Mammals

Monotreme
Today there is only 5 living species of monotreme they are; the duck-billed platypus and four species of echidna aka piny anteaters. They are about 1 or 2 feet and can weight around 3-4 pounds, are all found in Australia and new guinea. Monotremes have some similarity of reptiles and bird because they lay these tiny eggs less than 2 cm egg that has a shell. however they do produce milk to feed its young. Mnotreme have no teeth but however they do have a single bone in their lower jaw, 3 middle ear bones, high metabolic rates, and hair. Their diet consist of insect larvae, shrimp, frogs, and fish eggs.

Duck- billed platypus
they weight around 22kg for females and 9 kg for males. they have about 800 hairs per square millimeter. That is denser than the fur of the river otter or a polar bear. The thermal qualities of the fur allow the platypus allow the platypus to withstand cold. They have four legs it walks on land and they shuffle like a lizard. the front feet have these large webs of skin that helps them "swim" in water and on land if they are fold back these sharp claws will appear (they help them dig burrows) when swimming their eyes, ear, and nostrils are closed for that they use its electro-sensitive bill locate food. That makes them an excellent hunter at night or in murky water!

Marsupials
Another group of mammals, they give live birth at a very early stage (the baby) from there they are nurtured (given milk) and they grow in their mother pouch they will develop eyes, ears and fur. like other mammals it is covered with hair. they live in forest, plains, and deserts. they include kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, wombats, bandicoots, and oposssums. (kangaroos are the largest marsupials).

Koala
they have soft, wool-like fur that are gray above and white below. they do resemble to a bear but is a marsupial,they weight around 30 pounds and on average they grow about 2 feet. they can live for up to 17 years. they like to live in eucalyptus forest, coastal island,and low woodland. they sleep for 16 hours a day (lazy) and they rather live on their own. they eat tree bark and leaves(eucalyptus). The breeding season is around September- march during that time they increase their activity and sounds to attract males, female can start breeding around their 3rd or 4th year they usually produce one offspring each year. the only only drinks the mothers milk for six weeks! and remains in the pouch slowly growing.

Placental Mammals
they are a very diverse group with nearly 4000 species mostly rodents and rats, they include other forms such as whales, elephants, shrews, armadillos,pets such as cats and dogs, sheep, cattle, and of course us Humans.

Dog


Polar bears

Polar Bears are large, meat-eating bears who are well-adapted for life in their frozen Arctic environment. They are powerful swimmers who hunt seals in the water. Polar bears can run in bursts up to 25 mph. they hunt and catch their prey in the water, often many miles from land. They are fierce predators who eat mostly seals (and some walruses and other marine mammals). A polar bear's stomach can hold up to 150 pounds. Polar bears don't drink water. hen pregnant, females (called sows) build snow dens in which they spend the winter; they usually give birth to twin cubs. Male polar bears (called boars) are active all year. Polar Bears live in icy Arctic areas of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia. They spend much of their time swimming in frigid seas.

Panda
Giant pandas are white with black patches around the eyes, ears, shoulders, chest, legs, and feet.The largest pandas grow to be about 250 pounds They are about 5.25 to 6 feet long. The average adult male panda grows to be about 3 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs about 220 pounds.The average adult female panda grows to be about 2.5 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs about 180 pounds . Pandas have the most specialized diet of any of the bears. Their diet is almost exclusively two species of bamboo ,arrow and umbrella bamboo. Pandas eat about 40 pounds of food each day.Pandas have very thick, oily, woolly fur that keeps them warm in their cold, can live to be 35 years old.Pandas have a very slow reproductive rate which contributes to their declining numbers,Male and female giant pandas mate in the spring, attracting each other with calls and odors. The giant panda seems to have evolved during the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene, roughly two to three million years ago. part of the Ursidae family.

Human/Homo sapiens- i think that you guy have captured and visit our planet to know well enough about us.

Vampire bat
Vampire Bats are small flying mammals. They give birth to live young and nourish them with milk. They are nocturnal; they are most active at night and sleep during the day hanging upside-down. Vampire Bats live in Central and South America. Bats' wings are long fingers covered by thin skin, and they have furry bodies. These tailless mammals have weak legs and don't walk very well. Vampire Bats have a wingspan of only 8 inches.Vampire Bats can see, but use echolocation as their primary sense in order to find insects and small animals to eat. While flying, these bats send out high-pitched sounds that bounce off other objects. The bat listens for the bounced sound, and can determine where objects are located. People cannot hear these high-pitched sounds. The vampire bat is the only bat that eats blood, preying on cattle, horses, large birds and pigs. Vampire bats don't suck animals' blood, they make a small hole with their two very sharp incisor teeth and lap up the blood, which doesn't clot because of anti-coagulants in the bat's saliva.

