The red-lipped batfish or Galapagos batfish (Ogcocephalus darwini) is a fish of unusual morphology found around the Galapagos Islands at depths of 30m or more. Red-lipped batfish are closely related to rosy-lipped batfish (Ogcocephalus porrectus), which are found near Cocos Island off the coast of Costa Rica. This fish is mainly known for its bright red lips.
Batfish are not good swimmers; they use their highly-adapted pectoral fins to "walk" on the ocean floor. When the batfish reaches maturity, its dorsal fin becomes a single spine-like projection (thought to function primarily as a lure for prey). Similar to the anglerfish, the Red-Lipped Batfish has a structure on its head known as illicium. This structure is employed for attracting prey...Wikipedia
Found on the Galapagos Islands, this fish is actually a pretty bad swimmer, and uses its pectoral fins to walk on the bottom of the ocean
(2)The goblin shark
The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) is a rare, poorly understood species of deep-sea shark. Sometimes called a "living fossil", it is the only extant representative of the family Mitsukurinidae, a lineage some 125 million years old. This species looks unlike any other shark, with an elongated, flattened snout, highly protrusible jaws containing prominent nail-like teeth, and pink coloration. It is usually between 3 and 4 meters (10 and 13 ft) long when mature, though it can grow considerably larger. Goblin sharks inhabit upper continental slopes, submarine canyons, and seamounts throughout the world at depths greater than 100 m (330 ft), with adults found deeper than juveniles.
Various anatomical features of the goblin shark, such as its flabby body and small fins, suggest that it is sluggish in nature. This species hunts for teleost fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans both near the sea floor and in the middle of the water column. Its long snout is covered with ampullae of Lorenzini that enable it to sense minute electric fields produced by nearby prey, which it can snatch up by rapidly extending its jaws. Small numbers of goblin sharks are unintentionally caught by deepwater fisheries. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as Least Concern, citing its wide distribution and low incidence of capture.
(3)The Panda Ant
The Mutillidae are a family of more than 3,000 species of wasps (despite the names) whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants. Found in Chile, they are known for their extremely painful stings, hence the common name cow killer or cow ant. Black and white specimens are sometimes known as panda ants due to their hair coloration resembling that of the Chinese giant panda
(4)Atretochoana
Atretochoana eiselti is a species of caecilian known only from two preserved specimens until its 2011 rediscovery in Brazil. Until 1998, it was known only from the type specimen in the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna.[2] Originally placed in the genus Typhlonectes in 1968, it was reclassified into its own monotypic genus in 1996. It was also found to be more closely related to the genus Potomotyphlus than Typholonectes.[3] The species is the largest of the few known tetrapods, and one of two caecilians, to lack lungs, the other being Caecilita iwokramae
(5)The Bush Viper
Atheris is a genus of venomous vipers known as bush vipers.They are found only in tropical subsaharan Africa (excluding southern Africa)and many species have isolated and fragmented distributions due to their confinement to rain forests. In an interesting example of convergent evolution, they show many similarities to the arboreal pit vipers of Asia and South America.Ten species are currently recognized
(6)Purple frog
Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis is a frog species belonging to the family Sooglossidae. It can be found in the Western Ghats in India. Names in English that have been used for this species are purple frog, Indian purple frog or pignose frog. Although the adult frog was formally described in October 2003,[2] the taxon was recognized much earlier by its tadpole, which had been described in 1918.[3] With its closest relatives in the Seychelles, Nasikabatrachus is thought to have evolved separately for millennia. Its discovery also adds to the evidence that Madagascar and the Seychelles separated from the Indian landmass sometime well after the breakup of Gondwana had started
(7)Thorny dragon
The thorny dragon or thorny devil (Moloch horridus) is an Australian lizard, also known as the mountain devil, the thorny lizard, or the moloch. This is the sole species of genus Moloch. The thorny devil grows up to 20 cm (8.0 in) in length, and it can live up to 20 years. Most of these lizards are coloured in camouflaging shades of desert browns and tans. These colours change from pale colours during warm weather and to darker colours during cold weather. These animals are covered entirely with conical spines that are mostly uncalcified.
