Category Archives: Animals

Granny’s Cloak Moth

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Granny’s Cloak Moth

Do not be fooled by a granny’s cloak moth.

  • The scientific name for a granny’s cloak moth is Speiredonia spectans, and they are from the family Noctuidae, the family of owlet moths.
  • Granny’s cloak moths are native to Australia, typically found in the north eastern areas, but some have been randomly seen in New Zealand and Norfolk Island.
  • Granny’s cloak moth caterpillars have long, flat bodies that have brown coats spotted with spots that are black or black and white.
  • Granny’s cloak moths can generally be found in dark habitats, including caves, and also in or near human settlements.
  • Adult Granny’s cloak moths appear to have brown coloured wings with scalloped edges, with eye spots on each wing and streaks of dark colours, however, in the right lighting situation (especially with flash photography), purple coloured wings are visible.

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  • The wingspan of a Granny’s cloak moth can be up to 7 to 7.5 centimetre (2.8 to 3 inches).
  • Granny’s cloak moths can appear in an eclipse (group of moths) of twelve or more, commonly grouping by the particular plant the bug hatched on.
  • Granny’s cloak moths’ diet mainly consists of plants from the family Acacia, the family of wattles.
  • Granny’s cloak moths are generally active during the night, when their main natural predators, the birds, are asleep, although bats pose a threat.
  • Granny’s cloak moths have super sensitive ears, and can pick up the echolocation calls from some species of bats, who are their predators, and in response, they can dart around to avoid being the bats’ next meal.
Bibliography:
Granny’s Cloak Moth – Speiredonia Spectans, 2011, Brisbane Insects, http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_owlmoths/CloakMoth.htm
Herbison-Evans D, Crossley S & Shaw P, Speiredonia spectans (Guenée, 1852), 2013, Butterfly House, http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/cato/spectan.html

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Thorny Devil

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Thorny Devil

These facts are a lot easier to digest than thorny devils.

  • In 1841, John Gray, a zoologist from Britain, wrote about thorny devils, and he applied the scientific name of ‘Moloch horridus’ to them, naming them after an ancient god, ‘Moloch’, and the Latin word ‘horridus’, meaning prickly.
  • ‘Thorny devils’ are also known as ‘thorny lizards’, ‘mountain devils’, ‘thorny dragons’ and ‘molochs’, being the only species of ‘Moloch’ lizards, and they are from the family Agamidae, the family of dragon lizards.
  • The typical length of thorny devils is 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches), with males being typically smaller than females, and they have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.
  • Thorny devils are native to the shrubby deserts of Australia, particularly in Western Australia and usually live among areas that have sandy soil.
  • Thorny devils are typically brown, cream and tan in colour, that camouflages them in desert, but the colour shades can change with the temperature.

Thorny Devil, Lizard, Dragon, Sand, Australia, Brown, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic

Thorny Devil
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • The body of thorny devils is covered with sharp thorns, mainly acting as protection against predators, however sometimes a lizard becomes the meal of a goanna or bird of prey.
  • Thorny devils have a head-like bump on their back that is shown to predators when feeling threatened, instead of their real head.
  • Thorny devils feed on thousands of ants every day, that they gather with their sticky tongue.
  • In Australia’s spring and summer, thorny devils lay three to ten eggs, in a hole approximately 30 centimetres deep.
  • Thorny devils collect dew on their backs, that is channeled to their mouth via grooves that sit between their spikes.
Bibliography:
Pianka E, Australia’s Thorny Devil, n.d, Varanus, http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~varanus/moloch.html
Thorny Dragon, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorny_dragon

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Trilobite Cockroach

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Trilobite cockroach, Giant Cockroach, Black, Female, Wingless, One, Wood, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Insect, Bug, Australia

Unlike trilobites, trilobite cockroaches are not extinct.

  • Trilobite cockroaches are usually dark brown, flat, oval shaped roaches that appear to have armour, and they sit close to the ground and are not usually fast movers.
  • Trilobite cockroaches are from the family Blaberidae, the family of giant cockroaches.
  • Trilobite cockroaches range from a size of 1 to 2.5 centimetres (0.4 to 1 inches) in length.
  • ‘Trilobite cockroaches’ are named after ‘trilobites’ due to the females looking like the extinct, unrelated, aquatic species.
  • There are approximately 15 species of trilobite cockroaches, all of which are native to Australia except two that can be found in Papua New Guinea.

Trilobite cockroach, Giant Cockroach, Black, Female, Wingless, One, Wood, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Insect, Bug, Australia

  • Trilobite cockroaches can be found in wooded areas, forests and gardens, and are often found underneath objects such as leaves, bark and wood or rotting vegetation.
  • The scientific name of trilobite cockroaches is ‘Laxta’, or ‘Laxta Walker’, the genus named after the British entomologist Francis Walker, who worked for the British Museum in the 1800s.
  • Trilobite cockroaches are also known as ‘bark cockroaches’, ‘woodroaches’ and ‘flat cockroaches’.
  • Trilobite cockroaches live in little groups that communicate via smell and their diet typically consists of fibres from wood.
  • Trilobite cockroach female adults do not have wings, while males do; therefore the wings significantly change the appearance of the two genders.
Bibliography:
Bark Cockroach, 2011, Brisbane Insects, http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_cockroaches/BarkCockroach.htm
Flat cockroach, 2009, AustralianMuseum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/Flat-Cockroach
Trilobite Cockroach, n.d, Oz Animals, http://www.ozanimals.com/Insect/Trilobite-Cockroach/Laxta/sp.html

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Cyana Meyricki

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Cyana Meyricki

Any more hair and the cyana meyricki caterpillar would be a hairball!

