Scientific name: Orycteropus afer
Brief description: South African Dutch, which became Afrikaans, is the language from which English borrowed aardvark. It means “earth pig.”
The aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It has a long pig-like snout, which it uses to sniff out food. It feeds on ants and termites, which it will dig out of their hills using its sharp claws and powerful legs. It also digs to create burrows in which to live and rear its young.
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Scientific name: Psychrolutes marcidus
In 2013, the blobfish was deemed the world’s ugliest animal. The run-off was led by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society.
A quick glance at the blobfish would explain why. It looks like a bunch of melted wax, with its face corresponding with that of a cranky older man. They have pitch dark eyes on their cheeks – or rather on the sides of their faces. They also have punch drunk noses.
But what is a blobfish?
The blobfish is a foot-long pink deep-sea fish which inhabits waters just above the seabed at depths of 600 to 1,200 meters (2,000 to 3,900 feet), off the coasts of mainland Australia and New Zealand. It has soft bones and few muscles and lacks a swim bladder, the gas-filled internal organ that allows most bony fish to control their ability to stay afloat in water. Instead, its body is jelly-like, with a density slightly lower than the water in which it lives. Thanks to that, it floats slightly above the floor of the ocean, where it waits for small crustaceans and other edible matter to pass by so it can suck them up for food.
Females are capable of laying thousands of tiny pink eggs. They lay this multitude of eggs in the seabed where they are hidden from the reach of other animals. Both males and females can sit on the laid eggs to keep them safe from predators.
Finally, It’s important to note that a blobfish only has that melted appearance when it is out of the water. And this is simply due to these strange adaptations to its preferred waters.
For more information:
www.sciencefocus.com/nature/the-blobfish-a-bloated-guide-...
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Scientific name: Tachyglossus aculeatus
Note: There are actually four main species of echidna: the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), the Sir David's long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), the eastern long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bartoni), and the western long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii).
Echidnas are named after Echidna, a creature from Greek mythology who was half-woman, half-snake, as the animal was perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles.
The echidna, also known as the "spiny anteater," is an unusual mammal. Female echidnas do not birth live young, but lays eggs! Egg-laying mammals are called monotremes. There are only five monotremes in the world: four echidna species, and one platypus species.
Echidnas are found throughout Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea, from the highlands to the deserts to the forests. They are solitary creatures. They are covered in spines, and have long snouts lined with electroreceptors, a feature only found on land in echidnas and platypuses.
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Scientific name: Metopidius indicus
The bronze-winged jacana is found across South Asia and is the sole species in the genus Metopidius. Like other jacanas it forages on lilies and other floating aquatic vegetation, the long feet spreading out its weight and preventing sinking. The sexes are alike but females are slightly larger and are polyandrous, maintaining a harem of a few males during the breeding season in the monsoon rains. Males maintain territories, with one male in the harem chosen to incubate the eggs and take care of the young. When threatened, young chicks may be carried to safety by the male under his wings.
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Scientific name: Pseudocarcinus gigas
The Tasmanian giant crab lives on rocky and muddy ocean bottoms off Southern Australia. It is one of the largest crabs in the world. They weigh up to 18 kg (~ 40 lbs) and have a shell length of 50 cm (~ 20 in).
For more information, click here: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2137356/Monster-Tasmania...
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