Interesting facts about biology. Archive for the ‘Interesting materials on biology’ Category

The gar fish has green bones.
The octopus has a rectangular pupil.
A horse has 18 more bones than a human.
Giraffes have the largest heart and the highest blood pressure of all land animals, and also have a completely black tongue, the length of which can reach up to 45 cm.
The blood temperature of fish in Antarctica can reach -1.7 degrees Celsius.
A whale's heart beats only 9 times a minute
The DNA of a human cell fits in a nucleus with a diameter of 0.005 mm. If you completely unroll the DNA helix, the length will be almost two meters. All the DNA of one body, stretched into a thread, would line up at a distance equal to 40 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun.
In order for an ostrich egg to be hard-boiled, it must be boiled for at least 40 minutes.
Ferrets sleep up to 20 hours a day.
The French call the pigeon a "flying rat".
Jackals have one more pair of chromosomes than dogs and wolves.
Tigers not only have striped fur, but also striped skin.
The longest recorded flight of a chicken lasted 13 seconds.
The penguin is the only bird that can swim but cannot fly. In addition, it is the only bird that walks standing.
In the Falkland Islands there are 350 sheep per inhabitant (2,000) (700,000), and in New Zealand there are 20 sheep.
The leafcutter ant can lift and move loads that weigh 50 times its own weight.
The mass of an elephant's brain is approximately 0.27% of its body mass.
A cat's jaws cannot move sideways.
When the first batch of sparrows was brought from Europe to America in 1850, the Americans were so happy that they fed them all to death.
One ostrich egg can make eleven and a half omelettes.
The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.
An adult whale inhales 2400 liters of air in 2 seconds.
If bat If she heard her scream, which she used to locate, unreflected, she would have gone deaf. Therefore, before emitting a locating cry, the mouse makes a squeak, which causes the muscles of the hearing aid to tense, and it perceives a loud cry normally.
Each bee hive contains 20,000-60,000 bees. The queen bee lays almost 1,500 eggs per day and lives up to two years. Drones, whose only job is to help the queen, live up to 24 days and do not have a stinger. Worker bees (all sterile females) - usually work until death (about 40 days), collecting pollen and nectar.
There are 321 species of hummingbirds in the world (for example: sword-billed, ruby, ruby-headed, sappho, angel, long-tailed, topaz, racket-tailed, giant (swallow-sized.
An iguana can stay underwater for up to 28 minutes.
A zebra is white with black stripes, not the other way around.
There are approximately 500 zoos in the world.
The caterpillar's body has more muscles than the human body.
Belize is the only country in the world where jaguars are protected by law.
A rat can go without water longer than a camel.
A tit feeds its chicks a thousand times per day.
IN ancient Egypt The main pests of the fields were considered not beetles or even locusts, but... hippopotamuses.
The female armadillo has a unique ability. In stressful situations, it can delay childbirth for up to two years.
When attacking their prey, sharks close their eyes so that the struggling prey does not injure them.
A skunk cannot bite and smell at the same time.
The Mola Mola fish (or ocean sunfish) lays up to 5,000,000 eggs at a time.
Bee stings kill 3 times more people each year than rattlesnake bites.
The speed of movement of the snail is about 1.5 mm/sec.
The world's largest reptile (and the most dangerous to humans) - saltwater crocodile.
A male emperor moth can sense and locate a female of his species from a distance of two kilometers.
A tiger has five toes on its front paws and four on its hind paws. Tiger claws reach a length of 8–10 cm.
Male monkeys go bald just like men.
A species of starfish called Lunckia columbiae can reproduce its entire body from a 1-centimeter-long particle.
There are about 4,000 species of frogs and toads known on Earth.
Due to a mechanism that reflects light back to the retina, tigers' night vision is six times better than that of humans.
Hippos, after elephants, are the heaviest mammals on Earth. Their weight can reach 4 tons.
The weight of an ostrich egg can reach 1.5 kg.
Napoleon Bonaparte's favorite horse was named Morengo.
During the First World War, one of the South African monkeys received a medal and was even awarded the military rank of corporal.
In China, snakes are caught mainly for culinary purposes, in India for their skin, and in Burma for making antidotes.
All wild geese are monogamous.
Snakes can sleep for 3 years in a row without eating anything.
A flea can jump 33 cm in one jump. If people had the same jumping ability, a person could jump 213 meters!
Rats appeared on Earth 48 million years earlier than humans.
There are about 400 breeds of domestic dogs on Earth.
Dolphins sleep with one eye open.
A cat falling from the 12th floor has a better chance of surviving than a cat falling from the 7th floor.
When Europeans first saw a giraffe, they named it, deciding that it was a hybrid of a camel and a leopard.
The animal with the largest brain in relation to its body is the ant.
About 70% of living things on Earth are bacteria.
In their youth, Black Sea perches are mostly girls, but by the age of 5 they radically change sex!
The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees.
The zoo in Tokyo closes for 2 months every year so that the animals can take a break from visitors.
Anteaters prefer to feed not on ants, but on termites.
When a giraffe gives birth, her calf falls from a height of one and a half meters.
Despite the hump, the camel's spine is straight.
Female dogs bite more often than male dogs.
Every year, more people die from bee stings than from snake bites.
Sharks are immune to cancer.
Birth control pills work for gorillas.
A starfish can turn its stomach inside out.
The animal that can go the longest without drinking is the rat.
The only animals that suffer from leprosy, besides humans, are armadillos.
Hippos are born underwater.
Orangytans warn of aggression with a loud belch.
A mole can dig a 76-meter long tunnel in one night.
A snail has about 25,000 teeth.
The black spider can eat up to 20 spiders a day.
With a lack of food, a tapeworm can eat up to 95% of its body weight - and nothing!
Crocodiles are responsible for more than 1,000 deaths on the banks of the Nile per year.
The ancient Egyptians taught women to serve them at the table.
Saint Bernards, the famous rescuers of mountaineers, do not carry a flask of brandy around their necks.
Sloths spend 75% of their lives sleeping.
Hummingbirds cannot walk.
The moth has no stomach.
The bat is the only mammal that can fly.
99% of living creatures that lived on Earth became extinct.
To make a kilogram of honey, a bee must fly around 2 million flowers.
The blood of a grasshopper is white, the blood of a lobster is blue.
The only animals that have sex for pleasure are humans and dolphins.
No new animals have been domesticated in the last 4,000 years.
Penguins can jump to a height of more than one and a half meters.
The only domestic animal that is not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.
Chimpanzees are the only animals that can recognize themselves in the mirror.
The word means in some African languages
Emy means ostrich in Portuguese.
Elephants and humans are the only mammals that can stand on their heads.
Crocodiles swallow stones to dive deeper.
Polar bears can run at a speed of 40 km/h.
Dogs have elbows.

Man is a truly amazing creature - every cell of our body, every component of it is a part of the universe. But do we know ourselves so well? We bring to your attention some interesting facts about people.

1. Ventilation of the lungs (the number of breaths multiplied by the volume of inhaled air) in a healthy person reaches 5-9 liters per minute.

2. If all human red blood cells were placed side by side, the result would be a ribbon encircling the globe three times along the equator.

3. There are 100-160 billion capillaries in the human body. If it were possible to stretch them into one line, then its length would be 60-80 thousand kilometers, which is twice the length of the earth’s equator.

4. Large human arteries can withstand pressure of 20 atmospheres.

5. B ancient Greece people lived on average 29 years, in Europe in the 16th century - 21, in the 17th century - 26, in the 18th century - 34, at the beginning of the 20th century - about 50, in the middle of the 20th century - about 70, and at the end of the 20th - about 60.

6. In terms of hardness, tooth enamel can be compared to quartz. It is known that even the tip of a saber becomes dull when it hits the enamel.

7. Blockage or rupture of a vessel in any part of the brain leads to the death of nerve cells. Nerve cells do not come to life. Some of their functions are taken over by healthy cells.

8. There are 100 gastric glands per 1 square centimeter of the human stomach mucosa. They are located closely.

9. It is estimated that a person consumes 2.5 tons of protein, 1.3 tons of fat, 17.5 tons of carbohydrates and 75 tons of water over a lifetime.

10. The human body contains up to 3 kg of mineral salts, of which 5/6 is part of the skeleton. There is about 300 grams of table salt in the body of an adult.

11. The 20 amino acids that make up proteins can produce 25000000000000000000 combinations of different protein compounds.

12. 15 grams of adrenaline would be more than enough for all people on the globe.

13 The human body can withstand heating up to 44-44.5 degrees Celsius and, in rare cases, up to 45.

14. In one day, a person generates so much heat that it is enough to bring 33 liters of ice water to a boil.

15. A person spends more than 20 years out of 60 sleeping.

16. On 1 square centimeter of skin there are 100 pain points, and in total there are about a million of them on the surface.

17. Hitting the eardrum in the ear, the sound vibrates it, and it repeats the vibrations air waves. A person is able to hear sound even if the eardrum, under its influence, is deflected by a distance equal to the radius of the nucleus of a hydrogen atom.

18. 1 cubic millimeter of the cerebral cortex contains at least 30 thousand neurons. Each of them can establish communication with 2-5 thousand other neurons.

