Tag: animals
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How the Mary River Turtle breathes for 72 hours underwater
The Mary River Turtle is a remarkable creature for two main reasons. One, it possesses specialized glands on its bottom that allow it to stay underwater for 72 hours—yes, it breathes through its genitals. It does this by releasing oxygen bubbles through its cloaca, the hole (aka butt) it excretes waste through. Two, the animal […]
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The Mwanza flat-headed rock agama aka Spider-Man agama
The Mwanza Flat-Headed Rock Agama is a small lizard found primarily in the Mwanza Region of Tanzania. The male lizard, which has a flattened head, is also known as the Spider-Man agama because of its bright red and dark blue coloration and its ability to climb vertical surfaces with ease. The Mwanza Flat-Headed Rock Agama […]
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The Tasmanian Giant Crab is the king of crabs
Add the Tasmanian Giant Crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas) to one of the animals you’ll want to see in person one day. Weighing up to 39lbs with a shell length of up to 18 inches, the Tasmanian Giant Crab is the fifth largest crab species. Its wild geometry makes its claws appear more massive than its body […]
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Meet the Dracula Parrot, the most metal birds on the planet
Thinking of parrots usually conjures up images of the brightly colored blue, red, and green creatures. But with the shape of a parrot and the dark beak of a vulture, Pesquet’s parrot, commonly known as the Dracula parrot, is one of the more unique-looking parrot species. The rare vulture-parrot hybrid found in New Guinea’s rainforests […]
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The elephant trunk snake
The Elephant trunk snake (Acrochordus javanicus) is among the largest freshwater snakes in the world. This weird-looking snake has unique wrinkly scalation and a chunky body, resembling an elephant’s trunk. Its face also looks like a pug or seal. Given the snake’s aquatic nature, it’s often mistaken as an eel. But the elephant trunk snake […]
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The freaky Potoo bird
The Potoo bird (Ghost bird) from Central and South America can appear freaky. The strange-looking bird possesses a hooked snake-like bill with a massive gape the animal uses to swallow moths and other insects. A nocturnal insectivore, their yellow eyes glow up into massive googly balls at night. Yet, they are unrelated to owls. The […]
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The pink-eyed hover goby
The pink-eyed hover goby (Bryaninops natans) is a fish with a see-through body and yellow organs. No bigger than an inch, it’s so transparent you can even see its bones in its body. The pink-eyed goby hovers above the tips of Acropora corals in shallow lagoon reefs of the Indo-Pacific area. Here are few more images of […]
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The flamboyant cuttlefish
The cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) is a real master of color change. The bioluminescent fish can modify their appearance and shape using flashing LCD-like bands to hypnotize prey before snatching it up. That’s right — these fish use their strobing disco lights to psyche-out crabs and small fish! Like the octopus, the cuttlefish have pigmented chromatophores in […]
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The Great Blue Turaco
The beautiful Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata) is a bird from West and Central Africa’s tropical forests. The birds weigh up to three pounds and grow up to 30 inches long, about a pheasant’s size. While not the most competent flyers, they are excellent climbers, spending most of their time hanging out in the trees. While the great […]
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A rare look at a great horned owl swimming through a canyon
Behold this rare video of a great horned owl “swimming” (read: trying to fly) through a canyon in Lake Powell. The great horned owl is a type of force eagle-owl native to the Americas. The young swimming owl – identifiable by the spot of nestling feathers — accidentally fell from its nest on the cliff […]
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Watch a Chimpanzee using Instagram
This video of a chimpanzee scrolling through Instagram is eye-opening. Touch is intuitive; the candy-colored screen all too addicting. Generation thumbs transcend humans. Still, it is the ability to communicate and tell stories that released humans from the prison of biology. This video echoes what Yuval Noah Harari noted in his book Sapiens: A Brief History […]
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Whose hoo: The Barred Owls of Central Park
The barrel owl isn’t known to travel outside the woods of the southeastern United States. But in 2020, anything seems possible. Two owls, presumably boyfriend and girlfriend, have been discovered in New York’s Central Park. The star birds like to hide out in the hidden waters of The Loch. Manhattan welcomes 270 plus bird species […]