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this is a chimaera shark or a cartilaginous fish but better known as a ghost shark, chimaera shark have a single external gill opening, covered by a flap as in bony fishes, on each side of the body. these sharks eat crabs, molluscs, octopuses, marine worms, and sea urchins. they have 3 rows of teeth and to catch there prey in the dark they use electroreception.

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The Alaskan Wood Frog freezes up to 60 percent of their bodies solid, they stop breathing and their heart stops beating, allowing them to survive temperatures as low as -80 degrees Fahrenheit. To do this they build up high concentrations of glucose which can be up to 10 times the normal amount in their organs and tissues. The sugar solutes act as cryoprotectants, preventing their cells from shrinking or dying.

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The PANDERCETES GRACILIS is a really cool species of spider found in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, Sulawesi, and in Queensland, Australia. They are able to change their color and texture based on their molt. This means that there is a vast variety of colors shaped and looks available to them. They also are a pouncing predator, meaning instead of using a web like most spiders, they wait for their prey to walk in front of them and then pounce. They also got a cool adaptation allowing them to have 360 vision. They have four forward facing eyes, two on top, and two rear-facing eyes. They have a 15mm body size which is only about .6 inches and a leg span of 50mm which is about 2 inches total. Not a massive spider but definitely a very interesting one.

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The dumbo octopus

The dumbo octopus or “Grimpoteuthis spp” is a rare species of octopus which resides  among depths of at least 13,100 feet under the “open ocean”. As the dumbo octopus lives quite deep under the open ocean they have adapted to their habitat over time. The dumbo octopus have traits as varied as simple as having the ability to live close to freezing water as well as being able to find their way through very dim light to a complete absence of any light. Additionally, as they are so rare, their mating habits have had to adapt through time to even continue to have the dumbo octopus continue to be a species. To illustrate, “Females apparently always carry eggs in different stages of development, and they are able to store sperm for long periods of time…. female dumbo octopuses can transfer sperm to their most developed eggs any time the environmental conditions are right for reproducing” (oceana.org). They do not have some of the same characteristics as other octopuses because of the entirely different conditions that they reside day to day.

Other fun facts that they have adapted to because of where they reside (in the deep open ocean)

No ink sacs because they have no need to distract from predators as they naturally have not many because of where they reside.

Uses their ears to flap throughout the ocean (as a fins of sort)

Approximately eight inches tall

Phylum Mollusca

Class Cephalopoda

Order Octopoda

Eight tentacles (similarly to any other octopuses)

Do not contain have the spines

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The marmalade hoverfly has a distinctive black and yellow pattern on its wings and a pair of them, their pattern is used to mimic bees because the hoverfly itself poses no threat. Mimicking bees sends a message to predators that they aren't to be messed with.

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The Red-lipped batfish lives far underwater to the point that is does not have any known predators, but because of this it has developed these bright red lips so it can be able to find others of its kind easier when it comes to matting. It is even said that them exposing their lips causes sexual tension within the species itself.

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Komondor Breed: Characteristics, Care & Photos | BeChew 

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This is a Komondor Dog this a loving family dog who likes to keep its human "charges" in sight at all times, often following them from room to room. The Komondor is usually good with the children in the family and is adaptable to other pets. The Komondor is a large, white-coloured Hungarian breed of livestock guardian dog with a long, corded coat. When Komondor puppies are born they are not born with dreads, they have a short, white coat that gradually forms into fluffy curls and as the dog grows so do the curls. At around one years old the curls form into matted patches and that is when human intervention is needed to separate into individual cords

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The Peacock Mantis shrimp commonly found in tropical waters between the Pacific Oceans between Africa and Hawaii has two club like appendages on the front that have the ability to accelerate forward and hit their prey with a force equivalent to a .22 caliber bullet. The force of this is able to easily crack open crab and clam shells as well as stun fish making it easier to eat them. The force of these clubs also comes with a second shock wave which usually deals the killing blow, this second shock wave is caused by sonoluminescence which is an air cavity inside the water which rapidly expands and contracts and bursts with a small flash of light, the internal temperature of this bubble is approximately the same as the temperatures of the sun. The Mantis Shrimp also has impeccable eyesight, being able to see up to 12 color channels and as well as being able to detect UV light as well as polarized light gives this creature a big advantage when it comes to looking and catching prey. The clubs they have also provide an advantage with catching prey as well as being able to crack open shells of crustaceans with ease. These two features make the mantis shrimp an excellent predator and give it the best "fit" for its environment on the sea floor which usually consists of crabs, clams, and other crustaceans.

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The Common Cuttlefish which is known scientifically as Sepia Officinalis and belongs to a class known as Cephalopoda which includes other ocean creatures such as squid and octopus. It is native to the Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea and some have been found off the coast of South Africa. Their environments tend to consist mostly of sand and mud seabeds on the ocean floors. The cuttlefish is a predator lurking in the sand it hides in on the bottom of the ocean and has developed a perfect adaptation to avoid detection from both predators and its prey. The cuttlefish can change the color and texture of its body in order to camouflage with its soundings. It does this by detecting the amount of light is in the environment and then copies it in their own skin. Their skin can also be manipulated to mimic patterns and textures. In their skin they have papillae which also make them appear and feel rigid like coral and other sea rocks in their environment. This unique adaptation allows them to hunt without detection from their prey and escape the view of predators that might want to snack on them. This makes it a perfect organism for the ocean bottom it calls home.