Chimpanzee
Chimpanzees are very intelligent great apes that are closely related to humans. They live in a variety of environments in western and central Africa. Chimps live in small, stable groups of about 40-60 chimps. They are an endangered species, since the forests they live in are cut down and used for farm land.Chimpanzees often use tools in the wild. They use sticks to get ants and termites to eat and to scare away intruders. They also use chewed-up leaves like a sponge to sop up water to drink. : Chimpanzees are omnivores. They forage for food in the forests during the day, eating leaves, fruit, seeds, and other plant material. They also eat termites, ants, and small animals

Birds

Birds-

Birds are a class of the chordates or vertebrate phylum. They are similar to other chordates in that they have a backbone. They are unique in the fact that they are covered with feathers and fly. There are four types of feathers for birds:

• Down Feathers - These keep both young and old birds warm. They are soft.
• Filoplumes - These are thin and hairlike with tufts on the end.
• Contour Feathers - These cover and protect the body and give the bird its color. The color of these feathers can depend on whether the bird is the male or female of the species.
• Quill Feathers - These large, strong feathers are in the wings and tail and help the bird with flying.

There are about 9000 species of birds, with 24 orders and 146 families. Scientists believe that birds evolved from reptiles and dinosaurs.

Birds are found throughout the world, from the tropics to polar regions. One unique characteristic of many birds is their tendency to migrate. This means that the birds move from colder to warmer areas as the winter approaches.

Birds can be both helpful and harmful to man. They are helpful as they frequently eat harmful insects. They provide food for man. They are pets and can be very decorative. They are harmful when they eat crops and kill animals.

Eagles
The bald eagle is 30-31 inches in length with a wingspan of 6-7 feet. It has a dark brown body, a white tail and a white head and shoulders. It has bright yellow eyes, a large hooked yellow bill, and powerful yellow legs and talons. Young bald eagles won't have a white head and shoulders until they are about five years old. Males and females look alike, although the female is a little larger.



Ducks
Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, being the Anatidae not considered swans and geese. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. The overall body plan of ducks is elongated and broad, and the ducks are also relatively long-necked, butnot as long-necked as the geese and swans. The body shape of diving ducks varies somewhat from this in being more rounded. The bill is usually broad and contains serrated lamellae which are particularly well defined in the filter-feeding species. In the case of some fishing species the bill is long and strongly serrated. The scaled legs are strong and well developed, and generally set far back on the body, more so in the highly aquatic species. The wings are very strong and are generally short and pointed, and the flight of ducks requires fast continuous strokes, requiring in turn strong wing muscles. Three species of steamer duck are almost flightless however. Many species of duck are temporarily flightless while moulting; they seek out protected habitat with good food supplies during this period. This moult typically precedes migration.

Emu

The emu is a flightless bird called ratites, meaning it has a flat breastbone. Ratites differ from other birds in the lack of a keel, a breast bone to which flight muscles are attached. The animals also lack the "preen gland" — so that the feathers are dry and not oily. General characteristics of flightless birds include large legs and feet well developed for running, small wings, and soft feathers not suited for flight. In the emu, the main and secondary feather shafts are of equal length, so that every feather appears to be double. The feathers feel almost like "hair." The emu is a ratite of Australia second in size among living birds only to Africa's ostrich. Emus are capable of running up to 30 m.p.h. when alarmed or threatened. They are adept at swimming and may stand six feet in height and weigh up to 120 pounds. They are often quite tame and approachable when left unmolested.

Animal (continued)

Chordates
Chordates are animals with backbones. Animal groups in the chordate phylum include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.Animals with backbones are the most highly evolved groups of animals, the most complex and complicated. They have interior skeletons and have bilateral symmetry. They have more advanced brains. An chordate takes in food through the mouth. The chordate has a mouth with a tongue. Some have teeth and some do not. It has a digestive system with stomach, intestines. Chordates eat plants and animals. An chordate has a brain and nervous system. Most chordates have two eyes and at least a minimal system of hearing as fish do underwater. Many have excellent hearing. Some chordates are literally blind as the bat, but most have good vision. The chordates have the most developed brains of all the phyla and complex nervous systems.

Tunicates
The Urochordata, sometimes known as the Tunicata, are commonly known as "sea squirts." The body of an adult tunicate is quite simple, being essentially a sack with two siphons through which water enters and exits. Water is filtered inside the sack-shaped body.





sea squirt
sea squirts are also know as ascidians, they belong to the subphylum of the tunicata. tunicates are favored as vertebrates ancestors in the long past. they are small but interesting marine animals. Ascidian Tunicates are called sea squirts because when taken out of the water they squirt the water inside their body with force through the atrium. their body are very simple it is a sack with two siphons through which water enters and exists (it is also filtered in the sack body).

Bull Sharks

Sharks are very aggresive! their skeletons are made up of cartilage than bone, must sharks must keep moving in order to breathe and to stay afloat. Their wide spread of pectoral fins and the upward curve of the tail fin provide lift and sweeping movements of the tail drive, making them good swimmers. Sharks have pointed snouts; their crescent shaped mouths are set on the underside of the body containing several rows of sharp, triangular teeth. They breathe using gills, usually five on each side. They breathe by taking in water and letting it out over the gills. They have two additional respiratory openings on their heads, called spiracles. Fertilization is internal in sharks; the male has paired organs called claspers for locating sperm in to the cloaca of the female. Compared to bony fishes, sharks tend to mature later and reproduce slow. They are found in warm waters around the world's ocean. They will eat anythis they see ( even ALIENS! so be aware). But they can also be fised for their meat, hides, and oils. they weight around 200 to 500 lbs and has a life span of 16 years in the wild. Group name : School or shoal.