20. In one day, the bone marrow produces 320 billion red blood cells.

21. Leukocytes, born in the bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes, live only 4-5 years.

22. Blood is distinguished by the amazing constancy of the composition of some substances. So, protein - 5-8%, sugar - 0.07-0.12%, total salts - 9.9. The ratio of potassium, sodium, calcium salts is strictly defined.

23. Complete circulation of the blood of an adult is completed in 20-28 seconds, in a child - in 15 seconds, in a teenager - in 18 seconds.

24. The weight of the heart is 1/200 of the body weight, but 1/20 of all energy resources that are consumed by all other organs are spent on feeding the heart. After all, metabolism in the heart muscle occurs 10-20 times more intensely than in any other human organ.

25. There is 100 times more carbon dioxide in the air exhaled by humans than in the atmosphere.

26. Every minute, 3/4 liters of blood flows through the vessels of the brain, and the total length of all vessels of the hemispheres is 560 km.

27. Human bile contains almost no enzymes, unlike other digestive juices.

28. The human liver consumes 10 times more oxygen than a muscle of equal mass and produces more heat.

29. 1.5 liters of blood flows through the liver within one minute, and up to 2000 liters per day.

30. On 1 square centimeter of the inner surface of the intestine there are 3-4 thousand villi. Each is covered with 3 thousand cells, which in turn have 100 suction tubes. The absorption surface in the small intestines is about 5 square meters, i.e. 3 times the surface of the body.

31. There are no areas in the human body where there are no proteins. In the blood and muscles, proteins make up 1/5 of their total mass, in the brain 1/12. Even tooth enamel contains 1/100 proteins. In different organs, proteins make up 45-85% of dry matter.

32. Half of all proteins in our body are replaced within 180 days, and liver proteins in 17 -20 days.

33. Human brain cells contain 80% water, muscles - 76%, bones - about 25%.

34. The mass of all endocrine glands taken together in one person is 100 g.

35. The pituitary gland is connected to the brain by 100 thousand nerve fibers.

36. Human hair is 500 times thicker than the walls of a soap bubble, 5 times thicker than a capillary, 12 times thicker than the walls of an alveoli and 20 times thicker than a spider’s web.

The most dangerous animals

Our world is far from safe. After all, according to statistics World Organization Health More than 15 million people around the world die or are injured by animals and plants every year. We have prepared a list of the most dangerous animals on planet Earth.

An encounter with an animal can often be fatal for a person. Who should we be most afraid of?

1st place: Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes topped the list of deadly creatures.
Mosquitoes (lat. Phlebotominae) are a subfamily of long-whiskered dipterous insects of the vile complex. Distributed mainly in the tropics and subtropics. Includes several genera, notably Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia in the Old World and Lutzomyia in the New World, which include a total of more than 500 species. Representatives of these genera are important as carriers of human and animal diseases, in particular leishmaniasis, bartonellosis and pappataci fever (mosquito fever).

Two million people die every year from diseases carried by these insects.

2nd place: Indian cobra (Naja naja)

Every year, 50,000 fatal venomous snake bites occur worldwide. Asian cobras are responsible for most most of them. As a rule, snakes do not attack people first and bite when disturbed. There are 10 species of poisonous snakes living in our country. The most dangerous bites of the Central Asian cobra, viper and efa.

In India, the spectacled snake is an object of reverent veneration and even almost superstitious fear. They worship her and appease her in every possible way. She even became one of the heroines in religious legends: “When Buddha once wandered the earth and fell asleep under the rays of the midday sun, a cobra appeared, expanded its shield and shaded the face of the god from the sun. Pleased with this, the god promised her extreme mercy, but forgot about his promise, and the snake was forced to remind him of this, since the vultures were causing terrible devastation among them at that time. In protection from these birds of prey, the Buddha gave the cobra glasses, which kites are still afraid of.” If a resident of Malabar finds a poisonous snake in his house, he asks it to leave in the most friendly way. If this does not help at all, then he holds food in front of her to lure her out. And if even then it does not leave, then he calls on the servants of the deity, who, of course, for an appropriate reward, make touching admonitions to the snake and charm the snake. This veneration is no coincidence. Not even because Hindus consider the snake to be a deity. The Indian cobra (also known as the spectacled snake and naga) is very dangerous, and in no case should it be angered, otherwise the snake becomes very aggressive and uncontrollable. Indian cobra is 1.4-1.81 m long, fiery yellow in color, with an ash-blue sheen in certain lighting. On the back of the head there is a clearly visible pattern that resembles glasses - a clear light pattern on the back of the neck, which becomes clearly visible when the snake is defending itself. The significance of the bright pattern on the dorsal side of the snake is very great - it deters a predator from attacking, even if it managed to run towards the snake from the rear. The ventral side is gray and often has broad black stripes on the front of the body. The rounded and slightly blunted head smoothly merges into the body. The head is covered with large scutes, the upper jaw is armed with paired poisonous fangs, followed by 1-3 more small teeth. The spectacled snake is distributed throughout India, the southern part of China, Burma, Siam, in the west in Afghanistan, the northeastern parts of Persia and the southern regions Turkmenistan to the Caspian Sea. In the Himalayas, it is found up to an altitude of 2,500 m. The spectacled snake chooses a place it likes and, if nothing forces it to leave there, lives there throughout its life. Her favorite home consists of abandoned termite mounds, ruins, heaps of stones and wood, and holey clay walls. As long as it is not disturbed, the snake lazily lies in front of the entrance to its home, usually basks in the sun, and when a person appears, as a rule, it quickly hides. Only when brought to the extreme does she rush at the attacker. The snake begins to hunt only in the late afternoon hours and often continues to crawl late at night. Therefore, it can rightfully be called a nocturnal reptile. The cobra's food consists exclusively of small animals, mainly reptiles and amphibians: lizards, frogs and toads. She hunts mice, rats, insects. It often robs bird's nests. The spectacled cobra should not be considered slow and clumsy. She may be more clumsy than some of her brothers, but she still climbs trees well and swims well, and can even dive. The spectacled snake has quite a few enemies, among which the first place belongs to the mongoose. This small predator fearlessly attacks snakes of any size. But for humans, the Indian snake is extremely dangerous. Even with a broken tooth, a snake can cause injury, and in place of the broken teeth, no less poisonous replacement teeth will soon grow. Cobra venom has neurotoxic effects. A minute later, complete paralysis sets in. The venom of the spectacled cobra is so toxic that a chicken dies from its bite in 4 minutes, and a laboratory mouse dies in 2 minutes. But the cobra never bites a person unless absolutely necessary, and even if it makes a throw towards the enemy, it often does not open its mouth (a fake throw). Never anger a cobra. Even if it is nearby, you should not hit the snake with a stick or throw any objects at it. This will only anger the reptile, and it will attack in self-defense.

The upper jaw is armed with paired poisonous fangs, followed by 1-3 more small teeth. For humans, the Indian snake is extremely dangerous.

3rd place: Australian Jellyfish (Sea Wasp)

Sea wasp ( Chironex fleckeri) Coast Northern Australia famous for its gorgeous beaches and proximity to magnificent coral reefs. Hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world come here. But this is where one of the most dangerous animals for humans lives. True, it looks completely harmless: a small jellyfish with elongated tentacles. It is not for nothing that it is also called the sea wasp, the ocean stinger or the phantom killer. The sea wasp appears off the northern coast of Australia between October and March in calm weather at high tide. She swims here in search of food, for example, shrimp, which she loves very much. The sea wasp is almost invisible in the water, as it stays in shaded areas of the coastal strip, and therefore it is difficult to protect yourself from colliding with it. About 20 people die from its poison every year. The poison is so toxic that one dose can kill 60 people at once. A study conducted on laboratory animals showed that even small doses killed guinea pig in 3 seconds. The bell of the Australian jellyfish has a rounded cubic shape. Four outgrowths resembling “arms” extend from the lower corners. Each hand is divided into several fingers, from which up to sixty tentacles hang. Basically, the sea wasp is a small jellyfish (compared to other deep-dwelling jellyfish). The largest representative of this family is the size of a basketball, and the tentacles can grow up to 1.5 meters. The Australian jellyfish began to be studied relatively recently - only a century ago. The sea wasp is considered a rather mysterious animal. For example, one of the mysteries that zoologists from all over the world are struggling with is the presence of eyes in the sea wasp. Everything would be fine, but it is absolutely unclear where visual signals go in the absence of a brain in this creature... The Australian jellyfish does not specifically attack its prey. She stands still, waiting for the fish or crab to swim up to her. The victim stumbles upon one of the tentacles, and the jellyfish immediately delivers fatal blows with the sting of its tentacles. The jellyfish is not aggressive towards people, but any careless touch can cause trouble for humans. This is especially dangerous when jellyfish hide in shallow water. If snakes and spiders bite their prey once and only in one place, then the sea wasp stings its prey several times. This leads to extensive poisoning. The person’s skin turns red, the bite site swells at lightning speed. The body temperature rises sharply, and after just a couple of minutes the thermometer goes off scale, as in the case of the most severe poisoning. A victim of sea wasp venom experiences excruciating pain, accompanied by loss of consciousness. A person may die from respiratory paralysis. Sometimes death does not occur immediately. The terrible pain can last 10-12 hours and is accompanied by heart failure. In 2002, two scuba divers swam in the waters Pacific Ocean. Having met an Australian jellyfish, they decided to play with it, not knowing about its poisonous properties. These games, of course, did not end well. One died less than thirty seconds after being stung by a sea wasp. The second one received a smaller dose of poison and even managed to swim to shore. But an hour later he died too. Sometimes an encounter with a sea wasp cannot be avoided, even without swimming to depth. An eleven-year-old girl, wandering in the water 10 meters from the shore, was stung in the leg and died a minute later. The fact is that on a calm, cloudless day, the tide often carries sea wasps into shallow water or even onto the sand; experienced people don't swim these days. According to statistics, the sea wasp is the most dangerous inhabitant of the seas, even ahead of the shark. After all, after shark attacks, there were cases when people survived. But after being pricked by the poisonous thorn of an Australian jellyfish, no one managed to survive. Medicine today is powerless against sea wasp venom.

