Cheetah -The fastest animal on land. Here are interesting fact about it.

Cheetah- The fastest Land animal

Scientific name: Acinonyx jubatus

Type: Mammals

Diet: Carnivore

Average Life span: 10 to 12 years (in wild)

Size: 3.5 to 4.5 feet; tail: 25.5 to 31.5 inches

Weight: 35 to 65 kgs

IUCN RED LIST STATUS: Vulnerable

Current trend in population: Decreasing 

Physical Character: The cheetah is a lightly built, spotted cat characterised by a small rounded head, a short snout, black tear-like facial streaks, a deep chest, long thin legs and a long tail. Its slender, canine-like form is highly adapted for speed, and contrasts sharply with the robust build of the big cats (genus Panthera). Cheetahs typically reach 67–94 cm (26–37 in) at the shoulder and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3.6 and 4.9 ft).The weight can vary with age, health, location, sex and subspecies; adults typically range between 20 and 65 kg . Cubs born in the wild weigh 150–300 g at birth, while those born in captivity tend to be larger and weigh around 500 g .Cheetahs are sexually dimorphic, with males larger and heavier than females, but not to the extent seen in other large cats.

The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff (darker in the mid-back portion). The chin, throat and underparts of the legs and the belly are white and devoid of markings. The rest of the body is covered with around 2,000 evenly spaced, oval or round solid black spots, each measuring roughly 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in). Each cheetah has a distinct pattern of spots which can be used to identify unique individuals. Besides the clearly visible spots, there are other faint, irregular black marks on the coat. Newly born cubs are covered in fur with an unclear pattern of spots that gives them a dark appearance—pale white above and nearly black on the underside.

 Head is small and more rounded compared to the big cats. Saharan cheetahs have canine-like slim faces. The ears are small, short and rounded; they are tawny at the base and on the edges and marked with black patches on the back. The eyes are set high and have round pupils.The whiskers, shorter and fewer than those of other felids, are fine and inconspicuous.The pronounced tear streaks (or malar stripes), unique to the cheetah, originate from the corners of the eyes and run down the nose to the mouth. The role of these streaks is not well understood—they may protect the eyes from the sun's glare (a helpful feature as the cheetah hunts mainly during the day), or they could be used to define facial expressions. The exceptionally long and muscular tail, with a bushy white tuft at the end, measures 60–80 cm (24–31 in). While the first two-thirds of the tail are covered in spots, the final third is marked with four to six dark rings or stripes.

The Speed: The cheetah is the world's fastest land mammal. With acceleration that would leave most automobiles in the dust, a cheetah can go from 0 to 60 miles an hour in only three seconds. These big cats are quite nimble at high speed and can make quick and sudden turns in pursuit of prey. The cheetah is the fastest land animal. Estimates of the maximum speed attained range from 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph).A commonly quoted value is 112 km/h (70 mph), recorded in 1957, but this measurement is disputed. In 2012, an 11-year-old cheetah (named Sarah) from the Cincinnati Zoo set a world record by running 100 m (330 ft) in 5.95 seconds over a set run, recording a maximum speed of 98 km/h (61 mph) 

Diet & Hunting:

Cheetahs are active mainly during the day, whereas other carnivores such as leopards and lions are active mainly at night. Before unleashing their speed, cheetahs use exceptionally keen eyesight to scan their grassland environment for signs of prey—especially antelope and hares.  The diet of the Asiatic cheetah consists of livestock as well as chinkara, desert hare, goitered gazelle, urial and wild goats; in India cheetahs used to prey mostly on blackbuck This big cat is a daylight hunter that benefits from stealthy movement and a distinctive spotted coat that allows it to blend easily into high, dry grasses.

When the moment is right a cheetah will sprint after its quarry and attempt to knock it down. Such chases cost the hunter a tremendous amount of energy and are usually over in less than a minute. If successful, the cheetah will often drag its kill to a shady hiding place to protect it from opportunistic animals that sometimes steal a kill before the cheetah can eat. Cheetahs need only drink once every three to four days.

Breeding and Population:

The diploid number of chromosomes in the cheetah is 38, the same as in most other felids. Female cheetahs typically have a litter of three cubs and live with them for one and a half to two years. Young cubs spend their first year learning from their mother and practicing hunting techniques with playful games. Male cheetahs live alone or in small groups, often with their littermates.

Most wild cheetahs are found in eastern and southwestern Africa. These populations are under pressure as the wide-open grasslands they favor are disappearing at the hands of human settlers.

This article is Written & presented by: Sahidul Islam , 26th nov , 2020 (vetuniverse.blogspot.com)

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No two zebras are alike-The Zebra fingerprint, the importance of zebra stripes and other interesting facts. Learn here.

