Star-nosed MolesStar-nosed Moles live in the humid lowland areas of northern-eastern United States and the eastern Canada. They are expert at swimming and digging holes. They can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds and they also can swim in ice-covered streams. They often dig shallow surface tunnel for foraging, in which their tunnels can be seen existing underwater. They have thick blackish brown water-repellent fur coated their bodies. A circle of 22 mobile, fleshy and pink tentacles attached at the end of their snouts which they use to detect food (such as worms, crustaceans and insects) by touch are the most distinctive feature.
TapirsTapirs are herbivorous animals as they feed on plants. They are pig-like in shape, with short and prehensile snouts. They inhibit primarily in jungle and forest regions of South and Central part of America, and Southeast Asia. Tapirs are aggressive animals as they will attack furiously when they are annoyed by their enemies. They have a close relationship to other odd-toed ungulates, including rhinoceros and horses.
All tapirs are characterized with features include oval and white-tipped ears, splayed and hoofed toes, rounded and protruding rumps with stubby tails, with three toes on the hind feet and four on the front feet. These characteristics help them to walk on muddy and soft ground. Female tapirs have a single pair of mammary glands while the baby tapirs have stripped-and-spotted coats for camouflage. Adult tapirs are usually large in size and thus they have very few natural predators. The thick skin coated the back of their necks help them to reduce the threats from crocodiles, anacondas, tigers and jaguars.
Emperor TamarinsThe Emperor Tamarins (Saguinus imperator) inhibit tropical rain forests and open tree covered areas of the southwest Amazon Basin, east Peru, west Brazilian states of Acre and Amazonas, and north Bolivia. Originally, the word “Tamarin” was allegedly named for their long, white mustache that resembles the German emperor Wilhelm II, and their mustache can extend to both sides beyond their shoulders. There are yellowish speckles around their chests and their furs are generally gray in color. Their adults can reach a weight up to 300 to 400g. As they are omnivorous animals, they feed on bird eggs, small vertebrates such as tree frogs, fruits, sap and insects. While feeding on sap, they latch on to the tree vertically with their claws dug into the bark of the tree. They spend most of their time swinging and jumping through the forests with their active limbs.
ShoebillsThe Shoebills (Balaeniceps rex), also called Shoe-billed Storks, or Whale-headed Storks, are very large vertebrate unique birds found in swampy area in tropical east Africa from Sudan to Zambia. They stand about 115 cm (3.5ft) tall, a very large bird indeed. Their weight is 5.6kg (12.3ibs) along with its 2.33-meter-wingspan. Their heads are big in proportion to their bodies, and their bills are thick and wide. Their adults are generally, grey in color while their juveniles are brown. They feed on lungfish and other aquatic animals in muddy waters. They nest on the ground and the females lay either one to two eggs. While flying, they hold their heads back against their bodies, as do pelicans and herons.
Leafy Sea dragonsLeafy sea dragons (phycodurus eques) or Glauerts sea dragons are long pipe-like snout marine fish linked to the family of a seahorse. They have long leaf-like protrusions coming from all over its large body which enable them to hide among different types of floating seaweeds or kelp beds. These protrusions are served as its camouflage: neither preys nor predators recognize it as a fish. They feed on larval fishes, plankton, sea anemones and small crustaceans, by sucking up them with its small mouth. They are found in the ocean waters of south-western, south and further east along the coastline of Australia and generally remain in shallow and temperate water. A fully grown leafy sea dragon can reach about 45cm (18in). During mating, the female deposits up to 250 bright pink eggs onto a special “brood patch” on the underside of the tail of the male where they are attached and fertilized.
Giant PandasThe Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) or 'black-and-white cat-foot” is a mammal animal that inhibits in the mountainous regions in central China, in Shanxi, Tibet, Gansu, and Sichuan. They are classified in the bear family as they have a typical body shape similar to bears. Their muzzle, legs, shoulders, ears and eye patches are coated with large and distinctive black fur. In the bear family, Giant Pandas have the second largest tails, with the length measured 4 to 6 inches.
They are terrestrial animals in the wild, and they primarily spend time roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests. They feed on foods such as 99% bamboo, honey, yams, bananas, fish, eggs, oranges and shrub leaves. They have no problem to crush tough bamboos as they have large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles. They communicate via vocalization and scent marking, including spraying urine and clawing trees. They are smart to take shelter and even climb in rock crevices and hollow trees.
Angora rabbitsAngola rabbits are a type of human bred domestic rabbits. They have long silky and soft hair coated their bodies. They are thought to be originated in Ankara, Turkey, along with other famous pets like Angora goat and Angora cat. They were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 1700s, before they first appeared in the United States in the early of 1900s. Today, they are many breeds of Angola rabbits, including German, English, Chinese, Swiss, Satin, Giant and so forth which are bred for their wool.
Source:www.scienceray.com
