Animals

Tuesday, 2 December 2025
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, ...

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Brittle stars
They are widespread over the globe.
They can be found in cold, polar waters as well as in warm tropical environments.
Pink river dolphin
They mate from November to late October.
Southern cassowary
They make weird and low sounds.
The booming sound emitted by a cassowary is the lowest known call of any bird and lies just at human hearing limit.
Common cuckoo
It is the only brood parasite in Central Europe.
It lays its eggs in the nests of about 300 birds, mostly of the passerine family.
American mink
Females reach sexual maturity after about a year, males after 18 months.
Minks live for 4 to 6 years.
Shoebill
The species was first described in 1850 by English ornithologist John Gould.
Shoebills were originally classified as storks (Ciconiiformes). However, based on anatomical similar ...
Shoebill
They are solitary and nocturnal, and only gather in loose groups when food is scarce and they are forced to forage side by side.
 During the breeding season, they form monogamous pairs, build the nest together, incubate the eggs, and care for the young.
Sea lamprey
Adults are hematophagous parasites.
This means they feed on the blood of their prey.
Octopus
Octopuses can also breathe through their very thin skin.
According to research, while an octopus is resting, up to 41% of its oxygen needs can be met by cutaneous respiration.
European mole cricket
Hatched larvae (nymphs) remain under the care of their mother for about three weeks.
They undergo six moults before reaching adulthood, a process that can take from one to three years. These insects give birth to one generation per year.