What is the difference between the African Leopard (Panthera pardus), the Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis), the Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) and the Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)?
The African Leopard, Amur Leopard, Persian Leopard, and Snow Leopard are all solitary, elusive, large felines or wild cats. All of the leopards have pale-green or grey eyes.
What is the difference between the African Lion and the White Lion?
The White Lion (Panthera leo) is a feline, or felid, mammal – a wild cat. It is different from the African Lion (Panthera leo leo) and the Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica), but it is more similar to the African Lion.
The White Lion is not albino. It is leucistic, which means that it has reduced colouring, but not complete albinism. An animal that is albino lacks colour and has pink eyes. A leucistic animal does not have pink eyes.
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The Armoured Shrimp (Atya gabonensis) is a freshwater crustacean. It is also known as the African Fan Shrimp, the African Filter Shrimp, the Cameroon Armoured Shrimp, or the Blue Rhino Shrimp. It is related to the crab and the lobster.
The Armoured Shrimp can vary in colour from creamy-white to rusty brown and deep blue.
The Abdim’s Stork (Ciconia abdimii) is a medium-sized wetlands bird. It is also known as the White-Bellied Stork or the Grasshopper BIrd.
The Abdim’s Stork is black with white underparts. It has grey-pink legs, red knees, and red feet. It has a grey beak. It has red skin on it face in front of its eyes, and blue skin near its beak in the breeding season.
The Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda) is a small canine, or canid, mammal.
The Fennec Fox has a creamy-brown fluffy coat, which keeps it warm at night and cool in the daytime. It has large ears. The soles of its feet have thick fur, which protects them from the hot desert sand.
The Lamenting Grasshopper (Eyprepocnemis plorans) is an insect in the Acrididae family of grasshoppers.
The Lamenting Grasshopper has a short brown body (with a head, thorax, and abdomen) with two yellowish-cream stripes from head to tail. It has short antennae. It has powerful hind (back) legs which enable it to leap very high. It also has two pairs of wings and can fly long distances.
What is the difference between an African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) and an Asian Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)?
The African Buffalo or Cape Buffalo is not related to the Asian Water Buffalo.
The African Buffalo has an almost black coat, whereas the Asian Water Bufffalo has a blue-grey coat.
The African Buffalo has larger horns than the Asian Water Buffalo.
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The Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) is a reptile. It is also known as the African Dwarf Crocodile, the Broad-Snouted Crocodile, or the Bony Crocodile.
The Dwarf Crocodile is dark on its back and sides. Its underbelly is yellowish with black patches. It is heavily armoured around its neck, back, and tail. The back of its neck has four large, shield-like scales. It has a blunt, short snout (nose).
The L’Hoest’s Monkey (Cercopithecus lhoesti) is a primate and a mammal. It is also known as the Mountain Monkey.
The L’Hoest’s Monkey has a short-haired, dark-brown coat, with a chestnut coloured back and a dark belly. It has a white beard. Its cheeks are light-grey, and it chest is white. Its tail is long and hook-shaped at the end.
The Palm-Nut Vulture (Gypohierax angolensis) is a bird of prey, a raptor, and an accipiter. It is also known as the Vulturine Fish Eagle. It is related to the buzzard and the eagle.
The Palm-Nut Vulture is all white except for black areas in its wings and tail. It has a red patch around each eye. Its eyes are yellow and its beak is pale-grey.
The Doctor’s Cichlid (Pseudotropheus “daktari”) is a tropical freshwater fish. It is also known as the Blue Daktari or Scissor Tail Cichlid. Daktari is Swahili for doctor.
The male Doctor’s Cichlid is bright yellow with a little bit of blue or purple sheen, whereas the femal is pinkish-tan. The male and female have a black trim on the top and bottom edge of their tail fin. Its body is slightly elongated.
The African Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) is a tropical wetland bird. It is also known as the Knob-Billed Duck.
The African Comb Duck has a white head with small dark spots, a white neck, and white underparts. Its upperparts are glossy, blue-black with blue-green iridescent feathers. The male is much larger than the female, and it has a large black knob on its beak.
What are the similarities between the Burmese Python and the Rock Python?
The Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) and the Rock Python (Python sebae) are both non-venomous constrictor snakes (they squeeze their prey to death).
The Burmese Python and the Rock Python are both oviparous (egg-laying) reptiles.
The Burmese Python and the Rock Python are both dark-coloured with brown markings on their back.
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The Red-and-Yellow Barbet (Trachyphonus erythroacephalus) is a bird.
The Red-and-Yellow Barbet has distinctive black, red, and yellow plumage, where the black feathers are spotted with white. It has a black forehead and crown, with a slight crest. The back of its neck is orange and red with black spots. The side of its neck is red and yellowish. Its back is mostly black with white spots. Its tail is a blackish-brown with up to eight cream spots forming bars. The under side of its tail is yellow with black bars. It has a yellow chin and throat, and there is a black patch at the centre of its throat, which is bordered by areas with more orange. Its chest is orange, and its belly is yellow. It has black wings with white spots, giving a spotted appearance.
Its beak is red. Its eyes are yellow-brown with a dark-grey or black eye-ring. Its legs and feet are blue-grey. The female is similar to the male, but duller, with less red and orange, and more yellow and white.
The Jackson’s Widowbird (Euplectes jacksoni) is a small bird in the Ploceidae family – related to weaver birds.
The Jackson’s Widowbird is black with a long tail. Females are brown-black with a shorter tail. It has a pale beak and light-grey legs.
The West African Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica rhinoceros) is a venomous snake and a reptile. It is also called the Butterfly Adder, the Forest Puff Adder, and the Swampjack.
The West African Gaboon Viper has a large triangular-shaped cream-coloured head, with a dark blue-black triangle behind and below its eyes. It is pale-brown, with dark, yellow-edged patterns along its body. Its belly is pale. It has a pair of horn-like structures between its nostrils. Its eyes are large, moveable, and yellow-white.
The East African Fork-Tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis fugax) is a medium-sized passerine songbird. It is also known as the Common Drongo, the African Drongo, or the Savannah Drongo.
The East African Fork-Tailed Drongo is glossy black, with duller black wings. It has patches of brown feathers. It has a large head, and a light-grey thick, hooked beak, with nasal bristles (hairs). It has orange-brown eyes. It has short legs. The feathers on its tail curve outwards, forming a fork tail.
The Northern Grey-Headed Sparrow (Passer griseus) is a small common and widespread passerine songbird. It is related to the House Sparrow.
The Northern Grey-Headed Sparrow has a pale grey head with a white moustache stripe, pale brown upperparts, whitish underparts and chestnut wings with a small white shoulder patch. The sexes are similar.
The Ashe’s Spitting Cobra (Naja ashei) is a venomous elapid African snake and a reptile. It is also called the Giant Spitting Cobra.
The Ashe’s Spitting Cobra is brown, olive, black, grey, or reddish-brown with orange or pink bars on its neck. Its belly is paler. It has a big, broad head. It has smooth scales.
The Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensisor Hexaprotodon liberiensis) is a small hippopotamid. It is a semi-aquatic mammal. Hexaprotodon means six front teeth. It is closely related to the whale and the dolphin.
The Pygmy Hippopotamus has a brownish-grey to pinkish barrel-shaped body with short legs. Its skin is virtually hairless, but it does have some bristles. It has four toes on each foot. It has ivory teeth. It has small ears, small dark eyes, and large nostrils. It has a short tail with a tuft of hair at the end.