silversea_starsong's Favourites

First 5 photos of this Leucistic Hummingbird are from June 28, 2017, first sighting in Palm Desert, CA. The last 4 photos are from August 16, 2017. This gorgeous creature is so friendly with a huge personality. It comes when called and eats one gnat after another with so much to say! I feel he/she likes the yard because the concrete walls and house are painted bright white making this hummer feel protected. Keep in mind there are no feeders on the property. 1. Can you please help me identify the type of Leucistic this is. 2. Male or female? 3. Does this Hummingbird look healthy? I've noticed possible missing feathers on its wings. I'm not sure if it has worsened over time.Thank you :) all photos are mine and taken by me, Nicole Campanaro

I noticed an amazing thing about these today. When I first saw them they were completely clear but when I nudged it the edges became white. This defense mechanism is used by Corolla sea butterflies as well, but I can't think what advantage it gives the animals.
Doing some research it seems this is called blanching and another siphonophore (Hippopodius) does this too. (https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-02951249/document)
Mackie & Mackie 1967 stated that the opaque edges are permanent for Bassia and I can't find any later literature which mentions this behavior so maybe it is a previously unknown behavior.

This is a GO-SEA absence observation.

Updated 11/26/2022. ID’d to species. Photos of male pleopod II added. Curvature on appendix masculina is not exactly as illustrated in the description, but is quite similar. Uropod exopod is subequal in length with endopod: a diagnostic character for the species. Without material from the type locality, I’m calling it T. subequalum.

Probably the most abundant invertebrate in most of the spring runs in the Lower Canyons. ID assumed to be T. subequalum based on proximity to the type locality in Big Bend National Park. This is the only described species in the region.

Whole body dorsal photo is a female. Ventral photo is a male showing appendix masculina on pleopod II.

Dissection and more detailed comparison with T. subequalum will be made in the future.

Found in an underwater cavern, photographed, and then released back to where it came from. Five golden colored eggs are visible in some of the photos.

This blind species is endemic to the underwater caves and caverns of the Floridan Aquifer in north-central Florida. It typically hangs upside down from the ceilings of these underwater passages.