My Science School

Clocked at speeds in excess of 68 mph, some experts consider the sailfish the fastest fish in the world ocean. Easily recognized, sailfish are named for the spectacular sail-like dorsal fin that extends for nearly the entire length of their silver-blue body. Additionally, the sailfish's upper jaw is far longer than its lower jaw, forming a distinctive bill that looks like—and sometimes acts like—a spear.

Often working together in groups of two or more, swift sailfish thrash at and disrupt schools of smaller fish such as sardines and anchovies, thus allowing each sailfish to more easily snag its meals. The sailfish's spear-like bill also comes in handy for slashing at larger prey fish, which stuns them into submission. Together, sailfish engage their huge dorsal fins, creating a fence around their prey to prevent their victims from escaping their clutches.

Sailfish are a type of billfish, which also includes marlins, swordfish, and roundscale spearfish. Billfish are pelagic and prefer the warmer waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. They are often found in groups, feeding on smaller fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods (octopus, squid, and cuttlefish).

Though popular with sport anglers, sailfish cannot be taken commercially in U.S. waters except as incidental catch in Pacific longline and gillnet fisheries. Possession of sailfish is prohibited on commercial fishing vessels in the Atlantic.

Credit : Ocean Service

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Snow leopards have powerful legs and can jump as far as 50 feet. The mountains the snow leopards call home are rugged and extremely cold in the winter. But these cats have some amazing body parts that make living in the area no big deal. In addition to camouflaging them, a snow leopard’s soft, dense fur keeps it warm in the bitter cold. Their large paws work like snowshoes, letting the cat walk on snow without sinking. And their long, heavy tail helps them keep their balance while they’re chasing prey. At night, the cats curl their tails around their bodies like a cozy scarf to keep warm—and to stay hidden while sleeping. 

Snow leopard experts need to gather more information about the secretive cats’ lives to help protect them. To do that, researchers use high-tech tools to spy on the shy animals. They gently trap the wild cats to examine them and put on satellite radio collars to track where the cats roam. Motion-activated digital cameras capture images of snow leopards, exposing many new details about how many there are, how they live, and what threatens their survival.

Credit : National Geographic

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Far bigger than any dinosaur, the blue whale is the largest known animal to have ever lived.

An adult blue whale can grow to a massive 30m long and weigh more than 180,000kg - that’s about the same as 40 elephants, 30 Tyrannosaurus Rex or 2,670 average-sized men. But this giant among giants started as something far smaller.

Like all whales, the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) evolved from a four-legged mammal that lived on land some 48 million years ago. This ancient ancestor, Pakicetus, was only 1.8m long. It foraged in streams and some of its descendants became adapted to living in water. This eventually led to a completely aquatic creature called Dorudon ("Spear-Tooth"), which lived 37 million years ago and grew 4.5m long.

Blue whales can dive for up to an hour at a time, going to a depth of 100m, so they need highly efficient lungs to survive. Two enormous blowholes, big enough for a small child to crawl into, allow the fast and efficient exchange of oxygen. Blue whales exchange between 80 and 90 per cent of oxygen in their lungs each time they breathe, compared to just 10 or 15 per cent in humans. 

Credit : BBC Earth

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Paul the Octopus was a common octopus used to predict the results of association football matches. Accurate predictions in the 2010 World Cup brought him worldwide attention as an animal oracle.

Paul was hatched from an egg at the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth, England, and was then moved to a tank at one of the chain's centres at Oberhausen in Germany. Paul's name derived from the title of a poem by the German children's writer Boy Lornsen: Der Tintenfisch Paul Oktopus.

According to Sea Life's entertainment director, Daniel Fey, Paul demonstrated intelligence early in life: "There was something about the way he looked at our visitors when they came close to the tank. It was so unusual, so we tried to find out what his special talents were."

The animal rights organisation PETA commented that octopuses are some of the most intelligent of invertebrates, with complex thought processes, long- and short-term memories, and different personalities. They can use tools, learn through observation, and are particularly sensitive to pain, according to the group. They said it would be cruel to keep Paul in permanent confinement. Sea Life Centres responded that it would be dangerous to release him, because he was born in captivity, and was not accustomed to finding food for himself.

Following Paul's rise to fame, businessmen in Carballiño, a community in Galicia, collected about €30,000 for a "transfer fee" to get Paul as main attraction of the local Fiesta del Pulpo festival. Manuel Pazo, a fisherman and head of the local business club assured people that Paul would be presented alive in a tank and not on the menu. Sealife rejected the offer nevertheless.

