What is a Horned Lizard?

Horned lizards are a genus (Phrynosoma) of lizards which are the type genus of the family Phrynosomatidae. The horned lizard has been affectionately called a "horny toad", or "horned frog", though they are not moist-skinned toads or frogs. The common names come from the lizard's flattened, rounded body and blunt snout, which make it resemble a toad or frog (Phrynosoma means "toad-bodied"), as well as its tendency, in common with larger true frogs and toads, to move sluggishly, making them easy to hand-catch (such slow, undramatic movements may also avoid triggering attacks by predators, discussed later in this article). They are totally adapted to desert areas. The spines on its back and sides are made from modified reptile scales which prevent the water loss through the skin, whereas the horns on the heads are true horns (i.e. they have a bony core). Of 15 species of horned lizards in North America, eight are native to the United States. The largest-bodied and most widely distributed of the US species is the Texas horned lizard.

                                           

        Horned lizards use a wide variety of means to avoid predation. Their coloration generally serves as camouflage. When threatened, their first defense is to remain still to avoid detection. If approached too closely, they generally run in short bursts and stop abruptly to confuse the predator's visual acuity. If this fails, they puff up their bodies to cause them to appear more horned and larger, so that they are more difficult to swallow. At least eight species (P. asio, P. cornutum, P. coronatum, P. ditmarsi, P. hernandesi, P. orbiculare, P. solare, and P. taurus) are also able to squirt an aimed stream of blood from the corners of the eyes for a distance of up to 5 feet (1.5 m).^[1][2][3][4] They do this by restricting the blood flow leaving the head, thereby increasing blood pressure and rupturing tiny vessels around the eyelids. This not only confuses predators, but also the blood tastes foul to canine and feline predators. It appears to have no effect against predatory birds. Only three closely related species (P. mcallii, P. modestum, and P. platyrhinos) are certainly known to be unable to squirt blood.^[2] To avoid being picked up by the head or neck, a horned lizard ducks or elevates its head and orients its cranial horns straight up, or back. If a predator tries to take it by the body, the lizard drives that side of its body down into the ground so the predator cannot easily get its lower jaw underneath.

                       

Horned lizards protect themselves in many ways, including breaking the blood vessels in their eyes and shooting blood up to 4 feet in the air to distract predators, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. They also eject small amounts of blood from the inner corners of their eyes to confuse predators.

Can turtles breathe through their butts?

Turtles Breathe Through Their Butts

Red Eared Slider (Photo: Brent Myers, Flicker Sharing)

Vent Breathing Through Cloacal Bursae

In a previous post I talked about the difference between hibernation and brumation in turtles. Essentially turtles don't sleep all winter, they have punctuated periods of activity. However, turtles do not brumate under water,  they usually dig burrows or bury themselves in leaf litter or mud to overwinter. One of the questions I'm asked frequently is,  "How do turtles breathe while they are buried?" A similar question was, "How can that turtle breathe while napping under water?" (This was usually aimed at a local terrapin that lived in a tank in the education center). The answers are similar.

Turtles can respire, or breathe, in three main ways:

1. Through their lungs. Turtles are vertebrates and they have lungs, which is their primary means of respiration. This is why sea turtles can drown if they don't come up for air. The crazy thing is, their shell is their rib-cage. Their lungs, guts, organs, legs, everything sit inside their rib cage. Look carefully at the inside of a an empty turtle shell and you can see the fused rib sutures.

Inside an aquatic turtle shell (Photo: Flicker Sharing, msmecomber).

The challenge of this type of outer-rib-cage-shell is that unlike you and I, they can't take a deep breath in, expanding their body cavity and lungs, to take a breath like humans do.

I was once asked if a turtle moving its throat was a way of breathing or pumping air into its lungs. You can find LOTS of misinformation about this on the internet. Research has shown that bucal (cheek) pumping and gular (throat) pumping does not correlate to lung inflation (check out this great paper from U Mass Amherst to learn more and see awesome X-rays). Throat movement, in turtles, is more likely associated with smelling or olfaction. Scientists were partly cued into the "smelling" idea because turtles still pump their throats under water, even when they can't take oxygen into their lungs (they plug their throats with their tongue). Throat pumping under water allows  for aquatic smells  to enter through the nose and mouth even though their throat is closed for diving. This leads to point #2 below.