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Kangaroo rats can be found in desert flatlands, often in the western North American regions. Which is a perfect environment for their ability to adapt to a dry and coarse landscape. This species is able to survive without the need of water. Instead, they have mastered the balance between the need and loss of this resource. Their main consumption is seeds, often mesquite beans and grass seeds. However, on occasion, they have eaten small insects. The kangaroo rat is able to extract water from the seeds they consume. As their kidneys will excrete their urine into a crystalized form.

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Himantolophus groenlandicus, also known as football fish, is a deep sea fish with a mouth that is bigger than its body. But it does not have a big mouth. Instead, it has a regular size of mouth, but its body is too small because Football fish lives in a lightless sea at a depth of more than 800m where fewer energy source like food or light is available. So they don’t move to hunt. Naturally, muscles needed for hunting have deteriorated, and unnecessary parts have become smaller. Instead of wandering around to hunt, it stays still and lures prey. To lure prey, they have a unique feature of generating light from the tip of their tentacles that looks and acts similar to a fishing lure, using symbiotic bacteria. Football fish also uses illuminant to identify each other and identify where their partner is, even from far away.

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Kamllima inachus is a type of butterly that looks like a deadleaf when they put their wings together. This allows them to blend in with their enviornment and hide from their predators, such as: birds, ants, spiders, and wasps.

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The Glass Frog has a translucent body, which extends all the way to the frogs sides and parts of its back. This is a type of camouflage, where the edges of the frog blend with the relative brightness or darkness of its surroundings and increase the likelihood of survival.

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The Satanic Leaf-tailed gecko is a small species that can only be found in Madagascar. They can occur in many different colors like purple, orange, tan, and yellow. They have a tail with a leaf like appearance in order to stay hidden from predators and to stay hidden when they are catching their prey. Some of these geckos even have notches in their tails to further mimic a decaying leaf. The color and style of this gecko helps it blend into it's surroundings during the day and stay hidden at night.

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Naked mole-rats are one of the only true eusocial mammals, meaning they live in large colonies with just one breeding female, called the queen. The queen is the only mole-rat to produce offspring, and a single litter averages 12 to 28 pups. They can move both of their front teeth like a pair of chopsticks. They also don't drink water. At birth a naked mole-rat weighs less than a puppy.

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Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (also known as the “zombie ant fungus”) has a special feature that allows it to infect and manipulate ants to achieve its goal of reproduction. It infects ants so that it can further spread itself by way of the ants motor skills. When the ant dies the fungus sprouts from it's body.

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Annam walking stick is an insect that uses camouflage as a way of avoiding predators by staying still or when needing to move walking in a swaying motion, pretending to be a twig caught by the wind. This is only one variations of similar insects with similar defense mechanisms that similarly display a appearance to camouflaging with their direct environment

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The blobfish is a deep-sea fish that lives off the coasts of Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. Its body largely consists of a gelatinous mass that is slightly less dense than water. It has little muscle mass and mostly eats whatever is in front of it. In an environment with plenty of food for the blobfish, it likely has to spend little energy obtaining food with its odd adaptions.

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The Glass Frog has evolved to have transparent skill. These bright green frogs like to perch on leaves high in the rainforest. While the green of their top half helps with camouflage, their transparent legs are made to confuse predators flying above. Their silhouette is muddled because it looks like they are a small blob.

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This is a tubeworm. Scientists discovered that these tube worms take toxic hydrogen sulfide from the water, which would usually kill any other animal, and use it as an energy source to produce carbohydrates.

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This is a Tardigrade. they can survive insane environmental extremes, they cant die in space and can conserve water and sugars by using an ability called "tun". The Tardigrades small plump like body and multiple arms with claws add to its extreme versatility when it comes to all environments. they can reproduce sexually and asexually which makes it incredibly easy for them to reproduce. and they consume algae. ultimately this organism is most impressive to its near immortal like survivability.

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This rare species of amphibian is often mistaken as a male phallus. However, it is actually a type of caecilian which was found by engineers who were working on a dam in the Amazon. They're slimy and dark which makes it easy for them to hide underground for most of their lives and hide from predators.

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Tardigrades (water bears) can survive very insane environmental extremes. They're found pretty much everywhere... yes, everywhere. They can survive, shortly, in space. And they don't die due to the extremely cold temperatures, they simply run out of water and sugar in their bodies. They have a remarkable ability to curl up into a ball (called a tun) and conserve water and sugars that way. They can reproduce asexually and sexually, making it really easy for them to reproduce. And they like plants (mostly algae). Their high survivability and adaptability makes them a very interesting species in my opinion.

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Tree Kangaroos spend their days in the rainforests of New Guinea. They have adapted to trees as shorter legs and stronger forelimbs for climbing.  Tree Kangaroos are in the threatened category as they are often hunted illegally. The animal is a marsupial of the Genus Dendrolagus. The Tree Kangaroo gives the look of a cross between a Lemur and Kangaroo.

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Spider monkeys are known for their disproportionally long limbs. Most monkeys use their arms for balance when walking upright but because spider monkeys arms drag on the ground they use their tail for balance and also serves as a 5th limb.

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Arctic cod are a species of cod that live in the arctic. They, and the Antarctic Nototheniods, have antifreeze glycoproteins that help them combat the extreme cold they lie in. I think that this special feature helps them be a better fit for the environment because it means they won't freeze in the cold waters they live in.

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The axolotl, which evolved from the tiger salamander, are cute amphibians that you can find in lakes and canals in Mexico City. They can grow up to a foot long. What’s interesting about them is that they, unlike other amphibians, still remain mostly in water during their adult life. They feed on worms, larvae, small crustaceans, and fish, and since those are mostly found in water, axolotls make a great fit in water.

