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The Siberian House Cat

Scientific Name: Felis silvestris

Taxonomic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Feliformia Family: Felidae Genus: Felis Species: silvestris

Common Name: The Siberian cat

Nutritional Requirement: The Siberian cat is a domestic cat, depending fully off its owner. The cat eats a variety of cat food brands: from cheap to expensive.

Growth and Development: It is born in a litter. It is a kitten from 0-4 months, where it learns an array of cat skills, before it becomes mature and sexually active.

Behavior: It mainly depends on the cat. They are mainly sedentary creatures, spending most of their time curled up sleeping. They are easily startled, but love to petted and adored.

Reproduction: The Siberian cat reproduces sexually, with a short gestation period, the female gives birth to a litter from 2-6 kittens.

Evolutionary Origins: The domestic house cat has evolved from the African wild cat which lived some 15 million years ago.

Habitat: The Siberian cat lives in a house.

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Cottontop Tamarin

Scientific Name: Saguinus Oedipus

Taxonomic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Family: Callitrichidae Genus: Saguinus

Common Name: Cottontop Tamarin

Nutritional Requirement: The tamarin is an omnivorous animal eating only fruits and leaves. It especially likes fruits from its favorite tree.

Growth and Development: Infants become mobile between 2-5 weeks. They are completely weaned at 25 weeks, and sexual maturity is achieved at 2 years of age.

Behavior: The tamarin is diurnal. It is most active during the day and spends its nights in tall trees away from most predators. They are extremely social and live in groups from 2-14.

Reproduction: When they reach the age of 2 years, they begin to reproduce, the litter consists of 1-2 tamarins. They father feeds and looks after them more, but the mother washes and cleans them more.

Evolutionary Origins: The tamarin is a small tree monkey. It is rather less evolved then its relatives. It does not have opposable thumbs and it is only 17 cm long.

Habitat: The tamarin lives in lowland tropical forests of northern South America.

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The Monte Iberia Eleuth

Scientific Name: Eleutherodactylus iberia

Taxonomic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Family: Eleutherodactylidae Genus: Eleutherodactylus Subgenus: Euhyas Species: iberia

Common Name: Monte Iberia Eleuth

Nutritional Requirement: The Eleuth eats a variety of insects.

Growth and Development: The average size of the Eleuth is about 1 cm. It can be easily recognized by its yellow stripes. Since its head is about the size of a pinhead, it has fewer teeth than regular frogs. It spends several days as a tadpole once hatched before reaching maturity.

Behavior: They spend most of their time sitting waiting for prey. Since they are so small, they don’t have a lot of encounters with other organisms except their food and predators.

Reproduction: Little is known about the life cycle and reproduction except that is like other frogs during the life cycle, but instead of laying many eggs at once, they lay one egg at a time, which is a contributing factor of their imminent extinction.

Evolutionary Origins: There is little know about the origins of this frog, except that it’s extremely old, and is the smallest frog in the world except for the Brazilian golden frog.

Habitat: There are only two small and dwindling populations left of them. They are both at Mount Iberia in Cuba.

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The Red Wolf

Scientific Name: Canis Lupus Rufus

Taxonomic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Canidae Genus: Canis Species: Rufus

Common Name: The Red Wolf

Nutritional Requirement: The red wold hunts alone and in packs. When alone it goes for smaller animals like rabbits, rodents and squirrels. When it hunts with a pack, they hunt for deer.

Growth and Development: The female wolf, after a gestation period, gives birth to up to 10 cubs. They are born blind and have to fed for the first couple of weeks. Once they can hunt for themselves, they stay with their pack or join another one.

Behavior: They are extremely sociable animals that live in packs from 2 to 10. They are extremely territorial and they hunt in packs.

Reproduction: The female wolf can reproduce at the age of 2 years. There is a gestation period up to 60 days and she gives birth to a litter up to 10.

Evolutionary Origins: Is a smaller relative of the grey wolf that roams North America. Thought to be extinct until recently they have been found again in North California. There are roughly 100 in the wild.

Habitat: Although they are roamers, they tend to stick to coastal prairie and marshlands.

