Stan C. Smith's Blog, page 17
November 4, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Rare Softshell Turtle
Did you know the Yangtze giant softshell turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in the world... and is also the most endangered turtle?
There are about 30 species of softshell turtles, which are characterized by having a long neck and a flat, flexible shell. The Yangtze giant softshell, by far the largest, can weigh up to 546 pounds (247 kg).
The Yangtze giant softshell used to live in southeastern China and northern Vietnam. Unfortunately, the species has suffered habitat loss and overhunting to the point of being almost extinct. In fact, only three individuals are known to exist.
One of the three is a captive male turtle in China. A female was spotted in the wild in Vietnam, and In 2020 another individual was thought to be spotted in the same area. There could be a few more that haven't been found.
Can a turtle species with only three known individuals possible avoid extinction? Maybe. If scientists can capture a female, and get the female to mate with the only male in captivity, it's possible the female could lay several hundred eggs.
Photo Credits:
- Yangtze giant softshell turtle - Phuongcacanh at Vietnamese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
There are about 30 species of softshell turtles, which are characterized by having a long neck and a flat, flexible shell. The Yangtze giant softshell, by far the largest, can weigh up to 546 pounds (247 kg).
The Yangtze giant softshell used to live in southeastern China and northern Vietnam. Unfortunately, the species has suffered habitat loss and overhunting to the point of being almost extinct. In fact, only three individuals are known to exist.
One of the three is a captive male turtle in China. A female was spotted in the wild in Vietnam, and In 2020 another individual was thought to be spotted in the same area. There could be a few more that haven't been found.
Can a turtle species with only three known individuals possible avoid extinction? Maybe. If scientists can capture a female, and get the female to mate with the only male in captivity, it's possible the female could lay several hundred eggs.
Photo Credits:
- Yangtze giant softshell turtle - Phuongcacanh at Vietnamese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
October 30, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Enlisted Bear
Did you know a Syrian brown bear named Wojtek was a corporal in the Polish military during World War II? How did such a thing happen? Well, in 1942 some polish soldiers, who were being evacuated from the Soviet Union, bought the bear as a cub at a railway station in Iran. They bought it from a young boy who had found the bear (the bear's mother had been killed by hunters).
At first, the bear had difficulty swallowing food, so the soldiers fed it condensed milk using a vodka bottle. They named the bear Wojtek (pronounced Voy-tek) and eventually started feeding it fruits and honey. Wojtek apparently had a fondness for beer, which the soldiers gave it as a reward. The soldiers grew fond of the bear, but they found it somewhat challenging to provide it with rations and to get permission to transport it. So, they officially enlisted the bear as a soldier, with the rank of private. Wojtek was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company.
Wojtek was promoted to corporal due to his efforts during the Battle of Monte Cassino. As the story goes, Wojtek carried crates of ammunition by himself that normally required four men to carry.
After the war Wojtek spent the rest of his life at the Edinburgh Zoo.
Photo Credits:
- Wojtek the bear - Imperial War Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At first, the bear had difficulty swallowing food, so the soldiers fed it condensed milk using a vodka bottle. They named the bear Wojtek (pronounced Voy-tek) and eventually started feeding it fruits and honey. Wojtek apparently had a fondness for beer, which the soldiers gave it as a reward. The soldiers grew fond of the bear, but they found it somewhat challenging to provide it with rations and to get permission to transport it. So, they officially enlisted the bear as a soldier, with the rank of private. Wojtek was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company.
Wojtek was promoted to corporal due to his efforts during the Battle of Monte Cassino. As the story goes, Wojtek carried crates of ammunition by himself that normally required four men to carry.
After the war Wojtek spent the rest of his life at the Edinburgh Zoo.
Photo Credits:
- Wojtek the bear - Imperial War Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
October 27, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Thieving Pea Crab
Did you know the tiny pea crab spends its entire life inside a clam or oyster shell? The pea crab (Pinnotheres pisum), which is about the size of a pea, is considered a kleptoparasite because it steals food and oxygen from its host. As the oyster or clam filters food from the water, the pea crab steals a portion of the food. The crab also gets a safe home to live in.
Pea crabs often choose an oyster or clam as a host, but sometimes they live inside a sand dollar, in the tube of a parchment worm, or in the rectum of a sea cucumber. Sure, a sea cucumber's rectum doesn't sound like a desirable apartment, but the rent is affordable.