What’s extremely interesting about these guys is that they can regrow their body parts, including their hearts and brains, and can even accept limbs and organs from other axolotls as well, without rejecting them.

Axolotls tend to do well in captivity, but they are still endangered, unfortunately.

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The long-eared Hedgehog is a species of hedge hog that lives in central Asia countries as well as some middle eastern countries. Its distinguishable from other hedge hogs by its noticeably long ears. This guy feeds primarily on insects, as well as sometimes eating little snails. they have superb hearing and sense of smell allowing the to hunt easily. for protection they have a bag like structure that they can tuck into and erect their spines when threatened. however compared to other hedge hogs, this long eared one is more likley to run away from threats than ball up because it is much master than the western hedge hog.

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This type of racoon is native to East Asia and Vietnam and is actually has closer relations to the true fox than the racoon. They have extra long legs as its special feature. My assumption is that this feature allowed them to run faster while escape prey and through natural selection, more and more long legged racoons bred together. And no here you have the final product; a Racoon Dog!

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Contrary to common belief, the Blobfish isn’t actually an ugly creature, as pictured in it’s natural habitat of 2,000-3,900 feet down in the sea. The common pictures one would find of the Blobfish is actually due to the decompression damage to their bodies when taken out of their habitat. They are mostly gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water, floating above the sea floor, and sucks in prey into it’s mouth that swims/floats in it’s direction. The Blobfish usually eats microscopic bacteria and some seas creatures like urchins, shellfish, mollusks, etc.
To live in pressures so deep, pressures that would crush an average human’s organs, the Blobfish has evolved to have more gelatinous flesh and fine soft bones, which helps to float above the sea floor without having to use too much energy. In fact, the Blobfish doesn’t actually have a swim bladder, as most deep sea fish don’t either, as it wouldn’t be able to sustain the pressures of the deep waters.

More on the Blobfish here: https://factanimal.com/blobfish/

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Kingsnakes are a non-venomous North American carnivorous species known as the king of snakes because their main source of food is other snakes! Because of their choice of feast, king snakes have become completely immune to other snakes venom. It can eat full sized incredibly venomous snakes in one sitting. This allows an evening out of populations in small habitats because the Kingsnake will eat prey that most other species is unable to eat.  This snake lives up to 15 years and can grow 30-60 inches long. They also release a musky odor to protect themselves from other predators. Their population exceeds 100,000 mature adults and they can lay 3-29 eggs per reproduction cycle.

More King Snake Information

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Standing in at about 4 and half feet with a wing span of 7 to 8 feet Shoebills are an amazing, beautiful and interesting bird. With there huge bill and webbed like feet Shoebills are part of the  Pelecaniformes family of birds.

They evolved their big body and bill to prey on large freshwater fish like the lungfish in central Africa's swamps and low oxygenated marshes. Due to the low oxygenated waters fish in these bodies of water have to surface frequently for air so the Shoebills evolved to capture them with with their big bills and powerful strikes.

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The blue ringed octopus has blue rings all over its body which contains saliva, and in the saliva has very dangerous toxins. So dangerous in fact that about 1 milligram of its toxin can kill a full grown adult human. This helps the octopus with it killing its prey which paralyzes the prey the octopus can eat it. This gives the blue ringed octopus a good advantage because the octopus is pretty small and is very dangerous.

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Red Pandas are unique and have many features that help them to adapt to their environment. Their red colored coats and white face markings provide camouflage in red-brown moss and white lichen of trees.  One feature that is cool is that they have extremely flexible ankles that allow them to rotate about its axis. They even have a thumb-like wrist bone that helps them to have extra grip when climbing trees.

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Cuttlefish can change their color and texture to blend into their surroundings such as coral. They shift their texture to look rigid like the coral in their background. This feature helps them hide away from predators but also sneak up on their prey.

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Capybaras are not only marine but also land mammals. They behave like rodents but are larger like a small dog and have even been know to sleep in the water. This gives them the advantage in two separate biomes in order to escape predators.

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Kangaroo rats can survive in the desert without ever needing to take a sip of water. This is due to the fact that they get all of their moisture substance from the seeds that they consume. Kangaroo rats have really good hearing and they can jump up to 9ft in the air, which helps them avoid predators.

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The female peacock, correctly referred to as a peahen, picks a mate based on the extremity of the color in their feathers. Brighter feathers mean that a male will mate more often, producing more offspring and growing the peacock population. That's why males are often very colorful now, because the colorful males are picked by peahens.

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The Gentoo penguin lives on the Antarctic Peninsula. They are really fast swimmers. They can swim up to 22 mph in the water. They have adapted to swimming fast because of the many ecological challenges they face. These include limited food and threats from leopard seals, sea lions, and orcas. Penguins are actually one of the most streamlined animals in the world. At only seven inches wide, penguins are tapered at both ends allowing them to glide through the water at such speeds. Without this ability, penguins wouldn't survive the harsh environments you find them in.

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The Horseshoe Crab is one of the oldest species on the planet. Fossils of the Horseshoe Crab date back to about 445 million years ago. These arachnids (not crabs!) have been able to survive so long, with little evolutionary changes, due to their unique characteristics. They have a hard shell that covers their full body protecting them from predators. They have ten eyes on their tail, top of shell, and near their mouth (bottom of shell). This allows them to easily find mates, see predators, find food, and see upside down. Horseshoe Crabs also have the ability to swim with their gills while also having legs for movement. These attributes are perfect for a creature to survive in many different conditions as this organism clearly demonstrates.

