Animals

WATERY WEDNESDAY # 13

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

WATERY WEDNESDAY# 13

We’ve dived deep to the bottom of the ocean floor to find today’s Watery Wednesday animal! We had to look hard to find this fish too because they are masters of camouflage! Are you ready to find this crazy looking fish? Come meet…

MEET THE ANGLERFISH!

Range/Habitat: North Atlantic-Mediterranean-Black Sea

Diet: Carnivore: small fishes

Length/Weight: up to 6 ½ ft/up to 88lbs

Conservation Status: Common

 

Fun Facts:

  • Anglers are also known as the monkfish.
  • They have large flat bodies with frills all over.
  • Anglers are brownish-green. Their coloration helps them camouflage with the ocean floor.
  • Anglers wait in the sand and use a fleshy lure attached to their dorsal (top) fin to attract prey.
  • They are ambush predators.
  • They have specialized pectoral fins that have “elbows”. They use these to walk along the sea floor.

 

These strange looking fish have some pretty neat adaptations for surviving in the ocean. How neat is it that they a fishing lure attached to their bodies? They are related to other anglerfish, who live deep in the ocean and can be even stranger looking! Think we need to go diving again!

 

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REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 13

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 13

Who loves reptiles? We do and we hope you do too! Today’s reptile isn’t what we could call cuddly though, but they are magnificent and beautiful! Are you ready to meet our reptile? Let’s do it!

MEET THE GABOON VIPER!

Range/Habitat: West-Central Africa/rainforests

Diet: Carnivore: birds, rodents and small mammals

Length/Weight: 4 ft- 6 ½ ft/ up to 18ft

Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

  • Gaboon vipers have thick bodies and are the heaviest snake in the viper family.
  • They also have the longest fangs of all venomous snakes, up to 2” long!
  • Gaboon vipers are known to be very docile and will only strike as a last resort. They are still best left alone.
  • They have beautiful geometric patterns in brown, tan and gold. Their coloration and pattern are excellent at helping them camouflage.
  • Gaboon vipers have large triangular heads and two tiny horns in-between their nostrils.
  • They are nocturnal (active at night).

Gaboon vipers are spectacular with their beautiful patterns.  We’re happy to observe them from a distance since they have such big fangs with venom!

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MAMMAL MONDAY # 13

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY# 13

Happy Mammal Monday! We’re extra excited for today’s animal, because it is BIG! And when we say big we mean bigger than elephant big! So are you ready to meet this extreme mammal? Let’s do this…

MEET THE BLUE WHALE!

Range/Habitat: Oceans worldwide except the Mediterranean-Arabic Gulf

Diet: Carnivore: eats only krill

Length/Weight: 66-98 ft/110-176 tons

Conservation Status: endangered

 

Fun Facts:

  • Blue Whales are the largest animal on the planet!
  • Blue whales have baleen. Baleen is a hair like structure in their mouths that filter out tiny krill from the water. Baleen is made of keratin (the same stuff that makes up your nails and hair).
  • They can eat up to 40 million krill a day! Whew, that is a bunch of tiny little animals.
  • Blue whales throats can swell to 4 times their normal size when taking in water and krill. They expel the water and swallow the krill.
  • They feed mostly in the summer in cold waters and migrate to warmer waters in the winter.
  • Blue whales have slender bodies with one small dorsal fin.
  • Blue whales can dive to depths of 655 ft.
  • The calves (babies) are up to 23ft long and 2 ½ tons when born! That’s about the weight of a car!
  • Blue whales also produce the loudest sound of any animal on earth at 180 decibels. That is louder than the jet engine of an airplane. WOW! It’s so loud that it could cause damage to your eardrums!
  • Blue whales produce many different sounds, calls and songs!

We could go on all day about the largest animal on our planet Earth! These special giants are endangered, but are protected now! Our oceans wouldn’t be the same without these amazing singing creatures! You can find a few really neat models in museums around the world! The one at the American Natural History Museum even tweets (@NatHistoryWhale).

Here’s a video of researchers catching the songs of blue whales from National Geographic! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8MTsgdWuU0

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FEATHERY FRIDAY # 12

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

FEATHERY FRIDAY# 12

It’s another fabulous Feathery Friday and we have a resident of the Amazon rainforest for today’s animal. Are you ready this little bird with two different names? Well, let’s do this…

MEET THE RED FANNED PARROT!

