Category Archives: Animals

Japanese Spider Crab

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Japanese Spider Crab

You may only spot a Japanese spider crab if you look up!

  • Japanese spider crabs are large crabs native to Japan’s coastal ocean habitats.
  • The scientific name of a Japanese spider crab is Macrocheira kaempferi and it is from the family Inachidae, a family of crabs.
  • The leg span of Japanese spider crabs can reach up to 3.8 metres (12.5 feet) – a length greater than any extant anthropod, and the older crabs generally have longer legs than the younger ones.
  • Japanese spider crabs are the second heaviest extant anthropod, at 19 kilograms (42 pounds) in weight, and it is believed that they can live up to 100 years.
  • Japanese spider crabs live in the caverns and rock hollows of the ocean, between 50 metres (164 feet) and up to a maximum of 600 metres (1969 feet) deep.

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  • The diet of Japanese spider crabs consists primarily of aquatic flora and small marine animals, including molluscs and other invertebrates, but they also consume deceased matter.
  • Japanese folk catch and eat Japanese spider crab, however this is rare in spring months, as the catching of the crabs during breeding season is illegal, which enables the crabs to successfully reproduce.
  • Information of the Japanese spider crab was first collected by German botanist Phillip von Siebold, which was then provided to Dutch Coenradd Temminck, a zoologist, who gave a descriptive analysis in 1836.
  • Japanese spider crabs are coloured a combination of white and orange – white being its base colour, which is splattered with a pattern of orange to red.
  • A female Japanese spider crab can release eggs numbering up to 1.5 million in one breeding season, and they hatch into minuscule larvae, floating helplessly like plankton and growing over a period of 7.5 to 10.5 weeks, however most eggs or larvae will not survive.

 

Bibliography:
Giant Japanese Spider Crab, 2016, Tennessee Aquarium, http://www.tnaqua.org/our-animals/invertebrates/giant-japanese-spider-crab
Japanese Spider Crab, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_spider_crab
Macrocheira Kaempferi, 2011, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Macrocheira_kaempferi/

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Sydney Funnel-web Spider

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Sydney Funnel-web Spider

You do not want to come into contact with a Sydney funnel-web spider.

  • Sydney funnel-web spiders are venomous arachnids, endemic to the developed and forested habitats of the Sydney area, in Australia’s state of New South Wales.
  • The scientific name of Sydney funnel-web spiders is Atrax robustus and it is from the family Hexathelidae, a family of funnel-web spiders, and they are also commonly known as ‘Sydney funnelweb spiders’ or simply ‘funnel-web spiders’.
  • The body of a Sydney funnel-web spider generally grows to be 1.5 to 3.5 centimetres (0.6 to 1.4 inches) in length, and males are usually smaller than females.
  • The Sydney funnel-web spider is coloured brown, black, dark purple or navy and it has a shiny cephalothorax (head and thorax), and a hairy abdomen and legs.
  • Sydney funnel-web spiders will easily dehydrate in sun, and thus require rest in moist, shaded areas during heated parts of the day.
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Sydney Funnel-web Spider
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
  • The venom of Sydney funnel-web spiders can be fatal to primates, including humans, causing negative effects towards the nervous system, and mature males are more potent than females and young spiders.
  • An anti-venom for Sydney funnel-web spiders surfaced in 1980, devised in Melbourne’s Commonwealth Serum Labs by a team led by Australian Struan Sutherland, which was first used in January 1981, saving the life of Sydney patient Gordon Wheatley, after he was bitten.
  • A Sydney funnel-web spider will display its particularly large fangs and rear on its hind legs when feeling endangered, potentially striking with a number of bites.
  • The Sydney funnel-web spider lives in sandy or earthy burrows, typically with a funnel or conical shaped entrance that it surrounds and lines with a silk web that acts as a trip wire, which notifies the spider of its potential meal of insects, small reptiles and amphibians.
  • Sydney funnel-web spiders can survive in water for up to 24 hours or more, as the hairs on their legs and body produce air pockets, and as such, they can be found alive in domestic swimming pools.
Bibliography:
Gray M, Sydney Funnel-web Spider, Atrax Robustus, 2015, Australian Museum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/sydney-funnel-web-spider
Sydney Funnel-web Spider, 2010, Australian Reptile Park, http://www.reptilepark.com.au/animalprofile.asp?id=126
Sydney Funnel-web Spider, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_funnel-web_spider

