Animals Archives - Page 16 of 22 - I Learned This Today

#571 What is the difference between carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores?

April 27, 2023

What is the difference between carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores? Amongst other things, they have differences in their teeth, mouths, eyes, saliva, intestines and their stomachs. Herbivores obviously live off plants. They are known as primary consumers because they eat the energy that the plants have produced through photosynthesis and introduce it into the food chain. […]

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#556 Why are hammerhead sharks shaped like that?

April 12, 2023

Why are hammerhead sharks shaped like that? The location of their eyes on the end of the hammer give them a greater ability to locate and catch stingrays. There are several different types of hammerhead shark, but they all have the same hammer-shaped head. This hammer shape is called a cephalofoil. The hammerhead shark with

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#548 How do fireflies glow?

April 4, 2023

How do fireflies glow? They combine a chemical called luciferin, an enzyme called luciferases, oxygen, and fuel. Fireflies are not actually flies; they are beetles. They are also not one single type of beetle. They come from a family of beetle called Lampyridae, which contains about 2,000 different types of beetles and nearly all of

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#540 What makes our hands different to other animals?

March 27, 2023

What makes our hands different to other animals? We have an opposable thumb. We have four fingers and a thumb on each hand. We are not the only animals to have this many fingers, and we are not the only animals to have an opposable thumb, but the reach of our thumb sets us apart.

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#538 How do millipedes control their legs?

March 25, 2023

How do millipedes control their legs? Millipedes use a direct-wave gait. That means the legs move from the back to the front in a wave pattern, moving the millipede forwards. Millipedes are invertebrates, which is a cold-blooded animal with no backbone. They have an exoskeleton and they are made of multiple segments. They come from

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#528 Why do insects have an exoskeleton?

March 15, 2023 / 2 Comments

Why do insects have an exoskeleton? To stop them drying out, for protection, for support, and to help them sense their surroundings. An exoskeleton is a hard skeleton that covers the body of an insect. Animals that have an internal skeleton, like us, have an endoskeleton. An exoskeleton is made of chitin, which is a

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#523 How strong is armadillo armor?

March 10, 2023

How strong is armadillo armor? Extremely strong, but not strong enough to stop a bullet. Armadillos are native to the Americas and their name means “little armored ones” in Spanish. They have short legs and very long claws that they use to dig up insects to eat or to burrow. They can run extremely quickly,

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#518 How do mountain goats climb cliffs?

March 5, 2023

How do mountain goats climb cliffs? Through a combination of their hooves, muscles, and lack of fear. Mountain goats can often be seen climbing cliff faces and even dams. There are two main reasons why they climb. The first is for food. They eat plants, grasses, and alpine vegetation, but they also lick the rocks

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#514 Why can camels go so long without water?

March 1, 2023

Why can camels go so long without water? They can survive for 15 days without water because they have several adaptations. Camels are renowned for their ability to go long periods of time without drinking any water, which is one reason why they are so well suited to desert life. We can only survive for

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#491 Do any other animals cry?

February 6, 2023

Do any other animals cry? Yes, but only to lubricate their eyes. We have three types of tears. We have tears that lubricate and clean our eyes. These are called basal tears and they are created automatically. Every time you blink, the basal tears are spread across the eye and keep it wet and clear

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