man and mystery vol 11 - freaks of nature [rev06]

8/10/2019 Man and Mystery Vol 11 - Freaks of Nature [Rev06]

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A collection of intriguing topics and fascinating stories

about the rare, the paranormal, and the strange

Freaks of Nature

Volume

Discover natures weirdest and longest-lived creatures.Jump into the world of lost civilizations and extinct animal kingdom.

Pablo C. Agsalud Jr.Revision 6


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Freaks of Nature

These plants and animals are REAL.

Unfortunately, most of them are either: UGLY, SCARY, or WEIRD.And some have peculiarly UNIQUE abilities, too.


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Deep-sea anglers, family Ceratiidae,are small inhabitants of the middledepths of the ocean (500-2,000m/1,640-6,560 ft). The females rarelygrow larger than a man's fist; themales are much smaller. Most of themare jet black or dark brown. These

anglers cruise slowly in the dark, coldwaters, glowing with lighted lures infront of them. The light in the lure issupplied by luminous bacteria shiningthrough skin that has lost its pigment.In some species the lure is complexlybranched and filamented.

Shortly after hatching, the male seeks out a female anglerfish and clamps onto her body withhis teeth. He retains this hold for the remainder of his life, his mouth becoming surrounded bythe tissue of the female. His sustenance is supplied by his mate through vascular connections.The parasitic male is commonly one-tenth as long as the female.


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Angora RabbitWikipedia.org

The Angora rabbit (Turkish: Ankara tavan) is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long,

soft wool. The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara(historically known as Angora), Turkey, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. Therabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 18th century, and spread to otherparts of Europe by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States in the early20th century. They are bred largely for their long Angora wool, which may be removed byshearing, combing, or plucking. There are many individual breeds of Angora rabbits, four ofwhich are recognized by ARBA; English, French, Giant, and Satin. Other breeds includeGerman, Chinese, Swiss, and Finnish.

Coat and appearance

Angoras are bred mainly for their wool because it is silky and soft. At only 11microns in

diameter it is finer and softer than cashmere. They have a humorous appearance, as theyoddly resemble a fur ball with a face. Most are calm and docile, but should be handledcarefully. Grooming is necessary to prevent the fibre from matting and felting on the rabbit. Acondition, wool block, is common in Angora rabbits, and should be treated quickly. Theserabbits are shorn every three to four months throughout the year.


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*Antelopus


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AxolotlYear 2000 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

Axolotls are salamanders that livein ponds and lakes on the Mexicanplateau. They retain most of thecharacteristics of larvae, such asgills, throughout their lives (thename comes from an Aztec wordmeaning "water doll" or watermonster). Their reproductivesystems mature, however. Theaxolotl is known scientifically asAmbystoma mexicanum and isclassified in the familyAmbystomatidae, which inhabitmuch of North America. Axolotlsoccur at the lower end of thegeographic range of the family,and it is suggested that the

relatively harsh conditions of theMexican plateau resulted in theevolution of these permanently

larval forms. In less harsh environments some closely related species are known tooccasionally metamorphose into an adult stage. Axolotls are easy to raise in the laboratoryand have many genetic variations (including albinism); they are therefore used to test avariety of genetic principles.

Strange Stories, Amazing Facts 2Readers Digest

The axolotl is one of a number of creatures, including some other salamanders and severalspecies of newts, that retain their juvenile form in later life-a characteristic known asneoteny. However, the axolotl advances one stage further than this: it develops sexualorgans so that it can reproduce. Scientists have labeled this phenomenon paedogenesis.


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BasiliskYear 2000 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

Taxonomy and etymology

This word derives from the Greekbasilskos () meaning "littleking". The specific epithet was given inCarolus Linnaeus' 10th edition of SystemaNaturae.

Physiology

The basilisk has mackled blue spots and ayellow iris, on average measures 70 to 75mm (2.83.0 in), and weighs about 80grams (3.2 oz). Its growth is perpetual,

fast when they are young and nonlinear for mature basilisks. Its long crest-like sails,reinforced in three distinct points (head, back, and tail), confer the impression of creatures

such as Dimetrodon and Spinosaurus. Its skin is shed in pieces.Running on water

The basilisk sometimes runs as a biped. Basilisks have the unique ability to "walk" on waterand, because of this; they have been dubbed as "The Jesus Christ lizard" in reference to thebiblical passage of Matthew 14:22-34. On water, the basilisk can run at a velocity of 1.5meters (4.9 feet) per second for approximately 4.5 meters (14.8 feet) before sinking on allfours and swimming. Flaps between their toes help support the basilisk, creating a largersurface and a pocket of air. They can also sustain themselves on all fours while "water-walking" to increase time above the surface by about 1.3 meters (4.3 feet).

Other defense mechanisms

When the basilisk detects danger, it can swim at fast speeds, using its crests as rudders. Itcan also burrow into sand. A ring of muscles around both nostrils prevent sand from enteringthe basilisk's nose.

Habitat

Abundant in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico toEcuador and Venezuela. Recently introduced to Florida, it has adapted to the colder winters byburrowing into the leaf litter for warmth. Current reports sight the basilisk as far north as FortPierce, on the state's East Coast, where small groups have crept up the North Fork of theSaint Lucie River.


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*Cantor's Giant Soft Shelled Turtle


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*Chinese Giant Salamander


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*Coconut Crab


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Duck-billed Platypus

Monotremes are mammals of the order Monotremata and include the duck-billed platypusand the echidnas, or spiny anteater. The name of the order means "single opening" and refersto the fact that in these mammals, as in birds and reptiles, the intestinal tract, the urinary

ducts, and the genital ducts all open into one chamber, the cloaca, which has a single openingto the outside.

Monotremes are classified as mammals because they possess certain strictly mammaliancharacteristics, including milk glands (but not teats or nipples) to nourish their young, warm-bloodedness, a muscular diaphragm separating the lungs from the abdominal cavity, a singlebone making up each side of the lower jaw, three middle ear bones (auditory ossicles), andhair. They are unique among mammals, however, because they possess so many reptiliancharacteristics, perhaps the most notable being that they lay eggs rather than bear the youngalive. The eggssomewhat rounded and small, about 15 mm (0.6 in) in diameterare notbrittle, as are birds' eggs, but are covered with a leathery shell, as are the eggs of mostreptiles. Among other reptilian features are the presence in the shoulder girdle (front-limbsupport) of well-developed coracoid bones and an interclavicle bone. In other mammals thecoracoids are reduced and fused to the shoulder blades (scapulas), and the interclavicle occurs

at most as a tiny vestige.Monotremes are in the mammalian subclass Prototheria, which contains the familiesOrnithorhynchidae (duck-billed platypuses, found in Australia) and Tachyglossidae (echidnas,found in Australia and New Guinea). The earliest platypus fossil is about 62 million years old,from South America, possibly related to a 20-million-year-old fossil from South Australia. Littleis known about the origins or evolution of this group.


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*Dumbo Octopus

Strange as the Dumbo Octopus may be, somepeople actually think it's pretty cute, hence the

Disney-inspired name, given for its two finswhich resemble ears. Dumbo's can be found inthe dark depths of any ocean on Earth andgrows up to 20cm in length. It swallows itsprey, made up of mostly worms andcrustaceans, whole.


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*Fox Cat


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Firefly

Lampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle orderColeoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonlycalled fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous

crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates orprey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared orultraviolet frequencies. This chemically-produced lightfrom the lower abdomen may be yellow, green, or pale-red, with wavelengths from 510 to 670 nanometers.

About 2,000 species of firefly are found in temperateand tropical environments. Many are in marshes or inwet, wooded areas where their larvae have abundant

sources of food. These larvae emit light and are often called "glowworms", in particular, inEurasia. In the Americas, "glow worm" also refers to the related Phengodidae. In manyspecies, both male and female fireflies have the ability to fly, but in some species, females areflightless.