The poison is so toxic that one dose can kill 60 people at once. The sea wasp stings its prey in several places at once, which leads to extensive infestation. Medicine today is powerless against sea wasp venom.

4th place: Great White Shark

Ever since man decided to explore the vastness of the ocean, he has considered the shark to be enemy number one. Real stories about these monsters are closely intertwined with fantasy, surrounding the sharks with an aura of ominous mystery. Merciless and dangerous killers- this is the reputation that has stuck with the entire shark family. There are about 350 species of sharks, but less than half of them are involved in crimes against people. In third place in the list of man-eating sharks is the hammerhead shark, in second place is the tiger shark, and the leader is the great shark. White shark. This “queen of the oceans” has no equal in strength and bloodthirstiness. It is found in the moderately warm waters of the northern part Atlantic Ocean, in the North Pacific Ocean, as well as off the coasts of Argentina, the Falkland Islands, South Africa, South Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Chile, Peru and Ecuador. They are usually found near the surface of the sea only in spring and summer, i.e., when the water is richest in planktonic food. The white shark's body is cigar-shaped. Large symmetrical caudal fin consists of a greatly enlarged upper blade and a small lower one. The pectoral fins are large; they serve to support the front part of the body, which, in their absence, would inevitably fall down when swimming. How often do they attack people? Optimists argue that the likelihood of being killed by lightning or run over by a car is much higher than the likelihood of being hit in the mouth of a shark. However, despite this, dozens of people die every year from shark teeth. Official statistics claim that from 30 to 200 people die every year from this predator. What about unofficially? How many people, considered missing after shipwrecks, end up in the mouths of sharks? Not only in the ocean do sharks attack people, but also close to the shore, in shallow water. They attack their prey regardless of the weather. They can attack in calm weather and in a storm, in clear sun or in pouring rain. If the shark's constant food - fish or lobsters - disappears for some reason, then the shark, blinded by hunger, attacks anyone, be it a person or even a sperm whale. In principle, the shark eats relatively little, but its indiscriminate eating habits are simply amazing. They found a lot of things in shark stomachs: tin cans, boots, hand grenades, horseshoes. And one day a native drum weighing about 7 kg was found in the belly of a shark. Nature has provided sharks with the perfect killing tool. The jaws, lined with pointed teeth along the edges, have enormous strength. There are up to hundreds of teeth in the mouth, arranged in several rows. As soon as the front teeth fall out, they are immediately replaced by the back ones. Biologists were able to measure the force with which the shark squeezes its jaws: this is no less than hundreds of kilograms! She can easily tear off a person’s leg, or even bite a person’s body in half. When attacking, the shark first pierces its lower teeth, impaling its victim as if on a fork. The upper jaws begin to shred the body at this time. This is why there are so many fatalities when people encounter sharks. It is also difficult to hide from a shark because it has an excellent sense of its prey, recognizing odors from a great distance. An important role in hunting and vision. True, sharks are quite shortsighted. However, the closer to the victim, the more the importance of this sense organ grows. Beyond 3-4 meters, it is the eyes that guide the shark’s further actions. Much about shark behavior remains unclear. Either she can swim past a bloody man, or she rushes to attack an armed scuba diver. It seems that sometimes sharks go into some sort of feeding frenzy and, in a blind rage, attack any object that gets in their way. But in general, the shark is very cautious. Having encountered an unfamiliar object, she will first circle nearby for a long time, finding out whether it is dangerous or not. The shark may stab its prey with its nose, checking once again whether it is edible. Only after these precautions does she rush to prey. The pectoral fins droop, the nose rises slightly, and the back hunches. A jerk - and the victim is already in the teeth of the shark. Complex scientific studies have shown that people, abusing fishing, themselves lead to a decrease in the amount of food for sharks, and the lack of food is the main reason for their aggressive behavior towards swimmers and surfers. The number of collisions is increasing due to more people going out to sea, ignoring government warnings, and entering shark habitats, leading to skirmishes and collisions with the animals. Data shows that 6 out of 10 attacks are caused by humans. For example, emboldened scuba divers are increasingly trying to touch a shark. Very often there are attacks on fishermen who are trying to pull out a shark they have caught. Well, how do you get out of a fight with a shark alive? Here are some real life examples. Richard Whatley, who was swimming, was attacked by a shark in mid-June 2005 in Alabama. He was almost 100 meters from the shore when he felt a strong push in his thigh. He realized it was a shark and tried to escape. A second later, the shark received a powerful punch to the nose - all that Richard was capable of, he put into this blow. Having knocked down the predator, Richard rushed with all his might to the saving shore. But the shark quickly recovered and continued to attack. However, each of her attempts to attack ended in failure: blows to the nose followed one after another, until Richard finally crawled ashore safe and sound. By the way, this was the first recorded shark attack on a person in Alabama in 25 years. So what? Is a powerful right hook to the shark's nose an effective defense? In this case, the person, of course, survived, but in most cases, such blows will only irritate the shark, so if you see a shark, then you better freeze and wait for help. Yes, so far the shark is the number one enemy in the water for humans. But I would like to hope that in the near future people will invent some kind of remedy against the attacks of these bloodthirsty predators. Then, perhaps, a person’s fear of this fish will dissipate and he will appreciate these formidable hunters of our planet.

Aggressive. They attack both in deep and shallow water. They have powerful jaws with sharp teeth. Not picky about food.

5th place: African lion

There is a lot of debate about whether it can be said that the lion is the king of beasts, because the lion is not the largest representative of the cat family (the largest cat is the tiger). But still, when you meet him in nature, you feel a certain awe. A truly powerful beast: powerful body, wide head, muscular legs. A lion grows up to 2.5 m, and its tail is a meter long. Males are 1.5 times larger than females. In addition, the pride of males is a beautiful and thick mane. The color ranges from light yellow to dark brown. The lion is armed with claws, which can be almost 10 cm each. Lions live in Africa, in the southern Sahara region, in North-West India. They used to be common in Asia, but now there are very few lions left there. They live in savannas, mountainous semi-deserts, riverine forests and deserts. One day, a ranger at a nature reserve in Kenya observed how only two lions were hunting a rhinoceros, and yet the rhinoceros is considered one of the most formidable animals in Africa. Few predators dare to mess with him, but those lions killed the rhinoceros in just 20 minutes. At one time, a lion can eat up to 18 kg. This is not so much, considering that a lion can go without eating for a very long time - a whole week. At the same time, he loses absolutely no strength. But if there is an opportunity, then he eats to his fill. These formidable animals hunt, mainly in a whole group, together. This is done like this: the females hide in the grass not far from the grazing antelopes or zebras, and at this time the males slowly creep up to the herd. As the lions get closer, the herd begins to retreat. But this is exactly what the lions need. It just seems like nothing will work out for the lions. Don't forget that there are lionesses hiding in the bushes. Males perform only the role of beaters, taking their victims to the bushes, where they are already waiting for them. Lionesses rush at their prey, trying to immediately bite the throat. Lions usually kill their prey quickly. This is not at all due to humanitarian considerations. It’s just that whoever kills quickly has less risk of being wounded in a fight. So, the main role in obtaining food belongs to lionesses. However, despite this, only the lion has the right to be the first to taste the food. The best pieces go to him. Everything that remains after is eaten by the remaining members of this large family. It’s just that the male has a great responsibility: it is the lion who protects the pride. By giving him the best pieces, the others seem to be grateful for it. After all, nothing is more important for a family than vast territories with rich hunting grounds, sufficient water and convenient shelter. What is the danger to humans? Like many predators, the lion almost never attacks humans on purpose. You just need to be careful and not catch his eye. This is a predator! Don’t think that in circuses and zoos lions become tame cats. In Sergiev Posad, near Moscow, on the morning of Sunday, May 3, 2003, while feeding, a lion and lioness managed to escape from a cage in a circus tent. Two trainers tried to drive them back into the cage, but the lions attacked one of them and mauled him to death. Man-eating lions are very scary for humans. True, there are much fewer cases of their cannibalism than, for example, among tigers. Over the past hundred years, tigers have killed 580 people, and lions - 210. The most famous case occurred during construction railway, connecting Mombasa and Nairobi: this construction was paralyzed for a long time because of a pair of lions. Every night they raided the camp. In total they killed 28 people. As a rule, old lions who are expelled from the pride by stronger males become cannibals. It is difficult for them to hunt herbivores, but humans are the easiest prey for them. From then on, the lion began to terrify the surrounding residents. In the fight against man-eating lions, there is only one way - to destroy them. Having tasted human flesh once, the lion understands that man is not so terrible and is very vulnerable. So “either he us or we him.” But hunting for everyone should not be encouraged just because of fear of the animal. Remember, the main thing: be careful, do not provoke the predator, then the lion will not attack you.

