axoloti
the axoloti is a strange salamandar that keeps its feathery gills even when adult
25 Amazing Facts about Animals
While reading, I’ve found these things about animals and I’m really amazed!
1. The Queen termite can live up to 50 years and have 30,000 children every day.
2. A rhinoceros horn is made of compacted hair.
3. Slugs have 4 noses.
4. A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through.
5. A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.
6. The catfish has the most taste buds of all animals, having over 27,000 of them.
7. If you keep a Goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white.
8. Rodent’s teeth never stop growing.
9. The poison arrow frog has enough poison to kill about 2,200 people.
10. The cockroach’s favorite food is the glue on the back of stamps.
11. The waste produced by one chicken in its lifetime can supply enough electricity to run a 100-watt bulb for 5 hours.
12. Owls are one of the only birds that can see the color blue.
13. Camels chew in a figure 8 pattern.
14. Scientists in Brazil have reported the emergence of a species of super-flea; they are bigger than cockroaches and can jump 20 feet (6 m).
15. A flamingo can eat only when its head is upside down.
16. Starfish don’t have brains.
17. A kangaroo can jump up to 10 feet (3 m) high and leap up to 26 feet (8 m).
18. A jellyfish is 95% water.
19. A polar bears skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear.
20. When sharks take a bite, their eyes roll back and their teeth jut out.
21. A shark can detect one part of blood in 100 million parts of water.
22. Termites are affected by music. They will eat your house twice as fast if you play loud music.
23. Koalas never drink water. They get fluids from the eucalyptus leaves they eat.
24. The giant squid, found usually in the deep reaches of the oceans, has the largest eye of any animal.
25. Cat’s urine glows under a black light.
photo: Erik J.
this is an amazing find!
flying fish
Flying fish live in all of the oceans, particularly in tropical and warm subtropical waters. Their most striking feature is their pectoral fins, which are unusually large, and enable the fish to hide and escape from predators by leaping out of the water and flying through air a few feet above the water’s surface. Their flights are typically around 50 meters (160 ft.)
Flying fish taking off
To glide upward out of the water, a flying fish moves its tail up to 70 times per second. It then spreads its pectoral fins and tilts them slightly upward to provide lift.At the end of a glide, it folds its pectoral fins to reenter the sea, or drops its tail into the water to push against the water to lift itself for another glide, possibly changing direction.The curved profile of the “wing” is comparable to the aerodynamic shape of a bird wing. The fish is able to increase its time in the air by flying straight into or at an angle to the direction ofupdrafts created by a combination of air and ocean currents.
Genus Exocoetus has one pair of fins and a streamlined body to optimize for speed, while Cypselurus has a flattened body and two pairs of fins which maximizes its time in the air. From 1900 to the 1930s, flying fish were studied as possible models used to develop airplanes.
Exocoetidae feed mainly on plankton. Predators include dolphins, tuna, marlin, birds, squids and porpoises.
Flight measurements
In May 2008, a Japanese television crew (NHK) filmed a flying fish (dubbed “Icarfish”) off the coast of Yakushima Island, Japan. The creature spent 45 seconds in flight.The previous record was 42 seconds.
Flying fish can use updrafts at the leading edge of waves to cover distances of at least 400 m (1,300 ft).hey can travel at speeds of more than .Maximum altitude is 6 m (20 ft) above the surface of the sea. Some accounts have them landing on ships’ decks.
source: wiki
manta ray
The genus Manta contains two species of manta rays: the Reef Manta Ray (Manta alfredi) and the Giant Oceanic Manta Ray(Manta birostris), which are the largest species of the rays in the family Mobulidae, and the largest rays in the world. Oceanic mantas reach at least 7 metres (23 ft) in width and there are anecdotal reports of even larger specimens, while reef mantas reach about 5.5 metres (18 ft) in width.