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The Tapir, found inhabiting wooded areas of South America, Central America and Southeast Asia. They are in danger of extinction, but are herbivores. It coloring allows for it to blend well with its forest environment. This allows for when feeding, to be able to not be super noticed and to escape by blending somewhat with its surroundings.

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To survive the winter, up to 60 percent of Alaskan Wood Frogs' bodies freeze solid. They also stop breathing and their heart stops beating. This allows them to survive temperatures as low as -80 degrees Fahrenheit. And in spring, they thaw out and "come back to life."

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This animal is the Kangaroo Rat; it lives in the western and southwestern United States regions. This species is notable because it adapted to the very dry environment of the desert by never drinking water, which usually provides moisture to the species. Still, the kangaroo rat gets the moisture from the seeds they eat instead of relying on water sources that are extremely hard to find. I think this adaptation is a better fit for its environment because since they hardly find drinking water anywhere near, they wouldn't be able to survive without this adaptation.
Kangaroo rats have also adapted to have longer legs to get away from predators pouncing or even swooping in on them; this adaptation has allowed them to jump as high as nine feet to get away from predators that are coming at them faster than they can run. I think this is a good adaptation feature because since in the desert there aren't many high places to hide or even places to hide in or under that, the only way to avoid predators without the speed that the kangaroos' rats don't have is by jumping which is better than trying to run and getting caught then dying.

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The Orb weaver spider hunts and hides by looking like bird poop. The spider weaves into its web takes on the appearance of bird droppings. 

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Stick insects, while obviously being able to use their looks to hide on branches in woodlands and tropical forests, have other features. They can also camouflage in motion and even shed and regenerate their limbs to escape predators.

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The platypus, sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to Australia. The skin of the bill holds sensory receptors that help the platypus navigate underwater and detect movement of potential food, such as shrimp. And the beaver-like tail helps  to steer and its webbed feet to propel itself through the water while hunting.

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Capybaras are the world's largest living rodents, and they can be found throughout much of Latin America. They prefer to live in large social groups near bodies of water, which can number up to 100 people during the dry season. They are frequently seen acting as perches for various birds, adding to their unusual appearance. One fact about Capybaras that may surprise you is that they are incredibly fast, capable of running as fast as a horse if necessary. They can also stay underwater for up to five minutes, which they have been observed doing to avoid predators.

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Wood frogs are different than other northern frogs when it comes to hibernation. Winters in Canada and Alaska can be as cold as -50 degrees Fahrenheit, and frogs are cold-blooded so that poses a challenge of staying warm enough to stay alive. Other species of frogs hibernate deep under water in lakes, ponds or streams where it is cold and dormant, but their body temperatures never fall below freezing. Wood frogs however, hibernate on land, by tucking themselves under the leafy litter of the forest floor. The key thing here though, is that the wood frogs then freeze themselves. Ice quickly fills the wood frog’s abdominal cavity and surrounds the internal organs. Ice crystals form between layers of skin and muscle. The eyes turn white because the lens freezes. At the same time, the wood frog’s liver produces large amounts of glucose that flushes into every cell in its body. This syrupy sugar solution prevents the cells from freezing and binds the water molecules inside the cells to prevent dehydration. The reason they hibernate like this as opposed to underwater, is so that when spring arrives the wood frogs can quickly bounce into action because the land warms and thaws way quicker than lakes or ponds that have been frozen over.

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Tufted deer are found in the forests in the central parts of China, and they live in extreme high altitudes. They are short in stature and have small horns and long white fangs to defend themselves. The tufted deer eats mainly plants, grass, leaves and twigs and are known as grazers. They do not go out to graze in the daylight because of predator's, instead they wait till it gets darker out and then they go grazing. Another fact about them is although they look a little scary, they would protect a person from a predator and let out a horrible scream when someone is lurking near by.

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some fact about penguins

A group of penguins in the water is called a raft but on land they're called a waddle! ...

The black and white “tuxedo” look donned by most penguin species is a clever camouflage called countershading. ...

Penguins may huddle together for several reasons. ...

Penguins evolved to fly underwater.

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The Vietnamese Mossy frog has developed a mossy camouflage through years of adaptation. Their appearance makes them almost unperceivable to predators when still. These frogs are coated in a sticky adhesive that allows them to stick on to surfaces. A fun fact about Vietnamese Mossy frog is that males mate using the callus on the base of their inside finger.

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Crotalaria Cunninghamii - Green Birdflower

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The Green Birdflower is a shrub in western Australia that has developed flowers which look like little birds. As many birds are natural predators for small insects and herbivores which might feed on said shrubbery, it's likely that the flowers of the Green Birdflower help to stave of what are naturally the prey of birds and also consume the Green Birdflower.

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The yeti crab or yeti lobster (kiwa hirsuta) lives in the deep oceans around hydrothermal vents. This decapod is quite unique with its yellowish, hairy arms and nearly nonexistent eyes, which have gotten it characterized as blind. These hairy arms are what make it suited for such an adverse environment as the deep-sea, hydrothermal vents. The hairs allow the yeti crab to do two things: They allow the decapod to collect toxins released by the hydrothermal vents and use the toxins to grow bacteria, which it later eats and is believed to be the organism's primary food source. They also all the yeti crab to collect bacteria, which is the same type that grows on the hairs, that is floating up in the water from the hydrothermal vents.
I can see how this characteristic makes the kiwa hirsuta a better fit for its environment. There is very little to eat in an environment as harsh as the area immediately surrounding deep-ocean, hydrothermal vents. The yeti crab's hairy arms allow it to find and cultivate food to feed itself, and thus, survive.