Light and chemical production

Firefly (species unknown) captured in eastern Canada -the top picture is taken with a flash, the bottom onlywith the self-emitted light.Fireflies in the woods near Nuremberg, Germany,exposure time 30 seconds

Light production in fireflies is due to a type of chemicalreaction called bioluminescence. This process occurs inspecialised light-emitting organs, usually on a firefly'slower abdomen. The enzyme luciferase acts on theluciferin, in the presence of magnesium ions, ATP, andoxygen to produce light. Genes coding for these

substances have been inserted into many differentorganisms. Firefly luciferase is used in forensics, andthe enzyme has medical uses in particular, fordetecting the presence of ATP or magnesium. It hasbeen speculated that Baroque painter Caravaggio mayhave prepared his canvases with a powder of driedfireflies to create a photosensitive surface on which heprojected the image to be painted.

All fireflies glow as larvae. Bioluminescence serves adifferent function in lampyrid larvae than it does in

adults. It appears to be a warning signal to predators, since many firefly larvae containchemicals that are distasteful or toxic.

Light in adult beetles was originally thought to used for similar warning purposes, but itsprimary purpose is now thought to be used in mate selection. Fireflies are a classic example ofan organism that uses bioluminescence for sexual selection. They have evolved a variety ofways to communicate with mates in courtships: steady glows, flashing, and the use ofchemical signals unrelated to photic systems.

Some species, especially lightning bugs of the genera Photinus, Photuris, and Pyractomena,are distinguished by the unique courtship flash patterns emitted by flying males in search offemales. In general, females of the Photinus genus do not fly, but do give a flash response tomales of their own species.


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Tropical fireflies, in particular, in Southeast Asia, routinely synchronise their flashes amonglarge groups. This phenomenon is explained as phase synchronization and spontaneous order.At night along river banks in the Malaysian jungles (the most notable ones found near KualaSelangor), fireflies (kelip-kelip in the Malay language or Bahasa Malaysia) synchronise theirlight emissions precisely. Current hypotheses about the causes of this behavior involve diet,social interaction, and altitude. In the Philippines, thousands of fireflies can be seen all year-

round in the town of Donsol (called aninipot or totonbalagon in Bicol). In the United States,one of the most famous sightings of fireflies blinking in unison occurs annually near Elkmont,Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains during the first weeks of June. Congaree NationalPark in South Carolina is another host to this phenomenon.

Female Photuris fireflies are known for mimicking the mating flashes of other "lightning bugs"for the sole purpose of predation. Target males are attracted to what appears to be a suitablemate, and are then eaten. For this reason the Photuris species are sometimes referred to as"femme fatale fireflies."

Many fireflies do not produce light. Usually these species are diurnal, or day-flying, such asthose in the genus Ellychnia. A few diurnal fireflies that inhabit primarily shadowy places, suchas beneath tall plants or trees, are luminescent. One such genus is Lucidota. These firefliesuse pheromones to signal mates. This is supported by the fact that some basal groups do not

show bioluminescence and, rather, use chemical signaling. Phosphaenus hemipterus hasphotic organs, yet is a diurnal firefly and displays large antennae and small eyes. These traitsstrongly suggests pheromones are used for sexual selection, while photic organs are used forwarning signals. In controlled experiments, males coming from downwind arrived at femalesfirst, thus male arrival was correlated with wind direction, indicating males' chemotaxis into apheromone plume. Males were also found to be able to find females without the use of visualcues, when the sides of test Petri dishes were covered with black tape. This and the facts thatfemales do not light up at night and males are diurnal point to the conclusion that sexualcommunication in P. hemipterus is entirely based on pheromones.


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Characteristics

Flatfish are asymmetrical, with both eyes lying on the same sideof the head

The turbot is a large left-eyed flatfish found in sandy shallowcoastal waters around Europe

The most obvious characteristic of the flatfish is their asymmetry, with both eyes lying on thesame side of the head in the adult fish. In some families, the eyes are always on the right sideof the body (dextral or right-eyed flatfish), and in others, they are always on the left (sinistralor left-eyed flatfish). The primitive spiny turbots include equal numbers of right and left sidedindividuals, and are generally less asymmetrical than the other families. Other distinguishingfeatures of the order are the presence of protrusible eyes, another adaptation to living on theseabed (benthos), and the extension of the dorsal fin onto the head.

The surface of the fish facing away from the sea floor is pigmented, often serving tocamouflage the fish, but sometimes with striking coloured patterns. Some flatfish are also able

to change their pigmentation to match the background, in a manner similar to a chameleon.The side of the body without the eyes, which faces the seabed, is usually colourless or verypale.

The flounders and spiny turbots eat smaller fish, and have well-developed teeth. Theysometimes seek prey in the mid-water, away from the bottom, and show fewer extremeadaptations than other families. The soles, by contrast, are almost exclusively bottomdwellers, and feed on invertebrates. They show a more extreme asymmetry, and may lackteeth on one side of the jaw.

Flatfish range in size from Tarphops oligolepis, measuring about 4.5 centimetres (1.8 in) inlength, and weighing 2 grams (0.071 oz), to the Atlantic halibut, at 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) and316 kilograms (700 lb).

Reproduction

Flatfish lay eggs that hatch into larvae resembling typical, symmetrical, fish. These are initiallyelongated, but quickly develop into a more rounded form. The larvae typically have protectivespines on the head, over the gills, and in the pelvic and pectoral fins. They also possess aswim bladder, and do not dwell on the bottom, instead dispersing from their hatching groundsas plankton.

The length of the planktonic stage varies between different types of flatfish, but eventuallythey begin to metamorphose into the adult form. One of the eyes migrates across the top ofthe head and onto the other side of the body, leaving the fish blind on one side. The larva alsoloses its swim bladder and spines, and sinks to the bottom, laying its blind side on the

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Origins

Flatfish have been cited as dramatic examples of evolutionary adaptation. For example,Richard Dawkins in The Blind Watchmaker, explains the flatfish's evolutionary history thus:

bony fish as a rule have a marked tendency to be flattened in a vertical

direction. It was natural, therefore, that when the ancestors of [flatfish] took to thesea bottom, they should have lain on one side. But this raised the problem that oneeye was always looking down into the sand and was effectively useless. In evolutionthis problem was solved by the lower eye moving round to the upper side.

In 2008, scientists discovered that "50-million-year-old fossils have revealed an intermediatespecies between primitive flatfishes (with eyes on both sides of their heads) and the modern,lopsided versions, which include sole, flounder, and halibut." The research concluded that "thechange happened gradually, in a way consistent with evolution via natural selectionnotsuddenly, as researchers once had little choice but to believe."


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Flying SquirrelWikipedia.org

Flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini orPetauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels (familySciuridae).

Description

Flying squirrels are not capable of powered flight like birds or bats; instead, they glidebetween trees. They are capable of obtaining lift within the course of these flights, with flightsrecorded to 90 meters (295 ft). The direction and speed of the animal in midair is varied bychanging the positions of its two arms and legs, largelycontrolled by small cartilaginous wrist bones. Thischanges the tautness of the patagium, a furryparachute-like membrane that stretches from wrist toankle. It has a fluffy tail that stabilizes in flight. The tailacts as an adjunct airfoil, working as an air brake beforelanding on a tree trunk.

Northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)

The colugos, Petauridae, and Anomaluridae are glidingmammals, which are similar to flying squirrels, becauseof convergent evolution. A few mammals can glidethrough the trees, but they do not actually fly (like birds and bats). They have a membrane ofskin on either side of their body.

Taxonomy

The largest of the species is the woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus). The two speciesof the genus Glaucomys (Glaucomys sabrinus and Glaucomys volans) are native to NorthAmerica, and the Siberian flying squirrel is native to parts of northern Europe (Pteromysvolans).

Pliopetauristao Pliopetaurista kollmanni Daxner-Hck, 2004

Thorington and Hoffman (2005) recognize 15 genera of flying squirrels in two subtribes.

