Thegolden jackal (Canis aureus), also called thecommon jackal, is awolf-like canid that is native toEurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller and has shorter legs, a shorter tail, a more elongated torso, a less-prominent forehead, and a narrower and more pointed muzzle than theArabian wolf. It is listed asLeast Concern on theIUCN Red List due to its widespread distribution and high density in areas with plenty of available food and optimum shelter.
Despite its name, the golden jackal is not closely related to the Africanblack-backed jackal or theside-striped jackal, which are part of the genusLupulella. It is instead closer towolves andcoyotes. The ancestor of the golden jackal is believed to be the extinctArno river dog that lived insouthern Europe1.9 million years ago. It is described as having been a small, jackal-like canine. Genetic studies indicate that the golden jackal expanded from India around 20,000 years ago, towards the end of the lastLast Glacial Maximum. The oldest golden jackal fossil, found at theKsar Akil rock shelter nearBeirut, Lebanon, is 7,600 years old. The oldest golden jackal fossils in Europe were found in Greece and are 7,000 years old. There are sixsubspecies of the golden jackal. It is capable of producing fertilehybrids with both the gray wolf and the African wolf.Jackal–dog hybrids calledSulimov dogs are in service at theSheremetyevo Airport near Moscow, where they are deployed by the Russian airlineAeroflot for scent-detection. (Full article...)
A lateral (left side) anatomical diagram of an adult-stage nematodehermaphroditeCaenorhabditis elegans (full size) with emphasis on the digestive and reproductive systems.C. elegans is a free-living, transparentnematode (roundworm) which measures about 1 millimetre (0.039 in) in length. The hermaphrodite form, as seen here, is the most common, although a male form is also found. When self-inseminated, the species will lay about 300 eggs, but when the hermaphrodite is inseminated by a male, the number of progeny can exceed 1,000.
Bolinus cornutus is a predatoryspecies ofsea snail, a marinegastropodmollusk in thefamilyMuricidae. This species is common along the west coast of Africa, where it prefers moderately shallow waters. The shell of the snail is distinctively large, spiny, and club-shaped, usually pale brown or tan in colour, with an elongated and straightsiphonal canal.
TheAtlantic spadefish is a species of marine fishendemic to the shallow waters off the coast of the southeastern United States and in theCaribbean Sea. They are similar in appearance tofresh waterangelfish, but much larger, reaching up to three feet (0.9 m) in length. Due to their reputation as strong fighters, they are populargame 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 familyOrthalicidae. It is native to the Caribbean island ofHispaniola, in the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There have also been at least three reports of living specimens being found in theFlorida Keys of the United States. The snail lives on trees and feeds on moss, fungi and microscopic algae covering the bark.
Brittle stars,serpent stars, orophiuroids (from Latin ophiurus'brittle star'; from Ancient Greekὄφις (óphis)'serpent' and οὐρά (ourá)'tail'; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) areechinoderms in the classOphiuroidea, closely related tostarfish. 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...)
TheOsprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a medium largeraptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution. It is often known by othercolloquial 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 catchfish.
Platyhelminthes (from Ancient Greek πλατύ platy'flat' and ἕλμινς helmins'parasitic worm') is aphylum of relatively simplebilaterian,unsegmented, soft-bodiedinvertebrates commonly calledflatworms orflat worms. Beingacoelomates (having nobody cavity), and having no specialisedcirculatory andrespiratoryorgans, they are restricted to having flattened shapes that allowoxygen and nutrients to pass through their bodies bydiffusion. The digestive cavity has only one opening for both ingestion (intake of nutrients) and egestion (removal of undigested wastes); as a result, thefood can not be processed continuously. (Full article...)
Anatomical diagram of an adult femalechambered nautilus, the best known species ofnautilus, a "living fossil" related to the octopuses. The animal has a primitive brain that forms a ring around itsoesophagus, has four gills (all othercephalopods have only two), and can only move shell-first (seemingly "backwards") by pumping water out through its funnel. The shell and tentacles are shown here as shadows.
Thysanozoon nigropapillosum, the yellow-spotted flatworm, is a species of marineflatworm in the familyPseudocerotidae. The species is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region, where it lives in shallow reef habitats. Flatworms arehermaphrodites, each being able to act as either male or female. As a donor of sperm, it can grip the margin of the recipient's body, using its two penises in a chopstick-like manner, and deposit sperm on the surface of the skin of the recipient, even while it is actively swimming.
This picture shows a yellow-spotted flatworm photographed in Manta Ray Bay, on the island ofYap in the Federated States of Micronesia. The flatworm is seen swimming to the right at a depth of 12 metres (40 ft) by undulating the margins of its body. The pseudotentacles at the front have simple eyes and sensory receptors to enable the flatworm to findtunicates on which it feeds.
