Month: September 2010

Japanese Flying Squid

Also known as the Japanese Common Squid, the Japanese Flying Squid is part of the Ommastrephidae family. It lives in the northern Pacific Ocean around Japan, and up to the coast of China, Russia, and across the Bering Straight towards lower Alaska and Canada. Clusters of the Japanese Flying Squid are also found in the

Humboldt Squid

Also known as the Jumbo Squid, Jumbo Flying Squid, or the Diablo Rojo (Red Devil in Spanish), the Humboldt Squid is a large squid that is found in the Humboldt Current, in the east Pacific Ocean. They are found at depths of 660 – 2,300 feet, from California to Tierra del Fuego. However, it has

Squid

Squid are famous marine cephalods, and there are 300 species in this order. They have a distinctive head, arms, mantle, and bilateral symmetry. They are famous for having 8 tentacles and being strong swimmers. A bonaire reef squid Their main body mass is enclosed in a mantle, and it has a swimming fin on each

Barberry

Also known as pepperidge bushes, barberries are a genus that contain about 450-500 species of both evergreen and deciduous shrubs. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all of the continents in the world except for Australia and Antarctica. The barberry plant's autumn red leaves These plants are about 1 to 5

Haddock

Also known as the offshore hake, the haddock is a marine fish found in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a very popular fish which is caught for commercial purposes. The haddock can be easily recognised by its black lateral line that runs on its white side. It also has a distinctive dark mark above

Goby

Forming the Gobiidae family, gobies are one of the largest fish families with more than 2,000 species in 200 genera. Despite its massive family size, they are actually rather small in size as most are less than 10 cm long. Some goby members also are the smallest vertebrates in the world, such as the Pandaka

Yellow Tang

One of the most popular aquarium fish in the world is the yellow tang. It is a type of saltwater fish species that comes from the surgeonfish family. They are commonly found in shallow coral reefs, between 2 to 46 metres deep in the Indian Oceans and Pacific Oceans, ranging from eastern Japan to western

Bamboo Coral

Belonging to the Isididae family is the bamboo coral, which is a well recognised deep sea organism. This is because of the clearly articulated skeleton of this species, and many deep water coral species have been affected by bottom trawling. As a result, these bamboo corals are important in the study of climate change in

Brain Coral

Also known as the stony coral, Brain corals are a type of coral that are known for looking like a brain. In other words, they are spheroid in shape, and have a grooved surface which resembles the brain of an animal. They are found in shallow warm-water coral reefs all over the world. They are

Baboon

Baboons are originally from Africa and Asia. There are 5 species of baboons around the world, however they all fall into the genus Papio. All five species are commonly recognised, although there is a disagreement within the scientific community whether or not baboons are actually a species or a sub-species. A group of baboons is

Antelope

Antelope are an ungulate species which is found all over the world, including North America, Asia, and Africa. There are 91 species of antelope in 30 genera, and the majority of these species are native to Africa. They are not a defined group, and it is used to loosely describe all of the Bovidae family

Stephanotis

Stephanotis is a genus which is originally from Africa. Its name derives from the Greek words, ‘stephanos’ (crown) and ‘otis’ (ear). Although this may sound strange, this actually refers to how the stamens in each flower are supposedly shaped. There are about 5-15 species in this genus, which are all evergreen and woody-stemmed climbers from

Jasmine

Although Jasmine is from the Old French word, Jasminum, it actually derives from the Persian word ‘yasmin’, which means “Gift from God”. It is a type of vine and shrub from the olive family, and there are about 200 species of jasmine around the world that are native to warm temperate and tropical regions of

Apricot

The mere mention of apricot brings to mind, Apricot jam. However, little is known of the apricot. The apricot, otherwise known by its scientific name of Prunus Armeniaca hails from the sub-genus division of Prunus. A young apricot growing on the tree Apricots can be found on a small tree with a highly dense canopy.

Schinus terebinthifolius

Part of the cashew family Anacardiaceae, the Schinus terebinthifolius can be found in countries with subtropical or tropical climates such as South Eastern Brazil, Paraguay and Northern Argentina. In Brazil itself, it is normally found in places such as Alagoas, Bahia, Espirito, Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Parana, Rio de Janeiro, Rio