You stand on the shore of the ocean, look at the endless expanses, and the thought involuntarily creeps in, and what inhabitants are hidden by the water column?

Animal world seas and oceans in humans, in the first place, is associated with whales and sharks, so you can often hear the question, what are the largest animals in the world?

Let's try to deal with giant water monsters and highlight the tallest inhabitants of the oceans and seas.

Everyone knows from childhood that the largest animal on the planet is a whale. If you believe distant ancestors, then three such animals held the Earth on their backs. Well, if we turn to science, it turns out that the largest (of those who were measured) instance of a blue (blue) whale grew to 33.58 meters, and it was a female. The heaviest blue whale(of those caught) weighed over 190 tons. And then, the specialists had to weigh the record holder in parts, so the error came out huge. Either way, the result is impressive. Because 190 tons is the mass of two dozen elephants.

By the way, the blue whale is considered, moreover, the most "vociferous" animal in the world. It can make sounds that can be heard for 800 kilometers and beyond.

However, it is not easy for a whale to win the palm in the race for the title of the largest animal on the planet. In the dispute, which, by the way, continues even now, some other inhabitants of the planet are taking it. And all of them, oddly enough, Marine life. There are even semi-mythical ones on the list, the existence of which is only guessed at. For example, Megalodon. The fact of his extinction, many lovers of sensations are trying to question to this day. There are even witnesses who have observed giant sharks, and they say that it was not a whale or even a whale shark. But it is worth noting the real representatives of the fauna, who are fighting for the title of the largest animal on Earth. More precisely, if you say the longest. It's a giant jellyfish lion's mane or cyanide. Broadband giant water world can grow up to 37 meters (including tentacles). The diameter of the umbrella of this living creature is approximately 250 centimeters. And if we objectively evaluate these facts, then the jellyfish is longer and larger than the whale.

Not far behind the jellyfish and another representative of the fauna of the sea. It's gigantic sea ​​worm bootlace. In the 19th century, a worm about 55 meters long was discovered on the coast of Scotland near St. Andrews after a storm. Its width was only 10 centimeters. However, scientists did not recognize the giant in the giant. This is because worms can stretch and contract. Whale shark However, sharks are also fighting for the title of the largest. And which one can call itself the biggest and most big fish in the oceans?

Now scientists assign leadership in body size to the whale shark. Experts believe that it is the largest of known to science fish. However, disputes on the topic of the maximum size of the fish are still going on among scientists.

The record, which is documented, is 14 meters. But not infrequently there is information about the capture of a larger representative of the species. Some sharks grow up to 20 meters or more. For example, in 2002, near Chinese Taiwan, fishermen caught a female weighing 34 tons and 20 meters long.

Scientists note that the difficulty in installing limit sizes whale sharks not only in that large specimens are quite rare in nature. In fact, this fish is listed in the International Red List of the IUCN and fishing is prohibited for it. Catching an animal is punishable by law.

But this fact rarely stops poachers, since only the fins of this individual in the markets of Asia cost tens of thousands of dollars. And if the fishermen manage to catch a whale shark, then, of course, the catch is hidden from prying eyes and ears, especially scientists. The fish is usually butchered on the spot, the fins, the most valuable pieces of the body, are cut off, and the rest is returned to the sea.

Despite the disputes of scientists, no one denies that the whale shark is the largest of the modern fish that are known to science. By the way, almost nothing is known about their method of reproduction. Until recently, sharks were thought to lay eggs. This conclusion was made after a huge egg 36 centimeters long was found at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico in 1953. And he was mistaken for the future baby whale shark. But at the end of the last century, a pregnant female was caught, inside of which there were embryos that had already hatched. Therefore, it became clear that sharks reproduce by ovoviviparity. Small sharks are already appearing with a length of 60 centimeters.

Whale shark in the water

By the way, the most big shark, which the man caught, is just a whale. She was harpooned off the coast of Pakistan (near Baba Island) in 1949. The weight of the giant was 20 tons, while the length was almost 13 meters. The girth of the body is also impressive - 7 meters. The fishermen immediately killed the fish, butchered it in parts and sold it.

