#coconut – @earthstory on Tumblr

paleyphoto

Excited to finally have that story out on National Geographic! I first heard of the mud volcanoes of Balochistan while I was in Pakistan and I just couldnt believe it, I had to see it. Coupled with a Hindu pilgrimage, I managed to convinced my editor that I should shoot a story on it. It was a hard assignment, lots of walking in extreme heat and dust and the madness of any pilgrimage, religious fervour, noise, packed temple... Here is a quiet aerial view, Hindu pilgrims climb the steep flanks of the mud volcano called Chandragup to throw coconuts into the crater—a ritual intended to thank the gods and makes wishes. The trek up to the rim of the volcano is one of the first rituals of the Hinglaj pilgrimage. Infinite gratitude to @muhammadyasirbaloch for opening his homeland to me and all the help in the field and to my editor @jehanjillani for making it (finally) happen! / On assignment for @natgeo

/ For full story, follow link in my bio

Source: instagram.com

#instagram #travel #mud volcano #balochistan #pakistan #geology #hindu #nature #chandragup #coconut #crater #research #hinglaj #landscape #the earth story #volcanomonday

earthstory reblogged

hikereyes

FOTO MOKU - December 15, 2018 - Line of freshly planted coconuts on the new black sand beach at Pohoiki. The eruption in Puna this year advanced to the very edge of this park, then stopped. A grand beach of very new black sand quickly built up.

by HikerEyes

#pohoki #beach #coconut #tree #nature #eruption #kilauea #sand #travel #puna #park #lensblr #photography #volcanomonday #hawaii #the earth story

earthstory

The world’s largest terrestrial crab

Meet the coconut crab (Birgus latro), which holds the title of the world’s largest terrestrial crab (and indeed the world’s largest terrestrial arthropod). Found on islands of the Pacific and Indian oceans, it can reach a length of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in), and a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9.0 lb) (see an especially large individual here: http://bit.ly/1UXlLhF).

Like all arthropods, coconut crabs do not have an internal skeleton. Instead, they wear an exoskeleton like armour, which sheds as they grow. Fuelling their massive growth requires a lot of food, so the crabs eats anything they can get its claws on - from carrion to fruit, chickens to other crabs. But as their name suggests, coconuts are their favourite.

As anyone who has lived on a tropical island will know, coconuts are notoriously difficult to open. But these crabs have no problem. Equipped with a pair of massive claws, they tear away the outer fibres (which can take many days and more than one crab), and use one of their legs to puncture a hole to pry the shell open further. If this fails, some crabs have been observed to lift coconuts up trees 10 metres (33 ft) high, then drop them to reveal the inner white flesh. In fact, the crab’s claws are capable of lifting weights up to 28 kg, so this is rarely an issue.

And it seems their love of coconuts is worth it. Crabs living in coconut-rich habitats have double the average mass of those living in coconut-free habitats. I guess it’s similar to how many of our own favourite foods greatly increase our mass, though this is perhaps not so much of a good thing.

References: http://bit.ly/1T6E5DQ, http://bit.ly/1OjRIzb Image credit: USFWS (https://flic.kr/p/8x28HH)

Source: facebook.com

#Crab #Coconut crab #Birgus latro #Arthropod #Exoskeleton #Island #Tropical Island #Claw #Evolution #Coconut #The earth story