B4 BIOLOGY: December 2018

Sunday, December 30, 2018

FEMALE TROGON

MALE TROGON

( All photos collected from google )

In kerala it is also known as theekakka ( തീ കാക്ക ) it means fire crow. They are not migratory birds. The

bird mostly found in dense tropical forests. With its bright crimson coloured underparts. The head and breast of the male are black. However females have got a duller complexion.

DIET

Malabar Trogons feed on insects and fruit. Trogons show sexual dimorphism, with the male being more brilliantly colored.

Jaguar in tupian called beast of preys the third largest cat in the new world. This spotted cat closely resembles the leopard. These animals love swimming at any conditions. According to the studies jaguar plays a vital role to reduce pray's over population.

Jaguar is a predator at the top of a food chain, with no natural predators. Female territories, which range from 25 to 40 km square in size, may overlap, but the animals generally avoid one another. Male ranges cover roughly twice as much area, varying in size with the availability of game and space, and do not overlap. The territory of a male can contain those of several females.

DIET

They regularly take adult caimans, except for black caimans, deer, capybaras, tapirs, peccaries, dogs, zorros, and sometimes even anacondas. It bites directly through the skull of prey between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain.

LIFE SPAN

lifespan in the wild is estimated at around 12–15 years; in captivity, the jaguar lives up to 23 years, placing it among the longest-lived cats.

How forest fire occur

There are two ways :-

1. Naturally

Lightning is the biggest natural cause of forest fires. First a very small percentage started by spontaneous combustion of dry fuel such as sawdust and leaves.

2. Humans

Due to discarded cigarettes, and sparks from equipment etc...

How to escape from a bear

Photo :- google

If it is black bear fighting back may scare the bear off but not in the case of grizzly.

1. Main situation

Carefully observe if the bear has not seen you then let the bear to leave the area. Please don't disturb, ok.

If Bear has detected your presence ups!!! Problem but don't worry their eyesight is quite poor. Stand on the ground and talk slowly than it identifies you are a human and it trys to escape. If the bear has moved on, you should make your way towards assistance as quickly as possible.

2. Do Not Run

If you run...... It will chase you down. Don't forget that bears can charge at 50 km/hr. So please don't act as a pray.

3. Retreat slowly

Try to back up slowly. Important thing is to maintain a space between you and bear. Don't make direct eye contact because it is make bear more aggressive. But keep an eye on it.

4. Climb a tree if available

The bear continues to move closer to you when you have enough time then climp on a tall tree near you. Black bears are strong climbers as well. Grizzlies have also climbed short distances up trees after people. No bear shows any interest to chase you up the tree.

5. The bear charges you

Bears will often bluff charge before attacking. Its just a false charge made by an animal as a threat. It's a perfect opportunity to back away.

6. Use your pepper spray

Protect your eyes first and apply Pepper spray at very close range in to the eyes. Applying spray makes the way to escape.

7. Final stage

After the bear back off, remain patient. After a few minutes make you way towards home If the bear has moved on.

Saturday, December 29, 2018

CAMEL

The camel is also known as the ship of desert. These livestock animals provide food milk, meat and other things.

Many of them says that camels carry water in their humps but Camels do not directly store water in their humps they are reservoirs of fatty tissue.

Life span

The average life expectancy of a camel is 40 to 50 years.

Types of camels

1. Dromedary camel

It is also called the Arabian camel and is a large, even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. Males typically weigh between 400 and 600 kg (880 and 1,320 lb), and females weigh between 300 and 540 kg (660 and 1,190 lb)

2. Bactrian camel

It is a large, even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. The Bactrian camel has two humps on its back.

3. Wild Bactrian camel

amel living in parts of northern China and southern Mongolia. It is closely related to the Bactrian camel are large, double-humped.

LYNX

The ears of the lynx are triangular with a tuft of black fur at the top of each ear. Lynx also have two larger tufts of fur on chin giving them a flared beard appearance. Lynx have a thick coat of fur which protects it's body from winter season and a short tail.