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The Kiwi

Scientific Name: Actinidia Deliciosa

Taxonomic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Struthioniformes Family: Apterygidae Genus: Apteryx

Common Name: The Kiwi

Nutritional Requirement: The kiwi is an omnivorous animal eating plants and animals. Its favorite food is fresh worms. It mainly hunts spiders and insects, but it will also eat nuts, fruits, and berries.

Growth and Development: The egg size for a kiwi is about 450g (one pound). When it hatches, it takes a short time before they are mature and can start reproducing. Their beaks take up 1/3 of their entire body mass.

Behavior: The kiwi is a nomadic bird, which means it is always on the move. It digs and makes burrows during the day which they sleep in at night. It rummages through foliage with its extra long beak in search of food.

Reproduction: The female kiwi lays about 5 eggs at a time. The male incubates them for most of the time though. The eggs take about 3 months to hatch. They are flightless birds. The babies have to fed for a while before they can start scrounging for food.

Evolutionary Origins: They have round bodies with long sharp beaks. They are thought to be descendants of the extinct dodo bird and ostrich.

Habitat: They are only found in the forests of New Zealand. There are thought to be less than 200 left in the wild.

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The Kakapo

Scientific Name: Strigops Habroptilus

Taxonomic Classification:  Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Psittaciformes Family: Nestoridae Genus: Strigops

Common Name: Kakapo

Nutritional Requirement: The kakapo is an herbivorous creature with a diet consisting of seeds, nuts, berries, flowers, and roots, It is especially fond of the rimu tree, which produces its favorite fruits.

Growth and Development: The kakapo is the heaviest parrot in the species. It cannot fly. It is a small bird that uses its wings for balance. They live to around 60 years old, but some are known to live for over 100 years. There are about 150 left in the wild. It is considered to be one of the most endangered species on the planet.

Behavior: The kakapo, unlike others of its kind, is a nocturnal parrot. It sleeps during the day and scavenges for food at night.

Reproduction: One of the reasons why they are almost extinct is many females are not fertile until they 10 years of age. They only breed in seasons of plentiful food, and males attract females by using an array of loud calls and impressive displays.

Evolutionary Origins: The kakapo has evolved over time from a New Zealandic parrot to a nocturnal ground-dwelling bird. 

Habitat: The bird is found only in New Zealand in dense jungles and vegetation.

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The Asian Giant Hornet

Scientific Name:  Vespa mandarinia

Taxonomic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hymenoptera Family: Vespidae Genus: Vespa

Common Name: The Asian Giant Hornet.

Nutritional Requirement: The diet of the wasp consists of other smaller insects, but it mainly preys on bees.

Growth and Development: The wasp goes through metamorphosis which has five stages. This takes an average of 14 days.

Behavior: The wasp is known for its extremely aggressive lifestyle. It preys mainly on honey bees. They are known to completely destroy beehives.

Reproduction: In the colony, there is the main queen. She reproduces with all the other males within the colony. The colony can reach up to 700 wasps in its prime.

Evolutionary Origins: First classified in 1852 the Asian Hornet has spread all over Asia with some queens getting up to 5 cm long.

Habitat: Found all throughout Eastern Asia but stick to higher altitudes. They live in abundance in the mountains of Japan.

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The Silver Dollar

Scientific Name: Metynnis Argenteus

Taxonomic Classification:  Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Characiformes Family: Characidae Genus: Metynnis

Common Name: The Silver Dollar

Nutritional Requirement: The silver dollar is an omnivore and eats mainly grass and other aquatic life forms. It sometimes snacks on small invertebrates.

Growth and Development: The dollar is birthed among a litter of about 2000 and is usually grown within days.

Behavior: The silver dollar swims in schools amongst weeds and grass in search of easy food.

Reproduction: After the fish mate, the fish spawns its eggs. The babies are born within days in about 2000 per litter.

Evolutionary Origins: They have descended from other types of fish and are closely related to piranhas. They have a small circular body with small fins.

Habitat: They live in tropical rivers with lots of vegetation.