Some fast facts about zebras:

Phylum: Chordata

Family name: Equidae

Classification: Mammal

IUCN status: Plains zebra: Least Concern. Grevy’s zebra: Endangered. Mountain zebra: Vulnerable

Lifespan (in wild): 25 years

Weight: 200-450 kg

Body length: 2.2-2.5m

Top speed: 65km/h

Diet: Herbivore

Habitat: Grassland

A zebra

Is a zebra a horse?

Zebras are closely related to horses but they’re not the same species. They’re both in the Equidae family and they can even breed with each other.

The breeding between Zebra and horse: The offspring (zebroids) have different names dependent on the parents. A male zebra and female horse produces a zorse, and a female zebra and male horse produces hebra. 

Zebra Crossed with Horse

(Zebras can also breed with donkeys, to produce a zedonk.)

A zebra crossed with a donkey

Offspring of all crossovers are sterile, as zebras, horses and donkeys have different numbers of chromosomes.

The purpose of the zebra's unique black-and-white coat: Some have suggested that the stripes may help zebras camouflage themselves and escape from lions and other predators; avoid nasty bites from disease-carrying flies; or control body heat by generating small-scale breezes over the zebra's body when light and dark stripes heat up at different rates.

How do a zebra's stripes act as camouflage?

When all the zebras keep together as a big group, the pattern of each zebra's stripes blends in with the stripes of the zebras around it. Zoologists believe stripes offer zebras protection from predators in a couple of different ways.

The first is as simple pattern-camouflage, much like the type the military uses in its fatigue design­. The wavy lines of a zebra blend in with the wavy lines of the tall grass around it. It doesn't matter that the zebra's stripes are black and white and the lines of the grass are yellow, brown or green, because the zebra's main predator, the lion, is colorblind. The pattern of the camouflage is much more important than its color, when hiding from these predators. If a zebra is standing still in matching surroundings, a lion may overlook it completely.

This benefit may help an individual zebra in some situations, but the more significant means of protection has to do with zebra herds. Zebras usually travel in large groups, in which they stay very close to one another. Even with their camouflage pattern, it's highly unlikely a large gathering of zebras would be able to escape a lion's notice, but their stripes help them use this large size to their advantage. When all the zebras keep together as a big group, the patte­rn of each zebra's stripes blends in with the stripes of the zebras around it. This is confusing to the lion, who sees a large, moving, striped mass instead of many individual zebras. The lion has trouble picking out any one zebra, and so it doesn't have a very good plan of attack. It's hard for the lion to even recognize which way each zebra is moving: The lion's inability to distinguish zebras also makes it more difficult for it to target and track weaker zebras in the herd.

Zebra stripes: zebra stripes actually help zebras recognize one another. Stripe patterns are like zebra fingerprints: Every zebra has a slightly different arrangement. Zoologists believe this is how zebras distinguish who's who in a zebra herd. This certainly has significant benefits. A zebra mare and her foal can keep track of each other in the large herd, for example, and a zebra can very quickly distinguish its own herd from another

The species: Our planet is home to three different species of zebra, the plains zebra, Grevy’s zebra and mountain zebra, all three species are native to Africa.

The most common species is the plains zebra, which roams grasslands and woodland of eastern and southern Africa. The Grevy’s zebra can be found in dry, semi-desert areas of Kenya and Ethiopia, and the mountain zebra lives in mountainous and hilly habitats in Namibia, Angola and South Africa.

Food Habit: These cool creatures are herbivores and spend most of their day eating grass, and sometimes leaves, shrubs twigs and bark, too. Their teeth are well adapted for grazing, with sharp incisors at the front of their mouth to bite the grass, and large molars at the back for crushing and grinding.

Zebras are constantly on the move for fresh grass to eat and water to drink. Super stealthy creatures, they’ll travel thousands of kilometres in search of green pastures where they can fill their bellies and quench their thirst!

The sociality of zebras: Zebras are social animals and live together in large groups, called herds. As they migrate to new feeding grounds, ‘super herds’ may form consisting of thousands of individuals. They may team up with other grazers on their travels, too, such as antelope and wildebeest.

Within a herd, zebras tend to stay together in smaller family groups, made up of a dominant male, several females (called ‘mares’) and their young (called ‘foals’). When they are between one and three years old, males (or ‘stallions’) leave to join ‘bachelor herds’ (all-male groups), where they stay until they’re old enough and strong enough to compete for females.

A Zebra with it's Young one (Foal)

Their fierce fighting skills and strong social bonds help to protect zebras from predators, which include lions, leopards, hyenas and cheetahs. When under threat, these awesome animals form a semi-circle facing the attacker, and prepare to strike if need be. And if one of the group is wounded or injured, other zebras will circle around and attempt to drive off the hungry attacker. All for one and one for all!

