Animals 46-50 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the final part in our '50 Incredible Animal series' where you can find out about animals 46-50. We started this series almost a year ago to celebrate our 50th post and it feels crazy to think that we are now nearing our 100th. To read all of the previous posts from this series, click here. Hope you enjoy it!

46. Spiny bush viper

Spiny bush vipers, Atheris hispida, are a species of venomous snake native to Central and East Africa in tropical forests and shrubland. They are mostly solitary creatures but can climb trees, which is where they find the majority of their prey. Spiny bush vipers are carnivorous and feed on mammals, frogs and lizards, as well as birds. Independent from birth, Spiny bush vipers can have up to 12 'snakelets' at a time and are 15cm in length. Currently, there are no known threats to Spiny bush vipers, and they are categorized as Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List.

47. Leafy sea dragon

Leafy sea dragons live in the sea off the coast of South and East Australia and are closely related to seahorses and pipefish. They are generally browny-yellow in colour and have a near-perfect camouflage to seaweed. Leafy sea dragons have no known predators, however, they are classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. They suffer from the effects of pollution and habitat loss, and in the 1990s the Australian government had to place complete protection on the species due to divers taking so many to have use as pets that their numbers reduced dramatically!

48. Lilac-breasted roller

These are extremely colourful birds, native to sub-Sahara Africa and the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. They live in woodlands and stay away from treeless areas. They are not frightened of humans but will avoid cities. They nest in trees and take turns looking after 2 - 4 eggs. Both parents are very protective and will defend the nest against predators. They mate for life and often stay in family groups for the winter.

Lilac-breasted rollers often appear in folklore. Many indigenous African tribe marriage rituals include their feathers and they were also considered the bird of peace! It is the national bird of Kenya and of Botswana (although not officially).

49. Mata Mata

They are extremely weird-looking turtles, that live in the leaf debris on the beds of streams. And no, they are not from the town of Matamata, which is in New Zealand. They are actually from the Amazon and the Orinoco basins, so in South America. Their shells and colourings differ slightly depending on which area they live in.

Mata mara is quite easy, moving a little and waiting for their prey to come to them. They then suck the fish up like a vacuum cleaner! They grow a lot, reaching sizes of up to 60 cm (2 feet). They don't even have to move to breathe! Their necks are actually longer than their backbone and while their body stays on the stream bed, their head is above water level!

50. Golden turquoise beetle

The golden turquoise beetle is widely distributed in the USA, mainly in the East. Their eggs can be found attached to the underside of leaves and stems. They are white. The beetles themselves take on a very beautiful turquoise-golden colour as they grow older, giving them their name. They are small in size about 1/4 inch (roughly 6 mm). They feed on sweet potatoes and bindweed among others. Not much else is known about them.

We hope you enjoyed this post. See you next time!

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Images:

Atheris hispida, owned by Bree McGhee (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Lilac-Breasted Roller, Maasai Mara, owned by . Ray in Manilla (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Sources:
https://animalia.bio/spiny-bush-viper
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/leafy-sea-dragon
https://ebird.org/species/librol2
https://animalia.bio/mata-mata
https://beetleidentifications.com/golden-tortoise-beetle/

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