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Carpet Shark
Carpet sharks are sharks classified in the order Orectolobiformes . Sometimes the common name "carpet shark" (named so because many species resemble ornately patterned carpets) is used interchangeably with "wobbegong", which is the common name of sharks in the family Orectolobidae. Carpet sharks have five gill slits, two spineless dorsal fins, and a small mouth that does not extend past the eyes. Many species have barbels. Characteristics The carpet sharks are a diverse group of sharks with differing sizes, appearances, diets, and habits. They first appeared in the fossil record in the Early Jurassic; the oldest known orectolobiform genera are '' Folipistrix'' (known from Toarcian to Aalenian of Belgium and Germany), '' Palaeobrachaelurus'' (Aalenian to Barremian) and '' Annea'' (Toarcian to Bajocian of Europe). All species have two dorsal fins and a relatively short, transverse mouth that does not extend behind the eyes. Besides the nostrils are barbels, tactile sensory organ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotted Wobbegong
The spotted wobbegong (''Orectolobus maculatus'') is a carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae, endemic to Australia. It is a large, robust species, typically reaching in length. Coloured green, yellow, or brown, it has distinctive O-shaped spots throughout its body. It is nocturnal, resting at day and feeding on fish and invertebrates at night. An ovoviviparous species, the spotted wobbegong gives birth in the spring, during which time males can act aggressively towards other males and females. It has been known to bite humans, sometimes unprovoked, which can produce severe wounds. The species is fished for commercially in Australia, but it is not severely threatened. It is listed as a least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ... on the IUCN Red Lis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its 16 constituent states have a total population of over 84 million in an area of . It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and Czechia to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr. Settlement in what is now Germany began in the Lower Paleolithic, with various tribes inhabiting it from the Neolithic onward, chiefly the Celts. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. In 962, the Kingdom of Germany formed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wobbegong
The wobbegong is the common name given to the 12 species of carpet sharks in the family Orectolobidae. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean, chiefly around Australia and Indonesia, although one species (the Japanese wobbegong, ''Orectolobus japonicus'') occurs as far north as Japan. The word ''wobbegong'' is believed to come from an Australian Aboriginal language, meaning "shaggy beard", referring to the growths around the mouth of the shark of the western Pacific. Description Wobbegongs are bottom-dwelling sharks, spending much of their time resting on the sea floor. Most species have a maximum length of , but the largest, the spotted wobbegong, ''Orectolobus maculatus'', and banded wobbegong, ''O. halei'', reach about in length. Wobbegongs are well camouflaged with a symmetrical pattern of bold markings which resembles a carpet. Because of this striking pattern, wobbegongs and their close relat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornate Wobbegong
The ornate wobbegong (''Orectolobus ornatus'') is a species of carpet shark that lives in Australia and possibly other countries in the Western Pacific Ocean. It is coloured golden brown, yellow-green and blueish-grey, and it grows to maximum . Described by Charles Walter De Vis in 1883, it is similar in appearance to other Australian wobbegongs and has previously been classified as the same species as the Gulf wobbegong. It is a nocturnal species, hunting at night, and it can bite humans when disturbed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as a least-concern species. Taxonomy The ornate wobbegong was described by Charles Walter De Vis in 1883. It was previously assumed to be the juvenile form of the Gulf wobbegong (''Orectolobus halei''), due to similarities between the two species. However, there are multiple differences: for example, the ornate wobbegong is smaller, has a smaller head relative to its body, and is less freckled. "Banded wobbe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zebra Shark
The zebra shark (''Stegostoma tigrinum'') is a species of carpet shark and the sole member of the family Stegostomatidae. It is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, frequenting coral reefs and sandy flats to a depth of . Adult zebra sharks are distinctive in appearance, with five longitudinal ridges on a cylindrical body, a low caudal fin comprising nearly half the total length, and usually a pattern of dark spots on a pale background. Young zebra sharks under long have a completely different pattern, consisting of light vertical stripes on a brown background, and lack the ridges. This species attains a length of . Zebra sharks are nocturnal and spend most of the day resting motionless on the sea floor. At night, they actively hunt for molluscs, crustaceans, small bony fishes, and possibly sea snakes inside holes and crevices in the reef. Though solitary for most of the year, they form large seasonal aggregations. The zebra shark is oviparous: females produce several doze ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Necklace Carpetshark