2. Through their mouths and throats. Stick with me here, and don't get confused. I mentioned earlier that turtles pump their throats and mouths, but it's not pumping air into their lungs. However,  some species of aquatic turtles can absorb oxygen through their mouth/throat system. If an aquatic turtle is under water it can move its throat and mouth to take in water to smell and also absorb oxygen across the surfaces inside its mouth/throat complex. The same is true above water. The membranes of the throat and mouth are usually moist, which also allows for oxygen diffusion.

The cloaca of a turtle is the "common poop chute" where poo, pee, eggs, and mating all occur. This is a female box turtle laying eggs (Photo: Wiki commons).

3. Through their butts. Yes, some species of aquatic turtles can breathe through their butts. Now this isn't like the butt-snorkel idea that I wrote about with how mosquito larvae breathe (tubes in their butts held at water level). This much more about oxygen absorption across tissues, and less like breathing through a snorkel or nose. Turtles have what I call the "common poop chute," meaning they poop, pee, mate, and lay eggs through one hole, technically called a cloaca (clo-ay-ka) or vent. In some species of aquatic turtle there are structures called cloacal bursae, which are essentially highly vascularized (filled with blood vessels) tissues which allow oxygen to be absorbed across them. In some species of turtles there are many ridges or folds lining the vents, which also allow for oxygen absorption. How much can a turtle breathe through it's butt?  Well, this varies, usually not a lot (>20%). Billy's little turtle in the aquarium isn't going to be OK if you don't let it come up for air, it needs to breathe through its lungs. Of course there are always exceptions, mostly with soft shelled turtles.

Australian white-throated snapping turtle (Photo: Wiki Commons).

The Australian White-throated snapping turtle, also called the "bum-breathing turtle" can get nearly 70% of its oxygen through its cloacal bursae, or butt.   Unfortunately this species is critically endangered and may not be around long.

No matter how you shake it, turtles are amazing survivors. Their natural adaptations for respiration are fascinating. If you're leading a lesson or unit on turtles, consider integrating information about turtle respiration. It's easy enough to throw a turtle shell into a trail-pack. You can use it to create a "filler" activity while waiting for groups, or stragglers on a hike, by asking students to compare how they breathe in and out (filling their lungs) to how turtles breathe. It's up to you to add the butt breathing or not, but the kids will LOVE it!

Butterflies taste with their feets??

Butterflies taste with their feet

Butterflies taste with their feet as their taste sensors are located there. They can taste it by just standing on their food. They don't have mouths that allow them to bite or chew, instead they have a long straw-like structure called a proboscis which they use to drink nectar and juices. But the proboscis doesn't have any taste sensors. A butterfly's taste sensors are located on the bottom of its feet. When not in use, the proboscis remains like a garden hose. By standing on a leaf, the butterfly can taste it to see if it the leaf they sit on is good to lay eggs on to be their caterpillars’ food or not.

In the photo above, you can see the proboscis of the recently emerged monarch butterfly. Notice that it is in two pieces and has a forked appearance. As soon as it emerges, the butterfly begins working on the proboscis with two palpi (found on each side of the proboscis), forming it into one tube. It must do this successfully in order to be able to nectar.
Butterflies fly between 5 and 30 miles an hour. People who study butterflies are called Lepidopterists. A butterfly can lay up to 500 eggs. Butterflies flap their wings quite slowly, usually from 5-20 beats per second. Butterflies are important pollinators. They come fourth after beetles, flies, and bees. Some butterflies have wingspans of 11 inches.
Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees

As a caterpillar, they will increase up to several thousand times in size before pupating (process in which caterpillars transform into adult butterflies in a structure called a chrysalis )

                                                         

What mammal that can fly?

                           BATS

     Bats are the only mammals that can achieve true flight. Their wings are thinner and more delicate than those of birds. There are some other mammals that can glide through the air, but this is not considered flying.

     There are more than 900 species of bats throughout the world, though some estimates range up to 1,200. Bats range in size from very small, weighing just a few grams, to the largest recorded size, weighing up to 2.2 pounds. The flying fox is the largest of the flying mammals and weighs up to 2.2 pounds, with a wingspan of up to 6 feet. Bats are a varied species, and though the species are mostly nocturnal, they have been rarely known to be active during the daytime. Although bats have notoriously bad eyesight, they use echolocation and are graceful, accurate fliers even in the dark of night or caves. The eating habits of bats range from blood and insects to fruits.

Gliding animals are relatively common, but are limited to small mammals, such as squirrels and small possums. Gliding mammals do not have wings, but rely on extra skin between their limbs to catch the air. These mammals leap from high places and ride the air to the next landing area. They typically only glide short distances, such as between two trees. Human BASE jumpers base their glide suits off of this type of mammal.

