Meerkats

This article was originally posted at Meerkats
The meerkat (Suricata suricatta) is a small carnivoran belonging to the mongoose family (Herpestidae). It is the only member of the genus Suricata. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan".

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cave Beetle; Xuedytes bellus

Image
This article was originally posted at Amazing Zoology. View original article at https://is.gd/4ryoch
Xuedytes bellus. Image credit: Sunbin Huang & Mingyi TianXuedytes bellus, a cave dwelling beetle was discovered in a cave in Guangxi Province, China. Like much of southern China, this is in a vast landscape riddled with caves. This new species of beetle is about 9 mm in length, with elongated head and prothorax. First pair of legs are attached to the body segment immediately behind the head.
Beetles that evolve in the darkness of caves often take on a similar set of characteristics, including narrow bodies, spider-like appendages and loss of wings, eyes and pigmentation. Such beetles are an example of convergent evolution.
Suggested Reading




1.
Tian M, Huang S, Wang D. Discovery of a most remarkable cave-specialized trechine beetle from southern China (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechinae). Z. 2017;725:37-47. doi:10.3897/zookeys.725.21040



Read more

These electron microscopic images of human body will astonish you

Image
This article was originally posted at Amazing Zoology
Artery


Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a a small artery (blood vessel) cut open with RBCs (red coloured) rushing outside.
Blood Clot


Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of red blood cells (erythrocytes) trapped in a fibrin mesh (yellow). The production of fibrin is triggered by cells called platelets, activated when a blood vessel is damaged. The fibrin binds the various blood cells together, forming a solid structure called a blood clot. A blood clot is a normal response, preventing an excessive loss of blood. However, inappropriate clotting is a major cause of heart attacks and strokes.
Red Blood Cells (RBC)


They look like little cinnamon candies here, but they are actually the most common type of blood cell in the human body – red blood cells (RBCs). These biconcave-shaped cells have the tall task of carrying oxygen to our entire body; in women there are about 4 to 5 million RBCs per micro liter (cubic millimete…
Read more

Bat-roost? To curb malaria!

Image
This article was originally posted at Amazing Zoology. View original article at https://amazingzoology.com/bat-roost-curb-malaria/

110 years ago, one man set out to rid Texas of Malaria – with the help of what was then a very unlikely source… bats! Dr. Charles A. Campbell had a simple plan. He knew that bats eat mosquitoes, and believed that if he could entice thousands of bats to live in Malaria-ridden areas, they would single-wingedly eradicate the disease. After years of fruitless experimentation with small roosting boxes, he decided to go BIG, with a 30-foot tower containing roosting shelves, guano lures, and a meal plan – three large hams! The $500 contraption was, alas, a flop. Campbell realized that he didn’t understand bats enough to provide suitable homes. He spent months studying caves and roosts to learn what bats needed most. In 1911 he constructed a new, improved tower at Mitchell’s Lake, where 90% of the locals were sick with Malaria. Within 4 years, Mitchell’s Lake was M…
Read more