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Projectile Use By Non-human Organisms
Although projectiles are commonly used in human conflict, projectile use by organisms other than humans is relatively rare. Animals Liquid projectiles Most projectiles used by terrestrial animals are liquids. Among invertebrates there are a number of examples. Velvet worms can squirt out an slimy adhesive fluid from glands on the sides of their head, and use it to trap their prey. The spitting spiders ''Scytodes'' can spit a venomous sticky fluid that traps its victims and also poisons them. The bombardier beetle is unusual by using a violent exothermic chemical reaction to launch a boiling noxious chemical spray in a rapid burst of pulses from special glands in its abdomen, accompanied with a popping sound. The ''Anthia'' (oogpister beetle) will fire formic acid at attackers, probably extracting the formic acid from the ants that it eats. The devil-rider stick insects ('' Anisomorpha'') can fire terpenes from glands on the metathorax that can cause an intense burning irr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archerfish (PSF)
The archerfish (spinner fish or archer fish) form a monotypic family, Toxotidae, of fish known for their habit of preying on land-based insects and other small animals by shooting them down with water droplets from their specialized mouths. The family is small, consisting of ten species in a single genus, ''Toxotes''. Most species live in fresh water rivers, streams and pools, but two or three are euryhaline, inhabiting both fresh and brackish water habitats such as estuaries and mangroves. They can be found from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, through Southeast Asia, to Northern Australia and Melanesia. Archerfish or spinnerfish bodies are deep and laterally compressed, with the dorsal fin, and the profile a straight line from dorsal fin to mouth. The mouth is protractile, and the lower jaw juts out. Sizes are fairly small, typically up to about , but ''T. chatareus'' can reach . Archerfish are popular for aquaria, but difficult to feed since they prefer live prey. Capture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At Madagascar is the world's second-largest island country, after Indonesia. The nation is home to around 30 million inhabitants and consists of the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), along with numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of its wildlife is endemic. Human settlement of Madagascar occurred during or before the mid first millennium AD by Austronesian peoples, presumably arriving on outrigger cano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stomach Oil
Stomach oil is the light oil composed of neutral dietary lipids found in the proventriculus (fore-gut) of birds in the order Procellariiformes. All albatrosses, procellarids (gadfly petrels and shearwaters) and northern and austral storm petrels use the oil. The only Procellariiformes that do not are the diving petrels. The chemical make up of stomach oil varies from species to species and between individuals, but almost always contains both wax esters and triglycerides. Other compounds found in stomach oil include glycerol ethers, pristane and squalene. Stomach oil has low viscosity and will solidify into a hard wax if allowed to cool. It was once thought that stomach oil was a secretion of the proventriculus, but it is now known to be a residue of the diet created by digestion of the prey items such as krill, squid, copepods and fish. It is thought to serve several functions for Procellariiformes, primarily as an energy store; its calorific value is around 40 MJ/kg (9.6 k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Giant Petrel
The southern giant petrel (''Macronectes giganteus''), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant petrel, though it overall is centered slightly further south. Adults of the two species can be distinguished by the colour of their bill-tip: greenish in the southern and reddish in the northern. Taxonomy The southern giant petrel was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. He placed it with all the other petrels in the genus '' Procellaria'' and coined the binomial name ''Procellaria gigantea''. Gmelin cited the "giant petrel" that had been described and illustrated in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The southern giant petrel is now placed with the northern giant petrel in the genus '' Macronectes'' that was introduced in 1905 by the American ornitho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangshan Pitviper
''Protobothrops mangshanensis'', commonly known as the Mangshan pit viper, Mangshan pitviper, Mt. Mang pitviper, or Mang Mountain pitviper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. Geitje Books. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. . is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Hunan and Guangdong provinces in China. No subspecies are currently recognized. This is a nocturnal pit viper that is also known as the ''Mangshan iron-head snake'', ''Chinese pit viper'', and the ''Ironhead viper''. They eat frogs, birds, insects, and small mammals. They have a white tail tip that they wiggle to mimic a grub so that prey comes into striking range—a behaviour known as caudal luring. The venom causes blood clotting and corrodes muscle tissue and can kill people. Unusually for vipers, ''P. mangshanensis'' is oviparous with the female laying clutches of 13–21 eggs which she will guard until they hatch. Description The species reaches an adult weight of an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spitting Cobra
