Common name : Freckled guitarfish Scientific name : Rhinobatos lentiginosus Family : Rhinobatidae Native to : Western Atlantic Ocean Interesting fact : It has no spineon its tail. Conservation status : Near Threatened The Atlantic guitarfish looks like a hybrid between a shark and a ray. Its flat body is freckled with white spots, has […]
Common name : Queensland lungfish, Burnett salmon, Barramunda Scientific name : Neoceratodus forsteri Family : Ceratodontidae Native to : Queensland Interesting fact : It has onlyone lung whereas other species havea pair and can live outside water for days. Conservation status : Not Evaluated The only living member of the family, the Australian lungfish is
An anthill is functional due to hundreds of ants working together. Each anthill has its own smell and any interloper with a different smell is chased away. Whenever an ant finds food, it will sprinkle its unique smell on it and rush back to inform others. On its way, it will sprinkle its smell at
Why do ants touch one another before walking away in opposite directions? Read More »
Common name : Sea wolf, Sea cat, Ocean catfish,Devil fish, Wolf eel Scientific name : Anarhichas lupus Family : Anarhichadidae Native to : West and East coast of the Atlantic Interesting fact : Its body contains a natural anti-freeze to thrive in a cold habitat. Conservation status : Endangered This shy fish with an eel-like
Zebras, donkeys and horses might look like they belong to the same family; yet, there are very important differences among them. Their tails make a big difference. Zebras and donkeys have thin tails with tufts while horses have beautiful tails full of long hair. The former primarily use their tails to swat away flies, while
Why is a horse’s tail so different from that of a zebra or donkey? Read More »
Common name : Bullhead, Puff-belly, Whippy, Sculpin Scientific name : Hemitripterus americanus Family : Hemitripteridae Native to : New England and North-West Atlantic Interesting fact : Their bellies inflate when out of water and are unable to submerge Conservation status : Not Evaluated You’ll find this large species of scorpion fish in rocky bottoms of
Common name : Reeffish, Wreckfish, Jewelfish Scientific name : Anthiinae Family : Serranidae Native to : Deep reefs in the tropical and sub-tropical Atlantic Interesting fact : All anthias are born females and switch sex only when required. Conservation status : Not Evaluated This is one of the most beautiful groups of reeffish in the
Common name : Monkfish, Goosefish Scientific name : Lophiiformes Family : Lophiidae Native to : All oceans of the world Interesting fact : The male does not attain sexual maturity unless it attaches to the female, leading a parasitic life thereafter. Conservation status : Not Evaluated Living in the deep, dark ocean floor is the
Mosquitoes’ buzz is nothing more but the beating of their wings rapidly. It’s something that they do naturally. Whenever they circle over our heads looking for a suitable place to sit and drink our blood, the buzz sounds louder and much closer. The difference in the buzz is that the male mosquitoes will not come
Common name : French angelfish Scientific name : Pomacanthidae Family : Pomacanthidae Native to : Atlantic, Indian and Western Pacific Oceans Interesting fact : All fish are born as females and can switch sex when required. Conservation status : Not Evaluated Marine angelfish love shallow coral reefs. Their bodies are flattened with small mouths, large
Bread turns brown when we put it in a toaster because the dry heat removes any trace of moisture from within the bread and carbohydrates and proteins in bread react chemically in the presence of heat. The chemical process is called ‘Maillard Reaction’, in which there is a chain of reactions that gradually break down
Lips are unique and very different from the rest of the body. They have three layers ofskin – epidermis, stratum corneum and dermis. However, the stratum corneum on lips is far thinner than it is anywhere else on the body. Lips also do not have hair follicles like the rest of the body which makes
Why is the colour of lips so different from the rest of the body’s colour? Read More »
Legend has it that a peacock’s dancing is indicative of the onset of the rainy or monsoon season in India. On the contrary, peacocks dance to their primal urge of mating. It is their way of attracting a mate. Coincidentally, the mating season and the rainy season coincide, and this gives the appearance that peacocks
Mirrors are mostly made from aluminium or silver along with a coat of glass. Traditional mirrors are basically a thin layer of silver-coloured metal behind the piece of glass. Some mirrors even have a coat of mercury–mercury silvering. So, we can say that sometimes the silver colour is mostly the back that can be seen
Common name : Ambon stingfish, Ambonfirefish, Hairy scorpionfish Scientific name : Pteroidichthys amboinensis Family : Scorpaenidae Native to : Indian and Pacific Ocean Conservation status : Not Evaluated This chameleon of the sea, that can camouflage, lives in sand debris of the ocean floor at a depth of 10-50 metres. It has a wide head