example organisms

1. By Mason Gaddis

2.  The cobalt blue tarantula
is a medium size
tarantula with a leg span
of approximately 13 cm.
It is noted for its
iridescent blue legs and
light gray thorax.
 It inhabits the tropical
rain forests of southeast
Asia. Here they construct
deep burrows, and
generally only leave
them to find food.

3.  The blue-ringed octopus is an
octopus species that lives in
tide pools in the Pacific
Ocean, from Japan to
Australia.
 They are currently recognized
as one of the world's most
venomous marine animals.
 Despite their small size and
relatively docile nature, they
can prove a danger to humans.
 They can be recognized by
their characteristic blue and
black rings and yellowish
skin.

4.  Striking yellow, with
aggregated black spots and
white spiracles surrounded by
black.
 Transformation of the larva
into the adult begins with the
attachment of strong, silken
threads onto adjacent leaves.
Over a couple of days, bodily
contractions and fluid
secretions progress to
complete pupation.
 Some seventeen days later,
the moth emerges on the
afternoon, with its heavy, stout,
bright-yellow body and royal-
blue wings with numerous
translucent windows.

5.  Gets its name because
they appear in both rural
and urban areas around
Christmas in Australia.
 Christmas Beetle females
lay eggs in soil in the
spring and early
summer. The Larvae live
in the soil, and feed on
decaying organic matter
or roots. Adult beetles
emerge during the early
to mid summer period
from soil.

6.  Blue Tiger Butterflies
have pale blue patterns
with a black background
on their wings.
 The Blue Tiger
Caterpillar feeds on
several different vines.
Their pupa is fresh green
and shiny with some
golden spots.
 You can tell the age of a
butterfly by its wing
edges and color. If they
are faded, then it is older.

7.  Sponges are colonies of
thousands of individual
cells. The cells work
together, pumping water
through the body of the
sponge.
 The tall tube is in the shape
of a "chimney." This
chimney is an exhaust tube,
where the water pumped
by the sponge comes out.
 The sponge eats the
plankton it filters out of the
water as the water is
pumped through the body
of the sponge.

8.  Nematocysts (stinging
cells) found in the
tentacles assist the
anemone to catch and
paralyze prey.
 After feeding and
digestion is complete,
the anemone excretes its
waste back through the
mouth opening.
 It feeds on sea urchins,
small fish, and crabs, but
detached mussels are the
main food source.

9.  The largest recorded
specimen found, had a bell
(body) with a diameter of 7
feet 6 inches and tentacles
120 feet long.
 They remain mostly very near
the surface, their slow
pulsations weakly driving
them forwards; they depend
on ocean currents whereby
the jellies travel great
distances.
 The jellyfish are most often
spotted during the late
summer and autumn, when
they have grown to a large
size and the currents begin to
sweep them closer to shore.

10.  They have five short
arms and thousands of
small sucker feet on
their underside.
 When hungry, the
cushion starfish pushes
its stomach out of its
body through its mouth
to surround food.
 They are scavengers
that feed on dead
plants and animals.

11.  It has the largest leg
span of any arthropod,
reaching up to 12 ft.
and weighing up to 41
pounds.
 They are mostly found
off the southern coasts
of the Japanese island
of Honshū.
 It feeds on shellfish
and animal carcasses
and may live for up to
100 years.

12.  Praying mantis are highly
predacious and feed on a
variety of insects,
including moths,
crickets, grasshoppers
and flies. They lie in wait
with the front legs in an
upraised position. They
also will eat each other.
 The Praying mantis is
often protectively
colored to the plants they
live on, camouflaging
them from predators.

13.  They have no body cavity,
and no specialized
circulatory and respiratory
organs, which restricts
them to flattened shapes
that allow oxygen and
nutrients to pass through
their bodies by diffusion.
 Most are predators or
scavengers, and terrestrial
species are mostly
nocturnal and live in
shaded humid locations
such as leaf litter or rotting
wood.

14.  Tapeworms have no
mouths or guts, and
the syncytial skin
absorbs nutrients –
mainly carbohydrates
and amino acids –
from the host, and
also disguises it
chemically to avoid
attacks by the host's
immune system.

15.  The majority of leeches
live in freshwater
environments, while
some species can be
found in terrestrial and
marine environments.
 Most leeches are
hematophagous, which
means they are
predominantly blood
suckers that feed on
blood from vertebrate
and invertebrate
animals.