Tribe Pteromyiniflying squirrels

Subtribe Glaucomyina

Genus Eoglaucomyso Kashmir Flying Squirrel, Eoglaucomys fimbriatus

Genus Glaucomys New World flying squirrels (American flying squirrels), NorthAmerica

o Southern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys volanso Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus

Genus Hylopetes, southeast Asiao Particolored Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes alboniger


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o Afghan Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes baberio Bartel's Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes bartelsio Gray-cheeked Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes lepiduso Palawan Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes nigripeso Indochinese Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes phayreio Jentinks Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes platyuruso Sipora Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes siporao Red-cheeked Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes spadiceuso Sumatran Flying Squirrel, Hylopetes winstoni

Genus Iomys, Malaysia and Indonesiao Javanese Flying Squirrel (Horsfield's Flying Squirrel), Iomys horsfieldio Mentawi Flying Squirrel, Iomys sipora

Genus Petaurillus pygmy flying squirrels, Borneo and Malayao Lesser Pygmy Flying Squirrel, Petaurillus emiliaeo Hose's Pygmy Flying Squirrel, Petaurillus hoseio Selangor Pygmy Flying Squirrel, Petaurillus kinlochiio Genus Petinomys, southeast Asiao Basilan Flying Squirrel, Petinomys crinituso Travancore Flying Squirrel, Petinomys fuscocapilluso Whiskered Flying Squirrel, Petinomys genibarbiso Hagen's Flying Squirrel, Petinomys hagenio Siberut Flying Squirrel, Petinomys lugenso Mindanao Flying Squirrel, Petinomys mindanensiso Arrow Flying Squirrel, Petinomys sagittao Temminck's Flying Squirrel, Petinomys setosuso Vordermann's Flying Squirrel, Petinomys vordermanni

Subtribe Pteromyina

Genus Aeretes, northeast Chinao Groove-toothed Flying Squirrel (North Chinese Flying Squirrel), Aeretes

melanopterus Genus Aeromys large black flying squirrels, Thailand to Borneo

o Black Flying Squirrel, Aeromys tephromelaso Thomas's Flying Squirrel, Aeromys thomasi

Genus Belomys, southeast Asiao Hairy-footed Flying Squirrel, Belomys pearsonii

Genus Biswamoyopterus, Indiao Namdapha Flying Squirrel, Biswamoyopterus biswasi

Genus Eupetaurus, Kashmir; rareo Woolly Flying Squirrel, Eupetaurus cinereus

Genus Petaurista, southeast Asiao Red And White Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista alborufuso Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista eleganso Hodgson's Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista magnificuso Bhutan Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista nobiliso Indian Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista philippensiso Chinese Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista xanthotiso Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista leucogenyso Red Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista petaurista

Genus Pteromys Old World flying squirrel, Finland to Japano Siberian Flying Squirrel, Pteromys volanso Japanese Dwarf Flying Squirrel, Pteromys momonga

Genus Pteromyscus, southern Thailand to Borneoo Smoky Flying Squirrel, Pteromyscus pulverulentus

Genus Trogopterus, Chinao Complex-toothed Flying Squirrel, Trogopterus xanthipes


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Two new species have been recently added from northeastern Indian state of ArunachalPradesh. These are:

Mechuka Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista mechukaensis)Mishmi Hills Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista mishmiensis)

BehaviorA Southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) gliding

Though their life expectancy in the wild is six years, flying squirrels may live fifteen years incaptivity. This is due to these creatures being important prey animals. Predation mortalityrates in sub-adults are high. Predators include arboreal snakes, raccoons, nocturnal owls,martens, fishers, coyotes, and the domestic cat. In the Pacific Northwest of North America, theNorthern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) is a well-known predator. Flying squirrels arenocturnal, flying at night as they are not adept in escaping birds of prey that hunt duringdaylight. Flying Squirrels eat according to how hungry they are and what type of environmentthey are in. They eat whatever types of food they can find in their environment; if desperatethey will eat anything. Southern Flying Squirrels eat seeds, insects, gastropods such as slugsand snails, spiders, tree shrubs, flowers, fungi and tree sap.

Reproduction

The mating season is between February to March. When young are born, the female squirrelslive with them in maternal nest sites; they nurture and protect them until they leave the nest.The males do not participate in nurturing their offspring.

At birth, they are mostly hairless, apart from their whiskers, and most of their senses are notpresent. The internal organs are visible through the skin, and their sex can be signified. Byweek 5 of their life, they are almost fully furred and developed. At that point, they canrespond to their environment and start to develop a mind of their own. Through the upcomingweeks of their lives, they practice leaping and gliding. After two and a half months, their

gliding skills are perfected, they are ready to leave their nest and are capable of independentsurvival.

Diet

Flying squirrels can easily forage for food in the night, given their highly developed sense ofsmell, where they harvest fruits, nuts, fungi, and bird eggs. Gliding conserves energy.


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*Giant Isopod

If you're afraid of bugs, you're really not going to like the Giant Isopod. It resembles nothingso much as a cockroach the size of a guinea pig, but it's actually a crustacean related toshrimp and crabs. These scavengers roam the cold, dark sea floor from 560ft to 7,000ft belowthe surface of the ocean, eating mostly dead whales, fish, and squid.


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*Golden Fish in Taiwan


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*Grazing Holothurians


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Gulper Eel

Where the gulper eel lives waydown at the bottom of the oceanthere isn't exactly a buffet of

meal choices. Luckily, this creepycreature has a gigantic jaw thatallows it to eat pretty muchanything it comes across,regardless of size. At the end ofits very long, whip-like tail,there's a light-producing organcalled a photophore that it usesas a fishing lure to attract prey.

The gulper eel, Saccopharynx harrisoni, a deep sea relative of the common eel, lives at depthsof 3,000 m (10,000 ft). Its fragile, soft body grows up to 1.8 m (4 ft) long. Its jaws, capableof an enveloping, seesaw motion, allow it to swallow fish larger than itself.


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HagfishYear 2000 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

The Pacific Ocean Hagfish has adisgusting way of defending itself. Whenunder attack, it oozes a suffocatingslime from its many pores that envelopsits predator in a fatal mass of fibrousgoo. The hagfish, unfortunately,sometimes falls prey to its own defensemechanism, but normally it twists itselfinto knots to escape the gelatinousgoop.

The hagfish is a marine fish that belongs to the family Myxinidae, order Myxiniformes. It is themost primitive of living vertebrates. Eellike in appearance, the hagfish lacks jaws, paired fins,scales, and a bony skeleton, the body being supported by the notochord, which serves as abackbone, and by cartilage. Its eyes are degenerate and not visible externally, and there is arow of slime-producing pores on each side of the body. Hagfish, related to lampreys, arebrown in color and may reach 60 cm (2 ft) in length. The species are found in colder, deeperwaters, from 30 to 1,300 m (100 to 4,300 ft) in depth in temperate seas in many parts of theworld. Hagfish are bottom feeders and scavengers, commonly feeding on dead and dyinginvertebrates and fish. This scavenging extends to attacking living fish caught in nets. Thehagfish bores into the body cavity of the fish by using its suctorial mouth and strong, raspliketongue.


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*Horror Frog

It's called a "horror frog", but this amphibian isn't the star of a b-movie. It's so namedbecause of its ability to actively break its own bones to produce claws. Hairy and bizarre, thehorror frog also nicknamed the wolverine frog, after the comic book character can break its

bones so that they puncture its toe pads, producing extendable claws on demand whenthreatened. This Cameroon native, which is often roasted and eaten, was discovered in 2008.


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*Indian Gharia

Most of us have grown accustomed to the prehistoric appearance of alligators and crocodiles,but for those unused to looking at it, the Indian gharial seems like something transportedstraight from the age of dinosaurs. This severely threatened native of Indian rivers has a verylong, thin snout fitted with a row of sharp teeth. Scientists suspect that heavy metal pollutionin the rivers is causing debilitating gout and making gharials susceptible to infection.


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Komondor DogYear 2000 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

Komondors are large, shaggy, working dogs native to Hungary and used as sheepdogs, as wellas police and guard dogs. As a herder, the komondor usually protects the flocks and herds,while smaller dogs do much of the routine work. Komondors stand at least 59.7 cm (23.5 in)at the shoulder. Their thick, woolly coats are pure white and naturally form into tasslelikecords. Their ears hang down from the face, and their long tails are carried in a low curve.


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*Lampreys


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Livyatan melvilleiWikipedia.org

Livyatan melvillei is an extinct species of physeteroidwhale, which lived during the Miocene epoch,approximately 12-13 million years ago.

