I’m interested to see what people’s opinions are here.
Putting aside your personal wants and wishes, what 10 species would you personally say are the ten most obvious omissions/ten species that would most round our Planet Zoo. The species that if you looked back on the game in 15 years and they weren’t in the roster would make you question why not.
Looking for species here not just groups of animals ideally.
For me:
- American Black Bear: Final bear species and it’s not an obscure one, iconic North American fauna - perhaps the most obvious missing NA species from the game.
- Pacific Walrus: immediately recognisable and found in zoos, we have a seal and a sea lion so the walrus really rounds out the trifecta. Plus it’s probably the closest we can get to anything largely aquatic at this point in PZ1.
- Ocelot: I’m surprised this species is not in the game yet, it is a cat (immediately popular) and it’s not an obscure species, one of the most well known small wild cats. Not to mention it has pop-culture popularity from Minecraft.
- Ring-Tailed Coati: one of the few well-known ‘types’ of mammal with no representation in the game yet. Very common in zoos, South American and a cute species at that.
- Black-Capped or Common Squirrel Monkey: I know I said not groups of animals but being very specific here with one of two species as both are extremely common in zoos worldwide. These are the meerkats of the primate world when it comes to zoos - they’re everywhere, they’re charismatic, they live in big groups and they’re very cute.
- Greater Rhea: the main large terrestrial bird missing from the game atm. The last major ratite, South American, extremely common in zoos and a great species of mixed exhibits with species like tapir, capybara and alpacas/llamas.
- Serval: Yep, another cat. But I just don’t see how the other of the extremely recognisable ‘small’ cats is missing from the game. It’s built more like a maned Wolf than other cats but servals are very common in zoos and imo, an essential African fauna that is missing from the game.
- Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo: ordinarily I probably wouldn’t include this on a list like this as tree kangaroos are actually quite an obscure group of animals in the zoo world. But hey, it’s a very highly requested animal, another unique rig like the coati, an arboreal species, and perhaps the last major species missing from Oceania. Matschie’s could also fit here but as a European - Goodfellow’s ftw.
- Blackbuck: perhaps a dull choice that many do not see as particularly essential/that important. But I simply feel that for India to have any degree of depth it really needs a bog-standard antelope. This is a species that has been floated by the community since launch and is always in the mid-table of wishlists etc. The ability to build an Indian grasslands mixed-exhibit really requires the game to have a single Indian antelope species, not much to ask when Africa has a few hundred in game.
- Aye-Aye: For me this animal has been critically overlooked by the community but makes a lot of sense to be included in the game. Although a lemur, it’s something unique from Madagascar, not exactly overlapping with the lemurs/sifakas we have now, it’s another primate, it’s a nocturnal species, it’s easily recognisable and entirely bizarre and has a decent captive population. I think I would look back on PZ and query why it never made it in if it doesn’t - far too unique to be ignored.
so that’s my list, a few others definitely very nearly made it like the musk ox, Nile crocodile and raccoon dog. But would love to hear what others think? Again, this is not a person wants list particularly (my number 1 is the mantled Guereza and 3 is the common eland!) but more so a list of the 10 species that really deserve to make the roster/would be odd if they were omitted because they’re so common/iconic.
I am going to make two lists here: one for habitat species and one for exhibit species in order to ensure both types of species get a decent amount of recognition.
I'll begin with the habitat species.
1:
Northern Muriqui, Muriquis are the largest extant New World monkeys. They can reach 4.3 feet or 1.3 meters long and weight between 7 to 10 kilograms (15 to 22 lbs.). Northern muriqui are primarily frugivorous and folivorous, but they also feed on seeds, flowers, nectar, bark, twigs, stems, vines and soil in order to fulfil additional nutritional needs. The northern muriqui is a critically endangered species, which is estimated that there are less than 1,000 mature individuals in the wild. The species is unusual among primates in that males and females are about the same size. Males are no bigger or stronger than females. This species is endemic to the Atlantic Forest region of Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Bahia. The size of each group can fluctuate as females move between groups of monkeys. They are also called woolly spider monkey because they exhibit the woolen pelt of woolly monkeys and the long prehensile tail of spider monkeys.