Their paws may be larger than a human hand or foot for walking on snow. The lynx inhabits high altitude forests with dense cover of shrubs, reeds, and tall grass. Although this cat hunts on the ground, it can climb trees and can swim swiftly, catching fish.

DIET

It feeds on a wide range of animals from white-tailed deer, reindeer, roe deer, small red deer, and chamois, to smaller, more usual prey: snowshoe hares, fish, foxes, sheep, squirrels, mice, turkeys and other birds, and goats. It also eats ptarmigans, voles, and grouse.

MIMOSA PUDICA

Mimosa pudica is also known as touch me not because the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, defending themselves from harm, and re-open a few minutes later. It is a flowering plant.

Friday, December 28, 2018

Claw

A claw is a curved, pointed found at the end of a toe. Claw is made of hard protein called keratin. It is the key structural material making up hair, horns, claws, hooves.

Claws are used to catch and hold prey.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

ELEPHANTIDAE FAMILY : SCIENTIFIC NAMES

ELEPHANTIDAE FAMILY

For more details click here :-

SL NO	NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME
I	African	Loxodonta (Genus)
1	African Bush Elephent	Loxodonta africana africana
2	North African Elephant	Loxodonta africana pharaonensis
3	African Forest Elephant	Loxodonta cyclotis
II	Asian	Elephas (Genus)
1	Asian Elephant	Elephas maximus
2	Indian Elephant	Elephas maximus indicus
3	Sri Lankhan Elephant	Elephas maximus maximus
4	Sumatran Elephant	Elephas maximus sumatranus
5	Chinese Elephant	Elephas maximus rubridens
6	Syrian Elephant	Elephas (Genus)
7	Borneo Elephant	Elephas maximus borneensis (Genus)

Monday, December 24, 2018

Defrosting

Defrosting is the melting of an object above the freezing point to remove ice. Simply it means free of accumulated ice, usually by turning it off for a period.

Hibernation

It is most commonly observed during the winter months. The function of hibernation is to conserve energy when sufficient food is unavailable.

Social predator

They are also known as pack hunters, which hunts its prey by tactical team work. A well known pack hunter is the gray wolf. Other pack hunting mammals include chimpanzees, dolphins, lions, dwarf and banded mongooses and spotted hyenas.

Velociraptor the pre-historic beasts also used this same techniques to hunt their pray.

Pursuit predator

It's a form of predation in which predators give chase to fleeing prey. The chase can be initiated either by the predator or by the prey, should the prey be alerted to a predator's presence and attempt to flee before the predator gives chase. The chase ends when either the predator captures and consumes the prey, or the prey escapes.

Ambush predator

Thery are carnivorous animals that use strategy to get prey. They launch a rapid surprise attack when pray is close enough.

Ambush predators are often camouflaged, and may be solitary.

ALLIGATOR GAR

(All photos collected from google)

Alligator gar are ambush predators but they will also ambush and eat any small things they find floating on the water's surface, attacks against people are unknown.

The alligator is the largest, reaching up to three meters long and up to 140 kilograms.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Ovoviviparity

Ovoviviparity is a mode of reproduction in animals in which embryos that develop inside eggs remain in the mother's body until they are ready to hatch.

There is no placental connection with the mother and receive their nourishment from a yolk.

Viviparity

Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent, eventually leading to live birth.

Oviparity

Oviparous animals are animals that lay eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, reptiles, all kind of birds.

Invertebrates

Invertebrates are animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column backbone or spine.

Examples of invertebrates include insects, crabs, lobsters, snails, clams, octopuses, starfish, jellyfish, and worms.

Vertebrates

Vertebrates are animals that have a backbone or spinal column, also called vertebrae.

Examples of vertebrates include humans, dogs, cats, birds, snakes, crocodiles, turtles, frogs, lizards and fish.

Envenomation

Envenomation is the process by which venom is injected by the bite or sting of a venomous animal.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Frilled-necked lizard

The frilled lizard is popular for its frill around the neck. The frill can be up to 20-25cm in diameter when expanded. It is an arboreal animal meaning that it spends the majority of its life in the trees. The lizard lifts up its upper body and runs swiftly on its hind legs like humans. This unique frilled lizard running style enables it to run safely.

