Wildlife Worldwide
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Wildlife Worldwide
| From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: |
| The White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus
virginianus), also known as the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer
found throughout most of the continental United States, southern
Canada, Mexico, Central America and northern portions of South America
as far south as Peru. The species is most common east of the American
cordillera, and is absent from much of the western United States,
including Nevada, Utah and California (though its close relatives, the
mule deer and black-tailed deer, can be found there). It does, however,
survive in aspen parklands and deciduous river bottomlands within the
Central and Northern Great Plains, and in mixed deciduous riparian
corridors, river valley bottomlands, and lower foothills of the
Northern Rocky Mountain Regions from Wyoming to Southeastern British
Columbia. The conversion of land adjacent to the Northern Rocky
Mountains into agriculture use and partial clear-cutting of coniferous
trees (resulting in widespread deciduous vegetation) is in favor of
white-tailed deer in this region. The westernmost population, the
Columbian white-tailed deer once was widespread in the mixed forests
along the Willamette River (Willamette Valley Forests Ecoregion) and
Cowlitz River Valleys of Western Oregon and Southwestern Washington
(endangered). There are also populations of Arizona (coues) and Carmen
Mountains (carminis) white-tailed deer that inhabit the mountain mixed
deciduous/pine forests of Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas extending
southwards into Mexico. As a result of introductions, white-tailed deer
are found also in localised areas of northern Europe such as Finland.
White-tailed deer are generalists and can adapt to a wide variety of
habitats. Although most often thought of as forest animals depending on
relatively small openings and edges, white-tailed deer can equally
adapt themselves to life in more open savanna and even sage communities
as in Texas and in the Venezuelan llanos region. These savanna adapted
deer have relatively large antlers in proportion to their body size and
large tails. Also, there is a noticeable difference in size between
male and female deer of the savannas. The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). It is the second-most widely distributed mammal on Earth (after humans) and is found in all the world's oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to warm, tropical seas. Orcas are highly social and generally travel in stable, matrilineal family groups. Orcas are versatile predators, with some populations feeding mostly on fish and others on other marine mammals, including large whales. Wild orcas are usually not considered a threat to humans. There have, however, been isolated reports of captive orcas attacking their handlers at marine theme parks. |
| From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: |
| The butterflyfish are a group of
conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae. Found
mostly on the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans,
butterflyfish are fairly small, most from 12-22 centimetres in length.
The largest species, the lined butterflyfish (Chaetodon lineolatus)
grows to 30 cm. There are approximately 127 species in eleven genera.
They should not be confused with the freshwater butterflyfish of the
family Pantodontidae. Butterflyfish are named for their brightly coloured and strikingly patterned bodies in shades of black, white, blue, red, orange and yellow (though some species are dull in colour). Many have eyespots on their flanks and dark bands across their eyes, not unlike the patterns seen on butterfly wings. Their deep, laterally compressed bodies are easily noticed through the profusion of reef life, leading most to believe the conspicuous coloration of butterflyfish is intended for interspecies communication. Butterflyfish have uninterrupted dorsal fins with tail fins that may be rounded or truncated, but are never forked. The family name Chaetodontidae derives from the Greek words chaite meaning "hair" and odontos meaning "tooth." This is an allusion to the rows of brush-like teeth found in their small, protrusile mouths. Butterflyfish closely resemble the Angelfish of the family Pomacanthidae but are distinguished from the latter by their lack of preopercle spines (part of the gill covers). Their coloration also makes butterflyfish popular in the aquaria hobby. However, most species feed on coral polyps (corallivores) and sea anemones; this poses a problem in most reef tanks where a delicate balance is to be maintained. Species kept in the hobby are therefore the few generalists and specialist zooplankton feeders. Generally diurnal and frequenting shallow waters of less than 18 metres (some species found to 180 metres), butterflyfish stick to particular home ranges. The corallivores are especially territorial, forming mated pairs and staking claim to their own head of coral. Contrastingly, the zooplankton feeders will form large conspecific groups. By night butterflyfish hide amongst the crevices of the reef and exhibit markedly different coloration than they do by day. Butterflyfish are pelagic spawners; that is, they release many buoyant eggs into the water which then become part of the plankton, floating with the currents until hatching. The fry go through what is known as a tholichthys stage, wherein the body of the postlarval fish is covered in large bony plates extending from the head. This curious armoured stage is seen in only one other family of fish; the Scatophagidae (scats). The fish lose their bony plates as they mature. A kangaroo is any of several large animals of the Macropodidae, a marsupial family that also includes the wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons and the Quokka, some 63 species in all. Kangaroos are endemic to the continent of Australia, while tree-kangaroos are found on both Australia and New Guinea. The term kangaroo is sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to all members of the macropod family, but is generally reserved for the three largest macropods, namely the Red Kangaroo, the Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroo of the Macropus genus. Smaller macropods are called wallabies, while some intermediate in size are called wallaroos. The kangaroo is an Australian icon: it is featured on the Australian Coat of Arms[2], on some currency[3], and is used by many Australian organisations, such as Qantas[4]. The Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a widespread and common duck of the Genus Tadorna. The gooselike Common Shelduck is a striking bird with its red bill, white and chestnut body, dark green head and neck. Sexes are similar, but the female is duller. The male has a swollen red bill knob in the breeding season. This is a bird which breeds in temperate Eurasia. Most populations migrate to subtropical areas in winter, but this species is largely resident in westernmost Europe, apart from movements to favoured moulting grounds, such as the Wadden Sea on the north German coast. The Common Shelduck is common around the coastline of Great Britain (where it is simply known as Shelduck), where it frequents salt marshes and estuaries. Moulting flocks can be very large (100,000 on the Wadden Sea), since most pairs leave their partially grown young in a crèche with just one or two adults. This species is mainly associated with lakes and rivers in open country, breeding in rabbit burrows, tree holes, haystacks or similar. In winter it is common on suitable estuaries and tidal mudflats as well. The call is a loud honk. This bird is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. |
| US
Postal Stamps 2.5" x 1.5" 2.1" x 1.3" 1.8" x 1.3" |
Postcards 5.6" x 4.25" |
Greeting
Cards 7" x 5" folded |
All
merchandise products for this art work |
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