Stylish Appearance
Stylish Appearance
8 » The wildest colours 14 » Beastly blue
16 » Bright lights
20 » Transparent animals 22 » Masters of disguise
The animal kingdom is extremely rich and there are many species whose appearance is wonderfully weird. Nature dresses some in shocking colours and gives see-through clothing to others, while a few species even shine in the dark. Some creatures blend into their background so well that they cannot be spotted as they hide from predators or wait for prey. Such masters of disguise are hard to find!
7
Stylish Appearance
nting painted bu
ANY BIRD OF M COLOURS s feathers
nting ha The painted bu of riety of shades daubed in a va is Th d. re d llow an blue, green, ye rn he ut so in the small bird lives and in Central SA U e part of th s ts seeds, spider America, and ea and insects.
Do you know? Amerindian peoples dip the tip of their blowdarts used for hunting into the toxic secretion of this frog still today.
t s e d l i Th e w s r u o l co
ur ence the colo u fl in s r o ct fa nt ment Many differe diet, environ , e g a s a ch orof animals su ur is also imp lo o C . n so a g se bers and the matin ith other mem w n o ti a ic n e u reasons ther tant in comm se e th r o F . s ecie een of the same sp colours betw f o ty ie r a v t a may be a gre individuals.
jumping spider
YIKES! WHAT’S THAT JUMPING?
make A reddish body and bluish green eyes this type of spider look flashy. It has four t pairs of eyes in different rows. The fron like s che crou It est. bigg two are the a cat before jumping a distance of about 5 to 6 centimetres.
blue-footed booby
BLUE STEPPED IN A BUCKET OF PAINT? extremely blue
ause of its This bird has a strange appearance bec but colourful. This resident hing webbed feet, but its plumage is anyt fish which it catches by plunge of Central America mainly eats small making a nest, simply laying its diving. It doesn’t bother much about them on the ground. eggs among the rocks and incubating
jewel bug
METALLIC COLOUR
There are more than 400 species in the jewel bug family, and you can come across them in many countries. Their metallic colours shine like jewels and the largest are 2 centimetres long. When in danger, they make a nasty smell.
frog poison dart
W-OFFS TOXIC SHOphibians that live in the rainforests s am oks. Their These poisonou have striking lo do ly al re a ic er imals in the of South Am warns other an n io at ur lo co y of these frogs. extraordinar tter steer clear be d ha ey th jungle that
keel-billed toucan
WHAT A BILL!
The bill of this bird that lives in the trop ical forests of Central America is a true cavalcade of colour. You might think that such a big bill is heavy but actually it is very light because it is made of strong spo ngy hollow bones. Although the toucan mostly eats fruit , it also likes a small lizard or insect now and then. It usually gets about by hopping from branch to branch and its call can be heard far away.
9
Stylish Appearance k
The wildest colours
she ingfi
mandarin
duck
HE POND around Japan, has been T F O L E W JE area rprising inally from the is is not su duck, orig The mandarin nd the world. Th ou ar s rk pa in s nd unmistakably e is striking and introduced to po ak dr , e th of e umag eeding season ck. After the br as the nuptial pl du e ab al dr m fe is e ch th hi w at of lipse plumage, different from th dresses in his ec d an lts ou m e the drak pressive. and not at all im
r
TER bird makes A E -sized ISH ope-
NG F rs of this sparrowent in many Euarbove
ZLI DAZ
esid the rch lue fea irds but it is r aits on a pe natch an b t n a li s w il b The br k of tropical e kingfisher wooping to s h t in e you th tries. Usually the air befor n in u s o r c e an ov sh. ter or h the wa cting small fi e p unsus
Spanish sh awl
WHAT’S T
HI
S? Has a Spanish da ncer dropped he r shawl in the se course, not! It’s a? Of a marine mollu sc, a very colour slug that lives al ful sea ong the southe rn and western of North Amer coasts ica. Its stunning purple and oran tells would-be ge hue attackers that it tastes foul. Its sp characteristic is ecial that it extracts oxygen from th with horn-like e water gills.
ri lue-
n
p octo ged
us
E ETT
’D B
TCH
A RW
nous poiso en it is y l d . Wh a dea YOU ! us is al waters turn into p o t t n oc coas ame. ged ts ski OUT e-rin Australian ches on i t for its n and u l b The tant of pat oun olf ball, i own h acc g inhab d, the br gs, whic size of a ful. e n t i e r a h t t e pain agi g, blu grows to , it is not n i l t r sta ctopus atal e is f o This gh its bit u altho
b
er panth
chame
leon
UM PECTR
ascan is Madag th t a th m uit its S e spectru how it looks to s ther L th L in r u U n e F no colo s, the pa n chang virtually nimal ca ther chameleon a nd is a h r T There is e . e n’t b ch oth y to o a ld rl e u a f il o o c y im le S tl ngue. en gs. repti rroundin s eyes independ ery long sticky to u s r o d moo ove it ut its v on can m y by shooting o il chamele s a its prey e catches
11
Stylish Appearance
baron
caterp
il
lar IT’S J UST A LEAF – TAKE A C L O This cate SER LO rpillar liv OK es in In Asia
! . It all b dia an its feet m ut disappears on d South-East imic the the gree n leaf as veins of the leaf.
