Animal Picture and Description - All about HAMSTER around the world

Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera.

Hamsters are crepuscular animals which burrow underground in the daylight to avoid being caught by predators. Their diet includes a variety of foods, including dried food, berries, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables. In the wild they feed primarily on seeds, fruits and greens, and will occasionally eat burrowing insects. They have an elongated pouch on each side of their heads that extend to their shoulders, which they stuff full of food to be stored, brought back to the colony or to be eaten later.

Although the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) was first described scientifically in 1839, it was not until 1930 that researchers were able to successfully breed and domesticate hamsters. Pet golden hamsters are descended from hamsters first found and captured in Syria by zoologist Israel Aharoni.

Hamster behavior varies depending on their environment, genetics, and interaction with people. Because they are easy to breed in captivity, hamsters are often used as lab animals in more economically developed countries. Hamsters have also become established as popular small house pets. Hamsters are sometimes accepted even in areas where other rodents are disliked, and their stereotypically solitary nature can reduce the risk of excessive litters developing in households.

Hamsters are stout-bodied, with tails shorter than body length, and have small, furry ears, short, stocky legs, and wide feet. They have thick, silky fur, which can be long or short, colored black, gray, honey, white, brown, yellow, red, or a mix, depending on the species.
Roborovski hamster

Two species of hamsters belonging to the genus Phodopus — Phodopus campbelli (Campbell's dwarf hamster) and Phodopus sungorus (the Djungarian hamster) — and also two of the species of the genus Cricetulus — Cricetulus barabensis (the Chinese striped hamster) and Cricetulus griseus (the Chinese hamster) — have a dark stripe down the head to tail. The species of genus Phodopus are the smallest, with bodies 5.5 to 10.5 centimetres (2.2 to 4.1 in) long; the largest is the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus), measuring up to 34 centimetres (13.4 in) long, not including a short tail of up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in). The Angora hamster, also known as the long-haired or teddy bear hamster, which is a type of the golden hamster is the second-largest hamster breed, measuring up to 18 centimetres (7.1 in) long.

 

 

 

 

Animal Picture and Description - All about IGUANA around the world

Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena. Two species are included in the genus Iguana: the Green Iguana, which is widespread throughout its range and a popular pet, and the Lesser Antillean Iguana, which is endemic to the Lesser Antilles and endangered due to habitat destruction.

The word "iguana" is derived from a Spanish form of the original Taino name for the species "Iwana".

The two species of lizard within the genus Iguana possess a dewlap, a row of spines running down their back to their tail, and a third "eye" on their head. This eye is known as the parietal eye, visible as a pale scale on the top of the head. Behind their neck are small scales which resemble spikes, known as tuberculate scales. These scales may be a variety of colors and are not always visible from close distances. They have a large round scale on their cheek known as a subtympanic shield.

Iguanas have excellent vision and can see shapes, shadows, colors and movement at long distances. Iguanas use their eyes to navigate through crowded forests, as well as for finding food. They use visual signals to communicate with other members of the same species.

The tympanum is the iguana's ear drum, and is located above the subtympanic shield and behind the eye. Iguanas are often hard to spot, as they tend to blend into their surroundings. Their scale colors are a mode of hiding from larger predators.

Male iguanas, as well as other male members of the order Squamata, have two hemipenes.

 

 

 

 

Animal Picture and Description - All about CAT around the world

The cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years, and are currently the most popular pet in the world. Owing to their close association with humans, cats are now found almost everywhere in the world.

Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. As crepuscular predators, cats use their acute hearing and ability to see in near darkness to locate prey. Not only can cats hear sounds too faint for human ears, they can also hear sounds higher in frequency than humans can perceive. This is because the usual prey of cats (particularly rodents such as mice) make high frequency noises, so the hearing of the cat has evolved to pinpoint these faint high-pitched sounds. Cats also have a much better sense of smell than humans.

Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species and use a variety of vocalizations, pheromones and types of body language for communication. These include meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting.

Cats have a rapid breeding rate. Under controlled breeding, they can be bred and shown as registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by spaying and neutering and the abandonment of former household pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, with a population of up to 60 million of these animals in the United States alone.

As The New York Times wrote in 2007, "Until recently the cat was commonly believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where it was a cult animal", but a study that year revealed that the lines of descent of all house cats probably run through as few as five self-domesticating African Wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) c. 8000 BC, in the Near East. The earliest direct evidence of cat domestication is a kitten that was buried alongside a human 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.