Another inhabitant of the waters is not far from the record holder - this is a giant shark. It is known that the size of such fish reaches 11 meters. And information about the capture of a larger individual (up to 15 meters) is available, but it is not documented. It is worth noting that the giant shark and whale shark are almost not dangerous for humans. They only feed on zooplankton. And they are not at all interested in a person as prey.


And they are dangerous because with one movement of the tail fin they can break a person's spine or cause other serious injury. Therefore, in the immediate vicinity of monster fish, you need to be careful.

largemouth shark

Bigmouth sharks, a rather rare variety of underwater predators, also grow quite large. The largest recorded size of a largemouth shark is 7 meters. But who knows, suddenly larger individuals swim in the depths of the ocean

bigmouth shark

White shark

In 1978, in the Azores, near the harbor of San Miguel, a 7-meter white shark was caught with the help of dozens of harpoons. To date, this is a record. White death, as it is also called, resisted the fishermen and killed two people. She broke the spine of one, and bit the other in half.

By the way, there are cases when white shark caught on a bait. So, in 1959, the Australian Elf Dian on a small motor boat in the ocean caught a cannibal on a steel line. The weight of the predator was 1207 kilograms, and the length was a little more than five meters.
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The oceans have become home to sharks - aggressive and voracious creatures, terrifying on many marine life and on people. Nature "provided" them with the sharpest teeth, a powerful streamlined body and a "Nordic" character. But it turns out that there are species that look at which you can’t believe that these are sharks, and their behavior is not “shark” at all ...

Carpet Shark or Bearded Wobbegong

Agree, she does not look like a shark at all. These benthic marine animals, common in warm waters, grow in length a little more than a meter, but sometimes three-meter individuals are also found. The body of the wobbegong is flat, expanding towards the head with a rather unsympathetic snout, inexpressive unblinking eyes, small teeth and skin growths resembling a beard. With them, the carpet shark "combs" the seabed, looking for food - crabs, shrimps, mollusks, echinoderms and small fish. The mottled skin allows the bearded wobbegong to be well camouflaged on the bottom, blending in with corals and algae.

Interesting fact. Almost all shark species need to move in order to breathe. And wobbegongs can breathe without moving. These are immobile animals. Consequently, they burn fewer calories, so they need little food.

Carpet sharks are not dangerous to humans, although you should not touch them or grab them by the tail - they can bite.

fox shark

Its other names are sea ​​fox" or "marine thresher". The most prominent part of this shark's body is its large tail. She needs it not at all for beauty or for the convenience of swimming, but for hunting. Seeing the fish, the fox shark begins to circle around them, waving its tail and driving the fish into a dense flock. Then the shark dives down the “fish pile”, positioning its tail up, and strikes it with force on the “potential dinner”. The speed of the tail at this moment is 80 km / h, so the fish that fell under it have no chance of escaping. Hence the name - "sea thresher". The shark is very voracious, so it quickly begins to grab a stunned fish. If its stomach is already full, and the fish killed by the tail is still on the surface of the water, the fox shark regurgitates part of the eaten fish, and begins to devour the fish still floating on the water. Here is a vivid example of boundless greed! The fox shark can also hunt live fish even jumping out of the water. This often does her a disservice, as a careless shark often manages to catch its prominent tail on fishing tackle.

Elephant shark or gigantic (giant) shark

This giant with a laterally compressed body and a head with a short trunk grows up to 10 meters in length and weighs more than 4 tons. The mouth of this shark is so large (up to three meters in diameter) that small teeth are completely invisible. It would seem that having such a mouth, you can easily eat large animals. But no. The elephant shark only eats plankton. She, slowly swimming with her mouth open, pumps into him great amount water with plankton, the water is then filtered through the gills, and the plankton swallows. Her stomach can hold up to a ton of food.

The giant shark has another name - "basking shark", because it loves to swim on the very surface of the water, exposing its powerful body to the warm sun. The gigantic shark feeds especially actively in summer and spring, and in the cold season, when plankton becomes smaller, it either feeds on the fat reserves of the liver, or descends to great depths (up to 1 km) in search of plankton.

