Biodiversity 24 / 3000 / 8 Million

Discover the Thornback Ray in the center ...

More on the thornback ray:

Cartilaginous fishes are different

Thornback rays (Raja clavata) occur on shallow, sandy to muddy coasts in the eastern Atlantic, down to 300-450 m depth. The name refers to the nail-like thorns on its back and tail. There’s no directed fishing of this species, but it frequently gets into the trawls of the industrial fishery as a by-catch. Today, stocks have decreased to alarming levels and it is almost extinct in the North Sea.

Rays are classified together with sharks and chimaeras as cartilaginous fishes. This class forms an independent branch of vertebrates recorded since more than 400 million years. In other words: Despite looking superficially similar, cartilaginous fishes are only very distantly related to modern bony fishes like herring, tuna, carp or salmon. The latter are in fact closer to tetrapod vertebrates – among them the human species.

By the way: Like the most other fishes displayed in the biodiversity wall, the exhibited specimen is a moulded, coloured copy of a dead specimen, randomly caught in 2005 at Norway’s coast. But the thorns are indeed originals!

(For more information, see also Thornback ray in Wikipedia.)

Discover the Shoebill in the middle ...

The tiny flying dragon lizard in the center is not easy to find ...

Dragons can fly …

… every child knows this! Today it is quite unlikely for a child not to have read some stories containing a flying dragon. But in reality? Well, yes, some flying dragons exist! And the famous biologist Linné even gave them the genus “Draco”.

They really are tree-living, insect-eating lizards of the Agamidae family, which can use their flying membrane (which is supported by ribs!) as means to glide long distances from tree to tree. Although they don’t actively fly, their gliding capabilities are impressive: Glides of 60 m length, losing only 10 m in altitude have been recorded.

(For more information, see also Draco in Wikipedia.)

Right below the flying dragon you can discover the Chameleon...

More on the Chameleon:

Chameleons don’t actively adapt themselves to the colours of their environment

Chameleons are famous for their combination of independently moving eyes, tong-like toes, a long, rapidly projecting tongue, a prehensile (grasping) tail and, of course, their proverbial ability to change their colour.

However, the assumption that chameleons adapt their colour to the background colour of the environment is not fully correct for most species. Chameleons appear invisible primarily because their colour patterns optically dissolve their silhouettes. A chameleon is seen only when moving – which often it does not.

In fact, chameleons use colour change primarily as a means of communication. For instance, in the Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) exhibited here, the normally greenish coloured females use yellowish and turquoise spots on a dark background to signal their pregnancy - saving themselves from being constantly approached by males.

(For more information, see also Chameleon and Veiled chameleon in Wikipedia.)

Discover the yellow-headed Budgerigar in the middle ...

More on the budgerigar:

Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) belong to the parrots and occur – sometimes in very large flocks – in dry regions of Australia. They feed mainly on seeds. The natural plumage colouring is green and yellow with black. From this, human beings have bred numerous other colour variations including blue, white and grey. The first budgerigars came to Europe already around 1840, and they are still a favourite pet. They are excellent at mimicking human speech. A budgerigar called Puck is said to have had an impressive vocabulary of 1728 words. Budgerigars demonstrate their affection through mutual feeding. It was observed that they can drink water while gliding over water if there is no good place to land.

Question: What is the budgerigar sitting on?

(For more information, see also Budgerigar in Wikipedia.)

Discover the racoon dog (top middle), the spiny Echidna (middle right), and the armour-plated Giant pangolin (bottom middle, head in the shade) ...

More on the raccoon dog:

At first glance raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) look like raccoons. However, they actually belong to the dog family and their closest relatives are the grey fox and bat-eared fox. They feed on insects, rodents, amphibians and carrion. They are good swimmers. Living in monogamous pairs, the male plays an important role in raising the young.

