Amazing Dunia: Animals

Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts

Snake(atheris hispida)

Elongated and upturned scales cover the body of atheris hispida. The eyes are very large and the the snout is round in shape. Some atheris hsipida have zig-zag markings on the body. Males are smaller than females and females can reach a length of 70 centimeters (28 inches). Males are yellowish green, while females are olive brown. This species feeds on frogs, snails and small mammals. Before striking it forms and s-shaped coil. All existing antivenoms have no affect on the venom. This species is mainly nocturnal.

The King of Saxony Bird-of-paradise (Pteridophora alberti) is a bird in the Bird-of-paradise family (Paradisaeidae). It is the only member in the monotypic genus Pteridophora. It is endemic to montane forest in New Guinea. Both the common name "King of Saxony" and the scientific specific name "alberti" were given to honour Albert of Saxony, whose wife gave her name to the Queen Carola's Bird-of-Paradise. The bird is sometimes known as "Kisaba" by the natives of Papua New Guinea and Western New Guinea, as a human interpretation of the male's loud call.

Litocranius walleri inhabits the dry brushy region of east Africa from the Serengeti plain of Tanzania north along the coast through Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and into southern Somalia. The species was once found in eastern Egypt and northeastern Sudan as well. The habitat that Litocranius walleri occupies varies from the treeless plains of Tanzania in the southern reaches of its range to the dry high deserts of Kenya. They are adaptable and do well in a variety of habitats, provided there is a good supply of succulent plants.

The naked mole rat also known as the sand puppy or desert mole rat, is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa and is the only species currently classified in the genus Heterocephalus. The naked mole rat and the Damaraland mole rat are the only knowneusocial mammals. It has a highly unusual set of physical traits that enable it to thrive in an otherwise harsh underground environment; it is the only mammalian thermoconformer, has a lack of pain sensation in its skin, and has very low metabolic and respiratory rates.

Dumbo octopus is a type of octopus named after Walt Disney's famous character Dumbo the elephant because of the ear-like fins. There are around 37 different species of dumbo octopi. These interesting animals can be found in all oceans of the world. They can be rarely seen because they are living on the bottom of the sea on a depth ranging from 1 300 to 23 000 feet. Other species of octopi live in shallower waters. Since not much is known about dumbo octopi, they are not considered to be endangered species.

The pink fairy (Chlamyphorus truncatus) which is also known as the Pichiciego is the smallest species of known. This particular species of armadillo generally ranges between 90-115 mm in length, excluding its tail, and will weigh less than a pound. Similarly, this is the only species of armadillo that has its dorsal shell almost completely separate from its body. This unique animal resides in the dry grasslands and sandy plains of central Argentina. This sandy environment works well for the pink fairy armadillo since they are excellent diggers. In fact, they have the ability to completely bury themselves in a matter of seconds if threatened. The pink fairy armadillo uses their digging abilities to burrow in areas beside large antcolonies. Ants provide a constant food source for this species of armadillo. As well, they may also forage on worms, snails and plant matter but ants are their number one choice. This armadillo tends to live a solitary life in which it stays protected underground only to come out and feed at night. Although, they are solitary it is believed that the pink fairy armadillo is polygamous when it comes to mating. Usually the female will give birth to one young, whose shell will not become completely hardened until it is fully grown. The pink fairy armadillo will spend most of its time underground similar to a mole. The large front claws allow them to effortlessly move the sand. In fact they move underground as if they were swimming through the water. The aerodynamics of the armadillo as well as the shielded head makes this type of movement possible.

Known as Camel Spiders, Wind Scorpions, or Sun Spiders, and containing over 1000 described species, most live in deserts and feed on numerous types of small animals, although they are omnivores. Larger species have been known to feed on small snakes, lizards, and rodents. They can grow up to 5-6 inches in length (including the legs)

The (Condylura cristata) or Star Nosed Mole is found all along the Eastern seaboard of the United States, across the Northeast United states from about Wisconsin over to New Hampshire. It is also found along Southeastern areas of Canada. It is the sole member of the genus Condylura. These unique creatures have the unmistakable trait of having eleven pairs of pink fleshy appendages sprouting from their snout. These appendages are used for their sense of touch, and contain more than 25,000 sensory receptors.

