圖文閱讀:動物世界11
盲眼小龍蝦 Albino Crayfish, Sims Sink, Florida
北弗羅裏達Sims Sink漆黑的深水裏，一隻晶瑩剔透的盲眼小龍蝦正在遊動。在這個無光的世界中，只有深海含水層與落水洞，猶如墜入淡水迷宮一般。這些甲殼類動物是少數幾種能適應此種環境的物種，它們屬於地區性生物，僅存在於少數含水層中，在世界上的其他地方都未曾發現。
Photograph by Wes C. Skiles
A blind, albino crayfish swims through the inky depths of Sims Sink in northern Florida. These colorless crustaceans are among the few creatures that have adapted to the lightless world at the bottom of the region’s aquifers, springs, and sinkholes. Many species who make their homes in these freshwater labyrinths are endemic to only a handful of aquifers and are found nowhere else in the world.
一羣刺螫水母 School of Sea Nettles, Monterey, California
在加州的蒙特利灣水族館，一羣刺螫水母(sea nettles)正演繹着婀娜多姿的水下芭蕾。Chrysaora fuscescens是水母的一種，發現於阿拉斯加到加州間的沿海水域。這種無脊椎動物身後拖着長長的佈滿刺細胞的觸角和多褶的口腕，可捕獵水中的浮游生物和小魚。
Photograph by Peter Essick
In the midst of an underwater ballet, a school of sea nettles drifts through California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium. Chrysaora fuscescens is a type of jellyfish found in coastal waters from Alaska to California. The invertebrate hunts by trailing its long sting-cell-covered tentacles and ruffled mouth-arms through the water, combing for zooplankton and larval fishes.
“911”安慰犬 9/11 Comfort Dog, New York City
圖中這隻金毛是紐約那些不太出名的犬類英雄中的一員，它們幫助人們緩解“911”的恐怖襲擊造成的痛苦，被稱爲“安慰犬”(注)。與搜救犬相仿，安慰犬常前往災難現場以協助救援工作。據研究表明，當人們愛撫寵物的時候，可以產生降低心率和血壓等生理變化。
Photograph by Ira Block
The lesser known of New York’s canine heroes, comfort dogs, such as this golden retriever, help soothe those affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Similar to search-and-rescue dogs, comfort dogs travel to disaster scenes to aid relief efforts. Studies show that people experience physiological changes-such as a drop in heart rate and blood pressure-when they pet animals.
兔鼠 Viscacha, Atacama Desert, Chile
在智利的阿塔卡馬沙漠，一隻兔鼠正在石頭上小憩，它是南美栗鼠的近親。這些睡眼惺忪的食草動物在阿塔卡馬沙漠過着幸福的生活，他們居住在沙漠裏又高又幹燥的地區裏，這點是沒有幾種動物可以做到。兔鼠就靠着當地稀疏的植被與草地生活，在這片嚴峻的沙漠上一代代地延續下去。
Photograph by Joel Sartore
A vizcacha, close relative of the chinchilla, rests on an outcropping in Chile’s Atacama Desert. These sleepy-eyed herbivores are among few species who thrive in the higher, drier regions of the Atacama. They make their living off the sparse vegetation and grasses that manage to grow in this forbidding desert.