Source:
https://www.rewild.org/wild-about/northern-muriqui-monkey
2:
Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), A species of iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a marine reptile that has the ability to forage in the sea for algae, which make up almost all of its diet. Marine iguanas are the only extant lizard that spends time in a marine environment. Large males are able to dive to find this food source, while females and smaller males feed during low tide in the intertidal zone. They mainly live in colonies on rocky shores where they bask after visiting the relatively cold water or intertidal zone, but can also be seen in marshes, mangrove swamps and beaches. Large males defend territories for a short period, but smaller males have other breeding strategies.
Marine iguanas typically range from 12 to 56 cm (4.7–22.0 in) in snout-to-vent length and have a tail length from 17 to 84 cm (6.7–33.1 in). There are major geographical differences, as iguanas from large islands tend to grow relatively large as adults, while those from small islands are smaller in size. The maximum weight of adult males ranges from 12 kg (26 lb) on southern Isabela to 1 kg (2.2 lb) on Genovesa. This difference in body size of marine iguanas between islands is due to the amount of food available, which depends on sea temperature and algae growth.
Marine iguanas are sexually dimorphic with adult males on average being significantly longer and weighing about twice as much as adult females. Additionally, males have broader heads and larger tubercles than females. However, the largest females are only about 20–40% shorter than the largest males. There is a correlation between longevity and body size, particularly for adult males. Large body size in males is selected sexually, but can be detrimental during El Niño events when resources are scarce. This results in large males suffering higher mortality than females and smaller adult males. Some individuals have been shown to shrink in body size by up to 20% during El Niño events and grow back to their previous size when food became available again. Its generic name, Amblyrhynchus, is a combination of two Greek words, Ambly- from Amblus (ἀμβλυ) meaning "blunt" and rhynchus (ρυγχος) meaning "snout". Its specific name is the Latin word cristatus meaning "crested," and refers to the low crest of spines along the animal's back.
3:
Muskox (Ovibos moschatus)A hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, it is noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males during the seasonal rut, from which its name derives. In the past, muskoxen primarily lived in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. They were formerly present in Eurasia, with their youngest natural records in the region dating to around 2,700 years ago. There are reintroduced populations in the American state of Alaska, the Canadian territory of Yukon, and Siberia, and an introduced population in Norway, part of which emigrated to Sweden, where a small population now lives.
Muskoxen stand 1.1 to 1.5 m (3 ft 7 in to 4 ft 11 in) high at withers, with females measuring 135 to 200 cm (4 ft 5 in to 6 ft 7 in) in length, and the larger males 200 to 250 cm (6 ft 7 in to 8 ft 2 in). The small tail, often concealed under a layer of fur, measures only 10 cm (3.9 in) long. Adults can weigh between 180 to 650 kg (400 to 1,430 lbs.).
A muskox can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph). Their life expectancy is between 12 and 20 years. During the summer, muskoxen live in wet areas, such as river valleys, moving to higher elevations in the winter to avoid deep snow. Muskoxen will eat grasses, arctic willows, woody plants, lichens and mosses. When food is abundant, they prefer succulent and nutritious grasses in an area. Willows are the most commonly eaten plants in the winter. Muskoxen live in herds of 12–24 in the winter and 8–20 in the summer when dominant bulls expel other males from the herd. They do not hold territories, but they do mark their trails with preorbital glands
4:
South American Gray Fox (Lycalopex griseus), a South American species of Lycalopex (the "false" or lesser foxes) in the Canidae family. The South American gray fox is found in Argentina and Chile in the Southern Cone of South America. Its range comprises stripes on both sides of the Andes mountain range between parallels 17ºS (northernmost Chile) and 54ºS (Tierra del Fuego). The South American gray fox was introduced to the Falkland Islands in the late 1920s early 1930s and is still present in quite large numbers on Beaver and Weddell Islands plus several smaller islands. It was also introduced to Tierra del Fuego in 1951 to control European rabbit populations. The South American gray fox occurs in a variety of habitats, from the warm, arid scrublands of the Argentine uplands and the cold, arid Patagonian steppe to the forests of southernmost Chile.