Interestingly, male pea crabs remain free-swimming their entire lives. It is the females that are kleptoparasites.
If you are eating seafood and find a pea crab inside one of your oysters, don't be grossed out. Pea crabs are considered a delicacy. Not only that, finding a pea crab in your oyster is considered good luck!
Photo Credits:
- Pea crab - Kikkiwikiwaki, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pea crabs often choose an oyster or clam as a host, but sometimes they live inside a sand dollar, in the tube of a parchment worm, or in the rectum of a sea cucumber. Sure, a sea cucumber's rectum doesn't sound like a desirable apartment, but the rent is affordable.
Interestingly, male pea crabs remain free-swimming their entire lives. It is the females that are kleptoparasites.
If you are eating seafood and find a pea crab inside one of your oysters, don't be grossed out. Pea crabs are considered a delicacy. Not only that, finding a pea crab in your oyster is considered good luck!
Photo Credits:
- Pea crab - Kikkiwikiwaki, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
October 22, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Big Predator Whale
Did you know sperm whales are the largest predators in the world? Yes, blue whales are larger than sperm whales, and blue whales do indeed eat animals, in the form of plankton. But blue whales aren't considered predators because they filter plankton from the water instead of hunting individual animals.
Sperm whales, on the other hand, are the largest toothed animals, and they dive as deep as 9,800 feet (3,000 m) to hunt stingrays, octopuses, and giant squid. By the way, giant squid are themselves fierce predators, and they fight back, often leaving large round sucker scars on the bodies of sperm whales.
Sperm whales can grow to 68 feet (20.7 m) long and weigh 90,000 pounds (41,000 kg).
Oh, and they look kind of like a swimming hotdog.
Photo Credits:
- Sperm Whale - DepositPhotos
Sperm whales, on the other hand, are the largest toothed animals, and they dive as deep as 9,800 feet (3,000 m) to hunt stingrays, octopuses, and giant squid. By the way, giant squid are themselves fierce predators, and they fight back, often leaving large round sucker scars on the bodies of sperm whales.
Sperm whales can grow to 68 feet (20.7 m) long and weigh 90,000 pounds (41,000 kg).
Oh, and they look kind of like a swimming hotdog.
Photo Credits:
- Sperm Whale - DepositPhotos
October 17, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Horny Rhinoceros
Did you know a rhinoceros's horn is made of keratin, the same protein found in human fingernails and hair? Perhaps you have read the common but incorrect report that a rhino's horn is made of compressed hair. Nope, a rhino's horn contains no hair-like fibers. Instead, it grows in layers of specialized skin cells. These cells fill with keratin and become inert and solid. Kind of like a horse's hoof, or a turtle's beak.
Rhino horns continue to grow several centimeters per year throughout the animal's life. You might think rhino horns naturally grow in a cone shape, but they actually grow like a cylinder. The pointed cone shape is a result of the rhino constantly scraping the horn against rocks, trees, and the ground, as well as fighting with other rhinos.
Here's a bonus rhino fact. Rhinos communicate using their poop. How? Rhinos often tend to poop and urinate in the same location as other rhinos—a place called a latrine. Rhino's have a keen sense of smell, and when a rhino goes to a latrine, it can smell the poop and urine of others and therefore learn who else is in the area.
Photo Credits:
- Rhinoceros - DepositPhotos
Rhino horns continue to grow several centimeters per year throughout the animal's life. You might think rhino horns naturally grow in a cone shape, but they actually grow like a cylinder. The pointed cone shape is a result of the rhino constantly scraping the horn against rocks, trees, and the ground, as well as fighting with other rhinos.
Here's a bonus rhino fact. Rhinos communicate using their poop. How? Rhinos often tend to poop and urinate in the same location as other rhinos—a place called a latrine. Rhino's have a keen sense of smell, and when a rhino goes to a latrine, it can smell the poop and urine of others and therefore learn who else is in the area.
Photo Credits:
- Rhinoceros - DepositPhotos
October 13, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Enormous Spider Crab
Did you know the Japanese spider crab has the longest leg span of any arthropod? Arthropods include insects, crustaceans (including crabs), spiders, and other animals with a chitinous exoskeleton.
These amazing crabs grow 12.5 feet (3.8 m) across (from the tips of their legs), and they weigh up to 42 pounds (19 kg). They live in deep water on the Pacific side of Japan, with a life span of up to 100 years (maybe the longest life of any crab species). These crabs are scavengers, and in spite of their massive size, they are docile and harmless to humans.