The Star Nosed Mole is functionally blind, and is smaller than an average Mole (only about the size of a Hamster). A report in the journal Nature attributed the Star Nosed Mole as being the fastest eating mammal, taking as little as 120 milliseconds to identify and consume foot items, deciding in only 8 milliseconds on weather or not something is edible. These moles also possess the rare ability to smell underwater by exhaling air bubbles onto objects and then inhaling the bubbles to carry scents back through the nose.

Common in the waters of Costa Rica, the Rosey Lipped Batfish, or Ogcocephalus porrectus, are poor swimmers despite the distinction of a fish. Their oddly shaped pectoral fins, that look more like legs, allow them to walk along the ocean floor where they feed on small fish and crustacians.

The Gasteracantha cancriformis, or Spiney Orbweaver Spider is also known in some areas as a Crab Spider has a very distinctive and colorful "shell" looking back with several "spines" usually bright in color protruding out. It is thought that this is mainly a development of protection from predators as it looks dangerous. They are small in size, the larger of the species only about 10 - 13 mm in length. A bite from these spider is known to "have serious effects on humans".

Native to the deep waters of Australia and Tasmania, the rare Psycholutes Marcidusis a gelatinous mass with a density slightly lower than water. This allows the Blobfish to swim without expending much energy. The Blobfish will consume any organic matter that passes in front of it. Though the Blobfish has few natural predators, it is facing extinction due to deep sea fishing

The Phasmatodea (or Phasmida), are known around the world as walking sticks, stick bugs, stick insects, and ghost insects. Their adaptation of natural camouflage make them exceptionally difficult to spot (as you probably noticed from the first picture). There are over 3000 known species around the world, but are most abundantly found in tropical areas.

The mimic octopus lives exclusively in nutrient-rich estuarine bays of Indonesia and Malaysia full of potential prey. It uses a jet of water through its funnel to glide over the sand while searching for prey, typically small fish, crabs, and worms. It also is prey to other species. Like other octopuses, the mimic octopus' soft body is made of nutritious muscle, without spine or armor, and not obviously poisonous, making it desirable prey for large, deep water carnivores, such as barracuda and small sharks. Often unable to escape such predators, its mimicry of different poisonous creatures serves as its best defense. Mimicry also allows it to prey upon animals that would ordinarily flee an octopus; it can imitate a crab as an apparent mate, only to devour its deceived suitor.

Thriving on the deepest ocean floors, the Sea Pig behaves much like slugs do on land. They scavange the ocean floor for any organic material using their tube feet to move them along and using their tentacles to push food into their mouth. The Sea Pig is not an endangered species, but rare to see due to the depths of ocean in which they live. Though they appear to be some sort of slug/pig combination, sea pigs are scotoplanes or sea cucumbers belonging to the genus of the deep sea Holothurians.

Check out these amazing TREE CLIMBING goats.

Found in Morocco, they climb these Argan tree in search of food. It's hard to imagine that animals with hooves could be so adept at climbing but these images are 100% real. Food is fairly sparse in this area, so they have to grab it when they can - even if it's high up in a tree!

The secret to their ability to climb lies in the shape of their hooves. The keratin reinforced hoof wall adds strength, while the soft textured sole provides traction and grip. It's also capable of deforming inwards to counter irregularities in the terrain. Their toes are capable of operating independently giving them more of a "grip".

These hooves evolved to allow the goats to climb rocky, mountainous areas - but they've shifted ecosystems to the trees!

