Insite Into The most Unknown

The Salamander

The salamander when attacked has this neat little feature that makes it lose it’s tale and the tale will lie there twitching drawing the predators attention so that the prey may escape. It then later grows it’s tale back. One less worry in life if it loses that limb lol.

Salamanders are usually small in body with teh exception of the Chinese Giant salamander in which can be up to 6 foot in length and weigh up to 66 pounds.

They come in a variety of colors but the most brightly colored ones are usually a signal to the predator that they are of a poisoness nature if eaten. Some salamanders live in water and some live on land.

Hunting is yet another unique aspect of salamanders. In the lungless salamanders, muscles surrounding the hyoid bone contract to create pressure and actually “shoot” the hyoid bone out of the mouth along with the tongue. The tip of the tongue is composed of a mucus which creates a sticky end to which the prey is captured. Muscles in the pelvic region are used in order to reel the tongue and the hyoid back to its original position. Many of the highly aquatic species, however, have no muscles in the tongue, and do not use it for capturing prey, while most other species have a mobile tongue, but without the adaptations to the hyoid bone. Most species of salamander have small teeth in both the upper and lower jaws. Unlike frogs, even the larvae of salamanders possess these teeth.^[2]

I have always had a love of the sea. I don’t wanna be in it, but on it would be nice. There are so many mysteries to the sea. We will never know everything there is to know about the sea. We don’t live there and are unable to adapt to live under water. So it plucks my curiosity to know what is there that I may never really lay eyes on. Me being an average Jane most likely will never see most of the animals except by way on National Geographic. I love thos magazines and thing every one should look at one regularly or visit there site. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/.

And that brings me too our little known animal today. Styxosaurus. This animal was named after the greek mythological river of Styx that separated the world of the dead (hades kingdom) from the world of the living. Saurus comes from the greek word meaning lizard.

Styxosaurus was a large plesiosaur, one of several species of a group collectively called elasmosaurs that appeared in the Late Cretaceous. Elasmosaurs typically have a neck that is at least half the length of the body, and composed of 60-72 vertebrae. This animal like most snakes swallowed there prey whole. There teeth where made to punture and hold rather than tear and chew.

The top 10 new species list for 2007 has some interesting species found last year. One of which just jumped right out at me. The shockingly pink Dragon Millepede. The species of millepede has a bright pink body with black antenea.  The bright color is thought to warn predators of their toxisity. This insect produces the deadly compound cyanide. They are up to 3 cm in length and are among the largest in their genus. The species was one of many knew species discovered in Thailand by an exploration team led by Dr. Somsake Panha.

Bactrian camel

Bactrian camels have two humps rather than the single hump of their Arabian relatives. The humps function the same way—storing fat which can be converted to water and energy when sustenance is not available. These humps give camels their legendary ability to endure long periods of travel without water, even in harsh desert conditions. As their fat is depleted, the humps become floppy and flabby.

Bactrian camels live not in shifting Sahara sands but in Central and East Asia’s rocky deserts. Temperatures in these locales can become searingly hot—over 100°F (38°C) in summer. Yet they can also drop to –20°F (-29°C) in winter. Bactrian camels have developed special adaptations to allow them to survive in such a brutal environment. One is a thick, shaggy coat that protects them in winter and falls away as seasons change and temperatures rise.

Like Arabian camels, Bactrians rarely sweat, helping them conserve fluids for long periods of time. In winter, plants may yield enough moisture to sustain a camel without water for several weeks.

When camels do refill, however, they soak up water like a sponge. A very thirsty animal can drink 30 gallons (135 liters) of water in only 13 minutes.

Like Arabian camels, Bactrians’ nostrils close to keep sand at bay, and their bushy eyebrows and two rows of long eyelashes protect their eyes. Big, flat footpads help them navigate the rough rocky terrain and shifting desert sands without sinking under their own massive bulk or the weight of heavy packs.

The only truly wild camels that still exist are Bactrian camels. These herds survive in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and China but number less than 1,000.

Slender loris

The slender loris is a small, nocturnal primate found only in the tropical rainforests of Southern India and Sri Lanka. They are able to live in wet and dry forests, as well as lowland and highland forests. They prefer thick, thorny vegetation wherein they can easily escape predators and find the large assortment of insects that is the mainstay of their diet. The Indian government has laws protecting the slender loris, but its effect is difficult to gage.

“Loris” comes from an old Dutch word, “loeris,” which means simpleton or clown.

 A single offspring is born after a gestation period of about 6 months. At birth the young loris is covered with hair, and achieves independence from its mother after about a year.

The slender loris is tail-less, with soft dense fur that is brown in color, with the underside silver-gray. The nose is pointed and the eyes are very large. The ears are round and prominent and hairless at the edge. The hands and feet are both good at grasping with the thumbs and big toes opposable. There are small flat nails on all digits except the second toe, which is reduced and has a specialized grooming claw. Length of head and body about 10 in; weight up to 12.3 oz.