Raccoon dogs originally come from East Asia. However, they were released into the wild in Western Russia between about 1920 and 1950 and hunted for their fur. Therefore, today raccoon dogs occur in large areas of Central and Western Europe. It reached Germany in 1960 and now has spread to all parts of it. The introduction of such foreign species can sometimes cause problems for native plants, animals and for humans. For example, raccoon dogs spread rabies. During hibernation (which incidentally is unique amongst dogs), the virus survives, making it harder to control the disease.

(For more information, see also raccoon dog in Wikipedia.)

More on the echidna:

The Echidna (Tachyglossidae) family contains just four species which, along with the duckbilled platypus, are the only mammals which lay eggs. The grape-sized egg has a leathery shell. After being laid, it is carried around by the female in a pouch on her belly. After 10 days a 15 mm long, naked and blind young echidna hatches. The offspring drinks milk from pores in the mother's pouch.

The most striking characteristic of the echidna is without doubt its spiny, hedgehog-like coat which covers the animal's skin along with the thick fur on its belly, legs and head. Another special feature is its elongated snout which is equipped with electroreceptors. These are used for finding their prey (ants and termites in the case of the short-billed echidna and worms in the case of the long-billed echidna). The animal's long sticky tongue is particularly useful for picking up such prey.

(For more information, see also Echidna in Wikipedia.)

Discover the blue Morpho butterflies ... The changing blue colors are caused by light interference at nanostructures inside the wings.

Discover the brightly lit Pygmy slow loris in the middle ...

Discover, left to right: The yellow-legged Falkland Steamer Duck, green Kakapo, and long-billed Kiwi ...

More on the Falkland Steamer Duck:

Falkland Steamer Duck – attack or escape in freestyle

As the name already suggests, this species of steamer ducks (Tachyeres brachypterus) occurs only near the Falkland Islands. It’s a flightless bird; our zoos often keep it together with penguins in the same enclosure. The specimen shown here is a female which died in 1989 at the Berlin Zoo.

The name steamer duck is based on their behaviour. When they need to escape or attack, they don’t just rely on their webbed feet, but obtain additional propulsion using their short wings. These are alternately paddled through the water in a very conspicuous and efficient manner. From a distance and with some of imagination, the look like the rotating paddle wheels of an old fashioned steamer boat. In reality, it might perhaps be better compared with a freestyle swimmer – albeit the duck is moving much faster!

(For more information, see also Steamer duck and Falkland steamer duck in Wikipedia.)

More on the Kakapo:

Fat, fragrant, and almost eaten up

The Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) is the world’s only nocturnal and flightless parrot. And with about 4 kg it is also the heaviest parrot of the world. Bevor the arrival of European settlers, several hundred thousand of this species could be found on New Zealand’s main islands.

The Kakapos have an intense but pleasant smell similar to honey or bee wax. This may possibly play a significant role in mating, helping to find a partner in the dark. Studies have shown that Kakapos possess a strong sense of smell, which is quite unusual for birds. They use this sense primarily to locate their food, consisting of plants, seeds, and fruits.

Unfortunately, their inherent odour was quite clearly harmful for the Kakapo. During New Zealand’s settlement, dogs and rats, later also cats, weasels, and martens were introduced and quickly reproduced. For the predators, as well for humans, the fat, fragrant and completely defenceless Kakapos were easy prey. By 1994, just 47 individuals remained alive. Although, thanks to intensive protection, the population has since almost tripled, the Kakapo remains one of the most seriously endangered species of the world.

The exhibited, outstandingly well preserved, specimen is a female that was shot in 1884.

(For more information, see also Kakapo in Wikipedia.)