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Cassowary

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Cassowary

Don’t feed, aggravate, threaten or approach a cassowary. You may not enjoy it.

  • A cassowary is a species of flightless bird, native to New Guinea and northern Australia, that is typically hidden in tropical rainforest areas.
  • The scientific name of a cassowary is Casuarius, from the Casuariidae family, and it is the only genus of birds in the family.
  • There are three species of cassowaries still living – the northern, dwarf and southern, with the southern species being the most abundant.
  • A cassowary’s diet consists primarily of fruit, and they also eat insects, vegetation, small animals and fungi.
  • Cassowaries are large birds that range from 1.5 to 2 metres (4.9 to 6.6 feet) in height and weigh around 25 to 58.5 kilograms (55 to 129 pounds), ranking it in the top three extant birds in height, and in the top two in weight.

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Cassowary
Image courtesy of Heather Paul/Flickr

  • Cassowaries have dangerously clawed feet with three toes, which have been known to cause both animal and human fatalities.
  • The plumage of a cassowary is primarily black, while the neck is generally a mixture of blues and reds, and the bird has a horn-like protrusion on its head, known as a ‘casque’.
  • Habitat destruction and isolation, as well as hunting, have caused populations of some species of cassowary to decrease in numbers, and these are listed as vulnerable.
  • Female cassowaries generally lay from three to eight eggs, that are coloured green to blue, and reach a length of 14 centimetres (5.5 inches), making them the third largest bird eggs in the world, and they are looked after by the males before and after they have hatched.
  • A study in 2003 revealed that cassowaries expecting food from humans are most likely to attack, while 75% of all attacks on humans are a result of this, caused by their loss of shyness from humans feeding them.
Bibliography:
Cassowary, 2015, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/cassowary/
Cassowary, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassowary
Evans O, Southern Cassowary, 2015, Australian Museum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/southern-cassowary
Our Unique Big Bird, 2015, Australian Rainforest Foundation, http://www.arf.net.au/content.php?pageid=1280380330

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Common Nightingale

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Common Nightingale

Common nightingales are musical wonders of nature.

  • Common nightingales are a small bird native to Europe and Asia, and they migrate to Africa where they spend winter.
  • ‘Common nightingales’ are also called ‘rufous nightingales’ or plain ‘nightingales’.
  • The scientific name of common nightingales is Luscinia megarhynchos and it is from the family Muscicapidae, the family of Old World flycatchers.
  • Common nightingales grow to be around 14 to 17 centimetres (5.5 to 6.7 inches) in length and their wings span 20 to 24 centimetres (7.9 to 9.5 inches).
  • The weight of common nightingales is roughly 18 to 23 grams (0.6 to 0.8 ounces), and they have a typical lifespan of one to five years.
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Common Nightingales
Image courtesy of Francesco Veronesi/Flickr
  • The common nightingale feathers spread from browns to light tans, and they have a light coloured underside, while the tail feathers are a reddish-brown, and the eyes are surrounded by a white ring.
  • Common nightingales are well known for their ability to sing beautiful notes during both day and night, that are highly pleasant and inspirational, though the males generally sing more than the females, and do so to attract their mate.
  • The term ‘nightingale’ originates from the word in Old English ‘nihtegale’, or similar, which literally means ‘to sing at night’.
  • The diet of common nightingales consists primarily of insects, though fruit, seeds and nuts, are also consumed at times.
  • Nests of common nightingales are typically concealed and made of twigs and leaf litter, with females laying four to five eggs each breeding season.
Bibliography:
Common Nightingale, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_nightingale
Nightingale, 2015, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/nightingale/
Song H, Luscinia Megarhynchos, 2008, Animal Diversity, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Luscinia_megarhynchos/

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American Bullfrog

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American Bullfrog

Do you get a bit jumpy around American bullfrogs?