Reconstruction of Livyatan (left) and Cetotherium (right)

Discovery

In November 2008, fossil remains of Livyatan melvilleiwere discovered in the sediments of Pisco formation atCerro Colorado, 35 kilometres (22 mi) south-southwestof Ica, Peru. The remains include a partially preservedskull with teeth and mandible.[2] Rotterdam NaturalHistory Museum researcher Klaas Post stumbled acrossthem on the final day of a field trip there in November2008. Post was part of an international team ofresearchers, led by Dr Christian de Muizon, director of

the Natural History Museum in Paris, and included otherpalaeontologists from Utrecht University and the naturalhistory museums of Rotterdam, Museo storia naturale di

Pisa, the Museum of Natural History of the National University of San Marcos in Lima andBrussels.

The fossils have been dated at 1213 million years old and were prepared in Lima, Peru, andare now part of the collection of the Natural History Museum there.

Etymology and nomenclature

Researchers originally assigned the English name of the biblical monster (Leviathan) to thisprehistoric whale as Leviathan melvillei, dedicating the discovery to Herman Melville, author ofMoby-Dickthe researchers behind the excavation of L. melvillei were all fans of this novel.

However, the scientific name Leviathan was a junior homonym of Leviathan Koch, 1841 for agenus of mastodon (see Leviathan). Junior homonyms need to be replaced with new names,except under certain special circumstances (ICZN 1999 Article 60). In August 2010, theauthors rectified this situation by coining a new genus name for the whale, Livyatan, from theoriginal Hebrew spelling.

Morphology and habitat

Livyatan melvillei had a body length of 13.5 to 17.5 metres (4457 ft), about the same as amodern adult male sperm whale. The skull of Livyatan melvillei is 3 metres (10 ft) long. Unlikethe modern sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, L. melvillei had functional teeth in both its

jaws. The jaws of L. melvillei were robust and its temporal fossa was also considerably largerthan in the modern-age sperm whale. L. melvillei is one of the largest raptorial predators yetknown, with whale experts using the phrase "the biggest tetrapod bite ever found" to explain

their find. The teeth of L. melvillei are up to 36 centimetres (1.18 ft) long and are claimed tobe the largest of any animal yet known. Larger 'teeth' (tusks) are known, such as walrus andelephant tusks, but these are not used directly in eating.Skull structure

The fossil skull of L. melvillei has a curved basin which suggests it might have had a largespermaceti organ, a series of oil and wax reservoirs separated by connective tissue. Thisorgan is thought to help modern sperm whales to dive deeply to feed. However, L. melvillei islikely to have hunted large prey near the surface, so it appears that this organ would have hadother functions. Possible suggestions include echolocation, acoustic displays (with the


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spermaceti organ acting as a resonance chamber) or aggressive headbutting, possibly usedagainst competing males in mating contests or to batter prey.

Diet

Fossil remains of many other animalsincluding baleen whales, beaked whales, dolphins,porpoises, sharks, sea turtles, seals and sea birdshave been found at the same site where

the remains of L. melvillei have been excavated.

L. melvillei would have been a top predator of its time along with the giant shark, C.megalodon, which was contemporaneous with L. melvillei in the same region, and the whaleprobably had a profound impact on the structuring of Miocene marine communities. Theappearance of gigantic raptorial sperm whales in the fossil record coincides with a phase ofdiversification and size-range increase of the baleen-bearing mysticetes in the Miocene.

L. melvillei is likely to have preyed upon 710 metres (2333 ft) baleen whales, seals anddolphins.

Size estimation

Two physeterids have been chosen by whale experts for comparison to estimate the size of L.

melvillei. The anatomy of Physeter macrocephalus yielded a total length (TL) of 13.5 m (=44.3 feet) for L. melvillei, and that of Zygophyseter varolai yielded a TL of 17.5 m (= 57.5feet) for L. melvillei.


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Long-beaked Echidna

The long-nosed echidna, Zaglossus, is confined to New Guinea. it attains 66 cm (26 in) inlength, plus tail, and 10 kg (22 lb) in weight.

The long-beaked echidna is a rare egg-laying mammal found in Papua New Guinea. Thisnocturnal critter is a relative of the platypus, but lives underground where it uses its tube-likesnout to search for invertebrate prey like insect larvae and worms. It has to eat soft foods,

because it doesn't have any teeth. Hatchlings are known as puggles, and they reside in asticky pouch to receive milk from mammary patches on the mother's body.

Spiny anteaters, or echidnas, are egg-laying mammals making up the familyTachyglossidae, in the order Monotremata. They have compact, muscular bodies and shortlegs with broad feet and large claws that they use for digging up food in the form of termites,ants, and worms. The echidna's body is covered with coarse hair and barbless spines, and ithas small ears, a stubby tail, and a long, toothless snout. The female lays a single, leatheryegg, which is placed in a temporary pouch formed on her abdomen. The egg hatches in 7 to10 days, and the young feeds on thick, yellowish milk that flows from the mammary glandsalong several tufts of hair into the pouch. Young stay inside the pouch for 6 to 8 weeks until aspine develops. They become sexually mature after one year.


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Long-eared Jerboa

Shaped somewhat like a tiny kangaroo, the nocturnal mouse-like Long-eared Jerboa uses itselongated tail and hind legs for jumping. The endangered rodent, found in the Gobi desert ofMongolia, has ears that are about a third larger than its head and eats mostly insects. It's soextraordinary that it's the only species of its genus.


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Midshipman fishWikipedia.org

The midshipman fishes are the genus Porichthysoftoadfishes. They are distinguished by having

photophores (which they use to attract prey andafter which they are named, reminding some of anaval uniform's buttons) and four lateral lines.Typical midshipman fishes, such as the PlainfinMidshipman, are nocturnal and bury themselves insand or mud of the intertidal zone during the day.At night they float just above the seabed. Somespecies are armed with venomous dorsal spines andare capable of inflicting serious injuries if handled.

Mating in midshipman fishes depends on auditorycommunication; males during the breeding seasonbroadcast a sound usually described as a hum,generated by rapid contractions of the muscles in

the swim bladder. The sound can be kept up for upto an hour, and is loudenough to be heard by (andto puzzle) people on nearby land and houseboats;the hulls of the boats tend to amplify the sound tosleep-disrupting levels. Reproductive femalesdevelop a selective sensitivity to this sound, andrespond by laying eggs in the rock nest of a singingmale.

Researchers from the University of Washington and Cornell University have recentlydemonstrated that the increase in sensitivity associated with female reproductive status canbe duplicated in non-reproductive females of the Plainfin Midshipman (Porichthys notatus) byboosting hormone levels, and that this acts on the fish's inner-ear to produce the change insensitivity. An increase in levels of the hormones testosterone and estradiol triggers changes

that result in increased sensitivity to higher sound frequencies.Strange Stories, Amazing Facts 2Readers Digest

In September 1985, houseboat residents in the exclusive Richardson Bay area across fromSan Francisco began to suffer from a mysterious complaint. Many could not sleep at night;others developed chronic headaches. All complained about a persistent humming, anoise thatoccurred only at night.

What kept them awake was a singing toadfish, the plainfin midshipman. Why the toadfishmakes this noise is not fully understood. But we do know that only the male sings. The call,which it makes only between September and April, is believed to be part of the courtship ritualand may serve to warn off other males as well. When threatened r frightened, the fish also

emits loud grunts or burping sounds.The plainfin midshipman is not alone in these abilities:

The male oyster toadfish produces a characteristic whistle The electric catfish hisses The horse mackerel grunts like a pig The trunkfishes and puffers growl like dogs The family of fish known as drums creak, hum, pur and whistle


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MudskippersWikipedia.org

Mudskippers are members of thesubfamily Oxudercinae (tribe

Periophthalmini), within the familyGobiidae (Gobies). They arecompletely amphibious fish, fishthat can use their pectoral fins towalk on land. Being amphibious,they are uniquely adapted tointertidal habitats, unlike most fishin such habitats which survive theretreat of the tide by hiding underwet seaweed or in tidal pools.Mudskippers are quite active whenout of water, feeding andinteracting with one another, forexample to defend their territories.