A herd of Zebras (Really confusing )

Authored & published by: Sahidul Islam (vetuniverse.blogspot.com)

Dated : the 25th nov 2020

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Dolphins- Friends of Human but Why are they aggressive sometimes??

What are dolphins? They Look like Fish. Are they Fish?? 

Dolphins may swim through the water as gracefully as any fish, but they are not fish. 

Dolphins are mammals. Because they:

i) are warm-blooded,

ii) breathe through lungs, not gills. Dolphins, like whales, need to periodically come to the surface to replenish their air supply. They have blowholes that they close while diving, and then open at the surface for air.

iii) give birth to live young, produce milk for their young, 

iv) have body hair (doesn’t look like it, but they do!), 

v) Their body is able to regulate its own temperature, so they stay warm even when the water temperatures around them are cold. 

Adaptation: Marine mammals have also adapted in some special ways to thrive in an aquatic environment. For instance, dolphins exchange 80% of the air in their lungs with each breath, while humans are only capable of exchanging 17%. Marine mammals also have a greater capacity for oxygen storage in their lungs, blood, and muscles. All of this creates a more efficient use of the oxygen in their bodies and is what allows many species to dive for extended periods of time.

Live Birth: Dolphins give birth to live young and do not lay eggs. They can get pregnant on average every two to four years once they're mature, although some species can have 5-7 years between births. Dolphin calves tend to stay close to their mothers for a few years before venturing off on their own. However, some calves will stay with their mothers for a lifetime.

Nursing: Along with gestating their young, dolphins produce milk to nourish them. It may seem tricky for calves to nurse underwater, but dolphins have adapted some special physiological traits to work around this issue.

Body Hair: Newborn calves have hairs on their rostrum (their beak) that fall out soon after birth This is believed to be an evolutionary remnant from when they lived on land.

Are Dolphins Intelligent?

Dolphins are considered one of the world's most intelligent animals, and they have several cognitive abilities that set them apart. Many researchers consider intelligence to be a combination of perception, communication, and problem-solving. You can see dolphin intelligence in action in the way they communicate and use tools.

How do Dolphins Communicate?

One of the fascinating things about these marine mammals is their complex methods of communication. So how do dolphins communicate? There are three main ways: whistles, echolocation, and social communication. 

Communication is a big part of how dolphins socialize and hunt. They have the ability to echolocate with a series of clicks, allowing them to find other dolphins or similar species and prey even in the low-light conditions of the ocean. Dolphins also have a complicated method of communicating with each other. From an outside perspective, dolphins may seem to communicate much like humans. However, researchers are still investigating both how dolphins communicate and what information they are able to pass to each other. Dolphins communicate through more than just clicks and whistles. They can also slap the water's surface with their tail or bodies, which is officially termed breaching.

Dolphins can make squeaks, buzzes, whistles, clicks, and a wide array of other crazy noises.. These whistles can be heard by others of the species from miles away. Their whistle repertoire can change as they get older, and dolphins who bond with one another can learn each others signature whistles and often copy each other’s whistles.

 Mechanism of Dolphin communication and navigation: Echolocation serves for both communication and for navigation. Echolocation is seeing with sound, much like sonar on a submarine. The dolphin emits a sound and then listens for the echo as that sound bounces off of objects, these sound waves travel back to the dolphin. Dolphins are able to get much more information out of the sound than humans. This includes the size and shape of objects or obstructions near them and even what material they are made of.

Why Dolphins sometimes turns aggressive???

Dolphins are not water toys or pets. Truly wild dolphins will bite when they are angry, frustrated, or afraid. They are disturbed when people try to swim with them. Dolphins who have become career beggars can be pushy, aggressive, and threatening when they don't get the handout they expect. This can occur when a dolphin has been mistreated, has been isolated from its family and friends for an extended amount of time, when they are placed in small tanks for long periods of time or when they come into contact with loud and/or large object’s that are frightening and unfamiliar to them of such as loud boat engines or unfamiliar acoustic sounds. They show occasional signs of aggression when they have been isolated for long periods of time in an unnatural environment due to the fact that they are a very social species and prefer open space and freedom.

Fortunately dolphin attacks are extremely rare and the likelihood of being injured or seriously harmed by a dolphin is even less rare.

Protect Wild Dolphins: Admire Them from a Distance

It is against the law to feed or harass wild dolphins. For the dolphins' sake, and for your safety, please don't feed, swim with, or harass wild dolphins.

It is illegal to feed or harass wild dolphins.

Dolphins have a reputation for being friendly, but they are actually wild animals who should be treated with caution and respect. Interactions with people change dolphin behavior for the worse. They lose their natural wariness, which makes them easy targets for vandalism and shark attack. 

Let the Wild Ones Stay Wild

Feeding or attempting to feed wild dolphins is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and implementing regulations.

