Arafura File Snake

This Australian snake is very interesting. The Arafura file snake belongs to a family of only three species of snakes, which are poorly known. It is a relative of boas and pythons, but it leads a totally aquatic existence. Infact, when out of water, this snake is helpless. Some adaptions that help it live in the water are: absorbing oxygen through the skin, rough, file -like scales (notice the scales on the picture!) and amazingly loose skin that help it grip fish (main prey), a prehensile tail to help grip onto aquatic plants, and enlarged tracheal lungs. The tracheal system is another way of pocessing oxygen besides using "ordinairy" lungs, and mostly insects use it. I won't explain in further detail, because the subject still confuses me! Anyway, this snake's habitat is in rivers, lakes, swamps, and large ponds in Southern New Guinea and Northern Australia. It can also be found along coasts, most commonly in mangrove forests. The Arafura file snake rests on the bottom by curling it's prehensile tail around aquatic plants. In the daytime, it is relatively slow and sluggish, and hunts mostly at night.

Brown Rat

Also called the common rat, the brown rat is the ancestor of today's pet rats. The brown rat is a highly adaptable animal. Infact, it is the most successful mammal on the planet after humans. This rat is perfectly comfortable living around humans, often even in our homes. Most scientists think that the rat first originated in China, and gradually spread to cover most of the world. The brown rat is a good swimmer, both at the surface and under, and is surprisingly intelligent. Their teeth, like the teeth of many rodents, are always growing. The enamel on the front of the teeth is very hard and strong, while the enamel on the backside is relatively weak. This means, that when the rat chews, it will wear down the backside of the tooth, and not the front. In doing this, the rat is self-sharpening it's own teeth! Now that's a smart little rodent.

Endangered Animals!

Yes, there are many endangered animals in the world today. However, most people can only name a few, such as tigers and panda bears. These animals are some of the common ones. Unfortunately, there are many other endangered animals out there that most people aren't aware of. Some of these animals, such as the European long horned beetles, are regarded with distaste in comparison to the tiger or panda bear. But the long horned beetle is also endangered! It deserves to be helped as well! So, next time you make a donation, think about which animal is in the greatest need. Your actions will help to make a difference!

p.s- a type of European Longhorn beetle is shown.

Violet Sea Snail

The violet sea snail has to be one of the wackiest ones out there! This type of marine snail floats on a hardened 'bubble' of mucus. The bubble floats at the surface of the water, with the snail attached below. It floats along with the currents, gathering up any edible debris that drifts by. It often eats jellyfish. The snail's shell is unusually thin, so that it can stay floating up near the surface. This snail starts out it's life as a male, and gradually changes into a female as it gets older. The young are born live, since the eggs develop internally, and the tiny baby snails build their own mucus rafts as soon as they are born. If the raft should ever break during the snail's lifetime, the unfortunate snail will sink to the bottom of the ocean and die.