Cool Animals

[Racoon]

Lemurs!

 

These dudes are really cool

Too bad they are disappearing so fast, thanks to humans...:evil:

 

Lemurs are the predecessor of monkeys and apes :thumbs_do and are important creatures of evolution.

The got cute long tails and big bright eyes! Plus these guys can jump!

They are found on Madagascar, the 4th largest island...

 

This first link has some really awesome photos,

 

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/lemur.htm

 

http://www.bushhouse-madagascar.com/lemurs.html

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur

[Cedars]

Ants must be mentioned in this thread. While they can be irritating when you get invaded by the hungry crew, the other aspects of their lives are interesting.

 

Some raise crops.

Some raise livestock.

Some go to war.

Some take slaves.

Their tunnels and excavations are a marvel of enginering.

Some build bridges of themselves and allow the others to cross waters, climb heights, etc.

 

Lots of info:

http://www.antweb.org/world.jsp

 

http://antbase.org/

 

 

Pics and more:

http://www.vwitte.de/work/gallery.htm

 

If its a project you want to do:

http://www.infiniteworld.org/ant/model/

[Racoon]

I've always been fascinated with ants! As kids, we'd ride our bikes through the local forest trails and stop to poke the ant nests with sticks; Then run away when they got mad! :shrug:

 

Nice post Cedars! Ants are cool and amazing...

[Racoon]

Ants must be mentioned in this thread.

Lots of info:

http://www.antweb.org/world.jsp

 

http://antbase.org/

Pics and more:

http://www.vwitte.de/work/gallery.htm

 

If its a project you want to do:

http://www.infiniteworld.org/ant/model/

 

new page...:shrug:

didn't want people to miss these links!

[InfiniteNow]

There are plenty of

uncool

humans.

And there are uncool plataplurals too... Like Larry. He was the type of platapus that would just put tacks under the feet of his platapus friends. He'd push them into barbed wire and all manner of other things.

 

Then, there was the uncool wolverine, Quagmire. He was a bit of a book worm, and the other wolverines would laugh at him in the locker room showers.

 

Then there was the uncool snow leopard, Sally. She had skin problems and was really good at math. All the other snow leopards would say she looked like a zebra.

 

Also, there was Ickibod... the poison dart frog who wasn't poisonous... Yeah, the parents were real proud of him, let me tell you. If nothing else, at least he had is good friend Spike, the bald porcupine. They would get drunk together often and commiserate.

 

And absolutely nobody liked Allison the aardvark... she was vegetarian, and detested the idea of eating termites. There was also this one bobcat that was so uncool he went by the name of Robertcat... :shrug:

[Racoon]

And there are uncool plataplurals too... Like Larry.

Then, there was the uncool wolverine, Quagmire.

And absolutely nobody liked Allison the aardvark... :)

 

:evil: :cup:

You should write fairytales and childern's books!

 

Meanwhile, quit jacking this thread...:shrug:

This is hard-core Earth Science and Zoology ! :omg:

 

Humans have enough of their own threads.

[Racoon]

Giant Tortoise

 

Found on the Galapagos Islands, (These Islands are named after the Giant Tortoise in fact), these big guys were studied by Charles Darwin. Hmmm... That name sounds familiar!

 

They can get up to 4 feet long and weigh 400 pounds! :shrug:

 

Check out these slow and steady blokes!

 

http://ladywildlife.com/animal/gianttortoise1.htm

 

http://www.gct.org/tortoise.html

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldabra_Giant_Tortoise

[Racoon]

Black Mambas

 

Now most snakes are really cool! Especially the deadly ones. Unless you get bit that is...:QuestionM

 

The Black Mamba is not only super lethal, but super quick too! Its the fastest snake, and the second longest poisonous one! :QuestionM It can reach speeds of 12 miles an hour, and can easily climb trees; but usually lurks in the grass.

 

They aren't really black, but a dark grey. Its the inside of their mouths that give them the name Black Mamba.

They are less likely to bite you than a Puff Adder...

 

Take a gander:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kostich.com/Black%2520mamba%2520snake.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.kostich.com/black_mamba.htm&h=401&w=600&sz=210&tbnid=W2veuvEXN9JAFM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=133&hl=en&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblack%2Bmamba%2Bsnake%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

 

and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_mamba

[GreekTTC]

Mantids. Nuff said.

[InfiniteNow]

Then there was Squiggy, the giant tortoise that never grew larger than 2 inches... and Casper, the albino black mamba with arthritis... ;)

 

 

:surprise:

[ughaibu]

Knife fish, they "see" by distortions in an electric field they produce.

[Racoon]

Knife fish, they "see" by distortions in an electric field they produce.

 

There are several types of Knife fish ughaibu. :(

Is it the Gymotiformes variety you are referring to?

 

The Electric eel is a form of knife fish I believe.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knifefish

 

Heres a photo Ug, of one I found on Google. Seems Knife fish are also popular in aquariums!

 

Knifefish from the Nile at Shedd on Flickr - Photo Sharing! http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihaidong/119070558/

 

I should have been a Zoologist :lol: :note: :)

[InfiniteNow]

Knife fish, they "see" by distortions in an electric field they produce.

They have a little electric emitting organ on one end of their body and a receptor on the other. Any deflections in the magnetic field are used to perceive the environment.

 

Good call, ughaibu. A guy at the University of Texas named Harry Zakon has done lots of work on these fish and presented material. In fact, my kung fu teacher, 6th degree black belt master, received his Ph.D. doing work in this area as well.

 

 

Cheers. :note:

 

 

EDIT: Racoon pointed out more than one type of knife fish. The types to which I was referring is: Sternopygus macurus and Eigenmannia virescens and Apteronotus leptorhynchus

[InfiniteNow]

One knife fish by the name of Sparky was the polar opposite of all the other fish in his school. His magnetic field had reversed poles from each of the other knife fish and every time his knife fish girlfriend, DiamondBlade, came near him, she was repelled. Poor thing... :note:

[Boerseun]

That was a shocking relationship...

[ughaibu]

Racoon: African elephant snout fish and unspecified Amazonian "knife fish" were what I originally read of in Magic of the Senses (Amazon.com: Magic of the Senses: Books: Vitus B. Droscher,U. Lehrburger,O. Coburn http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0491001029/103-5570703-5311012?v=glance&n=283155).

[Racoon]

Hippopotamus!

 

Now thats another Rad Animal!

These Big Fella's live in pods or herds of up to 40 members. Hippos's also kill more humans than any other mammal! :(

People go on Safari and think these guys look so big and cute, like water cows, and get too close :lol: Some have a nasty temper :note: and are very territorial...

 

They get as big as 7,000 pounds! Like Whoa!

At first they were thought to be related to pigs, but analysis of Blood proteins, molecular systematics, and fossil records indicate they are more related to the whale.

 

The wiki search:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus

 

and here is a Gallery of shots, just click on the images to enlarge...

 

http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/hippo-pictures-1.html

 

Have fun, but don't get too close...:)