Animals

Tuesday, 4 August 2026
27 facts about turtles
27 facts about turtles
The only vertebrates so armored
The first turtles appeared on Earth at the end of the Permian about 240 million years ago. Although the first ones had neither plastron nor carapace, ...

Did you know?

Pterodactyls
Pterodactylus had 90 narrow teeth in their skull, while Pteranodons’ long and slender beaks were toothless.
Toco toucan
The Toco toucan is an easily recognizable bird, mainly because of its beak, which is the most prominent feature of the species. Sexual dimorphism is not pronounced. Females are slightly smaller than males.
It has contrasting plumage, mostly black. The throat, upper chest, and rump are white, and the under ...
Common cuckoo
It takes a few seconds for the egg to be laid in a nest.
During this time, the female cuckoo ejects or eats one of the host eggs.
Manatees
They are known for their distinctive way of swimming on their backs.
They raise their heads and front fins above the water level, which helps them with breathing, and their wide tails work like ballast to help them swim.
Spiders
The eyes of Deinopis spiders have phenomenal properties by spider standards. So far, 51 species of these spiders have been described.
Their central eyes are enlarged and point directly forward. Equipped with excellent lenses, they cov ...
Otters
They are very sociable and playful.
Otters are known for rubbing against each other, which refreshes their coats. They also wrestle with ...
Kiwi bird
Kiwis hold cultural importance to Māori.
They form a strong spiritual association with kiwi. It has been formally recognized in the Treaty of ...
Platypus
They developed special spurs on the ankles of their hind legs from which venom is secreted.
Only males possess the toxin.  Females pose no threat because their spurs disappear before the first ...
Amur leopard
Their fur is decorated with rosettes—typical for leopard species' black spots.
Amur leopard’s rosettes are spaced further apart than other leopard species.
Snails
The most important sense of land snails is smell.
The olfactory organs are located at the tips of the snail's antennae. Marine species, on the other hand, use chemoreceptors more frequently.