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The Sun Bear

Scientific Name: Helarctos malayanus Taxonomic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae Genus: Helarctos Genus: Helarctos Species: Malayanus Common Name: Sun Bear Nutrional Requirement: The sun bear is an omnivorous animal which diet consists of fruits honey and insects. Growth and Development: The sun bear is born as a single cub and is fiercely guarded by their mother until they are two years old. Then they leave to establish their own territory. Reproduction: The sun bear is capable of reproducing year round. After a gestation period of three to eight months a single cub is born. Evolution: Originating in Asia, the sun bear is the smallest bear and leads an exclusively tree-dwelling life. It also has a u shape marking in its chest. It evolved to live in trees. Behavior: The bear spends most of its time in a tree, it hunt forages for food during the day, but in places with high human activity, it hunts at night. Habitat: They are mainly found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra in forests.

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The Japanese Macaque

Scientific Name:  Macaca fuscata

Common Name: Japanese Macaque or the Snow Monkey

Taxonomic Classification:  Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Family: Cercopithecidae Genus: Macaca Species: Fuscata

Nutritional Requirement:

The Snow Monkey is omnivorous. It survives off a diet of plants and small animals. They prefer to eat crabs, insects, and bird’s eggs.

Growth and Development:

After a female gives birth to a single baby, it stays with her for the first several years of its life. The baby reaches maturity around 4-5 years.

Behavior:

They live in groups of up to 30 monkeys. They are led by the single alpha male which sires the young and decides where to go. They are very social animals and tend to stick together for life.

Reproduction:

After choosing a male, they reproduce sexually. After the gestation period of about 6 months, the female will give birth to a single young.

Evolutionary Origins:

The snow monkeys came from an older group of the same species that originated in Asia.

Habitat:

They live all over Japan from sub-tropical jungles to hot springs and mountains.

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Pyrococcus furiosus

Scientific Name:  Pyrococcus furiosus

Common Name: N/A

Scientific Classification:  Domain:��Archaea Kingdom: Euryarchaeota Phylum: Euryarchaeota Class: Thermococci Order: Thermococcales Family: Thermococcaceae Genus: Pyrococcus Species: furiosus

Nutritional Requirement:

Pyrococcus furiosus lives off a steady diet of carbohydrates found within its extreme habitat of super-heated waters or volcanic marine mud.

Growth and Development:

The Pyrococcus furiosus reproduces through binary fission and multiplies itself by two every 37 minutes. The optimal growth temperature is 100 degrees C which for most organisms is deadly.

Behavior:

Most of the time Pyrococcus furiosus spends is chilling in its extreme habitat. But it has some cool uses. Its thermostable enzymes are used in PCR which is a type of DNA amplification. It also has tungsten in its biological molecules which are extremely rare.

Reproduction:

The Pyrococcus furiosus reproduces through binary fission. It doubles itself every 37 minutes which is a remarkable growth curve.

Evolutionary Origins:

The Pyrococcus furiosus is a very early form of archaea which evolved from some of the first archaea.

Habitat:

Pyrococcus furiosus live in extreme conditions that consist of really hot water and volcanic mud.

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The Red-lipped Batfish

Scientific name: Ogcocephalus darwini

Taxonomic Classification:  Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Lophiiformes Family: Ogcocephalidae Genus: Ogcocephalus Species: darwini

Common name: Red-lipped batfish

Nutritional Requirement:

The batfish eats a variety of small fish and other sea crustaceans.

Behavior:

The purpose of its red lips is for the male to attract the female. The name darwini comes from Darwin. The batfish although a fish, cannot swim well and it is considered to walk around the bottom.

Reproduction: 

The batfish reproduces through intercourse and lays several eggs that hatch after a short period.

Habitat:

The batfish can be found around the Galapagos islands and off the shores of Peru up to depths of 3 to 76 m.

Growth and development:

The batfish reaches up to 25cm. It has several batlike features which give it its name: the batfish. Once the batfish is fully matured, its spinal fin becomes one big protrusion coming off the back of it.

Evolutionary Origins:

The batfish is descended from and closely related to the rosy-lipped batfish which can be found off the coast of the Cocco Islands.

