Common name : Viperine water snake Scientific name : Natrix maura Family : Colubridae Native to : Europe and Africa Interesting fact : When threatened they spray foul-smelling musk, liquid and faeces. Conservation status : Least Concern The Viperine snake gets its name from the fact that it strikes like the adder snake but without […]
‘Wet’ is just a word that we apply to the description of our experience of water. Water, by itself, is not wet, because it is a liquid, but whatever it touches, it can make that wet. When something feels ‘wet’, it is because that water on evaporating makes the surface of the object cold. Therefore,
Scientific name : Viperidae Family : Viperidae Native to : Globally distributed with the exception of Australia and Antarctica Interesting fact : Sometimes vipers give ‘dry bites’ without injecting venom to conserve their venom which takes time to secrete again. Vipers are a group of highly venomous snakes that inject deadly toxins with their fangs.
Common name : Beaked sea snake, Hook-nosed sea snake Scientific name : Enhydrina schistosa Family : Hydrophiidae Native to : Tropical Indo-pacific region Interesting fact : Beaked sea snakes can stay under water for five hours. Conservation status : Least Concern The Valakadyn sea snake has a beak-shaped projection on the snout. It is olive
Scientific name : Myobatrachus gouldii Family : Myobatrachidae Native to : Western Australia Interesting fact : There is no tadpole stage and little frogs hatch directly from eggs. Conservation status : Least Concern The turtle frog is a strange looking frog which looks like a small turtle without its shell. The skin is pink and
Scientific name : Agalychnis callidryas Family : Hyla Native to : America and Australia Interesting fact : The famous ‘ribbit’ sound is made by the male frog to attract females. Conservation status : At risk Tree frogs are a group of over 800 species of small frogs that spend most of their life on trees.
The scarlet kingsnake uses mimicry to dupe predators, such as red-tailed hawks. The scarlet king-snake is a small king-snake that is seldom found in the open, except at night after heavy rains. It is found under logs, mostly in pine forests. It is a non-poisonous snake. Its skin has a red, black-and-white pattern with yellow
Why does the scarlet kingsnake mimic as a coral snake? Read More »
Common name : Glass frog Family : Centrolenidae Native to : Central and South America and Mexico Interesting fact : Glass frogs have unique forward facing eyes instead of on the sides. One can see the organs inside the glass frog as its underside is completely translucent. Its skin colour is lime green to dark
Scientific name : Gekko gecko Family : Gekkonidae Native to : Distributed from North-East India to Indo-Australian archipelago Interesting fact : One can literally see through the ears of these geckos. Conservation status : Not Assessed Tokay geckos have grainy, blue or grey skins with bright red or yellow spots. The toes are adapted for
Scientific name : Ambystoma tigrinum Family : Ambystomatidae Native to : North America Interesting fact : The tiger salamander can re-grow its limbs if they are lost or damaged. Conservation status : Least Concern The tiger salamander has yellow stripes on a dark body resembling a tiger’s stripes. You can rarely see them as they
Scientific name : Batrachoseps stebbinsi Family : Plethodontidae Native to : California, United States Interesting fact : As a way of defence, they detach their tails which wriggle and distract the predator. These tails can then grow back. Conservation status : Vulnerable The Tehachapi slender salamander is dark brown with shimmering speckles of copper red
Scientific name : Oxyuranus Family : Elapidae Native to : Australia Interesting fact : Even if the prey escapes the bite of a taipan, it follows the scent of the prey and kills it eventually. Conservation status : Not Assessed The taipan is a group of highly venomous snakes. Three different species of taipans are
The male weaver birds are extremely hard-working. They will build extensive nests with reeds, grass, leaves or palm blades. The male weavers work so industriously in building the nest that they will lose half of their body- weight in the process. The nest has large round entrances on one side as well as a separate
Why do we say that weaver birds are great home builders? Read More »
Common name : Strawberry poison-dart frog Scientific name : Oophaga pumilio Family : Dendrobatidae Native to : Central America Interesting fact : The males also contributed to parenting by carrying water in their posterior openings to hydrate the eggs. Conservation status : Least Concern True to its name, the strawberry poison frog has a bright
Scientific name : Astrotia stokesii Family : Hydrophiidae Native to : Indo-pacific ocean Interesting fact : These snakes sometimes swim in groups forming a line that is 10 feet wide and many miles long. Conservation status : Least Concern The stoke’s sea snake is quite heavy and stout for a sea snake. They are creamy