While many dolphins are often friendly, outgoing, curious or just sedentary they have been known to attack humans and other marine mammals when they feel threatened or are highly stressed due to unwelcome situations and/or circumstances.

(Authored/ Writen and Presented by: Sahidul Islam , dated : the 20th nov, 2020)

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The world's "Smallest" and "largest" birds. Know them here.

The World's smallest bird 

Intoduction: The World's smallest bird is The Bee Hummingbird ,zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is a species of hummingbird  , which is found only in Cuba, is an absolute miniature, even among hummingbirds. It measures a mere two and a quarter inches long. Bee Hummingbirds are often mistaken for bees. They weigh less than two grams — less than a dime. That’s half the weight of our backyard hummers, like the Ruby-throated or Rufous. Females weigh 2.6 g  and are 6.1 cm (2.4 in) long, and are slightly larger than males, with an average weight of 1.95 g and length of 5.5 cm (2.2 in).Like all hummingbirds, it is a swift, strong flier.

A Hummingbird

Physical Appearance: The male has a green pileum and bright red throat, iridescent gorget with elongated lateral plumes, bluish upper parts, and the rest of the underparts mostly greyish white. The male is smaller than the female. The female is green above, whitish below, with white tips to the outer tail feathers. Compared to other small hummingbirds, which often have a slender appearance, the bee hummingbird looks rounded and plump.

The brilliant, iridescent colors of the bee hummingbird's feathers make the bird seem like a tiny jewel. The iridescence is not always noticeable, but depends on the viewing angle. The bird's slender, pointed bill is adapted for probing deep into flowers. 

Flight: In flight, the Bee Hummingbird’s tiny wings beat 80 times a second. And during a courtship flight, they beat up to 200 times per second! 

Diet:

The bee hummingbird has been known to visit 10 plant species. I am placing scientific names of these as because local names varies from place to place. These flowers include Hamelia patens , Chrysobalanus icaco, Pavonia paludicola , Forsteronia corymbosa , Lysiloma latisiliquum , Turnera ulmifolia , Antigonon leptopus , Clerodendrum aculeatum, Tournefortia hirsutissima , and Cissus obovata . They occasionally eat insects and spiders. In a typical day, bee hummingbirds will consume up to half their body weight in food.

The bee hummingbird feeds mainly on nectar, and an occasional insect or spider, by moving its tongue rapidly in and out of its mouth.

Ecological Importance:  In the process of feeding, the bird picks up pollen on its bill and head. When it flies from flower to flower, it transfers the pollen. In this way, it plays an important role in plant reproduction. In one day, the bee hummingbird may visit 1,500 flowers.

Habitat and distribution:

The bee hummingbird is endemic to the entire Cuban archipelago, including the main island of Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud in the West Indies. Its population is fragmented, found in Cuba's mogote areas in Pinar del Rio province and more commonly in Zapata Swamp (Matanzas province) and in eastern Cuba.

Breeding: The bee hummingbird's breeding season is March–June. They lay up to two eggs at a time. Males in the “bee” hummingbird clade court females with sound from tail‐feathers, which flutter during display dives. Using bits of cobwebs, bark, and lichen, the female builds a cup-shaped nest that is about 2.5 cm (0.98 in) in diameter. Nests have been built on single clothespins. She lines the nest with soft plant fibers. There she lays her eggs, which are no bigger than a coffee bean. She alone incubates the eggs and raises the young. The female lays only two eggs at a time, each about the size of a coffee bean.

Coevolution with flowersThe bee hummingbird interaction with the flowers that supply nectar is a notable example of bird–plant coevolution with its primary food source (flowers for nectar).

Eggs of Hummingbird  (Size comparision, image representation)

A hummingbird size representation

A hummingbird size representation (image)

The world's largest bird

Introduction: Struthio is a genus of birds in the order Struthioniformes, whose members are the ostriches. It is part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are two living species of ostrich, the common ostrich and the Somali ostrich. They are large flightless birds of Africa who lay the largest eggs of any living land animal. With the ability to run at 70 km/h (43.5 mph), they are the fastest birds on land. It is farmed worldwide , particularly for its feathers as they are used as decoration and feather dusters. Its skin is also used for leather products.

Distribution and habitat:

Today ostriches are only found natively in the wild in Africa, where they occur in a range of open arid and semi-arid habitats such as savannas and the Sahel, both north and south of the equatorial forest zone. The Somali ostrich occurs in the Horn of Africa, having evolved isolated from the common ostrich by the geographic barrier of the East African Rift. 

Species: There are nine known species in this genus, of which seven are extinct.

