Squid: Some Interesting Facts

Like octopuses squid are also cephalopods, i.e, their feet originate from their head. We have discussed octopus earlier. today we will discuss squid. If you want to know interesting facts about octopuses, click here.

Till date more than 300 species of squid have been discovered. The size of the normal squids hover in around 50-60 cm. while the giant squid can reach up to 13 meters.

They can swim faster than any other invertebrate.

They have the largest eye in the animal kingdom. The giant squid have the eyeballs of the size of a basketball.

Squid show sexual dimorphism. A mature female is larger than the mature male squid.

They have a very large brain and are considered to be very intelligent.

They possess fins, but unlike any other marine animal, fins are not their primary source of locomotion. They swim backwards i.e, they swim tail first rather than head first.

Unlike other molluscs squid don't have any outer shell covering their body. The hardest part of their body is the beak. The beak is made up of chitin and it is used to kill prey.

They are carnivorous i.e, they eat crusteceans, fish and smaller squids.

Due to their visual similarities, squid are some times mistaken for the octopus. Unlike Octopuses the squid have 10 arms(8 arms and 2 tentacles). Like the octopus they squirt dark ink to distract predators and escape.

Their skin is covered with chromatophores. Due to this they can change their color to match their surroundings. Like fishes they also possess gills.

The giant squid is the largest invertebrate animal in the world. The Humboldt squid is very aggressive and it some times even attacks sharks.

Some squid have bio-luminescent organs in their body due to which they are able to glow in the dark.

The giant squid can grow up to 60 ft and weights up to 1000 lbs. They have a large beak which is very sharp and resists bending. The beak is made up of chitin and it is used to kill its prey.

Squid have three hearts. Their blood contains hemocyanin(a copper rich protein)in place of hemoglobin like ours.

Many species of squid are considered food in many countries.

The life span for a common squid is around 1 to 2 years.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have learned something new and interesting.

Turtles: The adorable & Unique Animal

This article is about turtle which should not be confused with Tortoises. There are some differences between turtles and tortoises. Turtles primarily live in water are omnivorous and have flippers or webbed feet. Whereas tortoise live only in land, are herbivorous and do not have any flipper or webbed feet.

Turtles are one of the oldest reptile group i.e, much more ancient than Lizards, Snakes or Crocodiles and are characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell which acts as a shield. The earliest known turtle date from 220 million years ago. 

They can vary in sizes and weights. The smallest turtle species measured to be not more than 8cm and weighing 140gm where as the largest one reported to be 200cm and weights 900kg. A group of turtles is known as a “bale”.

Turtles are cold blooded animals i.e, their internal body temperature varies according to the environment.

Though most of the species live in water, they need air for breathing and needs to come to land to lay eggs.

Turtles in general have huge numbers of rod cells in their retina due to which they have exceptional night vision.

Turtles do not have any teeth instead upper and lower jaws of turtles have horny ridges. As turtles can be both carnivores as well as herbivores, the ridges differs according to their food habits. Unlike most reptiles turtles cannot stick out their tongues to catch prey rather they use it to swallow food. They have sharp beak for catching prey.

 

Instead of feet the turtles have flippers which help them to swim in water. Sea turtle can generate a swimming speed of 35 miles per hour. Some amphibian turtles have webbed feet instead of flipper due to their continuous interaction with both land and water.

The most unique part of a turtle’s body is its shell. The inner layer of a turtle's shell is made up of bones that include portions of the backbone and the ribs. That is why the turtle cannot crawl out of its shell. The upper portion of the shell is called carapace where as the lower portion is called plastron.

The color of a turtle's shell may vary from brown, black, or olive green(in most of the cases) to  having red, orange, yellow, or grey markings(in some species), there are often spots, lines, or irregular blotches are also found in the shells.With contrast to tortoises, the turtles have lighter shells. This helps them to swim faster with much more agility and not get sink in the water. It has been reported that turtle shell can act as pH buffer also.

Like snakes turtles also molt their skin. But unlike snakes they do not molt their skins all at once, but continuously, in small pieces.

The mother turtle does not participate in any form of parental care. Large numbers of eggs are deposited in holes dug into mud or sand. They are then covered and left to incubate by themselves. In some species the temperature determines the sex(higher temperature means female turtle where as low temperature results in male turtles) of the new born baby turtles. When the turtles hatch, they squirm their way to the surface and head toward the water. Only 1 or 2 out of 1000 turtles hatch ling grow to adulthood.