Armed with claws that can be 10 cm each. Aggressive. Cases of cannibalism have been recorded.

6th place: Saltwater crocodile; Australian Saltwater crocodile (saltwater crocodile); Indo-Pacific crocodile; seaworthy crocodile; underwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) - Australian Saltwater Crocodile…

The saltwater crocodile is called the king of reptiles and the terror of all living things. He was feared and worshiped at all times. What is the greatness of this reptile, and why does a person, even today, in the age of new technologies, never cease to experience panic when meeting this animal? The saltwater crocodile is found in the tropical regions of Asia and in the waters of the Pacific Ocean (from India to Australia). The most favorite place saltwater crocodiles - Palau archipelago. Here their number is almost 2000 individuals. The large distribution area is explained by the fact that combed crocodiles can move long distances in the open sea. The mouth, equipped with 54 to 68 small but very sharp teeth, closes with high speed and strength. They are very aggressive and often attack people.

7th place: Elephant

An angry elephant tramples the enemy, grabs it with its trunk and throws it, sweeping away everything in its path

8th place: Polar bears

The polar bear is the largest terrestrial representative of mammals of the order of carnivores. Its length reaches 3 m, weight up to 800 kg. Typically males weigh 400-500 kg; body length 200-250 cm, height at the withers up to 160 cm. Females are noticeably smaller (200-300 kg). The smallest bears are found in Spitsbergen, the largest in the Bering Sea. The polar bear is distinguished from other bears by its long neck and flat head. His skin is black. The color of the fur coat varies from white to yellowish; In summer, the fur may turn yellow due to constant exposure to sunlight. The polar bear's fur is devoid of pigment color, and the hairs are hollow. There is a hypothesis that they act as light guides, absorbing ultraviolet rays; at least with ultraviolet photography polar bear seems dark. Due to the structure of the hairs, a polar bear can sometimes turn green. This happens in hot climates (in zoos), when microscopic algae grow inside the hairs.

On polar bears, occupying 8th place in the ranking "The most dangerous animals", it is also better to admire from the side. These predators are ready to tear to pieces anyone who approaches their cubs.

All senses are very developed, especially vision and smell. A bear can see its prey from many kilometers away. The bear is very curious. He is attracted to everything new, the taste of which he certainly tests.

9th place: African buffalo

The African buffalo kills more people in Africa every year than any other predator.

10th place: Dart frogs and leaf frogs (Dendrobatidae and Phyllobates trinitatis)

It is impossible not to notice dart frogs and leaf frogs in nature, as they are the most brightly colored reptiles on our earth. They live in the forests of South and Central America. Representatives of the poison dart frog family live along the banks of rivers and streams, in the rain forests of mountains and lowlands. Some spend most of their lives in trees. There are also those who live in open, dry spaces, content with the moisture of shaded areas of soil under low-growing plants. Unlike other amphibians, dart frogs are active only during the day and sleep at night. As you know, dangerous poisonous animals have bright skins, thereby providing safety from predators and warning to strangers. Dart frogs and leaf frogs are very brightly colored. These frogs are very poisonous. They have the most deadly poison. The Terrible Leaf Climber (Phyllobates terribilis) from Venezuela is especially dangerous. This inhabitant of humid forests reaches a length of 25 mm and is colored in gray-olive or brownish tones with dark spots. The abdomen of females is golden yellow. This leaf climber is active during the day and hunts small insects, spiders and worms. The family of dart frogs (Dendrobatidae) includes about 130 species, but among them there is not a single non-poisonous frog. Darter frogs' skin is riddled with glands that secrete microscopic amounts of poison, which are enough to kill a jaguar. This poison consists of about a hundred different substances. This is one of the strongest non-protein poisons. It is so dangerous that scientists have to wear thick gloves to handle it, as the poison can penetrate through any cut or even scratch. The poison has a terrible nerve-paralytic effect. As a result, cardiac arrhythmia occurs, leading to cardiac arrest. For the poison to work, it only needs to enter the bloodstream through the mucous membrane or cracks in the skin. That is why no one risks touching these frogs, except for the Indians, who smear hunting arrows with frog poison. A vaccine against poison dart frogs has not been invented. There is hardly any possibility of staying alive after this poison enters the body. Each frog produces enough toxin, and one dose can kill at least 10 people. In fact, dart frogs are a rare exception in nature. Basically, the venom of living creatures that protect themselves from predators is quite weak - most often it comes down to “chemical defense” (like that of a ladybug or a forest bug). The situation is different with animals that hunt large prey. They wait a long time and then rush at the victim. They often have only one chance to take prey, so the poison must be very strong and act instantly. Dart frogs do not hunt large animals. Their main food is small insects, spiders and worms. Why they need such strong poison is still unknown. Another interesting fact associated with these amphibians is that dart frogs themselves are not sensitive to their poison. The origin of their toxin is also unclear. There are cases where dart frogs bred in captivity have lost their toxicity. Apparently, they need some kind of special diet to maintain the toxin in the body. So, finally, let us repeat once again: dart frogs and leaf frogs are extremely dangerous to humans. But these frogs themselves do not attack people, so there is no chance of being poisoned by their poison, unless, of course, you touch their skin. Therefore, the most important method of protection is very simple - do not touch these frogs!

Very poisonous and dangerous, the skin is riddled with glands that secrete microscopic amounts of poison, which are enough to kill an adult jaguar. No vaccine has been invented against poison dart frogs.

And how to do it? - Only if the cat eats a rodent.

However, rats are afraid of cats. And this is where the fun begins. Toxoplasma has a special effect on the rat's brain, depriving it of fear of predators. Moreover, if in healthy male rats the smell of cat urine arouses fear, then in sick male rats it does not; they behave as if there is a female in front of them. Well, how can you not present yourself on a silver platter!

Interesting facts about biology

Desert Animals

When Europeans first saw a giraffe, they called it a “camelback,” thinking it was a hybrid of a camel and a leopard.
The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees.
When a giraffe gives birth, her baby falls from a height of one and a half meters.
Despite the hump, the camel's spine is straight.
Hippos are born underwater.
Elephants and humans are the only mammals that can stand on their heads.
The elephant is the only animal that cannot jump.
Within a pride of lions, 9/10 of the prey is supplied to the “family” by lionesses.
There are 40,000 muscles in an elephant's trunk
Giraffes have a completely black tongue, the length of which can reach up to 45 cm.

Cats

A cat falling from the 12th floor has a better chance of surviving than a cat falling from the 7th floor.
The only pet that is not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.
The Egyptians shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning when they lost a beloved cat.
The cat's ear rotates 180 degrees. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear, and they use twelve or more muscles to control the ear.
A cat's nervous state is revealed by its ears - they twitch slightly, although the cat itself can sit calmly and watch.
If a cat is 3 years old, this corresponds to a human being 21 years old. If 8 years, then in human terms - 40. If 14, then 70 human years.
The average lifespan of a domestic cat is 15 years, while for wild cats it is from 3 to 5 years.
According to the University of Lyon, there are about 400 million domestic cats in the world. The top spot goes to Australia, where there are 9 cats per 10 inhabitants. On the Asian continent, the first place belongs to Indonesia, with more than 30 million furry animals, and in Europe - to France, whose residents have 8 million cats in their care. At the same time, there are countries, for example Peru and Gabon, where domestic cats are almost never found.
Every year Americans spend four billion dollars on cat food. That's one billion dollars more than they spend on infant food.
If a cat is near you and its tail is shaking, this is the greatest feeling of love that it can express.
Cats wag their tails when faced with a choice, with one desire blocking another. For example, if a cat is standing in a doorway and wants to go out, and it is raining outside, the tail will swing due to internal conflict. The cat wants to go out, but doesn't want to get wet. As soon as she makes a decision (stay at home or go out into the rain), the tail will immediately stop swinging.
Cats rub against humans to “cut out” other people’s odors.
If the pupils are dilated despite bright lighting, the cat is very interested in something or is in a playful mood.
Cats, unlike dogs, cannot focus their gaze on nearby objects, that is, cats are farsighted, and dogs are nearsighted.
A cat's sensitivity to sound volume is 3 times higher than that of a human.
Cats smell 14 times more powerfully than humans.
In addition to the nose, cats can detect odors using the so-called Jacobson tube, located on the upper palate behind the front incisors. The cat uses it when she is completely focused on some particularly interesting smell, sucking in air, slightly raising her upper lip and nose.
Grooming calms and neutralizes aggressiveness. In a state of uncertainty, there is a universal recipe: in doubtful cases, lick yourself.
A cat has an average of 12 movable whiskers on each side of its face. At the base of the whiskers there is a large number of nerve endings, so the cat uses them to receive information about everything that surrounds it - about objects, about wind, about temperature, etc. If a cat's whiskers are removed, it may have poor spatial orientation, for example, difficulty hunting and generally feel insecure.
If a cat's whiskers point forward, it is very interested in something. Or in skirmishes he wants to scare his opponent. If the whiskers point back, the cat is scared and avoids touching.
When we pet a cat, our heart rate and blood pressure decrease. And people with heart disease are more likely to live longer if they have a cat than those who don't have a cat or dog.