  • American bullfrogs are a species of large frog, native to Canada and southern and eastern parts of the United States, as well as parts of Mexico, and they are also just called ‘bullfrogs’, although this term can be used loosely to refer to other frog species.
  • The scientific name of an American bullfrog is Rana catesbeiana and it is from the family Ranidae, the family of true frogs.
  • The colour of the skin of American bullfrogs is generally a combination of green, brown, grey and yellow.
  • The length of an American bullfrog can range from 9 to 15 centimetres (3.5 to 6 inches) or larger, and it can weigh 300 to 500 grams (0.6 to 1.1 pounds) or more.
  • Anything swallowable makes up an American bullfrog’s diet, including fish and other water creatures, birds, rodents, reptiles and insects.
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American Bullfrog
Image courtesy of Katja Shulz/Flickr
  • American bullfrog hind legs are eaten as a food item by humans in a number of countries, and the frogs are often captured through spearing or by hand.
  • American bullfrog females can produce up to 20,000 eggs at a single time, and they hatch as tadpoles, which can take a few months and up to a few years, depending on water temperature, to grow into adult frogs.
  • Male American bullfrogs display social dominance, and they emit a deep sound when calling, said to be similar to that of cattle, hence their common name.
  • American bullfrogs can live up to 16 years, although this is rare – they are more likely to have a lifespan of  six to ten years.
  • American bullfrogs have been introduced, accidentally or deliberately, to parts of South America, Europe and Asia, and they have been detrimental to native species in some of these areas.
Bibliography:
American Bullfrog, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/amphibians/american-bullfrog/
American Bullfrog, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bullfrog
Bullfrog, 2015, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/bullfrog/

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Guinea Pig

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Guinea Pig

Guinea pigs are really just pampered rodents.

  • Guinea pigs are a domesticated rodent species, popularly kept as a pet, and they are not found in the wild.
  • The scientific name of guinea pigs is Cavia porcellus and it is from the family Caviidae, the family of cavies.
  • A ‘guinea pig’ is also known as a ‘cavy’, while the species’ scientific name ‘porcellus’, means ‘piglet’ in Latin.
  • Guinea pig descendants were native to the Andes mountains of South America and are said to have been domesticated between 5000 and 2500 BC.
  • Guinea pigs have been a traditional food source for some native tribes of South America, being one of the main reasons for their domestication, while in 2004, it was estimated that in Peru, 65 million of the rodents were eaten.

Guinea Pig, Pet, Domestic, Trivia, Rodent, Mammal, Animal, Brown, Black,

  • The selective breeding of guinea pigs was undertaken during the 1200s, while the mammal was later introduced to the upper class of Europe in the 1500s.
  • Guinea pigs generally range from 20 to 25 centimetres (8 to 10 inches) in length and weigh 700 to 1100 grams (1.5 to 2.5 pounds).
  • The diet of guinea pigs consists primarily of grasses but also other vegetation including fruit and vegetables.
  • The hair of guinea pigs can be short or long, and usually ranges from blotched patterns to solid colours of white, brown, grey, orange and black.
  • Guinea pigs have been used since the 1600s to research health, including diseases such as scurvy, cholera, various fevers and typhus.
Bibliography:
Bradford A, Guinea Pig Facts, 2015, Live Science, http://www.livescience.com/50658-guinea-pig-facts.html
Guinea Pig, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_pig
Vries L, Peru Pushes Guinea Pigs as Food, 2004, CBS News, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/peru-pushes-guinea-pigs-as-food/

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