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The Fossa

Scientific Name:  Cryptoprocta ferox

Common Name: The fossa

Taxonomic Classification:  Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Eupleridae Genus: Cryptoprocta Species: ferox

Nutritional Requirement: 

The fossa’s diet consists of 50% lemurs and the other part is lizards, frogs, and rodents. They hunt during the night.

Growth and Development: 

Once born, fossas open their eyes at about 3 weeks and eat solid foods at about 12. They are weaned about a month later. They are fully grown at about 2 years.

Behavior: 

The fossa is solitary animal and patrols territories up to 4 km. They spend most of their life in trees. The fossa is largely nocturnal.

Reproduction:

Fossas come together only during September and October to mate. After a gestation period of about 3 months, the females give live birth to about 2 cubs.

Evolutionary Origins:

The fossa is thought to have descended from Mongoose-like ancestors from about 24 million years ago. The fossa is now rarely found in.

Habitat:

The fossa in native to Madagascar and that is where it can live naturally. One cannot find a fossa anywhere else in the world except in captivity.

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The Liger

Scientific Name: Panthera Leo

Taxonomic Classification:  Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Feliformia Family: Felidae Subfamily: Pantherinae Genus: Panthera Species: Leo

Common Name: Liger

Nutritional Requirement:

Ligers are a breed between lion and tiger and are only bred in captivity. Since they only live in captivity, they eat meat that is fed to them. The eat about 20 pounds of meat a day, and the meat is usually beef or chicken.

Growth and Development:

Ligers are the largest type of cat in the world due to imprinted genes. They are about as big as the extinct American lion from the ice ages. They can also weigh up to 360 pounds. The females are almost the same size as a male. It takes about 6 years for them to reach full maturity.

Behavior:

Ligers, although bred of two ferocious breeds, are extremely docile and are confused by the fact whether they are tigers or lions. The love to swim in water. They make sounds unique to the lion and tiger, but its roar is more like a lion’s. They have the same testosterone level as the lion but breed more like tigers.

Reproduction:

Most ligers are created when tigers and lions are put in the same enclosure at a zoo. It takes them about a year to mate. Once they have mated, they are in the womb for about 100 days before live birth. Like lion cubs, they have dark spots to help camouflage them, but most are born with extreme birth defects and die within a week after birth.

Evolutionary Origins:

There are no other evolutionary origins because this is a man-made species only bred in captivity.

Habitat:

The liger has no natural habitat because they do not occur naturally in the wild. They are only bred in captivity.

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The Maned Wolf

Scientific Name:  Chrysocyon brachyurus

Common Name: The Maned Wolf

Taxonomic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Canidae Genus: Chrysocyon Species: Brachyurus

Fun Fact: The maned wolf isn’t even a real wolf, it only looks like one.

Nutritional Requirement: 

The maned wolf eats medium-sized mammals that roam the grasslands of South America. But, unlike wolves, almost 50% of its diet consists of plants and vegetation that grow in South America.

Growth and Development:

The maned wolf reproduces through intercourse and gives live birth. The pups are blind for a short period and are fully grown when they are one year old. The pups rely mainly on their parent(s) for food until they are full-fledged adults.

Behavior: 

The maned wolf participates in several symbiotic relationships. It helps propagation and dissemination of plants through its excrement. And, it usually excrements on the nest of ants, which use its dung for hill-building. The ants then spit out the seeds which help the plants germinate faster.

Reproduction: 

The maned wolf’s mating season starts in November and ends in April. The gestation period lasts 60 to 65 days and a litter may have as little as two and as many as six black-furred pups, each weighing approximately one pound. 

Evolution:

The maned wolf is a unique animal because it is not fox nor wolf. It is thought to be one of the animals that survived the Pleistocene Extinction. It has adapted long legs to see over the grasslands of South America. They evolved from a pseudo-canid of the north roughly 24,000 years ago. The maned wolf is a distinct canid, but it is not related to any wolf or dog, making it a unique species of the Canidae family.

Habitat:

The maned wolf roams the grasslands of South America with its especially long legs that allow it see over the tall grasses. They are usually found towards the north of South America.