Crocodiles

Crocodiles (Crocodylia, or Loricata) are an order of aquatic reptiles. The word "crocodile" comes from the Greek word "crocodile". κροκόδειλος, "pebble worm", given because of the bumpy skin of these animals. The order of crocodiles includes three families: crocodilians, alligators, and gharials.
Crocodiles are the only surviving representatives of the archosaur subclass (Archosauria). Modern crocodiles are the remnants of a large (up to 20 families) group of crocodiles, which descended from thecodonts in the Late Triassic; most of them became extinct by the beginning of the Cenozoic. The fact that crocodiles have survived to this day almost unchanged is explained by their habitat - inhabiting fresh water bodies of the tropics and subtropics, crocodiles live in places that have essentially changed little since ancient times. Crocodiles occupy a special position among reptiles, being closer to dinosaurs and modern birds than to other reptiles; a number of features of their organization allow us to consider them the most highly organized of reptiles. The evolution of crocodiles went in the direction of greatest adaptation to the aquatic lifestyle and predation.
In reptiles, the skeleton is more adapted to life on land than in amphibians. The head has one protrusion - the condyle, with which the back of the skull is attached to the spine. This makes the head well mobile when supported by the spine.
The appearance of crocodiles demonstrates adaptation to living in aquatic environment: head flat, with a long snout; body flattened; the tail is powerful, laterally compressed; legs are quite short. There are 5 fingers on the forelimbs, 4 on the hind limbs (no little finger), connected by a membrane. The eyes with vertical slit pupils are located very high; The nostrils and ear openings are closed under water by movable valves. The skin of crocodiles is covered with rectangular horny scutes, which are arranged in regular rows on the back and stomach. Bone plates (osteoderms) develop under the dorsal and less commonly under the ventral scutes, forming a carapace.
The skull is diapsid - with two temporal arches; Extinct dinosaurs and modern beaked dinosaurs have a similar skull structure. The nasopharyngeal passage is separated from the oral cavity by a secondary bony palate, which allows the crocodile to keep its mouth open under water while continuing to breathe through its nostrils exposed above the water. In this case, a special valve in the depths of the mouth (velum palatine) does not allow water into the windpipe, and air passes into the trachea along the nasopharyngeal passage behind the valve. A crocodile's teeth are of the same type, conical, hollow inside - in these cavities, as they wear out, new teeth develop. Teeth change several times during the life of a crocodile. In this case, the teeth of the upper and lower jaws are combined in such a way that the largest teeth of one jaw are opposite the smallest teeth of the second. The teeth sit in the alveoli, like in mammals. The crocodile's belly is protected by abdominal ribs that are not connected to the spine. The shoulder girdle consists of the scapula and coracoid.
Crocodiles are dangerous to humans to varying degrees. Some never attack humans (gharial), others attack systematically ( saltwater crocodile), third ( Nile crocodile) attack occasionally. Crocodile meat is edible and consumed by many people. tropical countries. The skin of crocodiles, especially alligators, is used to make various haberdashery products (briefcases, suitcases, etc.). Predatory extermination of crocodiles led to a sharp reduction in their numbers and the adoption of protective measures. In a number of countries there are special farms for breeding crocodiles.
According to ancient legend(1849), a crocodile cries “crocodile tears” before eating a man.
The crocodile is depicted on a coin of the Gambia
“Crocodile” is: the name of a satirical magazine in the USSR and Russia; metal clamp for fixation or temporary connection; name of the helicopter Mi-24; flamethrower version of the Churchill tank from the Second World War.
The crocodile is a character in many fairy tales, poems, films and cartoons, for example: the fairy tale in verse “Crocodile” by Korney Chukovsky; film "The Girl and the Crocodile"; films “Crocodile Dundee” and “Crocodile Dundee 2”, “Crocodile Killer” and “Crocodile Killer 2”; cartoons “Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena”, “Tari Bird”, etc.
In September 2005, the fossilized remains of a giant crocodile, the length of which reached fourteen meters, were found in the Amazon jungle.
The blood of crocodiles contains an antibiotic called krokodilin.
Crocodiles are responsible for more than 1,000 deaths on the banks of the Nile per year.
Crocodiles swallow rocks to dive deeper.
Crocodiles cannot stick out their tongues.

Rabbit

Hares (lat. Leporidae) are a family of mammals from the order Lagomorpha, which includes hares themselves (mainly the genus Lepus) and rabbits. About 30 species, distributed everywhere except Australia. They are distinguished by long ears, a short raised tail, underdeveloped collarbones, and long hind legs, due to which they move by jumping. Hares run very fast: a hare can reach a speed of 70 km/h.
Hares live alone or in pairs. Unlike rabbits, hares do not dig holes, but build nests in small holes. The rabbits are born developed, with fur and open eyes, and the mother stays with them for only 5-6 days, and then only sometimes resorts to them; Thanks to this, many rabbits die from enemies. The eyesight of hares is weak, the sense of smell is good, and the hearing is excellent; defenselessness in relation to numerous enemies (humans, predatory mammals and birds) makes them extremely fearful; however, once they are convinced of their safety, hares sometimes become extremely impudent.
In the spring, males compete fiercely for females: they stand on their hind legs and hit each other with their front legs. At the same time, they become bolder, and then they can often be seen. Developed hind limbs, long ears and short tail Hares are different from pikas, which are a related family.
Since 1964, there has been a World Association for Scientific Rabbit Breeding (headquartered in Paris), uniting dozens of countries to study the rabbit and disseminate information about rabbits and rabbit breeding. The Russian branch of the World Association of Scientific Rabbit Breeding has existed since 2004.
In addition to the brown and hare hare, the Manchurian hare and the tolai hare (talai) are found in Russia. The most typical habitats of the Manchurian hare are deciduous forests with dense shrubby undergrowth, and tolai are deserts and semi-deserts.

Horse

The domestic horse (lat. Equus caballus) is a species of odd-toed ungulate mammal, domesticated and widely used by humans to this day. The horse (Equus) in the broad sense of the word is the only living genus of the family Equidae s. Solidungula, order of odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla). As the second name of the family shows, its most characteristic feature is its legs, which have only one fully developed toe covered with a hoof. The skull is elongated and has a relatively long facial part. For a long time, horses were among the most economically important domestic animals for humans, but their importance declined due to the development of mechanization. A male horse is called a stallion. The female is a mare. A castrated stallion is called a gelding. The horse is a resident of large, open spaces of steppes or prairies, saving itself in case of danger only by running. The horse is a herbivore. On pasture, she eats from 25 to 100 kg of grass per day. Depending on age and live weight, a horse drinks an average of 30-60 liters of water per day in summer and 20-25 liters in winter.
The skeleton is a collection of bones in the body of animals that provide support to the body. The bones in the animal body are built according to the principle of the greatest economy of building material. Mammal bones are strong, many fused together. The skull is large, the jaws are strong, armed with teeth located in the recesses - the alveoli.
The method of connecting individual elements (vertebrae) is of great importance in the structure of the skeletal system of the vertebrate body. This is connected, on the one hand, with the strength of the skeleton, and on the other, with ensuring the mobility of the skeletal elements. The spine consists of five sections: the cervical (7 vertebrae), the thoracic (12 vertebrae), the sacral (4 fused vertebrae) and the caudal section of a different number of vertebrae in different mammals. Its characteristic feature is the shape of the vertebrae with flat surfaces, between which cartilaginous intervertebral discs are located. With different neck lengths, the length of each vertebra can vary greatly, as can be seen, for example, when comparing the cervical vertebrae of a giraffe and a dolphin. The ribs forming the chest are attached to the thoracic vertebrae, the number of which varies quite widely (9-24). There are from two to nine vertebrae in the lumbar region.
The science that studies horses is called hippology.
For the first time Horses. were domesticated on the territory of modern Kazakhstan about 6-5 thousand years ago. The ancestor of the domestic horse is not the Przewalski's horse, as previously thought, but an extinct species of wild horse - the tarpan.
The use of horses in battles began in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. e. In the 10th century BC. e. The first horsemen appeared there.
Horse harness was assigned not only an economic role, but also a magical one. In the nauz (brush, plaque), hung on a belt or cord under the horse's neck, amulets and pieces of paper with spells were kept.
Horses are often the heroes of literary works: “Horses in the Ocean” (B. Slutsky); “Old Horse”, “I Forgot How” (N. Rubtsov); “Good attitude towards horses” (V. Mayakovsky); “Horse” (A. Pushkin); “Mare” (Ivan Bunin); and also appear in proverbs and sayings: “You can’t feed a horse,” “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” etc.

