MAMMALS R US

Hey,  we have been having lots of fun talking about the Animal kingdom for the whole school year.  Well, today we are going to talk about the final class called mammals.  Did you know that there were over 4000 species of mammals in the world?  There are mammals which live on land, in water and even fly.  We are  going to cover the five characteristics that all mammals share, the different types of mammals and my favorite mammal.  

The five characteristics that all mammals have are:  

1. All have hair or fur. - This hair or fur may cover part or all of the mammal's body. It is used to protect and keep the mammal warm. There are also mammals who have sensory hairs which are called whiskers. These whiskers help them to feel their surroundings and to sense danger.
2.  All females have mammary glands. - Mammary glands are the glands that help the females to produce milk to feed their babies.
3.  All are endothermic. - This means that they are all warm blooded animals.
4.  All are vertebrates. - This means that they all have back bones.
5.  All have body systems developed to help them survive. - Mammals can learn and remember better than any other type of animal and this makes them superior. They have a nervous system which has a brain, nerves and spinal cord. They all have four chambered hearts and blood vessels.

In what ways are Birds and Mammals Simalar?

1. They are both vertebrates and endothemic.
2.  Some mammals like bats have wings like birds.
3.  Some mammals like bats also have hollow bones which allow them to fly just like birds.
4.  Some mammals have beaklike mouths like birds.
5.  Some mammals lay and incubate eggs like birds.

  

What are Placental Mammals, Monotremes and Marsupials?

Well, you see mammals are divided into three groups based on how their babies develop.  The three groups are called Marsupials, monotremes and placental mammals.

Marsupials are what you would called pouched mammals.  Basically, they all have pouches which are sort of like a pocket on their bellies.  These pouches are used to carry, protect and feed their babies.  They give birth to very small immature babies and those babies grow and develop in the mother's pouch.  Examples of marsupials are kolas, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, wallabies and opossums. 



This adult Koala is a marsupial.



Monotremes are what you would call, egg laying mammals.  Although, the females lay eggs they are not birds.  Its eggs have a tough leathery shell just like the eggs of reptiles.  These are a very unusual or strange group of mammals.  The adults have beaklike mouths.  The females produce milk, but do not have nipples, but instead the milk come from mammary glands scattered all over her skin. Examples of monotremes are spiny anteaters and duckbilled platypus.



This adult Spiny Anteater is a monotremes

 We are all placental mammals.  What I mean is that humans are placental mammals.  The babies develop inside of the mother.  The babies are attached to the placenta, which is a saclike organ which provides the baby with oxygen and food from the mother's blood.  Placental mammals are mammals whose young are born very developed.  Examples of placental mammals are dogs, horses, cows, cats, monkeys and lets not forget humans.

This adult tiger is a placental mammal.

Let's Talk About The Little Babies

Placental  babies are born very developed.  They are fully developed inside the mother.  After the babies are born the mother will feed it with milk from its mammary glands. This milk will provide nutrients to help them to continue to grow and develop.

  

Baby Orangutan

Marsupials babies are born very underdeveloped and are about the size of a honeybee.  After the babies are born they crawl into the their mother's pouch and attached themselves to the nipple of the mother. There they will continue to grow and develop.

Baby Kangaroo in its mother's pouch

Monotremes babies are hatched from eggs laid by its mother.  After the babies are hatched, they feed by licking the milk from the mother's skin.  Some monetremes' mothers have pouches to protect and keep their babies safe.

Baby Platypus

My Favorite Mammal

Can you guess what my favorite mammal is?  Let me give you some hints.  He likes to eat a lot, he has his own TV show and has been in movies.  He is black and white and he knows Kung Fu, especially how to do the wishy washy finger.

 


If you said Po the Panda you were right. This is my favorite mammal.