The diet varies in different parts of its range and at different times of year. It consists mainly of mammals, birds, arthropods, bird eggs, reptiles, fruit and carrion. The main prey items seem to be small mammals, especially rodents. It weighs between 2.5 to 5.45 kilograms (5.5 to 12.0 lbs.) and grows between 65 to 110 centimeters (26 to 43 in) in length including a tail of 20 to 43 cm (8 to 17 in).
Source:
https://observation.org/species/104656/
5:
Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobenidae and genus Odobenus. Male Atlantic walrus weigh an average of 900 kg (2,000 lbs.). The Atlantic walrus also tends to have relatively shorter tusks and somewhat more of a flattened snout. Females weigh about two-thirds as much as males, with the Atlantic females averaging 560 kg (1,230 lb), sometimes weighing as little as 400 kg (880 lb), and the Pacific female averaging 800 kg (1,800 lb). Length typically ranges from 2.2 to 3.6 m (7 ft 3 in to 11 ft 10 in). It is the third largest pinniped species, after the two elephant seal species.
6:
Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), The second largest species of seal in the Antarctic. It is a top order predator, feeding on a wide range of prey including cephalopods, other pinnipeds, krill, fish, and birds, particularly penguins. It's only natural predator are orcas. It is the only species in the genus Hydrurga. The overall length of adults is 2.4–3.5 m (7.9–11.5 ft) and their weight is in the range 200 to 600 kilograms (440 to 1,320 lbs.). Females are larger than males by up to 50%; the leopard seal is sexually dimorphic. The Taronga Zoo was once home to the world's only leopard seals living in a zoo in the 21st century (a few had been kept in captivity before elsewhere but was rare occurrence).
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Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina), It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest extant marine mammal that is not a cetacean. A bull southern elephant seal is about 40% heavier than a male Northern Elephant Seal. This species may also exhibit the greatest sexual dimorphism of any mammal in terms of mass ratio, with males typically five to six times heavier than females. On average female southern elephant seals weigh 350 to 900 kg (770 to 1,980 lb) and measure 2.6 to 3 m (8.5 to 9.8 ft) long, whereas bulls can range from 1,500 to 3,700 kg (3,300 to 8,200 lb) and grow to 4.2 to 5.8 m (14 to 19 ft) in length.
ation).
It is mainly found in South Georgia, Falkland Islands, Valdes Peninsula in Argentina (the only continental breeding population), Kerguelen Islands Crozet Islands, Marion and Prince Edward Islands, Heard Island, Amsterdam Island, and Macquarie Island. It does sometimes appear in Antarctica.
7:
Southern Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri), One of two species of ground hornbill, both of which are found solely within Africa, and is the largest species in the hornbill order worldwide. It can be found from northern Namibia and Angola to northern South Africa and southern Zimbabwe to Burundi and Kenya. They require a savanna habitat with large trees for nesting and dense but short grass for foraging. They forage on the ground, where they feed on reptiles, frogs, snails, insects and mammals up to the size of hares.
In captivity, a maximum lifespan of 70 years is recorded, and it is generally believed that the life expectancy of a bird that survives long enough to fledge is as high as thirty years or more. After a 40 to 45-day incubation period and an 85-day fledging period, the young remain dependent on their parents and helpers for between one and two years depending on climatic conditions, longer than any other bird. This means that ground hornbills can normally breed successfully only every third year. Triennial breeding is rare in birds. This is a large bird, growing between 90 to 129 cm (2 ft 11 in to 4 ft 3 in) long. Females weigh 2.2 to 4.6 kilograms (4.9 to 10.1 lb), while the larger males weigh 3.5 to 6.2 kilograms (7.7 to 13.7 lb). The average weight of eight females was 3.34 kg (7.4 lb) whilst that of eight males was 4.2 kg (9.3 lb); thus they average around 35% percent heavier than any Asian hornbill species. Wingspan is from 1.2 to 1.8 m (3 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in). The wing chord is 49.5 to 61.8 cm (19.5 to 24.3 in), the tail from 29 to 36 cm (11 to 14 in), the tarsus from 13 to 15.5 cm (5.1 to 6.1 in) and the culmen from 16.8 to 22.1 cm (6.6 to 8.7 in).
