Victor Galleries - Victor Symonds : Nature : The Strange World of Critters

The Strange World of Critters Galleries

Aquatic : An aquatic animal is one that lives in water most or all of its life. I’ve also included frogs here although technically they are amphibians. Remember that frogs have an aquatic stage in their life cycle (tadpoles), so I don’t feel too upset about including them here. I’ve left out some four legged types such as the river otter and birds such as the seagull, pelican, ducks, swans, etc., which I’ve included in other Galleries. Conservationists are concerned about some aquatic animals because of the fragility of the environments that they live in, in particular the widespread use of pesticides which enter aquatic systems.

Reptiles : Reptiles are cold-blooded vertebrates. Their skin is covered with scales instead of hair or feathers. All reptiles are air-breathing. Most reptiles are egg-laying, although there is one species capable of giving live birth. Reptiles can be found on every continent except Antarctica. The largest of the reptiles is the Saltwater Crocodile that may grow to 23 feet in length. This Gallery has a few animals that have been “modified by Photoshop for fun. Lizardtis Fakeus is one example. Check out his younger Brother on the tree as well! The big one is a resin composite and the small one is a clone.

Four Legged Friends : This Gallery represents some of the Four Legged Animals that have shared their time and space with me. Mammals (which include the ones in this Gallery), are vertebrate animals. Most, but not all mammals, have seven cervical vertebrae (bones in the neck), and this list includes bats, giraffes, whales (yes, whales do have a neck), and ..... humans. They also have hair, sweat glands, middle ear bones, and most species give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. There are approximately 5,400 species of mammals. The first true mammals on earth appeared during the Jurassic period. Looking at these Gallery photos now, I think that some of these Creatures were actually posing for the Camera. What do you think?

Four Legged Friends

Birds : Birds are all around us, but we often don’t stop to look at the colorful variety presented by the different species. Some are truly beautiful, and then, some are truly ugly! Birds are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Approximately 10,000 species of birds exist, and they live all over our planet including such forbidding areas as the Arctic and Antarctic. Birds have feathers, a beak but no teeth, lay hard-shelled eggs, and have a four chambered heart. What are interesting to me are the beaks. Different shapes and sizes depending upon what the Bird eats.

Insects and Butterflies : There are over a million described species of Insects. Some estimates include as much as 30 million or more. Although we usually don’t think that Butterflies and Moths fall into this category, they do, and are strongly represented with about 170,000 varieties. Along with sound, “Bugs” as we sometimes call them, often communicate with each other using chemicals. These scents that are secreted are meant to attract, repel, or provide other information such as sex or social attributes.

Insects and Butterflies

Creepy Crawlies : Spiders and Snakes. Two species that most folks tend to shy away from! Yet, these Creatures can be some of the most colorful and diverse inhabitants of our planet. Spiders are predatory animals. They have two body segments, no wings, no chewing mouth, and eight legs. There are about 350 different species of spiders. A snake actually belongs to the reptile family, but I’ve included them here because they seem to fit the “Creepy Crawlies” Category better! There are approximately 2700+ species of snakes covering almost the entire globe except Antarctica.

Creepy Crawlies

Available Feeds | What are feeds?

Recent Galleries:

Atom |

RSS

Recent Photos:

Atom |

RSS