They are found in tropical,subtropical and temperate regions,including the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic coast of Africa.

Adaptations

Compared with fully aquatic gobies, these fish present a range of peculiar behavioural andphysiological adaptations to an amphibious lifestyle. These include:

Anatomical and behavioural adaptations that allow them to move effectively on land aswell as in the water. As their name implies, these fish use their fins to move around ina series of skips. They can also flip their muscular body to catapult themselves up to 2feet (60 cm) into the air.

The ability to breathe through their skin and the lining of their mouth (the mucosa)and throat (the pharynx). This is only possible when the mudskipper is wet, limitingmudskippers to humid habitats and requiring that they keep themselves moist. Thismode of breathing, similar to that employed by amphibians, is known as cutaneous airbreathing. Another important adaptation that aids breathing while out of water aretheir enlarged gill chambers, where they retain a bubble of air. These large gillchambers close tightly when the fish is above water, keeping the gills moist, andallowing them to function. They act like a scuba diver's cylinders, and supply oxygenfor respiration also while on land.

Digging deep burrows in soft sediments allow the fish to thermoregulate, avoid marinepredators during the high tide when the fish and burrow are submerged, and for layingtheir eggs.

Even when their burrow is submerged, mudskippers maintain an air pocket inside it, whichallows them to breathe in conditions of very low oxygen concentration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GambianMudskippers.jpg


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Naked Mole Rat

Its wrinkled pink skin, piggish nose and protruding teeth don't exactly make the naked molerat the cutest animal around. Colonies of these hairless rodents live in underground palacesled by one dominant rat the queen, which is the only female to breed and bear young. As withbees, naked mole rats have roles in the colony, including workers that dig the tunnels andgather food. Most naked mole rats are found in the sandy deserts of sub-Saharan Africa.


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*Proboscis Monkey


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*Purple Bear


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*Pygmy Marmoset


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Origin of Name

LEFT: Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

Rafflesia is a large parasitic plant discovered inthe lush tropical rain forest of Indonesia by an

Indonesian guide working for Dr. Joseph Arnoldin 1818, and named it after Sir Thomas StamfordRaffles, founder of the British colony ofSingapore, and leader of the expedition. Thediscovery eventually led to more discovery of 27species in southeastern Asia, on the MalayPeninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and in thePhilippines.

LEFT: Rafflesia Arnoldii ofIndonesia

Rafflesia is the world'slargest, the heaviest, therarest and the one of themost stinkiest flowers inthe world. It grows to 1meter wide and weighsabout 10 kgs.

The plant has no stems,leaves or roots, and does

not have chlorophyll. Ithas only nutrient-absorbing threads toabsorb nutrients from thehost on which it lives. It isan endoparasite of vines

in the genus Tetrastigma (Vitaceae), spreading its root-like haustoria inside the tissue of thevine. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the five-petaledflower. After 9 months of maturation, Rafflesia plant opens into a cabbage-sized bud. Thesexual organs are located beneath the rim of the disk. The vile smell that the flower emitsattracts insects such as flies and carrion beetles, which then pollinate the rare plant. Rafflesiais an official state flower of Indonesia, also Sabah state in Malaysia, as well as for the SuratThani Province, Thailand.


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Rafflesia Mira of Maragusan, Davao Rafflesia Speciosa of Antique

Rafflesia Manillana of Samar and Luzon Rafflesia Schadenbergiana of Davao


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Rafflesia lobataDiscovered in 2005 in Mount Igtuog and MountSakpaw in Central Panay

Rafflesia BaleteiDiscovered in 1991 in Mount Isarog and MountIriga range of Camarines Sur

Rafflesia Banahawensis of Mt BanahawLater renamed Rafflesia Philippensis Blanco

Rafflesia Panchoana of Mt MakilingDiscovered in 2007 in Laguna

Rafflesia LeonardiSitio of Kinapawan in the coastal town of Lal-loin Cagayan Valley discovered in 2008

Rafflesia AurantisDiscovered in 2009 in the Quirino ProtectedLandscape, Quirino Province, Luzon


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Study

Dr. Julie Barcelona Dr. Daniel Nickrent

Two international plant scientists are currently pressing for a massive information andeducation campaign to raise awareness about the Rafflesia Mira. Dr. Daniel Nickrent, professorfrom Southern Illinois, United States, and Dr. Julie Barcelona, believe that the population in allthe 11 sites he has visited belonges to the same Rafflesia Miraspecies. Dr. Nickrent explainedthat the genus Rafflesia Mira, with known 15 species, is endemic to Thailand, Malaysia,Indonesia, and the Philippines, and ranks among the rarest and most endangered flowers inSouth-East Asia. Ten of these species are found in the Philippines. Maragusans Rafflesia Mirawas discovered by Filipino scientists led by Dr. Edwino Fernando and Dr. Perry Ong in thefoothill village of New Albay in Maragusan.

Scientists say more than 1.3 acres of forest disappear from the Earths surface every secondor 75 acres in one minute. This is equivalent to 108,000 acres daily, and more than 40 millionacres a year. Tropical rainforests are home to more than 50% of the worlds plant and animalspecies including the Rafflesia.

Dr. Nickrent explained that the rare Rafflesia species is a barometer of the health of theecosystem. Once gone, he said, it would mean mans source of food and other sustenance iseither dead or dying.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-om1JE_7O1zc/ThmvPQYBy3I/AAAAAAAABbM/HiN9yTPxCbE/s1600/RafflesiaDan1a.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TdGwX27ufYo/Thm03lq7lOI/AAAAAAAABb0/XDA90zWtqsw/s1600/Julie+F.+Barcelona.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-om1JE_7O1zc/ThmvPQYBy3I/AAAAAAAABbM/HiN9yTPxCbE/s1600/RafflesiaDan1a.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TdGwX27ufYo/Thm03lq7lOI/AAAAAAAABb0/XDA90zWtqsw/s1600/Julie+F.+Barcelona.jpg


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Up Close

The diaphragm showing the floral opening The perigone lobe showing thepattern

The two anthers with pollen in a sticky fluid View from inside the flower


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Flower bud in a later stage of opening Flower bud with scales still unexpanded

Side view of the disk from a dissected

flower

Top view of the disk showing the

processes

Protection

Section 27 of Republic Act 9147 prohibits the collection, possession, transport and trading ofall Rafflesia species listed as a critically endangered species under Department of Environmentand Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order # 2007-01 on pain of 6 to 12 yearsimprisonment, or a fine of 100,000 to 1M pesos.


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Sand bubbler crabWikipedia.org

Sand bubbler crabs (or sand-bubblers) are crabs of thegenera Scopimera and Dotilla in the family Dotillidae.They are small crabs that live on sandy beaches in the

tropical Indo-Pacific; during the low tide, they forminflated sand pellets which are destroyed by theincoming high tide.

Description

Sand bubbler crabs are small crabs, around 1 cm (0.4in) across the carapace, and they are characterised bythe presence of "gas windows" on the merus of the legs;in Dotilla, these windows are also present on thethoracic sternites. A similar system has evolved inparallel in the porcelain crab genus Petrolisthes.

Distribution

Sand bubbler crabs are widespread across the Indo-Pacific region, where they occurabundantly on sandy beaches in the tropics and sub-tropics.

Ecology and behaviour

Scopimera globosa and the sand pellets it has made

Sand bubbler crabs live in burrows in the sand, wherethey remain during high tide. When the tide is out, theyemerge on to the surface of the sand, and scour thesand for food, forming it into inflated pellets, whichcover the sand. The crabs work radially from theentrance to their burrow, which they re-enter as the

tide rises and destroys the pellets. The materialconsumed by sand bubbler crabs has a very low concentration of organic matter, which isconcentrated by egestion of indigestible material.


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Sea Pig

With its pallid pink flesh, the scotoplane known as a sea pig resembles some kind of tumorous

growth that was just excised from somebody's abdomen. But, this strange creature is actuallya type of sea cucumber. Sea pigs look and act sort of like slugs, feeding on organic materialsthat settle on the ocean floor.