The liver of this shark is 1/5 of its weight, fat is considered very useful for humans, and meat with bones has been used in humans. Therefore, these giants are massively destroyed. Too bad, because they are completely harmless.

Hammerhead shark

The hammerhead shark is one of the largest sharks (from 5 to 7 meters) and one of the oldest fish on our planet (over 25 million years old). Its weight can reach 350 kg. These sharks live in warm seas.

This shark has a very unusual head with two lobes located on the sides, on which small eyes and special bodies to capture odor. The hammerhead shark is very voracious and illegible in food: it eats both large animals and its shark relatives.

"Potential food", trying to hide from this predator, burrows into the sand, but in vain. The hammerhead shark catches with its head the impulses coming from their bodies, rushes at them and literally tears the frightened quivering fish out of the sand. The hammerhead shark is also dangerous to humans.

longwing shark

This is a very aggressive and slow shark, common in warm seas. She patiently waits for some prey to fall into her field of vision. And when this happens, for example, a school of fish appears, a long-winged shark begins to greedily grab food. After eating these sharks, many half-eaten animals or fish swim on the surface of the bloody water.

She does not hesitate and human flesh. For example, in the forties of the last century near South Africa shipwrecked with a thousand passengers on board. Almost all people who fell into the water were eaten alive by long-winged sharks.

Long-winged sharks circle near sailing ships, grabbing everything that is thrown from them. In the womb of the caught sharks, bales of garbage were sometimes found.

Long-winged sharks are caught by people for their large fins, which are used as food.

cat shark

This spotted, like a cat, small shark (maximum 1m 20 cm) leads a sedentary lifestyle in warm seas, among corals. During the day, she lies motionless, hiding in corals, and at night she goes in search of food. The shark probes the bottom with its antennae and looks for small fish and crustaceans there.

Amazing fact. These interesting animals have adapted to do without water for more than ten hours. This is a feature developed over many centuries, which arose due to the fact that these sharks often leave the tide on the shore.

The cat shark is often kept in aquariums.

largemouth shark

The largemouth shark is one of the least studied marine animals and the rarest fish in the world. It was first discovered in 1976, since then people have discovered only 47 of these animals.

The weight of these five-meter giants with a large head and a meter-long thick-lipped mouth is one and a half tons. They feed on krill, and they do it in a very interesting way. Their mouth has a luminous surface from the inside, which attracts small animals and plankton. This is the largest luminous sea animal! Having captured a huge amount of water and "food", the giant filters the water, and pushes the food with a huge tongue down the throat. If a particularly nimble victim tries to escape from the jaws of a goblash, then they stand in her way small teeth, arranged in 23 rows of 300 pieces each!

The largemouth shark has a watery body that prevents it from drowning. But it often becomes the prey of other predators. A clumsy and very slow shark can be attacked by a flock rock perch, which sharp teeth rip pieces out of her body. It can also be swallowed whole by a sperm whale.

saw shark

The saw-nosed shark is a small fish (up to two meters) with a long outgrowth on the nose, equipped with teeth. Why is it needed? To loosen the soil with them, injure the "food" and fight with rivals. Interestingly, broken teeth can grow back. Saw-bearing sharks live in warm seas.

Glowing sharks

Glowing sharks - very aggressive fish, but one thing distinguishes them from their brethren: they do not kill the victims, but only bite off the part they like from them and swim home. Their diet includes whales, killer whales, swordfish, or even brothers, the same luminous sharks. But sometimes they also become someone's dinner. One day glowing shark found in the stomach of a large tuna.

These 50 cm sharks live in warm seas. During the day they live at great depths (sometimes up to 3 km), and at night they rise to the surface.

Goblin Shark or Goblin Shark

This ugly shark with a very strange appearance is very little studied. She has an elongated nose and ugly jaws with protruding sharp teeth, which at the right time (during the hunt) can move forward. The brownie shark weighs about 200 kg, and its length is 3.5 m. It is distributed at great depths in all oceans. She has very weak eyesight, and she doesn’t need it at such and such a depth!