8:
Western Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome), A species of rockhopper penguin that inhabits the subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as around the southern coasts of South America. This is the smallest yellow-crested, black-and-white penguin in the genus Eudyptes. It reaches a length of 45–58 cm (18–23 in) and typically weighs 2–3.4 kg (4.4–7.5 lbs.); although there are records of exceptionally large rockhoppers weighing 4.5 kg (9.9 lbs.).
These penguins feed on krill, squid, octopus, lantern fish, mollusks, plankton, cuttlefish, and mainly crustaceans. The western rockhopper penguin has a global population of roughly 1 million pairs. A rockhopper penguin in Bergen Aquarium in Norway lived to 29 years 4 months. This stands as the age record for rockhopper penguins, and possibly it was the oldest penguin known. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek eu meaning "fine" with dyptes meaning "diver". The specific epithet chrysocome is from the Ancient Greek khrusokomos meaning "golden-haired" (from khrusos meaning "gold" and komē meaning "hair").
Source:
https://www.calgaryzoo.com/plan-your-visit/animal-zones/penguin-plunge/rockhopper-penguins/
9:
Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus), It is one of the largest salamanders and one of the largest amphibians in the world. It is fully aquatic, and is endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in the Yangtze river basin of central China. It has also been introduced to Kyoto Prefecture in Japan, and possibly to Taiwan. It is considered critically endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, pollution, and overcollection, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Chinese giant salamander is considered to be a "living fossil".
The average adult salamander weighs 25–30 kg (55–66 lb) and is 1.15 m (3.8 ft) in length. It can reach up to 50 kg (110 lb) in weight and 1.8 m (5.9 ft) in length, making it the second-largest amphibian species. The Chinese giant salamander has been recorded feeding on insects, millipedes, horsehair worms, amphibians (both frogs and salamanders), freshwater crabs, shrimp, fish (such as Saurogobio and Cobitis ), and Asiatic water shrew. It is known to be cannibalistic. It has very poor eyesight, so it depends on special sensory nodes that run in a line on the body from head to tail. It is capable of sensing the slightest vibrations around it with the help of these nodes. The maximum age reached by Chinese giant salamanders is unknown, but it is at least 60 years based on captive individuals. Undocumented claims have been made of 200-year-old Chinese giant salamanders, but these are considered unreliable.
10:
Weka (Gallirallus australis), A flightless bird species of the rail family that is endemic to New Zealand. Some researchers believe it as the only extant member of the genus Gallirallus. Males are the larger sex growing between 50–60 cm (20–24 in) in length and weighing between 532–1,605 g (1.173–3.538 lbs.). Females grow between 46–50 cm (18–20 in) in length and weigh between 350–1,035 g (0.772–2.282 lb). The reduced wingspan ranges from 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24 in). They're classified as a vulnerable species.
I'll list my top ten exhibit species below.
1:
Hercules Beetle, (Dynastes hercules), A species of rhinoceros beetle native to the rainforests of southern Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and the Lesser Antilles. It is the longest extant species of beetle in the world, and is also one of the largest flying insects in the world. Adult body sizes (not including the thoracic horn) vary between 50 and 85 mm (2.0 and 3.3 in) in length and 29 and 42 mm (1.1 and 1.7 in) in width. Male Hercules beetles may reach up to 173 mm (7 in) in length (including the horn), making them the longest species of beetle in the world, if jaws and/or horns are included in the measurement.
It is found in southern Mexico to Bolivia in mountainous and lowland rain forests. The larvae of the Hercules beetle are saproxylophagous, meaning that they feed on rotting wood; they reside in same during their two-year developmental stage. The adult Hercules beetle feeds on fresh and rotting fruit, along with tree sap. Within their native rain forest habitats, the adult beetles, which are nocturnal, forage for fruit at night and hide or burrow within the leaf litter during the day. The adult D. hercules beetles are capable of creating a 'huffing' sound, generated by stridulating their abdomen against their elytra to serve as a warning to predators. The Hercules beetle is known to be capable of carrying things up to 850 times its own body mass.