 

This is a Giant Panda

The first time I saw a Panda up close, I was about four years old and went to visit  Zoo Atlanta.  I remember buying a stuffed panda, because I wanted to have my own soft and fluffy panda.  The Giant Panda is one of the most well known endangered animals.  It is almost entirely vegetarian unlike its carnivorous relatives, the bear.  It spends about 12 hours a day siting down and eating bamboo.  They eat about 40 pounds of bamboo each day.  They are really good climbers and can be easily recognized by the black patches around their eyes, ears and body.  Giant pandas have become endangered partly because of hunting, but mainly because their natural habitat of central China has been slowly destroyed.  Although scientist are trying to save the Giant Panda by capturing them and putting them into reserves to live, but is very hard to get them to have babies.  When baby pandas are born they are about 3 inches long and feed on their mother's milk until they are about nine months old.  Did you know that female pandas are called sows, and males are called boars?

Fun Facts About Mammals

Fastest mammal - The cheetah can run up to speeds of 60-70 miles per hour.

Slowest mammal – The sloth moves at less than 1 mile per hour. That is super slow.

Biggest mammal – The Blue Whale.

Biggest land mammal- The African Elephant.

Tallest mammal - The giraffe.

Smallest mammals - The pygmy shrew weighing .11 ounce.  It weighs less than half an ounce, this is super small.

Loudest mammal - The Blue Whale and the second loudest is the Howler Monkey.

Smallest newborns - Marsupials.

Smelliest mammal - The striped skunk

The only venomous mammals – The male duckbilled platypus and several species of shrews.

Fatest mammal - The blue whale has the thickest layer of blubber.

Run !!!!!  Hold your nose!!!!!!  Here comes the Striped Skunk.



Someone holding a shrew.  It is super small.  A finger is bigger than the shrew.



Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my post.  Come back to visit.  Adios mis amigos!!!!!

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Social Studies Time - The Tuskegee Airmen

  

We are switching it up a bit.  Today, we are going to talk about the Tuskegee Airmen. I know this is a Science blog, but in honor of Black History Month we are going to have some SOCIAL STUDES TIME. 


The question of the day is:Who are the Tuskegee Airmen?
Well, the Tuskegee Airman were the first group of elite African-American pilots to serve as military aviators in the U.S armed forces. They were pioneers for the equality and the integration of the Armed Forces. The Tuskegee Airmen included 996 pilots and more than 15,000 ground personnel of navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff and instructors.

Tuskegee Airmen pose in front of a P-40 fighter in 1942 or 1943

The main flight training for for the Tuskegee Airmen took place at the Division of Aeronautics at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The U.S Air Corps built a separate facility at the Tuskegee Army Air Field to train the pilots. Eleanor Roosevelt played a major role in establishing the training facility. The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt was very interested in the work at the Tuskegee Institute, especially at the aeronautical school. In 1941 she visited Tuskegee. When she was there, she got in the back seat of a plane which was flown by a black pilot called Charles Alfred. Against the wishes of the Secret Service agents and President Roosevelt, she flew about half an hour over Tuskegee , Alabama. When she landed, Mrs. Roosevelt was convinced that black pilots could fly. When Mrs. Roosevelt returned to Washington, she convinced her husband to allow the first Negro Air Corps pilots to be trained at Tuskegee Institute.

This is the field in Tuskegee Alabama where the airmen trained.

A trip that would help change history. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and “Chief” Charles Alfred Anderson in 1941.

Although the Tuskegee Airmen proved to be dedicated, determined and superior military pilots they were still in segregated units and could not fight alongside their white countrymen. They did not only have to battle enemies during the war, but they also had to fight against racism and segregation. Many people and military officials did not want blacks to become pilots. They had to train in overcrowded classrooms and airstrips, and suffered from the racist attitudes. Although the Tuskegee Airman suffered many hardships, they proved themselves to be world class pilots.

  

During the time of the Tuskegee Airmen places like this were very popular through out the United States.

The Tuskegee Airmen was nicknamed "Red Tail Angels" because they had red paint on the propeller and tail of their planes and the bombers they escorted thought that they were like angels.

The Tuskegee Airmen escorting a bomber Plane.

