Animals

Monday, 31 March 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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Pterodactyls
Pterodactyl is a common name referring to two genera of the pterosaur clade.
A clade is a group of monophyletic organisms, meaning they share a common ancestor. Although it is n ...
Dodo bird
The name dodo, adopted in the English-speaking world, first appeared in an account by the travel writer Thomas Herbert in 1634.
He assumed that it came from Portuguese. In this language, the word “dodo” means “stupid.”
Komodo dragon
They are carnivorous.
However, it is claimed that they mostly feed on carrion, and they often attack living prey. They cha ...
Okapi
For unexplained reasons, okapis also eat charcoal from burned trees.
Glass frogs
Biggest threat to glass frogs eggs are wasps and flies.
Frog flies for example lie their own eggs among glass frog eggs. Flies’ eggs hatch faster so maggots start to consume embryos of a frog.
True seals
Seals breathe using their lungs but are adapted to holding their breath for long periods. Some species can stay submerged for up to 40 minutes.
It allows them to dive to considerable depths and stay underwater for long periods. When diving, the ...
Portuguese man-of-war
They were named after a wooden warship at full sail, that the British sailors called Man of War.
The resemblance is questionable because they rather resemble a floating plastic bag.
Leeches
Leeches do not have a respiratory system.
They absorb oxygen with their entire body surface.
European wildcat
Young are usually born in April or May.
A litter may consist of one to eight young. For the first month they are fed exclusively on the moth ...
European pine marten
The average lifespan in the wild is about 4 years.
In the wild, they can live up to 11 years if they are lucky and as long as 18 years in captivity.