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The King snake has a resistance to other snakes venom. They eat other snakes in their region and are able to survive the venom of rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths. The king snakes have an enzyme that is able to break down the venom of venomous snakes. This is a evolutionary trait they possess, that keeps them thriving in their habitat.

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The Gerenuk is a species of antelope, most commonly known for their long neck. Unlike most antelopes, the gerenuk doesn't eat off of bushes and shrubs but uses the advantage of its giraffe-like neck and standing up on their hind legs to reach branches and high twigs. They also have small head but huge eyes and ears so that they can be more aware of their surroundings and be on the look out for predators.

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The Flying Squirrel lives in coniferous forests.  They have developed a membrane skin to glide around its habitat.   They are omnivores eating bird eggs, fungi, seeds and insects.  There are 4 hypothesis as to why they developed gliding abilities. One is to conserve energy while feeding. Gliding is less strenuous than traveling along the ground from tree to tree. A different possibility is larger foraging area. Instead of conserving energy the squirrel has more access to food sources. The third hypothesis is that gliding allows them a better chance of survivability escaping from predator's by quickly jumping to a different tree.  The fourth hypothesis is that when Squirrels jumped from tree to tree they needed to control their landings better.
I initially agreed with the energy conservation hypothesis having read about other adaptions for energy consumption but the attached journals conclusion sided with hypothesis 4. The squirrel developed gliding to lessen the impact when landing while jumping between trees.
(https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/210/8/1413/17353/Take-off-and-landing-forces-and-the-evolution-of)

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Pangolins are mammals uniquely covered in tough, overlapping scales. They eat ants and termites using an extraordinarily long, sticky tongue, and are able to quickly roll themselves up into a tight ball when they feel threatened. Eight different pangolin species can be found across Asia and Africa. Poaching for illegal wildlife trade and habitat loss have made these incredible creatures one of the most threatened groups of mammals in the world. Pangolin scales provide good defense against predators. When threatened, pangolins can quickly curl into a ball, protecting their defenseless undersides. They also deter predators by hissing and puffing, and lashing their sharp edged tails. Pangolins, dependent on their strong sense of smell, identify their territories by scent marking with urine and secretions from a special gland, and by scattering feces.

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Narwhals are very unique creatures for obvious reasons. They have a tusk/horn that can be as long as 17 feet. Scientist don't know the exact purpose of the tusk but they speculate it can be used to as a sensory device to detect things such as water temperature, and that it can be used for hunting fish. The most recent study hypothesizes that it's used in the same way as peacocks feathers, to attract a mate.

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The endangered Okapis have key adaptations to survive the hot and predator-filled deep forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. First, they have scent glands on the bottom of their feet to mark their territory. They also have infrasonic calls, which allows them to communicate with their calves without predators hearing their call.

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Aye-Aye are rare species that is endangered, can only be found inhabiting Madagascar. Also, they are primates although they may not seem like it, they are related to chimpanzees, apes, and humans.
They have bushy tails that's bigger than their bodies. Also, Aye-Aye's have distinguishable features like their large eyes, slim fingers, and large sensitive ears. Aye-Ayes special feature is their pointed claws, which is on all their fingers and toes except for their big toes. This special feature enables them to dangle from branches.

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Sloths are a better fit for the environment because they help in the production of avocado seeds which act as a source of food to animals. The extinct giant ground sloths were some of the only mammals that had digestive systems large enough to process the huge avocado seeds whole. They feasted on the fruit and then dispersed the seeds far and wide. All tree sloths that we see today evolved from giant ground sloths. There were thought to be over 80 different types with the largest (Megatherium) reaching over six meters in height. There is even evidence to suggest that several different species of marine sloth existed, feeding from sea grass and seaweed in shallow water.

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This is the Texas Horned lizard, aside from being camouflaged and blending into their environment, it shoots blood from its eye to give its predator a sample taste. In fact, their blood tastes so bad that they voluntarily give their predators a taste so hopefully they decide that eating them won't be so appetizing.

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The Angler Fish is a unique animal that lives in the depths of the ocean. Overtime, it has evolved to make living in this harsh environment easier. These adaptations include its color, its ability to release mate attracting pheromones, and its glowing bulb used for catching food. The glowing bulb is what most people identify an angler fish for and it illuminates areas around the fish to make hunting and mating easier. Angler fish bait out other fish using their light bulbs and eat using their massive mouths filled with rows and rows of teeth.

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Naked mole rats are hairless mammals that uniquely adapt to harsh, low oxygen subsurface habitat. They exhibit many features considered tell-tale signs of highly intelligent species on our planet including longevity, plasticity, social cohesion and interaction, rudimentary language, sustainable farming abilities, and maintaining sanitary conditions in their self-built complex housing structures.

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Anolis carolinensis is a Florida native green lizard. What is interesting about this creature is that this lizard was originally a lowland species. However, with the arrival of non-native lizards, they moved their habitat to the tops of tall trees. As a result, in just 15 years, they have adapted to their environment by increasing the size of their limbs' bellies and changing their scales so that they stick together more easily. If human height had evolved at the same rate as these lizards, the average height of the American male would have gone from 175 cm to 193 cm in 20 generations. This speed of environmental adaptation is astonishing.

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My interesting organism is Antarctic fish. Antarctic fishes have developed proteins that act as antifreeze to help them survive. The waters in the southern ocean are so cold that if a tropical or any normal fish that is not used to these temperatures swim there they will freeze. Antarctic fish are swimming in waters slightly below freezing point so they antifreeze these proteins and body salts so their body is able to depress the freezing point of blood and body fluids to 2.5c.

