Cuscus

Animal Unique | Cuscus  | The cuscus is a subspecies of the cuscus possum with being the largest of the world's possum species. The cuscus has small ears and large eyes Which the cuscus aid through it's nocturnal lifestyle. The cuscus is an arboreal mammal, and spends it's life almost Exclusively in the trees. The cuscus is an omnivorous animal but the cuscus Mainly eats leaves and fruits occasionally feasting on small birds and reptiles.

The mother gives birth to cuscus Between 2 and 4 baby cuscus after a gestation period of just a couple of weeks. This allows the cuscus to be Able to grip onto the tree branches more Easily When The cuscus is moving from tree to tree and resting During the day. The cuscus also has long, sharp claws Which help the cuscus When it is moving around in the trees.

to the arboreal and nocturnal lifestyle of the cuscus, the cuscus has few natural predators in it's environment. The main predators of the cuscus (besides humans) are large snakes and birds of prey Which tend to pick on the more vulnerable, young cuscus. The human is the biggest predator of the cuscus as the natives hunt cuscus for Both the meat of the cuscus and the thick fur of the cuscus.

 

When the cuscus was first discovered, scientists Believed That the cuscus was a type of monkey due to the way That the cuscus moves through the trees and uses it's tail to grip onto branches.

Animal Discovery And Animal Unique In The World
Animal Unique

Cottontop Tamarin

Animal Unique | Cottontop Tamarin | The Cottontop tamarin is a small species of monkey found in the forests of South America. The cottontop tamarin is found in tropical forest edges and secondary forests from Costa Rica to north western Columbia where the cottontop tamarin spends the majority of it's life in the trees. The forelimbs of the cottontop tamarin are shorter than the hind limbs, and unlike other monkeys the thumb of the cottontop tamarin is not opposable and it does not have a prehensile tail.

The cottontop tamarin is a diurnal primate which means that the cottontop tamarin is most active during the day and rests in the safety of the tree tops during the night. cottontop tamarins are very sociable animals and inhabit their territory with their rest of the cottontop tamarin troop which generally have between 2 and 14 members. Cottontop tamarin troops are led by the eldest female and have predominantly male members.

Cottontop Tamarin Facts
Kingdom:    Animalia
Phylum:    Chordata
Class:    Mammalia
Order:    Primates
Family:    Callitrichidae
Genus:    Saguinus

The cottontop tamarin is an omnivorous animal meaning that the cottontop tamarin hunts both plants and other animals in order to survive. Due to the relatively small size of the cottontop tamarin, it has a number of predators within it's natural environment. Wild cats, dogs, snakes and birds of prey are primary predators of the cottontop tamarin, along with humans who are destroying their natural habitat.

The cottontop tamarin usually breeds between the months of April and July, when the female cottontop tamarin will give birth to twins (or a single infant) after a four to five month gestation period. The male cottontop tamarins carry and groom infants more than the females do, but females clean the infant more than the males do.  Infant cottontop tamarins become mobile at 2 to 5 weeks, and begin eating solid food at 4 to 7 weeks.Today, the cottontop tamarin is considered to be a critically endangered species with an estimated wild cottontop tamarin population of just 6,000.

Animal Discovery And Animal Unique In The World

Animal Unique

Plumed Basilisk

 

Animal Unique | Plumed Basilisk | Plumed Basilisk, Animal skills is a Central American lizard with an unusual habit. The plumed basilisk spends much of its time in streamside trees or shrubs waiting for an insect or small vertebrate to pass close enough so it can pounce and devour it. But when the lizard is threatened, it drops down into the stream and escapes by walking across the water on its hind feet, using its tail for added support. Aptly nicknames the “Jesus Christ lizard,” this beautiful turquoise-green reptile is also known for its running speed on land – up to 7 miles per hour – and for its ability to remain submerged underwater for up to 30 minutes.

Scientific classification
Kingdom:     Animalia
Phylum:     Chordata
Class:         Sauropsida
Order:         Squamata
Family:         Corytophanidae
Genus:         Basiliscus
Species:     B. plumifrons

The plumed basilisk, Basiliscus plumifrons, also called a green basilisk or double crested basilisk and Jesus Christ Lizard, is a species of lizard native to Latin America. Its natural range covers a swath from Mexico to Ecuador. The green basilisk's generic name basiliscus is taken from the legendary reptilian creature of European mythology which could turn a man to stone by its gaze: the Basilisk. This name derives from the Greek basilískos  meaning "little king". This epithet was given in Carolus Linnaeus' 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

Green basilisks are bright green with small bluish spots along the dorsal ridge. These lizards may grow up to 3 ft (1 m) in length (most of which is tail), with an average length of about 2 ft (0.6 m). Males have three crests: one on the head, one on their back, and one on the tail. The females, however, only have one crest, on the head. Green basilisks are omnivorous and eat insects, small mammals (such as rodents), smaller species of lizards, fruits and flowers. Their predators include birds of prey, opossums and snakes. The females of this species lay five to fifteen eggs at a time in warm, damp sand or soil. The eggs hatch after eight to ten weeks, at which point the young emerge as fully independent lizards.

Males are very territorial; a single male may keep land containing a large group of females with whom he mates. Most basilisks are skittish and do not tolerate much handling. This lizard is able to run short distances across water using both its feet and tail for support, an ability shared with other basilisks and the Malaysian sail-finned lizard, Hydrosaurus amboinensis. In Costa Rica, this has earned the plumed basilisk the nickname "Jesus Christ lizard". It is also an excellent swimmer and can stay under water for up to 30 minutes.

