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

Ecosia

We all need to do something to save our planet: it is no use just leaving it to Greta Thunberg! She is very inspirational, yes, but she can only do so much. She isn't superhuman! The climate crisis is up to us; up to you. We all have to get stuck in. Research, learn, discover and most importantly: never give up! The world's animals need us. The world's trees need us and a simple way to do this is to switch to Ecosia. Ecosia is a search engine but it plants trees while you search the web. Okay, it doesn't have as many websites as google so you may want to have google as a backup but it plants trees: this is your opportunity to make a simple change. Just google Ecosia and search to plant trees. Make a difference. Image: This image is owned by Binyamin Mellish on pexels.com .

Pollination

Hello everyone, Today we're talking about pollination and its importance in the world's ecosystems. First a bit of basic plant biology. To reproduce most plants do have a differentiation into male and female, but not in the same way that we see in mammals. Both male and female reproductive organs can be found on the same plant, although not in the same place. Male gametes are produced in the stamens and are then found in pollen. On the other hand, female reproductive organs are called pistils and egg cells are found in the ovule (normally in the flower heads). Pollination describes the process of transporting the pollen to the egg cells, making it an essential part of the reproduction of plants. Nearly all seed plants worldwide require pollination to reproduce. Cone bearing trees also need pollination. Pollination is almost always assisted by other organisms such as insects, birds and mammals to transport the pollen. In some species wind ...

Linking climate change and inequality - 'The Great Carbon Divide'

Hey everyone, Have you heard of 'The great carbon divide‘? It is often referred to as the 'carbon footprint gap' or the 'emissions imbalance‘, and produces frightening numbers. The great carbon divide describes the huge gap between the amount of carbon dioxide the rich versus the poor emit, and these numbers shocked even us. What does this mean? There have been many different studies, and all of them show terrifying results. One study from the Guardian and Oxfam, reports that the richest 1% of the world's population emit more carbon than the poorest 66%. The richest 1% consist of 77 million people, which may seem like a lot at first, but the poorest 66% refers to over 5 billion people! Africa, which is home to 17% of the world's population, only causes 4% of the world's emissions. This top 1% emitted 16% of global CO2 emissions in 2019, that's 5.9 billion tonnes of CO2. Modelling suggests that it would take someone who isn't in the top 1% about 150...

Overfishing- An Introduction

When writing the article on the Yangtze Finless Porpoise, I briefly touched on the topic of overfishing. Many of you have probably heard about it, and know it is a massive problem threatening our seas and their inhabitants. Overfishing is so destructive, it can kill all life in the ocean, and many of you might be part of it every day. So I read through many articles from international organisations, and they all say pretty much the same things. It's a highly complex topic, with so many things to say and do, so this is just an introduction to the broadest points. It's very interesting (and sad) but when you look into it further you realize there is actually a lot you can do! This is very important, especially for ocean lovers and seafood people. What is overfishing? By definition, overfishing is so intense fishing, people catch fish quicker than the stocks can reproduce. Leading to a massive decrease in stocks that can peak in the extinction of a s...

10 Animals on the Edge of Extinction No. 10- The Javan Rhino

The Javan rhino is listed as the 1st animal on WWF’s list of the 10 world’s most endangered animals, and I for my part, had never heard of it! If you hadn’t either, we’re changing that now. A bit about the rhino’s lifestyle The Javan rhinos are now exclusively found on the island of Java in Indonesia, but were once found in vast regions of northeast india and Southeast Asia. They have a dark grey colour which looks almost black when wet, and their (often pink) skin folds look a bit like plated armor. Both males and females have lower incisors which resemble tusks that they use to fight. Males have one relatively short horn of about 25 cm (10 inches). Javan Rhinos live in tropical forests, marshy areas and in the thick bush. They are mainly browsers and eat over 100 plants species they find in the forest, weigh between 900 and 2300 kg (1984-5071 pounds) and are between 3 and 3.2 meters (10- 10.5 feet) long. How endangered are we talking? Javan rhinos are the most ...