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My interesting organism is the Mouse Deer. It is absolutely adorable, and It is one of the smallest hoofed mammals in the world. It is an endangered species as it gets hunted for its meat and hide. It's special feature is that 30 minutes after being born, the Mouse Deer can already stand. I believe this is a survival tactic to so it has a better chance to evade predators incredibly early in its life.
https://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/mouse-deer

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Thorny Devil
In the Australian Outback, pooled water is hard to come by. To deal with this, the thorny devil has developed skin that can absorb water like blotter paper, this is called "capillary action". Its skin darkens when it soaks the water and it is able to channel it down to the corners of its mouth.
I think this is very beneficial since its habitat tends to be extremely dry and water is hard to come by. It might also help them to not stay still for long periods of time while drinking the water and avoid predators

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Alaskan Wood Frog
wood frogs freeze their bodies in order to survive the winter. The Alaskan wood frogs stop breathing and their heart stops in order to survive -80 degrees farenheit.

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Kangaroo Rat. Since the animal lives in the dessert where water is hard to find, the kangaroo rat has adapted to survive their whole lives without drinking water. The rats actually obtain needed moisture from the little seeds they eat. Not only have they adapted to survive without water, but to also escape predators. They actually have incredible hearing and can even up to 9 feet hence the reason they have "kangaroo" in their name.

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Bees help earth by transferring pollen between flowering plants and therefore keeping the cycle of life turning.

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(Sarah Shela)
Some creatures, such as this leafy sea dragon fish (Phycodurus eques) have evolved adaptations that allow them to blend in with their environment (in this case, seaweed) to avoid the attention of hungry predators.

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Biology, Ecology, Conservation

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Photograph by Paul Zahl

In evolutionary theory, adaptation is the biological mechanism by which organisms adjust to new environments or to changes in their current environment. Although scientists discussed adaptation prior to the 1800s, it was not until then that Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace developed the theory of natural selection.

Wallace believed that the evolution of organisms was connected in some way with adaptation of organisms to changing environmental conditions. In developing the theory of evolution by natural selection, Wallace and Darwin both went beyond simple adaptation by explaining how organisms adapt and evolve. The idea of natural selection is that traits that can be passed down allow organisms to adapt to the environment better than other organisms of the same species. This enables better survival and reproduction compared with other members of the species, leading to evolution.

Organisms can adapt to an environment in different ways. They can adapt biologically, meaning they alter body functions. An example of biological adaptation can be seen in the bodies of people living at high altitudes, such as Tibet. Tibetans thrive at altitudes where oxygen levels are up to 40 percent lower than at sea level. Breathing air that thin would cause most people to get sick, but Tibetans' bodies have evolved changes in their body chemistry. Most people can survive at high altitudes for a short time because their bodies raise their levels of hemoglobin, a protein that transports oxygen in the blood. However, continuously high levels of hemoglobin are dangerous, so increased hemoglobin levels are not a good solution to high-altitude survival in the long term. Tibetans seemed to have evolved genetic mutations that allow them to use oxygen far more efficently without the need for extra hemoglobin.

Organisms can also exhibit behavioral adaptation. One example of behavioral adaptation is how emperor penguins in Antarctica crowd together to share their warmth in the middle of winter.

Scientists who studied adaptation prior to the development of evolutionary theory included Georges Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon. He was a French mathematician who believed that organisms changed over time by adapting to the environments of their geographical locations. Another French thinker, Jean Baptiste Lamarck, proposed that animals could adapt, pass on their adaptations to their offspring, and therefore evolve. The example he gave stated the ancestors of giraffes might have adapted to a shortage of food from short trees by stretching their necks to reach higher branches. In Lamarck's thinking, the offspring of a giraffe that stretched its neck would then inherit a slightly longer neck. Lamarck theorized that behaviors aquired in a giraffe's lifetime would affect its offspring. However, it was Darwin's concept of natural selection, wherein favorable traits like a long neck in giraffes suvived not because of aquired skills, but because only giraffes that had long enough necks to feed themselves survived long enough to reproduce. Natural selection, then, provides a more compelling mechanism for adaptation and evolution than Lamarck's theories.

National Geographic Society

July 14, 2022

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Evolutionary adaptation, or simply adaptation, is the adjustment of organisms to their environment in order to improve their chances at survival in that environment.

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The Siberian tiger, also known as the Amur tiger, is the largest species of tigers in the world. These creatures are best known for their unique fur color and stirpes, and they reside in some regions of Russia, China, and North Korea. They hunt "elk, boar, bears, and deer... Tigers also hunt smaller animals like rabbits, pikas, and fish" (Smith). They are endangered because of "loss of habitat due to deforestation..."They are also hunted for their unique fur and "for body parts that are used for traditional medicines" (Smith). The Siberian tiger is also best known in South Korea as our national animal!

https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/siberian-tiger/

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This interesting looking fella is called the Angler Fish. There's varying types of these guys when it comes to looks but most of them dwell around the deep ocean floor and near the ocean floor. The special feature to these guys are the little fin the can luminate and attract unsuspecting prey. It's useful in the ocean depths where light can't penetrate making it appealing to all the dwell in the deep. I think it's extremely useful in its environment because it brings food to itself instead of having to search for it without helpful light and sight.

