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Hirudobdella Antipodum
''Hirudobdella antipodum'' is a terrestrial leech found only on the Open Bay Islands in New Zealand. It preys on the feet of nesting seabirds. Its numbers have been reduced significantly by introduced weka, and the entire remnant population of the leech is now living beneath a single boulder. Discovery The leech was discovered when botanist Leonard Cockayne and Walter Dunlop (an analytical chemist from Orepuki) visited Open Bay Islands, Taumaka, the largest of the Open Bay Islands, in February 1903. Dunlop was looking for wētā in Sooty shearwater, muttonbird burrows when he was bitten on the wrist. As William Benham (zoologist), Benham put it, in his description of the new species, "Fortunately Mr Dunlop is keenly interested in natural history, and he carefully withdrew his hand and found a leech attached thereto”. Subsequently, weka (''Gallirallus australis'') were introduced to the Open Bay Islands, and by 1969 these were thought to have driven the leech to extinction. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motility, able to move, can Sexual reproduction, reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in which their body consists of a hollow sphere of Cell (biology), cells, the blastula, during Embryogenesis, embryonic development. Over 1.5 million Extant taxon, living animal species have been Species description, described—of which around 1 million are Insecta, insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million animal species in total. Animals range in length from to . They have Ecology, complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology. Most living animal species are in Bilateria, a clade whose members have a Symmetry in biology#Bilate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