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The Tanuki

Scientific Name: Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus

Taxonomic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Caniformia Family: Canidae Genus: Nyctereutes Species: Procyonoides Subspecies: Viverrinus

Common Name: Japanese Raccoon Dog, or “Tanuki”

Nutritional Requirement: 

The stereotype that raccoons will eat almost anything is basically true. The Tanuki, like all other types of raccoons, are especially fond of living things. Especially ones found in water, including fish, crayfish, and clams.

Growth and Development:

The raccoon, a mammal, is conceived through sexual reproduction. The female is pregnant for a period of 63 days until she gives birth. Their eyes and ears open around when they are three weeks old. Raccoons are weaned at about eight to sixteen weeks of age. Full growth is not reached until the second autumn, or even later. Males grow faster than females in their first year. Raccoon cubs start walking at about four to six weeks old and by eight to twelve weeks are walking with their mothers while she looks for food. By four or five months they leave their mother and make their own den, although the family often comes together to den together for the winter.

Behavior:

Raccoons are nocturnal in nature and are most active at nighttime. They are most active during warmer periods of the year and will sleep in their dens for most of the winter. They start reproducing in the winter, and birth in the spring. They communicate through over 200 unique sounds. Raccoons have an amazing skill that gives them the capability to open doors, jars, bottles, and latches. They are also excellent climbers, which enables them to reach food and shelter.

Reproduction: 

Raccoons reproduce through intercourse. They mate anytime between January and June. Females begin reproducing around the age of one. The female has an approximate 65-day pregnancy period and gives birth to two to five kits, usually in the spring. 

Evolutionary Origins:

The first raccoons are estimated to have lived about 25 million years ago. Their jaw structure shows that they have a lot in common with bears, rather than mice and rats. Raccoons used to be larger than they are now, but they eventually evolved to the modern raccoon.

Habitat:

The first raccoon skeletons were found in Europe, but they are native to The Americas. The Tanuki is considered to be an invasive species raiding fish ponds and garbage cans all over Japan. Their traditional habitat consists of deciduous forests, but due to their abilities, they have adapted to live almost anywhere.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_raccoon_dog

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/0MCarnivor/Procyonidae/Procyon/Procyon_lotor/07PlotorLifePhys.htm

http://www.havahart.com/raccoon-facts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon

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The Darwin Bark Spider

Scientific Name: Caerostris darwini

Taxonomic Classification:  Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Euarthropoda Subphylum: Chelicerata Class: Arachnids Order: Araneae Infraorder: Araneomorphae Family: Araneidae Genus: Caerostris Species: darwini

Common Name: Darwin Bark Spider

Nutritional Requirement: 

The bark spider, like most other spiders, has a diet consisting of insects caught in its web. The bark spider has one of the biggest webs spanning 140 to 3,430 square inches with webs to anchor the main body stretching up to 82 feet in length.

Growth and Development:

The female spider lays her eggs. The ones lain in summer hatch within a week, while the ones that were lain in winter hatch the following summer. When they hatch, the baby spiders all live in a “nursery web”for several molts until they can start to spin their own webs and strike out on their own. 

Behavior:

Spiders are nocturnal creature that retreat from their webs during the day to wait until night to come out. Spiders usually seek out sugary water instead of plain witch shows they are seeking out nutrients. During the night they sit in the center of their webs and wait for an unsuspecting bug to fly into it. They then proceed to warp it in silk, inject a venom that turns their insides to mush, and suck it out.

Reproduction:

Spiders reproduce sexually but fertilization is indirect. The mating ritual is extremely elaborate consisting of special sperm packages and the “hyptonization” of the female spider thought special web picking. When the female spider’s eggs are fertilized, she holds them in her abdomen until embryo stage is over. She then lays them in a cocoon where they hatch in the summer.

Evolutionary Origins:

Since spider bodies are so soft, the only remain can be found preserved in amber. The oldest amber specimens date back to 130 million years ago. The spider has not changed drastically over time except that they got a bit smaller. There are over 1000 different species of spiders.

Habitat:

The Darwin bark spider is native to the forests of Madagascar where it spins webs upwards of 20 feet in diameter.

Sources:

http://eol.org/pages/17896869/details

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin%27s_bark_spider#Behavior

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider#Evolution