Paul was last checked by staff on 25 October 2010, and was in good health, but the following morning he was found dead. He was aged two-and-a-half, a normal lifespan for the species. His agent, Chris Davies, said "It's a sad day. Paul was rather special but we managed to film Paul before he left this mortal earth". Sea Life Centre manager Stefan Porwoll remembered Paul as an octopus who had "enthused people across every continent".

Picture Credit : Google

The longest recorded flight of a modern chicken lasted 13 seconds for a distance of just over three hundred feet.

Domestic chickens are artificially bred to grow large breasts, and the extra weight from this muscle tissue makes it difficult for chickens to fly. Domestic chickens are also trained to stay near the roost and not to fly off, which breeds against developing advanced flying abilities.

The domestic chicken descends from the Red Junglefowl. In the wild, Red Junglefowl forage for food on the ground but roost in trees. These wild fowl are capable of both running and flying reasonably well.

Records indicate the domestication of chickens to have taken place over 10,000 years ago when the Indians and Vietnamese captured and bred chickens for eggs, feathers, and meat. This domestication quickly spread throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa. As a result, the chicken is the prominent farm animal today.

Credit : Reference

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This depends on if the whale wants to remain in the shallows or dive deep. Typically, while swimming at a more shallow depth whales will come up for air every 5-15 minutes. But when making deeper dives or when they need to stay under for longer periods of time, whales will come up for air accordingly and can stay under for 30 minutes, 60 minutes or sometimes longer.

The deepest dive ever recorded was 2,992 meters which is just under 9,820 feet, roughly equating to about 1.8 miles. This record breaking dive was by a Cuvier’s Beaked Whale, which is also the species of whale holding the record for the longest time spent underwater on a single breath! As a comparison, the deepest human scuba dive on record was 1,090 feet deep.

While the Cuvier’s Beaked Whale tends to make deep dives, scientists say that this 2,992 meter dive is not typical and that on average Cuvier’s Beaked Whales tend to only dive to about 2,000 meters down. The sperm whale tends to dive to 1,000 – 2,000 meters, while humpbacks tend to stay above 200 m. 

Whales breathe with their lungs, like all mammals. However whales do not breathe in through their nostrils or mouths like most mammals. Instead, whales have a blowhole located at the top of their head. This blowhole is a specialized nostril that allows whales to inhale air while at the surface.

The blowhole is covered by muscular flaps that cover the blowhole while the whale is under the surface to prevent the whale from breathing in water. The blowhole is connected to the trachea which passes air through to the lungs.

Whales also use their blowhole to exhale, where they will blow out air loudly and sharply, often expelling a stream of mist when they first reach the surface.

Credit : Wildlife Informer

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The Matschie’s tree kangaroo has a very small home range—it's endemic to the Huon Peninsula of New Guinea. (It's also known as the Huon tree kangaroo.) Spending most of its time in trees, the Matschie’s tree kangaroo is arboreal, living in mid-montane to upper-montane cloud forests at elevations of up to 11,000 feet. On the ground, tree kangaroos are slow and uncoordinated, but in the trees they are bold and agile.

Despite their climbing and jumping abilities, tree kangaroos sleep 60 percent of the time, curling up in whatever tree they happen to be in. Matschie’s tree kangaroos are solitary, live-and-let-live sorts, basically ignoring one another even when sharing the same tree. Females do not share territories. Territory size of females averages 4.5 acres, while males claim overlapping territories of 11 acres. Larger territories increase breeding opportunities for males.

Matschie’s tree kangaroos are folivorous, eating leaves from a variety of forest trees, vines, ferns, orchids, shrubs, and herbs. They might supplement this diet with small amounts of fruit and flowers, tender grasses, and even tree bark!

It is estimated that there are fewer than 2,500 adult Matschie’s tree kangaroos left in their native habitat, and their population is dropping. They are hunted by humans for food and trade. Habitat loss due to expanding agriculture further threatens their population.

Credit : San Diego Zoo

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Sclater's guenon, Cercopithecus sclateri, is restricted to floodplain forests between the Niger river and the Cross river in southeast Nigeria. Eleven small populations have been confirmed to exist. Populations are known to exist in the states of Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Imo, Abia and Cross River State. The localities known for this species include Utuma, Stubbs creek, Akpugoeze, Osomari, Lagwa, Blue river, Enyong creek/Ikpa river.