Range/Habitat: Northern South America/Amazon Rainforest

Diet: Herbivore: fruit, seeds, flowers, nuts

Length/Weight: 14”/ 8 oz

Conservation Status: Common

 

Fun Facts:

  • Red Fanned Parrots are also known as the Hawk-headed parrot.
  • They have red feathers on the back of their necks. They raise the feathers up when threatened or alarmed. It gives them an appearance of being larger than they are.
  • They have long tail feathers also that resemble some birds of prey.
  • Red fanned parrots are found in pairs or small groups.
  • They often nest in tree hollows.

 

Red Fanned Parrots are really neat little birds! We think they look like lions with their feathers up! We wonder if they know how to roar? We doubt it J!

 

 

 

 

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SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY #12

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY# 12

Happy Super Surprise Thursday! We’ve gone back to the ocean today to find an amazing animal friend for you to meet! This large, slow moving fish is pretty special, because you won’t see any fish like them! Let’s meet…

MEET THE OCEAN SUNFISH!

Range/Habitat: Tropical-Temperate Waters Worldwide

Diet:  Carnivore: jellies, squid, crustaceans

Length/Weight: 6 ft-13 ft/ 1-2 tons

Conservation Status: Common

 

Fun Facts:

  • Ocean Sunfish are the heaviest bony fish in the world.
  • They have disk shaped bodies and elongated dorsal (top) and anal (bottom) fins.
  • Ocean sunfish have beak like mouths for snipping at jellies.
  • Their skeletons are made up of lots of cartilage (the tissue in your ears and nose) as well as bone.
  • Ocean sunfish are fairly slow moving and clumsy looking when swimming.
  • Ocean sunfish can be seen basking in the sun near the surface of the ocean.
  • Ocean sunfish scientific name is Mola Mola. It comes from the Latin that means millstone, because they look like giant round stones!

 

Mola mola or Ocean Sunfish sure are some crazy looking fish! And isn’t mola mola fun to say? We continue to be fascinated by the different creatures who inhabit our oceans!

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WATERY WEDNESDAY # 12

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

 WATERY WEDNESDAY# 12

Today’s Watery Wednesday animal doesn’t come from the ocean, this fish lives in freshwater! That’s right you can find them in the waters of the Amazon River. Come meet this special fish…

MEET THE FRESHWATER STINGRAY!

Range/Habitat: South America/Amazon River

Diet: Carnivore: small fishes, invertebrates

Length/Weight: up to 3 ¼ ft/ 6 ½ lbs

Conservation Status: Common

 

Fun Facts:

  • Freshwater stingrays are small rounded shaped stingrays.
  • They only live in freshwater environments and not in the salty oceans.
  • Freshwater stingrays have short tails with no fin on the top.
  • They have few predators.
  • Their brown coloration with dark spots that help them camouflage.

 

Who knew that there were stingrays that live in rivers? We didn’t know that! The planet has so many neat animals in all different kinds of habitats!

 

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REPTILIAN TUESDAY #12

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 12

We hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween and enjoyed the pictures we posted on Facebook and all the tweets we posted about bats and owls! We’re excited to finish the week off with all kinds of wonderful animals and today we have a very flat one! Flat you say? Flat! Come meet….

MEET THE PANCAKE TORTOISE!

Range/Habitat: E Africa (Tanzania/Kenya)/rocky outcrops and savannas

Diet: Herbivore: grasses, leaves, fruit

Length/Weight: 5 ½”-7”/ 1 lb

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

 

Fun Facts:

  • Pancake Tortoises have flat carapaces (top shell) that are flexible. This is a very unusual adaptation.
  • Pancake tortoises can squeeze into narrow crevices. This helps protect them from predators.
  • They don’t move to far from their shelter.
  • Pancake tortoises are actually quick and agile climbers.
  • They live in small colonies and share their shelters.
  • They can live up to 25 years old.
  • Pancake tortoises are crepuscular (most active at dusk and dawn).

Pancake tortoises are really neat little tortoises with their flat shells and ability to climb. And they have pancake in their name and who doesn’t love pancakes!

