Creature Feature
We live in a world which is, and has been home to a myriad of creatures that exceed our wildest imagination. In this creature feature I’ll highlight some of them for you.
1. NUCLEAR BOMB SHELTER!- THE TARDIGRADE(water bear)
These bears can withstand temperatures from around 1K to 420K and a pressure six times greater than that of the deepest ocean trenches! Their capability to withstand ionizing radiation is upto hundreds of times that of the lethal human dosage.
It can go without food or water for upto 30 days by bringing down it’s water percentage to a mere 3%!
The only drawback, (if you consider it one) is that they are invisible to the naked eye, and need a high power microscope to be seen. They are classified as Micro animals and were discovered in 1773.
To read more about the tardigrade, check out http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150313-the-toughest-animals-on-earth.
2. THE DITTO FROM BELOW!- THE BLOBFISH
The blobfish as its name suggests is a goo fish that lives deep underwater. It has a very poor float sac and survives all thanks to its body that is largely composed of a dense mass of gelatinous material. In fact, blobfish don’t swim in the usual way of swimming. Instead, they float over the sea bed. With a flesh density less than that of water, they expend very little energy in swimming. Also, blobfish quite literally just let food float into their mouth.
3. DECEPTION LIZARD – THE APATOSAURUS
Apatosaurus literally derives fdrom the Greek words for deceit – Apate and lizard- Saurus. Relatively unknown in the dinosaur world, these now extinct creatures are in fact a very famous dinosaur in disguise.
We have all heard of the Brontosaurus it was the central sauropod of Jurassic Park and we all have it as a go-to-dino along with the T-Rex. However, the Brontosaurus never really existed. They were merely a blunder on the paleontologists’ part. The bones actually belonged to an Apatosaurus! Deception Lizard really is deceiving, isn’t it?
To read more about the Apatosaurus, check out:
http://www.livescience.com/25093-apatosaurus.html
– Saif Khan