Source:
https://www.livescience.com/animals...itan-insect-with-giant-horns-for-love-and-war
2:
Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), A species of reptile endemic to New Zealand. Despite its close resemblance to lizards, it is actually the only extant member of a distinct lineage, the previously highly diverse order Rhynchocephalia. It can measure up to 80 cm (31 in) from head to tail-tip and weigh up to 1.3 kg (2.9 lb)[10] with a spiny crest along the back, especially pronounced in males. They have two rows of teeth in the upper jaw overlapping one row on the lower jaw, which is unique among living species. They are able to hear, although no external ear is present, and have unique features in their skeleton.
Tuatara are the largest reptiles in New Zealand. Adult S. punctatus males can grow between 61 and 80 cm (24 and 31 in) in length and females 45 cm (18 in). Tuatara are sexually dimorphic, males being larger. Males weigh up to 1 kg (2.2 lb), and females up to 0.5 kg (1.1 lb). Brothers Island tuatara are slightly smaller, weighing up to 660 g (1.3 lb). The species has between five and six billion base pairs of DNA sequence, nearly twice that of humans. Tuataras predominantly prey, including beetles, crickets, spiders, wētās, earthworms, and snails.[82] Their diets also consist of frogs, lizards, and bird's eggs and chicks. Young tuatara are also occasionally cannibalised. The diet of the tuatara varies seasonally, and they consume mainly fairy prions and their eggs in the summer. In total darkness no feeding attempt was observed,[84] and the lowest light intensity at which an attempt to snatch a beetle was observed occurred under 0.0125 lux.
Tuatara are threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators. The name tuatara is derived from the Māori language and means "peaks on the back".
3:
Fea's viper (Azemiops feae) They are commonly known as Fea's vipers. Formerly considered to be one of the most primitive vipers, molecular studies have shown that it is the sister taxon to the pit vipers, Crotalinae. It is found in the mountains of Southeast Asia, in China, southeastern Tibet, southeast Myanmar, and Vietnam. It can grow between 72 and 78 cm (6 and 6.5 feet). Unlike most vipers, Fea's viper is oviparous and hibernates during the winter.
It is mainly found in mountainous regions at altitudes up to 1000 meters. They prefer cooler climates, with a typical temperature of 20-25 °C. Sometimes, they are found on roadsides, in straw and grass, in rice fields, and even in and around homes. In Vietnam, their preferred habitat is described as forests of bamboo and tree ferns, with clearings, where the forest floor is covered with rotting vegetation, with numerous rock outcroppings and many open and subterranean streams. The species is crepuscular, and prefers very moist environments for shelter.
Source:
https://www.dovemed.com/healthy-living/first-aid/first-aid-feas-viper-snake-bite
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Southern American Bushmaster (Lachesis muta), a pit viper species that is found in South America in the equatorial forests east of the Andes, and the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. Adults grow to an average of 2 to 2.5 m (6½-8 feet), although 3 m (10 feet) is not too unusual. The largest recorded specimen was 3.65 m (almost 12 feet) long, making the species the longest of all vipers and the longest venomous snake in the Western Hemisphere. Lachesis muta is the third longest venomous snake in the world. Bushmasters prey primarily on rats and mice, but birds and reptiles may occasionally be eaten. Spiny rats are favored prey items in Costa Rica. Rice rats and agoutis are other favored prey. Other prey items include porcupines, squirrels, opossums, squirrel monkeys, and frogs.
The Genus name is referring to Lachesis, one of the three Fates in Greek mythology and was supposed to assign to man his term of life—something this species is certainly capable of doing. The species is similar in appearance to rattlesnakes and vibrates its tail vigorously when alarmed, but has no rattle and was therefore given the species name mutus (later muta), which is Latin for "dumb" or "mute". However, when in the undergrowth, the tail actually makes quite a loud rustling noise.
4:
Blue-Winged Helicopter (Megaloprepus caerulatus), A forest giant damselfly of the family Coenagrionidae. Forest giant damselflies were previously recognized as their own family, Pseudostigmatidae. M. caerulatus is found in wet and moist forests in Central and South America. It has the greatest wingspan of any living damselfly or dragonfly, up to 19 centimetres (7.5 in) in the largest males. As an adult it feeds on orb-weaver spiders in the forest understory, which it plucks from their webs. It lays its eggs in water-filled holes in trees. The naiad is a top predator in its tree-hole habitat, feeding on tadpoles and aquatic insects, including the larvae of mosquito species that are vectors of human disease.