When the war ended, 992 men had graduated from Negro Air Corps pilot training at Tuskegee and 450 of these men were sent overseas for combat assignment. There were also 150 Tuskegee Airmen who lost their lives while in training or on combat flights.

The Tuskegee Air men destroyed or damage over 409 German airplanes, 950 ground units, and sank a battleship destroyer. They also had over 200 bomber escort missions during World War II.


Please enjoy watch the clips on the Tuskegee Airmen.
 
 

The is a clip from the US Air Force

Currenty there is a movie at the theaters about the Tuskegee Airmen. This is the trailer.

This is a clip in the words of some of the original Tuskegee Airmen.

On Monday, February 27, 2012 my class visited the Atlanta History Center for our field trip. I enjoyed the field trip very much especially when we played the civil war game. In the game, I played a character whose name was William Carney. William was part of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. In the game, I had to make many decisions. For each decision I made, I could gain or lose points and these points will determine if I lived or died. My decisions were not that great because my character ended up going insane and dying.

I learn quite a bit on the field trip. The things that stuck with me the most was that many people died in Word War II. Also, during slavery black people could work better in the sun because the color of their skin protected them from getting sun burnt. Finally, during the Civil War the northern and southern states were divided because of slavery. The northern states wanted to abolish slavery but the southern sates wanted to keep slaves to work on the plantations.

This is the Atlanta History Center.

I hope you enjoyed my post and learned about the Tuskegee Airmen. Come back to visit soon.





Photograaph Credits to the following websites:

http://www.coinlink.com/Resources/congressional-gold-medals/congressional-gold-medals/http://sanford-soccer-net.blogspot.com/2011_12_11_archive.html

http://www.redtailreborn.com/Red_Tail_Reborn/Cast_%26_Crew.html

http://www.history.com/news/2012/01/20/the-tuskegee-airmen-5-fascinating-facts/

http://www.army.mil/article/3028/

http://fdrlibrary.wordpress.com/tag/tuskegee-airmen/

http://offthebase.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/come-face-to-face-with-history-tuskegee-airmen/

http://whereintheworldispatty.com/

http://www.jordansagenda.com/category/atlanta-history-museum/

 

Birds And More Birds

Welcome back to my blog!  We have finally gotten to my favorite group of animals. I thought we would never get here.  We see these animals all around us. We may call them the flying feathered ones or just birds.  Today, you will learn about what all birds have in common, what are the different feather types and how a bird is able to fly. 

What makes a bird a bird?????

Is it singing ability?  Is it dancing ability? 

 Well, these are four characteristics shared by all birds:

1.      They all are endothermic and vertebrates

2.      They all have wings

3.      They all have bills or beaks

4.      The females all lay eggs to reproduce

Endotherms and Vertebrates

All birds are endotherms and vertebrates.  This means that they all have a back bone and they keep their bodies at a constant internal body temperature of about 40 degrees Celsius. 

Wings

Not all flying animals are birds and not all birds can fly. I hope that I did not confuse you.  Think about this, Bats fly but they are mammals and not birds.  Look at the ostrich, it is a bird but it cannot fly.   All birds have wings but some wings are developed to help the bird fly but others are not.  Flying birds' wings are shaped to provide lift.  Flightless birds like the penguins may not be able to use their wings to fly but it comes in handy to help them swim fast.

 Look at those HUGE wings of the Bald Eagle!  It is the national bird of America.




 I may not be able to fly but I am one quick swimmer, thanks to my wings.
 

Bills and Beaks

No toothbrush or toothpaste for these animals, lucky birds.  They don’t have to worry about cavities because birds don’t have any teeth.  Birds have what you call bills or beaks.  Their bills or beaks are made of the protein keratin and come in many shapes and sizes depending on what they eat. Herons beaks are sharp and pointed to help them catch fish. Finches have short cone shaped beaks for cracking open seeds.  Bills and beaks can be very dangerous weapons, so stay away.  I will never forger screaming and being chased down the street by a goose which was trying to peck me.