The necklace carpetshark (''Parascyllium variolatum''), also known as the varied carpetshark, is a carpetshark of the family Parascylliidae endemic to the waters off Australia's southern coast between latitudes 37°S and 41°S. It is found near the ocean floor over sand, rock, coral reefs, and kelp and seagrass beds at depths down to . It is almost exclusively seen at night and spends the day hidden in caves or camouflaged on the ocean floor. With a slender, elongated body and a maximum length of only 91.0 cm TL, it is harmless to humans. The tail is long, but difficult to tell apart from the rest of the shark. Its body is grey to brown in color with a broad black collar, from which it gets its name, and white spots along its body. It has small spiracles and nostrils with short barbels, likely used for sensory purposes. It is often mistaken for a species of catshark, despite being more closely related to wobbegongs and nurse sharks. It is a nocturnal predator and feeds mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbelthroat Carpetshark
The barbelthroat carpetshark (''Cirrhoscyllium expolitum'') is a carpetshark of the family Parascylliidae found in the South China Sea between Luzon in the Philippines and China, between latitudes 23°N and 10°N, at depths between 180 and 190 m. Its length is up to 34 cm. Reproduction is oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), a .... References * * Compagno, Dando, & Fowler, ''Sharks of the World'', Princeton University Press, New Jersey 2005 {{Taxonbar, from=Q31750 barbelthroat carpetshark South China Sea Marine fish of Southeast Asia barbelthroat carpetshark ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish and whales. Marine plankton include bacteria, archaea, algae, protozoa and drifting or floating animals that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries. Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found in the freshwaters of lakes and rivers. Plankton are usually thought of as inhabiting water, but there are also airborne versions, the aeroplankton, that live part of their lives drifting in the atmosphere. These include plant spores, pollen and wind-scattered seeds, as well as microorganisms swept into the air from terrestrial dust storms and oceanic plankton swept into the air by sea spray. Though m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Filter Feeder
Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feeding are clams, krill, sponges, baleen whales, and many fish (including some sharks). Some birds, such as flamingos and certain species of duck, are also filter feeders. Filter feeders can play an important role in clarifying water, and are therefore considered ecosystem engineers. They are also important in bioaccumulation and, as a result, as indicator organisms. Fish Most forage fish are filter feeders. For example, the Atlantic menhaden, a type of herring, lives on plankton caught in midwater. Adult menhaden can filter up to four gallons of water a minute and play an important role in clarifying ocean water. They are also a natural check to the deadly red tide. Extensive article on the role of menhaden in the ecosystem and possibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whale Shark
The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, Dove ADM, Gaskins LC, Helm RR, Hochberg FG, Lee FB, Marshall A, McMurray SE, Schanche C, Stone SN, Thaler AD. 2015. "Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna". ''PeerJ'' 3:e715 . The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate. It is the sole member of the genus ''Rhincodon'' and the only extant member of the family Rhincodontidae, which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. Before 1984 it was classified as ''Rhiniodon'' into Rhinodontidae. The whale shark is found in open waters of the tropical oceans and is rarely found in water below . Studies looking at vertebral growth bands an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiracle (vertebrates)
Spiracles () are openings on the surface of some animals, which usually lead to respiratory systems. The spiracle is a small hole behind each eye that opens to the mouth in some fish. In the jawless fish, the first gill opening immediately behind the mouth is essentially similar to the other gill opening. With the evolution of the jaw in the early jawed vertebrates, this gill slit was caught between the forward gill-rod (now functioning as the jaw) and the next rod, the hyomandibular bone, supporting the jaw hinge and anchoring the jaw to the skull proper. The gill opening was closed off from below, the remaining opening was small and hole-like, and is termed a spiracle. In many species of sharks and all rays the spiracle is responsible for the intake of water into the buccal space before being expelled from the gills. The spiracle is often located towards the top of the animal allowing breathing even while the animal is mostly buried under sediments. As sharks adapted a fast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bajocian
In the geologic timescale The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geoch ..., the Bajocian is an age (geology), age and stage (stratigraphy), stage in the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 170.3 annum, Ma to around 168.3 Ma (million years ago). The Bajocian Age succeeds the Aalenian Age and precedes the Bathonian Age. Stratigraphic definitions The Bajocian Stage takes its name from the Latin name (Bajocae) of the town of Bayeux, in the region of Normandy in France. The stage was named and introduced in scientific literature by French palaeontologist Alcide d'Orbigny in 1842. The base of the Bajocian stage is defined as the place in the stratigraphic column where fossils of the ammonite genus ''Hyperlioceras'' first appear. A global reference profile (a GSSP) for the ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