The turtle eggs have some peculiarities when compared with our well known bird’s eggs. The albumen portion of the eggs contains different protein and so it does not coagulate when cooked. 

Recently almost all of the sea turtle are included in the endangered species of animals. Let us take some steps to save these beautiful and unique creatures.

Hope you enjoyed the article. Thanks for reading.

Polar Bears: Some Unknown Facts

Earlier I have shared some interesting facts abut Penguins which lives in the Antarctic. Today I will share some facts about an inhabitant of the other part of the globe The Polar Bears, which live predominantly in the Arctic circle.

The scientific name of polar bear is Ursus maritimus. Which means maritime bear. As they live mostly in the water.

They have developed several adaptation features for living in the arctic circle.The body of a polar bear is covered by 10 cm thick blabber which protect them from cold weather. Large furry feet and short, sharp, stocky claws giving it good traction on ice.

The fur which seems to us as white is originally not white. It is hollow and reflects light and thus seems as white. 

They don’t drink water. They get the supply of liquid from their prey.

Polar bear is the world’s largest land predator. They have fantastic sense of smell and can detect seals from more 1.5 km away. They also have a good sense of hearing and vision.

They show very explicit sexual dimorphism. A male can grow up to 11 feet and weigh over 1500 lbs whereas females are just half of their size. A newborn is very light(one lb in weight) when compared to mature sizes. The male bear called Boar, the female called sow.

Polar bear builds den with multiple rooms to live as well as with ventilation systems. They reach hibernation like state in the den. Unlike other mammals the body temperature does not decrease during this state but the heart rate slows down considerably.

Polar bear mainly eats seals. They hunt primarily at the interface between ice, water and air. After eating its prey, they clean themselves using water or snow. A liver of a polar bear is so enriched in vitamin A that it is poisonous to human being if eaten.

Polar bear can swim at a pace of 6 mile per hour. But they can can swim up to 100 miles at a stretch. They don’t have any paddle or flipper they swim using their forepaws for propulsion. They can run at a speed up to 40 km/h.

There are no chance that a polar bear and a penguin can ever meet as they live in the opposite ends of the earth. The Greek word for bear is arctic. So Antarctic(where most of the penguins live) literally mans a place where there is no bear. Like penguins, most polar bear born on the land but spend most of their life at sea. 

Unlike Grizzly Bear they are not territorial by nature.

The life expectancy of a polar bear is 25 years.

Only human hunts polar bears. There are no other predator known who hunt them.

They are classified under vulnerable species under IUCN. It is predicted that by 2050 two third of the population will be lost due to global warming and other man made pollutions.

Hope you enjoyed the article. Thanks for reading.

The Octopus: The Myths Vs The Facts

Today I will share some information about an animal which has many myths associated with it The Octopus. I hope after reading this article you will be able to separate the facts from the fictions. So here we go:

The octopus is a cephalopod(meaning foot originated from the head)and closely related to squids and cuttlefish.The name octopus refers to an animal with eight arms. All of them bears suction cups.

Octopuses have very short life span. They can live from 6 months to 5 years depending on the species. Usually they reproduce once in their life time. Male octopus dies withing one month of the reproduction while female dies shortly after their eggs hatch. Female octopuses are also known sometimes to eat their male partners after copulation. Young octopus learns no behavior from their parents.

They are very agile hunter they eat mainly crabs, lobsters, fish, and other molluscs.

The octopus can smell through its arms along with using it as tactile organ because of the presence of olfactory nerves.

They have a very strong mimetic ability and is even greater than chameleons(who is famous for the camouflage). They not only immitate the color of the surroundings but also the texture. This helps them catch their prey as well as to escape from the predators.

Octopuses also possess the power of regeneration. When attached by predators they can detach their arm (which will grow within a week or so) and escape.

They can squirt a cloud of ink. These feature helps them to hide behind the cloud and can confuse both its predators and preys.

Though in popular culture and films octopus have been shown as some monster who can destroys ships and boats with one splash of its arm, Octopuses are neither aggressive nor man eating. And certainly not large enough to crush boats.

The eyes of octopus is very complex in nature and they have a wonderful sense of eyesight. Their sense of smell and touch is also very sensitive but they lack the auditory senses.