Look at the Herons sharp beak !!!

Check out the cone shaped beaks of the finches !!!

Lay Eggs

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Pick me, I know the answer. How about both. There is not a correct answer to this question. All birds lay eggs to reproduce. Female birds lay their eggs in a nest and sit on them to incubate them. These egg shells have to be strong enough so the mother does not break it by accident. Eggs shells are made of calcium carbonate which is the same chemical that seashells are made of.


This is a chicken nest.

What are Contour Feathers and Down Feathers?

If you look closely at a chicken or any other bird’s body you will notice that there are two types of feathers. These feathers are called contour feathers and down feathers. Contour feathers are the strong and lightweight feathers. They are very colorful, smooth and sleek shape. If you have ever seen a Native American headdress you will notice lots of beautiful and colorful contour feathers. Down feathers are the soft and fluffy feathers closest to the skin which keep birds warm. Did you know that Down feathers are also used by people to stay warm? Down feathers are very fluffy and warm in pillows and comforters but if you suffer from allergies like I do, stay away. Check out this Native American Headdress with colorful
contour feathers.

  

 How Are A Bird's Feathers, Air Sacs, and Skeleton Adapted for Flight?

Man has always wanted to fly like the birds. Although the airplane was invented, man is still not happy and is continuing to invent things like jet packs to try to be like the birds. In order for a bird to fly it must have a very light and strong skeleton, wings and feathers. Contour feathers allow birds to fly. These feathers are lightweight and are located on the bird’s wings and tail to help it steer and not tip over. In order to get up and stay in the air a bird has to be light. I mean light as a feather. That is why most of a bird’s bones are hollow and filled with air sacs.
A bird's light and hollow bone. A bird's wing covered with feathers.

I Really Like This Bird?

I like the Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo because it can imitate people talking and it can be an excellent pet. The first time I saw a Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo was in the movie Rio. Do you remember that evil bird? The Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo has a bright yellow crest and the rest of his feathers are white which is a very unusual color for a parrot. You see, parrots are the world most colorful birds however, the Sulfur– Crested Cockatoo is not so much. This bird lives in a range of different habitats. You can find it from forest to farmland, roosting high in eucalyptus trees. This bird’s home is Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand.

These are two Sulfur-Crested Cockatoos.

Here is the Sulfur Crested Cockatoo from Rio.

What is Georgia State Bird?

The official bird of the State of Georgia is the Brown Thrasher. Brown Thrashers are what you would call a copy cat. They mimic the calls of other birds. They are heard before they are seen. You can find them in dense vegetation, fields, and woods looking for food on the ground. These birds are extremely secretive and it can be hard to find them. This would definitely explain why I have lived in Georgia all my life and have never seen one of these birds.

Sorry Mr. Brown Thrasher, I have never met you.

Please come back to visit and check out my bird joke!!!!!!!!


Q: If a rooster lays an egg on the middle of a slanted roof, on which side will it fall?
A: Neither side. Roosters don't lay eggs!

Sharks

Today I am going to talk about sharks, yes Sharks! Everytime you talk about sharks you think about these

vicious, unstoppable, killing machines well actually their pretty cool.

Reptiles and Amphibians

It's Willard and I am going to talk about the characteristics of reptiles.  I am also going to talk about the differences and similarities between amphibians and reptiles.  I will try not to make this post long but I can't help myself. 

Did you know that the word reptile is a Latin word and it means to creep?  I also think that creepy would have been a better definition because I am not a big fan of reptiles.  Let me give you a little history about reptiles.  Reptiles have been around for millions of years. That's a very long time.  During the Dinosaur Age, reptiles ruled the earth and included the largest animals the world has ever seen.  Reptiles were the first animals with backbones to become fully equipped for life on dry land.  There are about 7000 species of reptiles on earth.  They are found in most parts of the world except were it gets very cold.  Don't expect to see any reptiles in the North Pole.