Because they live in really deep water, and their exoskeletons are covered with tough spines, they have few natural predators as adults.
A female Japanese spider crab lays about 1.5 million eggs each season. However, the newly hatched young are extremely small, and swim freely as plankton. Out of 1.5 million eggs, it is thought that only a few actually survive to be adults.
Here is a live video feed from a Japanese Spider crab enclosure at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Photo Credits:
- Japanese spider crab - TypeZero, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
These amazing crabs grow 12.5 feet (3.8 m) across (from the tips of their legs), and they weigh up to 42 pounds (19 kg). They live in deep water on the Pacific side of Japan, with a life span of up to 100 years (maybe the longest life of any crab species). These crabs are scavengers, and in spite of their massive size, they are docile and harmless to humans.
Because they live in really deep water, and their exoskeletons are covered with tough spines, they have few natural predators as adults.
A female Japanese spider crab lays about 1.5 million eggs each season. However, the newly hatched young are extremely small, and swim freely as plankton. Out of 1.5 million eggs, it is thought that only a few actually survive to be adults.
Here is a live video feed from a Japanese Spider crab enclosure at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Photo Credits:
- Japanese spider crab - TypeZero, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
October 6, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Ginormous Dragonfly
Did you know the largest insect to ever live was a dragonfly with a wingspan of 2.5 feet (75 cm)?
This extinct insect, called Meganeuropsis permiana, lived during the Permian period, about 290 million years ago, in the area we now think of as the Midwest United States. The first high-quality fossil of one was found in 1939 in Elmo, Kansas.
That happens to be 50 miles (80 km) from where I grew up (I know, a useless tidbit of information).
You may know that today's dragonflies are predators, feeding on other insects like mosquitoes. Meganeuropsis was also a predator, both in the larva stage and as a flying adult. But it could handle much larger prey, including small reptiles and amphibians.
The only known predator of Meganeuropsis was the giant amphibian called Proterogyrinus, which was eight feet (2.5 m) long. Below is an accurate model of Meganeuropsis.
Photo Credits:
- Meganeuropsis drogonfly model - Werner Kraus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This extinct insect, called Meganeuropsis permiana, lived during the Permian period, about 290 million years ago, in the area we now think of as the Midwest United States. The first high-quality fossil of one was found in 1939 in Elmo, Kansas.
That happens to be 50 miles (80 km) from where I grew up (I know, a useless tidbit of information).
You may know that today's dragonflies are predators, feeding on other insects like mosquitoes. Meganeuropsis was also a predator, both in the larva stage and as a flying adult. But it could handle much larger prey, including small reptiles and amphibians.
The only known predator of Meganeuropsis was the giant amphibian called Proterogyrinus, which was eight feet (2.5 m) long. Below is an accurate model of Meganeuropsis.
Photo Credits:
- Meganeuropsis drogonfly model - Werner Kraus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
September 29, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Lazy Dormouse
Did you know the European edible dormouse can hibernate for over 11 months of the year? This rodent is larger than most dormice, and it is common throughout most of Europe and into western Asia. The edible portion of its name came from the Romans, who considered it a culinary delicacy.
The edible dormouse normally hibernates for about six months each year, depending on the climatic conditions. However, when conditions get harsh, and food scarce, they can hibernate for over 11 months. Even during the months when the edible dormouse is not hibernating, it is active only about 200 minutes each day.
Wait... let's think about this. During a normal year, an edible dormouse is active only six months, and only 200 minutes each day. There are about 525,600 minutes (8,760 hours) in a year. But the dormouse is only active 200 minutes per day for six months, which totals 36,000 minutes (600 hours). So, that means, in a normal year, the dormouse is active only 6.8% of the entire year!
And in a stressful year, when they hibernate 11 months, they are active only 100 hours the entire year. That's only 1.14% of the year.
Lazy little suckers. Or, maybe they've figured out how to live the good life.
Photo Credits:
- Edible dormouse - DepositPhotos
The edible dormouse normally hibernates for about six months each year, depending on the climatic conditions. However, when conditions get harsh, and food scarce, they can hibernate for over 11 months. Even during the months when the edible dormouse is not hibernating, it is active only about 200 minutes each day.
Wait... let's think about this. During a normal year, an edible dormouse is active only six months, and only 200 minutes each day. There are about 525,600 minutes (8,760 hours) in a year. But the dormouse is only active 200 minutes per day for six months, which totals 36,000 minutes (600 hours). So, that means, in a normal year, the dormouse is active only 6.8% of the entire year!
