Interesting facts about Seahorse

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Subclass: Neopterygii

Infraclass: Teleostei

Order: Syngnathiformes

Family: Syngnathidae

Subfamily: Hippocampinae

Genus: Hippocampus

Interesting facts about Seahorse

1. Each eye can move independently.
2. International protection was provided to seahorses on May 15th, 2004.
3. Seahorses differ in color, some are orange, red, yellow, green and even grey.
4. Zebra stripes and spots, are two patterns that seahorses come in.
5. A herd, is the term a group of seahorses are known as.
6. Seahorses have an interior skeleton.
7. Seahorses are unable to curl their tail backwards.
8. Seahorses belong to the Teleost suborder or bony fish group.
9. The average lifespan of a seahorse in the wild is estimated to be 1 to 5 years.
10. Seahorses beat their dorsal fins back and forth to propel themselves through the water in an upright position.
11. The pectoral fins are used to control steering and turning.
12. The food that seahorses eat pass into their digestive systems very quickly as they do not have a stomach and teeth. As the digestion procedure in seahorses is so quick they need to constantly eat to live.
13. Daphnia, cyclops, larvae or mysids are small living things that seahorses feed on.
14. A seahorse that is two weeks old can consume 3000 to 4000 brine shrimp in a day.
15. Seahorses have a single mate for life. Every morning, they come together, dance, change their color, twirl around with linked tails and then separate for the rest of the day.
16. While mating, seahorses utter musical sounds.
17. Mating is usually done under a full moon.
18. Seahorses are the only animals in the entire animal kingdom in which the male has babies. The female seahorse deposits the eggs into the male's small pouch, these eggs are then fertilized by the male.
19. These little creatures are at risk because about twenty-five million of them are being traded around the world, in a span of a year.

Interesting facts about Scallop

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Mollusca

Class: Bivalvia

Order: Ostreoida

Suborder: Pectinina

Superfamily: Pectinoidea

Family: Pectinidae

Interesting facts about Scallop

Has 100 eyes around the edge of the shell. These eyes are probably used to detect shadows of predators such as the starfish.

Interesting facts about Platypus

Classification of Platypus

Binomial Name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Monotremata

Family: Ornithorhynchidae

Genus: Ornithorhynchus

Species: O. anatinus

Length (males): 50 cm (20 in)

Length (females): 43 cm (17 in)

Weight: 700 g to 2.4 kg (1.54 to 5.3 lb)

Tail: 13 cm (5 in)

Age: Around 12 years

Natural Habitat: Eastern Australia, including Tasmania.

Diet: Carnivorous

Gestation Period: Around 28 days

Number of Eggs: 1-3

Interesting facts about Platypus

1. Has electric sensors in its bill that can detect 0.05 microvolts. Other receptors in the bill are for touch and temperature detection.
2. The cochlea of the inner ear is coiled only a quarter of a turn. In man, the cochlea is coiled about 2.7 times.
3. A platypus swims with its eyes, ears and nostrils shut. It propels forward with the help of its forefeet. The hind feet are used for the purpose of brakes and steering.
4. When a platypus is on land, it turns back the webs on its front feet, in order to reveal broad nails that help it in walking.
5. A platypus feeds on flies, small shrimps, worms, insect larvae and small aquatic creatures.
6. Platypuses locate their prey with the help of electric signals from their bodies, with sensors on their bill.
7. Platypuses mate in the water. However, the female lays the eggs on land, in a breeding burrow up to 20m long.
8. The female platypus lays 1 to 3 eggs, which she incubates between her abdomen and tail.
9. Since the female platypus does not have nipples, its young ones suck milk from patches on the abdomen.
10. A platypus must consume at least one quarter of its body weight each day. This is why; it spends around 12 hrs every day looking for food.
11. Platypuses have been classified as "near threatened" by IUCN and are named on its Red List. The main reason for this is their susceptibility to water pollution.
12. Platypus is one of the few venomous mammals. The male platypus can delivers a poison, causing severe pain to humans, through a spur on its hind foot.
13. Platypuses live near freshwater rivers or lakes and create burrows for shelter and protection.
14. A platypus has a flat furry tail that stores fats for the winter season. The tail is also used as a rudder for steering.

Interesting facts about Pigeon

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Columbiformes

Family: Columbidae

Species: 300

Diet: Seeds, Fruits, Insects, etc.

Natural Habitat: All around the earth, except the driest and coldest regions

Number of Offspring: 2 eggs

Age: 10 - 15 years

Age of Sexual Maturity: As early as 6 months of age

Interesting facts about Pigeon

1. All domestic pigeons have one common ancestor, which is the Rock Dove Pigeon.
2. Pigeons are known to survive for almost 10-15 years in their natural habitats. The longest recorded life-span of a pigeon was around 33 years!
3. Pigeons and doves are known to produce crop milk, which they use to feed their young ones. It contains a highly nutritious amount of protein and fat and is produced by both male and female.
4. The famous dove of the Noah’s ark was actually a homing pigeon. It has been long since regarded as a symbol of life and is considered to be a religious symbol.
5. Pigeons have been domesticated since times immemorial and have used to transport small messages across long distances. In fact, famous leaders of the past like Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, etc. have used pigeons to get important messages across long distances.
6. Pigeons are also bred for racing and can clock upto speeds ranging between 60 - 80 miles per hour. They can fly upto 80 to 600 miles in one single day.
7. A research recently established that trained pigeons were more than twice as reliable as humans and much swift in spotting red and yellow jackets floating on water and thus could be efficient life-savers.
8. With eyes mounted laterally on their heads, pigeons can view 340 degrees...everywhere except in back of their heads.
9. Can detect sounds as low as 0.1 Hz.