The living  species are: Struthio camelus (Common ostrich) and Struthio molybdophanes (Somali ostrich)

Ostrich on run

Ostrich egg size (left) vs chicken egg size(right)

Ostrich with her young ones

Ostrich guarding her Eggs

The largest extant bird species is the ostrich (Struthio camelus), a member of the Struthioniformes family from the plains of Africa and Arabia. A large male ostrich can reach a height of 2.8 metres (9.2 feet) and weigh over 156 kilograms . Ostrich eggs can weigh 1.4 kg  and are the largest eggs in the world today.

Notable: Donot confuse with The extant bird with the largest wingspan (Largest Flying bird), the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) of the sub-Antarctic oceans. 

(I shall be wring on it in upcoming times, stay tuned)

Written/Authored and Presented by: Sahidul Islam (visit the profile of the blog for more info and contact)

dated: The 17th Nov, 2020

(All copyrights belong to https:vetuniverse.blogspot.com, No part of this writing should be transformed, copied, reproduced in any form without proper persmission from the author.)

Misnomers in Animal Kingdom, It's Not What it is named.

 

The Followings are some of the examples in the Animal kingdom that are picked which is actually a misnomer . They are not as their name says as it is.-----

i) Jellyfish: Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella-shaped bells and trailing tentacles, although a few are anchored to the seabed by stalks rather than being mobile. The bell can pulsate to provide propulsion for highly efficient locomotion. The tentacles are armed with stinging cells and may be used to capture prey and defend against predators. Jellyfish have a complex life cycle; the medusa is normally the sexual phase, which produces planula larva that disperse widely and enter a sedentary polyp phase before reaching sexual maturity.

Jellyfish

ii) Cuttlefish: Cuttlefish are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda, which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of buoyancy. Cuttlefish have large, W-shaped pupils, eight arms, and two tentacles furnished with denticulated suckers, with which they secure their prey. They generally range in size from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 in), with the largest species, Sepia apama, reaching 50 cm (20 in) in mantle length and over 10.5 kg (23 lb) in mass.

Cuttlefish eat small molluscs, crabs, shrimp, fish, octopus, worms, and other cuttlefish. The average life expectancy of a cuttlefish is about 1–2 years. Studies are said to indicate cuttlefish to be among the most intelligent invertebrates.

Cuttlefish

iii)Silverfish: A silverfish (Lepisma saccharinum) is a small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma . Its common name derives from the animal's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements. The scientific name (L. saccharinum) indicates that the silverfish's diet consists of carbohydrates such as sugar or starches.

Silverfish

iv) Seahorse:

A seahorse might slightly resemble a horse, without the fur, and with a different kind of tail, but it is really a fish that belongs to the Syngnathidae family, along with pipefishes and leafy sea dragons. To be fair to whoever came up with the common name seahorse, it's a bit more accurate than the direct translation of the animal's Latin genus name, Hippocampus, which literally translates as "horse" (hippos-) "sea monster" (-kampos). Calling anything that only grows to be about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long a monster is potentially more misleading than calling a fish a horse.

Seahorse

v) Starfish:

Starfish don't have scales, don't have tails and can't swim, so they are therefore not fish. Instead, the rough-skinned, multi-legged seafloor dweller is an echinoderm, related to sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Though it does at least look like a star, They are not fish! They don't have gills! Or fins or scales! 

Starfish

vi) Ringworm:

A ringworm infection on the skin is actually caused by a fungus, not a worm. 

Ringworm, also known as dermatophytosis, is not a worm at all: It is a fungal infection consisting of several different species of fungus that feeds on keratin — the substance found in hair, nails and the outer layer of skin — within humans and domesticated animals. The infection forms a ring-like pattern on skin that sort of looks like a worm burrow.

Ringworm infection

vii) Guinea pig:

These common household pets (in the United States) and increasingly popular delicacies (in South America) have more fur and faster metabolisms than any true pig. Guinea pig are not pigs. Guinea pigs are rodents, and the only thing they share in common with true pigs is that they are mammals … and they make squeaky sounds.

Guinea pig

viii) Prairie dog:

Prairie dogs are rodents, and have nothing more in common with domesticated dogs than guinea pigs do with true pigs. The call of the prairie dog is thought to sound like the bark of a dog, but given its small size, the tone of its bark only matches that of the smallest true dogs.

Prairie dog

ix: Flying fox:

With wingspans reaching up to about 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) wide, these animals can grow to be as large as a fox. But they are not foxes at all — they are the largest and least studied bats in the world. More than 60 species are known to live throughout isolated islands within the Pacific and Indian oceans, and parts of continental Australia and Asia. Their brownish-red fur resembles that of a fox, but these are tree-dwelling, fruit-eating mammals.

Flying fish

x) Killer Whale:

Instead of calling a giant dangerous dolphin a "killer dolphin," people say "killer whale" because nobody thinks of dolphins as being anything but docile and intelligent. At least, that’s how we figure the killer whale got its name. Guesses aside, killer whales, or orca, do indeed belong to the dolphin family. They're fierce predators of the sea, with sharp teeth that can grow up to four inches long. 

