Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! I don’t want to sound pathetically cliche, but it’s undeniable that nature is unmatchable when it comes to the beauty and diversity of life forms. Homo Sapiens, of course, is trying to compete, inventing more and more new life forms, but fortunately, it is clearly not enough to compete in wisdom with the very Nature of our imagination… I want to reassure dear readers – I am not going to discuss hot topics such as politics, sociology, or tolerance (there is enough of this goodness without us on the vast expanses of the Internet). Instead, I propose that we take a break from all that and spend some time revealing again the wonderful world of animals.
Who doesn’t get hooked on amazing photo reports from Geo magazine or National Geographic documentaries? The Russian-speaking public well remembers the “All About Animals for Kids” show and, of course, the “In the World of Animals” TV show is absolutely unforgettable. I am not going to quote chapters from Brehm’s Life of Animals or another epic source. I simply want to share a few interesting facts about big and small animals.
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is the largest mammal on Earth. These giants can weigh up to 175 tons and reach a length of up to 33 meters. On the other hand, the biggest land animal is the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) which can grow up to 6-7.5 meters in length and weigh around 6 tons (for males). African elephants inhabit a wide area, covering the entire region south of the Sahara Desert. However, their population has been greatly reduced due to poaching. Small tip for the elephant fans: when an elephant swings its tail from side to side, it usually means it is happy and relaxed.
The title of the smallest mammal rightfully belongs to the white-toothed pygmy shrew, also known as the Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus). Its body length does not exceed 4.5 cm, and its tail can grow up to 3.5 cm. Adult pygmy shrews weigh less than two grams. Despite their small size, they can eat up to three times their body weight in food per day, and some sources say they can consume up to six times their weight. The shrew’s diet mainly consists of insects, but it can also hunt bigger prey such as frogs and lizards.
The common ostrich (Struthio camelus) is the largest modern bird, reaching a height of 2.7 meters and an impressive weight of up to 156 kg. For clarification, the weight of the Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) is only 40-45 kg. Wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) have the largest wingspan among birds, measuring up to three and a half meters, although they are not the heaviest (males weigh up to 11 kg). The wings of this bird are long and narrow, and it uses air currents to fly. When there is no wind or the air temperature is low, the bird flies at an altitude of no higher than 15 meters. An albatross can fly up to 1000 km per day, even against the wind.
The smallest bird on Earth is the bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), native to the island of Cuba in the Caribbean. The male is only 5 cm long from beak to tail, while the female is slightly larger. They weigh less than three grams. Interestingly, the bee hummingbird is not only the smallest bird but also the smallest warm-blooded animal on the planet. These birds feed on flower nectar and while doing so, collect pollen on their feathers and transfer it to other flowers. In a single day, a hummingbird-bee can pollinate about 1,500 flowers in this way!
After discussing pollination and nectar, it’s time to move on to the largest insects in the world. It’s difficult to name a single record holder, as there are several categories to consider, such as weight, wingspan, and body length. For instance, the white witch moth Thysania agrippina has the largest wingspan, measuring between 25 to 30 cm. The heaviest insects are the Little Barrier giant wētā (Deinacrida heteracantha), which is endemic to New Zealand. These insects have a body length of about seven centimeters and can weigh up to 70 grams. The largest insect in terms of body length is the Chan’s megastick (Phobaeticus chani), which was discovered in southern China in 2016. This insect has elongated limbs, and its length is an impressive 62.4 cm.
The smallest known insects are the male Dicopomorpha echmepterygis parasitoid wasps, measuring only 0.139 millimeters in length. These insects belong to the Mymaridae family. Interestingly, female Dicopomorpha echmepterygis are almost twice the size of males, with a body length of about 0.25-0.30 millimeters. Male Dicopomorpha echmepterygis have no eyes, mouthparts, wings, or claws – instead, they have suckers. This is because as parasites, they have no use for these organs.
I think we’ve covered enough for today. We’ll discuss the largest and smallest reptiles, amphibians, and fishes in future posts.
As I was about to finish writing an article, a curious idea struck me. The word “kingdom” is commonly and scientifically used to describe global biodiversity in at least two of the languages in which our website is available. The biological kingdoms of animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, etc… If you think about it, these are perhaps the most natural kingdoms you could imagine. Every living organism, regardless of its size, color, appearance, origin, or gender, has a unique place in its kingdom. Without any one of them, the world would become incomplete and less vibrant. In these kingdoms, everyone depends on everyone else, and everything depends on everything else. This unspoken law is ingrained in the blood (or other life-giving substance) and is absorbed with milk or the yolk of an egg, because this is the essence of Nature. This leads to a logical question: who is the king? It is certainly not someone who only destroys, kills, or tries to impose his own, rather strange (if not crazy), rules of life. Isn’t it?