TheCommon Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is the largestpossum species and is perhaps the most widespreadmammal in Australia. It grows to about 32–58 cm (13–23 in) in length, with an additional 24–40 cm (9–16 in) for itsprehensile tail (seen here hanging below the branch). It is mainly afolivore, but has been known to eat small mammals such as rats. It is common in cities, having adapted well to human habitation.
Thebrown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a bird of the pelican family,Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. This photograph shows a juvenile brown pelican gliding over the Pacific Ocean atBodega Head, California.
After hatching, the pelican chicks are fed onregurgitated predigested fish and take about two months to fledge. When they leave the nest, they are at first unable to fly and take wing several weeks later. When the parents cease to feed them, some six months later, each will have consumed around 70 kg (150 lb) of fish. The juvenile brown pelican does not acquire adult plumage until three years of age, when the feathers on the neck become paler, the upperparts striped, the wing feathers grayer, and the belly acquires dark spots.
Asoybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines), together with an egg, as viewed through a low-temperaturescanning electron microscope at 1000x magnification. Thisnematode infects the roots of soybeans, and the female nematode eventually becomes acyst. Infection causes various symptoms that may includechlorosis of the leaves and stems, root necrosis, loss in seed yield and suppression of root and shoot growth.
Plate 5 fromErnst Haeckel'sKunstformen der Natur, showing a variety ofcalcareous sponges, aclass of about 400 marinesponges that are found mostly in shallow tropical waters worldwide. Calcareous sponges vary from radially symmetrical vase-shaped body types to colonies made up of a meshwork of thin tubes, or irregular massive forms. The skeleton has either a mesh or honeycomb structure.
Bryozoa (also known as thePolyzoa,Ectoprocta or commonly asmoss animals) are aphylum of simple,aquaticinvertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentarycolonies. Typically about 0.5 millimetres (1⁄64 in) long, they have a special feeding structure called alophophore, a "crown" of tentacles used forfilter feeding. The bryozoans are classified as themarine bryozoans (Stenolaemata),freshwater bryozoans (Phylactolaemata), andmostly-marine bryozoans (Gymnolaemata), a few members of which preferbrackish water. Mostmarine bryozoans live in tropical waters, but a few are found inoceanic trenches and polar waters. 5,869living species of bryozoa are known. Originally all of the crown group Bryozoa were colonial, but as an adaptation to a mesopsammal (interstitial spaces in marine sand) life or to deep-sea habitats, secondarily solitary forms have since evolved. Solitary species have been described in fourgenera:Aethozooides,Aethozoon,Franzenella, andMonobryozoon, the latter having a statocyst-like organ with a supposed excretory function. (Full article...)
The mostarboreal of the great apes, orangutans spend most of their time in trees. They have proportionally long arms and short legs, and have reddish-brown hair covering their bodies. Adult males weigh about 75 kg (165 lb), while females weigh about 37 kg (82 lb).Dominant adult males develop distinctive cheek pads or flanges and make long calls that attract females and intimidate rivals; younger subordinate males do not and more resemble adult females. Orangutans are the most solitary of the great apes: social bonds occur primarily between mothers and their dependent offspring. Fruit is the most important component of an orangutan's diet, but they will also eat vegetation,bark,honey, insects and bird eggs. They can live over 30 years, both in the wild and in captivity. (Full article...)
...thatCaecillians, an order ofamphibians resembling snakes or worms, possess a pair of tentacles, located between their eyes and nostrils which are probably used forolfaction?
Image 13Theblue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived; it can be up to 33.6 metres (110 ft) long. (fromAnimal)
Image 14A brilliantly-colouredoriental sweetlips fish (Plectorhinchus vittatus) waits while two boldly-patternedcleaner 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 thecleaner fish signal their availability forcleaning service, rather than as prey (fromAnimal coloration)
Image 15Thehawk-cuckoo resembles a predatoryshikra, giving the cuckoo time to lay eggs in a songbird's nest unnoticed (fromAnimal coloration)
Image 16The microscopic cave snailZospeum tholussum, found at depths of 743 to 1,392 m (2,438 to 4,567 ft) in theLukina Jama–Trojama cave system ofCroatia, is completely blind with a translucent shell (fromFauna)
Image 25Idealisednephrozoan body plan. With an elongated body and a direction of movement the animal has head and tail ends. Sense organs and mouth form thebasis of the head. Opposed circular and longitudinal muscles enableperistaltic motion. (fromAnimal)
Image 27Agun dog retrieving a duck during a hunt (fromAnimal)
Image 28Apraying mantis indeimatic or threat pose displays conspicuous patches of colour to startle potential predators. This is not warning coloration as the insect is palatable. (fromAnimal coloration)
Image 30The bilaterian gut develops in two ways. In manyprotostomes, the blastopore develops into the mouth, while indeuterostomes it becomes the anus. (fromAnimal)
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 thetaxonomic 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 ofDNA barcoding to taxonomy further complicates this; a 2016 barcoding analysis estimated a total count of nearly 100,000insect species forCanada 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.
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