The common toad, also known as European toad or simply the toad in Anglophone parts of Europe (Bufo bufo, from Latinbufo "toad"), is a toad found throughout most of Europe (excluding Iceland, Ireland, parts of Scandinavia, and some Mediterranean islands), western North Asia and a small part of Northwest Africa. It belongs to a group of closely related species descended from a common ancestral line of toads and forming a species complex. The toad is an inconspicuous animal, usually lying hidden during the day. It becomes active at dusk, hunting the invertebrates on which it feeds at night. It moves with a slow, ungainly walk or by jumping short distances, and has greyish-brown skin covered with wart-like lumps.
Although toads are usually solitary animals, large numbers of them converge on certain breeding ponds during the breeding season, where the males compete to mate with the females. The females lay their eggs in gelatinous strings in the water, which later hatch into tadpoles. After several months of growth and development, the tadpoles sprout limbs and undergo metamorphosis to become tiny toads. The juveniles then leave the water and remain largely terrestrial for the rest of their lives. (Full article...)
The 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 (1⁄64in) long, they have a special feeding structure called a lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles used for filter feeding. The bryozoa are classified as the marine bryozoa (Stenolaemata), freshwater bryozoa (Phylactolaemata), and mostly-marine bryozoa (Gymnolaemata), a few members of which prefer brackish water. Most marine bryozoans live in tropical waters, but a few are found in oceanic 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. Five genera are solitary: Aethozooides, Aethozoon, Franzenella, Solella, which together make up the family Aethozoidae, and Monobryozoon, which has a statocyst-like organ with a supposed excretory function. (Full article...)
Platyhelminthes (fromAncient Greekπλατύ (platy)'flat'andἕλμινς (helmins)'parasitic worm') is a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrates commonly called flatworms or flat worms. Being acoelomates (having no body cavity), and having no specialised circulatory and respiratoryorgans, they are restricted 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 can not be processed continuously. (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.
Plate 5 from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, showing a variety of calcareous sponges, a class of about 400 marine sponges 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.
The brown 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 at Bodega Head, California.
After hatching, the pelican chicks are fed on regurgitated 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 70kg (150lb) 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.
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.
Thysanozoon nigropapillosum, the yellow-spotted flatworm, is a species of marine flatworm in the family Pseudocerotidae. The species is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region, where it lives in shallow reef habitats. Flatworms are hermaphrodites, 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 of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. The flatworm is seen swimming to the right at a depth of 12 metres (40ft) by undulating the margins of its body. The pseudotentacles at the front have simple eyes and sensory receptors to enable the flatworm to find tunicates on which it feeds.
Cymbiola nobilis is a species of sea snail in the familyVolutidae. Found in the Pacific Ocean, from Taiwan to Singapore, it averages 6 centimetres (2.4in) 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.
Corals are marine invertebrates that typically live in compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in length. Corals are major contributors to the physical structure of the coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef, where this photograph was taken. Coral reefs are under threat globally from ocean acidification and climate change.
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 1.47m (3.6 to 4.8ft) high at the shoulder, are 2 to 2.5m (6.6 to 8.2ft) long (excluding the tail), and weigh 175 to 387kg (386 to 853lb), with males slightly heavier than females.
A macro view of a Gonia capitatafly feeding on honey, showing its proboscis and pedipalps (the two appendages protruding from the proboscis), two types of insect mouthparts. The proboscis actually comprises the labium, a quadrupedal structure, and a sponge-like labellum at the end. Flies eat solid food by secreting saliva and dabbing it over the food item. As the saliva dissolves the food, the solution is then drawn up into the mouth as a liquid. The labellum's surface is covered by minute food channels which form a tube leading to the esophagus, and food is drawn up the channels by capillary action.
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 (fromLatin ophiurus'brittle star'; fromAncient Greekὄφις (óphis)'serpent'andοὐρά (ourá)'tail'; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea. 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 60cm (24in) in length on the largest specimens. (Full article...)
The eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) is a marsupial found in the eastern third of Australia, with a population of several million. The eastern grey kangaroo is the second largest living marsupial and native land mammal in Australia, with adult males weighing around 50 to 66kg (110 to 146lb) and females weighing around 17 to 40kg (37 to 88lb). Like all kangaroos, it is mainly nocturnal and crepuscular, and is mostly seen early in the morning, or as the light starts to fade in the evening. In the middle of the day, kangaroos rest in the cover of the woodlands and graze there. Kangaroos are the only large mammals to hop on two legs as their primary means of locomotion. This multiple exposure photograph shows an eastern grey kangaroo hopping in Mount Annan, New South Wales.
The coconut octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) is a medium-sized cephalopod found in tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean. It commonly preys upon shrimp, crabs, and clams, and displays unusual behaviour, including bipedal walking and gathering and using coconut shells and seashells for shelter.
Procyonidae is a family of mammals in the orderCarnivora, which includes raccoons, coatis, olingos, kinkajous, ring-tailed cats, and cacomistles, and many other extant and extinct mammals. A member of this family is called a procyonid. They are native to North and South America, though the common raccoon has been introduced to Europe, western Asia, and Japan. Procyonid habitats are generally forests, though some are found in shrublands and grasslands as well. The ring-tailed cat has a varied range including rocky areas and deserts as well as forests, and the common raccoon is widespread in urban environments. Species range in size from around 30–65cm (12–26in) long, plus a tail generally as long again. Population sizes are largely unknown, though the Cozumel raccoon is critically endangered, with around 200 individuals left, and the Eastern mountain coati is endangered. No procyonid species have been domesticated, although raccoons are sometimes kept as pets.
The fourteen species of Procyonidae are split into six genera, which are not currently grouped into named clades. Procyonidae is believed to have diverged as a separate family within Carnivora around 22.6million years ago. In addition to the extant species, Procyonidae includes doxens of extinct species placed in the six extant and nineteen extinct genera, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed. (Full article...)
...that Caecillians, an order of amphibians resembling snakes or worms, possess a pair of tentacles, located between their eyes and nostrils which are probably used for olfaction?
The following are images from various animal-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived; it can be up to 33.6 metres (110ft) long. (from Animal)
Image 2A 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 3The red pigment in a flamingo's plumage comes from its diet of shrimps, which get it from microscopic algae. (from Animal coloration)
Image 4Butterfly wing at different magnifications reveals microstructured chitin acting as diffraction grating. (from Animal coloration)
Image 5A clade representation of seven dog breeds in relation to wolves. (from Zoology)
Image 20Idealised nephrozoan 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 26A 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 27Fish and frog melanophores are cells that can change colour by dispersing or aggregating pigment-containing bodies. (from Animal coloration)
Image 38The microscopic cave snail Zospeumtholussum, found at depths of 743 to 1,392m (2,438 to 4,567ft) in the Lukina Jama–Trojama cave system of Croatia, is completely blind with a translucent shell (from Fauna)
Image 39Animals are unique in having the ball of cells of the early embryo (1) develop into a hollow ball or blastula (2). (from Animal)
Image 40A gun dog retrieving a duck during a hunt (from Animal)
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.
1234Nicol, 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.
_05.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
_Mount_Annan_composite_of_6.jpg){kind=small}
_on_Bohadschia_argus_(Sea_cucumber).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_Naggar%2C_Himachal_Pradesh%2C_2013_(cropped).JPG)
.png)
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg)
Commons
Wikidata
Wikiquote
Wikisource
Wikispecies
Wikiversity
Wiktionary