Interesting facts about Pig

1. Tongue contains 15,000 taste buds. For comparison, the human tongue has 9,000 taste buds.
2. Pigs were domesticated around 7,000 BC. They were the first animals to ever be used domestically.
3. A pig can run a 7 minute mile.
4. The scream of a frightened pig can measure 115 decibels.
5. A female pig is called a sow, while the male is called boar. The baby of a pig is called piglet.
6. A full grown pig can drink up to 14 gallons of water a day.
7. Pigs are also fantastic swimmers, which is quite surprising considering the structure of their bodies.
8. The most amount of piglets born in a single litter was 34.
9. Pigs are the only mammals that exist in every part of the world.
10. Pigs can live up to 15 years they have an acute sense of smell, excellent hearing and eyesight.
11. Eight major pig breeds are commonly used for breeding in the United States:Berkshire, Duroc, Hampshire, Poland China, Spot, Chester White, Landrance, and Yorkshire.
12. A pig can’t look up at the sky.
13. Pigs don’t sweat.
14. Pigs are often regarded by scientists as being the most intelligent of livestock.

42 Interesting facts about Penguin

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Infraclass:Neognathae

Order: Sphenisciformes

Family: Spheniscidae

Interesting facts about Penguin

1. Has a flat cornea that allows for clear vision underwater. Penguins can also see into the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
2. They make use of their flippers and head to talk to other penguins.
3. They feed on fish, cephalopods and krill.
4. Penguins swallow their food as a whole.
5. They have a variety of bill shapes.
6. Giant petrels and leopard seals are enemies of penguins.
7. They also call, blow and preen.
8. Penguins are birds that cannot fly.
9. They are great swimmers and divers.
10. Their wings work as paddle for swimming.
11. The torpedo shape of their body helps them swim at high speeds.
12. They can also waddle on land.
13. Penguins have two eggs.
14. They are born with a gland closer to their breaks.
15. When they saltwater, water passes by and salt is stored in the glands.
16. When the salt storage completely fills the gland, penguins go to a rock and knock his beak. This allows him to empty the salt content.
17. Male penguins take care of their chicks.
18. Parents take turns warming the egg.
19. Female penguins go for searching foods.
20. In cold places, males balance eggs on their feet and cover with belly flap to keep them warm.
21. They usually move within groups.
22. They eat snow as a source of fresh water.
23. They take small naps in the water.
24. Penguins don't fly, they swim.
25. Penguins lay eggs.
26. They are warm blooded like humans.
27. When mothers lose a chick, they steal another mother’s chick.
28. They are mostly found below the equator.
29. Penguin chicks have fluffy feathers.
30. Penguins have short legs and no knees.
31. They have good arrangement of bones in hand. This makes them flexible.
32. Their knees and upper legs are covered with feathers.
33. Their feathers are short, overlapping and tightly packed.
34. They are often black and white in color.
35. Some species have yellow feathers.
36. When the salt storage completely fills the gland, penguins go to a rock and knock his beak. This allows him to empty the salt content.
37. Male penguins take care of their chicks.
38. In cold places, males balance eggs on their feet and cover with belly flap to keep them warm.
39. They bite fiercely to defend themselves and their nests.
40. Penguins use sign language to communicate with each other.
41. Penguins use sign language to communicate with each other.
42. They make use of their flippers and head to talk to other penguins

Interesting facts about Octopus

1. Retina contains 20 million photoreceptors.
2. The eye has a flicker fusion frequency of 70/sec in bright light.
3. The pupil of the eye is rectangular.
4. Octopus has chemoreceptors (taste receptors) on the suckers of their tentacles. By tasting this way, an octopus does not have to leave the safety of its home.

Interesting facts about Moth

1. Noctuid Moth has a hearing range between 1,000 and 240,000 Hz.
2. Emperor Moth can detect pheromones up to 5 km. distant.
3. Silkworm Moth can detect pheromones up to 11 km. distant. This moth can detect pheromones in concentrations as low as 1 molecule of pheromone per 1017 molecules of air. A receptor cell can respond to a single molecule of the pheromone called bombykol and 200 molecules can cause a behavioral response.

Interesting facts about Fly

1. Each eye has 3,000 lenses. (Simmons and Young, 1999)
2. Eye has a flicker fusion rate of 300/sec. Humans have a flicker fusion rate of only 60/sec in bright light and 24/sec in dim light. The flicker fusion rate is the frequency with which the "flicker" of an image cannot be distinguished as an individual event. Like the frame of a movie...if you slowed it down, you would see individual frames. Speed it up and you see a constantly moving image.
3. The small parasitic fly (Ormia ochracea) can locate sounds within a range of only 2o of the midline. (Mason et al., Nature, 410:686-690, 2001)
4. Blowflies taste with 3,000 sensory hairs on their feet.