Our 50th post! - and animals 1-5 in the '50 incredible animals' series

Hello Everyone,

Today is a special post - to celebrate our 50th post we are starting a new series. This series is about 50 incredible animals. We can't promise that you haven't heard of any of them, but we have tried our best to find some of the most rare and in some cases bizarre animals possible. We can't fit 50 animals into one post so we have split them out over 10 posts. We'll try and publish at least one post every one or two weeks, but you know that we're not very good at keeping to the schedule!

So the first five animals that you will (hopefully) find incredible:

1. Dumbo octopus

They are the deepest living of all octopus species and are able to pounce on their prey and eat it whole. Their diet includes snails and other creatures they 'hoover up from the ocean floor'. They are called Dumbo elephants as a nod to Disney's elephant because they have fins that resemble the elephants infamous big ears! There are about 17 different species of Dumbo Octopus that form a group called 'Umbrella Octopus' because their shape also resembles an umbrella. It is fairly widespread across the world and is fairly small, about 20-30cm in length. They move using their ears with an apparently 'peculiar grace and ease'. Little is known about them so we don't know how many there are or if they are in any way endangered.

2. The gerenuk

Gerenuks are tall antelopes. They have long necks which is why, in Somali, their name means 'giraffe-necked'. Their ability to stand on their hind legs when feeding looks bizarre. They are herbivores, feeding on leaves, shoots, flowers, fruits and buds. They do not need to drink water, as their food already contains moisture!

Gerenuks live in East-Africa. They are well camouflaged against the African plains. They have small heads, but large eyes and ears. The males have antlers.

3. Sunda colugo

The sunda flying lemur, also known as the sunda colugo, is not a lemur and does not fly! It's called a flying lemur because it glides between trees, giving the impression that it is flying. They are mammals. The skin leading from its legs to its body is like a pair of wings.

It is nocturnal and eats leaves, shoots and flowers. This species lives in forests in Southeast Asia.

4. Red-lipped batfish

The Red-lipped batfish lives in water at a depth of 30-60 feet but can live in up to 400ft. They can camouflage with the sand and rocks and use their fins to 'walk' along the sea floor. They are exclusive to the Galapagos Islands (which we did a series of posts about which you can view here). Like several, if not all of the animals in this post, they are still an object of curiosity and little is known about them. The biggest mystery is the reason for their red lips and what they mean. Some scientists say it is to attract a mate, but more needs to be known to really be sure. It is a carnivore and eats small fish and crustaceans. Interestingly, it doesn't have any predators of it's own!

5. The panda ant

Wikipedia states that "Euspinolia militaris is a species of wasp in the family Mutillidae. Though it is a wingless wasp, it has sometimes been referred to by the name panda ant." The species first came to our knowledge in 1938 and it has a painful and powerful sting. They are small creatures at under an inch in length. They are mainly found in Chile but are close relatives to the velvet ant which is found worldwide. Adult panda ants do not form colonies or groups and stay on their own. They primarily eat nectar but females are known to also eat ants and caterpillars.

Hope you enjoyed these five animals. If you think of any more not well known animals, feel free to write them into the comments, send us an email at contact.greenworldblog@gmail.com! The next five animals will come out as soon as possible.

Thank you!

Sources:
https://oceana.org/marine-life/dumbo-octopus/
https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/gerenuk
https://animalia.bio/sunda-flying-lemur
https://factanimal.com/red-lipped-batfish/
https://www.animascorp.com/panda-ant/

Images:
50 Candles, owned by Jlhinton (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Dumbo Octopus, owned by NOAA Ocean Exploration (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
P1010918, owned by Wouter Van Vliet (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Sunda Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) "red" morph ..., owned by Bernant DUPONT (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Untitled, owned by Vlad Karpinsky (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Comments

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

29.11.2020 Animal Of The Week: Jaguar

Hello, Today (29th November) is world Jaguar day so this week our animal is the Jaguar. The Jaguar is an animal I know pretty much nothing about so I am going to learn a lot too! Jaguars (panthera onca) live for 12 - 15 years. Their heads and bodies are 150-180cm long and their tails are 70-90cm long! They weigh 45 - 110 kg. Habitat Jaguars live primarily in the Amazon Basin, though they can be found in smaller numbers in Central America. They once lived everywhere from central Argentina up to the southwestern United States but since the 1880s they have lost over half of their territory. They are mainly found in tropical rainforests but can live in savannas and grasslands. Diet They eat fish and turtles as they are actually quite competent swimmers as well as deer, iguanas, birds and monkeys; they will eat almost anything! Are they endangered? Jaguars are classed as near endangered and face several threats. South and Central Americ...