Bony Fishes

all bony fishs are part of the osteichthyes. like all fishes, they are coldblooded vertaebrates that breathe through gills and use fins for swimming, they have a skeleton of bone, scales, paired fins, one pair of gill openings, jaws, and paired nostrils.Bony fishes show great variety in body shape, but the "typical" fish body shape is roughly cylindrical and tapering at both ends. This characteristic fusiform shape is quite energy efficient for swimming. Compared to other body shapes, this body shape creates less drag.

Flounder

the flounder fish is a flatfish. their are different kinds of flounder fishs they all depend on the location of their eyes and color. the Pleuronectidae, Paralichthydae, Bothidae, and Archiroposettidae family have their eyes on the left side. Flouder fishs can evove in different sizes. Mature founders can weight up to 600 pounds. In most of the founder fishs species, spawing happens during the hotter months of the year. after hatching from the eggs the tiny creatures appear like most other fish with in other species of eggs rise to a shallow surface.

Atlatic Bluefin Tuna
this tuna is considered to be one of the fastest, and most gorgeously colored of all the world's fishes.their bodies are shape/made for speed and endurance. they are carnivores, they eat smaller fish, squid, eels, kelp and custaceans. they weigh around 500 pounds and has an average size of 6.5 feet! they are warmblooded animals. ( they are eatable Yhumm). they can live from 15-30 years. they are part of the animalia kingdom and in the family of scombridae.

Amphibians
Amphibians is one of the classes of chordates. The words amphibian means both sides of life beacause they spent the beginning of their life in water and then moves on to land. Amphibians goes through the process of what is called metamorphosis which is when they grow from a baby to an adult. During the summer you see a lot of amphibians because of their needs of keeping themselves moist (hibernating). Also some amphibians cover themselves and stay in mud during the winter season to keep themselves from freezing. (it is a cold blooded) . Some common amphibian are frogs, toads, and salamanders. They have very small vertebrates. Amphibians do reproduce sexually. the egg can be fertilized outside of the females body, then she will lay the egg ( they look like jell drops! that can be black or white) the male will then come by and fertilize the egg. But howw does an amphibian live both in water and air?? well in water amphibians take oxygen in trough their skin which goes directly trough the bloodstream, and on land they use their lungs! most amphibians for example frogs have weaker and shorter front leg and the rear legs are much stronger for jumping!

Bufo
bufo are highly intoxicated frogs that has short legs and no webs between their toes. their colors can range from dull green, tan or even black. When the Bufo id attacked it will release this milky substance that come from those large glands behind their head that toxic liquid can and may burn your eyes inflame your skin and can kill cats and dogs that's a good weapon if you guys are tired of cats and dogs :). interestingly more than one male bufo can fertilize the eggs of a female they feed on ants, beetles, earwigs, dragonflies, gastropods and even cat or dog food have been found in their stomachs!

Green tree frog
for one thing they are green! ( well some can also be brown, almost black, dark green all depending on where they live and the weather) the female is slightly bigger than the male. common green frogs take between 2 and 3 years to reach breeding age. to get in the "mood" they love to be in a warmer month of the year from September through march and the perfect temperature of 25 degrees Celsius also they demand high humidity, low barometric pressure and to lite up the fire rain! their diet consist of cockroaches, crickets, grasshoppers, and mice.

Snakes
snake is a reptile that has no legs ( but that disability is replace by a strong a muscular "system" that helps it move around the fastest they can move is several miles per hour) and is covered in scales and can have different colors. and throughout the years you can found a snake shedding its outer skin(molting). they have no eyelids they are replaced by transparent covering to the eye to protect it. some snakes have oval pupils. Snakes have a long tong that is separated in two at the end almost looking like a fork, believe it or not they can smell with that! the teeth of a snake is not use to chew they prey but instead it s use to hold their preys, they swallow they preys whole (talking about manners).

Boa
the boa is a non poisonous snake but they are deadly snakes that kill but not swallow an average human.they weight up to 60 pounds.Boas can give birth to live young, which mean that the fully develop inside their mother and once they are given birth to they are on their own, they have to find their own prey, and know ho to hide they will need those techniques to catch their preys because they hide and wait for their preys and surprise your dead, like a python the boa kill it's prey by constricting them to death then swallow it whole. they eat birds, lizards, frogs and small mammals, larger will even eat monkeys,pigs, and deer! they can also live up to 30 years old in the wild.

Krait
the scientific nam for this snake is bungarus. there is about 12 species and 5 sub-species of kraits. krait may be black or bluishbalck with white arrows. there are found in open fields, human settlements, and dense jungle. Kraits are oviparous and the female can lay about 12-14 clutch of eggs in piles of leaf litter and they stay there until they hatch. During daylight hours, and at night time they turn aggressive ( ill probably be a smart idea meeting with them n the morning). their venom is extremely powerful and quickly induces muscle paralysis.