Reptiles belong to four different groups.  They are lizards, snakes, turtles or tortoises and crocodilians.  Let's take a look at these groups.

LIZARDS
These animals make up over half of the world reptile population.  They usually have long legs and tails.  Most live on the ground and feed on insects.  There are about 3,500 species of lizards.  I thought that the Frilled Lizard was very interesting.  This lizard is from down under, I mean Australia.  When this lizard is cornered it unfolds it frill around its neck and opens it mouth and hisses.  This is enough to make its enemies back up.

Meet the Frilled Lizard.



SNAKES
These are legless reptiles that hunt other animals and swallow their prey whole.  Their tongues give them  a great sense of smell.  Some snakes kill their prey by squeezing to death or by injecting poison or venom.  There are about 2,300 species of snakes.  I thought that the Emerald Tree Boa was very interesting.  It is a very colorful snake which spends its life in the trees of the rain forest waiting for birds and other animals to come by for dinner.  I mean to eat.

Meet the Emerald Tree Boa.



TURTLES & TORTOISES
These are the only reptiles with hard shells made of solid bone.  The difference between turtles and tortoises have to do with where they live.  Turtles live in water and tortoises live on land. There are about 230 species of turtles and tortoises.  I thought that the Galapagos Giant Tortoise was very interesting.  This tortoise is gigantic and could weigh up to 800 pounds. I wonder how it can even move.  They are found in the Aldabra islands which is north of Madagascar.  They can live for more than 100 years.

Meet the Galapagos Giant Tortoise.



CROCODILIANS
They have armored scales and long  jaws with sharp teeth.  They live in or near water.  There are about 23 species of of crocodiles and alligators.  I thought that the Dwarf Crocodile was very interesting.  This is the smallest and least known crocodile.  It lives in the rain forest in rivers and swamps.  They can be found in west and central Africa.

Meet the Dwarf Crocodile.



What does amphibians and reptiles have in common?
This is a really good question.  Unlike amphibians, reptiles have a tough skin covered with scales and their eggs have waterproof shells.  These two features allow reptiles to live away from water in some of the driest places on earth like deserts.  Amphibians have thin transparent skin.  That is why most amphibians don't drink water because water passes through their skin.  Both reptiles and amphibians shed their skin.  Amphibians lay their eggs in or near the water and it is protected by a jelly like substance.  Unlike amphibians, reptiles lay their eggs in a warm and humid place.

These are frog eggs.  Look at the jelly like substance.




These are snake eggs.  They are leathery and waterproof.


Both amphibians and reptiles are vertebrates. Amphibians spend part of their lives under water breathing with gills and the remainder on land breathing with lungs. Reptiles spend their lives on land breathing with lungs. Amphibians and reptiles are cold-blooded which means their body temperature depends on the temperature of their environment. Although they are cold blooded they can warm themselves by laying out in the sun. Check out these turtles sunbathing. Hey turtles, don't get sunburn!

Check out these fun facts about reptiles.  I am happy that none of these reptiles can be found in the United states except in zoos and labs.

·   The biggest reptile in the world - the estuarine crocodile is over 7 meters or 23 feet long.

·   Smallest reptile in the world and the smallest lizard - the British Virgin Islands gecko which is only 18 millimeters or 7/10 inches long. You might need a magnifying glass to see this one.  It is extremely small.

·   The Fastest reptile in the world - the spiny-tailed iguana has been tracked at 34.9 kilometers per hour or 21 miles per hour.

·   Biggest or heaviest snake in the world - the anaconda of South America.

·   Longest Snake in the world - reticulated Python which is over 10 meters long.

·   Fastest-moving snake in the world - the poisonous black mamba.

·   Biggest lizard in the world - the Komodo Dragon can grow to 3 meters long.

·   Biggest turtle in the world - the leatherback turtle can grow up  2.5 meters long.

·   Most poisonous land snakes in the world - the taipan from Australia, black mamba, and krait.

·   Only poisonous lizards in the world - the Gila monster, the beaded lizard.