Animal Picture and Description - All about GIRAFFE around the world

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant. Its scientific name, which is similar to its archaic English name of camelopard, refers to its irregular patches of color on a light background, which bear a token resemblance to a leopard's spots, and its face, which is similar to that of a camel. In addition to these features, the giraffe is notable for its extremely long neck and legs and prominent horns. The giraffe stands 5–6 meters (16–20 ft) tall with males averaging 1,200 kilograms (2,600 lb) and females average 830 kilograms (1,800 lb). The giraffe is classified under the family Giraffidae along with its closest extant relative the okapi. Eight subspecies of giraffe exist and they all differ by size, color and pattern variations and range.

Overall, the range of the giraffe extends from Chad in Central Africa to South Africa. Giraffes usually inhabit savannas, grasslands or open woodlands. However, when food is scarce they will venture into areas with denser vegetation. They prefer areas with plenty of acacia growth. Thanks to their extreme height, giraffes are able to browse for vegetation unreachable to most other herbivores. They are also nearly invulnerable to predation. However, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas and wild dogs may prey on calves and lions may take adults in some areas. Although they commonly gather together, giraffes have no social bonds outside of mothers and calves. Male giraffes engage in necking contests for combat or even homosexual courtships. Being polygamous, males will mate with multiple females. Female giraffes bare the sole reasonability for the raising of their young.

The giraffe has been prized by the Western world for its exotic appearance, both during antiquity and in modern times. Giraffes have been featured in various paintings, novels and cartoons. Despite its popularity, the giraffe has been extirpated from many parts of its former range, with some subspecies classified as endangered. Nevertheless, they can still be found in numerous reserves. As a species, the giraffe is classified by the IUCN as Least Concern.

The name "giraffe" has its earliest known origins in the Arabic word الزرافة al-zirāfah, perhaps from an African name. There were several Middle Eastern spellings such as jarraf, ziraph, and gerfauntz. The Italian form giraffa arose in the 1590's from Arabic. It appears in English from the 16th century through the French girafe. The species name camelopardalis (camelopard) is derived from its Latin name, where it was described as having characteristics of both a camel and a leopard.

Animal Picture and Description - All about DOLPHIN around the world

Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from 1.2 m (4 ft) and 40 kg (90 lb) (Maui's dolphin), up to 9.5 m (30 ft) and 10 tonnes (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons) (the orca or killer whale). They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating fish and squid. The family Delphinidae is the largest in the Cetacean order, and evolved relatively recently, about ten million years ago, during the Miocene. Dolphins are among the most intelligent animals, and their often friendly appearance and seemingly playful attitude have made them popular in human culture.

In 1933, three strange dolphins beached off the Irish coast; they appeared to be hybrids between Risso's and bottlenose dolphins. This mating was later repeated in captivity, producing a hybrid calf. In captivity, a bottlenose and a rough-toothed dolphin produced hybrid offspring. A common-bottlenose hybrid lives at SeaWorld California. Other dolphin hybrids live in captivity around the world or have been reported in the wild, such as a bottlenose-Atlantic spotted hybrid. The best known hybrid is the wolphin, a false killer whale-bottlenose dolphin hybrid. The wolphin is a fertile hybrid. Two wolphins currently live at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii; the first was born in 1985 from a male false killer whale and a female bottlenose. Wolphins have also been observed in the wild.

Animal Picture and Description - All about SHARK around the world

Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago.

Since that time, sharks have diversified into 440 species, ranging in size from the small dwarf lanternshark, Etmopterus perryi, a deep sea species of only 17 centimetres (6.7 in) in length, to the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, the largest fish, which reaches approximately 12 metres (39 ft) and which feeds only on plankton, squid, and small fish by filter feeding. Sharks are found in all seas and are common down to depths of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). They generally do not live in freshwater, with a few exceptions such as the bull shark and the river shark which can live both in seawater and freshwater. They breathe through five to seven gill slits. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles that protects their skin from damage and parasites, and improves their fluid dynamics so the shark can move faster. They have several sets of replaceable teeth.

Well-known species such as the great white shark, tiger shark, blue shark, mako shark, and the hammerhead are apex predators, at the top of the underwater food chain. Their extraordinary skills as predators fascinate and frighten humans, even as their survival is under serious threat from fishing and other human activities.