CLASS: MAMMALIA ORDER: PRIMATES FAMILY: PONGIDAE GENUS & SPECIES: Pan troglodytes RANGE: Historical: North of river Zaire, from Senegal to Tanzania. Current: Western and Central Africa PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Length: Female: 28-33 in.; Male:...

CLASS: Mammalia ORDER: Edentata FAMILY: Myrmecophagidae GENUS & SPECIES: Myrmecophaga tridactyla Edentata means having (-ata) no (e-) teeth (-dent-). The family Myrmecophagidae is the only family without them, and, actually, the giant anteater is...

CLASS: Mammalia ORDER: Carnivora FAMILY: Mustelidae GENUS & SPECIES: Mustela putorius putorius and M. p. furo Mustela nigripes COMMON NAMES: European Ferret, European Polecat, Polecat, Domestic Ferret (compared to Black-footed Ferret of...

CLASS: MAMMALIA ORDER: CARNIVORA FAMILY: URSIDAE GENUS & SPECIES: Helarctos malayanus RANGE: Tropical to subtropical regions of Southeast Asia - Borneo, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and possibly southern China. PHYSICAL...

CLASS: MAMMAL ORDER: CARNIVORA FAMILY: FELIDAE GENUS AND SPECIES: Panthera pardus RANGE: Historical: Asia Minor, Caspian Sea Asia, Iraq, Iran, Indian subcontinent, South East Asia, China north to Siberia, all of Africa except Sahara. Current:...

Most people would agree with pioneer dinosaur hunter Othniel Marsh when he said that the size of Apatosaurus' brain showed it was a "stupid, slow-moving reptile." It is probably true that Apatosaurus was a fairly dumb animal, especially when...

Most fish think twice before making a meal of a porcupine fish. By swallowing large amounts of water or air very quickly, a frightened porcupine fish can puff its body up to several times its normal size. This instinctive response to danger makes the...

Slow and elegant, the lionfish is one coral reef inhabitant you don't want to cuddle. While their colorful stripes and long arching fins make them favorites of aquarium collections, the lionfish's spines are loaded with venom. An injection of venom...

A "leaf with legs" is an insect that looks like a leaf. This peculiar insect has broad ribbed wings, which fold over its back in the shape of a leaf, and leaflike growths on the joints of each leg. When a bright green leaf insect stands on a bright...

Easy to hear, cicadas are hard to find. In trying to stay out of sight, they will move around a branch, hiding from view. The cicada is about the noisiest of all insects. Some cicadas are so loud that they can be heard a quarter-mile (.4 kilometer)...

For about as long as anybody can remember, mice and men have been constant companions, though the relationship has not always been a happy one. The word "mouse," for example, illustrates both the antiquity and the adversarial relationship between man...

A "twig with legs" is one of nature's best camouflaged insects. When you are in the woods, don't be surprised to see a slender piece of twig suddenly come to life and slowly walk away on six long, spindly legs. This is not a miracle but a walking stick...