Tag prehensile

Binturong parent and child 

MaNi Leave a comment

The Binturong (Arctictis binturong) is an arboreal mammal in the Viverridae family. It is a viverrid. It is also known as a Bearcat, but it not related to bears and it is not related to cats. It is closely related to the Palm Civet.

It is arboreal, which means that it lives in trees. To help it climb, it has a prehensile tail, sharp claws, and an unusual way of climbing down trees. Its tail is long, bushy, curls inwards at the end, and is prehensile – it can wrap around branches. Its five toes have long claws that are suitable for climbing. 

Continue reading “Binturong parent and child “ →

What is a prehensile nose?

MaNi Leave a comment

What is a prehensile nose?

Prehensile means “able to grasp.” For example, an animal with a prehensile tail, such as a monkey, uses its flexible tail to grasp tree branches. 

A prehensile nose is a flexible nose, snout, or trunk that can move in all directions to help an animal find and grab food. There are no bones in a prehensile nose.

Examples of animals with a prehensile nose include the following:

Continue reading “What is a prehensile nose?” →

What does the Capuchin monkey use as insect repellent?

MaNi Leave a comment

What does the Capuchin monkey use as insect repellent?

The Capuchin (Sapajus apella) is an arboreal (tree-living) primate in the Cebidae family of monkeys, with a long, thick, prehensile tail.

The Capuchin is diurnal, which means that it is active during the day. It feeds during the day on fruit, as well as small animals that it finds on the ground.

It lives in the rainforests of South America. Rainforests are in hot, humid locations. Mosquitoes, and many other insects, live in rainforests because they like heat and moisture.

Continue reading “What does the Capuchin monkey use as insect repellent?” →

How many muscles are in an Elephant’s trunk?

MaNi Leave a comment

How many muscles are in an Elephant’s trunk? 

The trunk (nose) of the African Savannah Elephant (Loxodonta africana), a large mammal in the Elephantidae family, is its nose or proboscis.

The African Elephant eats grass, trees, bushes, fruit, and bark. It uses its trunk to rip branches from trees to put them in its mouth. It can also pick up small objects of food with its trunk – the trunk is a prehensile appendage. For drinking, its trunk is used as a siphon to suck up water. Its trunk is also used to squirt water over its body to keep cool, trumpet to communicate, and snorkel to breath underwater.

Continue reading “How many muscles are in an Elephant’s trunk?” →
GUIANAN BROWN CAPUCHIN

CREATURE FEATURE: Guianan Brown Capuchin

MaNi Leave a comment

The Guianan Brown Capuchin (Sapajus apella apella) is an arboreal (tree) primate in the Cebidae family of monkeys. It is also known as the Brown Capuchin, the Guianan Black-Capped Capuchin, and the Pin Monkey.

The Guianan Brown Capuchin has dark brown-grey, rough fur, and a long thick tail. It has black hands and feet. The cap or tuft is a bunch of hair on its forehead that looks like a wig or a hat. It has a prehensile tail that is strong and able to grasp branches.

Continue reading “CREATURE FEATURE: Guianan Brown Capuchin” →

Mediterranean Feather Star

MaNi Leave a comment

The Mediterranean Feather Star (Antedon mediterranea) is a marine (saltwater) crinoid in the Antedonidae family of unstalked feather starfish. 

The Mediterranean Feather Star can be a range of colours, such as white, yellow, orange, red, deep purple, and brown. It has a calyx – a small cup-shaped structure that is surrounded by five pairs of feathery arms. These 10 arms have 40 grasping cirri which are curl-like tufts, feathers, or fringes. The arms are like tentacles. The arms are prehensile, which means that they can grasp objects, food, and hard surfaces. In danger, the arms can roll up. The arms are fragile, but they can regenerate (re-grow) if they break off. 

Continue reading “Mediterranean Feather Star” →

What is the difference between the Brazilian Tapir and the Malayan Tapir?

MaNi Leave a comment

What is the difference between the Brazilian or Lowland Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and the Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus)? 

The Brazilian Tapir and the Malayan Tapir are both ungulate (hoofed) mammals in the Tapiridae family of tapirs and bush cows. They are related to the horse and the rhinoceros.

