Monthly Archives: May 2015

Walrus

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The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a pair of a foot long tusks.

Adult walruses are easily recognized by their prominent tusks, whiskers, and bulkiness.

They can weigh more than 2,000 kg (4,400 lb), and have blubber one inch thick.

Many arctic civilizations hunted the walrus for its tusks, fat, skin, meat, and bone.

During the 19th century and the early 20th century,

the population of walruses dropped rapidly all around the Arctic region.

Since then, the population has risen again, and they are protected.

Here is a vid. showing a very lazy colony of walrus!

Doedicurus

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Doedicurus is a extinct armadillo that had four short legs, powerful jaws,

with no teeth in the front and grinding teeth farther back in the jaws.

Doedicurus was about 4m in length, and was 1.5m tall.

Its worst enemies were saber-toothed cats and borhyaenids.

Doedicurus had a long tail with a club on the end like ankylosaurus.

Here is a tribute to the giant armadillo of the ice age.

Baluchitherium

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Indricotherium is a large, extinct, hornless rhinoceros.

Adults were 18 feet tall, and weighed up to 18 tons.

It had four teeth; two tusk-like front teeth in the top jaw,

pointing down and two on the bottom pointing forwards.

This herbivore ate leaves and twigs from the tops of trees.

This spectacular creature had three toes on each foot.

They are also known as Indricotherium or Paraceratherium.

Here is a vid. about Baluchitherium!

Sea Snakes/coral reef snakes/Hydrophiinae

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Sea snakes are venomous snakes that cannot walk/slither on land

Sea snakes adapted to the ocean and learned how to swim and hunt for eels and other fish.

Unlike fish, they do not have gills and must surface regularly to breathe.

the warm tropical waters of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean,

with a few species found well out into Oceania.

Despite their marine adaptations, most sea snakes prefer shallow waters near land,

around islands, and especially somewhat sheltered waters, as well as near estuaries.

Here is a video showing a sea snake swimming.