frogs

Frogs can't swallow with their eyes open
Amphibians (amphibians) are the first small group of primitive terrestrial vertebrates that have retained a close connection with the aquatic environment.
Frogs are one of the largest families of the order of tailless amphibians, uniting more than 400 species included in 32 genera.
In the Russian fauna there is only one subfamily and one genus Rana L., 1782. This group unites more than 200 species. This includes both very small species with a maximum body length of up to 30 mm, and the largest of the tailless amphibians - the goliath frog, reaching 325 mm.
The skeleton is a collection of bones in the body of animals that provide support to the body. The skeleton of amphibians, like other vertebrates, consists of the following sections: the skeletons of the head, torso, limb girdles and free limbs.
The spine is divided into 4 sections: cervical, trunk, sacral and caudal. The number of vertebrae ranges from 10 in tailless amphibians to 200 in legless amphibians.
The cervical vertebra is movably attached to the occipital part of the skull (provides head mobility). Ribs are attached to the trunk vertebrae (except in tailless animals, which lack them). The only sacral vertebra is connected to the pelvic girdle. In tailless animals, the vertebrae of the caudal region are fused into one bone.
The flat and wide skull articulates with the spine using 2 condyles formed by the occipital bones.
The skeleton of the limbs is formed by the skeleton of the limb girdle and the skeleton of the free limbs. The shoulder girdle lies in the thickness of the muscles and includes paired shoulder blades, collarbones and crow bones connected to the sternum. The skeleton of the forelimb consists of the shoulder (humerus), forearm (radius and ulna) and hand (bones of the wrist, metacarpus and phalanges). The pelvic girdle consists of paired subcutaneous ischial and pubic bones fused together. It is attached to the sacral vertebra through the iliac bones. The skeleton of the hind limb includes the thigh, tibia (tibia and fibula) and foot. Bones of the tarsus, metatarsus and phalanges of the fingers. In anurans, the bones of the forearm and tibia are fused. All the bones of the hind limb are greatly elongated, forming powerful levers for movement by jumping.
The smallest frog and at the same time the smallest amphibian is the Cuban dwarf (Sminthillus limbatus), living in Cuba; The length of a fully developed individual is 0.85 - 1.2 cm.
The largest frog is the Goliath frog (Conraua goliath), caught in April 1989 by a resident of Seattle, PC. Washington, USA, by Andy Coffman in the Sanaga River, Cameroon, weighed 3.66 kg.
In the old days, frogs were called “naked reptiles.”
A huge number of fairy tales, poems and songs have been written about frogs and toads: “Teremok”, “Maria, Mirabela”, “Frog Traveler”, “The Frog Princess”, “The Frog Prince and Iron Henry”, “Frog”, “Two Frogs” , “The Frog and the Mosquito”, “How the Little Frog Was Looking for Dad”, “Under the Mushroom” and many others.
Rains of frogs and toads are quite common. For example, in September 1973, tens of thousands of tiny toads fell from the sky onto the village of Vrignes-ols in southern France. In 1922, small toads rained down on Chalon-sur-Saone for two days. In October 1863, toads also rained down on the Norfolk village of Eikle. The “toadfalls” in each case were associated with recent tornadoes.

The Bears

In Germany there are no bears in the forests. The last wild bear, according to the Union for the Protection of Nature, was shot in 1835 in the Upper Bavarian Ruhpolding region.
The Tokyo Zoo closes for 2 months every year so that the animals can take a break from visitors.
Polar bears can run at a speed of 40 km/h.

Insects

The animal with the largest brain in relation to its body is the ant.
Anteaters prefer to eat termites rather than ants.
Every year, more people die from bee stings than from snake bites.
The moth has no stomach.
To make a kilogram of honey, a bee must fly around 2 million flowers.
The blood of a grasshopper is white, the blood of a lobster is blue.
A human has fewer muscles than a caterpillar.
The largest GRASSHOPPER caught on the Malaysia-Thailand border, the species of which could not be determined, measured 25.4cm in length and had a 4.6m leap.

Fish

It turns out that the expression “dumb as a fish” is not entirely true, since many of these cold-blooded creatures actually make a variety of sounds. For example, sea roosters living in Black and Seas of Azov, so noisy that it seems like someone is rubbing a rubber ball. Fish can quack, cackle, croak, knock, chirp, squeak and knock. All these sounds occur when the walls of the swim bladder vibrate, when teeth grind, or when gill plates rub against each other. It has been noticed that fish “speak” differently depending on age and size. Old and large fish have a lower “voice” than young and small fish. The most active communication between fish begins during the mating season. For example, notropis males, in order to ward off strangers, during spawning make sounds similar to dull blows, while for females their voice becomes purring. Fahaki, poisonous pufferfish inhabitants of the tropical and subtropical waters of the World Ocean, during mating games sing the loudest fish songs, similar to the howl of a siren. Sounds allow the inhabitants of the deep sea and muddy waters to find each other even in pitch darkness.
When young, Black Sea perches are mostly girls, but by the age of 5 they radically change sex!
Sharks are immune to cancer.
Because European fishermen were unable to catch anything resembling a young eel, the creature's life cycle was shrouded in mystery for a long time. This continued until 1922, when a Danish professor discovered that eels living in Europe were actually born in the Sargasso Sea, and then carried out long journey along with the waters of the Gulf Stream across the ocean. And only three years later they reach England.
You may also not know that eel blood is extremely toxic. However, the toxins are destroyed during the cooking process of the eel. This is why you will never find sushi made from raw eel.
The gar fish has green bones.
The blood temperature of fish in Antarctica can reach -1.7 degrees Celsius
The shark is the only fish that can blink both eyes at once

Tigers

Tiger (lat. Panthera tigris), the largest animal from the cat family and one of largest predators. The smallest subspecies was the extinct Balinese - its males weighed only 90 - 100 kg. The two main and largest subspecies of tigers are the Indian (Bengal) and the Amur - the weight of males is 180-275 kg, but in some cases the weight can exceed 300 kg.
The body length of a tiger without a tail, depending on the subspecies, ranges from 1.4 to 2.8 m, the tail is 90 - 110 cm. Height at the withers is from 0.6 to 1.1 m. An ordinary normal adult male, be it Bengal or Amur in nature they weigh on average 200-240 kg (Bengal about 220 kg, Amur 225 kg, Bengal living in northern India, Nepal about 230-240 kg) with a body length of 2.9 - 3 m including the tail and at the withers 95 - 100 cm. The weight of females is 100-180 kg, in some cases up to 200 kg. Average - 130-150 kg with a body length shorter than that of the male by 30 - 45 cm.
In total, 9 subspecies of the tiger have been identified, of which only 6 have survived:
Amur tiger (Siberian, Ussurian tiger; P.t. altaica);
Chinese tiger (P. t. amoyensis); Indochinese tiger (P. t. corbetti), Sumatran tiger (P. t. sumatrae);
Bengal tiger (Indian, royal tiger; P. t. tigris);
Malayan tiger (P. t. jacksoni). To date, the following have been completely exterminated: the Bali tiger (P. t. balica), the Javan tiger (P. t. sondaica), the Turanian tiger, the Caspian tiger (P. t. virgata)
The skeleton is a collection of bones in the body of animals that provide support to the body. The bones in the animal body are built according to the principle of the greatest economy of building material. Mammal bones are strong, many fused together. The skull is large, the jaws are strong, armed with teeth located in the recesses - the alveoli.
The method of connecting individual elements (vertebrae) is of great importance in the structure of the skeletal system of the vertebrate body. This is connected, on the one hand, with the strength of the skeleton, and on the other, with ensuring the mobility of the skeletal elements. The spine consists of five sections: the cervical (7 vertebrae), the thoracic (12 vertebrae), the sacral (4 fused vertebrae) and the caudal section of a different number of vertebrae in different mammals. Its characteristic feature is the shape of the vertebrae with flat surfaces, between which cartilaginous intervertebral discs are located. With different neck lengths, the length of each vertebra can vary greatly, as can be seen, for example, when comparing the cervical vertebrae of a giraffe and a dolphin. The ribs forming the chest are attached to the thoracic vertebrae, the number of which varies quite widely (9-24). There are from two to nine vertebrae in the lumbar region.
The cervical spine consists of seven vertebrae. With different neck lengths, the length of each vertebra can vary greatly, as can be seen, for example, when comparing the cervical vertebrae of a giraffe and a dolphin. The ribs forming the chest are attached to the thoracic vertebrae, the number of which varies quite widely (9-24). There are from two to nine vertebrae in the lumbar region.
The tiger can make a jump of 9 meters, but usually tries to get as close to the prey as possible and knocks it down with a strong blow.
The word "tiger" has other meanings: a large river in Asia; English steamer; Tiger and Tiger II (Royal Tiger) - heavy German tanks from World War II; Tiger (SUV) - GAZ-2975 SUV produced by GAZ.
The largest tiger currently listed in the Guinness Book of Records is the Indian tiger weighing 388.7 kg. And the largest Amur tiger weighs 384 kg.
There is a cross between a lion and a tigress bred in captivity - the liger. Individual ligers grow throughout their lives and by old age can reach sizes of up to 3 meters in length (excluding the tail); There is also a cross between a tiger and a lioness - the tiger lion.
Tigers not only have striped fur, but also striped skin.
Due to a mechanism that reflects light back to the retina, tigers' night vision is six times better than that of humans.

