Animals

Wednesday, 11 November 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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Basking shark
Despite their slowness, they are capable of sprinting and jumping completely out of the water.
These jumps may be an attempt to rid their bodies of ectoparasites, including sea lampreys that bite ...
Quokkas
It is illegal to keep quokka as a pet.
They are a protected species.
Komodo dragon
They are carnivorous.
However, it is claimed that they mostly feed on carrion, and they often attack living prey. They cha ...
Quokkas
Australian law is very strict with human-quokkas interactions.
They are not to be petted, cuddled, hugged, or fed. There was a case of a tourist who threw a quokka off a boat to see if it could swim. Although quokkas do swim, the man was jailed.
Great grey shrike
It awaits its prey on the tree top but is also known for hovering.
Turtles
The smallest living turtle is Chersobius signatus.
The species of this land tortoise is found in southwestern Africa. Females are larger than males, the length of their carapace does not exceed 10 cm.
Aye-aye
Aye-aye is an endemic species native to Madagascar.
It occupies mostly the east coast of Madagascar, but can also be found in the north-west part of the island.
Guinea pig
In 1961, a guinea pig was placed aboard the Vostok-type spacecraft Korabl-Sputnik 4.
Along with a dog, several mice, and a dummy, one or two guinea pigs circled the Earth once and landed safely.
Slow worm lizard
Females are larger than males. The female's body length can reach 50 centimeters and the male's up to 40.
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are not aggressive towards humans, but will most likely sting when touched.
A jellyfish sting is painful and mostly not invasive, although it can be lethal.