Scientists have come across this adorable little leucistic Adelie penguin. He’s not quite albino, because he still has some pigment, but his beige color doesn’t help him much. Apparently the other penguins pick on him, and he hasn’t been able to find a mate yet. This is the first light-colored Adelie penguin recorded, since predators usually easily pick them off from the huge crowd.

Source: TheAge.com.au

Amazon mollies do not live in the Amazon, instead living in the rivers of Texas and Mexico. They are instead named after the Amazon warriors of old. The most interesting aspect of these small fish is that for about 100,000 years (Source), they have survived without males. Through a combination of asexual reproduction, and possible gene-stealing from sister species of fish (such as sailfin mollies), these feminist fishies have managed to keep their species alive without the usual neccessities of genetic mixing. The girls, do, however, have their fun by copulating with males of other species. No conclusions have been reached as to if the matings pass on any genes to offspring, though.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Poeciliidae
Genus: Poecilia
Species: P. formosa

Not exactly an animal, but still in the spirit of my blog. Isabella Rossellini has created a small series of short films about the strange mating practices of various insects, but in a completely engaging and hilarious manner. Green Porno.

Armadillo Lizard

Picture from Cindy Shuttleworth

Armadillo lizards are so named because of their defensive maneuvers. When threatened, they roll up like so, pointing out all their spikes, much like armadillos do.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Family: Cordylidae
Genus: Cordylus
Species:     C. cataphractus

I promised cuteness, and here it is.

Colugo

Picture copyright Peter Loh

Colugos live in Southeast Asia, and are also called ‘flying lemurs’, despite not being lemurs. They are placed in a group that is very broad, and includes everything from lemurs to humans. Colugos reproduce in a manner similar to marsupials. Their babies are born mostly undeveloped, and it crawls into a pouch-like area created by the mother’s big flappy skin. The babies aren’t full grown until 2-3 years later.

Picture from America Zoo

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Eutheria
Superorder: Euarchontoglires
Order: Dermoptera
Family: Cynocephalidae

Agh! Sorry it’s been forever. I just moved back home from my dorm, and so I’ve been busy with finals, and packing, and school in general. I’m home now, and once I’ve got my summer schedule figured out, I’ll be all dandy again. For now, though:

Caecilians

Image courtesy of BBC News

These creatures look like worms, or maybe some sort of underground snake, but really, they’re not. They’re caecilians, which is actually a kind of amphibian. They are blind, though. Scientists have recently discovered that baby caecilian worms actually are nourished by eating the flesh from the tail of their mother. This practice is gross and incredibly creepy, much like the Surinam toad giving birth that I posted earlier. To prove my point, a video. (I promise some sort of cute chaser after this post to make up for all the grossness (especially for involving babies in the grossness)).

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Gymnophiona

Philippine Monkey-Eating Eagle

Picture source Save the Nature for the Future

This eagle is the largest eagle in the world. And it eats macaques. It stands over 3 feet tall and weighs almost 10 pounds. It is endangered, and lives in the Philippines (duh). They now estimate around 200 left in the wild. They lay only one or two eggs a year, like many raptors.

Status: Critically Endangered

Also; check out the feathers!

Picture source Ming’s World

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Pithecophaga
Species: P. jefferyi

I came across this toad, which was too horrifying/sweet to not post about [via Zooillogix].

Surinam Toad

Part of me wants to barf, the other part can’t look away. It’s like popping pimples, but instead of a disgusting gooey mess… baby frogs!

The eggs are not laid into the back, they are deposited on the back of the mother and her skin grows around them. They live in northern South America, and even despite the whole back-brooding capability, they are a freaky looking animal, at least to me, who’s grown up around wood frogs and leopard frogs. They also use their feet to sweep food into their mouth, having no tongue or teeth.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Subclass: Lissamphibia
Superorder: Batrachia
Order: Anura
Family: Pipidae
Subfamily: Pipinae
Genus: Pipa
Species: Pipa Pipa

I got excited, and decided to post about an animal that was one of my absolute favorites to interact with while I worked at the zoo.

Mexican Porcupine

Unlike what you’d expect from porcupines, Mexican Porcupines are not completely covered in spines. These are mostly centered around the head area, and are somewhat evident along the body. It is possible to pet the porcupine with a bare hand, provided you go with the fur and stay away from the yellow spines. But the coolest part about them is that they have a prehensile tail, which is very strong, and prehensility is always awesome. There is little fur at the end of the tail, and even fewer spikes.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Erethizontidae
Genus: Sphiggurus
Species: S. mexicanus

I’ve decided to venture off on my own and start my own blog. One of my favorite things to do is learn quick, interesting facts about animals, and that’s exactly what this blog is for. Every day (more or less..), I will post a picture of an animal, and a few interesting facts about said beastie.

I see no further reason to expound on my intents, so, without further ado, I bring you the…

Aardvark!

(or Ant-Bear)

I figured it was fitting to start off with an ‘A’ animal. Aardvarks live in Africa, and one of the most interesting things about them are their teeth. They have no enamel, and are constantly growing to make up for wear. Babies are born with incisors and canines, but these teeth drop out, and adults only have cheek teeth.

Aardvarks are not related to Anteaters or Armadillos, despite their appearance. Aardvarks are part of their own order.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Superorder: Afrotheria
Order: Tubulidentata
Family: Orycteropodidae
Genus: Orycteropus
Species: O. afer