Manta rays are circumglobal and are typically found in tropical and subtropical waters, although oceanic manta rays can be found in temperate waters. Oceanic mantas reside in deep water, pelagic zones, making periodic visits to cleaning stations at seamounts and coastal reefs. Minimal concrete information exists on oceanic manta movements, but they are generally believed to be more transient and migratory than the smaller reef mantas, which tend to be resident to shallower coastal habitats.
Most sharks, rays and skates (Elasmobranchii) have small brain-to-body ratios, but the ratio is relatively high in manta rays and the closely related Mobula rays.
source: wiki
orca
The killer whale (Orcinus orca), commonly referred to as the orca whale or orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas. Killer whales as a species have a diverse diet, although individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey. Some feed exclusively on fish, while others hunt marine mammals such as sea lions, seals, walruses and even large whales. Killer whales are regarded as apex predators, lacking natural predators.
Killer whales are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups which are the most stable of any animal species. Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors, which are often specific to a particular group and passed across generations, have been described as manifestations of culture.
The IUCN currently assesses the orca’s conservation status as data deficient because of the likelihood that two or more killer whale types are separate species. Some local populations are considered threatened or endangered due to prey depletion, habitat loss, pollution (byPCBs), capture for marine mammal parks, and conflicts with fisheries. In late 2005, the “southern resident” population of killer whales that inhabits British Columbia and Washington state waters were placed on the U.S. Endangered Species list.
Wild killer whales are not considered a threat to humans, although there have been cases of captives killing or injuring their handlers atmarine theme parks. Killer whales feature strongly in the mythologies of indigenous cultures, with their reputation ranging from being the the souls of humans to merciless killers.
source: wiki
tiger shark
Sharks are a group of fishes characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorpha (or Selachii), and are the sister group to the rays. However, the term “shark” has also been used for extinct members of the suborder Elasmobranchii outside the Selachimorpha, such as Cladoselache and Xenacanthus. Under this broader definition, the earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago.
Since that time, sharks have diversified into over 400 species. They range in size from the small dwarf lanternshark (Etmopterus perryi), a deep sea species of only 17 centimetres (6.7 in) in length, to the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the largest fish in the world, which reaches approximately 12 metres (39 ft). Despite its size, the whale shark feeds only on plankton, squid, and small fishby filter feeding. Sharks are found in all seas and are common down to depths of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). They generally do not live in freshwater although there are a few known exceptions, such as the bull shark and the river shark that can survive in both seawater and freshwater.They breathe through five to seven gill slits. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles that protects their skin from damage and parasites in addition to improving their fluid dynamics. They also have several sets of replaceable teeth.
Well-known species such as the great white shark, tiger shark, blue shark, mako shark, and the hammerhead shark are apex predators—organisms at the top of their underwater food chain. Their predatory skill fascinates and frightens humans, even though their survival is threatened by human-related activities.
starfish
Starfish or sea stars are echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. The names “starfish” and “sea star” essentially refer to members of the class Asteroidea. However, common usage frequently finds “starfish” and “sea star” also applied to ophiuroids which are correctly referred to as “brittle stars” or “basket stars”.
About 1,800 living species of starfish occur in all the world’s oceans, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern Oceansregions. Starfish occur across a broad depth range from the intertidal to abyssal depths (>6000 m).
Starfish are among the most familiar of marine animals and possess a number of widely known characteristics, such as regeneration and feeding on mussels. They possess a wide diversity of body forms and feeding methods. The extent to which Asteroidea can regenerate varies with individual species. Broadly speaking, starfish are opportunistic feeders, with several species having specialized feeding behaviors, including suspension feeding and specialized predation on specific prey.
Snowball Shrimp
The snowball shrimp or white pearl shrimp is a type of shrimp bred for the aquarium trade. It was developed in Germany through selective breeding from a wild ancestor similar to the species Neocaridina zhangjiajiensis. Adults grow to a size of 25–30 millimetres (1.0–1.2 in) and are a translucent white color.
Nick's SeaWorld 