Tag Archives: Animal

Turkey Meat

By | |
Leave a comment
Turkey meat, roasted, brown, white, whole, Ten Random Facts, Bird, Australia, Christmas

No Thanksgiving or Christmas is complete without turkey meat!

  • Turkey meat is the cooked meat of turkey, particularly those that are bred on a farm.
  • Turkey meat is commonly eaten at popular celebrations, such as Thanksgiving (USA and Canada) or Christmas, with nearly 8 million turkeys eaten at Christmas time in the UK, in 2009.
  • Most parts of turkey meat are eaten, except the bones, head, feathers and feet, and they can generally be bought whole or ground, with other cuts being available sometimes, as well as already cooked sliced meat.
  • Once cooked, turkey meat from wild turkeys is typically dark-coloured, while domestic meat is usually light-coloured, and the wild turkeys often have a great flavour than the domestic ones.
  • Turkey meat started to be used in celebrations from as early as the 1500s, originally in England.

Turkey meat, roasted, brown, white, whole, Ten Random Facts, Bird, Australia, Christmas

  • Frozen, whole turkey meat generally takes a considerably long time to defrost, and it can take 3 days or more, depending on the size of the bird.
  • Turkey meat is generally cooked by a baking or oven roasting process, although sometimes it is deep-fried, and whole birds are usually stuffed, while the meat is often served with the addition of cranberry sauce or gravy.
  • Turkey meat has a high protein content, more than most commonly eaten meats, and is also high in vitamin B6, niacin, zinc, selenium and phosphorus.
  • Turkey meat contains an amino acid named tryptophan, which causes sleepiness, but the quantity eaten in one meal is not as likely to make you drowsy, than the rest of the carbohydrates and fats on one’s plate.
  • The English author, Charles Dickens, helped to make turkey meat popular, due to turkey featuring in his novel ‘A Christmas Carol’.
Bibliography:
History and Lore, 2013, Turkey for the Holidays, http://urbanext.illinois.edu/turkey/history.cfm
Turkey Meat, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_meat

Amazon:     

Cyana Meyricki

By | |
1 Comment
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.

Cyana Meyricki Caterpillar, Hairy, Wedge, Wood, Moving, One, Ten Random Facts, Bug, Animal

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

Amazon:  

Emperor Penguin

By | |
Leave a comment
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

Amazon:      

Parrotfish

By | |
1 Comment
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

Amazon:     

Moose

By | |
1 Comment
Moose

The big, big moose.

  • ‘Moose’ are also known as ‘Eurasian elks’, or ‘elks’, although they are different to the American elk, and their scientific name is ‘Alces alces’ which includes 6 to 7 subspecies.
  • Moose belong to the deer family, Cervidae, and the sub family Capreolinae, and can grow to be 1.4 to 2.1 metres (4.6 to 6.9 feet) in height, and weigh between 200 to 700 kilograms (440 to 1500 pounds),
  • Moose are native to the forests of the Northern Hemisphere, mainly abundant in Canada, Alaska and Russia, although they are found in parts of Europe, Asia and the United States, and are one of the largest land animals in Europe and North America.
  • Adult male moose are named ‘bulls’, adult females are called ‘cows’ and the young are named ‘calves’, and they do not live in herds, but are instead solitary for most of their lives.
  • The diet of moose consists of large quantities of vegetation, including aquatic plants, as they require significant amounts of sodium in their diet.

Bull Moose, Antlers, Full, Male, Wyoming, Meadow, Single, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic

Moose
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Moose are classified by the shape of the antler that the males grow and lose at the end of autumn, regrowing in spring, and while the antlers grow at a rapid rate, ‘velvet’ protects them.
  • Moose can run at speeds of 56 km/h (35 mph) and they can also swim well, reaching speeds of 9.6 km/h (6 mph).
  • Moose live for 15 to 25 years, and usually give birth to one or two young, who are chased away when they are around one year old.
  • Moose are preyed on by wolves and bears, although these predators are both wary of the adult deer, and the moose are often hunted by humans who consume them as food.
  • Automobile accidents can occur with moose, which are generally fatal for both parties due to the size of the animal.
Bibliography: Katherine Gammon, Fun Facts about Moose, 2013, Live Science, http://www.livescience.com/27408-moose.html
Moose, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose

Amazon:      

Housefly

By | |
Leave a comment
Housefly

“Shoo fly, don’t bother me!”

  • ‘Houseflies’ are also known as ‘house flies’, ‘house-flies’, ‘common houseflies’ and ‘common flies’ and are often referred to by their generic name ‘fly’.
  • The scientific name of houseflies is Musca domestica, and they are from the family Muscidae, which is a family of flies.
  • Houseflies are the most common type of domestic fly, making up 91% of all domestic flies.
  • Houseflies grow to be 5 to 8 millimetres (0.2 to 0.3 inches) in length and have one pair of wings, that have a few major veins in them.
  • Houseflies generally have a grey or black thorax with a brown to yellow coloured abdomen and are somewhat hairy.

Housefly, Small, Insect, Fly, Sitting, Jeans, Pants, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Housefly maggots can become pupa after a half to one and a half days, and live two to four weeks as an adult.
  • Female adult houseflies usually lay eggs in waste products, 75 to 150 eggs at a time, and can lay up to 9000 eggs in its life.
  • A housefly egg takes on average a day to hatch, and grow quickest in warm to hot weather.
  • Houseflies can be carriers of over 100 diseases of parasites, bacteria and viruses.
  • Houseflies can convert solid food to liquid, and they have tubular shaped tongues, like straws, with which they suck up their food.
Bibliography:
Flies, n.d, Pestworld for Kids, http://www.pestworldforkids.org/flies.html
Housefly, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_fly

Amazon:    

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...