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This animal is called an Okapi. It is native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but it is considered an endangered species. They have very long tongues, usually about 14 inches long, which help them to strip many leaves off of trees and bushes to eat. They live in rainforests, so their dark color helps them to blend in with their dark environment. The stripes on the rear of the animal and its legs help it blend with the sunlight that filters into the rainforest and aid in camouflaging with its surroundings. An okapi's coat is thick and oily, helping it to repel rain. They use scent glands located on the bottom of their hooves to mark their territory. These special features allow the okapi to fit its environment very well.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/o/okapi/#close

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Cantor's giant soft shelled turtle is just as it sounds, instead of the average turtle with a hard protective shell to keep its insides safe. Their shell is especially effective for swimming quickly underwater, because they live in such warm places like India, they have to stay near fresh water rivers and streams in order to live.

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This slime mold (Physarum Polycephalum) is a protist that spends most of it's time as a single cell. When food becomes scarce the cells organize into single body that seeks food out collectively as one entity. when turning back into single cells, the mold turns into these stalks that release spores into the air. All this blurs the line between multicellular life and colonial single cellular life. When in a mold state, they have been shown to be very intelligent, despite not having a nervous system or brain. They able to traverse mazes and recreate railways on a map. This is why I think they have this property. For whatever reason, intelligence turned out to be very important for these single cells in their environment, so they got together and organized.

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This here is called a Dumbo Octopus. It hovers right above the seafloor looking for food. The special features it has to fit in is large fins to swim away from predators. Their ability to swim away is their main special features. It shoots water out of its webbed arms to fastly swim away.  I believe that because of this they are able to survive more. Unlike other octopuses they don't have spines on their tentacles to defend themselves, this is why I believe that their ability to swim away is what helps them fit in the environment.

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Three toed Skinks are an Australian Lizard undergoing a change with how they deliver their babies to better suit their environment.  Skink embryos encased in an egg have an extra source of calcium that the live born skinks lack, this nutritional difference is made up by the mother producing extra calcium for the young inside of her. Which looks like they are starting to develop a placenta. Skinks living on the coast tend to lay eggs, probably because the warm weather is predictable and sufficient for embryonic development. Those skinks living in the cooler mountains tend to give birth to live young, the mother’s body providing a more stable temperature. It is to be predicted that these two populations will at some point separate into different species as each population becomes fixed in its reproductive strategy.

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This is the Marine Iguana that is found in the galapagos. It's an Iguana that eventually learned to swim and stay underwater so that it could eat algae since food sources on land were getting scarce as they become more populated.

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This guy right here is called 'The Blob'. It was discovered in the Paris Zoological Park, and is very interesting. It has incredible healing factors even being able to heal after being cut in two. This organism has no brain, no mouth, and has about 720 sexes.

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Giant prickly stick insect found in Australia have a body that is highly efficient in natural camouflage. To find them, you have to observe the branches very closely. Also, the stick insect is more difficult to spot because it has the ability to stay motionless for a perfectly long time. These features allow the insect to survive safely without being detected by predators. The reason why these abilities are so useful to them is actually that these thorn-tree sticks are more than 21 inches long. It is an excellent camouflage insect that can survive for a long time with such a huge body.

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I think chameleons are like cuttlefish but living above water. I've learned that many of them can change the color of their body from brown to green, but some of them can turn into almost any color. Also the transition of color can be done as fast as under 20 seconds. Being able to do such thing allows them to be much better "fit" to the environment than any other neighboring organisms.

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This little guy is called a Pink fairy Armadillo! He almost looks like a furry creature with a fabulous cape on. Though their little shell is quite thin, it's meant to protect them from predators. They are, after all, not at the top of the foot chain. They're native to Central Argentina.

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Wood Frogs in Alaska freeze for 7 months! Because of this, they can survive in their cold environment. Two-thirds of their body water freezes. When Spring comes around they thaw and then hop away! This is the only way they can survive the Winter months. (Picture provided on website)

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Each September, the wood frogs of Alaska do a very strange thing: They freeze.

They do not freeze totally solid, but they do freeze mostly solid. Two-thirds of their body water turns to ice. If you picked them up, they would not move. If you bent one of their legs, it would break.

Inside these frozen frogs other weird physiological things are going on. Their hearts stop beating, their blood no longer flows and their glucose levels sky rocket.

"On an organismal level they are essentially dead," said Don Larson, a graduate student at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks who studies frogs. "The individual cells are still functioning, but they have no way to communicate with each other."

The craziest thing of all may be that in this frozen state, they can withstand temperatures as low as zero degrees Fahrenheit for as long as seven months, and then, when spring arrives, thaw out and hop away.

Biologists have known for decades that some frogs freeze in the winter and thaw in the spring, but a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology reports that they can freeze longer and tolerate cooler temperatures than previously thought.

"There have been some studies, largely in the lab, that show frogs can stay frozen for a couple of weeks at temperates of about 20 degrees Fahrenheit," said Brian Barnes, director of the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. "But up here in Alaska, we know these frogs are common all the way into the Arctic circle where it gets a lot colder than that. That's what kicked off our interest."

Adult wood frogs are about the size of the palm of your hand. A juvenile is the size of your thumbnail. According to Barnes, their lifespan is four to six years.

To see how these frogs were surviving the winter in the extreme Alaskan environment, the researchers used super glue to attach small radio transmitters about the size of a nickel to the backs of 16 frogs over two years.

The radio transmitters allowed the researchers to see where the frogs made their hibernacula -- divots in the leaf litter near a lake or pond, where they planned to spend the winter. Once the frogs were settled, the researchers placed little cages over the divots and stuck a wire thermometer in there to record the temperature at regular intervals.