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Sheepgoat chimeraWikipedia.org

A sheepgoat chimera (sometimes called a

geep in popular media) is a chimeraproduced by combining the embryos of agoat and a sheep; the resulting animal hascells of both sheep and goat origin. Asheep-goat chimera should not beconfused with a sheep-goat hybrid, whichcan result when a goat mates with asheep.

History

The first sheep-goat chimeras werecreated by researchers at the Institute ofAnimal Physiology in Cambridge, England

by combining sheep embryos with goatembryos. They reported their results in 1984. The successful chimeras were a mosaic of goatand sheep tissue. The parts that grew from the sheep embryo were woolly. Those that grewfrom the goat embryo were hairy.

Characteristics

In a chimera, each set of cells (germ line) keeps its own species' identity instead of beingintermediate in type between the parental species. Because the chimera contains cells fromtwo different genetic individuals, and each of these arose by normal mating, it has fourparents. In contrast, a hybrid has only two parents.

A sheep-goat chimera may be fertile, but it passes on either sheep or goat genes, dependingon whether its reproductive organs were formed from the goat embryo or from the sheep

embryo (i.e., whichever germ-line formed the ovaries or testes).

The term shoat is sometimes used for sheep-goat hybrids and chimeras, but moreconventionally means a young piglet).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sheep_goat_chimera.jpg


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*Sloth


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*Snake with clawed-foot in China


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*Snipe Eel


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*Snake (largest)


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*Spider Crab


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*Star-nosed Mole


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*Sucker-footed Bat


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*Sun Bare


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*Tapir


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TardigradeWikipedia.org

Tardigrades (commonly known as waterbears ormoss piglets) are small, water-dwelling,segmented animals with eight legs.

Hypsibius dujardini imaged with a scanningelectron microscope

Tardigrades are notable for being one of the mostcomplex of all known polyextremophiles. (Anextremophile is an organism that can thrive in aphysically or geochemically extreme condition thatwould be detrimental to most life on Earth.) Forexample, tardigrades can withstand temperaturesfrom just above absolute zero to well above theboiling point of water, pressures about 6 times

stronger than pressures found in the deepest ocean trenches, ionizing radiation at doseshundreds of times higher than would kill a person, and the vacuum of outer space. They can

go without food or water for nearly 120 years, drying out to the point where they are 3% orless water, only to rehydrate, forage, and reproduce.

Usually, tardigrades are 1 millimetre (0.039 in) long when they are fully grown. They are shortand plump with 4 pairs of legs, each with 4-8 claws also known as "disks." The animals areprevalent in moss and lichen and, when collected, may be viewed under a very low-powermicroscope, making them accessible to the student or amateur scientist as well as theprofessional.

Tardigrades form the phylum Tardigrada, part of the superphylum Ecdysozoa. It is an ancientgroup, with fossils dating from 530 million years ago, in the Cambrian period. The firsttardigrades were discovered by Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773. Since 1778, over 500tardigrade species have been found.

Description

Johann August Ephraim Goeze originally named the Tardigrade kleiner Wasserbr (Brtierchentoday), meaning 'little water bear' in German. The name Tardigrada means "slow walker" andwas given by Lazzaro Spallanzani in 1773. The name water bear comes from the way theywalk, reminiscent of a bear's gait. The biggest adults may reach a body length of 1.5millimetres (0.059 in), the smallest below 0.1 mm. Freshly hatched tardigrades may besmaller than 0.05 mm.

About 1,150 species of tardigrades have been described. Tardigrades occur throughout theworld, from the Himalayas (above 6,000 metres (20,000 ft)), to the deep sea (below 4,000metres (13,000 ft)) and from the polar regions to the equator.

The most convenient place to find tardigrades is on lichens and mosses. Other environmentsare dunes, beaches, soil, and marine or freshwater sediments, where they may occur quitefrequently (up to 25,000 animals per liter). Tardigrades often can be found by soaking a pieceof moss in spring water.


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Reproduction

Although some species are parthenogenetic, both males and females are usually present, eachwith a single gonad located above the intestine. Two ducts run from the testis in males,opening through a single pore in front of the anus. In contrast, females have a single ductopening either just above the anus or directly into the rectum, which thus forms a cloaca.

Tardigrades are oviparous, and fertilization is usually external. Mating occurs during the moltwith the eggs being laid inside the shed cuticle of the female and then covered with sperm. Afew species have internal fertilization, with mating occurring before the female fully sheds hercuticle. In most cases, the eggs are left inside the shed cuticle to develop, but some attachthem to nearby substrate.

The eggs hatch after no more than fourteen days, with the young already possessing their fullcomplement of adult cells. Growth to the adult size therefore occurs by enlargement of theindividual cells (hypertrophy), rather than by cell division. Tardigrades may moult up to twelvetimes.

Ecology and life history

Most tardigrades are phytophagous (plant eaters) or bacteriophagous (bacteria eaters), butsome are predatory (e.g., Milnesium tardigradum).

Physiology

Scientists have reported tardigrades in hot springs, on top of the Himalayas, under layers ofsolid ice and in ocean sediments. Many species can be found in a milder environment likelakes, ponds and meadows, while others can be found in stone walls and roofs. Tardigradesare most common in moist environments, but can stay active wherever they can retain atleast some moisture.

Tardigrades are one of the few groups of species that are capable of reversibly suspendingtheir metabolism and going into a state of cryptobiosis. Several species regularly survive in adehydrated state for nearly ten years. Depending on the environment they may enter thisstate via anhydrobiosis, cryobiosis, osmobiosis or anoxybiosis. While in this state theirmetabolism lowers to less than 0.01% of normal and their water content can drop to 1% ofnormal. Their ability to remain desiccated for such a long period is largely dependent on thehigh levels of the non-reducing sugar, trehalose, which protects their membranes. In thiscryptobiotic state the tardigrade is known as a tun.


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*Tasmanian Tiger


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TetraodontidaeWikipedia.org

Blackspotted puffer, Arothron nigropunctatus

Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and

estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. Thefamily includes many familiar species which arevariously called pufferfish, balloonfish, blowfish,bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honeytoads, sugar toads, and sea squab. They aremorphologically similar to the closely relatedporcupinefish, which have large external spines (unlikethe thinner, hidden spines of Tetraodontidae, which areonly visible when the fish has puffed up). The scientific

name refers to the four large teeth, fused into an upper and lower plate, which are used forcrushing the shells of crustaceans and mollusks, their natural prey.

(Maple) Puffer fish are generally believed to be the secondmost poisonous vertebrate in theworld, after the Golden Poison Frog. Certain internal organs, such as liver, and sometimes

their skin are highly toxic to most animals when eaten, but nevertheless the meat of somespecies is considered a delicacy in Japan (as , pronounced as fugu), Korea (as bok), andChina when prepared by chefs who know which part is safe to eat and in what quantity.

The tetraodontidae contains at least 189 species of puffers in 19 genera. They are mostdiverse in the tropics and relatively uncommon in the temperate zone and completely absentfrom cold waters. They are typically small to medium in size, although a few species can reachlengths of greater than 100 centimetres (39 in).

Natural defenses

A puffer fish pressing its mouth against a camera lens atBig Island of Hawaii

The puffer's unique and distinctive natural defenses helpcompensate for their slow locomotion. Puffers move bycombining pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. Thismakes them highly maneuverable but very slow, andtherefore comparatively easy predation targets. Theirtail fin is mainly used as a rudder, but it can be used fora sudden evasive burst of speed that shows none of thecare and precision of their usual movements. Thepuffer's excellent eyesight combined with this speedburst is the first and most important defense againstpredators. Their back up defense mechanism, used if

they are successfully pursued, is to fill their extremely elastic stomachs with water (or airwhen outside the water) until they are much larger and almost spherical in shape. Even if theyare not visible when the puffer is not inflated, all puffers have pointed spines, so a hungry

predator may suddenly find itself facing an unpalatable pointy ball rather than a slow, tastyfish. Predators which don't heed this warning (or who are "lucky" enough to catch the puffersuddenly, before or during inflation) may die from choking, and predators that do manage toswallow the puffer may find their stomachs full of tetrodotoxin, making puffers an unpleasant,possibly lethal, choice of prey. This neurotoxin is found primarily in the ovaries and liver,although smaller amounts exist in the intestines and skin, as well as trace amounts in muscle.It does not always have a lethal effect on large predators, such as sharks, but it can killhumans.