Human

The adult human skeleton consists of more than 200 bones. The human skeleton is structured according to a principle common to all vertebrates. The bones of the skeleton are divided into two groups: the axial skeleton and the accessory skeleton. The axial skeleton includes the bones that lie in the middle and form the skeleton of the body; these are all the bones of the head and neck, spine, ribs and sternum. The accessory skeleton consists of the clavicles, scapulae, bones of the upper limbs, bones
pelvis and bones of the lower extremities.
All bones of the skeleton are divided into subgroups:
Axial skeleton
The skull is the bony base of the head and houses the brain, as well as the organs of vision, hearing and smell. The skull has two sections: the brain and the facial.
The chest - has the shape of a truncated compressed cone, is the bony basis of the chest and a container for internal organs. Consists of 12 thoracic vertebrae, 12 ribs and a sternum.
The spine, or spinal column, is the main axis of the body, the support of the entire skeleton; The spinal cord runs inside the spinal canal.
Accessory skeleton
Upper limb girdle - provides attachment of the upper limbs to the axial skeleton. Consists of paired shoulder blades and clavicles.
The upper limbs are maximally adapted to perform work activities. The limb consists of three sections: the shoulder, forearm and hand.
The pelvis provides the connection of the lower extremities to the axial skeleton, and is also a container and support for the organs of the digestive, urinary and reproductive systems.
Lower limbs - adapted for moving the body in space.
The once common belief that a man has one less rib than a woman is wrong. The biblical legend of the creation of Eve from Adam's rib is not reflected in reality and occurred due to an error in the translation of the Hebrew word “tsele” (Hebrew צלע‎), which has the meaning of both “rib” and “side”. The skeleton of both men and women has 24 ribs, or 12 pairs.
A man has about 30,000 facial hairs and spends about 3,350 hours of his life shaving them off.
50/50 rule: 50% of people go gray by age fifty
45 to 45 rule: 45% of all men go bald by age 45 The length of your arm from wrist to elbow is equal to the length of your foot
4.5 kg of excess weight around the waist creates approximately 22.5 kg of additional stress on the spine
In your lifetime you eat 30,000 kg of food - the weight of about 6 elephants
Every inhabitant of the Earth is related to another living person in at least the 50th generation
Usually a child under 6 years old cannot wrap his right hand behind his head and touch his left ear
Entering an unfamiliar room, a left-handed person will turn left, a right-handed person will turn to the right
According to acupuncturists, there is a point on the head that, when pressed, stops you from feeling hungry. It is located in the cavity in front of the ear.
It has been found that if you frown 200,000 times, 1 wrinkle will form on your forehead.
The head size of any great world famous ballerina is much smaller than the head size of women of average constitution
The vertical groove above the upper lip is called the philtrum, or philtrum. But no one knows what it is for.
People with blue eyes see better in the dark
There are an average of 550 hairs in one eyebrow
A tight tie can negatively affect your eyesight.
Only 3 out of 10 people can voluntarily dilate their nostrils
The scientific name for nose picking habit is rhinotillexomania.
When you sneeze, tiny drops of water fly away from you over a distance of 1.8 meters at a speed of 160 km per hour
Earwax secretes more when you're scared
When a person speaks, he sprays approximately 300 microscopic drops of saliva per minute, that is, 2.5 drops per word.
When you laugh, the air from your lungs comes out in short bursts at a speed of about 113 km per hour.
Typically a person laughs about 15 times a day
Every day you speak approximately 5,000 words
The scientific name for the navel is umbilicus.
A person who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day drinks half a cup of tar a year.
The length of hair on the head grown by the average person over the course of a lifetime is 725 kilometers.
The human body contains only 4 minerals: apatite, aragonite, calcite and cristobalite.
The human brain generates more electrical impulses per day than all the world's phones combined.
The total weight of bacteria living in the human body is 2 kilograms.
In the human brain, 100,000 chemical reactions occur in one second.
The right lung of a person holds more air than the left.
The human eye is capable of distinguishing 10,000,000 shades of color.
It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.
Human hair is approximately 5,000 times thicker than soap film.
People with blue eyes are more sensitive to pain than others.
The ancient Greeks believed that boys grew on the right side of the abdomen, and girls on the left.
If you remove space from all atoms human body, what remains will be able to fall through the eye of the needle.
The tooth is the only part of a person that lacks the ability to repair itself.
The brain is 80% water.
Apples help you wake up in the morning better than coffee.
On average, 100 people die every year from choking on a ballpoint pen.
If all 18-year-olds in China stand in one line and walk past you, then the line will never end. This will happen because new residents will be over 18 years of age and will be joining the line faster than the line will pass you by.
There are no muscles in the fingers, there are only bones and tendons covered with skin

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Interesting facts about biology

Desert Animals

When Europeans first saw a giraffe, they named it"camel thief"deciding that it was a hybrid of a camel and a leopard.
The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees.
When a giraffe gives birth, her baby falls from a height of one and a half meters.
Despite the hump, the camel's spine is straight.
Hippos are born underwater.
Elephants and humans are the only mammals that can stand on their heads.
The elephant is the only animal that cannot jump.
Within a pride of lions, 9/10 of the prey is supplied to the “family” by lionesses.
There are 40,000 muscles in an elephant's trunk
Giraffes have a completely black tongue, the length of which can reach up to 45 cm.

Cats

A cat falling from the 12th floor has a better chance of surviving than a cat falling from the 7th floor.
The only pet that is not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.
The Egyptians shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning when they lost a beloved cat.
The cat's ear rotates 180 degrees. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear, and they use twelve or more muscles to control the ear.
A cat's nervous state is revealed by its ears - they twitch slightly, although the cat itself can sit calmly and watch.
If a cat is 3 years old, this is humanly 21 years old. If 8 years, then 40. If 14, then 70 human years.
The average lifespan of a domestic cat is 15 years, while for wild cats it is from 3 to 5 years.
If a cat is near you and its tail is shaking, this is the greatest feeling of love that it can express.
Cats rub against humans to “cut out” other people’s odors.
If the pupils are dilated despite bright lighting, the cat is very interested in something or is in a playful mood.
Cats, unlike dogs, cannot focus their gaze on nearby objects, that is, cats are farsighted, and dogs are nearsighted.
A cat's sensitivity to sound volume is 3 times higher than that of a human.
Cats smell 14 times more powerfully than humans.
In addition to the nose, cats can detect odors using the so-called Jacobson tube, located on the upper palate behind the front incisors. The cat uses it when she is completely focused on some particularly interesting smell, sucking in air, slightly raising her upper lip and nose.
Grooming calms and neutralizes aggressiveness. In a state of uncertainty, there is a universal recipe: in doubtful cases, lick yourself.
A cat has an average of 12 movable whiskers on each side of its face. At the base of the whiskers there is a large number of nerve endings, so the cat uses them to receive information about everything that surrounds it - about objects, about wind, about temperature, etc. If a cat's whiskers are removed, it may have poor spatial orientation, for example, difficulty hunting and generally feel insecure.
If a cat's whiskers point forward, it is very interested in something. Or in skirmishes he wants to scare his opponent. If the whiskers point back, the cat is scared and avoids touching.

Crocodiles

Crocodiles (Crocodylia, or Loricata) are an order of aquatic reptiles. The word "crocodile" comes from the Greek word "crocodile". κροκόδειλος, "pebble worm", given because of the bumpy skin of these animals. The order of crocodiles includes three families: crocodilians, alligators, and gharials.
Crocodiles are the only surviving representatives of the archosaur subclass (Archosauria). The evolution of crocodiles went in the direction of greatest adaptation to the aquatic lifestyle and predation.
In reptiles, the skeleton is more adapted to life on land than in amphibians. The head has one protrusion - the condyle, with which the back of the skull is attached to the spine. This makes the head well mobile when supported by the spine.
Crocodiles are dangerous to humans to varying degrees. Some never attack humans (the gharial), others attack systematically (the saltwater crocodile), and others (the Nile crocodile) attack occasionally. Crocodile meat is edible and consumed by the population of many tropical countries. The skin of crocodiles, especially alligators, is used to make various haberdashery products (briefcases, suitcases, etc.). Predatory extermination of crocodiles led to a sharp reduction in their numbers and the adoption of protective measures. In a number of countries there are special farms for breeding crocodiles.
According to an ancient legend (1849), a crocodile cries “crocodile tears” before eating a person.
The crocodile is depicted on a coin of the Gambia
Crocodiles' blood contains an antibiotic called crocodile.
Crocodiles swallow rocks to dive deeper.
Crocodiles cannot stick out their tongues.

Rabbit

Hares (lat. Leporidae) are a family of mammals from the order Lagomorpha, which includes hares themselves (mainly the genus Lepus) and rabbits. About 30 species, distributed everywhere except Australia. They are distinguished by long ears, a short raised tail, underdeveloped collarbones, and long hind legs, due to which they move by jumping. Hares run very fast: a hare can reach a speed of 70 km/h.
Hares live alone or in pairs. Unlike rabbits, hares do not dig holes, but build nests in small holes. The rabbits are born developed, with fur and open eyes, and the mother stays with them for only 5-6 days, and then only sometimes resorts to them; Thanks to this, many rabbits die from enemies. The eyesight of hares is weak, the sense of smell is good, and the hearing is excellent; defenselessness in relation to numerous enemies (humans, predatory mammals and birds) makes them extremely fearful; however, once they are convinced of their safety, hares sometimes become extremely impudent.
Since 1964, there has been a World Association for Scientific Rabbit Breeding (headquartered in Paris), uniting dozens of countries to study the rabbit and disseminate information about rabbits and rabbit breeding. The Russian branch of the World Association of Scientific Rabbit Breeding has existed since 2004.