"The snow provides a nice insulated layer for them, but we knew from previous studies that it still gets very cold beneath the snow," said Larson, the lead author of the study. "It was the survival that was surprising. We didn't see any die off, and that was the big shock."

Over the course of two years, none of the frogs in the study died.

The researchers also discovered that the frogs don't freeze once and stay frozen. Instead they spend a week or two freezing at night and thawing during the day, until the temperature drops permanently below freezing.

Larson thinks this thawing and freezing patterns helps the frogs convert more of the glycogen stored in their liver into glucose. This is essential because it is the high levels of glucose in the frogs' cells that keep them alive throughout the long, cold winter.

The glucose's main function is to keep water inside the cells. Frostbite in humans is caused when the water in our blood outside turns to ice. That hyperconcentrates the fluid around the cells and tissues, which in turn draws water out of the cells. Eventually the cells get so dehydrated that they die.

Larson offers this analogy: "If you put a potato in salty water, the whole potato kind of shrivels up because all the water from the potato goes to the higher concentration of salinity, but if you add a bunch of salt to a potato, it would retain its water," he said.

By making the cells super sweet with glucose, the frogs keep the water from leaving their cells.

When spring comes and the frogs thaw, they turn as much of the glucose as they can back into glycogen, and they pee out the rest. Then they hurry to the nearest pond or lake to start mating. After all, they only have five months to make babies and gather all the food that they can before the freezing process starts again.

And now, there are more questions to answer.

"So we have these amazing frogs that survive seven months frozen," Larson said. "I'm asking, what about the parasites and all the cool things that live in its mouth and its butt? Is freeze tolerance its own protection against disease? Can it rid animals of parasites?"

There's still a lot to learn.
For more amazing science news, follow me @DeborahNetburn and "like" Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook

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In Alaska, wood frogs freeze for seven months, thaw and hop away

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Each September, the wood frogs of Alaska do a very strange thing: They freeze. They do not freeze totally solid, but they do freeze mostly solid. Two-thirds of their body water turns to ice. If you picked them up, they would not move. If you bent one of their legs, it would break.

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Dumbo octopuses have adapted to its environment by developing fins at the top of its head. This makes it so that it can swim away from predators much faster. They are deep sea creatures.
(https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/d/dumbo-octopus/)

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The Kangaroo Rat never drinks any water, but how? They have adapted to their lives in the western and southwestern deserts in the US by only getting their hydration from the seeds they eat. They also can jump up to 9 feet (hence the kangaroo reference) to escape predators. Also in order to conserve what water they gain from their diets, they do not sweat or pant when hot, instead they tend to spend their days in underground burrows to keep cool.
(https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/krat.php)

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Fennec Foxes live in the North African desert. Their large ears are extremely sensitive and allows for hearing of the moving bugs underground (aka meals). The ears also allow the fox to "sweat", releasing body heat. Another benefit of the Fennec Fox is it's thick fur coat, it acts as insulation in cold desert nights. And they are really cute :-)

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The Alaskan Wood Frog have adapted to the harsh, cold winters in Alaska. How, you might ask? These creatures freeze themselves solid, stop their breathing and their heartbeat. They stay like that all winter, until the spring, where they eventually thaw out.

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Naked Mole Rats have adapted to living almost entirely underground. They can survive in an environment with barely any oxygen for hours on end. They are also entirely resistant to developing cancer, and live an unusually long time: some have been documented to live for more than 3 decades, whereas normal rats live for about 1-2 years.

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Cockroaches have adapted to living in peoples homes, the ground, trees, etc. The cockroaches that live in peoples homes have adapted to bug repellent and now only older roaches will die from the spray. In the wilderness, the roaches developed a defense mechanism where they produce a strong odor and make a hissing sound. As much as the cockroach disgust me, it's still fascinating to learn that they have adapted to a man-made bug spray.

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The giant isopod is larger than other isopods found in shallower waters as a result of deep sea gigantism, which is the tendency for species of invertebrates and other deep-sea dwelling animals to be greater in size than their shallower-water relatives across a large taxonomic range. Scientists believe that temperature, pressure,  gas concentration, and food scarcity play a significant role in the mutation, but due to inability to regularly explore their habitat studies remain inconclusive.

(https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002270100617)

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Hannah Ganashamoorthy

The Axolotl are one of the most unique organisms I have ever heard of. What is very interesting about them is that they can regenerate their own cells. They can regrow regrow entire limbs, jaws, skin, and even spinal cord tissue. The axolotl are able to regrow that same part as many times as needed. They have only been found in Lake Xochimilco, just outside of Mexico City. Unfortunately most of them have gone extinct so they remain living in captivity to continue the growth of their population. In order to defend themselves, they burrow in the sand and can stay there for long periods of time.

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Cuttlefish are a little but more commonly known, but I still think it is super cool that they can camouflage themselves within the surrounding environment to better help themselves eat as well as stay alive from attacking predators. Cuttlefish do this so that they can hunt for their food they hide mostly in rocks to best suit the camouflage that they use. They can also avoid predators when they use this too hide.

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Kendra Neisinger

These fish live in tropical reefs where other species are likely not able to survive. Their mouths resemble a beak with external teeth. The "beak" is used to break off hard algae off of rocks, coral, and other hard surfaces. The ability to carve out where they can habitat,  gives these fish an advantage to other living marine species.

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A surprising special feature I found for an organism was the feature for the Tufted Deer of China. This deer has vampire-like fangs to aid in fights over mating rights since the males of this species have very tiny antlers. These species of deer have also been heard to "bark" and run off in a "cat-like manner" to better avoid predators. Link