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*Tripod Fish


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Underground Orchid

Western Australia's IncredibleUnderground Orchidhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/ScienceDaily (Feb. 9, 2011)

Rhizanthella gardneriis a cute, quirky andcritically endangered orchid that lives allits life underground. It even bloomsunderground, making it virtually uniqueamongst plants.

Last year, using radioactive tracers, scientists at The University of Western Australia showedthat the orchid gets all its nutrients by parasitising fungi associated with the roots of broombush, a woody shrub of the WA outback.

Now, with less than 50 individuals left in the wild, scientists have made a timely andremarkable discovery about its genome.

Despite the fact that this fully subterranean orchid cannot photosynthesise and has no greenparts at all, it still retains chloroplasts -- the site of photosynthesis in plants.

"We found that compared with normal plants, 70percent of the genes in the chloroplast have beenlost," said Dr Etienne Delannoy, of the ARC Centrefor Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, the leadresearcher of a study published in Molecular Biologyand Evolution. "With only 37 genes, this makes itthe smallest of all known plant chloroplastgenomes."

"The chloroplast genome was known to code forfunctions other than photosynthesis, but in normalplants, these functions are hard to study," said ARCCentre Director Professor Ian Small.

"In Rhizanthella, everything that isn't essential forits parasitic lifestyle has gone. We discovered that ithas retained a chloroplast genome to make onlyfour crucial proteins. Our results are relevant to understanding gene loss in other parasites,for example, the Plasmodiumparasite that causes malaria."

Associate Professor Mark Brundrett from the Wheatbelt Orchid Rescue Project describesRhizanthellaas one of the most beautiful, strange and iconic orchids in the world.

"Combining on-the-ground conservation efforts with cutting edge laboratory technologies hasled to a great discovery with impacts for both science and conservation. The genome sequence

is a very valuable resource, as it makes it possible to estimate the genetic diversity of thisDeclared Rare plant."

Professor Brundrett has been working with the Department of Environment and Conservationand volunteers from the West Australian Native Orchid Study and Conservation Group tolocate these unique orchids.

"We needed all the help we could get since it often took hours of searching under shrubs onhands and knees to find just one underground orchid!"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/http://www.sciencedaily.com/


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Venus FlytrapWikipedia.org

The Venus Flytrap (also Venus's Flytrap or Venus'Flytrap), Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plantthat catches and digests animal preymostly insectsand arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by theterminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and istriggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. Whenan insect or spider crawling along the leaves contactsa hair, the trap closes if a different hair is contactedwithin twenty seconds of the first strike. Therequirement of redundant triggering in thismechanism serves as a safeguard against a waste ofenergy in trapping objects with no nutritional value.

Dionaea is a monotypic genus closely related to thewaterwheel plant and sundews.

Description

The Venus Flytrap is a small plant whose structure can bedescribed as a rosette of four to seven leaves, which arise from ashort subterranean stem that is actually a bulb-like object. Eachstem reaches a maximum size of about three to ten centimeters,depending on the time of year; longer leaves with robust trapsare usually formed after flowering. Flytraps that have more than 7leaves are colonies formed by rosettes that have divided beneaththe ground.

Illustration of the Venus Flytrap from Curtis's Botanical Magazineby William Curtis (17461799)

The leaf blade is divided into two regions: a flat, heart-shapedphotosynthesis-capable petiole, and a pair of terminal lobeshinged at the midrib, forming the trap which is the true leaf. Theupper surface of these lobes contains red anthocyanin pigmentsand its edges secrete mucilage. The lobes exhibit rapid plantmovements, snapping shut when stimulated by prey. The trapping

mechanism is tripped when prey contacts one of the three hair-like trichomes that are foundon the upper surface of each of the lobes. The trapping mechanism is so specialized that it candistinguish between living prey and non-prey stimuli such as falling raindrops; two triggerhairs must be touched in succession within 20 seconds of each other or one hair touched twicein rapid succession, whereupon the lobes of the trap will snap shut in about 0.1 seconds. Theedges of the lobes are fringed by stiff hair-like protrusions or cilia, which mesh together andprevent large prey from escaping. (These protrusions, and the trigger hairs, also known assensitive hairs, are probably homologous with the tentacles found in this plants closerelatives, the sundews.) Scientists are currently unsure about the evolutionary history of theVenus flytrap; however scientists have made hypotheses that the flytrap evolved from Drosera(sundews).

The holes in the meshwork allow small prey to escape, presumably because the benefit thatwould be obtained from them would be less than the cost of digesting them. If the prey is toosmall and escapes, the trap will reopen within 12 hours. If the prey moves around in the trap,it tightens and digestion begins more quickly.


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Speed of closing can vary depending on the amount of humidity, light, size of prey, andgeneral growing conditions. The speed with which traps close can be used as an indicator of aplant's general health. Venus Flytraps are not as humidity-dependent as are some othercarnivorous plants, such as Nepenthes, Cephalotus, most Heliamphora, and some Drosera.

The Venus Flytrap exhibits variations in petiole shape and length and whether the leaf lies flaton the ground or extends up at an angle of about 4060 degrees. The four major forms are:

'typica', the most common, with broad decumbent petioles; 'erecta', with leaves at a 45-degree angle; 'linearis', with narrow petioles and leaves at 45 degrees; and 'filiformis', withextremely narrow or linear petioles. Except for 'filiformis', all of these can be stages in leafproduction of any plant depending on season (decumbent in summer versus short versussemi-erect in spring), length of photoperiod (long petioles in spring versus short in summer),and intensity of light (wide petioles in low light intensity versus narrow in brighter light).

When grown from seed, plants take around four to five years to reach maturity and will live for20 to 30 years if cultivated in the right conditions.

Etymology

The plant's common name refers to Venus, the Roman goddess of love. The genus name,Dionaea ("daughter of Dione"), refers to the Greek goddess Aphrodite, while the speciesname, muscipula is Latin for "mousetrap".

Historically, the plant was also known by the slang term "tipitiwitchet" or "tippity twitchet",possibly an oblique reference to the plant's resemblance to human female genitalia.

Carnivory

Prey selectivity

Most carnivorous plants selectively feed on specific prey. This selection is due to the available

prey and the type of trap used by the organism. With the Venus Flytrap, prey is limited tobeetles, spiders and arthropods. In fact, the Dionaea diet is 33% ants, 30% spiders, 10%beetles, and 10% grasshoppers, with fewer than 5% flying insects. Given that Dionaeaevolved from an ancestral form of Drosera (carnivorous plants that use a sticky trap instead ofa snap trap) the reason for this evolutionary branching becomes clear. Whilst Droseraconsume smaller, aerial insects, Dionaea consume larger terrestrial bugs. From these largerbugs, Dionaea are able to extract more nutrients. This gives Dionaea an evolutionaryadvantage over their ancestral sticky trap form.


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Mechanism of trapping

The Venus Flytrap is one of a very small group of plantscapable of rapid movement, such as Mimosa, theTelegraph plant, sundews and bladderworts.

The mechanism by which the trap snaps shut involves acomplex interaction between elasticity, turgor andgrowth. In the open, untripped state, the lobes areconvex (bent outwards), but in the closed state, thelobes are concave (forming a cavity). It is the rapidflipping of this bistable state that closes the trap, butthe mechanism by which this occurs is still poorlyunderstood. When the trigger hairs are stimulated, an

action potential (mostly involving calcium ionssee calcium in biology) is generated, whichpropagates across the lobes and stimulates cells in the lobes and in the midrib between them.Exactly what this stimulation does is still debated. The acid growth theory states thatindividual cells in the outer layers of the lobes and midrib rapidly move 1H+ (hydrogen ions)into their cell walls, lowering the pH and loosening the extracellular components, which allowsthem to swell rapidly by osmosis, thus elongating and changing the shape of the trap lobe.