Animal Discovery And Animal Unique In The World

Animal Unique

Caribbean Reef Shark

Animal Unique | Caribbean Reef Shark | The Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi, often misspelled perezii) is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae. It is found in the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil, and is the most commonly encountered reef shark in the Caribbean Sea. With a robust, streamlined body typical of the requiem sharks, this species is difficult to tell apart from other large members of its family such as the dusky shark (C. obscurus) and the silky shark (C. falciformis). Distinguishing characteristics include dusky-colored fins without prominent markings, a short free rear tip on the second dorsal fin, and tooth shape and number.

 

Scientific classification
Kingdom:     Animalia
Phylum:     Chordata
Class:         Chondrichthyes
Subclass:     Elasmobranchii
Order:         Carcharhiniformes
Family:         Carcharhinidae
Genus:         Carcharhinus
Species:     C. perezi

Measuring up to 3 m (10 ft) long, the Caribbean reef shark is one of the largest apex predators in the reef ecosystem, feeding on a variety of fishes and cephalopods. They have been documented resting motionless on the sea bottom or inside caves, unusual behavior for an active-swimming shark. If threatened, it may perform a threat display in which it frequently changes direction and dips its pectoral fins. Like other requiem sharks, it is viviparous with females giving birth to 4–6 young every other year. Caribbean reef sharks are of some importance to fisheries as a source of meat, leather, liver oil, and fishmeal, but recently they have become more valuable as an ecotourist attraction. In the Bahamas and elsewhere, bait is used to attract them to groups of divers in controversial "shark feedings". This species is responsible for a small number of attacks on humans.

Distribution and habitat

The Caribbean reef shark occurs throughout the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, from North Carolina in the north to Brazil in the south, including Bermuda, the northern Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. However, it is extremely rare north of the Florida Keys. It prefers shallow waters on or around coral reefs, and is commonly found near the drop-offs at the reefs' outer edges. This shark is most common in water shallower than 30 m (98 ft), but has been known to dive to 378 m (1240 feet)

Description Caribbean reef shark
The head of a Caribbean reef shark, showing the short, broad snout. A heavy-bodied shark with a "typical" streamlined shape, the Caribbean reef shark is difficult to distinguish from other large requiem shark species. It usually measures 2–2.5 m (6.5–8 ft) long; the maximum recorded length is 3 m (10 ft) and the maximum reported weight is 70 kg (154 lbs). The coloration is dark gray or gray-brown above and white or white-yellow below, with an inconspicuous white band on the flanks. The fins are not prominently marked, and the undersides of the paired fins, the anal fin, and the lower lobe of the caudal fin are dusky.

The snout is rather short, broad, and rounded, without prominent flaps of skin beside the nostrils. The eyes are large and circular, with nictitating membranes (protective third eyelids). There are 11–13 tooth rows in either half of both jaws. The teeth have broad bases, serrated edges, and narrow cusps; the front 2–4 teeth on each side are erect and the others increasingly oblique. The five pairs of gill slits are moderately long, with the third gill slit over the origin of the pectoral fins. The first dorsal fin is high and falcate (sickle-shaped). There is a low interdorsal ridge running behind it to the second dorsal fin, which is relatively large with a short free rear tip. The origin of the first dorsal fin lies over or slightly forward of the free rear tips of the pectoral fins, and that of the second dorsal fin lies over or slightly forward of the anal fin. The pectoral fins are long and narrow, tapering to a point. The dermal denticles are closely spaced and overlapping, each with five (sometimes seven in large individuals) horizontal low ridges leading to marginal teeth

Biology and ecology Caribbean reef shark
A Caribbean reef shark cruising over a coral reef in the Bahamas. Despite its abundance in certain areas, the Caribbean reef shark is one of the least-studied large requiem sharks. They are believed to play a major role in shaping Caribbean reef communities. These sharks are more active at night, with no evidence of seasonal changes in activity or migration. Juveniles tend to remain in a localized area throughout the year, while adults range over a wider area.

Caribbean reef sharks are sometimes seen resting motionless on the sea floor or inside caves; it is the first active shark species in which such a behavior was reported. In 1975, Eugenie Clark investigated the famed "sleeping sharks" inside the caves at Isla Mujeres off the Yucatan Peninsula, and determined that the sharks were not actually asleep as their eyes would follow divers. Clark speculated that freshwater upwellings inside the caves might loosen parasites on the sharks and produce an enjoyable "narcotic" effect. If threatened, Caribbean reef sharks sometimes perform a threat display, in which they swim in a short, jerky fashion with frequent changes in direction and repeated, brief (1–1.2 second duration) drops of the pectoral fins. This display is less pronounced than the better-known display of the grey reef shark

Conservation Caribbean reef shark
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the Caribbean reef shark as Near Threatened; its population has declined off Belize and Cuba from overfishing and exploitation continues in other regions. They are also threatened by the degradation and destruction of their coral reef habitat. Commercial fishing for this species is prohibited in United States waters. They are protected in the Bahamas due to their significance to ecotourism, as well as in a number of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) off Brazil and elsewhere. However, enforcement against illegal fishing is lacking in some of these reserves, and many areas in which this species is abundant are not yet protected

Animal Discovery And Animal Unique In The World

Animal Unique