Pictures of Fishes

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Great White Shark
The great white shark, largest of the strictly carnivorous sharks, is found in tropical and temperate oceans and seas worldwide. Great white sharks use hearing, smell, sight, taste, touch, and electrical perception to locate food.




Hammerhead Shark
The hammerhead shark, distinguished by the lateral expansion of the head into a hammer-shaped structure, is perhaps the most easily recognized shark. The great hammerhead roams tropical and subtropical seas feeding on stingrays, bony fish, and invertebrates. In this photo the hammerhead’s eye is visible at the tip of the hammer-shaped head structure.

Hi-Hat Drumfish
This drumfish’s vivid black and white stripes, while popular with aquarium owners, do little to attract other drumfish. Instead, potential mates swimming out of visible range detect the fish’s far-reaching “knocking” and “drumming” noises, vibrations produced by tightening the muscles of the swim bladder. This tropical Atlantic species gets its name from its tall dorsal fin.





Malawi Blue Cichlid
The Malawi blue cichlid is found in Lake Malawi (also called Lake Nyasa) in eastern Africa. It engages in an elaborate courtship and afterwards provides extensive care for the developing eggs and newly hatched fry. The Malawi blue cichlid, along with dozens of other species of brilliantly colored cichlids from the great lakes of eastern Africa, is prized as an aquarium fish.





Minnow Family
The dace (top) and the chub (bottom) are members of the minnow family. Ranging across North America and Eurasia, the minnow family represents the most important group of freshwater forage fish. All minnows lack teeth in the upper and lower jaws. When a minnow is eaten or injured by a predator, the fish releases a substance into the water, warning other minnows of the danger.




Mosaic Moray Eel
Moray eels inhabit tropical seas where they stalk prey from hidden spots, such as holes in coral reefs. Their cavernous mouths, powerful jaws, and needle-sharp teeth enable eels to capture and eat their prey, mainly other fish and mollusks.







Mudskipper
The fish known as the mudskipper can propel itself over land by moving its pectoral fins. Mudskippers can remain out of water for several days by breathing air trapped in highly vascularized cavities in the mouth and gill chambers. They use this special ability to feed on the rich supply of crustaceans present in the mud of mangrove swamps and estuaries. Mudskippers inhabit the tropical coastal regions in the Indian and Pacific oceans.




Pacific Hagfish
The Pacific hagfish belongs to a group of fish known as the agnathans, considered the most primitive of the living fish. The hagfish, which is blind, lacks true jaws and instead has a sucking disc capable of attaching to the sides of larger fishes. Following attachment, the hagfish drills a small hole into the side of the host fish with its tongue and draws out the body fluids and blood. The hagfish also lacks scales and a sympathetic nervous system.

Panther Grouper
The panther grouper, so named because of its spotted appearance, is a member of the grouper family. This fish has a remarkably large mouth cavity and is able to eat sizeable prey, including fish and invertebrates. Although the color pattern seems quite conspicuous against a light-colored background, it makes the panther grouper inconspicuous against the vibrant background of the coral reef.



Piranha
There are at least two dozen species of South American tropical rain forest fish that are grouped together under the name of piranha. Ranging in size from under 15 cm (6 in) to nearly 60 cm (24 in), the piranha is perhaps the most feared of all fish in the rain forest due to the razor-sharp teeth along the leading edge of both jaws. Although some species are strictly carnivorous, not all are considered dangerous to man.

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Pictures of Fishes

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African Lungfish
The African lungfish is one of three species of lungfish. This lungfish is equipped with both a lung and rudimentary gills. During the dry season, the African lungfish is able to survive by curling itself into a tight ball with its tail covering the eyes. Mud adheres to the body mucous, forming an impervious casing. The lungfish then becomes dormant, or estivates, until the rainy season again fills the pool, softens the mud casing, and releases the fish.

Betta
The betta, or Siamese fighting fish, is native to Southeast Asia. It has been extensively cultured for the aquarium trade. Cultured bettas have long, flowing fins and brilliant colors. They must periodically swim to the surface to capture air in a specialized structure called a labyrinth organ. By breathing atmospheric oxygen, bettas are able to inhabit oxygen-poor waters where few other fish can survive.