Alternatively, cells in the inner layers of the lobes and midrib may rapidly secrete other ions,allowing water to follow by osmosis, and the cells to collapse. Both of these mechanisms mayplay a role and have some experimental evidence to support them.Digestion

If the prey is unable to escape, it will continue to stimulate the inner surface of the lobes, andthis causes a further growth response that forces the edges of the lobes together, eventuallysealing the trap hermetically and forming a 'stomach' in which digestion occurs. Digestion iscatalysed by enzymes secreted by glands in the lobes.

Oxidative protein modification is likely to be a predigestive mechanism of the Dionaeamuscipula. Aqueous leaf extracts have been found to contain quinones such as thenaphthoquinone plumbagin that couples to different NADH-dependent diaphorases to producesuperoxide and hydrogen peroxide upon autoxidation. Such oxidative modification could

rupture animal cell membranes. Plumbagin is known to induce apoptosis, associated with theregulation of Bcl-2 family of proteins. When the Dionaea extracts were preincubated withdiaphorases and NADH in the presence of serum albumin (SA), subsequent tryptic digestion ofSA was facilitated. Since the secretory glands of Droseraceae contain proteases and possiblyother degradative enzymes, it may be that the presence of oxygen-activating redox cofactorsfunction as extracellular predigestive oxidants to render membrane-bound proteins of the prey(insects) more susceptible to proteolytic attacks.

Digestion takes about ten days, after which the prey is reduced to a husk of chitin. The trapthen reopens, and is ready for reuse.

Habitat

The Venus Flytrap is found in nitrogen and phosphorus-poor environments, such as bogs andwet savannahs. Small in stature and slow growing, the Venus flytrap tolerates fire well, anddepends on periodic burning to suppress its competition. Fire suppression threatens its futurein the wild. It survives in wet sandy and peaty soils. Although it has been successfullytransplanted and grown in many locales around the world, it is found natively only in Northand South Carolina in the United States, specifically within a 60-mile radius of Wilmington,North Carolina. One such place is North Carolina's Green Swamp. There also appears to be anaturalized population of Venus Flytraps in northern Florida as well as populations in the NewJersey Pine Barrens. The nutritional poverty of the soil is the reason that the plant relies onsuch elaborate traps: insect prey provide the nitrogen for protein formation that the soil


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cannot. The Venus Flytrap is not a tropical plant and can tolerate mild winters. In fact, VenusFlytraps that do not go through a period of winter dormancy will weaken and die after a periodof time.

Cultivation

The 'Dentate' cultivar of the venus fly trap in cultivation

Venus flytraps are popular as cultivated plants, but havea reputation for being difficult to grow. Successfullygrowing these specialized plants requires recreating aclose approximation to the plant's natural habitat.

Healthy Venus flytraps will produce scapes of whiteflowers in spring, however, many growers remove the

flowering stem early (23 inches), as flowering consumes some of the plant's energy, andreduces the rate of trap production. If healthy plants are allowed to flower, successfulpollination will result in the production of dozens of small, shiny black seeds.

Plants can be propagated by seed, although seedlings take several years to mature. Morecommonly, they are propagated by division in spring or summer.

Cultivars

Venus flytraps are, by far, the most commonly recognized and cultivated carnivorous plant.They are sold as houseplants and are often found at florists, hardware stores andsupermarkets. During the past ten years or so large quantities of cultivars have come into themarket through tissue culture of select genetic mutations. It is through tissue culture thatgreat quantities of plants are raised for commercial markets.

The registered cultivars (cultivated varieties) include (name of originator in braces):

Dionaea muscipula 'Akai Ryu'{Ron Gagliardo}Dionaea muscipula 'B52' {Henning Von Schmeling}Dionaea muscipula 'Big Mouth' {Tony Camilleri}Dionaea muscipula 'Bohemian Garnet' {Miroslav Srba}Dionaea muscipula 'Clayton's Red Sunset' {Colin Clayton}Dionaea muscipula 'Cupped Trap' {Staff at Agri-Starts III Inc, Eustis, FL.}Dionaea muscipula 'Clumping Cultivar' {Peter D'Amato}Dionaea muscipula 'Dentate' {Peter D'Amato}Dionaea muscipula 'Dentate Traps' {Barry Meyers-Rice}Dionaea muscipula 'Dente' {Peter D'Amato}Dionaea muscipula 'Fondue' {Guillaume Bily}Dionaea muscipula 'Fused Tooth' {Peter D'Amato}Dionaea muscipula 'Green Dragon' {Unknown}Dionaea muscipula 'Holland Red' {Commercial breeder in the Netherlands}Dionaea muscipula 'Jaws' {Leo Song Jr.}Dionaea muscipula 'Justina Davis' {Unknown}Dionaea muscipula 'Kinchyaku' {Katsuhiko Kondo}Dionaea muscipula 'Korean Melody Shark' {Jang Gi-Won & Wook Hyon (Max) Yoon}Dionaea muscipula 'Korrigans' {Guillaume Bily}Dionaea muscipula 'Louchapates' {Romuald Anfraix}Dionaea muscipula 'Microdent' {Gayl Quenon}Dionaea muscipula 'Mirror' {Dieter Blancquaert}Dionaea muscipula 'Perlite Dragon' {Unknown}Dionaea muscipula 'Red Burgundy' {Unknown}


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Dionaea muscipula 'Red Piranha' {Ed Read}Dionaea muscipula 'Red Rosetted' {Peter D'Amato}Dionaea muscipula 'Royal Red' {AUPBR 464}Dionaea muscipula 'Sawtooth' {Barry Meyers-Rice}Dionaea muscipula 'Scarlet Bristle' {Real Keehn Concepts}Dionaea muscipula 'Wacky Traps' {Cresco Nursery, Netherlands}

An unofficial list includes many more names, with more added annually. None of these"variation names" are officially recognized unless the name is properly documented, registeredand accepted by the International Registration Authority for carnivorous plant cultivars, theInternational Carnivorous Plant Society.

Conservation

Currently, there are estimated to be more than 36 million plants in cultivation compared toonly 35,800 plants remaining in nature. Several prominent plant conservationists suggest theplant be labeled as Vulnerable. Precise data on the distribution of population sizes in 1992from the Office of Plant Protection suggests a more dire state for the species. Every size classin red is slated for eventual extinction with the green ones persisting longer. Smaller

populations may go extinct for stochastic reasons and, since small population are morenumerous in nature now and contribute more to the total number of plants remaining in thespecies, most of this unique and remarkable carnivorous plant species may be going extinctsoon. Note that the figure of 35,800 plants in 1992 is over 15 years old and may notaccurately reflect the current situation.


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*Viper Fish

The depths of the ocean are literally swimming with creatures straight out of your weirdest

nightmares, and the Viper Fish is among the scariest. This grotesque-looking creature hasteeth so large, they don't fit in its mouth. It swims at high speed toward its victims andimpales them upon its sharp teeth.


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*White-faced Saki Monkey


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Skulls and Skeletal Samples

Three-eyed Skull Alien Skull

Hand with six fingers Alien Skull

Alien Skull


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Weird Babies

Potato-head Baby Two-headed Baby

Penguin Baby Two-faced baby


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Weird Babies

Lizard Baby Lobster Baby

Mermaid Baby Octopus Baby


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Sea Creatures

Carnivorous Snail Chupacabra Snail

Pacific Ammonite Human-faced Fish

Whip-tailed Tree Octopus Four-armed Tree Starfish


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Mermaids

Fiji Mermaid Blue Merman

Dragons

Sugar Dragon Marsh Dragon

Insects

Human-faced Ant St. Helena Giant Earwig


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Animals and Insects

Giant Horseshoe Crab Giant Earwig

Vampire Monkey Asian Long-horned Beetle

Fossils

Fossilized Giant Cockroach Fossilized Fairy


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Insects

Giant Tailed Stag Beetle Giant Serpent Bug

Giant Stag Beetle Tarantula Beetle

Giant Subway Bugs


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Unknown Sea Creatures

Unknown fish

[Possibly a fake creature made by a taxidermist]


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Unknown triggerfish with human-like teeth and lips.


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Unknown fish


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Unknown fish


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Unknown fish


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Unknown shark

man and mystery vol 11 - freaks of nature [rev06]

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