Killer Whale

xi) Electric Eel:

The electric eel is tired of being "eel-like." Yes, they are electric, but they are not in fact an eel. Electric eels are freshwater fish of the knifefish family. Native to South America, this electric freshwater fish has a slithery, elongated body that closely resemble to ell but prefer to be known as "electric knifefish" because their bodies resemble knives and they can attack with a nerve-frying jolt.

Electric eel

xii) Bearcats:

Bearcats, , are native to Southern Asia . Maybe these fuzzy fellows want to be related to bears and cats, but they're not. They're weasels. They actually look like a bear-cat-weasel-raccoon hybrid, with a long furry body, bushy tail, claws, and a weaselly face.

Bearcat

xiii) Blindworms : Life’s rough for the blindworm. Its skin falls off periodically and it eats slugs to survive. That's not the worst of it. You'd think blindworms would be mad about being worms that can't see, but blindworms can see and they aren't worms. In fact, they're legless lizards.

Blindworm

Article Written/Authored and Presented by : Sahidul Islam

Dated : The 16th Nov,2020

All copyright belongs to: ( https;//vetuniverse.blogspot.com)

(No part of this article should be copied, transformed or reproduced in any form without the permission from the author)

BIOELECTROGENESIS. Which animals can produce Electricity??? Know Here

The process of electricity generation in living organisms is called Bioelectrogenesis. Although plant cells exhibit light-induced electrogenesis and some microbial cells are also capable of generating electric currents, Biolectrogenesis is utilized by these creatures for hunting prey, self-defense, electrocommunication, and/or electrolocation purposes. Following are few of the examples :---

i) Electric Ray Fish:

The electric rays are cartilaginous fishes comprising the order Torpediniformes. There are about 69 species of these rays. The most distinguishing feature of these fish is their ability to produce electric discharges that are used to stun their prey or as a mechanism of defense. The rays are capable of producing electric discharges ranging from 8 to 220 volts. The best-known members of the electric rays are those belonging to the Torpedo genus.

The electric rays inhabit shallow coastal waters up to a depth of at least 3,000 feet. These rays feed on small fish and vertebrates and use electricity generated by them to stun and capture the prey. The electric rays have been known for their electrogenic properties since antiquity. The ancient Greeks would use the electricity generated by these rays to numb pain caused during surgeries and childbirth. As per the accounts of an ancient Roman physician, the electrical properties of the torpedo fish were used for treating gout and headache.

Electric ray Fish

ii) Electric Catfish:

The electric catfish are catfish of the family Malapteruridae, that has two genera and 19 species. Many of the species of this family are capable of generating electric shocks of up to 350 volts. The electric catfish are found in the tropical regions of Africa and the Nile River. They are nocturnal and carnivorous. They feed on other fishes, fish eggs, detritus, and invertebrates with the food habit varying by species. The electric catfish use electric shock as a means to stun their prey. The electric catfish is the only catfish group that has electrogenic organs that are well-developed. Interestingly, ancient Egyptians would utilize the electric shock generating the ability of the electric catfish to treat arthritis pain. Even an account of a 12th-century Arab physician mentions the electric properties of the electric catfish. Although the shock generated by the electric catfish are not known to be fatal to humans, large individuals are capable of stunning an adult human with an electric shock.

Electric Catfish

iii) Electric Eel:

The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) is the only species in the Electrophorusgenus and is known for its ability to produce electricity. The fish live in the Amazon and Orinoco freshwater river basins in South America. Despite its name, the electric eel is not a true eel but a knifefish. The electric eel has an elongated scale-less cylindrical body with a dark gray-brown dorsal surface and yellow or orange undersides. It has a square mouth at the end of the snout.

The most interesting feature of the electric eel is the three pairs of abdominal organs that generate electricity. These are known as the main organ, Sach’s organ, and Hunter’s organ. Four-fifths of the body of the eel is occupied by these organs. With the help of these organs, the fish can generate both high and low voltage electricity. The electric organs are made of electrolytes and arranged in a manner that adds to a potential difference and allows a current of ions to flow.

The electric producing capacity of the electric eel is usually utilized to stun the prey of the species. Once the eel detects its prey, the brain transmits a signal via the nervous system to the electric organs. Ion channels are opened which allows the flow of sodium ions resulting in a momentary reversal of polarity. This generates a sudden potential difference and electric current. Although the electricity produced by an electric eel is only momentary and unlikely to prove fatal to humans due to the short duration of the discharge, human deaths have been known to occur. The electric current generated by the electric eel will produce a painful and numbing shock to those exposed to it. 