A person often asks the question: is he alone in the Universe? Is there life somewhere else or is he completely, completely alone? We don't know the answers. Bye. But before you look with bated breath at the stars, you should better look around, because we share the planet with myriads of other creatures, each of which is unique and inimitable in its own way.

The smallest can be seen only with the help of very powerful technology, for others, the person himself can become an annoying, but easily overcome obstacle. It is such large animals that make people stop to once again admire the diversity and bizarre fantasy of nature. Let's do it too.

Blue whale - giant of giants

At this particular historical moment in time, blue whales are the largest animals on earth, in water and in the air. Photos or videos can be impressive, but they don't even come close to conveying their size. On land, these giants may seem somewhat clumsy, but in the water they are unmatched. As for the size, here are just a few facts that will help you feel their scale:

  1. The length of the whale can reach 33 meters. If it's hard to imagine, imagine a nine-story building and add one more floor to it.
  2. The weight of such a giant can be up to 200 tons. For example, the weight of Daewoo Matiz is less than 800 kilograms, that is, the whale is 250 times larger than a small, but still car.
  3. An adult animal burns 1 million calories per day. We would have to eat 500 kilograms of beef chops for this, while a whale costs a ton of krill.
  4. The second largest animal is the elephant, but it weighs about the same as the whale's tongue alone.

This is only a small part of the information about this magnificent animal, but even it allows you to imagine how huge it is.

African Elephant - King of the Pampas

We have already talked about this animal above, but this does not mean that it does not deserve more detailed description. If blue whales are the super champions of all elements, then African elephant conquered only land, but on it there is no more massive animal. Here's a couple interesting facts:

  1. Elephant ladies weigh about three tons, their cavaliers - up to five, and the very best can increase up to seven and a half tons of live weight.
  2. The baby elephant is born very tiny - only a centner of weight and a meter of height, but he eats a lot of fatty mother's milk and grows quickly.
  3. The tusks of a hardened male can reach a weight of 100 kilograms each.

Of course, compared to the blue whale, these numbers are not very impressive, but life in the air dictates its limitations. On the other hand, other animals are even smaller.

Giraffe - 6 meters of misunderstanding

It is difficult to imagine the vagaries of evolution that gave rise to these strange creatures with their long legs and a neck comparable in length to them. But you can safely admire the result, if not in natural environment, then at least in a photo or video. And to make it interesting to admire, here are a few dry statistical facts:

  1. The growth of a giraffe can reach six meters, of which 2 is only the neck. At the same time, they weigh relatively little - 1000-1200 kilograms. Not surprising, given that they are mostly made up of legs and necks.
  2. Despite the fact that the length of the giraffe's neck strikes the wildest fantasies, approaching nightmares, it has as many vertebrae as in the human neck - 7 pieces.
  3. The language of the giraffe is another asset. He can stick it out almost half a meter.
  4. It is difficult to imagine a running giraffe, but he can do it quite well, reaching speeds of up to 55 km / h. Jumping giraffe looks even more phantasmagoric. But at the same time, he can overcome the bar of two meters.

Thus, despite the seeming clumsiness and awkwardness, the giraffe is a strong, hardy and ideally adapted miracle of nature for life in its conditions. Of course, this is not the largest animal in the world, but it is consistently in the top three.

Southern elephant seal - a waterskin with fat

The sea elephant is the most large view pinnipeds, and the southern branch is significantly larger than its relatives. They live, as the name implies, on south pole, which determined them appearance. In a harsh climate, and even more so in icy (in the literal sense of the word) water, one cannot survive without a thick fat layer that would protect him from this disgrace.

True, because of this, they began to look like wineskins filled with liquid fat, especially when they roll over to the rookery. But in the water they acquire the grace of a bird and the purposefulness of a torpedo. In this regard, these large animals once again confirm that nature does nothing for nothing, adapting each creature to certain conditions. A few basic parameters of these giants:

  1. In length, the male can grow up to 6 meters, having accumulated 5 tons of weight. His spouses are more miniature, their weight is about one ton at 2-3 meters in length.
  2. A newly born baby weighs only 50 kilograms.
  3. There may be several hundred females in the rookery and only a few dozen males who have won the right to be in this paradise.