Continue reading “What is the difference between the Brazilian Tapir and the Malayan Tapir?” →

Do monkeys fall out of trees?

MaNi Leave a comment

Do monkeys fall out of trees?

Monkeys are primate mammals with a tail. They use their long tail to help them grip branches of trees. Their tail also helps them to maintain balance when they are climbing. It is called a prehensile tail. 

Monkeys also have wide hands and feet with sharp nails that also help them grip tree branches. To enable monkeys to swing among the treetops, they have long limbs. 

Continue reading “Do monkeys fall out of trees?” →

What is the difference between Old World monkeys and New World monkeys?

MaNi Leave a comment

What is the difference between Old World monkeys and New World monkeys?

Old World monkeys live in the African continent, in coastal Arabia, and in Asia. New World monkeys live mainly in the tropical rain forests of South American countries.

Old World monkeys belong to one family called the Ceropithecidae family. They are catarrhines, which means that they have narrow, downward noses. Apes and humans also have downward noses. 

Continue reading “What is the difference between Old World monkeys and New World monkeys?” →

CREATURE FEATURE: Antillean Manatee

MaNi Leave a comment

The Antillean Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) is an aquatic, marine (saltwater) mammal in the Sirenia order of dugongs. It is also known as a Sea Cow, West Indian Manatee, or Caribbean Manatee. It is not a seal. It is related to the dugong and the elephant. 

The Antillean Manatee looks like a large, grey seal with flippers and a paddle tail. It has lungs, not gills, because it is a mammal, and therefore it needs to come to the surface to breathe. It has a prehensile snout (nose), like an elephant, so that it can grab water plants and bring them to its mouth. It has 6-8 teeth in each jaw. It has short, sparse, sensitive hairs called vibrissae. Each individual hair is called a vibrissal. The vibrissae around its mouth are like whiskers.

Continue reading “CREATURE FEATURE: Antillean Manatee” →

The foot: What is the difference between the foot of the Chimpanzee, Gorilla, and Orangutan?

MaNi Leave a comment

What is the difference between the foot of the Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), and Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)?

The Chimpanzee, Gorilla, and Orangutan are primates with five digits on each foot (five toes) with keratin toe nails. Humans also have five digits on each foot with keratin toe nails.

The Gorilla has shorter, wider digits than the Chimpanzee and Orangutan.

The Chimpanzee, Gorilla, and Orangutan have prehensile (grasping) feet. Humans do not have prehensile feet (their feet cannot easily grasp objects).

Continue reading “The foot: What is the difference between the foot of the Chimpanzee, Gorilla, and Orangutan?” →

The hand: What is the difference between the hand of the Chimpanzee, Gorilla, and Orangutan?

MaNi Leave a comment

What is the difference between the hand of the Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), and Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)?

The Chimpanzee, Gorilla, and Orangutan are primates with five digits on each hand (four fingers and one thumb) with keratin fingernails. Humans also have five digits on each hand (four fingers and one thumb) with keratin fingernails.

The Gorilla has shorter, wider digits than the Chimpanzee and Orangutan.

The Gorilla has a wider palm than the Chimpanzee and Orangutan.

Continue reading “The hand: What is the difference between the hand of the Chimpanzee, Gorilla, and Orangutan?” →

CREATURE FEATURE: Binturong

MaNi Leave a comment

The Binturong (Arctictis binturong) is an arboreal mammal in the Viverridae family. It is a viverrid. It is also known as a Bearcat, but it is not related to bears and it is not related to cats. It is closely related to the Palm Civet.

The Binturong has a grey-black, thick, furry body with short legs. Its tail is long, bushy, curls inwards at the end, and is prehensile, which means that it can wrap around branches. It has a short, turned-up, black rounded nose covered with bristly hairs. It has long whiskers.

Its eyes are large and black, with a vertical pupil. It has short, rounded ears, edged with white, with tufts of black hair. It has six short rounded incisor teeth in each jaw, two long sharp canine teeth, and six molar teeth on each side of its jaw. Its five toes have long claws. It has musk glands that emit a scent.

Continue reading “CREATURE FEATURE: Binturong” →