Ask The Science Experts

The largest spider in the world is a tarantula called the Goliath Birdeater. An adult can weigh over four ounces (about the size of a large mouse) and has a leg span of up to 12 inches. The spider was given its unique name by Victorian explorers who witnessed one eating a hummingbird although birds are not typically part of its diet. They survive mostly on small insects and meal worms but will occasionally eat small rodents such as mice, shrews and moles.

Wild goliath birdeaters are a deep burrowing species, found commonly in marshy or swampy areas. Goliath birdeaters usually live in burrows in the ground that they have either dug themselves or have been previously abandoned by rodents or other similar creatures.

The goliath birdeater is fairly harmless to humans, as are most species of tarantulas. Like all tarantulas, it has fangs large enough to break the skin of a human and they do carry venom in their fangs and have been known to bite humans when threatened, but the venom is relatively harmless and its effects are comparable to those of a wasp’s sting. Tarantulas generally bite humans only in self-defense, and these bites do not always result in envenomation. The goliath birdeater has poor eyesight and mainly relies on vibrations in the ground that they can sense from their burrows.

Source: Wikipedia. Posted by the science guy for best selling science toys at Atomic Elephant Toy.

This is a very generic question, but one that actually gets asked quite frequently.  Of course, the short answer is that snakes have a varied diet, depending on factors such as their species, size, age, geographic locale, etc. A fairly accurate answer for what most snakes eat might be: insects, worms, lizards, birds, small amphibians such as frogs and salamanders, and small mammals such as rats, mice and voles. But even this answer could vary depending on a location. A common garter snake that lives in a wooded area near a pond will likely eat more frogs than the garter snake found in your backyard which might live entirely on insects and the occasional mouse.

The more interesting answer is to the question: what do some of the larger more exotic snakes eat? Some snakes primarily eat other snakes (the bandy-bandy of Australia). Some snakes eat mostly the eggs of other animals (see image above). And some of the larger snakes such as pythons and other constrictors will eat small mammals when young and begin to eat larger animals such as pigs, monkeys and deer as they mature.

Posted by the science guy for the best selling science toys of 2008 at Atomic Elephant Toy.

The shortest known gestation period is 12 to 13 days. This record is shared by three marsupials, which is kind of an unfair comparison to all other mammals as in marsupials, the young are born immature and have to continue developing in a pouch on the mother. The three mammals with this very quick gestation period are:  the American or Virginian opossum (Didelphis marsupialis); the rare water opossum, or yapok (Chironectes minimus), of central and northern South America; and the eastern native cat (Dasyurus viverrinus) of Australia.

More about the Virginia Opossum [source: Wikipedia]

It is the largest member of its genus, family and order and is the largest of the opossums. They are typically 15–20 inches (38–51 cm) long and weigh between 9 and 13 pounds (4–6 kg). Their coats are a dull grayish brown, other than on their faces, which are white. Opossums have long, hairless, prehensile tails, which can be used to grab branches and carry small objects. They also have hairless ears and a long, flat nose. Opossums have 50 teeth and opposable, clawless thumbs on their rear limbs.

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While this question is often debated, the land snake commonly believed to have the most lethal poison in the world is the inland taipan. They primarily live in the arid deserts of central eastern Australia. Anything or anyone unlucky enough to be bitten by a taipan is injected with some nasty venom

Inland taipans are also called fierce snakes and can grow up to 10 feet (2.7 meters) although half of that is the norm. This snake changes color according to season. They range from dark brown to straw colored during the year but at winter they go darker and in the summer they go lighter.

Taipans hunt mammals so their poison can knock out warm-blooded, fuzzy rodents and animals, including humans. In a single strike (one bite) the venom can quickly paralyze a small animal or wipe out several adult humans. As the poison spreads, the victim will encounter headaches, nausea, vomiting and stomach pains. Sometimes there are convulsions and in extreme cases, coma.

If that’s not bad enough, the poison eats away at muscle tissue. Urine from the victim turns reddish-brown as their muscles deteriorate and pass through the kidneys. Internal bleeding is a major problem from taipan bites. The poison also prevents blood from clotting so the bite continues to bleed. This can cause internal hemorrhaging, especially in the brain. All this sucks for the bite victim but it’s great for the snake who only has to wait for its prey to stop convulsing before enjoying dinner. Taipans rarely attack humans, except in self-defense, so as long as they are left alone, humans will be too.

Source: Kidzworld.com and posted for the best selling toys of 2008 at Atomic Elephant Science & Toy Co.

The quick answer is that a mature electric eel can produce a shock up to 500 volts at 1 amp of current (500 watts).  The eel’s organs are capable of producing two types of electric discharge– low voltage and high voltage. Both could be harmful to an adult human.

The longer answer, or exactly how the electric eel produces electricity is a bit more complex. Basically, the electric eel has three abdominal pairs of organs that produce electricity. They’re called the Sachs organ, the hunter’s organ and the main organ. The eel’s vital organs are contained in the first one fifth  of its body whereas these electricity producing organs are in the remainder four fifths.

These organs are made of electrocytes lined up in series so the current flows through them and produces an electrical charge. When the eel locates its prey, the brain sends a signal through the nervous system to the electric cells. This opens the ion channel, allowing positively-charged sodium to flow through, reversing the charges momentarily. By causing a sudden difference in voltage, it generates a current. The electric eel generates its characteristic electrical pulse in a manner similar to a battery, in which stacked plates produce an electrical charge. [wikipedia]

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The Dasypus novemcinctus, or nine-banded armadillo female almost always gives birth to four young of the same sex. The offspring are actually quadruplets that come from one fertilized egg splitting into four parts.

The general wikipedia description follows: the Nine-banded Long-nosed Armadillo or just Nine-banded Armadillo, (also known as the poor man’s pig or poverty pig), is a species of armadillo from North, Central and South America. It is the most widespread member of the group. Its ancestors evolved in South America, but were able to invade North America during the Great American Interchange after the Isthmus of Panama formed 3 million years ago.

The Nine-banded Long-nosed Armadillo is a solitary, mainly nocturnal animal, found in many kinds of habitats, from mature and secondary rainforests to grassland and dry scrub. It is an insectivorous animal, feeding chiefly on ants, termites and other small invertebrates. This species is the only known animal that is able to inflate its own intestine in order to float across a river. It can also hold its breath for up to 6 minutes in order to walk across the bottom of narrow rivers. Additionally, the nine-banded armadillo always produces four identical offspring. The armadillo can jump three to four feet (90-120 cm) straight in the air if sufficiently frightened, making it a particular danger on roads.

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You might think the animal with the longest gestation period would be one of the larger mammals, but in fact it is the Alpine black salamander. It is a viviparous amphibian which lives in the high altitude Swiss Alps. At altitudes above 4,600 feet, it’s gestation period can be up to 38 months. It bears two fully metamorphosed young.

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