Native to India and Sri Lanka, they are the sole members of the genus Loris. A small nocturnal primate, the Loris is able to live in wet and dry forests, as well as lowland and highland areas. About the size of a chipmunk with long very thin legs. Their diet consists mainly of insects and vegetation, and their average life span is twelve to fifteen years. Their movements are slow and meticulous so not to alert any prey. One of their unusual habits is to rub their urine over their hands face and feet. This is thought to be a remedy to them because they enjoy dining on toxic beetles and roaches. Their main threat is human as natives have always believed all parts of the Slender Loris to have medicinal or magical powers. It is unknown how many survive in the world today. There are laws in India to protect the loris, but it is hard to gauge their numbers due to their nocturnal habits.

Native to Madagascar, the Trachelophorus giraffa gets its name from its jointed extended neck that is similar to a Giraffe. The majority of the body is black with distinctive red patterns covering the wings. The extended neck assist with nest building and fighting. The Giraffe Weevil is the longest weevil in the world at around 2.5 cm.

The (Ailurus fulgens)is also known in some areas as the Shining Cat. Native to the Eastern Himalayas and Southwestern China. It is the sole member of it's genus Ailuirs. It's diet mainly consists of bamboo, but it is an omnivore, and eats anything the woodlands provide. It's ability to eat bamboo rests with it's strong, curved, sharp claws. A distant relative to the giant panda, there are no more than 10,000 adults left in the world, though it is protected by several countries. It's decline is blamed on loss of natural habitat, and poaching. Like the giant panda it also has a false thumb that is an extension of the wrist bone which aids tremendously in gripping things. They are typically shy creatures living a solitary life, except around mating season. Females give birth to one to four cubs usually in the spring and summer. Young pandas remain in their nest for about 90 days before venturing out on their own.

The red panda had been previously classified as a relative of the raccoon (for obvious visual reasons) in the past but was found that this was not accurate. Though greatly smaller than their distant cousins, they are indeed panda bears.

Sure, we've all heard of a sloth. But these are really very odd and unique creatures. There are multiple types of sloths, five types of three toed sloths or Bradypodidae. Three types of two toed sloths, and nine varieties of Megalonychidae (two toed and extinct ground sloths). Sloths are believed to have been around to about 60 million years, and are distantly related to Anteaters and Armadillos. What most of them have in common is that they all eat mainly leaves, insects, small reptiles and birds. Sloths have large slow acting stomachs with multiple compartments which in turn leads to a very slow digestion, and a very slow metabolism. This means that because of it's slow digestion it can take a month or more to fully digest something. Their metabolic rates are less than half of that of any mammal it's size, and they maintain a body temperature between 86 and 93 degrees (even lower when resting).

With the exalted title of the largest land based arthropod in the world, it's a wonder that the Giant Coconut Crab doesn't get more press than it does. These animals are generally nocturnal and live in many coastal and forest regions of Indo-Pacific islands. Including the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, The Indian Ocean and the seas in the area of Indonesia. Some of it's "island names" are the Robber Crab or Palm Thief because of it's reported habit of taking anything it can use, specifically shiny items. But they get their common name from their ability to climb Coconut Palm trees, clip off the Coconuts, return to the ground, peel the husk fromt he coconut, and hammer them open by dropping it repeatedly on rocks, or banging them open with their large claws. The rest of their diet is primarily fleshy fruits, nuts and seeds. Though they are Omnivores and will consume other items as well. Coconut crabs have a body length of about 16 inches, a leg span of 3 feet, and can weigh up to 9 pounds. Though there are accounts of them reaching upwards of 6 feet across and weighing up to 30 pounds. They can also live more than 30 years.

Snake(atheris hispida)

Saxony Bird

The Gerenuk

Naked Mole Rat

Dumbo Octopus

Pink Fairy Armadillo

Camel Spider

Star Nosed Mole

Rosy Lipped Batfish

Spiny Orb Weaver Spider

Blobfish

Stick Bug

Mimic Octopus

Amazing Sea Pig

Tree Climbing Goats

Slender Loris

Girarffe Weevil

The Red Panda

Sloth

Giant Coconut Crab