Bicolor Parrot Fish
Parrot fish have the unusual ability to change gender. This female bicolor parrot fish may have been a male in the past, or may transform into a male soon. Parrot fish use their strong jaws to break off small pieces of coral and graze on algae growing among the coral.



Brown Bullhead
Valued for food and sport, the brown bullhead, a North American species of catfish, lives in many freshwater streams in the eastern United States. Usually measuring less than 46 cm (18 in) long, the brown bullhead exhibits the typical whiskerlike feelers that give the catfish its name. The brown bullhead is considered the most commercially important of all catfish.




Butterfly Fish
The butterfly fish is a member of the order Perciformes, the largest order of bony fishes. Hundreds of species of butterfly fish are found on coral reefs around the world. Fast and flexible, they can dart quickly into coral crevices to avoid predators and chase after food items. Most species of butterfly fish are brightly colored and patterned, with one or more false eyespots on the fins. This type of coloration serves to disrupt the outline of the body against the background of the coral reef, making it difficult for predators to detect them.

Chain Moray
The chain moray, a coral reef dweller, is a member of the eel family, fish that occasionally lack fins and whose gill openings are reduced to small circular openings. Secretive by nature, the chain morays usually inhabit a coral cave or crevice and wait for unsuspecting fish and invertebrates, which they capture with their sharp teeth and powerful jaws.




Common Sunfish
The common sunfish, a close relative of the bluegill sunfish, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass, is a small, spiny-rayed, freshwater fish with a bright orange tip at the end of its gill flap. Native to drainage basins east of the Rocky Mountains, this sunfish is popular with young anglers.






Cookie-Cutter Shark
The cookie-cutter shark is named for the cookie-shaped bites that it takes out of its prey. Using special lips modified for sucking and a movable tongue that retracts to form suction, the cookie-cutter attaches itself to the side of prey. It then presses its sharp teeth into the prey’s flesh and uses a twisting motion to cut and remove a round plug of flesh. Even though the cookie-cutter is one of the smallest species of sharks, it preys on large animals such as whales, dolphins, and sharks, and has even bitten into submarines.


Domestic Goldfish
The numerous varieties of domestic goldfish have all come from the wild goldfish of eastern Asia. Domestic goldfish have been bred for centuries, especially in Japan and China, and have adapted to fresh waters around the world. Goldfish can be extremely long-lived and have become popular as domestic pets.





French Angelfish
The French angelfish is a common inhabitant of the coral reef community. The angelfish is easily identified by its large dorsal and anal fins and the prominent vertical yellow stripes along the sides of its body.

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Pictures of Amphibians

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Broken-Striped Newt
The adult broken-striped newt is found in ponds, pools, and quiet streams in low-lying coastal areas of North and South Carolina. Growing to a maximum size of 9.5 cm (3.75 in), this newt feeds on insects, leeches, small amphibians, worms, small crustaceans, and frog eggs.



Burrowing Frog
This frog’s short, powerful legs are well built for digging. It burrows into the cooler soil of its South Australian desert habitat to wait out the unpleasantness of extreme heat, descending to a state of torpor much like hibernation. Other kinds of frogs burrow to conceal themselves or to ambush prey. Many have sharp snouts or flattened spadelike toes that aid them in their digging.



Caecilian
The caecilian is a type of amphibian that has a wormlike body with no limbs. Caecilians are found only in the tropics.








Fire Salamander
Among fire salamanders, the female retains her fertilized eggs within her body until they hatch. The emerging young may either be larvae with gills or fully formed juveniles who possess the body structures of an adult.



Golden Toads
While most toads are camouflaged with brownish or greyish coloration, these golden toads of Costa Rica are an exception. Only the males of the species are bright gold; females are more neutral in color. Here males await females at the breeding pool.

Pictures of Mammals

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Snow Leopard
The snow leopard lives only in coniferous forest scrub areas and the mountain steppe region of the Himalayas and surrounding areas. Generally solitary except during mating season, the snow leopard may be found at altitudes higher than 6000 m (19,000 ft) in search of migratory game such as wild sheep, ibex, and the musk deer.