e s i u g s i d f o s r e t s a M Next are spe cies that are masters of d isguise and mimicry…
tree frog
THE WEAT
HE
R FORECA Its grass green STER colouration mea ns that this frog with its surround can blend perf ings. It likes ba ectly sking on leaves The tree frog hu in places near w nts at night an ater. d easily catche with its long to s its prey, flying ngue. In cold w insects, eather it goes cl days gone by a oser to the grou tree frog was ke nd. In pt in a preserve ladder. If it clim jar with a small bed up, good w eather was com bottom, it wou ing. If it stayed ld rain. This frog at the has discs on th allow the anim e end of its toes al to climb even which leaves that hang vertically.
rn great bitte
HE REEDS T N I E L B I d INVIS brown shades an
d plumage with lifeThis bird’s mottle an undercover ns it can follow ea hile m w es s es rip st nl k io blac mot ility is remaining ab l reeds ia e ec th sp to in Its style. at it blends th so ds ar w up ecting pointing its bill catch its unsusp y sil ea to it s w , its entirely. This allo all fish. However , lizards and sm s. gs an fro ce as ta ch us su cr , prey , insects and gs lin dg fle es diet also includ
moth
EE IT? camouflage. CAN YOU Sshown here has truly mastered the armtotofionless. The oth it remains The species of m noticing it while of ce d wings imitate an ch no n of its outsprea io at Predators have ur lo co sh and browni risk if it moves. mottled pattern ion. It is only at ct rfe pe to e tre the bark of the
eevil beet leaf w
CAMOU THE BEST OUR FLAGE COLh grey, 1 centimetre
is as The colour of th ken for easily be mista long bug could rope and Eu . It occurs in that of a branch s but op cr harmful to Siberia. It can be Its larvae e. ag serious dam does not cause of plants. gnaw the roots
ct giant leaf inse
… INS TO WALK G E B F A E L uise. Its greenA sg di of WHEN es it a true master ak the sun dy of this insect m scorched a little by en be The leaf-shaped bo ve ha to s ar eyed to ion that appe y have to be eagleall re u ish brown colourat Yo f. lea a of es the colour very much resembl see it.
leaf-tailed gecko
DRY LEAF OR ANIMAL?
The leaf-tailed gecko lives in the fore sts of Madagascar, where it blends in perfectly with its env ironment. It is impossible to spot among the dry leaves of the forest litter. Unusually, it cleans its eyes with its long tongue.
Do you kn ow? Stick insec ts are not c lassified in of insects w the same g hich includ roup es ets but hav e their own grasshoppers and cri cktaxonomic order.
stick insect
THAT’S HOW TO HID
E!
Stick insects spend their time during the day snoozing among the branches unnoticed. They eat at night. Most species are pla nt- eaters but a few are predators . The largest known stick inse ct to date was found in Malaysia and measured 55 centimetres lon g.
23
Stylish Appearance
Masters of disguise
IG CATS B T S E R A ER ONE OF TH ORLD owy e trees in a sn IN THE W des as king among th ard snow leop
at altitu leopard stal can be found t ca Could a snow ig b is Th uge leaps and detected? It can make h a. si landscape be A al tr en C tail as a scar f metres in d also uses its ar p o high as 5,500 le e Th il. that are larger its thick ta ys on animals re p balances with It t. h ig n warm at are hard. to keep its face take smaller animals if times will than itself but
willow pta rmigan
IS IT A SNO
W
BALL? It seems so! Th is chicken-sized bird disguises its exceptionally w elf ell. In winter it is snow-white, bu changes its plum t age to brown in the summer. Th an effective way is is of hiding from predators. les d ear e h c a ble
rd s liza
NDS adapt A S T s HO h alway
INH
F NT Oearless lizards, whhicown in the ts A T I AB lizard s cies of e deser
spe f th . The any sub environment white sands o rs. m e r a There f their d spide s in the olour o s it live on insects an to the c now-white a s . It feed is s photo A and Mexico S of the U
ider wolf sp e t i h w
B? E A WEnd some can V A E a HY W tributed
W
tawny owl
M I? PEEP-BO! WHERE Acan easily stay
ple. It This tiny owl often lives near peo mottled plumage. It hidden thanks to its brownish day when it eats insects. can often be seen during the es and birds. It does not By night it hunts for mice, vol s them whole. tear its victims apart but swallow
ly dis ration are wide eir colou h rs T e . s id e p tr s e Wolf entim r from he spide up to 3 c measure ith their habitat. T isible in the white w rely v m the blends in oto is ba h p e haven fro th fe a in s a a c s ri e e vid not Am h thus pro s. Wolf spiders do ir prey. ic h w , d san lizard g on the irds and pouncin y b t eyes of b n u h ebs but weave w
pygmy seahor se
MASTER OF M
IM
ICRY The pygmy seahor se is one of the wo rld’s smallest vertebrates, whi ch completely disa ppears among the branch es of the coral arou nd it. Its whitish skin with pi nkish knobs makes it the perfect mimic.
stonefish
TURNED TO STON
E
You must be very alert to spot this fish lying on the stony bottom in the seas The stonefish lies motionle around Australia. ss until its unsuspecting pre y swims that way when it meal with a sudden movem snatches its ent. Swimmers who step on one are in for a painful spines are highly venom shock as its ous. If this happens, medic al help must be sought im mediately.
Do you know? one organism Mimicry is when r species or looks like anothe environment. something in its
25
Freaky Fashions
What odd characters there are! Some are completely covered by fur, while others protect themselves with armour. Just looking at some makes you smile. And then there are those that look weird, the albinos, because they have no pigmentation.
Freaky Fashions
28 » Believe it or not, they exist! 38 » What a conk! 40 » Extreme furry animals 44 » Bite me if you can! 46 » Weirdos: albinos
27