·   Weirdest ability in the world - horned lizards can squirt a thin spray of blood from their eyes up to of 3 feet or 0.9 meter away.

This is a estuarine crocodile .  It is the biggest reptile in the world.  It is humongous!!!!! 




This is a British Virgin Islands gecko.  It is the smallest reptile in the world.  It is tine tiny!!!!! 




Thanks for checking out my post, I hope you enjoyed it.  Come back to visit and try to stay away from venomous reptiles.

AMPHIBIANS

Today I am going to talk about amphibians.  Personally I do not really care for this group of creepy and crawly animals but, before you say eew, just wait and listen to what I have to say. You might think that the only amphibians are frogs and possibly toads, well they are not. Actually frogs and toads are a group of amphibians.  There are three groups of amphibians. They are frogs and toads, newts and salamanders and caecilians.  I am going to talk about each one of these groups.

Amphibians are vertebrates that spend part of their lives under water breathing with gills and the remainder on land breathing with lungs. Amphibians are sort of like shape shifters because during their early lives they slowly change their shape to prepare for life on land.  Adult amphibians rarely stray from damp places because they have to keep their skin moist and they usually return to the water to breed.  They are about 4,350 species of amphibians.  I must say that is a lot of critters.  They are very common in warm places.  They are also cold blooded which means that their bodies stay the same temperature as their surroundings.

Frogs and Toads

Frogs and toads make up about 90 percent of the world's amphibians.  This just increased my chances of accidentally stepping on a toad or frog in my lifetime.  My mom said this was the worst feeling ever when she stepped on a toad without any shoes on. 

Frogs and toads are easy to recognize by their short, tailless bodies and powerful back legs.  Most of them have back feet with weds between their toes.  These web feet are used for swimming and jumping.  Frogs usually move by hopping around.  They also live either on the ground or in trees.  Toads usually move by crawling and nearly always live on the ground.  Toads and frogs have loud calls which are used during the breeding season to attract a mate.  Ribbit, ribbit ......

Frogs and toads spend their lives near water because they must return to the water to lay their eggs. When eggs are laid in the water they hatch into tadpoles.  Tadpoles breathe with gills and swim using a tail. As they grow up, they lose their tail sand then they develop lungs for breathing air.

This is something that I did not know.  Most frogs have teeth in the upper jaws only but toads do not have any teeth. They both eat insects by catching them with their long, sticky tongue. They also eat small fish and worms.

Most people do not know the difference between a frog and a toad.  Frogs and toads are very different in the way they look and size.   Unlike frogs, most toads have warty skin and short back legs and spend most of their lives on land.  They usually feed at night when the air is damp and hide away during the day.  Here is a picture of frog.





Opps wrong picture.  That is a picture of my favorite frog.  Lets try this again.



 Now this is a picture of a toad.  Check out his warty skin.

Newts and Salamanders

Unlike frogs and toads, salamanders keep their tails when they are adults.  Salamanders have long bodies and four and sometimes two legs. That is werid.  As adults some live in the damp woods  but spend most of their lives in ponds and steams.  There are over 400 species of salamanders found all over the world. 

Newts are simply brightly colored salamanders. These small amphibians are found in moist, wooded areas in North America, Europe, and Asia. Newts are about 3 to 4 inches long. They have four legs and four fingers on each of the front legs.  They also have five toes on each of their back legs.

Like all amphibians, newts spend their lives near water because they must return to the water to lay their eggs. Newt eggs are laid in the water. When they hatch, they breathe with gills and swim. As they mature, they develop lungs for breathing air.

Both newts and salamanders eat insects, worms, snails, and small fish.

Chek out these picture of a newt and salamander.

Caecilians

This group of amphabians are rare and there are only 150 species.  They look like giant earthworms because they have no legs and their bodies are divided into rings.  Caecilians live mainly in the tropics.  Some live in the water but most of them burrow through the soil.  This is a picture of a caecilian.

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about amphibians.  Come back to visit soon.