Octopuses have three hearts. The color of the blood of octopus is blue. Unlike human and other vertebrates their blood does not contains hemoglobin, it contains a copper rich protein hemocyanin and it is remained dissolved in plasma and not in the blood cells like vertebrates.

They don't have any bones. They possess a hard beak like parrots. Apart from that they donot possess any external or internal skeleton.

Octopuses are the most intelligent among all invertebrates. They can store stort term and long term memories. They have a very highly complex neuron system and unlike vertebrates most of their skill are not originated from their brain but rather from their arms where most of the nerves remain. They have such a strong intelligence but so short life span that many people believe that if they had lived more they would have been a dominant intelligence on earth.

They are the inhabitants of diverse region of the ocean such as coral reefs, pelagic water and ocean floors.

Apart from blue-ringed octopus none of them are deadly to humans. Although most of them are venomous.

In UK till 2013 octopus was the only invertebrate which is protected under Animal Act 1986.

Hope this article is as enjoyable for you to read as it is for me to write. I will be back with some other interesting animal of our Animal kingdom in my next blog. If you have any preferred animal of your own please let know.

Penguins: The Wonder Bird

Its time for finding some interesting facts in the world of birds. And what best to start than the most interesting bird of all time. The PENGUINS.

Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds living almost exclusively in southern hemisphere. There are 17 species of penguins among which most of them are becoming endangered very quickly. The largest living species is the Emperor Penguin (about 1.1 meter in height and weigh 35 kg or more)and the smallest penguin species is the Fairy Penguin(40 cm tall and weighs 1 kg).

In general Penguins are not dimorphic, i.e, male and female penguins are look like the same.

Penguins are carnivorous. They find all their food exclusively in the sea and mostly feed on fish and squids. 

Other than these two they sometimes takes crabs, shrimps also in their diet. Penguins do not have any teeth. They use their beak to catch prey. They have spines on the roof of their beak and tongue. Sometimes they swallow pebbles and stones along with their food. This has believed to help them in digestion and to dive deep in the water.

Unlike other birds Penguins molt their feathers once in a year. Molting may take a week or so, during this time they loose almost half of their body weight.They can not go into the water until they grow waterproof coat.

All the penguin species live in the southern hemisphere. No penguin can be found in north pole.

Penguins are highly social animal. They stay, hunt and swim in groups. Each individual have their distinct sound which allows individual penguins to find their mates and chicks among the groups. The colony size can reach up to 1 million penguins.

Though they generally live in coldest climate possible, they maintain their body temperature at around 100 deg F. This is due to the fact that they have a thick layer of insulating feathers that keeps them warm in water.

Penguins can not breathe under water. They have to come to surface after 10-15 minutes. . They can propel themselves over up to 2meters above water. This technique is similar like the Dolphins.

Though penguins spend most of their lives in the sea they come to land to lay eggs.

Penguin eggs are relatively smaller with proportion to their body weight when compared with other birds. A penguin egg shell is much more heavier(10-15% of the egg’s weight) than other bird’s egg shells. This helps them to minimize the risk of breakage in rough environment.

Penguin’s unique coloring helps them to hide themselves from predators. The black back helps them to blend into the dark water when they are looked from above by the predators and white belly helps them to blend with lighted sky and snow when looked from below by various predators in deep water. Some penguins are born with brown plumage rather than black one. Their life-cycle generally become shorter due to lack of camouflage.

Penguin’s eyes work best in water and they are extremely short sighted in land. Some species of penguins(very rare) have yellow cat like eyes.

Penguins can drink salt water and through a special gland (the supra-orbital gland) filter the salt from going into the bloodstream.

Penguins have the much more feathers(generally 70 feather/sq inch) than any other bird.

The bones in their wings have fused together and become flippers so they can not bend their wings. Penguins can not fly. But they are the fastest swimmers(up to 36km/hour for Gentoo penguins) and deepest divers among all the bird species.

Penguins rarely experience any land predators that is why they are not much with human interaction.

Penguins are very popular around the world, primarily for their unusually upright, and lack of fear of humans. More than 30 countries have featured penguins on their stamps.

Hope you have found some facts which are very interesting as well as new to you. If you have any suggestion please mention it in the comment box. Thanks for reading.