Turtles
turtles live on both land, fresh and salt water. the ones that live on land are called tortoises and some that lives in fresh water are called terrapins. turtles live in different sizes from a few inches to three meters. They all have two shells with their bodies sandwiched in between. their heads are sometime pointed out and have no teeth, in contrary they have god eyesight with upper and lower eyelids its third eyelid is called a nicitating membrane that covers the eye. they do walk very slowly because of the shape and it's short legs. Some turtles have tails, while some others do not. Turtles all lay their eggs on land in shallow holes covered with sand. Their diet consist of insect, worms, plants, fish and frogs.

Galapagos tortoise
there is about 14 subspecies of the Galapagos tortoise of which 11 still exist. there are done- shelled and saddle-backed Galapagos tortoises. where it is easier to eat on the ground the animals are dome-shelled and those tortoise that feeds on higher growing plant have longer necks with a curved shell. they may be the size of about 29 inches and 610 pounds, there is not a lot of variation in color. they lead a very peaceful and lazy life, but when it come time to mate which is during january and august the male will stalk looking for a female and other rated R action take place.

Box turtle
Is part of the Emydidae family, they are omnivorous that enjoy eating snails, insects, berries, fungi, frogs, fish, snakes, birds, flowers, worms and roots.they may also live up to 100 years or more.

Lizards
Lizards generally live in the tropical zone where it is very warm. lizard and snakes are different because they have four feet and can move quite quickly. the Gila monster i a poisonous lizards and lives in the American Southwest. its is several feet long and has brown and black skin with colored splotches, and it has poisonous glands that can kill a man.

Crocodiles- Alligators
Alligators and crocodiles are in the same reptile subgroup. they live mostly in tropical or semitropical regions. Alligators are found in the southern united states and the crocodiles in Africa, India, South America, and southern united state. they are among the largest reptile they have their bodies covered with scales and they have webbed toes. they live in swamps, and along the banks of rivers. Crocodiles spend more tie in the water then alligators and also it is ore active then the alligator. they crocodile has this greenish-grayish color and alligator is brownish, and they move slower. they both eat fish and nearby land animals, they also attack man! (maybe even aliens).

Salt water crocodile
the salt water crocodile is the largest crocodilian, growing over 0 ft. in length and they weight about 2200 pounds. thy are excellent swimmers and have often been spotted far out at sea. they will eat anything they can put their jaws on things like monkeys, wild boar, and even sharks. Part of the Bask or Float group. their average life spent is 70 years.

Animals

Sponges
sponges are the simplest form of multi-cellular animals. they are diverse and come in different shape and colors. they range in heights of 1-200 cm and in diameters of 1-150 cm. Sponges do not have muscles, nervous system or internal organs!! their walls are lined with small holes (pores) called ostia that allow water to flow into the sponge. Sponges are made of four simple and indepedent cells the first is the collar cells(they help bring oxygen and nutrients to the sponge and also removes waste and carbon dioxide), the second cells are porocyte(cells that makes up the pores of the sponge), the third are the Epidermal cells(forms the skin outside of the sponge) last but not least the fourth which are ameobocytes exist( they carry out functions of the sponge and help transport nutrients). Sponges live in all types of region. 99% of all sponges live in marine water but some made of spongin fiber live in freshwater. Sponges are important in nutrien ts cycles in the coral reef systems. Scientist believe they may be important factors to changes in water quality whether it is good or bad. Sponges can reproduce both asexually and sexually.

Cnidarians
Cnidarians are considered animals and not plants, because of their mouth and a simple digestive system at the center of their tentacles. They are very simple and "beautiful".Cnidarians have features that sponges lack on. One such feature is presence of the gastrula stage during embryonic development. All cnidarians use tentacles which have stinging cells which are used to capture food. There are four major groups of cnidarians Anthozoa, Cubozoa, Hydrozoa, and Scyphozoa.


Corals-octocoral polyps
Octocoral polyps are related to soft corals but since they grow low to the ground they are not nearly as noticeable on a reef or in an aquarium.A coral polyp is a tubular saclike animal with a central mouth surrounded by a ring of tentacles. The end opposite the tentacles, called the base, is attached to the substrate. Depending on the species, coral polyps may measure less than an inch to several inches in diameter. Coral colonies also vary in size. Some corals form only small colonies. Others may form colonies several feet high. Octocoral polyps are commonly called clove, glove and daisy polyps. Most of the corals in this group are a type of Stoloniferan. the polyps have eight prominent tentacles with a varying degree of pinnules which give the tentacles a feathery appearance. When the pinnules are not prominent the polyp bears resemblance to a flower they are anthozoan cnidarians with polyps bearing eight pinnate tentacles and eight complete septa. Most species have a skeleton or tissue containing calcareous sclerites, and an axis that is horny or calcified to varying degrees.