It is one of the few species in order Odonata in which males are larger than females,[11] with abdomens up to 10 cm (4 in.) long and wingspans of up to 19 cm (7.5 in.)[12]—the greatest wingspan of all odonates. The insect's size varies depending on its geographical location. Adult lifespans as long as 7 months have been recorded.
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Giant Petaltail (Petalura ingentissima), A large heavily built dragonfly species found in Queensland, Australia. The female's wingspan can be 158–162 mm and body length 125 mm, the largest dragonfly species in overall dimensions. The larvae are unusual in that they live in burrows located along river margins and hunt passing prey. Its species name is derived from the Latin adjective ingens "huge".
5:
King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), A species of King Cobra endemic to Asia. With an average of 3.18 to 4 m (10.4 to 13.1 ft) and a record length of 5.85 m (19.2 ft), it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. The king cobra is sexually dimorphic, with males being larger and paler in particular during the breeding season. Under the genus Ophiophagus, it is not phylogenetically a true cobra despite its common name and some resemblance. Spanning from the Indian Subcontinent through Southeastern Asia to Southern China, the king cobra is widely distributed albeit not commonly seen. It primarily hunts other snakes, including those of its own kind, although other lizards and rodents are occasional prey items.
This is the only ophidian that constructs an above-ground nest for its eggs, which are purposefully and meticulously gathered and protected by the female throughout the incubation period. The average lifespan of a wild king cobra is about 20 years. The genus name Ophiophagus is derived from its propensity to eat snakes. The species name may be referring to Hannah Sarah Wallich, the eldest daughter of Theodore Edward Cantor's uncle, botanist Nathaniel Wallich, who hosted Cantor during his studies in India where he described the Cobras.
6:
Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), A large species of turtle in the family Chelydridae. They are the largest freshwater turtle in North America. The species is endemic to freshwater habitats in the United States. It is found from the Florida Panhandle west to East Texas, north to southeastern Kansas, Missouri, southeastern Iowa, western Illinois, southern Indiana, west Michigan western Kentucky, Louisiana, and western Tennessee. M. temminckii is one of the heaviest living freshwater turtles in the world.
The alligator snapping turtle is an opportunistic feeder that is almost entirely carnivorous. It relies on both catching live food and scavenging dead organisms. In general, it will eat almost anything it can catch. Its natural diet consists primarily of fish and fish carcasses, mollusks, carrion, and amphibians, but it is also known to eat snakes, snails, worms and other invertebrates, crayfish, insects, water birds, aquatic plants, aquatic rodents, including nutrias and muskrats, squirrels, mice, opossums, raccoons, armadillos, other turtles and sometimes even small alligators. Though its potential lifespan in the wild is unknown, the alligator snapping turtle is believed to be capable of living to 200 years of age, but 80 to 120 is more likely. In captivity, it typically lives between 20 and 70 years. The specific epithet temminckii is in honor of Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck.
7:
Magellan's Tree Iguana (Liolaemus magellanicus), A species of lizard in the family Liolaemidae. The species is found in Patagonia and Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in Chile and Argentina. It is notable for being the southernmost lizard species in the world. Liolaemus magellanicus may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 6.2 cm (2.4 in), with a tail length about equal to the SVL. It preys predominately upon insects, but also eats plant material. The preferred natural habitat of Liolaemus magellanicus is areas of low vegetation such as grassland and shrubland, at elevations from sea level to 1,100 m (3,600 ft). The specific name, magellanicus, refers to the Straits of Magellan.
8:
Boomslang (Dispholidus typus), A highly venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The average adult boomslang is 100–160 centimetres (3.3–5.2 ft) in total length (including tail). Some exceed 183 centimetres (6.00 ft). It can weigh between 175 to 510 g (0.386 to 1.124 lb). It is diurnal and almost exclusively arboreal. It is reclusive, and moves from branch to branch when pursued by anything too large to eat. Its diet includes chameleons and other arboreal lizards, frogs, and occasionally small mammals, birds, and eggs from nesting birds and reptiles, all of which it swallows whole. The boomslang will also feed on other snakes, including cannibalising members of its own species.