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CREEPY CRAWLY THURSDAY # 11

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

CREEPY CRAWLY

THURSDAY # 11

Super Surprise Thursday has turned into Creepy Crawly Thursday and we have a spider for you! This is our first! So are you ready to meet this creepy crawly creature?

MEET THE RED KNEED TARANTULA!

Range/Habitat: West coast of Mexico/tropical forests

Diet: Carnivore: insects, frogs, mice

Length/Weight: 4 ½”/15 grams

Conservation Status: Near threatened

 

Fun Facts:

  • Red Kneed Tarantulas are nocturnal (active at night).
  • Like other spiders they have 8 legs and an exoskeleton.
  • Red kneed tarantulas have hair all over their bodies. They rub their back legs together if threaten. The hairs can cause a rash or even blindness if release in the eyes.
  • Red kneed tarantulas are venomous. They bite their prey with fangs and then inject the venom.
  • They burrow in the ground.
  • They don’t have a backbone like you instead they have a hard exoskeleton on the outside of their bodies. Because they have an exoskeleton they must molt 2-3 times a year as they grow.
  • Red kneed tarantulas can live up 20-30 years old.

 

Ellie is afraid of spiders, but learning about them helps her not to be afraid! Red kneed tarantulas are not harmful to humans or elephants J! We definitely think they’re kind of pretty with their bright colors!

 

 

 

 

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WEIRD WATERY WEDNESDAY # 11

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

WEIRD WATERY

WEDNESDAY # 11

We know that our oceans, lakes and rivers have tons of wild and crazy creatures. Some of these animals are pretty creepy, especially in the deep dark depths of our oceans. We’ve found a very spooky fish for you today! So let’s go meet him!

MEET THE SPOOKFISH!

Range/Habitat: tropical- sub-tropical ocean waters/deep oceans

Diet: Carnivore: crustaceans, copepods, and anything they can get

Length: 3 ¼”

Conservation Status: unknown

Fun Facts:

  • Spookfish have a very odd shape.
  • They have transparent white bodies and long thin transparent pectoral (side) that are half the length of their bodies.
  • The Spookfish most spectacular adaptation is their eyes. They are tubular and point upwards.
  • Spookfish have a second eye on the side of their eye. It looks like a black spot.
  • The second eye is actually part of the primary eye and points downward. It acts as a mirror and is thought to help the spookfish find animal are bioluminescent. (They have chemicals in their body that give of light.)

It’s only been in the last few years that scientist figured out how the Spookfish’s eye works. They aren’t seen very often because they live so deep in the ocean! Wow! There sure is an almost alien world down in the deep dark depths of ocean! We wonder what other monsters live there!

 

Check out these crazy creepy fish from National Marine Life Center!

http://nmlc.org/2011/10/13-spooky-sea-creatures/

 

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ABOMINABLE AMPHIBIAN TUESDAY #11

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Ellie and Edmond ©

ABOMINABLE AMPHIBIAN TUESDAY # 11

We’ve changed things up for our normal Reptilian Tuesday! In keeping with our scary and creepy theme this week, we’re spotlighting an amphibian! (You’ve met other amphibians such as the South American Bullfrog) This little animal is often referred to in stories about witches, or at least their eyes are! Ever heard of the eye of newt? Well this one doesn’t have scary eyes, but they have scary skin! Come meet them…

MEET THE ROUGH SKINNED NEWT!

Range/Habitat: Western United States-Canada/ woodlands and ponds

Diet: Carnivore: aquatic invertebrates, tiny fish

Length: 3 ½”- 7 ½”

Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

  • The Rough Skinned Newt is an amphibian. Other amphibians also include frogs, toads and salamanders.
  • Rough skinned newts have rough, bumpy skin as implied by their name.
  • They are extremely toxic. They produce a strong toxin that can cause death if eaten. It can also be absorbed through the skin if you have an open cut or wound.
  • They are brownish-black in color with yellow to orange bellies.
  • Rough skinned newts feed at night.
  • They can live as long as 12 years!
  • The common garter snake is the rough skinned newt’s only predator. The snakes have developed immunity to their toxin.

Wow! Who knew a cute little newt could be so poisonous? Well we think they are pretty awesome! We think this animal is best seen and not eaten J!

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