Box Jellyfish
The box jellyfish is also known as box fish and sea wasp. they are invertebrates that are carnivores, they also have one of the fastest working toxins and kills more people each year than any other marine animal.The box jellyfish's venom is among the most deadly in the world, containing toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells.human victims have been known to go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore. Survivors can experience considerable pain for weeks and often have significant scarring where the tentacles made contact. box jellyfish are usually found in shallow waters.They are pale blue and transparent in color and get their name from the cube-like shape of their bell. They have developed the ability to move rather than just drift, jetting at up to four knots through the water. They also have eyes grouped in clusters of six on the four sides of their bell. Each cluster includes a pair of eyes with a sophisticated lens, retina, iris and cornea, although without a central nervous system, scientists aren’t sure how they process what they see. Up to 15 tentacles grow from each corner of the bell and can reach 10 feet (3 meters) in length and weights up to 4 pounds. Each tentacle has about 5,000 stinging cells, which are triggered not by touch but by the presence of a chemical on the outer layer of its prey.They only live for less than 1 year in the wild.


Flatworms

Flatworms also have a sac body plan, meaning they have one opening that functions as both a mouth and an anus. However, flatworms are bilaterally symmetrical, and have three germ layers. Having three germ layers allows for greater tissue specialization, giving flatworms specialized digestive systems, excretory systems,

reproductive systems, and nervous systems, which are exemplified by the Planaria, a heterotrophic free-living flatworm.

parasitic flatworms

Flatworms that are parasitic on humans fall into two categories, flukes and tapeworms. Due to the environment that they live, in a gut of a human, these flatworms have an anatomy different that a planaria. Generally, a parasitic flatworm will have a reduced digestive system and a more complex reproductive system and life cycle. Also, parasitic flatworms will usually have hooks on the scolex (anterior region) to attach it to the wall of the gut, and they have an extra outer covering (glycocalyx) to protect it from being digested. When a flatworm reproduces, the eggs are passed out with feces. When consumed by another host the life cycle continues.Flukes and tapeworms can infect many different animal hosts. They will usually have two each per life cycle, one when sexually mature, which is called the primary host, and a secondary host in which the eggs mature to larvae.


Planaria
Planaria are non-parasitic flatworms of the biological family Planariidae, belonging to the order Seriata. Planaria are common to many parts of the world, living in both saltwater and freshwater ponds and rivers. Some species are terrestrial and are found on plants in humid areas. These animals move by beating cilia on the ventral dermis, allowing them to glide along on a film of mucus. Some move by undulations of the whole body by the contractions of muscles built into the body wall. They exhibit an extraordinary ability to regenerate lost body parts. For example, a planarian split lengthwise or crosswise will regenerate into two separate individuals. The size ranges from 3 to 12 mm, and the body has two eye-spots (also known as ocelli) that can detect the intensity of light. The eye-spots act as photoreceptors and are used to move away from light sources. Planaria have three germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm), and are acoelomate (i.e. they have a very solid body with no body cavity). They have a single-opening digestive tract, consisting of one anterior branch and two posterior branches in freshwater planarians. Because of this three-branched organization, freshwater flatworms are often referred to as triclad planarians.The most frequently used in the high school and first-year college laboratories is the brownish Dugesia tigrina. Other common varieties are the blackish Planaria maculata and Dugesia dorotocephala. Recently, however, the species Schmidtea mediterranea has emerged as the species of choice for modern molecular biological and genomic research due to its diploid chromosomes and existence in both asexual and sexual strains. Recent genetic screens utilizing double-stranded RNA technology have uncovered 240 genes that affect regeneration in S. mediterranea. Interestingly, many of these genes are found in the human genome.It should be noted that the term "planaria" is most often used as a common name. It is also the name of a genus within the family Planariidae. Sometimes, it also refers to the genus Dugesia.

Roundworms

Roundworms (phylum Nematoda) are a tube-within-a-tube body plan. That is, unlike the Platyhelminthes and Cnidarians which have a single opening functioning as a mouth and an anus, the Nematodes have a separate mouth and anus. This design does allow for specialization of digestive organs, but Nematodes simply have a gut. Sexual reproduction will typically occur between separate sexes, with internal fertilization, and eggs laid for young.

Annelids

The annelids include animals such as the earthworms, leeches, and marine worms. The general characteristics of an Annelid are similar to those of a roundworm; in that, they are bilaterally symmetrical, have tree germ layers, tube-within-a-tube body plan, and organs. However, an Annelid also has a true coelom, and segmentation, which both allow for greater specification of body parts. Septa are partitions between segments and allow structural support by creating a hydroelastic skeleton. The septa allow for specialized parts of the digestive system, which will be discussed in the anatomy of the earthworm later in this lesson. The excretory system consists of nephridia (filtering organ) in each segment. The Annelid moves by alternating contractions of circular and longitudinal muscles. The circular muscles encompass the body wall and therefore contractions cause the body to become long and thin. The longitudinal muscles run the length of the body, and cause the body to shorten and fatten.

