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The Cape wagtail (motacilla capensis), commonly known as Cape wagtails, are chubby chirpy garden birds. They belong to the super-diverse family of Motacillidae consisting of wagtails and pipits. Mostly found in Southern Africa. There are numerous sub-species of the Motacilla capensis which include the Mountain wagtail, African pied wagtail, Western yellow wagtail, White wagtail, and the common gray wagtail. They belong to the Passerine order which means they are songbirds. Local to open areas, these birds are rather found among human beings than dense jungles....

If your child is fascinated by the qualities of various species of the Animalia kingdom, then this article about centipedes might interest them. Centipedes are long, flat, worm-like creatures that move so fast that it hardly takes seconds for them to disappear into the dark. The creature is also referred to as a ‘hundred legger’ since it has hundreds of centipede legs attached to its body. Did you know that centipedes always have an odd number of pairs of legs?...

Are you looking for an aquatic pet that’s not a fish? Then welcome to the world of Chinese softshell turtles! A little out of the ordinary, this turtle from a family of turtles that’s native to Asia, North America, and Africa and is a keeper if you want your pet to live with you for a long time (as long as 50 years).The most noticeable aspect is their shell or carapace as it’s also called....

Coahuilaceratops are the first horned dinosaurs of Mexico, originally discovered in 2008. They were officially described in 2010. The dinosaur was named by Mark A. Loewen, Andrew A. Farke, Michael A. Getty, Scott D. Sampson, Aguillón martínez, and some other paleontologists. These ancient dinosaurs are said to have the largest horns among all of their species. Their fossil was found in the site of the desert terrain of southern Mexico, which according to Loewen had a very different ecosystem in the late Cretaceous period....

There are more than 800 species of eel in the world and cutthroat eels are one of these species. Cutthroat eels are known by their scientific name Synaphobranchidae and are spotted in oceans and seas in tropical and temperate regions. They are seen worldwide, especially in the deep sea. These eel Synaphobranchus are Not Evaluated by the IUCN (International Union For Conservation Of Nature).The cutthroat eel (Synaphobranchus) belongs to the order Anguilliformes and suborder Synaphobranchodei....

Glyptodon is an extinct genus consisting of large mammals with a heavily armored shell within the Glyptodontinae (glyptodontines or glyptodonts) subfamily and Chlamyphoridae family. The Glyptodon name combines the Greek terms for ‘sculptured,’ and ’tooth,’ meaning ‘carved or grooved tooth.’ The species of this genus lived in the Pleistocene and Pliocene epoch from 2.5 million-10,000 years ago. These are relatives of modern-day armadillos. It is said that Darwin first found the fossils of this subfamily, however, the first mention of this genus was in 1923 in Europe in the first edition of ‘Ossemen’s Fossiles’ by Cuvier....

There are a total of 150 species of jackfishes in the world, all of which possess compressed bodies and enlarged scales. The green jack fish belongs to the same family. These fishes are primarily seen in the Pacific Ocean and are a popular choice for fisheries around the world, meaning for human consumption. Jack fishes are also seen in regions including Mexico, California, and other nearby regions. Their population is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List....

The Hawaiian monk seals are an endangered species of animals, endemic to Hawaii. Over the years they have been hunted and exploited by humans. Climate change also contributes to a key reason because of which these animals suffer habitat loss with the sea level rising drastically. Males have been observed to show aggression at certain events towards the juveniles and females. This is another key reason for the decrease in their numbers....

It’s said that the most beautiful gifts come in tiny packages. Behold the Jamaican tody in all its splendor with a bright green head color which changes into a bright red hue at the throat, giving it the title of robin redbreast. The birds prefer the Island of Jamaica and are more commonly found around the humid blue mountains. These birds are monomorphic as there is not much significant physical difference between the male and female birds....

A uniquely large mammal found largely in Australia, kangaroos are very important to Australian culture, and they even feature on the Australian coat of arms. Technically, what we refer to as kangaroos are the majority of macropods, i.e. the family Macropodidae. Known specifically for their large and powerful hind legs on which they hop around in the woods and scrublands of Australia, they are visually unique.There are about 50 kangaroo species in the family Macropodidae....

