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CREATURE FEATURE: Giant Pacific Octopus

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The Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is a large, marine invertebrate (soft-bodied) mollusc in the Octopoda order. Octopoda means eight limbs. It is a cephalopod, related to the squid, cuttlefish, and nautilus. 

The Octopus has a greyish, soft hollow body called a mantle. Its body can change shape and squeeze into small gaps. The mantle has gills (to breath), a brain, and a parrot-beaked mouth. Surrounding the mouth is eight limbs with suckers. It has two large eyes with excellent sight.

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Copperband Butterflyfish

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The Copperband Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus) is a marine (saltwater) fish in the Chaetodontidae family of long-beaked fish. It is also known as the Beaked Coral Fish. 

The Copperband Butterflyfish is laterally compressed, with yellow banding and a long, thin snout (nose). It has vertical yellow stripes on a white background. It has a large black eye-spot on its dorsal fin. It also has long yellow posterior fins. The base of its white tail has a dark band.

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Two-Spotted Ladybird Beetle

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The Two-Spotted Ladybird (Adalia bipunctata) is a small insect in the Coccinellidae family of ladybird beetles. It is also known as the Two Spotted Lady Beetle.

The Two-Spotted Ladybird Beetle can have a red or a yellow body with two black spots on its elytra (two wing cases). Its body is oval-shaped and slightly domed. Its wings are hidden underneath the wing cases. It has black compound eyes. Its antennae are light-brown, quite long, and slightly thickened at the ends. Its neck shield usually covers the head and has white spots. It has little black legs. 

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What’s the difference between the Emerald Tree Boa and the Green Tree Python?

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What is the difference between the Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus) and the Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis)?

The Emerald Tree Boa and the Green Tree Python are both non-venomous arboreal (tree) reptiles and snakes.

The Emerald Tree Boa and the Green Tree Python are bright green with yellowish underbellies. 

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European Honey Buzzard

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The European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) is a medium-sized bird of prey, an accipiter, and a raptor. It is also called the Pern. 

The European Honey Buzzard is eagle-like with a small head, flat wings, and a long tail with a few dark bars. Its feathers are honey-brown. The male has a blue-grey head, and the female has a brown head. The female is slightly darker than the male. Both the male and the female have yellowish to light-orange eyes, and a grey beak with a yellow cere. 

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Mediterranean Moray Eel

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The Mediterranean Moray Eel (Muraena helena) is a marine (saltwater) fish. It is also known as the Roman Eel.

The Mediterranean Moray Eel has an elongated body, which can be dark-grey or dark-brown with small dark spots. Unlike fish, it does not have scales on its body. Its dorsal (back) fin runs along the top of its body. It does not have pectoral (side) fins. It has a long mouth with sharp teeth. It has gills to breath. 

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Giant Round-Backed Millipede

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The Giant Round-Backed Millipede (Pachybolus) is in the Spirobolida Order and Pachybolidae family of round-backed millipedes. It is not an insect, nor an arachnid. It is a diplopod. 

The Giant Round-Backed Millipede has a thick, elongated, cylindrical, segmented body with a hard exo-skeleton. It can be brown-black, red or yellow. Although millipede means a thousand legs, it actually has about 200 legs. It has two pairs of legs per body segment. It has a short head with a number of simple eyes called ocelli – and poor eyesight. It has short antennae.

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Common Spider Crab

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The Common Spider Crab (Libinia emarginata) is a marine (saltwater) crustacean. It is also known as the Portly Spider Crab or the Nine-Spined Spider Crab. 

The Common Spider Crab is almost triangular in shape with an olive-khaki-green exo-skeleton (shell) called a carapace. The carapace is covered in spines called tubercles. It has 10 orange legs. 

The Common Spider Crab walks forward – unlike most crabs that walk sideways.

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Golden Lion Tamarin

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The Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) is an endangered mammal in the Callitrichidae family of small monkeys. It is also known as the Golden Marmoset. 

The Golden Lion Tamarin has bright reddish-orange fur with a mane around its face and ears. Its face is dark and hairless. It has elongated hands and fingers, with claw-like nails which enable it to cling to tree trunks. 

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Purple-Striped Jellyfish

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The Purple-Striped Jellyfish (Chrysaora colorata) is a soft-bodied invertebrate marine (saltwater) animal. An invertebrate is an animal with no bones. It is also known as the Purple-Striped Sea Nettle. 

The Purple-Striped Jellyfish has a translucent (see-through) bell-shaped or umbrella-shaped dome body with purple stripes. It has long tentacles (limbs) with eight long dark purple arms and four ‘frilly’ arms. It has no brain, no heart, no blood, no bones, no excretory system, and no gills or lungs. It has nerve receptors in its body that enables it to detect smell, light, pressure, and touch. It is about 98% water.

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Emperor Scorpion

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The Emperor Scorpion (Pandinus imperator) is an arachnid, related to the spider. It has eight legs.

The Emperor Scorpion has a thick, black body with a segmented exo-skeleton. The exo-skeleton is called the ecdysis, and it glows blue in ultraviolet light. It has large pincers, called pedipalps, and a tail that curves over its body. At the end of its tail is a stinger, called a telson, that is mildy venomous. 

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Temminck’s Tragopan Pheasant

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The Temminck’s Tragopan Pheasant (Tragopan temminckii) is a medium-sized bird.

The male Temminck’s Tragopan Pheasant is red and orange, with white-spotted feathers. It has a black beak and pink legs. Its facial skin is blue and bare with no feathers. It has inflatable dark-blue wattles (skin flaps) on its face. The female has brown and white-spotted feathers with blue circular eye skin.

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