Tag Archives: Animal

Proboscis Monkey

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Proboscis Monkey

Proboscis monkeys: unusual monkeys, unusual facts.

  • ‘Proboscis monkeys’ are also known as ‘long-nosed monkeys’, and in the Malay language, ‘bekantan’ and ‘monyet belanda’, the latter literally meaning ‘Dutch monkey’, referring to the perceived appearance of some Dutchmen.
  • Proboscis monkeys are endangered primates from the family Cercopithecidae, the family of Old World monkeys and they can only be found in the wild on Asia’s Borneo, an island that has regions that belong to Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
  • Proboscis monkeys can grow to be 53 to 76 centimetres (21 to 30 inches) in height and typically weigh 16 to 22.5 kilograms (35 to 50 pounds) in males or 7 to 12 kilograms (15 to 26 pounds) in females, and greater weights for both genders have been recorded.
  • Proboscis monkeys have a fur coat that differs in colour, that can include orange shades, red-brown, yellow-brown and shades of grey in colour.
  • Male proboscis monkeys have exceptionally large noses, growing up to at least 10 centimetres (3.9 inches) in length, that are believed to be used to project sound, and both genders have protruding bellies.

Proboscis Monkey, Male, Sitting in tree, big nose, primate, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic, Borneo, Malaysia,

Male Proboscis Monkey
Image courtesy of National Geographic

  • Proboscis monkeys generally live in single-male or male-only bands or harems, of up to 60 and 19 monkeys respectively, and the females give birth to their young most commonly during night or early in the morning.
  • Proboscis monkeys are preyed on by leopards, monitor lizards, pythons, eagles and crocodiles.
  • Proboscis monkeys usually live a close distance to water, usually in forests near rivers, oceans, and swamps, and they have webbed feet and are accomplished swimmers, reaching depths of 20 metres (65.5 feet), sometimes ‘belly flopping’ into the water from trees.
  • Proboscis monkeys commonly use honk noises to vocalize when communicating, although they use roaring or snarling sounds when aggressive.
  • Proboscis monkeys’ diet mainly consists of fruit, seeds, and leaves, and the fruit is usually eaten when it is not ripe due to the sugar content in ripe fruit that can cause death due to bloating.
Bibliography:
Proboscis Monkey, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/proboscis-monkey/
Proboscis Monkey, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proboscis_monkey

 

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Tapir

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Tapir

Tapir: A piggish elephant.

  • Tapirs are typically nocturnal and solitary pig-like mammals, that are often great swimmers, and they have strange feet with four and three toes on the front and behind respectively.
  • There are five species of tapirs; the Mountain tapir, Kabomani tapir, Brazilian tapir, and Baird’s tapir, in Central and South America, and the Malayan tapir in South East Asia.
  • Tapir’ means ‘thick’, in the Tupi language belonging to some of the indigenous Brazilians, that refers to the animal’s hide, and the scientific name is ‘Tapirus’, from the family Tapiridae, the family of tapirs, that is also related to horses and rhinoceroses.
  • Depending on the species, tapirs grow to be approximately 0.8 to 1 meter (2.6 to 3.3 feet) in height, and 1.3 to 2.4 metres (4.2 to 7.8 feet) in length, and range from 110 to 320 kilograms (242 to 705 pounds) in weight, with females being generally larger than males.
  • Tapirs are typically red-brown to grey-black in colour, although the Malayan species are part white and part black, and the Mountain species have a woolly coat.

Tapir, Baby, Brown, Black, adult, Ten Random Facts, National geographic, Melbourne Zoo, Australia

Adult and Baby
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Tapirs have a free-moving snout to poke in hard-to-get places, grip vegetation, or use as a snorkel, and it is often raised when it smells something.
  • Tapirs live on vegetation, mainly fruit, berries and leaves, and can consume 34 kilograms (75 pounds) or more in a single day, and they have an approximate lifespan of 25 to 30 years.
  • Tapirs have an interval of at least two years after every birth of one calf, and the young have sand coloured stripey and spotty markings for up to six months.
  • Tapirs are mainly preyed on by jaguars, tigers, crocodiles and anacondas, as well as humans, who hunt them for their meat and hides, and along with loss of habitat, this is causing them to be either endangered or vulnerable, depending on the species.
  • Although tapirs do not generally attack humans, they have a bite that can cause severe damage, if threatened.
Bibliography:
Tapir, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/tapir/
Tapir, 2014, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/tapir
Tapir, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapir

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Meerkat

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Meerkat

Stay alert like a meerkat.

  • ‘Meerkats’ are also known as ‘suricates’, while their scientific name is ‘Suricata suricatta’, and they are from the family Herpestidae, the family of mongooses.
  • Meerkats are mammals native to the grassy plains and desert areas of southern Africa, residing in burrows, sometimes sharing them with fellow mongoose or squirrels, and they live in clans, generally consisting of 10 to 30 individuals, but up to 50.
  • Meerkats have a typical lifespan of 4 to 14 years, often depending on their position in the mob that they live in, and are mainly preyed on by birds such as hawks, vultures and eagles, although jackals and snakes also take an interest in them, and the venom of some potentially dangerous animals, such as snakes or scorpions, do not affect them.
  • ‘Meerkat’ comes from the Dutch word for a long tailed monkey and ‘lake cat’ and they have a thin tail that is used for balance and signals, and they have small ears that can be closed to prevent dirt entering them.
  • Meerkats generally weigh between 720 to 900 grams (1.6 to 2 pounds), can grow to be a height of 25 to 35 centimetres (10 to 14 inches) from the head to the body, and have a tail length of 17 to 25 centimetres (6.7 to 9 inches).

Meerkat, Family, Guard, Clan, Burrow, Botswana, africa, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic Stock

Meerkats on Guard
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Meerkats are typically brown in colour, with their own, individual decorative patterns, such as stripes of black or with a red tinge, and they have a wide range of vision with dark coloured skin around their eyes, that work a bit like human sunglasses.
  • Meerkats’ diets typically consist of insects, small birds, reptiles and mammals, and vegetation, and they usually gain moisture from the foods they eat.
  • Individual meerkats in a clan will stand erectly on guard to lookout for danger, while the rest scavenge for food, using barks or whistling noises as warnings.
  • Meerkats can have up to four litters in a year, of one to five pups, and they are taught to defend and forage for food by older clan members.
  • Meerkats have a dominant pair in the group, that are the main breeders, and sometimes they will kill the offspring of other meerkats to give their’s the best chance of survival.
Bibliography:
Meerkat, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat
Meerkat, n.d, Melbourne Zoo, http://www.zoo.org.au/melbourne/animals/meerkat

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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.

Granny's cloak Moth, Pipe, Laundry, Four, Two Spots, Purple, Orange, Ten Random Facts, Bug, Insect, Spread, rest, Ten Random Facts

  • 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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