Fat, clumsy, ugly - actually sea ​​elephants- the personification of grace. Under the water. Not surprisingly, this is where they spend 70-80% of their lives.

Ostrich - running bird

It is worth many, many times to thank nature that ostriches and their relatives do not fly. Otherwise, it would be scary to imagine what the monuments and squares of the cities that they would choose as theirs would turn into. permanent place dislocations. Their passage would resemble a carpet bombardment. And now you will understand why:

  1. The weight of an adult large ostrich can be up to 150 kilograms with a growth of 2.5 meters.
  2. Their head is small, but very beautiful and big eyes. The brain already does not fit well in the head, so it is comparable in size to the eyes.
  3. Ostriches do not know how to fly, but they run excellently: at speeds up to 60 km / h. Even one-month-old chicks can reach speeds of up to 50 km / h, catching up with their mother.

Ostriches are beautiful and elegant birds. But still, it's good that they don't fly.

Liger - from a change in the places of the terms, the amount changes

There are three types of cats: domestic, small wild and big wild cats. In this case, the liger could be called very large wild cat. Not surprising, because they are much larger than both the lion dad and the tigress mom. Such marriages are quite rare, but any zoos or parks are proud of children.

This hybrid looks like a lion with soft, blurry stripes, but this is not what is interesting, but their size. Here are some facts:

  1. Liger Hercules weighs 400 kilograms, twice ahead of dad and his relatives.
  2. The largest liger, marked by the Guinness Book of Records, weighed 798 kilograms. It can easily be divided into 4 lions.
  3. A descendant from a tiger father and a lioness mother is called a tiger, but it does not have such an impressive size.

4 liligrens are now growing up in the Novosibirsk zoo - the eldest girl Kiara and newborn triplets. They were born from the marriage of a ligitsa and a lion, creating a very rare and unique variety. It is still difficult to say whether they will be able to surpass their predecessor parents.

Grizzly is not a teddy bear at all
Grizzly is an Americanized our native brown bear. But, having moved abroad, he acquired impressive claws, a bad temper, and besides, he grew up a little. See for yourself:

  • On average, the growth of a grizzly ranges from 2.2 meters to 2.8.
  • The weight is about half a ton.
  • Some, the most hardened, reach a height of 4 meters. Weight and bad temper increase proportionately.
  • Bear loves an aggressive manicure: the length of his claws is about 15 centimeters, twice as long as human fingers.

Now you know what is the largest animal on our planet. Unfortunately, most of the champions listed in our article are firmly established in the Red Book. If humanity does not change its attitude towards them in the near future, then they risk moving to Chernaya. Our grandchildren are at risk to learn about them: from photos and videos.

At all times, people were especially interested in objects whose dimensions are many times larger or smaller sizes person. Let's ask ourselves which of the organisms living on Earth is the largest and smallest? It turns out that each Kingdom of living Nature has its own "champions"!

Plants are giants and dwarfs. Among the plants, the largest are trees, giant eucalyptus trees. They grow in Australia and reach 100 meters in height! That's the height of a 30-story building! In the seas of the southern hemisphere, the world's largest algae, the pear-bearing macrocystis, is found. Of course, no pears grow on it, but its total length can reach 300 m! What about the smallest plants? These are the smallest algae floating in the thickness of reservoirs - phytoplankton. In Greek, this word means "soaring or wandering plants." Pay attention to the fact that the words "phytoplankton" and "planet" have a common Greek root! And those and these are wandering! Phytoplankton organisms are composed of one or more cells, and many of these are only visible under a microscope. But their mass is simply huge. Biologists estimate the weight of phytoplankton living in the oceans, seas, lakes and reservoirs at 30 billion tons! Have you noticed how, on a quiet and warm summer day, the water in a small lake suddenly turned green? It is said that the water "bloomed". In fact, it is the multiplied phytoplankton that “painted” the water into green color. Scoop up some of this water in a glass and examine it in the light more closely. See for yourself!

