European Crane Fly

The European Crane Fly (Tipula paludosa) is a large insect in the Tipulidae family of crane flies. It is also known as the Marsh Crane Fly.

The European Crane Fly looks like a giant mosquito. It has six very long, thin, fragile legs. The legs easily drop off and re-grow. Its abdomen is long and grey, or brown, or dull yellow, sometimes with a central dark mark along its body. The male has a swollen tip on the end of his abdomen and the female has an ovipositor at the end of her abdomen, which is a tube to lay eggs. It has a large pair of translucent wings.

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Tanzanian Blue Ringleg Centipede

The Tanzanian Blue Ringleg Centipede (Scolopendra morsitans) is a chilopod in the Scolopendridae family of banded centipedes. It is also known as the Red-Headed Centipede. 

The Tanzanian Blue Ringleg Centipede has a wide, flattened yellow-gold to dark-slate body with black bands. It has a pair of antennae on its head and a pair of spikes on its tail. It has a segmented body, with 15 to 177 segments. 

It has one pair of legs for each body segment (in total it has 30-354 legs). No centipede has exactly 100 legs even though centipede means a hundred legs. Each pair of legs is slightly longer than the pair immediately in front of it. 

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White-Legged Snake Millipede

The White-Legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodolulus niger) is a diplopod in the Julidae family of millipedes. It is also called the Black Millipede. It is not an insect because it does not have 6 legs. It is a diplopod, which means double legs.  

The White-Legged Snake Millipede has a long, cylindrical, segmented, shiny, black body with a hard exo-skeleton. It has around 100 pairs of white legs. It has 41-56 body segments with two pairs of legs on most segments. It has a short head with a number of simple eyes called ocelli – and poor eyesight. It has short antennae.

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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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Long-Bodied Daddy Long-Legs Spider

The Long-Bodied Daddy Long-Legs Spider (Pholcus phalangioides) is an arachnid in the Pholcidae family. It is also known as the Cellar Spider.

The Long-Bodied Daddy Long-Legs Spider has a light-brown or dark-brown carapace (shell) and a brown, beige or grey abdomen, but mostly it looks pale and translucent (clear). It has scissor-like jaws, called chelicerae, that move from side to side. It has eight small eyes grouped closely together. It has very long, thin legs that are banded at the joints. 

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Greater Rhea

The Greater Rhea (Rhea Americana) is a large bird. It is also known as the American Rhea. It cannot fly. Birds that cannot fly are called ratites. The Ostrich, Kiwi, and Cassowary are also ratites. 

The Greater Rhea is emu-like with a body of large fluffy grey or brown feathers, a long neck, and long legs. It has three toes like the emu (the ostrich has two toes). Its head, neck, rump, and thighs are feathered. 

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Tanzanian Red Legged Millipede

The Tanzanian Red Legged Millipede (Ephibolus pulchripes) is a large Diplopoda – arthropod with two pairs of jointed legs – from Tanzania and southern Kenya. Millipede means a thousand legs, but it does not have a thousand legs. It is a myriapod – a many-legged animal.

The Tanzanian Red Legged Millipede has a long black body, with hard plates, and bright red legs (up to 750). The male has a shiny body and the female has a dull body. Its head is red and round with a pair of large jaws. On its head are two antennae.

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What is the difference between the Common Moorhen and the Dusky Moorhen?

What is the difference between the Common Moorhen and the Dusky Moorhen?

The Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) and the Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa) are both medium-sized wetland birds from the Rail family.

The Common Moorhen has yellow legs. The Dusky Moorhen has orange-yellow legs.

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Common Moorhen

The Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is also known s the Waterhen, the Swamp Chicken, and the Common Moorhen. It is a medium-sized bird in the Rail family.

The Common Moorhen has dark black-grey feathers, except for a white undertail. It has a white line on its side, called a flank line. It has a red frontal shield above its yellow-tipped red beak. It has yellow legs that have no webbing between its four toes. It has orange-brown eyes.

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South African Springhare

The South African springhare (Pedetes capensis) is not a hare, nor a rabbit. It is a large rodent. It is a mammal.

The South African Spring Hare is cinnamon-brown to yellowish-gold with black-tipped hairs. Its underbelly is white to yellowish-white. It has an elongated body with long hind-legs (back legs) and shorter fore-legs (front legs). It has long sharp claws. It has large ears, large eyes, and a long bushy tail. Its fur is long and soft.

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Chilean Flamingo, Greater Flamingo, and Lesser Flamingo: what’s the difference?

What’s the difference between the Chilean Flamingo, Greater Flamingo, and Lessor Flamingo?

The Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis), Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus), and Lessor Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) are large wetland birds with S-shaped necks.

The Chilean Flamingo is from South America, and the Greater and Lesser Flamingo are from east and southern Africa. The Greater and Lesser Flamingo colonies often mix together.

The Chilean Flamingo has a pink body with darker pink wing feathers. The Greater Flamingo has a white or pale-pink body with black flight feathers. The Lesser Flamingo has a rose-pink to white body with black flight feathers.

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