZOMBIE MODE as its means of surviving colder temperatures. Yeah, you heard me: wood frog zombies. As soon as ice crystals touch a wood frog's skin, it begins the zombification process (that's not a real word, but work with me here). Their blood freezes first, thus sucking all available water from the frog's cells, just as it does in humans. Unfortunately for us, this causes frostbite. Wood frogs, on the other hand, have special proteins in their blood and a SWEET liver (literally), that produces large amounts of glucose to fill the cells with a thick, sugary syrup and keep them from collapsing. No beating heart, no brain activity, frozen blood, and syrup filled cells. That's the secret to creating a zombie (not a mutant virus). Woods frogs will stay in zombie mode until temperatures begin to rise and they begin to thaw. In less than an hour, you'll have a normal, hoppy, hungry wood frog. Wood frogs are so cool, they're FROZEN! (Okay yeah, that was bad.)
How in the spooky could a B O B C A T be a creepy critter?!
Turn your sound on and press play to find out.
Credit: Marshal Hedin; Cork Lid Trapdoor Spider
She's thick, hairy, mildly venomous, and found statewide in Georgia! (Gulp.) The T R A P D O O R S P I D E R is a ground-dwelling spider related to tarantulas (You don't say...). They are master architects, capable of building silk-lined burrows with secret passageways, each with its own impressive trapdoor averaging about an inch in diameter. These trapdoors are well camouflaged, and used for protection as well as for hunting. These nocturnal hunters wait patiently on the other side of the trapdoor for potential prey to venture too close. She detects her prey by small vibrations (similar to that of a spider who spins a web) around the trapdoor, and when the moment is right, BAM! She lunges out of her burrow to capture her meal! When disturbed by predators such as wasps or birds, she will insert her fangs into holes in the trapdoor and use her brute strength to hold it closed! While trapdoor spiders are definitely up there on the creepy list, they never venture far from their burrows, and help control insect populations while also serving as an important food source for a variety of species.
Credit: Jordan Beard; Leatherback turtle in Grande Riviere, Trinidad & Tom Doyle; Papillae
Confused as to how these two pictures go together? Let me explain: This is an image of a leatherback sea turtle next to an image of its throat which contains the nightmare-scape that is P A P I L L A E. Adult leatherbacks are the largest turtles in the world, and unlike other sea turtles, sport a dark black layer of skin instead of a hard shell. They predominately eat sea jellies, which is where the creepy tunnel of sharp spines comes in. Papillae are keratinized projections that point inward towards the stomach. As scary as they look, their function is pretty G - rated: keep the jellyfish down, and let the water come out. (But STILL! They're creepy looking!) Leatherbacks are found along the Georgia coast during annual migrations, and they’re cool because their MAXIMUM LIFE SPAN IS UNKNOWN. Unfortunately, their "immortality" couldn't keep them off the endangered species list. In the water, sea turtles face human - related threats such as entanglement, ingestion of plasticts, accidental drowning in nets, collisions with boat propellers, poaching, and habitat destruction. (Maybe the creepiest critter of them all is in fact… us.)