A spitting cobra is any of several species of cobras that can defensively spray a toxic secretion - functioning as both a venom (that can be injected via a wound) and a toxungen (that can be sprayed on the target surface) - from their fangs into the eyes of an attacker. Venom The spat toxungen is generally harmless on intact mammalian skin (although contact can result in delayed blistering of the area), but can cause permanent blindness if introduced to the eye; if left untreated it may cause chemosis and corneal swelling. The toxungen sprays out in distinctive geometric patterns when muscles squeeze the glands to squirt it out through forward-facing holes near the tips of the fangs. Individuals of some species of spitting cobras make hissing exhalations/lunging movements of their heads when "spitting", and such actions may assist in propelling the venom, but research does not support the hypothesis that they play any major functional part except possibly enhancing the threat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards for their vocalisations, which differ from species to species. Most geckos in the family Gekkonidae use chirping or clicking sounds in their social interactions. Tokay geckos (''Gekko gecko'') are known for their loud mating calls, and some other species are capable of making hissing noises when alarmed or threatened. They are the most species-rich group of lizards, with about 1,500 different species worldwide. All geckos, except species in the family Eublepharidae lack eyelids; instead, the outer surface of the eyeball has a transparent membrane, the cornea. They have a fixed lens within each iris that enlarges in darkness to let in more light. Since they cannot blink, species without eyelids generally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diplodactylinae
The Diplodactylidae are a family in the suborder Gekkota (geckos), with over 150 species in 25 genera. These geckos occur in Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Diplodactylids are the most ecologically diverse and widespread family of geckos in both Australia and New Caledonia, and are the only family of geckos found in New Zealand. Three diplodactylid genera (''Oedura'', ''Rhacodactylus'', and '' Hoplodactylus'') have recently been split into multiple new genera. In previous classifications, the family Diplodactylidae is equivalent to the subfamily Diplodactylinae. Habitat Like other geckos, Diplodactylidae often live in warm areas that are around the temperature of . They mostly live in rain forests, up in the trees for protection. However, they are also found in cooler climates such as those found in southern New Zealand, where they have been found to be active in temperatures ranging from 1.4 to 31.9C. Reproduction Viviparity is notable as a trait unique to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archerfish
The archerfish (spinner fish or archer fish) form a monotypic family, Toxotidae, of fish known for their habit of preying on land-based insects and other small animals by shooting them down with water droplets from their specialized mouths. The family is small, consisting of ten species in a single genus, ''Toxotes''. Most species live in fresh water rivers, streams and pools, but two or three are euryhaline, inhabiting both fresh and brackish water habitats such as estuaries and mangroves. They can be found from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, through Southeast Asia, to Northern Australia and Melanesia. Archerfish or spinnerfish bodies are deep and laterally compressed, with the dorsal fin, and the profile a straight line from dorsal fin to mouth. The mouth is protractile, and the lower jaw juts out. Sizes are fairly small, typically up to about , but ''T. chatareus'' can reach . Archerfish are popular for aquaria, but difficult to feed since they prefer live prey. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fontanellar Gun
The fontanellar gun is a defense mechanism in the form of a horn-like frontal projection (''nasus'') on the head of the soldier caste which is capable of expelling chemical weaponry at a distance, a trait exclusive to the subfamily Nasutitermitinae. It is primarily used to ward off predators such as ants. Physiology and usage The "gun" is a gland with a duct on the front of the head. It operates by a chemical reaction triggered when the termite contracts its mandibular muscles. The termite is "able to eject the frontal gland material over a distance of many centimeters". The gland material is forced out through the front of the internal nose and its pores, which covers much of the termite's head. Termites have been shown to be extremely accurate with the gun, even though they are blind. The exact nature of how termites retain such accuracy and are able to orient themselves toward their enemy is currently unknown, but it is believed that the ability is "olfactory or auditory" in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nasutitermitinae
The Nasutitermitinae are a subfamily of higher termites that includes more than 80 genera. They are most recognisable by the more highly derived soldier caste which exhibits vestigial mandibles and a protruding fontanellar process on the head from which they can "shoot" chemical weaponry. True workers of certain genera within this subfamily also exhibit a visible epicranial y suture, most notably found within the members of Nasutitermes. Notable genera include the notorious wood-eating Nasutitermes, and the conspicuous Hospitalitermes and Constrictotermes Constrictotermes is a genus of neotropical higher termites within the subfamily Nasutitermitinae. They form large open-air foraging columns from which they travel to and from their sources of food, similar to the Indomalayan species of processi ..., both genera characterized by their behavior of forming large open-air foraging trails. Genera The ''Termite CatalogueTermite Catalogue (retrieved 7 July 2019)' lists the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. Because it is on the North American Tectonic Plate, Greenland is included as a part of North America geographically. North America covers an area of about , about 16.5% of Earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface. North America is the third-largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 579 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population. In human geography and in the English-speaking world outside the United States, particularly in Canada, "North America" and "North American" can refer to just Canada and the United S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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