Sumatran Rhinoceros
The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) has been hunted so extensively that fewer than 300 animals survive in fragmented populations in Malaysia and Indonesia. Between 1985 and 1995 the number of Sumatran rhinos declined by 50 percent due to poaching.


Sumatran Tiger
The Sumatran tiger, found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, is the smallest type of tiger. Females weigh 75 to 110 kg (165 to 240 lb), and males weigh 100 to 140 kg (220 to 310 lb). In recent years the demand for tiger parts across Southeast Asia has threatened the Sumatran tiger, whose skins, bones, and claws are used in folk remedies and as novelty displays.


Tapir
Tapirs, found in dense forests and swampy areas of Central and South America and Asia, are moderately large mammals, growing to a height of 75 to 120 cm (29 to 47 in) and a weight of 225 to 300 kg (500 to 600 lb). The nocturnal animals feed on leaves, grasses, aquatic vegetation, soft twigs, and fruit, using their short flexible snouts to roll up leaves and other vegetation.




Tarsier
Native to rain forest and shrub areas of Indonesia and the Philippines, the arboreal tarsier feeds primarily at night on insects and lizards. The primate has well-adapted hind legs for leaping, and has extremely long fingers and toes equipped with fleshy disks for traction.






Thirteen-Striped Ground Squirrel
Ground squirrels, like this common species from the midwestern United States, are social animals that live in colonies of burrows connected by a network of tunnels. The tunnels help improve the quality of the land by bringing up soil from lower levels but can be quite destructive to agricultural irrigation systems.







Walrus Tusks
The large front tusks, actually elongated canine teeth, appear to be used primarily for helping the walrus haul itself out of the water and onto large ice floes, where it spends long periods of time. Earlier speculation that the tusks were used to probe the bottom sediments in search of food appears to be incorrect. While walruses do search the sea floor for food such as clams, they apparently skim their sensitive whisker pads across the bottom rather than probing with their tusks.

Yorkshire Terrier
Yorkshire terriers are small dogs characterized by long, silky hair. A toy breed, the Yorkshire terrier was originally bred in England and was favored by the aristocracy in the 19th century.

Pictures of Mammals

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Numbat
The numbat, Myrmecobius fasciatus, is an endangered marsupial that lives in southwestern Australia, often in eucalyptus groves. Numbats use their sensitive noses and sticky tongues to find and eat insects, especially termites. During the winter months they warm themselves by basking in the sun. Australians have created captive breeding colonies for numbats in hopes of ensuring their survival.


Pangolin
Four species of terrestrial and arboreal pangolins are found in forest and open savanna habitats of Africa and southern Asia. Entirely covered with large, brown, overlapping scales, the pangolin is well protected against predators. When threatened, the pangolin rolls into a tight ball, causing the sharp, free edges of the scales to rise. Pangolins eat ants and termites, which they lap up with their long, sticky tongues.

Platypus
The duck-billed platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, found only in eastern Australia, lives in streams, rivers, and occasionally lakes with year-round water. It feeds mostly on bottom-dwelling aquatic insect larvae, which it finds by probing the streambed with its pliable, sensitive bill. It grows to a maximum size of 1 to 2.4 kg (2.2 to 5.3 lb). One of only a few venomous mammals, the male platypus has a poison gland in the hind leg that opens through a bony spur on the ankle. The spur is used to defend against predators and possibly to defend its territory against other males. The females lack the venom gland and bony spur.

Polar Bear
Polar bears congregate on the snow-covered shores of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba. All of Manitoba’s rivers and streams drain into the Bay, where the fishing is good for polar bears.







Pronghorn
The pronghorn is one of the fastest mammals on earth, reaching a maximum speed of 86 km/hr (55 mph) and a sustained speed of 70 km/hr (45 mph). Native to the open grasslands and brushlands of the western United States, Canada, and Mexico, the pronghorn feeds on crops and a variety of wild plants. The pronghorn’s eyes are set far out on the skull, allowing for a 360-degree field of view.



