This seems to be turning into Weird Creatures Week. Yesterday it was the freaky-looking leopard gecko, today it’s the turn of the Spanish ribbed newt:

Like the X-Men’s Wolverine extending his claws, the Spanish ribbed newt slashes through itself with its sharp rib bones to create defensive spines, according to a new study.

Now I’m afraid to look at the internet tomorrow, for fear of what hideous, spiny creature I’m going to read about next…

[Via kottke.org]

The Pedreres de s’Hostal on Minorca is a disused stone quarry that is gradually being turned into a heritage park:

In actuality, not only has the quarry been turned into an outdoor history museum decorated with artifacts, it’s been landscaped as an arboretum showcasing native Minorcan flora. In keeping with the stonecutters’ tradition of cultivating orchards and vegetable gardens in disused quarries, each excavated spaces plays host to a different plant community. For instance, there is a quarry for fruit trees, another for bushes and shrubs and another containing cultivated olive trees and aromatic plants. In one quarry, there is a pond containing freshwater Minorcan plants.

Go and see the photographs; it’s a remarkable site sight.