Named for its pale coloration, it is closely related to the relatively common shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus), but is much larger, averaging between 30 and 60 inches (76 and 152 cm) in length and 85 pounds (39 kg) in weight at maturity. This species takes 15 years to mature and spawns infrequently, but can live up to a century. A member of the sturgeon family, Acipenseridae, which originated during the Cretaceous period 70 million years ago, the pallid sturgeon has changed little since then. (Full article...)
The leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata) is a species of hound shark found along the Pacific coast of North America from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically measuring 1.2–1.5 m (3.9–4.9 ft) long, this slender-bodied shark is characterized by black saddle-like markings and large spots over its back.
The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a medium large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution. It is often known by other colloquial names such as Fish Hawk, Sea Hawk or Fish Eagle.
The Osprey is particularly well adapted to its diet, with reversible outer toes, closable nostrils to keep out water during dives, and backwards facing scales on the talons which act as barbs to help catch fish.
Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (from Latin ophiurus 'brittle star'; from Ancient Greekὄφις (óphis) 'serpent', and οὐρά (ourá) 'tail'; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long, slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to 60 cm (24 in) in length on the largest specimens. (Full article...)
A soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines), together with an egg, as viewed through a low-temperature scanning electron microscope at 1000x magnification. This nematode infects the roots of soybeans, and the female nematode eventually becomes a cyst. Infection causes various symptoms that may include chlorosis of the leaves and stems, root necrosis, loss in seed yield and suppression of root and shoot growth.
The plains zebra (Equus quagga, subspecies Grant's zebra pictured) is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Angola and eastern South Africa. The plains zebra is mid-sized, smaller on average than the other two zebra species, and thick-bodied with relatively short legs. Adults of both sexes can stand from 1.1 to 1.47 m (3.6 to 4.8 ft) high at the shoulder, are 2 to 2.5 m (6.6 to 8.2 ft) long (excluding the tail), and weigh 175 to 387 kg (386 to 853 lb), with males slightly heavier than females.
Cymbiola nobilis is a species of sea snail in the familyVolutidae. Found in the Pacific Ocean, from Taiwan to Singapore, it averages 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in length; females are larger than males. Because the shell is commonly collected, there has been an overharvesting of the snail, and it is now considered vulnerable.
The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, platy, meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), helminth-, meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrates. Unlike other bilaterians, they are acoelomates (having no body cavity), and have no specialized circulatory and respiratoryorgans, which restricts them to having flattened shapes that allow oxygen and nutrients to pass through their bodies by diffusion. The digestive cavity has only one opening for both ingestion (intake of nutrients) and egestion (removal of undigested wastes); as a result, the food cannot be processed continuously. (Full article...)
The common clam worm (Alitta succinea) is a widely distributed species of marine polychaete worm. The photograph shows an epitoke specimen, the worm having turned into a form capable of reproduction. After releasing its sperm or eggs, the animal will die.
Representative dinosaurs of the Hadrosauroideasuperfamily. The familyHadrosauridae contains the dinosaurs commonly known as "duck-billed" dinosaurs. They were ubiquitous herbivores during the Cretaceous period, and prey to theropoda such as Tyrannosaurus. The individual drawings represent typical genera. All these groups were alive in the late Cretaceous, and are generally known only from a single fossil site. Animals are shown to scale.
Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquaticinvertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about 0.5 millimetres (1⁄64 inch) long, they have a special feeding structure called a lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles used for filter feeding. Most marine bryozoans live in tropical waters, but a few are found in oceanic trenches and polar waters. The bryozoans are classified as the marine bryozoans (Stenolaemata), freshwater bryozoans (Phylactolaemata), and mostly-marine bryozoans (Gymnolaemata), a few members of which prefer brackish water. 5,869 living species are known. One genus is solitary; all the rest are colonial. (Full article...)
The Atlantic spadefish is a species of marine fish endemic to the shallow waters off the coast of the southeastern United States and in the Caribbean Sea. They are similar in appearance to fresh waterangelfish, but much larger, reaching up to three feet (0.9 m) in length. Due to their reputation as strong fighters, they are popular game fish, especially during the summer months when they are most active.
Liguus virgineus, also known as the candy cane snail, is a species of snail in the family Orthalicidae. It is native to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There have also been at least three reports of living specimens being found in the Florida Keys of the United States. The snail lives on trees and feeds on moss, fungi and microscopic algae covering the bark.
The golden toad (Bufo periglenes) is an extinct species of true toad that was once abundant in a small region of high-altitude cloud-covered tropical forests, about 30 km2 (12 sq mi) in area, above the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica. The last reported sighting of a golden toad was on 15 May 1989. Its sudden extinction may have been caused by chytrid fungus and extensive habitat loss.