earthworms
are very important animals that aerate the soil with their burrowing action and enrich the soil with their waste products (called castings).There are over 3,000 species of earthworms around the world.These invertebrates (animals without a backbone) range in color from brown to to red, and most have a soft body. Earthworms range in size from a few inches long to over 22 feet long. The largest earthworms live in South Africa and Australia. Although each earthworm is hermaphroditic (having both male and female reproductive systems), it takes two worms to mate and reproduce. The reproductive organs are in the clitellum (the enlarged segments in the middle of an earthworm). The clitellum later forms a cocoon which protects the developing eggs.


mollusks
mollusk is another name for a shellfish.A Mollusk has a soft, thick, fleshy body. It can be very small or as big as six feet across. There are three groupings of shellfish. the first Hatchet-footed-these kinds lives inside of two shells that ere connected by a muscular hinge which can open and close the shell they are know as bivalves. Clams, scallops, oysters and mussels are bivalves. the second are the belly-footed these have just one spiral shell and carry their shells on their backs They are called univalves Snails, slug,periwinkle and conch belong to this group. the last are the head-footed these have a definite head surrounded by tentacles. the squid and octopus are two in this group.


Oysters
They are part of the hatchet-footed categories of mollusks.The common name oyster is used for a number of different groups of bivalve mollusks, most of which live in marine habitats or brackish water. The shell consists of two usually highly calcified valves which surround a soft body. Gills filter plankton from the water, and strong adductor muscles are used to hold the shell closed. Some types of oysters are highly prized as food, both raw and cooked. Other types, such as pearl oysters, are not commonly eaten. True oysters, belonging to the family Ostreidae, are incapable of making gem-quality pearls, although the opposite idea is a commonly-encountered misapprehension, often seen in illustrations or photographs where an edible oyster shell is mistakenly paired with a gem-quality pearl.


Conch
part of the belly-footed category.A conch is one of a number of different species of medium-sized to large saltwater snails or their shells. True conchs are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Strombidae, and the genus Strombus. A conch's shell has a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal. Other species often called a "conch" include the crown conch Melongena species; the horse conch Pleuroploca gigantea; and the sacred chank or more correctly Shankha shell, Turbinella pyrum. None of these are in the family Strombidae, but instead in other families of the molluscs.Another use, the conch in architecture refers to shells with a totally different scallop shape. The true conch species within the genus Strombus vary in size from fairly small to very large. Several of the larger species are economically important as food sources; these include the endangered queen conch or pink conch Strombus gigas, which very rarely may produce a pink, gem quality pearl. About 74 species of the Strombidae family are living, and a much larger number of species exist only in the fossil record. Of the living species, most are in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Six species live in the greater Caribbean region, including the Queen Conch, and the West Indian Fighting Conch, Strombus pugilis. Many species of conch live on sandy bottoms among beds of sea grass in warm tropical waters.

octopus
the octopus is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also refer to only those creatures in the genus Octopus. In the larger sense, there are around 300 recognized octopus species, which is over one-third of the total number of known cephalopod species. An octopus has eight flexible arms, which trail behind it as it swims. Most octopuses have no internal or external skeleton, allowing them to squeeze through tight places. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms. Octopuses are highly intelligent, probably the most intelligent invertebrates. They are known to build "forts" and "traps" in the wild, and for rearranging tanks and burying other animals alive in domestication. For this reason, they are quite notorious among aquarium operators. For defense against predators, they hide, flee quickly, expel ink, or use color-changing camouflage. Octopuses are bilaterally symmetrical, like other cephalopods, with two eyes and four pairs of arms. All octopuses are venomous, but only the small blue-ringed octopuses are deadly to humans.


Echinoderm
Starfish belong to a group or phylum of animals called echinoderms. This means "spiny skinned" in Greek. Echinoderms live in salt water only. They generally have five arms and dwell at the bottom of oceans' levels. There are around 6000 species of echinoderms. The starfish, sea urchin, sea cucumber and sand dollar are some good examples. A Echinoderm has an inner skeleton. It travels by means of many tube feet. Echinoderm has a mouth and stomach area. Some have a mouth on the bottom and an anus on the top.Starfish can actually turn their stomachs outside of their body and insert it into its prey's such as a clam. Echinoderms have a relatively big gut area.A Echinoderm is a male or female. The males and females discharge their eggs and sperm into the water where they are fertilized. A female can release one hundred million eggs at once. If a piece of certain echinoderms is chopped off, a new piece or even a new echinoderm can regrow.A Echinoderm has an inner skeleton. It travels by means of many tube feet. Echinoderm has a mouth and stomach area. Some have a mouth on the bottom and an anus on the top.Starfish can actually turn their stomachs outside of their body and insert it into its prey's such as a clam. Echinoderms have a relatively big gut area.A Echinoderm is a male or female. The males and females discharge their eggs and sperm into the water where they are fertilized. A female can release one hundred million eggs at once. If a piece of certain echinoderms is chopped off, a new piece or even a new echinoderm can regrow.

crown of thorns
the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish is a large nocturnal sea star that preys upon coral polyps. The crown-of-thorns receives it name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its body. The Crown-of-Thorns is endemic to tropical coral reefs in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. Solitary animals, they feed alone and maintain constant distance between themselves and other members of their species. The Crown-of-Thorns is the second largest sea star in the world. Only the Giant Sunstar is larger.