10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no.4 - Sumatran elephant

Hello everyone, This is the 4th post in our '10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about'. Today we are going to be talking about Sumatran elephants. You've probably all heard about Sumatran tigers, which are also on the edge of extinction, but Sumatran elephants are much less well-known. Characteristics Sumatran elephants live for around 70 years and grow 2 - 3.2m tall. They weigh 2 000 to 4 000 kg and are the smallest subspecies of Asian Elephant. The males have tusks, however, these don't grow as long as their African counterparts. The females also have tusks but these are normally so small, that they are hidden under the upper lip. Sumatran elephants are herbivores, eating bark, bananas, young fresh leaves and occasionally various wild herbs. Social lives Elephants are very social and live in herds of 20 - 35 individuals. These herds are led by a dominant female. Males leave when reach adolescence, either willi...

October Top tips | homemade presents

Hi everyone, So today we're going to talk about sustainable homemade presents. If you start now, then some of these would make amazing Christmas presents. 1. Knitting, crochet, embroidery & more yarn items You can make some incredible presents by knitting or crocheting with wool or thick yarn. All you need are needles and wool/yarn. Wool can be expensive if you want good quality so check out this post about making your own yarn out a t-shirt! With thinner yarn you could make some amazing thing through embroidery. Here are some project ideas: Scarfs Socks Blankets Jumpers Pouch Dishcloths Table mat Headband Fingerless gloves Keychains Friendship bracelets Wall decorations Handles for hot pots and pans Figurines Bag designs 2. Origami Origami is an amazing way to show someone that you put time into what you made. You can use paper of any size, colour or pattern. Here are some ideas: Swans ...

September Top Tips | recycling

Hi everyone, Today we are going to be talking about recycling. Recycling is quite big thing in the media, with some critics saying that it doesn't help. But I would say that even though it isn't going to save the world, it will make a small difference and probably save you some money! So here are some recycling ideas (although depending on your personal situation it might be up cycling or down cycling): An old t-shirt turned into an apron An old t-shirt turned into a cushion Tin cans turned into plant pots Tin cans turned into pencil holders Plastic bottles or clear plastic tubes turned into bird feeders An old handbag turned into a picnic basket Lotion, shampoo and conditions bottles turned into storage A shoebox turned into a make up organiser Old t-shirts turned into a baby blanket Plastic spoons turned into mirror decorations Bike parts into a lamp shade An old piano turned ...

LGBTQ+ animals | Pride month special 2022

Hi, As you probably know, it's pride month! Here on Green World we fully support the LGBTQ+ community. Many homophobes and transphobes will tell you that being LGBTQ+ isn't natural. But what they don't know is that over 1 500 different animal species are indeed part of this community! So, today we are going to being covering just a few of these animals. Note: We do not tolerate LGBTQ-phobic comments. All hate comments will be deleted. Sexual Orientation Within the LGBTQ+ community, there are many sexual orientations and most of them can also be found in animals! Here are just a few examples: Rams You probably didn't know, but up to 8% of rams are homosexual. This is quite a lot considering that only 1.7% of US adults identify as homosexual. Laysan albatross 31% of all pairs were lesbian in one study. That is a lot. Bottlenose dolphins One gay pair had a 17 year long relationship. This goes to show that same sex pai...

Green Pets || easy house plants to get you started // best house plants for beginners

Hi Everyone! Today I wanted to talk to you about some easy house plants you could look after to get you started on your green pets journey. These are plants that are easy to look after and that I recommend for an introduction into caring for house plants. If you are a beginner or want to look after some plants, then this is the post for you! 1. Cacti - moon cactus I don't actually have a cactus, but they are the obvious place to start. They need little water and thrive in warm conditions; they are described as "low maintenance". I have done some research and it looks like the moon cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) is the best one in terms of not being too fussy with needing minimal water and tolerates lower light levels. I would like a cactus at some point, but if you are just starting out wanting to care for some house plants, then this is the one to start with! 2. Aloe Vera One of my first house plants, this is one that is rela...

Green World

Search This Blog