Frilled lizards can be found in humid climates such as tropical jungles and forests, across Australia and Papua New Guinea.

DIET

It hunts a variety of insects, spiders, rodents and small reptiles.

GHARIAL

Photo :- google

The gharial is one of the longest of all living crocodilians, thin snouts and rows of uniform sharp teeth supported by a relatively long, well muscled neck makes it a most efficient fish catcher.

Gharials regulate their body temperature by basking in the sun to warm up or resting in shade or water to cool down. Together with the webbed feet it provides tremendous mobility in deep water. On land, a gharial can only slide on its belly and push itself forward.

ARMADILLO

Armadillos are the only living mammals that wear such shells. They are diggers. The smallest species, the pink fairy armadillo 85 g. The largest species, the giant armadillo 54 kg.

DIET

The diets of different armadillo species vary, but consist mainly of insects, grubs, and other invertebrates. Some species, however, feed almost entirely on ants and termites.

ARMADILLOS and HUMANS

Armadillos are often used in the study of leprosy. They are particularly susceptible due to their unusually low body temperature, which is hospitable to the leprosy bacterium, Mycobacterium leprae.

Humans can acquire a leprosy infection from armadillos by handling them or consuming armadillo meat.

Frugivores

A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits, succulent fruit-like vegetables, roots, shoots, nuts and seeds.

CASSOWARY

Photo :- google

Cassowaries are mainly omnivorous. They are very shy bird, but when provoked they are capable of inflicting injuries. They have three-toed feet with sharp claws. Cassowaries can run at up to 50 km/h (approx) through the dense forest and can jump up to 1.5 m. They are good swimmers, crossing wide rivers and swimming in the sea.

BEHAVIOUR

Cassowary the most dangerous bird in the world. Considering the size (heaviest), cassowaries are second only to ostriches . But cassowary attacks are more deadly than ostriches. If provoked, they become extremely aggressive and attack viciously. The powerful legs and sharp claws are primary weapons of cassowaries.

With one blow using these claws, they could even break the bones of a human. When attacks, cassowaries would jump over the victim and attack in both forward and backward direction. It makes the condition of victim very critical.

DIET

They mainly feed on fruits that have fallen to the ground from the trees, along with leaves, grasses, seeds, insects, spiders and also consume other foods such as plant leaf matter, fungi, carrion, as well as insects, snails and small animals such as lizards and rodents.

LIFESPAN

The average lifespan of wild cassowaries is believed to be about 40 to 50 years.

Aggressive behaviour in animals

Aggressive behaviour

Aggressive behaviour in animal that involves actual or potential harm to another animal (growling, barking, tooth displays, etc.). Aggressive behavior is most frequently caused by fear.

YELLOWJACKET

(All photos collected from google)

Yellowjackets are social hunters living in colonies. The diet of the adult yellowjacket consists primarily of items rich in sugars and carbohydrates, such as fruits, flower nectar, and tree sap like others.

Larvae feed on proteins derived from insects, meats, and fish, which are collected by the adults, which chew and condition them before feeding them to the larvae.

COLORING

They are similar in size and coloring to honey bees. Yellow Jackets are yellow and black with stripes or bands on their abdomen. Workers are typically around ½ inch long. Like all insects yellow jackets have six legs and three major body parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen. They have four wings and two antennae as well.

Friday, December 21, 2018

ELEPHANT

Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. There are two species of elephant. The Asian elephant and the African elephant live on separate continents. A group of elephants is called a herd.

* They have characteristic long noses, or trunks used for many purposes, particularly breathing, lifting water, and grasping objects.

* Large floppy ears.

* Their incisors grow into tusks, which can serve as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging.

* Wide, thick legs can carry their great weight.

If encountered in the wild, an elephant can be one of the most dangerous creatures in the world.