The Kentrosaurus aethiopicus belongs to the genus of Stegosaurian dinosaurs and lived during the late Jurassic period in present-day Tanzania. This dinosaur was called the Kentrosaurus, which means spiked lizard. The discovery of this species was done by the expedition leader Werner Janensch and was named by Edwin Hennig, a German paleontologist, in 1915. It was thought to be primarily a dinosaur that inherited features of the Stegosaurus, but it was later confirmed to be closely related to it....

The little sparrowhawk, Accipiter minullus, is indeed a miracle of nature as these birds were almost considered extinct in the eastern countries, but today they are one of the most widespread birds. These birds are native to southern Africa and are mostly found in northern Angola and the western cape. Over time due to advancement in the agriculture sector, the sparrowhawk accipiter nisus endured many issues related to it. The primary reason why the population of this juvenile little sparrowhawk experienced a negative curve is because of pesticides used in the agriculture sector....

The marten, from the family of Mustelidae, is an animal with thick brown fur. It belongs to the family of weasels and fishers and belongs to the class of mammals. There are several known subspecies of this animal, occupying various parts of the world. The Martes martes or pine marten has its habitat or range in Europe. American martens, as indicated by the name, occupy northern parts of America, like Canada or Alaska....

Classification of Prejanopterus puts it into the phylum Chordata and class Pterosauria. It was the first genus of pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous period of Spain. The generic name is obtained from the village of Préjano and latinised Greek ‘Pteron’ denoting ‘wing’.A fascinating fact about the Prejanopterus is that the lower jaw is linear, but the upper jaw bends to the top and apart from the lower jaw. The long slender snout with extensively gapped teeth is indicative of the fact that Prejanopterus may have used it to explore narrow, dense spaces for small animals or even scavenged carcasses....

Sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus) are a large shark species generally found in temperate, tropical, and shallow coastal waters.These species of sharks are known to be very aggressive, dangerous and are referred to as apex predators since they are at the top the food chain. Sandbar sharks are nocturnal animals and are generally most active at night. These sharks are famous worldwide as they are found in almost all places across the world....

No, they are not the Pinocchios of the animal kingdom, but they do have pretty long snouts for an average crocodile! The slender-snouted crocodiles are nothing but fun to be around. Their stealth and camouflage skin is definitely what makes them interesting. The senses of these reptiles are top-notch, they have sharp sight, a strong sense of smell, and can hear exceptionally well.These genus of crocodiles are mainly to central and west Africa, so it wouldn’t actually be wrong to call them the African slender-snouted crocodiles....

Ten-lined June beetles belong to the Scarabaeidae family of the Insecta class. They are known worldwide for the unique linear patterns on their wings. These bugs have poor eyesight, however, adult watermelon beetles are very much attracted to lights. Their habit of getting attracted to lights makes it easier to catch them using tools like a backlight cage and more. They are native to the Northern hemisphere, and widely found in Canada, and the northern and western parts of the United States....

If you are looking for strong hunting dogs that can double down as lovely family dogs, then treeing walker coonhounds are the perfect dog for you. These dogs were bred first in the 1800s when a tan and black dog named Tennessee Lead of unknown breed origin was crossed with the walker hound. Now, you might wonder why this dog has such a long and weird name. This can be traced to the history of this dog....

The Umbridae is a family of fish belonging to the Esociformes order which mostly consists of mudminnows. This order has four genera but Boltyshia, Proumbra, and Palaeoesox have gone extinct. Presently, the Umbra genus has three types of species of mudminnow fish with the species names being - Umbra krameri (European mudminnow), Umbra pygmaea (Eastern mudminnow), and Umbra limi (Central mudminnow). These fish are distributed across North America and Europe. Mudminnows belong to the superorder named Protacanthopterygii (Esociformes order) but their chromosome number may vary....

The Verreaux’s eagle-owl is the largest owl species in Africa. They are also known by the names giant eagle owl or milky eagle owl. They have very powerful talons in comparison to other raptors that help them to prey. A large part of their food consists of small mammals but their diet also includes other similar-sized prey that. Numerous birds and even insects act as a food source for these eagle owls....