Electric Eel

iv) Black Ghost Knifefish:

The black ghost knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) inhabits the freshwater habitats of tropical waters in South America including the Amazon basin. The fish is named so for its all-black color except for a white blaze on the nose and two white rings on the tail. The fish is scale-less and grows to attain a maximum length of about 50 cm. The black ghost knifefish is also nocturnal and weakly electric. It possesses an electric organ, and electro-receptors are distributed all over its body. Thus, it is among the few animals that can both produce and sense electricity. The fish uses its electrogenic and electrosensing capabilities to locate insect larvae, its primary food. The fish also use these electrical properties to communicate with each other and also for electrolocation.

Black ghost knife fish

v) Northern Stargazer fish:

The northern stargazer (Astroscopus guttatus) is a fish that can be found on the eastern shores of the United States between New York and North Carolina. The fish can be found at depths of up to 120 feet. The blackish-brown body of the northern stargazer has white spots on the neck and back. It has a mouth that faces upwards which allows it to ambush prey while it remains well camouflaged in the sandy bottoms of the coastal waters. The northern stargazer is also able to generate electricity due to the presence of electric organs in the orbitae. The electric shock generated by the fish is used in hunting for prey and in self-defense.

Northern stargazer fish

vi) Platypuses: A platypus’ bill is covered in nearly 40,000 electricity sensors – or electroreceptors – arranged in a series of stripes, which helps them localize prey. All animals produce electric fields due to the activity of their nerves and muscles. So when the platypus digs in the bottom of streams with its bill, its electroreceptors detect these tiny currents, allowing it to tell living prey from inanimate objects.

Platypus

vii) Bees: A flower’s bright petals and fragrance aren’t the only things that attract bees. Flowers often experience a change in electric charge after they’ve been visited, so by sensing electric fields, bees can decide whether a flower is worth investigating (or if someone got there before them).

A Bee

viii) Geckos:

Have you ever wondered how geckos are able to climb smooth surfaces? The gecko's Spider-Man (Climbing) abilities are due in part to the electrostatic forces on the gecko's toe pads. The difference in charge between his feet and the surface he's climbing help the little guy stay anchored to the wall.

Gecko

ix) Spiders: 

Spiders coat their web with a special kind of glue that's attracted to charged particles (such as flying insects). The attraction is so strong that these lifeless webs will actually move forward to stick to flying prey. These webs are also attracted to airborne pollutants, meaning that spiders help make the air cleaner (WOW AMAZING) in addition to eradicating house pests.

Spider

x)Sharks: 

Sharks have specialized receptors on their snouts called ampullae of Lorenzini. These receptors help the shark detect electric fields given off by potential meals. This can come in handy in the deep blue sea, where prey may be far away or camouflaging themselves.

Shark

Written/Authored And Presented by: Sahidul Islam on the 15th Nov,2020 (https://vetuniverse.blogspot.com)

BIOLUMINESCENCE, Nature's Gift To Them

 Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria, and terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced by symbiotic bacteria such as those from the genus Vibrio; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals themselves.

In a general sense, the principal chemical reaction in bioluminescence involves a light-emitting molecule and an enzyme, generally called luciferin and luciferase, respectively. Because these are generic names, luciferins and luciferases are often distinguished by including the species or group, e.g. firefly luciferin. In all characterized cases, the enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of the luciferin. In some species, the luciferase requires other cofactors, such as calcium or magnesium ions, and sometimes also the energy-carrying molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP).  Conversely, luciferases vary widely between different species The phenomenon is widely distributed among animal groups, especially in marine environments. On land it occurs in fungi, bacteria and some groups of invertebrates, including insects. Bioluminescence is a form of chemiluminescence where light energy is released by a chemical reaction. This reaction involves a light-emitting pigment, the luciferin, and a luciferase, the enzyme component.

In Simple: Luciferin + O2---------------Oxyluciferin + light energy

Coelenterazine is a luciferin found in many different marine phyla from comb jellies to vertebrates. Like all luciferins, it is oxidised to produce light. Instead of a luciferase, the jellyfish Aequorea victoria makes use of another type of protein called a photoprotein, in this case specifically aequorin luciferase enzymes vary widely and tend to be different in each species.

Distribution in Nature:

Bioluminescence occurs widely among animals, especially in the open sea, including fish, jellyfish, comb jellies, crustaceans, and cephalopod molluscs; in some fungi and bacteria; and in various terrestrial invertebrates including insects. About 76% of the main taxa of deep-sea animals produce light. Most marine light-emission is in the blue and green light spectrum. However, some loose-jawed fish emit red and infrared light, and the genus Tomopteris emits yellow light.

The most frequently encountered bioluminescent organisms may be the dinoflagellates in the surface layers of the sea, which are responsible for the sparkling phosphorescence sometimes seen at night in disturbed water. 