  • A Cyana meyricki is a type of lichen moth from the family Arctiidae, a family of moths that includes lichen moths, tiger moths, wasp moths, and footman moths.
  • Cyana meyricki caterpillars are mostly black and tan in colour and have lots of long hairs, and are believed to eat lichen and algae.
  • Cyana meyricki caterpillars protect themselves during the pupa stage, by using their long hairs, joined together with silk to create a small, mesh-like cage that surrounds the pupa.
  • A Cyana meyricki pupa rests in the cage without touching the sides, suspended by fine threads of silk.
  • A Cyana meyricki moth squeezes out of the springy cage without tearing or breaking it.

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Cyana Meyricki Caterpiller

Cyana Mericki Cacoon, Pupa, Mesh cage, bug, Moth, Ten Random Facts, Australia

Cyana Meyricki Pupa
  • Cyana meyricki moths have a wingspan that is typically 3 to 4 centimetres (1 to 1.5 inches) in length.
  • Cyana meyricki moths are tan and black in colour, and have stripey bodies, with symmetrical large yellow patches or spots on their wings.
  • Cyana meyricki pupae are sometimes destroyed by a tachinid fly (a large fly) inside its cage, as these flies are parasites, laying eggs on the caterpillar, or on the caterpillar’s food so that they are consumed and then cause internal damage to the caterpillar, and then the cage is used by the fly for protection of its own pupa.
  • Cyana meyricki caterpillars and moths are native to Australia, in the states of New South Wales and Queensland.
  • Cyana meyricki moths are one of more than 60 Cyana species, and they have also been called ‘Clerckia meyricki’ and ‘Chionaema meyricci’.
Bibliography:
Cyana Meyricki (Rothschild, 1901), n.d., Atlas of Living Australia, http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:828cb218-e027-4411-a71d-ec6561e3cfa1#
Herbison-Evans D & Crossley S, Cyana Meyricki (Rothschild, 1901), 2013, Caterpillars: Especially Australian Ones, http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/arct/meyrick.html

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Emperor Penguin

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Emperor Penguin

Waddle like an emperor penguin.

  • Native to Antarctica, the emperor penguin is an aquatic species of  feathered bird, and is black-headed and black-backed, with a white torso and yellow neck.
  • The scientific name of emperor penguins is Aptenodytes forsteri, and they are from the family of penguins, Spheniscidae.
  • Of all species of penguin alive today, emperor penguins have the greatest height and weight, with up to 122 centimetres (48 inches) and between 22 to 45 kilograms (49 to 99 pounds) respectively.
  • Fish, squid and crustaceans are the main items in an emperor penguin’s diet, while they are preyed on by larger birds, whales and seals, and when breeding, if one emperor penguin out of a twosome becomes the meal of a predator, the egg or chick is deserted and the surviving penguin goes off to find food.
  • Emperor penguins can survive very deep depths of water, up to 535 metres (1,735 feet) or more from the surface, having the capacity to stay under water for at least 20 minutes, and can swim at speeds of up to 9 kph (6 mph).
Emperor Penguin, White, Black, Two, Pair, Antarctica, Cold, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic
Emperor
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Emperor penguins have a high density layer of  insulating feathers and fat, strong bones, and can survive on low oxygen levels.
  • Of all the species of penguin, emperor penguins are the only ones with winter as its breeding season, laying one egg every season, in breeding colonies of thousands.
  • Emperor penguins generally live to be 15-20 years old, although only 20% to 30% (approximately) of chicks born, live longer than a year.
  • The first person to discover the emperor penguins was possibly Johann Forster, a naturalist from Germany, in 1773 or 1774, although this is uncertain, however the the scientific name of the penguins is named after him.
  • Emperor penguins generally moult from January to February, typically moulting for a month, shedding their feathers quicker than most birds.
Bibliography:
Emperor Penguin, 2013, Animal Fact Guide, http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/emperor-penguin/
Emperor Penguin, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Penguin

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Parrotfish

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Parrotfish

Parrotfish do not fly!

  • Parrotfish are mainly found in reefs or coastal areas and include 90 species of fish, that are native to the tropics and sub tropics of the seas around the globe.
  • Parrotfish were previously from the family Scaridae, however, they have been reclassified and now belong to the family Labridae , which is the family of wrasses, and are now known as the sub-family Scarinae.
  • ‘Parrotfish’ are named as such, due to the beak-like mouth the fish have, and are used to chomp on hard objects, especially coral from which they extract algae.
  • Parrotfish can grow to be 30 to 130 centimetres (one to four feet) in length, and have a lifespan of  up to seven years.
  • Usually at night, some parrotfish species encase themselves in a mucus covering, which protects the fish from predators, probably by blocking its odour and acting as an alarm.

Parrotfish, Blue, One, Single, Swim, Sea, Egypt, Fish, Reef, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Parrotfish
Image courtesy of Rob/Flickr
  • Parrotfish diets consist mainly of vegetational matter, usually algae growing on coral, although sometimes other marine animals are eaten.
  • Parrotfish produce up to 90 kilograms (198 pounds) of sand a year, from ground, indigestible coral that exits the fish as sand.
  • It is common for female parrotfish to change gender and become males during their life, and females can lay 100s of floating eggs at a time, that deposit on coral.
  • Parrotfish change colours while growing, often starting dull and becoming bright and colourful, sometimes imitating other fish.
  • The meat of parrotfish is considered a luxury in some countries, and in a few historical cases, it was served only to the king.
Bibliography:
Parrot Fish, 2013, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/fish/parrot-fish/
Parrotfish, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrotfish

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