The thorny dragon also features a spiny "false head" on the back of its neck, and the lizard presents this to potential predators by dipping its real head. The females are larger than the males. The thorny dragon's body is ridged in structure, and this enables the animal to collect water from any part of its body. That water is then conveyed to its mouth
(8)Narwhal
The narwhal, or narwhale (Monodon monoceros), is a medium-sized toothed whale and the animal with the largest canines. It lives year-round in the Arctic. One of two living species of whale in the Monodontidae family, along with the beluga whale, narwhal males are distinguished by a long, straight, helical tusk, actually an elongated upper left canine. Found primarily in Canadian Arctic and Greenlandic waters, rarely south of 65°N latitude, the narwhal is a uniquely specialized Arctic predator. In the winter, it feeds on benthic prey, mostly flatfish, at depths of up to 1500 m under dense pack ice.[3] Narwhals have been harvested for over a thousand years by Inuit people in northern Canada and Greenland for meat and ivory, and a regulated subsistence hunt continues to this day. While populations appear stable, the narwhal is particularly vulnerable to climate change due to a narrow geographical range and specialized diet
(9)The Maned Wolf
The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is the largest canid of South America, resembling a large fox with reddish fur.
This mammal is found in open and semi-open habitats, especially grasslands with scattered bushes and trees, in south, central-west and south-eastern Brazil (Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Goiás, São Paulo, Federal District and recently Rio Grande do Sul), Paraguay, northern Argentina, Bolivia east and north of the Andes,[4] and far south-eastern Peru (Pampas del Heath only).[5] It is very rare in Uruguay, being possibly extirpated.[2] IUCN lists it as near threatened,[2] while it is considered vulnerable by the Brazilian government (IBAMA). It is the only species in the genus Chrysocyon. It is locally known as aguará guazú (meaning "large fox" in the Guarani language), or "kalak" by the Toba, lobo de crin, lobo de los esteros or lobo colorado, and as lobo-guará in Brazil. It is also called borochi in Bolivia.
(10)Patagonian Mara
The Patagonian mara, Dolichotis patagonum, is a relatively large rodent in the mara genus (Dolichotis). It is also known as the Patagonian cavy, Patagonian hare or dillaby. This herbivorous, somewhat rabbit-like animal is found in open and semi-open habitats in Argentina, including large parts of Patagonia. It is monogamous, but often breeds in warrens that are shared by several pairs.
(11)Pink Fairy Armadillo
The pink fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus) or pichiciego is the smallest species of armadillo (mammals of the family Dasypodidae, mostly known for having a bony armor shell). It is found in central Argentina, where it inhabits dry grasslands and sandy plains with thorn bushes and cacti.
(12)Sunda Colugo
The Sunda flying lemur (Galeopterus variegatus), also known as the Malayan flying lemur or Malayan colugo, is a species of colugo (see below for notes on the common name "flying lemur"
.
Until recently, it was thought to be one of only two species of flying
lemur, the other being the Philippine flying lemur which is found only
in the Philippines. The Sunda flying lemur is found throughout Southeast
Asia in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.[3]The Sunda flying lemur is not a lemur and does not fly. Instead, it glides as it leaps among trees. It is strictly arboreal, is active at night, and feeds on soft plant parts such as young leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruits. After a 60-day gestation period, a single offspring is carried on the mother's abdomen held by a large skin membrane.[4] It is a forest-dependent species.
The head-body length of Sunda flying lemur is about 34 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in). Its tail length is around 24 to 25 cm (9.4 to 9.8 in), and its weight is 0.9 to 1.3 kg (2.0 to 2.9 lb).
The Sunda flying lemur is protected by national legislation. In addition to deforestation and loss of habitat, local subsistence hunting poses a serious threat to this animal. Competition with the plantain squirrel (Callosciurus notatus) represents another challenge for this species. More information is needed on population declines, but at present the rate of the decline is believed to be probably not fast enough to trigger listing in any category other than Least Concern.
(13)Japanese Spider Crab
The Japanese spider crab (高脚蟹 takāshigani?, lit. "tall-footed crab"
,
Macrocheira kaempferi, is a species of marine crab that lives in the
waters around Japan. It has the largest leg span of any arthropod,
reaching up to 3.8 metres (12 ft) and weighing up to 19 kilograms (42
lb). It is the subject of small-scale fishery which has led to a few
conservation measures.
14)White-faced saki
The white-faced saki (Pithecia pithecia), also known as the Guianan saki and the golden-faced saki, is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey, found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. This species lives in the understory and lower canopy of the forest, feeding mostly on fruits, but also eating nuts, seeds, and insects
(15)Pygmy Marmoset
The pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) is a small New World monkey native to rainforests of the western Amazon Basin in South America. It is notable for being the smallest monkey in the world at just over 100 grams (3.5 oz). It is generally found in evergreen and river edge forests and is a gum-feeding specialist.
To be continued............................