Red Wolf
The red wolf, Canis rufus, is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf. Virtually extinct in the wild, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is breeding red wolves in captivity. They have had mixed success when the captive-bred red wolves were released into two wilderness sites within their native habitat in the southeastern United States. Some wolves were able to thrive while others died.


Reindeer
The reindeer inhabits the far northern reaches of Europe and Asia, as well as North America, where the animal is called a caribou. Although the population of reindeer has declined, some nomadic tribes in North Asia and Europe and northernmost North America still follow the herds, using the flesh of the animals as food and their antlers as tools and utensils. Massive assymetrical antlers grow on both male and female reindeer; the female reindeer is the only type of female deer to have antlers.


Ring-Tailed Lemurs
The ring-tailed lemur, Lemur catta, is found only on the island of Madagascar and the nearby islands of Comoros. Adults of this species grow to 38 to 43 cm (15 to 17 in) in length and can reach weights of nearly 4 kg (9 lb). Their habitat ranges from tropical deciduous forest to semi-desert, and they are comfortable both on the ground and climbing trees.




Short-Beaked Echidna
Echidnas are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. The female deposits a single egg in her pouch while lying on her back. The egg hatches only about ten days later, but a young echidna stays in its mother’s pouch, feeding from milk “patches,” until its spines begin to develop. An echidna’s spines are its protection. If threatened, the animal curls up in a ball, offering a mouthful of sharp spikes to its attacker. On soft soil, it will use its long foreclaws to bury itself and escape heat and disturbances. The short-beaked echidna is Tachyglossus aculeatus.

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Pictures of Mammals

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Dall Sheep
Dall sheep, sometimes called thinhorn sheep, inhabit cliff regions in Alpine and Arctic tundra areas of Alaska and northern British Columbia. Related to the musk ox and the moutain goat, these sheep can have either black, gray, or white coats, depending on the subspecies.





Douroucouli
The douroucouli is the only species of monkey that is nocturnal. With its large eyes, it is well adapted to see at night, but it can not perceive colors.










Dugong
This male dugong is among only a few thousand of the large marine mammals believed to remain in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Dugongs, commonly called sea cows, have long been hunted for their meat, blubber, oil, and hide. The harmless animal uses its rounded forelimbs for locomotion and its muscular lips to tear water plants for food.




Grévy’s Zebra
The Grévy’s zebra (Equus grevyi) is the largest zebra, weighing up to 450 kg (990 lb). The vertical stripes on its body are narrow and close together, covering most of the body except the belly. Grévy’s zebra frequents the plains and brush country of Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya.



Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus divides its time between water and land. During the day, its unusually thin outer layer of skin wicks moisture away too quickly for the animal to remain out of water for very long. Instead of sweat glands, the skin has glands that secrete a thick, reddish fluid impenetrable by the sun’s burning rays; for this reason, hippos have been said to “sweat blood.” Hippopotamuses spend the night on land, foraging for the roughly 40 kg (88 lb) of food they consume a day.

Holstein Cow
Dairy farmers raise Holstein cows to produce milk. One Holstein cow can produce around 9,500 kg (21,000 lb) of milk in one year.






Komondor
A komondor is a breed of working dog distinguished by a coat of long, corded white hair that feels like felt.






Minke Whale
The small, lively minke whale is distinguished by a dark-and-light harlequin coloration, including white stripes across the flippers and upper back. When playing, a minke whale may breach, or leap out of the water, at a 45-degree angle, and then arch its back for a smooth reentry, or stretch out horizontally for a loud belly flop. These inquisitive whales sometimes appear alongside a ship, often keeping pace with the vessel for speeds up to 30 knots.





Netherland Dwarf Rabbit
The Netherland Dwarf rabbit is one of the most popular breeds of pet rabbit.









Nine-Banded Armadillo
The nine-banded or common long-nosed armadillo is the most widespread and adaptable of all species of armadillos. It ranges from the southern United States southward into Argentina and Uruguay and feeds on fungi, fruits, tubers, termites, ants, small vertebrates, and carrion.

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