Non-marine bioluminescence is less widely distributed, the two best-known cases being in fireflies and glowworms, bioluminescent beetle Elateroidea

 Invertebrates including insect larvae, annelids and arachnids possess bioluminescent abilities. 

Bacterial symbiose: Organisms often produce bioluminescence themselves, rarely do they generate it from outside phenomena. However, there are occasions where bioluminescence is produced by bacterial symbionts that have a symbiotic relationship with the host organism. Although many luminous bacteria in the marine environment are free-living, a majority are found in symbiotic relationships that involve fish, squids, crustaceans etc. as hosts. Most luminous bacterial inhabit the marine sea.

Who glows?????

At least 1,500 species of fish are known to be bioluminescent, including sharks and dragonfish—and scientists regularly discover new ones. It occurs most commonly in the ocean, where bioluminescence is often the only source of light. A whopping 76 percent of ocean animals are bioluminescent, which means they produce their own light through a series of chemical reactions.

Uses in nature:  Bioluminescence is used in a variety of ways and for different purposes. 

Bioluminescence has several functions in different taxa. : defensive functions of startle, counter-illumination (camouflage), misdirection (smoke screen), distractive body parts, burglar alarm (making predators easier for higher predators to see), and warning to deter settlers; offensive functions of lure, stun or confuse prey, illuminate prey, and mate attraction/recognition. The Followings are some points: 

i) COUNTER-ILLUMINATION: In many animals of the deep sea, including several squid species, bacterial bioluminescence is used for camouflage by counter-illumination, in which the animal matches the overhead environmental light as seen from below. Example in firefly squid, Watasenia scintillans. (When seen from below by a predator, the bioluminescence helps to match the squid's brightness and color to the sea surface above.)

ii) DEFENSE & SURPRISE: The prey produces a bright flash that startles a predator, making it easy to escape.

iii) SMOKE SCREEN: The prey emits a glowing fluid or a cloud of sparks to misdirect the predator from its real location.

iv) DECOY: The prey jettisons one of its body parts. The luminescent limb distracts the predator, allowing escape.

v) CAMOUFLAGE: A shining underbelly matching the light from the surface conceals prey from predators below. Hawaiian bobtail squid light up via bioluminescent bacteria living in one of their organs; the light camouflages them against moonlight on the surface and eliminates their shadow, obscuring them from predators.

vi)  ALARM: The prey’s bioluminescence makes its predator visible—alerting the predator’s predators.

vii) OFFENSE: Among the most iconic are deep-sea fishes like the anglerfish, whose females sport a lure of glowing flesh that acts as bait for any prey close enough to be snatched. 

viii) SHOCK:A burst of bright light from a bioluminescent predator stuns prey and leaves it open to attack.

ix) LURE: Like a moth to a flame, prey is drawn to the glow produced by a predator lurking all too close.

x) BEACON: Predators seek out the glimmer that tells them that bioluminescent creatures are gathering.

xi) SEARCHLIGHT: A predator turns on its natural spotlight to locate prey in a dark ocean.

xii) REPRODUCTION: Flickers of light signal that a bioluminescent insect is ready to meet new mates. In the marine environment, use of luminescence for mate attraction is chiefly known among ostracods, small shrimplike crustaceans, especially in the family Cyprididae. Fireflies use light to attract mates. Two systems are involved according to species; in one, females emit light from their abdomens to attract males; in the other, flying males emit signals to which the sometimes sedentary females respond.

xiii) INVITATION: Mushrooms may spread their spores by using luminescence to entice insects to land on them.

Freshwater animals Doesnot glow because Very few bioluminescent fish can tolerate low salinity

Some species of dinoflagellates light up using a similar to chemical reaction to that of fireflies; both use a naturally occurring molecule called luciferin, named for Lucifer, the light-bearer. Millions of these one-celled organisms create a beautiful shimmering effect, particularly when there’s little moonlight. It is very beautiful to stare.

Charles Darwin noticed bioluminescence in the sea, describing it in his Journal:

While sailing in these latitudes on one very dark night, the sea presented a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle. There was a fresh breeze, and every part of the surface, which during the day is seen as foam, now glowed with a pale light. The vessel drove before her bows two billows of liquid phosphorus, and in her wake she was followed by a milky train. As far as the eye reached, the crest of every wave was bright, and the sky above the horizon, from the reflected glare of these livid flames, was not so utterly obscure, as over the rest of the heavens.

"Let Pictures tell the beauty of Nature"--------Sahidul

Beauty Of Glowing Dinoflagellets at Night

The Firefly

Glowing Jellyfishes

Glowing Mushrooms

("NATURE WAS CREATED  SO BEAUTIFUL THAT  THERE IS ENDLESS MYSTERY IN IT"~ Sahidul)

Authored, Written And Presented By: Sahidul Islam On The 14th Nov, 2020 (https:vetuniverse.blogspot.com)