What fruit has its on the outside??

                                                         STRAWBERRY

      Strawberries are the only fruit that has seeds on the outside. The fruits are high in vitamin C and are a significant source of folic acid, which is essential for fetal development.

        While it's true that strawberries are covered in tiny yellow seeds, the red edible part of the strawberry is not actually a fruit. The dried seeds on the outside of the strawberry are the actual fruit.The fleshy part of the strawberry is a part of the flower located under the ovary, known as the receptacle or accessory fruit. This part of the flower swells and turns bright red to attract animals to eat and distribute the seeds. These small seed-like dried fruits are known as achenes.

Strawberries: Contrary to popular belief, the sweet red flesh of the strawberry is not the fruit. It is a part of the flower called the receptacle that is located below the ovary. The receptacle swells to attract animals so that they will eat and scatter the true fruit. These are the small yellow seed-like parts, which is a dry fruit called an achene.The seed you see in strawberry is an achene.It's called an Accessory fruit and strawberries are not the only ones, also they aren't proper seeds either, they are called Achene.

Do penguins have knees??

                                                    PENGUINS
                     
        A penguin’s leg is composed of a short femur, knee, tibia and fibula. The upper leg bones are not visible as they are covered in feathers giving penguins a very short legged appearance. 


     Watching a penguin waddling around, it would be easy to assume they can’t bend their legs, but they can. A penguin’s leg has a short femur, knee, tibia, and fibula. The legs just look short and stubby because the upper leg is hidden by feathers.
    Penguins do have knees, but they are covered in feathers, so they are not visible. A penguin's leg has four parts: the short femur, knee, tibia and fibula.

    Because their upper leg bones are covered, penguins appear to have very short legs. Their waddling walk also makes it seem they are unable to bend their legs. Actually, some penguins can run quite fast, such as the Gentoo penguin which has been clocked at a top speed of 22 mph. Since penguins spend almost 75 percent of their lifetime in the water; their knees help them swim. Penguins live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. The Galapagos penguin, which lives near the equator, is the only species that ventures into the Northern Hemisphere.

                                    

     Though you might not be able to tell from their plump bellies and adorable waddles, penguins do, in fact, have knees! They have the same leg bones as most other bipedal vertebrates, but certain adaptations have made walking a bit harder for them.

Scientists have determined that walking costs much more energy for penguins compared ot their body weight than it does for other land animals, and have concluded that this is a result of various adaptations that increase their mobility under water. Indeed, penguins are exceptionally fast and maneuverable swimmers, and all of their prey (and predators) live underwater. Their knees are usually hidden by their feathers.

Are kangaroos have 3 vaginas??

Kangaroos Have Three Vaginas, So Here Is How That Works

marsupials, including the most popular one, the kangaroo, are equipped with a total of three vaginas. Three vaginas, two uteri, all there to serve their own joey-bearing purpose. For one thing, can you imagine their periods, you guys? Crazy! For another, imagine how hilariously scared all those anti-choice lawmakers would be when they got a load of this information if it applied to human vaginas! We’d probably have to stop being women altogether! Because it’s just too many vaginas for people to understand!

The triple marsupial vagina was discussed on the British documentary Inside Nature’s Giants. On that show, anatomists conduct dissections of some of nature’s larger beasts to see how their guts work. In this case, they checked out the ladyguts of kangaroos, for the sheer heck of it. Or because they read something written on the male kangaroos’ bathroom wall and became curious.

What they found was a decidedly more complicated reproductive system than appears in other mammals. It looked something like this:

I’ll bet you’d been hoping for a chart! That’s a screenshot from the documentary, explaining the functions of a marsupial’s three vaginas. The side-vadges are where sperm — from the males’ two-pronged penises — travel up, the middle-vadge is where the baby joey slides down to develop externally in the mother’s pouch after growing to the size of a jellybean in one of her two uteri. Fun fact: Female kangaroos can be “perpetually pregnant” because of how their plumbing works. Because once one joey has left a uterus for the pouch, another embryo can go ahead and start developing internally. So, basically, kangaroos can be pregnant forever. To say nothing of the joeys who have already left the pouch and need to be cared for. Let’s all be glad we’re not kangaroos.

However, let’s be slightly jealous, because the anatomy of a marsupial doesn’t allow for a large fetus to pass through it, and that’s why the joeys are so tiny when they’re “born” (about half an inch long for kangaroos) and start climbing to the pouch, where they grab on to nurse for the next few months of development. No pushing for these mommies.