And in a stressful year, when they hibernate 11 months, they are active only 100 hours the entire year. That's only 1.14% of the year.
Lazy little suckers. Or, maybe they've figured out how to live the good life.
Photo Credits:
- Edible dormouse - DepositPhotos
September 24, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Fast Ant
Did you know the Dracula ant is the fastest moving animal on Earth? No, they don't run fast, but researchers have recently found that they can snap their jaws shut at 200 miles per hour (322 km/hr).
Here's how it works. Think about what happens when you snap your fingers. You press your finger against your thumb until it builds up a lot of pressure. Then, when you force your finger past your thumb, it moves really fast, striking the pad of your palm with a slapping sound. Now picture your finger moving 1,000 times faster, and you'll appreciate the speed of the Dracula ant's jaws.
The ant simply pushes its large jaws together so hard that one of them bends, kind of like a spring. Finally, the pressure becomes so great that the bent jaw slips past the other jaw and shoots to the side with astounding speed. Five thousand times faster than the blink of an eye.
Why the name Dracula ant? It comes from the way they sometimes suck the blood from their own young. Don't worry, this doesn't harm the babies. It's a form of non-destructive cannibalism. The parents cannot eat solid food, so they feed prey animals to their larvae, then they chew a hole in the side of the larvae and drink their blood. I know... it's weird. Scientists call this feeding arrangement a "social stomach."
Here's how it works. Think about what happens when you snap your fingers. You press your finger against your thumb until it builds up a lot of pressure. Then, when you force your finger past your thumb, it moves really fast, striking the pad of your palm with a slapping sound. Now picture your finger moving 1,000 times faster, and you'll appreciate the speed of the Dracula ant's jaws.
The ant simply pushes its large jaws together so hard that one of them bends, kind of like a spring. Finally, the pressure becomes so great that the bent jaw slips past the other jaw and shoots to the side with astounding speed. Five thousand times faster than the blink of an eye.
Why the name Dracula ant? It comes from the way they sometimes suck the blood from their own young. Don't worry, this doesn't harm the babies. It's a form of non-destructive cannibalism. The parents cannot eat solid food, so they feed prey animals to their larvae, then they chew a hole in the side of the larvae and drink their blood. I know... it's weird. Scientists call this feeding arrangement a "social stomach."
September 18, 2022
Awesome Animal Fact - Abundant Nematodes
Did you know that, for every human on Earth, there are 60 billion roundworms? That's billion with a B. And these are just the ones that live in the earth's topsoil. Roundworms, also called nematodes, make up a diverse phylum of animals. some of them are parasites, but many more are free-living creatures that have adapted to almost every habitat on Earth. If you went outside and drew a one-meter square on top of the soil, that square would likely contain over a million living nematodes. Several hundred per teaspoon of soil.
If you just consider total numbers of individuals, nematodes make up 80% of the animals on this planet.
If roundworms are so abundant, why do we not think about them and talk about them more often? Well, nematologists talk about them all the time, but the rest of us not so much. Probably because most of these gazillions of roundworms are quite small—out of sight, out of mind. Most of them are about 1/500 of an inch (50 µm) in diameter and 1/20 of an inch (1 mm) long.
What do all these nematodes do in the soil? Some gobble up bacteria for entertainment. Others prefer feeding on fungi, and still others are predators, attacking protists as well as other animals, including other nematodes.
The next time you scoop up a handful of soil in your hand, remember that it contains an entire world of little critters going about their daily business.
Photo Credits:
- Nematodes - DepositPhotos
If you just consider total numbers of individuals, nematodes make up 80% of the animals on this planet.
If roundworms are so abundant, why do we not think about them and talk about them more often? Well, nematologists talk about them all the time, but the rest of us not so much. Probably because most of these gazillions of roundworms are quite small—out of sight, out of mind. Most of them are about 1/500 of an inch (50 µm) in diameter and 1/20 of an inch (1 mm) long.
What do all these nematodes do in the soil? Some gobble up bacteria for entertainment. Others prefer feeding on fungi, and still others are predators, attacking protists as well as other animals, including other nematodes.
The next time you scoop up a handful of soil in your hand, remember that it contains an entire world of little critters going about their daily business.
Photo Credits:
- Nematodes - DepositPhotos