The boomslang is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa, from The Gambia, Guinea, Senegal, and most of Western Africa, including Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, through Central and Eastern Africa, including Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda. It is found across much of Southern Africa, in a wide array of habitats, with some of the species' densest populations being in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its common name means "tree snake" in Dutch and Afrikaans – boom meaning "tree", and slang meaning "snake". In Afrikaans, the name is pronounced [ˈbuəmslaŋ].
9:
Western Parotia (Parotia sefilata), A medium-sized bird-of-paradise with a medium-length tail. It grows to be around 33 centimeters (12.9 inches) long. It mainly feeds on fruits such as figs, and arthropods. The species is polygynous. Males presumably perform a series of courtship displays likely on terrestrial courts in exploded leks.
The western parotia is found only in the mountain forests of Vogelkop and the Wandammen Peninsula of Western New Guinea.
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Vogelkop Lophorina (Lophorina superba), A species of passerine bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae. It is distributed throughout the rainforests of New Guinea. It inhabits most commonly in rain forests or forest edges of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. They can also be found inhabiting mountainous habitats of the forests in New Guinea. It grows to be approximately 26 cm (about 10 inches) long.
The Vogelkop lophorina has not only been known to eat fruits and insects, but also has been spotted preying on larger animals such as frogs, reptiles, and other small birds. They can sometimes be seen foraging for food on the grounds of the forest for insects. Males are considered to be territorial, as they defend land as small as 1.2 ha. Within that land, they forage for fruits and insects. Despite being heavily hunted for its plumes it is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Source:
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558518-Lophorina-niedda
10:
Golden Bowerbird (Prionodura newtoniana), A species of passerine bird in the bowerbird family Ptilonorhynchidae. It is endemic to Queensland in Australia, where it is limited to the Atherton region. It lives in rainforests above 350 meters (1,100 ft) in elevation, including some habitat that has been disturbed by human activities such as logging. Traditional bowerbird habitats include mild slopes, ridges immediately surrounding hill crests, and below steeper slopes where terrain levels off; none on hilltops or in disturbed forest. This is the smallest species of bowerbird.
It feeds on fruits, especially those from vines, flowers, buds, and arthropods. The golden bowerbird's population has decreased 20–29% recently due to the effects of cyclones that moved through their habitat, which destroyed many nesting areas. These cyclones and climate change continue to threaten the golden bowerbird's population, including heat waves that have resulted in lower resources for the birds. The genus name combined the Ancient Greek πριονωδης/prionōdēs meaning "serrated" with ουρα/oura meaning "tail". The specific epithet newtoniana was chosen to honour the English ornithologist Alfred Newton.
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Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), A large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mostly on the tundra. It has a number of unique adaptations to its habitat and lifestyle, which are quite distinct from other extant owls. One of the largest species of owl, it is the only owl with mainly white plumage. They often hunt northerly lemmings; although sometimes other similar rodents, like voles and mice, birds, including passerines, northern seabirds, ptarmigan and ducks, and fish are hunted as well. It also takes carrion outside the breeding season. All told, more than 200 prey species have been known to be taken by snowy owls around the world. Most owls sleep during the day and hunt at night, but the snowy owl is often active during the day, especially in the summertime.
Male snowy owls have been known to measure from 52.5 to 64 cm (20.7 to 25.2 in) in total length. In wingspan, males may range from 116 to 165.6 cm (3 ft 10 in to 5 ft 5 in). In females, total length has been known to range from 54 to 71 cm (21 to 28 in). Female wingspans have reportedly measured from 146 to 183 cm (4 ft 9 in to 6 ft 0 in). Body mass in males can average from 1,465 to 1,808.3 g (3.230 to 3.987 lbs.), and a full weight range of 1,300 to 2,500 g (2.9 to 5.5 lbs.). Body mass in females can average from 1,706.7 to 2,426 g (3.763 to 5.348 lbs.), and a full weight range of 1,330 to 2,951 g (2.932 to 6.506 lbs.).