Energy comparison: wind turbines

Hello, Finally, we are back with another energy comparison. Today we're looking at wind turbines. Wind power is a fast-growing renewable energy source. In the US, the wind power industry currently employs 120 000 people across all 50 states. It could grow to employ hundreds of thousands of people by 2050. 9% of the electricity in the US in 2021 came from wind turbines, that’s 136 000 megawatts. The wind power industry saves 329 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. General knowledge and categorisation We should probably start off by clarifying how wind turbines actually work and what types there are. I’m not going to give an in-depth description of how wind turbines work because I don’t want this post to turn into a physics lesson. To put it very simply, the wind turns the blades, which turns the rotor. The rotor then turns the generator, which converts the kinetic energy (movement) into electricity. There are obviously a lot more...

Deforestation and why it’s a problem

Hi everyone, Welcome back to another post. Today we’ll be talking about deforestation and its impacts on our earth. Deforestation, the widespread clearance of natural forests, has been happening for thousands of years. One example is Western Europe, where, two millennia ago, 80% of the land was cloaked in dense forest cover. However, over time, a significant portion of this green expanse was sacrificed to create room for crops, livestock grazing, and as a source of fuel and building materials. Presently, a mere 34% of Western Europe retains its woodland. Today, the tropics deal with the brunt of deforestation. Activities such as mining, agriculture, road construction, and the establishment of vast cattle ranches drive the mass clearance of tropical rainforests. This results in the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating the global climate crisis. The consequences come in two waves: first, the reduced number of...

08.11.2020 Animal of the week: Dolphins

Hello, This week we are going to talk about dolphins. Habitat Dolphins live in all of the oceans in the world. They also live in big rivers such as the Amazon in Brazil. Different species live in different parts of the world. Some species prefer coastal waters while others spend days at a time out on the high seas. Are dolphins fish or mammals? Although dolphins live in water they are not fish. Here are only two of the main reasons why dolphins aren't fish. Dolphins have lungs, whereas fish have gills. Because dolphins have lungs, they have to come up to the surface every few minutes. Fish are cold-blooded. Dolphins are warm-blooded. Dolphins are related to whales, who are also mammals. Different types There are almost 40 types of dolphin that live in the ocean and 6 types of river dolphins that live in rivers. The biggest type of dolphin is the orca or the killer whale . The smallest type of dolphin is the hector's dolphin. ...

How much do you know about extinction? | quiz

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to the blog! This week is our last monthly quiz! We'd love to hear which one was your favourite in the comments! We also have a quick online survey for what our monthly post should be next year. We really appreciate any feedback and this is the best way for you to tell us what you want to see us post about and share! From a monthly challenge to an environmental book of the month - we just want to know what you think! 🍂 click here to vote! So, how much do you know about extinction? You may know some from our " animals you don't know are on the edge of extinction " series, or from the news as extinction is such a buzzword. All of these facts are from reliable sources such as National Geographic, as well as the statistics being cross checked with other websites. 1. How many years ago was the most recent mass extinction? a) 44 million b) 55 million c) 66 million 2. How many species could be threatened ...

18.10.20 Animal Of The Week: Sloth

Hello, Sorry this didn't come out on Sunday as planned but this week's animal of the week is the sloth because the twentieth of October is Sloth Day. Habitat The sloth resides in Central and South America. It lives in the rainforests there and occasionally drops into the water for a bathe as, believe it or not, they are actually excellent swimmers! Diet Sloths eat leaves, twigs and buds which they find in the rainforest. As they don't have incisors they smack their lips together to make leaves more digestible. Sloths can survive on relatively little food as it takes a while for them to digest it. Sleep and Speed When you think of a sloth, you probably think of this slow, sleepy creature. They actually sleep for about 15 hours a day! Sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate (what basic calories your body needs to survive), which means they move at a slow pace through the trees. On average, sloths travel 40 yards per day ...

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back ...

Palm Oil

Hi everyone, Today we would like to share with you some information about palm oil. With all the focus on climate change and plastic pollution, not many people are acting against the use of palm oil. Workers First of all, the managers promise that the workers will have good money, but when they arrive, their passports are taken from them, therefore, meaning they are trapped. Soon they find out that they aren't paid as well as promised. They have to work long hours with no breaks, maternity leave or sick days. Some people have to spray pesticides with leaking cans and no safety gear, meaning they become ill but are still forced to work. Deforestation Many animals are losing their home because the trees are chopped down to make room for the palm trees. they are now facing extinction. Also, trees helped to slow down climate change, but without them, climate change speeds up. So this is a big problem. Help your planet! Image:...

A new mini series about...HOUSE PLANTS!

Hi Everyone! I am so excited to be sharing this because we are starting a new series of posts. There won't be a schedule and there is no specific format for these posts or number of posts in total, we will just be sharing lots of house plant related content! You can expect to see: -a meet and greet with my house plants -tips on how to look after them -fun and rather weird facts -house plants you probably didn't know existed & MORE! We hope you are excited to see some slightly different content on here, it won't replace any existing series or posts! We'll be back very soon with our first house plant post! But first we need your help. We need a name for this series so if you have any ideas then either put them in the comments or email us on contact.greenworldblog@gmail.com. Thank you! Image: This image is owned by a blog editor

Green World

Search This Blog