Garden Snail

The Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) is an air-breathing pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the Helicidae family of terrestrial (land) snails. It is an invertebrate, because it does not have a backbone. Its shell is its exo-skeleton (outside skeleton).

The Garden Snail can be varied in colour, but its shell is mainly dark-brown, with stripes, flecks, or streaks in a lighter colour. The shell has a right-handed whorl, which is called a dextral shell.It has a brown lip. Its head extends to form a snout (proboscis). It has tentacles on its head. Its eyes are at the tip of the tentacles. 

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Lord Howe Island Stick Insect

The Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (Dryococelus australis) is an insect in the Phasmatidae family of stick insects. It is a phasmid. It is also known as the Tree Lobster. It was thought to be extinct by 1920, but it was rediscovered in 2001, and there is now a breeding program in some zoos, such as the Melbourne Zoo in Australia. 

The Lord Howe Island Stick Insect has an oblong black or dark-brown body with strong legs. Most phasmids have wings. The Lord Howe Island Stick Insect does not have wings, but it can run quickly. It has spikes on its body and on its hind (back) legs. The female has more spikes than the male. The spikes and colour help it to camouflage itself in plants and bushes. 

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Grove Unbanded Snail

The Grove Unbanded Snail (Cepaea nemoralis) is an air-breathing pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the Helicidae family of terrestrial (land) snails. It is also known as the Brown-Lipped Snail. It is an invertebrate, because it does not have a backbone. Its shell is its exo-skeleton (outside skeleton).

The Grove Snail can be varied in its appearance. The colour of its shell can be reddish, brownish, yellow, or creamy-white, with or without bands. The surface of its shell is semi-glossy. The shell has a right-handed whorl, which is called a dextral shell. The Grove Unbanded Snail’s shell is tan-brown and does not have prominent dark-brown bands or stripes. It has a white lip instead of a brown lip. Its head extends to form a snout (proboscis). It has tentacles on its head. Its eyes are at the tip of the tentacles. 

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Purple-Winged Hopper

The Purple-Winged Hopper (Titanacris albipes) is a large insect in the Romaleidae family of lubber grasshoppers. It is also known as the Purple Grasshopper. The Pink Grasshopper (Tinacris gloriosa) is in the same Ramaleidae family. 

The Purple-Winged Hopper has a heavy, cylindrical, green body and rounded head. It has olive-green forewings (front wings). Its hind (back) wings are violet purple.It has six legs with receptors on each leg that can detect movement and vibrations as well as temperature.Its hind legs are large. At the end of each leg, at the bottom of the tarsus, are claws called tarsal claws which are used for gripping grass and leaves.

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Canada Goose and Goslings

The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a large North American migratory bird of Canada and the northern United States.

The Canada Goose mates for life – a male and female remain partners throughout their whole life. 

The female lays 2-9 eggs, and both parents look after the eggs until they hatch after 24-48 days. 

The chicks are called goslings. Goslings can walk, swim, and find their own food soon after hatching. They can fly after 6-9 weeks of age. 

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The Feet of the Grasshopper

What do the feet of the Grasshopper look like?

The Grasshopper, Cricket, and Locust are insects in the Orthoptera order and the Caelifera suborder, with thousands of different species. Most of them are in the Acridoidea superfamily of grasshoppers and locusts. They are all herbivorous, eating grass and vegetation.

They have six legs with receptors on each leg that can detect movement and vibrations as well as temperature.

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Tolai Hare

The Tolai Hare (Lepus tolai) is a lagomorph mammal in the Leporidae family of hares. 

The Tolai Hare is variable in colour, but it usually has pale-brown, sandy-grey, or brownish-yellow fur. It has a white underbelly. It has black-tipped elongated ears. It has long legs, a flexible neck, and a short, stub tail, called a scut, with a brownish-black stripe on the top. It has large incisors (front teeth) as well as cheek teeth. It has orange-brown eyes.

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Dock Leaf Bug

The Dock Leaf Bug (Coreus marginatus) is a medium-sized insect in the Coreide family of squash bugs and leaf-footed bugs. It is also known as the Brown Squash Bug. 

The Dock Leaf Bug is light mottled brown with a broad oval abdomen. Its lower abdomen has a lighter amber-brown, oval-shaped marking. At the front of its head, it has two thorns, called antenniferous tubercles, between its dark-tipped, four-segmented antennae. Other squash bugs don’t have these thorns. 

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Holland Lop Rabbit

The Holland Lop Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus) is a mammal in the Leporidae family of domestic lop-eared rabbits. It is a sub-species of the European Rabbit. It is a leporid mammal, or a lagomorph.

The Holland Lop Rabbit is a hybrid of the French Lop Rabbit and the Netherland Dwarf Rabbit. It is small, light, and fluffly. It has a wide range of colours, but it is mainly white, light orange, grey, brown, or dark chocolate brown. It has a white underbelly. 

It is famous for its lopped, almond-shaped ears that hang limply down the side of its face, instead of standing upwards. Its legs are short with claws on its feet. It has a short tail called a scut. It has black or brown eyes. It has incisors (front teeth) as well as cheek teeth. 

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Green Leafhopper

The Green Leafhopper (Empoasca decipiens) is an insect in the Cicadellidae family of leafhoppers.

The Green Leafhopper is green, and sometimes it has a pale-blue tint. It has strong hind (back) legs that are modified for jumping. The back legs are also covered with hairs. It has short antennae. It has two simple eyes, called ocelli, on the top of its head. It has two sets of wings – the front wings and the hind wings. It has a mouthpart with a sucking and piercing part that enables it to stick into plants to sip the juices. 

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What is the difference between the Greater Guinea Pig and the Patagonian Mara?

What is the difference between the Greater Guinea Pig (Cavia magna) and the Patagonian Mara (Dolichotis patagonum)?

Both the Greater Guinea Pig and the Patagonian Mara are large, herbivorous, rodent mammals. The Patagonian Mara is also known as the Patagonian Cavy. They are both cavids.

Both the Greater Guinea Pig and the Patagonian Mara have two large front teeth to gnaw plants.

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Leafhopper

The Leafhopper (Coelidiinae subfamily) is a small insect in the Cicadellidae family of leafhoppers.

The Leafhopper can be varied in colour, from brown to multi-colours. Most of them are dull and not very conspicuous. It has strong hind (back) legs that are modified for jumping. The back legs are covered with hairs. It has short antennae. It has two simple eyes, called ocelli, on the top of its head. It has two sets of wings – the front wings and the hind wings. It has a mouthpart with a sucking and piercing part that enables it to stick into plants to sip the juices. 

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