The animal kingdom is quite a majestic one, and there are millions and millions of creatures in it and while you might think you know so much about the animal kingdom and have seen all its constituting animals, it must burst your burble to find out you might only know a fraction of them as many more creatures are being uncovered almost daily. Today we are going to look into some animals in the animal kingdom that are almost barely known. Check out these magnificent nature wonders, which you might have not know existed;
1.Indian Purple Frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis)
Indian Purple Frog, Photo by: Karthickbala at ta.wikipedia
This specie of frog is found in India and belongs to the Sooglossidae family. They are usually called the "Pignose frog" because they have a snout like that of a pig and a stout body. Even more odd about this frog is that they live entirely underground and only emerge when it’s time to breed; for the sole purpose of breeding,
they might come up to surface for about two weeks looking for a mate. After mating they immediately disappear underground until their next mating season.
2.Sunda Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus)
The Sunda Colugo also known as the Malayan colugo is found all across Asia. They are related to the lemur and are nicknamed the flying lemurs; despite what this nickname might suggest, the Sunda Colugos` are actually flightless. However it can glide from tree to tree. They have a lean, extended limb, large claw with a long tail, with head like that of a fox. Only three species have being known to be found in the genus of the Colugo.
Their regular diets are; flowers, shoots, small fruits and leaves. When fully grown can measure up to 42cm in length. It should be noted that colugos are nocturnal creatures and sleep in the tree during the day.
3. Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)
Axolotl are commonly known as the "Mexican Walking Fish". This creature looks like a fish, but it isn’t a fish. They are a species of salamanders hitherto found in several lakes in the Valley of Mexico, but today, are only found only in Lake Xochimilco. It is unusual in that this salamander reaches sexual maturity and procreates in its larval stage. Axolotls maintain their gills, lean skin, and finned tails and can grow to about 30cm. It is an amphibian, which means it has both lungs and gills. The retention of their larval physiognomy appears to be caused by its ecological pressure; the surroundings became dry and infertile to maintain amphibious animals, but the lakes in which the axolotls are born provided cool, good shelter, aerated water, and an abundance of food. They almost never come out of water. They hold their breath and take in oxygen using their gills.
Axolotls are close relations of salamanders and when fully mature look very similar to a baby salamander, but a baby salamanders would eventually mature and change in look.
4. Dumbo Octopus (Grimpoteuthis)
Known as Grimpoteuthisis, this is a mollusk that lives in the depth of the ocean at about 4000 meters below surface and because of the almost complete absence of light that deep; it has poor eyesight and can grow up to 20cm in length. They are rather gelatinous and soft-bodied with a set of fins which are situated at their mantle webbings. They swim by pulsing their webbed arms, which pushes water through. The Dumbo octopus swims by moving its ear-like fins.
They have ears similar to that of an elephant dumbo; a Walt Disney's flying elephant. They are fast swimmers and can quickly escape predators when being hunted.
5. The Frogfish (Lophiformes )
Also known as the “Anglerfish” are in the biological order of Lophiformes. The amazing physical mimicry of frogfish is way beyond any animal in the world. They can literary transform into anything! Then can transform into any object or a figure in their proximity. And not only do they transform their shape, the colors of the mimicked object/animal isn’t left out of its trick. Their camouflage is very vital and is often used to evade predators. Some frogfish, like the pufferfish, can also inflate their body by sucking in water.
This strategy is often utilized to lure preys, the appearance often interest passersby and if an unsuspecting but curious fishes comes near, the frogfish opens its mouth at an incredible speed which creates a suction that engulfs its prey; they are one of the fastest feeding vertebrates known to science.
6. Red-lipped Batfish(Ogcocephalus darwini)
The red-lipped batfish are one of the weirdest of the members of the underwater kingdom and are the main residents of the Cocos Island. They have been known to be rather poor swimmers and prefer walking on the floor of the ocean using their pectoral fins as legs. Their name was derived from their bright red lips. They hunt by tricking preys with a shinny ‘lure’ projection propelled from their head. When this fish species reaches adulthood, their dorsal fin transforms into a lone spine and with it, the red lipped batfish lures preys. Their regular diet consists of crabs, shrimps, mollusks and small fishes
7.Lowland Streaked Tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus)
They are Madagascan insectivore relations of the hedgehog. They are about 160 to 190 millimeters long. They are insectivores and like other insectivores, have a pointy snout with which they root out insects, grubs, and worms. They have a black color with yellow stripes on their back and a yellow crown which fades into black as you move closer to its nose.
During the intense hot summers they enter a state of hibernation, like the hedgehog. Unlike most other insectivores, this specie and a very few others live in groups; a family unit of about twenty would live in burrow together.
8. Barreleye (Opisthoproctidae)
These fish got their name because of their telescoping eyes which are barrel-shaped and are located inside a protective crystal care dome of soft tissue covering the head of the fish which protects the eyes from the attacks of predators. These species are often referred to as the "Spook Fish". They live in deep spaces of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean.
As stated earlier, the common name of the Barreleye Fish was derived from the unique nature of its eyes, which are orbs like and are generally directed upward, they are capable of moving their eyes in all directions.
9. Tree Kangaroos (Dendrolagus )
Tree kangaroos are found in the rainforests of eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. They can weigh up to 14kg. These amazing creatures are able to jump as high as 20 meters. Their movements are highly unusual for macropods this is because they walk rather than hop. They have a long tail; the terminal of the tail has a half blackish brown, which is used for counterbalance when climbing. They are nocturnal animals, so they spend their day sleeping on a tree. The tree kangaroo is primarily a leaf eater and has a big sacculated stomach that allows the ingestion of large quantities of leaves.
They are known to feed on the leaves of the Silkwood as well as fruit and maize from farms on the edge of the rainforest.
10.Pink Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)
As the name suggests, they have a distinct pink color and are considered the most charming among the Amazon River dolphin species. The pink Amazon River dolphin lives in Amazon and is the largest species of freshwater dolphin. It feeds on crabs, fish and catfish and is rarely hunted by animals other than humans. It is proven that all river dolphins have poor eyesight while scientists think some river dolphins are blind.
The river dolphins hunt and communicate using echolocation just like any other dolphin species. An adult Amazon River dolphin can reach an impressive size of 8ft in length.
No comments:
Post a Comment