More on the kiwi:

Kiwis (Apteryx mantelli) are nocturnal birds found only on the North Island of New Zealand. They are world record holders in that they lay the largest egg in proportion to their body size of any bird. Whilst the egg is developing in the female's body she eats three times her normal amount of food. Then, a few days before laying, the bird stops eating because the egg has become so large that there is no longer any room in the stomach. After the egg is laid, incubation is done only by the male. Kiwi pairs have a monogamous bond which can last for up to 20 years. A special feature of the kiwis are their nostrils which are located at the tip of the beak. This enables the birds to detect worms within the soil. Similar to the Kakapo, the greatest threat to these flightless birds is the introduction of small mammals by humans. The specimen exhibited here is from the Berlin zoo.

(For more information, see also Kiwis and North Island brown kiwi in Wikipedia.)

Discover the mouse-like Elephant shrew and armour-plated Armadillo ...

More on the Armadillo:

Armadillos (Dasypoda) are confined to South America and the south-east of North America. With a body weight of 30-60 kg they are certainly no lightweights. However, some of their predecessors were even larger, reaching 100 kg and more.
The upper side of the body is covered with a leathery armour as a protection from predators and thorny plants. A few species can furthermore roll themselves up into a ball. When threatened by predators, the animals often seek shelter in underground holes and thorny scrub. Since the 1960s it is known that armadillos can suffer and die from leprosy. Around 20% of the populations in Texas and Louisiana are currently affected. Street traffic represents another major threat, to which many animals fall victim.

(For more information, see also Armadillo in Wikipedia.)

Discover the dark Chinese giant salamander at the bottom ...

Discover the Horseshoe Crab ...

More on the Horseshoe crab:

Blue blood for medicine

Horseshoe crabs (Limulus) mostly inhabit shallow, sandy tropical coasts. In addition, one species is found at the southern part of the Atlantic coast of North America. They are an ancient lineage that goes back 450 million years. They may look like crustaceans, but are actually related to arachnids like spiders or scorpions.

Horseshoe crab blood is blue because it contains a copper-based oxygen carrier (haemocyanin instead of haemoglobin). Interestingly, its blood quickly coagulates in the presence of minute concentrations of bacterial toxins. This property is widely used in medicine to test infusions, vaccines and medical devices for bacterial contamination. Unfortunately, a synthetic substitute has yet to be produced. Several thousands of these animals are captured every year, used for involuntary blood donations, and released back into the ocean.

(For more information, see also Horseshoe crab in Wikipedia.)

The Red Panda in the center is difficult to see in the panorama, but you can see it from a different angle on the next slide...

Discover the Tuatara...

More on the tuatara:

Well refrigerated, the tuatara survived the dinosaurs

The Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) still occurs on some rat-free islands around New Zealand’s North Island. On the main islands it became extinct as result of the predation by ground-living predators, introduced by human settlers. The tuatara is nocturnal and, as a result of the cool climate of its habitat, with 16-21 °C it has the lowest preferred body temperature of all living reptiles. At 28 °C it dies from overheating! Consequently, it has an exceptionally slow metabolism. Tuataras take 10-20 years to reach sexual maturity and have a lifespan of more than 90 years.

From the similar looking scaled reptiles (order Squamata, including lizards and snakes), the tuatara differs in having a complete lower temporal arch between the upper jaw bones and the jaw joint. This characterizes the tuatara as the last living species of the ancient reptile order Sphenodontia, fossils of which have been recorded since about 240 million years ago.
That’s why the tuatara is called a living fossil. It survived well stored in a cool place: New Zealand.

(For more information, see also Tuatara in Wikipedia.)

Darwin’s Rhea (bottom right) is not well visible in the Gigapixel scan, but ...

Are indeed 8 million species living on earth? Maybe!

(Earth from Apollo 17, NASA / Public Domain)

Scientists are working hard to estimate the correct number. Current estimates vary, depending on the methods used. They range from 8.7±1.3 mill. (UNEP 2011), over 5±3 Mill (Costello et al. 2013) to 1 million million species (10 to the power of 12, Locey & Lennon 2016). This is an area of active and exciting research!

In this presentation we have simplified this range to a plausible average estimate of "8 Million" - without claiming this to be a more correct number than any other!