Haliotis laevigata is a species of marine mollusc in the family Haliotidae, endemic to Tasmania and the southern and western coasts of Australia. This picture shows five views of a green H. laevigata shell, 7.5 centimetres (3.0 in) in length. The holes in the shell, characteristic of abalones, are respiratory apertures for venting water from the gills and for releasing sperm and eggs into the water column.
In some countries, it is a legal, competitive activity in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare, rather than a form of hunting aiming at the capture of game. It has a number of variations in its rules around the world. Coursing can also be a form of hunting or pest control. It is a long-established hunting technique, practiced historically in England, especially with greyhounds or sighthound breeds, or with lurchers which are crossbred sighthounds. The sport grew in popularity in Europe during the 19th century, but has since experienced a decline due in part to the introduction of greyhound racing with betting, and animal welfare legislation. (Full article...)
...that Lampreys are called "nine-eyed eels" (i.e., per side) from a counting of their seven external gill slits on a side with one eye and the nostril?
Image 3Idealised bilaterian body plan. With an elongated body and a direction of movement the animal has head and tail ends. Sense organs and mouth form the basis of the head. Opposed circular and longitudinal muscles enable peristaltic motion. (from Animal)
Image 7A brilliantly-coloured oriental sweetlips fish (Plectorhinchus vittatus) waits while two boldly-patterned cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) pick parasites from its skin. The spotted tail and fin pattern of the sweetlips signals sexual maturity; the behaviour and pattern of the cleaner fish signal their availability for cleaning service, rather than as prey (from Animal coloration)
Image 28The microscopic cave snail Zospeum tholussum, found at depths of 743 to 1,392 m (2,438 to 4,567 ft) in the Lukina Jama–Trojama cave system of Croatia, is completely blind with a translucent shell (from Fauna)
Image 33A praying mantis in deimatic or threat pose displays conspicuous patches of colour to startle potential predators. This is not warning coloration as the insect is palatable. (from Animal coloration)
Image 34A gun dog retrieving a duck during a hunt (from Animal)
Image 41The bilaterian gut develops in two ways. In many protostomes, the blastopore develops into the mouth, while in deuterostomes it becomes the anus. (from Animal)
Image 42The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived. (from Animal)
Image 43Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck led the creation of a modern classification of invertebrates, breaking up Linnaeus's "Vermes" into 9 phyla by 1809. (from Animal)
Image 44This frog changes its skin colour to control its temperature. (from Animal coloration)
Image 45The red pigment in a flamingo's plumage comes from its diet of shrimps, which get it from microscopic algae. (from Animal coloration)
Image 46Linnaeus's table of the animal kingdom from the first edition of Systema Naturae (1735) (from Zoology)
The following table lists estimated numbers of described extant species for the animal groups with the largest numbers of species,[1] along with their principal habitats (terrestrial, fresh water,[2] and marine),[3] and free-living or parasitic ways of life.[4] Species estimates shown here are based on numbers described scientifically; much larger estimates have been calculated based on various means of prediction, and these can vary wildly. For instance, around 25,000–27,000 species of nematodes have been described, while published estimates of the total number of nematode species include 10,000–20,000; 500,000; 10 million; and 100 million.[5] Using patterns within the taxonomic hierarchy, the total number of animal species—including those not yet described—was calculated to be about 7.77 million in 2011.[6][7][a]
^The application of DNA barcoding to taxonomy further complicates this; a 2016 barcoding analysis estimated a total count of nearly 100,000 insect species for Canada alone, and extrapolated that the global insect fauna must be in excess of 10 million species, of which nearly 2 million are in a single fly family known as gall midges (Cecidomyiidae).[8]
^Stork, Nigel E. (January 2018). "How Many Species of Insects and Other Terrestrial Arthropods Are There on Earth?". Annual Review of Entomology. 63 (1): 31–45. doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043348. PMID28938083. S2CID23755007. Stork notes that 1m insects have been named, making much larger predicted estimates.
^ abcdNicol, David (June 1969). "The Number of Living Species of Molluscs". Systematic Zoology. 18 (2): 251–254. doi:10.2307/2412618. JSTOR2412618.
^Sluys, R. (1999). "Global diversity of land planarians (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Terricola): a new indicator-taxon in biodiversity and conservation studies". Biodiversity and Conservation. 8 (12): 1663–1681. doi:10.1023/A:1008994925673. S2CID38784755.
.jpg)
_Naggar,_Himachal_Pradesh,_2013_(cropped).JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