sea urchin
Sea urchins are spiny marine invertebrates that comprise, along with sand dollars, sea biscuits, and heart uchins the Class Echnoidea within the Phylum Echinodermata. Sea urchins differ from the other echinoids by having a more-or-less spherical body-plan and are thus referred to as "regular" or "globose" echinoids. Like other echinoderms, sea urchins utilize a hydraulic system of tube feet for locomotion and display pentameral or five-rayed symmetry - most clearly delineated in their test (a.k.a. shell). Although relatively small (generally less than 15 cm in diameter), some species can have spines over 20 cm long. With somewhere around 800 extant species, sea urchin are a cosmopolitan critter - found from the Arctic to the Antactic and from the intertidal zone to the deep-sea, common colors include black and dull shades of green, olive, brown, purple, and red. They move slowly.

sea cucumber
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms. Sea cucumbers are sausage shaped, and their skin is covered with warty bumps or soft spines. When threatened, cucumbers can contract their muscles and shoot out water from their body making them shorter, thicker, and harder. Some can even shoot out their insides and then go and grow new insides. their diet consist of dead and decaying organic material, algae, tiny plankton. these are the types of sea cucumbers;California, sweet potato, warty, white, orange, slipper.There are some 1,250 known species, and many of these animals are indeed shaped like soft-bodied cucumbers. All sea cucumbers are ocean dwellers, though some inhabit the shallows and others live in the deep ocean. They live on or near the ocean floor—sometimes partially buried beneath it.The animals break down these particles into even smaller pieces, which become fodder for bacteria, and thus recycle them back into the ocean ecosystem. Earthworms perform a similar function in terrestrial ecosystems.Sea cucumbers can breed sexually or asexually.

arthropods

Animal GroupArthropods are animals with segmented bodies and six or more jointed legs. They are the largest animal group on Earth. In fact, more than three out of four of all animals are arthropods. They are found everywhere - on land, in trees, in freshwater and saltwater, and even underground. Arthropods are generally small. Most are less than 1 cm long. Some arthropods, however, are quite large. The giant king crab, for example, measures over 3.2 m from the tip of one outstretched leg to another. Some of the most familiar arthropods are butterflies, beetles, flies, ants, bees, spiders, scorpions, shrimp, and crabs.
Arthropods are critical to the food chain. They are the major source of food for most other animals and even a few plants. Birds, reptiles, fish, and other arthropods eat them. Even people eat arthropods. In the oceans, arthropods such as krill, copepods, and other crustaceans form the foundation of the food chain on which most fish and sea mammals survive.

lobster
Lobsters are ten-legged crustaceans closely related to shrimp and crabs. These benthic, or bottom-dwelling, creatures are found in all of the world’s oceans, as well as brackish environments and even freshwater. They have poor eyesight but highly developed senses of taste and smell. They feed primarily on fish and mollusks, but will consume algae and other plant life and even other lobsters. They feed primarily on fish and mollusks, but will consume algae and other plant life and even other lobsters.Female lobsters carry their eggs under their abdomens for up to a year before releasing them as larvae into the water. The larvae go through several stages in the water column before settling on the bottom, where they spend the rest of their lives. They ge nerally prefer to live in self-dug burrows, in rocky crevices, or hidden among sea grasses. Lobsters must shed their shells in order to grow, and some species can live to be 50 years old or more, growing continually throughout their lives.


king crabs

King crabs, also called stone crabs are mainly found in cold seas. Beacause of their size and taste, they’re c o u ght abundantly and sold sold as food. They’re believed to originate from the hermit c rab ancestory, which may be the reason why the adult form is still found asymmetry. The evidence for this explanation comes from the asymmetry of the king crab's abdomen, which is thought to reflect the asymmetry of hermit crabs, which must fit into a spiral shell. King crabs have 6 legs, one larger crusher claw and one smaller pincher claw.

Ants

Ants are common insects, but they have some unique capabilities. More than 10,000 known ant species occ u r around the world. They are especially prevalent in tropical forests, wh ere they may be up t o half of all the insects living in some locations. Ants communicate and cooperate by using chemicals that can alert others to danger or lead them to a promising food source. They typically eat nectar, seeds, fungus, or insects. However, some species have diets that are more unusual.An t s are social insects of the family Formicidae belonging in the order Hymenoptera. They range in size from 8/100 to 1 inch. Their body are divided into three sections: the head, the thorax, an d the abdomen. The thorax, or mus section is connected to the abdomen bya small waist section. The mouth consist of two sets of jaws. The outter part is used for carrying food and building nest, while the inner jaw is used for chewing. Most ants have simple eyes, called ocelli, on top of the head, as well as the compound eye with many lenses on each side of the head, but their vision is poor, but the most useful than the eyes are the antennae, two slender rods that wve constantly when ants move about. The antennae is used for their se nse of smell and touch, they also use the rods located on their antennae to recognixe their nest and colony.