Cercopithecus sclateri occurs in moist tropical forests and swampy floodplain forests. These are low elevation habitats along the coast of Nigeria. Although this species' natural habitat is probably secondary growth and primary forest, it seems to be surviving in some extremely degraded habitats. An important habitat for this species is Igbo villages and their sacred tree groves, which are mostly surrounded by non-native tree plantations and agricultural areas. In one town, Lagwa (Imo state), all the patches of forest which the monkeys formerly inhabited have been cut down, leaving the animals to inhabit villages, where they steal food from gardens and farms.

Sclater's guenon, like all guenons, is a very colorful monkey with a complicated facial pattern. The body is overall a dusky gray color with some greenish tinge on the back. The tail is very long (about one-half the total length) and is reddish colored on the ventral proximal part, gradually becoming white distally and ending in a black tip. The muzzle is brownish pink with a creamy white nose spot (above the nostrils on the bridge of the nose). The face is adorned with three major hair patches. The crown and cheek patches are yellow mixed with black. In addition, there is a large white throat patch extending almost to the ears. The ears have prominent white tufts. Finally, black temporal bars extend past the ears and meet at the back of the head.

Credit : Animal Diversity

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Emus live only in Australia, where they are widespread. Subspecies once existed on Tasmania and King Island, but they are now extinct. Emus live in eucalyptus forest, woodland, heath land, desert shrub lands and sand plains. It is found in desert areas only after heavy rains have caused growth of herbs and grasses and heavy fruiting of shrubs. Emus also live close to Australia's big cities, but are no longer found where native vegetation has been cleared for agricultural land.

Emu migrations may be a result of human agriculture. The establishment of artificial but permanent watering points in the Australian inland, where cattle and sheep graze, has enabled emus to expand into places from which they were previously excluded by lack of water. In some areas, they are now considered pests.

In arid Australia, emus will travel hundreds of miles to find another source of food or water. They must have daily access to fresh water. When food is abundant, an emu stores large amounts of fat, and is able to use this while looking for more food. Birds may lose up to 50 percent of their weight while searching for food. Emus pattern their movements to track with recent rainfall. They appear to depend mainly on the sight of rain-bearing clouds but sound cues from thunder and the smell of wet ground may also be involved.

Emus eat the parts of plants that have the most concentrated nutrients: seeds, fruits, flowers and young shoots. They also eat insects and small vertebrates when they are easily available. They will not eat dry grasses or mature leaves. Emus ingest large pebbles up to 1.6 ounces (45 grams) to help their gizzards grind up food. They also often eat charcoal.

At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the emu is fed ratite pellets and occasionally greens such as kale and romaine.

Credit : National Zoo

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The Formosan rock macaque, also known as the Taiwan macaque, is native to the temperate forests in the mountains of Taiwan. They are the only non-human primates native to Taiwan. The species also exists in parts of Japan due to a series of both deliberate and accidental introductions that occurred in the mid-20th century.

Formosan rock macaques sport a brown coat of fur in the summer and a gray coat in the winter. They have white or gray fur covering their chests. Their faces are naked and pink with large eyes and a long, flat nose. The macaque’s jaw is built for a diverse diet, featuring four large canine teeth and several strong molars.

Formosan rock macaques are one of the 45 species of monkeys found in the subfamily Cercopithecinae. This group, consisting of macaques, baboons, and vervets, can be characterized by their cheek pouches. Monkeys with cheek pouches can quickly take large amounts of food, store them in their cheeks, and retreat to a safe place to eat without having to worry about predators or thieves. Although this adaptation did not come about with humans in mind, cheek pouches are particularly useful when hurriedly raiding human houses or trying to get as much food as possible from a tourist.

These macaques have an incredibly varied diet. Fruits make up about half of their diet. Seeds, leaves, and insects also make up significant parts of their diet. Formosan rock macaques forage from up to 300 different plants. They have also been known to raid farms and houses for foods such as sweet potatoes and peanuts.

Credit : New England Primate Conservancy

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Golden lion tamarin is a species of monkey, found in the rainforests of the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Its body is covered with golden colour fur. Its face is dark and hairless.

It is an omnivore. It eats fruits, flowers, eggs, insects, amphibians, reptiles and birds. The young are usually twins and males often carry their young on their backs.

It is a territorial animal and defends its area with scent markings. Signs of aggression include an open mouth, an arched back, and staring.

