Animals

Saturday, 18 April 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, ...

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Hummingbirds
They are the only birds that can fly backwards.
They owe this to the special design of their wings, which also allows hummingbirds to stop their flight at any time and hover in place.
Axolotl
The species is critically threatened with extinction.
Currently, the number of wild individuals ranges from 500 to 1,000. It is mainly due to the increasi ...
Pterodactyls
It is believed that pterodactyls had primarily fed on fish.
Pterodactylus’ diet was more diversified than Pteranodons’ thanks to their toothing, and consisted not only of fish but also small animals.
Blue tang
Royal blue tang cannot be bred in captivity. Yet.
A group of scientists managed to breed a royal blue tang in 2016, so hopefully captive-bred may be available in some time.
Axolotl
In 1998, 6,000 individuals could be found per square kilometer of Lake Xochimilco.
In 2008 the number dropped to 100, and since 2013 no specimens have been found. Soon, axolotls may disappear from their natural environment entirely.
Stingrays
They are edible, and commonly consumed in various countries like Iceland, Malaysia, and Singapore.
While Malaysians and Singaporeans prefer their stingray barbecued, Icelanders eat it fermented.
Viper dogfish
The viper shark has two dorsal fins with sharp spikes.
Black-headed python
Black headed pythons favor dry and scrubby areas but they are not found in extremely dry places.
They can be found across semiarid regions as well as at savannas or grasslands. Can be found also in humid forested areas and agricultural regions.
Sloth
Sloths are herbivores, and their diet consists of leaves, flowers, fruit, and shoots.
Their stomachs are multichambered and inhabited by cellulose-eating bacteria. Digestion is very slow. Sloths descend to the ground to defecate, but it happens only once a week.
Cane toad
The bufotoxin produced by the toad's skin is very dangerous to animals and can kill them quickly.
Dogs tend to be poisoned because they often bite or lick cane toads. Exposure to the toxin can cause drooling, loss of coordination, head shaking and convulsions.