DIET

Nearly 80% of an elephant's day is spent feeding. Tree bark is a favorite food source for elephants. It contains calcium and roughage, which aids digestion and also consume grasses, small plants.

Need feedback

ADVANCE HAPPY X'MAS 2018

Need your valuable feedbacks about this blog

CREPUSCULARITY

Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight. Where an animal is active during the hours of daylight or the hours of darkness, respectively.

DIURNALITY

Diurnality means the organism are active during the day time and inactive or have periods of rest during the night time.

METATURNALITY

Metaturnality is the behaviour in which an organism activity during the day or night with regular intervals.

NOCTURNALITY

Large predators prefer to hunt at night is that many of their prey have poor night vision.

It is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day.

Bats are famous for using echolocation to hunt down their prey, using sonar sounds to capture them in the dark.

These creatures generally have highly developed senses of hearing, smell, and specially adapted eyesight.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

FELIDAE FAMILY : SCIENTIFIC NAMES

FELIDAE FAMILY

SL NO	NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME
I	Pantherinae (Subfamily)	Panthera (Genus)
1	Jaguar	Panthera onca
2	Leopard	Panthera pardus
3	Lion	Panthera leo
4	Snow Leopard	Panthera uncia
5	Tiger	Panthera tigris
	Pantherinae (Subfamily)	Neofelis (Genus)
1	Clouded Leopard	Neofelis nebulosa
2	Sunda Clouded Leopard	Neofelis diardi
II	Felinae (Subfamily)	Pardofelis (Genus)
1	Marble Cat	Pardofelis marmorata
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Catopuma (Genus)
1	Asian Golden Cat	Catopuma temminckii
2	Bay Cat	Catopuma badia
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Caracal (Genus)
1	African Golden Cat	Caracal aurata
2	Caracal	Caracal caracal
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Leptailurus (Genus)
1	Serval	Leptailurus serval
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Leopardus (Genus)
1	Andean Mountain Cat	Leopardus jacobitus
2	Geoffroy's Cat	Leopardus geoffroyi
3	Kodkod	Leopardus guigna
4	Margay	Leopardus wiedii
5	Ocelot	Leopardus pardalis
6	Oncilla	Leopardus tigrinus
7	Pampas Cat	Leopardus colocola
8	Southern Tigrina	Leopardus guttulus
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Lynx (Genus)
1	Bobcat	Lynx rufus
2	Canadian Lynx	Lynx canadensis
3	Eurasian Lynx	Lynx lynx
4	Iberian Lynx	Lynx pardinus
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Puma (Genus)
1	Cougar	Puma concolor
2	Jaguarundi	Herpailurus yagouaroundi
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Acinonyx (Genus)
1	Cheetah	Acinonyx jubatus
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Prionailurus (Genus)
1	Fishing Cat	Prionailurus viverrinus
2	Flat-headed Cat	Prionailurus planiceps
3	Leopard Cat	Prionailurus bengalensis
4	Rusty-spotted Cat	Prionailurus rubiginosus
5	Sunda Leopard Cat	Prionailurus javanensis
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Otocolobus (Genus)
1	Pallas"s Cat	Otocolobus manul
	Felinae (Subfamily)	Felis (Genus)
1	African Wildcat	Felis
2	Black-footed Cat	Felis nigripes
3	Chinese Mountain Cat	Felis bieti
4	Domestic Cat	Felis catus
5	European Wildcat	Felis silvestris
6	Jungle Cat	Felis chaus
7	Sand Cat	Felis margarita