Golden lion tamarins are omnivores. They feed upon insects, spiders, snails, amphibians, nectar, small lizards, gum, birds and their eggs and fruit.

They forage for insects within leaf litter, logs, bark and a range of plants using their elongated hands and fingers. They prefer areas with plants which attract insects to help with this.  When fruit is in abundance this forms much of their diet. When it is dry, the fruit is not readily available and they supplement their diet with other foods.

Sharing food acts as a method of reinforcing bonds between golden lion tamarins.

Picture Credit : Google

Tardigrade is a microscopic animal found everywhere on Earth – from the deep sea in the mud volcanoes. There are around 1300 species of tardigrades. We are also called water bears or moss piglets.

It has eight limbs with four to eight claws on each. Its body is covered in a tough cuticle, similar to the exoskeletons. It is known for being the most resilient animal, because it can survive extreme conditions such as exposure to extreme temperatures, extreme pressures, radiation and starvation. It can go up to 30 years without food and water.

In extreme dry conditions, it gets into a death-like state called cryptobiosis. It squeezes all the water out of its body, retract its heads and limbs and curl up into a little ball. When conditions improve, it unfurls itself and goes about its business. It sucks the juices from algae, lichens and moss using its tube-shaped mouth.

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Hedgehog is a spiny mammal that belongs to the family Erinaceidae, found in Europe, Asia and Africa. It has an elongated snout and body covered with 5000 to 6500 non-poisonous quills. It replaces the old quills with new ones each yea.

If attached it curls into a prickly and unapestising ball that deters most predators. It feeds on insects, worms, centipedes, snails, mice, frogs and snakes. It hibernates in cold climates.

The body of adult hedgehogs ranges from 14 to 30 centimetres long, and their tail can add one to six centimetres. When they are born (there can be up to seven in a litter) their spines are soft and short. But soon after birth, their spines harden, becoming stiffer, sharper and longer. Babies stay in the nest until they”re about three weeks old. By that time, their eyes are open, their spines are effective and they can safely follow their mother outside the nest as she looks for food.

Top on the hedgehog”s menu are insects, followed by small mice, snails, lizards, frogs, eggs and even snakes. Mostly nocturnal creatures, they head out at night in search of food – but they are sometimes active during the day, too, particularly after it rains.

Credit : National Geographic

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Yes, they do, says research. Since turtles don't have vocal cords, it was thought that they did not communicate through sounds. However, scientists have found that turtles communicate at such low frequency that sounds like "clicks, clucks and hoots" can be heard only through a hydrophone. What's surprising is that they talk when they are still inside their eggs just before hatching.

One of the most common sounds which a turtle may produce is the hissing sound. Turtles hiss by quickly expelling air from their lungs. They do this by tucking their heads into their shells.

A turtle in a new environment will hiss a lot as it is not used to its environment. Once the turtle gets used to its environment, you can expect it to hiss less. Snappers) hiss when approached.

They do this because they are stressed and feel threatened. Hissing coupled with heavy breathing produces a menacing sound. A threatened snapping turtle will attack when approached or provoked. Their bites are very powerful and are capable of crushing human bones.

When a turtle hisses, it’s best to leave it alone.

Credit : All Turtles

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Heard of Jonathan, the Seychelles giant tortoise? Aged 188, he is the oldest living land animal in the world. Said to have hatched in 1832, he lives on the island of St. Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean.

His age is estimated because he was 'fully mature' when brought to Saint Helena in 1882. 'Fully mature' means at least 50 years old, giving him a hatching date no later than 1832. A photograph featuring Jonathan originally thought to date from 1902 actually dates from 1886, showing Jonathan four years after his arrival on Saint Helena. Measurements taken from the photograph show that he was definitely fully mature in 1886.

The all-time verified record holder for the world's oldest tortoise, according to Guinness World Records, is Tu'i Malila, which died in Tonga in 1966 at the age of 189. Adwaita, an Aldabra giant tortoise that died in 2006 in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India, is believed to have lived to the age of 255 years, but this has not been confirmed.

As of December 2015, Jonathan was reported to be "alive and well [...] He's blind from cataracts, has lost his sense of smell, and so cannot detect food (his fellow giants mug me and can detect the tiniest morsel dropped on the ground), but he has retained excellent hearing." In January 2016, the BBC reported that Jonathan was given a new diet intended to keep him healthy and extend his life. Due to his old age, Jonathan spends his days doing almost everything with his mate, including eating, sleeping, and mating.

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