Funnel web spider
Funnel webs are large spiders, 1.5 - 4.5 cm body length with glossy dark carapace. The abdomen is usually dark plum to black and not patterned. Female Funnel web spiders spend most of their life in their burrows, but do occasionally hunt at night. Males however wander in search for females, mainly during summer and autumn. The males spend their whole short adulthood seeking as many receptive females to mate. They approach the females in their burrows by following their chemical attraction scent. During mating, the male must restrain the female from striking him with her fangs using the spurs on his second legs, while he transfers sperm into her genital opening. The female then spins a pillow shaped silk egg sack, which holds up to 100 eggs. They hatch in about three weeks later and stay with their mother for a few months. They mature in about two to four years , females living up to 10 years, male dying about 6 to 10 months after maturity.

Plants

Mosses

are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm (0.4-4 in) tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems.here are approximately 12,000 species of moss.Mosses are found chiefly in areas of dampness and low light. Mosses are common in wooded areas and at the edges of streams. Mosses are also found in cracks between paving stones in damp city streets. requires moisture to survive.

Fern

Unlike mosses they have xylem and phloem (making them vascular plants). They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants. Ferns do not have either seeds or flowers (they reproduce trough spores).Ferns first appear in the fossil record in the early-Carboniferous period. By the Triassic, the first evidence of ferns related to several modern families appeared. The "great fern radiation" occurred in the late-Cretaceous, when many modern families of ferns first appeared.

Gymnosperms

In these plants the seeds are not enclosed in an ovary, as in the flowering plants; they grow on the surface of a modified leaf in a strobilus or cone.

Gymnosperms were the dominant land plants in the age of dinosaurs, the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods.

• Pines

Most pines native to North America can grow as high as 197-262 ft (60-80 m). The leaves are all needle like and arise from the stem in bundles, called facicles. Each Facicles are associated with a fascicle sheath, a special tissue located at its base. Since pines have needles throughout the year, they have the potential to photosynthesize whenever conditions are suitable. They are well adapted for growth in harsh dry areas. The outer surface of the needle has a waxy layer, called a cuticle, which helps reduce evaporative water losses. Pines trees are one of many plants whose seeds are not enclosed within an ovary, known as Gymnosperms.

Angiosperms
Angiosperms are flowering plants. Angiosperms are the biggest group in the plant kingdom. They mad their first appearance in the fossil record during the Cretaceous period.They have true roots, stems, leaves and flowers. They also have seeds.The seeds are formed when an egg or ovule is fertilized by pollen in the ovary. The ovary is within a flower. The flower contains the male and/or female parts of the plant. Fruits are frequently produced from these ripened ovaries.

• Apple

• Tomato

tomatoes produce fruit that develop from a flower so therefore they are angiosperms.

• Orchid

Fungal Paradise

Yeast in Industry
Yeasts are eukaryotic microorganisms classified in the kingdom Fungi. hey dominate fungal diversity in the oceans. Most reproduce asexually by budding, although a few do so by binary fission. Yeasts are unicellular, although some species with yeast forms may become multi-cellular through the formation of a string of connected budding cells known as pseudohyphae, or false hyphae as seen in most molds. Yeast size can vary greatly depending on the species, typically measuring 3–4 µm in diameter, although some yeast can reach over 40 µm. The yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used in baking and fermenting alcoholic beverages for thousands of years. It is also extremely important as a model organism in modern cell biology research, and is the most thoroughly researched eukaryotic microorganism. Researchers have used it to gather information into the biology of the eukaryotic cell and ultimately human biology. Other species of yeast, such as Candida albicans, are opportunistic pathogens and can cause infection in humans. Yeasts have recently been used to generate electricity in microbial fuel cells, and produce ethanol for the biofuel industry.


Poisonous Mushrooms
Poisonous Mushrooms refers to deleterious effects from ingestion of toxic substances present in a mushroom. These symptoms caused can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death. The toxins present are secondary metabolites produced in specific biochemical pathways in the fungal cells. Mushroom poisoning is usually the result of ingestion of wild mushrooms after misidentification of a toxic mushroom as an edible species. The most common reason for this misidentification is close resemblance in terms of color and general morphology of the toxic mushrooms species with edible species. Even very experienced wild mushroom gatherers are sometimes poisoned by eating toxic species, despite being well aware of the risks.

Lichens
A lichen is a symbiosis. Meaning it is two or more organisms living together such that both are more successful within the partnership than they would have been if they were living on their own. With lichens the basic components of this partnership are a fungus called the 'mycobiont' and one or more algae and a cyanobacteria called the 'photobiont'. The true nature of the symbiosis between this two partners is still being debated by scientists and some would maintain that the fungus is a parasite on the photobiont. However, in many cases, the algae in question cannot survive alone in the habitat occupied by the lichen any more than the unattached fungi can, so it is not realistic to use the term parasite. The fungal partners are mostly Ascomycetes. Most of the rest are Basidiomycetes. As far as science has been able to discover few if any of the fungi involved can survive and reproduce in the wild on their own.