Showing posts with label prey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prey. Show all posts

The Kimberley Throws Out Another New Species

Acanthophis cryptoamudros kimberley death adder
You would think that all the snakes in Australia are known.  However a new species has been found.  It is a death adder in the Acanthopis family.  Official named Acanthophis cryptoamudros the Kimberley death adder is two thirds of a meter long.  Like many snakes its head is diamond shaped.

Adders hide and blend in with the underbrush then ambush prey.  Four legged reptiles and small mammals are the main food.  Oddly, the new adder does not look like other adders.  It is similar to snakes of other species.

Australia has been a happy hunting ground for scientists recently.  Many new animals have been identified.  The search goes on in this sparsely populated region of the dry continent.    New species include: shark, dolphin, antechinus, seadragon, lizard, fish and spider, ,     A new water flower has also been discovered.
◆Biology by Ty Buchanan ◆
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death Acanthophis cryptoamudros adder underbrush prey ambush mammals reptiles new species
THE KIMBERLEY IS THE CENTER OF DISCOVERY FOR NEW SPECIES
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Wedge-Tailed Eagle Diet Identified

It is amazing how little we know about supposedly common animals, ones that are easily seen and in contact with us. Rabbits were thought to be the main diet for the wedge-tailed eagle. However, the bird consumes other things as well. It should be noted that rabbits were introduced and the eagle must have have relied on other prey before the nuisance animal arrived.

When viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD) wiped out the rabbit population the wedge-tailed eagle actually fared better. Castings, the vomit of eagles, showed that their diet consisted of 20 bird species, seven reptiles, 19 mammals and a crustacean.

Some mammals they ate were large such as the eastern grey kangaroo. The common Galah was a native bird high on the diet. Rabbits are easy to catch when they are plentiful. A fall in rabbit numbers pushed them back to their traditional food sources. Despite the move, native animals have survived. Nature seems to be in balance. 
Conservation by Ty Buchanan
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Spiders Eat Fish

It is commonly believed that spiders are land dwelling creatures that eat air breathing prey. However, this is a misconception. New research shows certain spiders eat fish.

These spiders exist on all continents except Antarctica. No less than eight kinds of spider consume fish up to twice their size. they also eat amphibians, mice, bats and birds.

The diving bell spiders lives underwater. Many spiders live on the edge of water bodies and will eat just about anything that can be caught. Some fish they catch are very large indeed. Spiders take the chance of a rough fight because nearly all of a fish is edible.

They hunt by holding on to something solid on the land with two of their rear legs. When a fish actually touches one of the six legs in the water the spider pounces completely leaving the land and bites the fish on the neck.

We do not know everything about nature. Much of the living habits of animals is still unknown. As time goes on and data are accumulated we will know more but never all of it.
Ethology by Ty Buchanan
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Large Ancient Platypus With Teeth

We see the platypus as a quiet curious animal always on the go, but millions of years ago it was twice as big and had vicious teeth. It hunted turtles crayfish and frogs. Paleontologists have called it Platypus Godzilla because it would have been quite vicious.

The modern platypus, Obdurodon tharalkooschild, is only half a meter long. Its quiet, secretive life could indicate that it is heading for extinction. Identifying platypus fossils is easy if teeth are found, because they are so different from other species.

Platypus teeth are blunt. The animals must have "bruised" their prey to death. Fossils of the ancient platypus were not ancestors of modern platypus. They were a side branch "experimenting' with being a larger size.

Just why platypus millions of years old had functioning teeth while modern ones have virtually lost theirs is not known. Despite being good a hunter Godzilla did itself go extinct. Modern tharalkoo live in a narrow niche. If there is drastic change in the environment they will perish.
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Society by Ty Buchanan
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Fish Are Intelligent and Can Remember

For years scientists told us what we wanted to believe - that fish have short memories only lasting one lap of the fish bowl. Now the truth has got out. They are intelligent creatures who can learn to do things and can even deceive other animals. Once attacked, if they escape, they remember which predator tried to kill them. Unlike humans, however, there is a cost when they use their intelligence. If they are given one fish for food they are very efficient in catching it, but if given two types of prey they apparently become confused and their effectiveness declines.

Fish interact in a social way. They recognize familiar others and modify their behavior accordingly. Siamese fighting fish will take advantage of a weak fighter by observing fish fights and readily attacking the weaker fish. Fish that clean others act busy when potential "customers' are watching. In a way they advertise.

The myth about fish having no memory or even intelligence is most likely promulgated to justify fishing, when fishermen say it is alright to jab in a hook or gut a fish because they "don't feel any pain".

An example of fish learning occurred when Professor Charles Erikson fed fish after calling to them by saying "fish-fish". When he returned five years later he called to them and some fish came to the surface expecting food. Examples of smart thinkers are trigger fish which use tools to trick prey that hunt them, and frillfin which jump back into rock pools to avoid birds.
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Environment
TwitThis
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Hunting Animals Chose What They Eat

Hunting animals don't just eat what they "bump into". They select "who" they need to eat to maintain a healthy diet. This gives them a better chance of growing strong and big so they can reproduce and pass on their genes.

A team from the University of Sydney, Oxford University, Aarhus University (Denmark) and Exeter University researched the ground beetle (Anchomenus dorsalis). Beetles were divided into three groups: one had a selection of bugs offered to them; the second group had high-protein food; and the third had high-fat offerings. The latter two groups did not fair very well. Those in the first group did very well. They chose ants, slugs, moths, aphids and beetle larvae as they wanted and produced more eggs than the other two.

It was known that herbivore and omnivore insects ate varied diets. This study confirms the view that all animals select their food due to inner craving created by the body based on the body's immediate needs.

The problem is however - What happened to Man? Humans seem to have lost this attribute, consuming food that the body doesn't need: indeed, eating food that reduced longevity.
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Biology
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Fish Are Intelligent and Can Remember

For years scientists told us what we wanted to believe - that fish have short memories in line with one lap of the fish bowl. Now the truth has got out. They are intelligent creatures who can learn to do things and can even deceive other animals. Once attacked, if they escape, they remember which predator tried to kill them. Unlike humans, however, there is a cost when they use they intelligence. If they are given one fish for food they are very efficient in catching it, but if given two types of prey they apparently become confused and their effectiveness declines.

Fish interact in a social way. They recognize familiar others and modify their behavior accordingly. Siamese fighting fish will take advantage of a weak fighter by observing fish fights and readily attacking the weaker fish. Fish that clean others act busy when potential "customers' are watching. In a way they advertise.

The myth about fish having no memory or even intelligence is most likely promulgated to justify fishing, when fishermen say it is alright to jab in a hook or gut a fish because they don't feel any pain.

An example of fish learning occurred when Professor Charles Erikson fed fish after calling to them by saying "fish-fish". When he returned five years later he called to them and some fish came to the surface expecting food. Other examples include trigger fish which use tools to trick prey that hunt them, and frillfin which jump back into rock pools to avoid birds.
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