scientific name Ursus maritimus size Weight: male 770-1430+ lbs.; female 385-660+ lbs. Height: standing, male to 11'; female 6-8' adaptations/colorations Color: white or yellowish; white serves as camouflage Body. heavy layers of blubber up to...

Birdwing butterflies are the biggest butterflies in the world, with wingspans of up to 11 inches (28 cm). These colorful butterflies are so large that collectors once hunted them with bows and arrows! They are found in the tropical rainforests of...

Kangaroo rats have a unique respiratory system that actually allows them to lower the temperature of the air they breathe! A famous experiment done in the early 1970s showed that kangaroo rats breathing air at 28°C exhaled air with a temperature of...

(Alligator mississipiensis) Family: Alligatoridae Order: Crocodilia Class: Reptilia Phylum: Vertebrata Physical Features: Thick bodies and tails. Many sharp teeth. Short, strong legs for walking. Eyes high so they can see above water. Skin tough....

Sloths are a member of the order Edentata, which technically means "without teeth", although Sloths have small, simple molars with which they use to masticate food. Sloths are herbivores, and, like the other familes in the order Edentata, do not hunt...

The ears of crickets and katydid bugs are in their legs, right near their knees. They don't work terribly well, though. Crickets and katydids can only distinguish between kinds of sounds - telling the difference between the sounds of animals and the...

Few fish inspire fear, but taking a dip in a piranha-infested river is probably high on most people's must-avoid list. The piranha is a vicious and voracious fish, with strong bear-trap jaws and razor-sharp teeth. Although piranha primarily feed on...

Deer come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from the South American pudu, weighing 20 pounds and reaching only 14-15 inches at the shoulder, to the moose of North America and Europe, which can reach a shoulder height of 7.5 feet and weigh more than...

Meerkats are not cats with low self-esteem: They are a type of mongoose that inhabit the open plains and savanna of southern Africa. And unlike the character Timon in the movie The Lion King, most meerkats do not hang out with warthogs -- they prefer...

Warthogs are not considered one of the more attractive members of the animal kingdom -- except perhaps by the people who study them, and by other warthogs, of course. These bristly, thick-skinned animals are a species of wild pig found in the savanna of...

The early bird may get the worm, but an owl will stay up all night for a more substantial meal. Owls are stealthy nocturnal predators who operate between dusk and dawn, swooping down out of the darkness to capture small mammals (particularly...

Tarantulas may be small and furry, but these eight-legged critters are rarely considered cute or cuddly. However, our fear of tarantulas is based more on their creepy appearance than on any danger they represent. Although tarantulas are venomous,...