Shark

Distribution: The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is found from northern Florida to southern Georgia and through the Gulf states into Texas (Nichols, M. 2007). It can also be found in more northern areas such as Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana; there have also been sighting as far west as California and Arizona. The alligator snapping turtle is confined to river systems in the United States that drain into the Gulf of Mexico (Clarke 1981). The most common sightings include the…

Arthropods are made up mostly of crustacean about 50,000 known and divided into groups; Branchiopods, Maxillopods, Malacostraca and Ostracods. The Malacostraca is divided into five different groups, decapods, stomatopods, euphausiids, amphipod and isopods. Decapods include crabs, lobster and shrimp it’s the largest species. Decapod means ten to five pairs of legs most first pair are modified as large claws, called chelipeds. Most decapods hatch as a zoea but on some occasion shrimp can hatch a…

Crocodiles and alligator two creatures that share many similarities. But what are the real differences between them? Sometime people do not recognize how to differentiate an alligator from a crocodile. Although they are reptiles, they have dissimilitude in the family, in the shape of the nose and the position of the teeth. The first difference is that alligators and crocodiles are from distinct families. There are three groups of crocodilians: the alligatoridae, which includes the alligator and…

Most famous for its lure, the anglerfish, also known as the goosefish or monkfish, is an angry looking fish with rough skin that can camouflage to look like a rock. Large heads, huge crescent shaped mouths, and tiny terrible translucent teeth are just three of the anglerfish’s characteristics. They grow anywhere from less than 30 cm to about 182 cm long. The female anglerfish are much larger than the males. The females are also the only ones whose dorsal fin grows into a fishing rod-like lure…

Have you seen parasites in the mouths of striped bass you have caught on Lake Lanier? What you are seeing is most likely a parasitic copepod of the genus Achtheres. Achtheres is a parasitic copepod that infects the gills of freshwater fish and is most easily visible once they mature and move into the fish’s mouth. For those that haven’t seen them, mature adults resemble a small white dot (less than 1/8”) with what look like legs. Those ‘legs’ are actually the egg sacs of the female parasite…

Beautiful old colonial buildings near the water, endless beaches, and magnificent lighthouses are just some of the charms of Laguna, Brazil. Laguna is perhaps most famous for the symbiotic relationship between local fishermen and a pod of dolphins which frequents the waters near Tesoura Beach. As the dolphins chase fish toward the shore, fishermen throw out their nets to catch the incoming fish. The wild dolphins snap up those which escape the nets and then head back out towards deeper waters.…

Stingray You’re at the ocean walking through the water; when all of a sudden you see something move only inches away from your feet. You can’t see what it is, but little do you know, you just barely escaped a very painful attack. Stingrays are both dangerous and very interesting animals, from their amazing camouflaging abilities, to their incredibly painful stings. Stingrays have such incredible camouflaging abilities, they can practically hide in plain site. Stingrays come in a multitude of…

The blue whale is the largest animal in the world weighing in at 180 tonnes and an average of 30m in length. The blue whale is part of the Chordata phylum as it body possesses a notochord, an endostyle, pharyngeal slits and a post anal tail. The blue whales body is a blue-greyish colour on the top and on its underbelly it is somewhat lighter. The blue whale has a long and tapering body that is muscular when compared with other whales. Its head it a flat U-shape and has a ridge that runs from the…

Left nearly unchanged for over 240 million years, crocodiles, alligators, and other crocodilia are basically our version of modern day dinosaurs (Graaf). Both lay eggs, both are territorial predators, and both are enormous reptilian animals. Yet despite their numerous similarities they differ in a few significant key area that it’s no wonder that they are commonly confused for one another. Although crocodiles and alligators are part of the same reptilian order, they are different due to they’re…

In her essay, “Chasing Loons,” Jessica Walden informs us that she did her research on the loons in Oneida County, Wisconsin, in the town of Rhinelander. She states that in Oneida County, there are 1,129 lakes (par. 2). She indicates that she spent three months researching loons, which have five different varieties of. Ms. Walden also indicates that each lake or territory can support only one pair of loons (par. 4). In paragraph 5, Ms. Walden starts to describe the birds. Some of her descriptions…