Horse

The domestic horse (lat. Equus caballus) is a species of odd-toed ungulate mammal, domesticated and widely used by humans to this day. The horse (Equus) in the broad sense of the word is the only living genus of the family Equidae s. Solidungula, order of odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla). As the second name of the family shows, its most characteristic feature is its legs, which have only one is quite developed and clad toe.The skull is elongated and has a relatively long facial part.A male horse is called a stallion. The female is a mare. A castrated stallion is called a gelding.The horse is a resident of large, open spaces of steppes or prairies, saving itself in case of danger only by running. The horse is a herbivore. Depending on age and live weight, a horse drinks an average of 30-60 liters of water per day in summer and 20-25 liters in winter.
The science that studies horses is called hippology.
For the first time Horses. were domesticated on the territory of modern Kazakhstan about 6-5 thousand years ago. The ancestor of the domestic horse is not the Przewalski's horse, as previously thought, but an extinct species of wild horse - tarpan.
The use of horses in battles began in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. e. In the 10th century BC. e. The first horsemen appeared there.

frogs

Frogs can't swallow with their eyes open
Amphibians (amphibians) are the first small group of primitive terrestrial vertebrates that have retained a close connection with the aquatic environment.
Frogs are one of the largest families of the order of tailless amphibians, uniting more than 400 species included in 32 genera.
The skeleton is a collection of bones in the body of animals that provide support to the body. The skeleton of amphibians, like other vertebrates, consists of the following sections: the skeletons of the head, torso, limb girdles and free limbs.
The smallest frog and at the same time the smallest amphibian is the Cuban dwarf (Sminthillus limbatus), living in Cuba; The length of a fully developed individual is 0.85 - 1.2 cm.
The largest frog is the Goliath frog (Conraua goliath), caught in April 1989 by a resident of Seattle, PC. Washington, USA, by Andy Coffman in the Sanaga River, Cameroon, weighed 3.66 kg.
In the old days frogs were called"naked bastards."
Rains of frogs and toads are quite common. For example, in September 1973, tens of thousands of tiny toads fell from the sky onto the village of Vrignes-ols in southern France. In 1922, small toads rained down on Chalon-sur-Saone for two days. In October 1863, toads also rained down on the Norfolk village of Eikle. The “toadfalls” in each case were associated with recent tornadoes.

The Bears

In Germany there are no bears in the forests. The last wild bear, according to the Union for the Protection of Nature, was shot in 1835 in the Upper Bavarian Ruhpolding region.
The Tokyo Zoo closes for 2 months every year so that the animals can take a break from visitors.
Polar bears can run at a speed of 40 km/h.

Insects

The animal with the largest brain in relation to its body is the ant.
Anteaters prefer to eat termites rather than ants.
Every year, more people die from bee stings than from snake bites.
The moth has no stomach.
To make a kilogram of honey, a bee must fly around 2 million flowers.
The blood of a grasshopper is white, the blood of a lobster is blue.
A human has fewer muscles than a caterpillar.
The largest GRASSHOPPER caught on the Malaysia-Thailand border, the species of which could not be determined, measured 25.4cm in length and had a 4.6m leap.

Fish

It turns out that the expression “dumb as a fish” is not entirely true, since many of these cold-blooded creatures actually make a variety of sounds. For example, gurnards living in the Black and Azov Seas make so much noise that it sounds like someone is rubbing a rubber ball. Fish can quack, cackle, croak, knock, chirp, squeak and knock. All these sounds occur when the walls of the swim bladder vibrate, when teeth grind, or when gill plates rub against each other. It has been noticed that fish “speak” differently depending on age and size. Old and large fish have a lower “voice” than young and small fish. The most active communication between fish begins during the mating season. When young, Black Sea perches are mostly girls, but by the age of 5 they radically change sex!
Sharks are immune to cancer.
You may also not know that eel blood is extremely toxic. However, the toxins are destroyed during the cooking process of the eel. This is why you will never find sushi made from raw eel.
The gar fish has green bones.
The blood temperature of fish in Antarctica can reach -1.7 degrees Celsius
The shark is the only fish that can blink both eyes at once

Tigers

Tiger (lat. Panthera tigris), the largest animal from the cat family and one of the largest predators. The smallest subspecies was the extinct Balinese - its males weighed only 90 - 100 kg.
The body length of a tiger without a tail, depending on the subspecies, ranges from 1.4 to 2.8 m, the tail is 90 - 110 cm. The height at the withers is from 0.6 to 1.1 m.
In total, 9 subspecies of the tiger have been identified, of which only 6 have survived:

1-Amur tiger (Siberian, Ussuri tiger; P. t. altaica);

2-Chinese tiger (P. t. amoyensis);

3- Indochinese tiger (P. t. corbetti),

4-Sumatran tiger (P. t. sumatrae);

5-Bengal tiger (Indian, royal tiger; P. t. tigris);

6-Malayan tiger (P. t. jacksoni).

The tiger can make a jump of 9 meters, but usually tries to get as close to the prey as possible and knocks it down with a strong blow.
The word "tiger" has other meanings: a large river in Asia; English steamer; Tiger and Tiger II (Royal Tiger) - heavy German tanks from World War II; Tiger (SUV) - GAZ-2975 SUV produced by GAZ.
The largest tiger currently listed in the Guinness Book of Records isIndian tiger weighing 388.7 kg. And the largest Amur tiger weighs 384 kg.
There is a cross between a lion and a tigress, bred in captivity - liger, There is also a cross between a tiger and a lioness - tigerlev.
Tigers not only have striped fur, but also striped skin.

Human

The adult human skeleton consists of more than 200 bones. The human skeleton is structured according to a principle common to all vertebrates. The bones of the skeleton are divided into two groups: the axial skeleton and the accessory skeleton. The axial skeleton includes the bones that lie in the middle and form the skeleton of the body; these are all the bones of the head and neck, spine, ribs and sternum. The accessory skeleton consists of the clavicles, scapulae, bones of the upper extremities, bones of the pelvis and bones of the lower extremities.
All bones of the skeleton are divided into subgroups:
Axial skeleton
The skull is the bony base of the head and houses the brain, as well as the organs of vision, hearing and smell. The skull has two sections: the brain and the facial.
The chest - has the shape of a truncated compressed cone, is the bony basis of the chest and a container for internal organs. Consists of 12 thoracic vertebrae, 12 ribs and a sternum.
The spine, or spinal column, is the main axis of the body, the support of the entire skeleton; The spinal cord runs inside the spinal canal.
Accessory skeleton
Upper limb girdle - provides attachment of the upper limbs to the axial skeleton. Consists of paired shoulder blades and clavicles.
The upper limbs are maximally adapted to perform work activities. The limb consists of three sections: the shoulder, forearm and hand.
The pelvis provides the connection of the lower extremities to the axial skeleton, and is also a container and support for the organs of the digestive, urinary and reproductive systems.
Lower limbs - adapted for moving the body in space.
The once common belief that a man has one less rib than a woman is wrong. The biblical legend about the creation of Eve from Adam's rib is not reflected in reality and occurred due to an error in the translation of the Hebrew word “tsele” (Hebrew צלע‎), which has the meaning of both “rib” and “side”. The skeleton of both men and women has 24 ribs, or 12 pairs.
A man has about 30,000 facial hairs and spends about 3,350 hours of his life shaving them off.
50/50 rule: 50% of people go gray by age fifty
45/45 rule: 45% of all men go bald by age 45. The length of the arm from wrist to elbow is equal to the length of the foot
4.5 kg of excess weight around the waist creates approximately 22.5 kg of additional stress on the spine
In your lifetime you eat 30,000 kg of food - the weight of about 6 elephants
Usually a child under 6 years old cannot wrap his right hand behind his head and touch his left ear
Upon entering an unfamiliar room, a left-handed person will turn to the left, a right-handed person will turn to the right.
It has been found that if you frown 200,000 times, 1 wrinkle will form on your forehead.
The head size of any great world famous ballerina is much smaller than the head size of women of average constitution
The vertical groove above the upper lip is called the philtrum, or philtrum. But no one knows what it is for.
People with blue eyes see better in the dark
There are an average of 550 hairs in one eyebrow
A tight tie can negatively affect your eyesight.
Scientific name for nose picking habit- rhinotillexomania
When you sneeze, tiny drops of water fly away from you over a distance of 1.8 meters at a speed of 160 km per hour
Earwax secretes more when you're scared
When a person speaks, he sprays approximately 300 microscopic drops of saliva per minute, that is, 2.5 drops per word.
When you laugh, the air from your lungs comes out in short bursts at a speed of about 113 km per hour.
Typically a person laughs about 15 times a day
Every day you speak approximately 5,000 words
The scientific name of the navel is umbilicus.
A person who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day drinks half a cup of tar a year.
The length of hair on the head grown by the average person over the course of a lifetime is 725 kilometers.
The human body contains only 4 minerals: apatite, aragonite, calcite and cristobalite.
The human brain generates more electrical impulses per day than all the world's phones combined.
The total weight of bacteria living in the human body is 2 kilograms.
In the human brain, 100,000 chemical reactions occur in one second.
The right lung of a person holds more air than the left.
The human eye is capable of distinguishing 10,000,000 shades of color.
It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.
People with blue eyes are more sensitive to pain than others.
The ancient Greeks believed that boys grew on the right side of the abdomen, and girls on the left.
The tooth is the only part of a person that lacks the ability to repair itself.
The brain is 80% water.
Apples help you wake up in the morning better than coffee.
There are no muscles in the fingers, there are only bones and tendons covered with skin