26 March 2010

Seal, Kawakawa rocks, southern Wairarapa [III]

Subcutaneous padding has advantages.

Same place, same approach to life, different seal. Can’t identify the insect, sorry. 

 
All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

10 comments:

Anne-Marie said...

Nice whiskers, baby!

Relatively Retiring said...

How can it look so comfortable on rocks like that?

robin andrea said...

The light on those whiskers is such a splendid sight.

Relatively Retiring said...

I belatedly saw your caption - but even subcutaneous padding has nerve endings - believe me, I know!

Me from Cali said...

Subcutaneous padding???

Mmm... Yep, I got lots of that, as well.

Can't quite lie on a rock too comfortably like this fella, though.

Maybe I just gotta learn how to toughen up my subcuts somehow.

pohanginapete said...

Anne-Marie; Robin — they're impressive whiskers all right. Mine have never got that long ;^)

RR; Paul — maybe I'll give up on the idea of developing subcutaneous padding then. Never had much success with it anyway ;^)

Zhoen said...

And tough fascia, I assume. What a gorgeous, sinuous creature.

butuki said...

By the stiffness of its body and the angle the body is held while in flight and the way the legs are lifted I'd say the insect is either a true bug (perhaps stink bug?) or beetle. Looking a little closer the orange color of its abdomen would make me guess it is some kind of beetle.

butuki said...

Or let me further refine that, "the orange color of the upper half of its abdomen, the soft part under the carapace, would make me guess it is some kind of beetle."

pohanginapete said...

Zhoen, sometimes they look so awkward and clumsy on land, yet other times they can look, as you say, gorgeous and sinuous. But in the water they're sheer grace.

Miguel, you could well be right — beetle would be my guess. Or something Pandora released.