CANIDAE FAMILY : SCIENTIFIC NAMES

CANIDAE FAMILY

To display more details about this CANIDAE FAMILY click here

SL NO	NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME
I	True Dogs :-	Canini (Tribe)
		Canis (Genus)
1	Gray Wolf	Canis lupus
2	Red Wolf	Canis rufus
3	Eastern Wolf	Canis lycaon
4	Coyote	Canis latrans
5	Dire Wolf	Canis dirus
6	African Golden Wolf	Canis anthus
7	Eurasian Golden Jackal	Canis aureus
8	Ethiopian Wolf	Canis simensis
9	Side-striped Jackal	Canis adustus
10	Blacked-backed Jackal	Canis mesomelas
		Cuon (Genus)
1	Dhole	Cuon alpinus
		Cynotherium (Genus)
1	Sardinian Dhole	Cynotherium sardous
		Lycaon (Genus)
1	African Wild Dog	Lycaon pictus
		Atelocynus (Genus)
1	Short-eared Dog	Atelocynus microtis
		Cerdocyon (Genus)
1	Carb-eating Fox	Cerdocyon thous
		Dusicyon (Genus)
1	Falkland Island Wolf	Dusicyon australis
		Lycalopex (Genus)
1	Culpeo	Lycalopex culpaeus
2	Darwin's Fox	Lycalopex fulvipes
3	South American Gray Fox	Lycalopex griseus
4	Pampas Fox	Lycalopex gymnocercus
5	Sechuran Fox	Lycalopex sechurae
6	Hoary Fox	Lycalopex vetulus
		Chrysocyon (Genus)
1	Maned Fox	Chrysocyon brachyurus
		Speothos (Genus)
1	Bush Dog	Speothos venaticus
		Nyctereutes
1	Raccoon Dog	Nyctereutes procyonoides
II	True Foxes	Vulpini (Tribe)
		Vulpes (Genus)
1	Arctic Fox	Vulpes lagopus
2	Red Fox	Vulpes vulpes
3	Swift Fox	Vulpes velox
4	Kit Fox	Vulpes macrotis
5	Corsac Fox	Vulpes corsac
6	Cape Fox	Vulpes chama
7	Pale Fox	Vulpes pallida
8	Bengal Fox	Vulpes bengalensis
9	Tibetan Sand Fox	Vulpes ferrilata
10	Ruppell"s Fox	Vulpes rueppelli
11	Fennec Fox	Vulpes zerda
		Urocyon (Genus)
1	Gray Fox	Urocyon cinereoargenteus
2	Island Fox	Urocyon littoralis
		Otocyon (Genus)
1	Bat-eared Fox	Otocyon megalotis

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

KOOKABURRA

Photo:- google

The kookaburra is the biggest member of the kingfisher family. It can grow to be up to 18 inches in length. It's a strong looking bird with a large head and big beak. Kookaburras live in Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania in small family groups.

DIET

Kookaburras are almost exclusively carnivorous, eating mice, snakes, insects, small reptiles, and the young of other birds.

Who performed World's first heart transplantation ?

Heart transplant

Answer :-

Dr Chris Barnard

Dr Chris Barnard performs the world's first human heart transplant. On 3 December 1967, South African doctor, performed heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town.

Monday, December 17, 2018

LEOPARD

Leopards are solitary animals. Most leopards are light colored with distinctive dark spots that are called rosettes. They live in sub-Saharan Africa, northeast Africa, Central Asia, India, and China.

Compared to other wild cats, the leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but generally has a smaller, lighter physique. The maximum weight of a leopard is about 96 kg.

Leopards that are melanistic are known as black panthers.

The leopard is distinguished by its well-camouflaged fur, opportunistic hunting behaviour, broad diet, and strength.

The vertical climber

A leopard has the ideal physiology for tree climbing. They are powerfully built in their shoulders and forelimbs, allowing them to pull themselves up steep tree trunks; they have a low centre of gravity and incredibly high power-to-weight ratio; they have protractile claws allowing them to grip bark; their front limbs are free from attachment to the collarbone (joined only by ligament and muscle) which allows free movement; their mobile backbone allows them to twist and turn and balance themselves, twisting up to 180 degrees relative to the other half of their body; and their tails are long, slender and sturdy for keeping balance when climbing. These adaptations make the leopard the most successful climber of all the predators in the region.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

RABBIT

Rabbits are small mammals with fluffy, short tails, whiskers and distinctive long ears.

DIET

Rabbits are herbivores. Their diets include grasses, clover and some cruciferous plants, such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts. They are opportunistic feeders and also eat fruits, seeds, roots, buds, and tree bark.