Ocean giants. Well, the biggest animals live in the oceans. Look at Figure 14, where the record-breaking animals are compared in size to humans.

Whales. The largest animal on earth is the blue whale. He is a member of the mammalian class. The largest whale caught was 33 m long and weighed almost 150 tons, which is equal to the weight of

25-30 elephants or 150 bulls! His heart weighed as much as a large horse weighs - almost 700 kg, and only one tongue - 2 tons! And the length of a newborn whale is also rather big - 8 m, and the “baby” weighs 6 tons. The whale feeds on small crustaceans - crustaceans and shrimps - zooplankton. Therefore, the whale does not pose a threat to humans. Rather the opposite. But he has great strength. There have been cases when a whale, in order to scratch its back, rubbed against the bottoms of small boats and turned them over! The whale, like all mammals, breathes atmospheric air. Therefore, before diving sometimes for tens of meters, he takes a deep breath and holds his breath for several minutes. And a newborn whale must also take its first breath, so that later it can begin its difficult life path in the ocean. There is one scientific riddle connected with whales. The fact is that whales are often washed ashore for no apparent reason and die there under the weight of their own weight. Biologists are still tormented by the question of why this happens. Previously, whales were exterminated, and there were no more than 40 thousand of them left in the oceans. Now hunting for them is limited and strictly regulated by international agreements.

Fish. In the class of fish, there are about 20 thousand species. And the largest is the whale shark, whose length is almost 20 m! She is also called giant shark. But it also feeds on zooplankton and is not dangerous to humans. But in the oceans and seas there are about 300 various kinds the most dangerous sharks with sizes from tens of centimeters to 14 m. Sharks are one of the most ancient animals. They have excellent eyesight and sense of smell. By the way, it is believed that sharks are afraid of orange and more ... blows on the nose! Of course, you can dress in orange, but it’s better not to hit them on the nose. Therefore, we will not check the validity of this judgment - let it remain a hypothesis. A shark swimming man is noticed at a distance of 100 m. One of the most ferocious is the carchadon shark. This 12-meter predator is armed with several rows of sharp triangular teeth 5 cm long. With its teeth, it easily cuts steel ropes! No wonder fishermen find sharks in their stomachs plastic bottles, empty cans and even steel hooks! Furthermore, telegraph cables lying at great depths along the ocean floor bear hundreds and thousands of traces of shark bites. The katran shark living in the Black Sea reaches a length of one and a half meters. Its white meat is very tasty. However, most sharks are inedible. However, the specially prepared fins of some sharks are very tasty and, for example, are considered a delicacy by the Chinese. The branch of biology that studies fish is called ichthyology. In Greek, "ichthys" means fish.

Squids and octopuses. Almost 25 meters long are living in tropical seas giant squid and octopuses. They represent an ancient type of molluscs, in which there are about 80 thousand species. This also includes, for example, mollusks, which we often incorrectly call “shells”. In ancient times, squids and octopuses were credited with fantastic strength and bloodthirstiness. They were depicted on engravings as terrible monsters, carrying ships and people into the depths of the ocean! However, apart from old drawings, there is no other serious evidence of the attacks of these animals on people. Sometimes squids fight whales, but scientists still don't know why they do it.

Jellyfish. Giant polar jellyfish reaching 20-25 meters in length are representatives of the type of intestinal, in which there are about 13 thousand species. The body of giant jellyfish consists of a jelly-like translucent bell, from which huge tentacles hang down. The tentacles are poisonous and are used by jellyfish to catch small fish and zooplankton. Jellyfish, like many other marine life, are very sensitive to an approaching storm and go deep in advance.

Giants on land. Compared to the oceans on land, animals are smaller.

elephants.. The largest of them is the African bush elephant. The elephant is a mammal. Its weight reaches 5-7.5 tons, and its height is 3.5-4 m. The heart of an elephant makes only 25 beats per minute, and field mouse, for example, all 300. Despite their impressive size, elephants are good-natured, if they are not offended. They feed on tree leaves and grasses. They love to swim very much. Elephants live only in Africa and Asia. In India and some other countries, people use them to carry heavy loads. But not an elephant - the most powerful animal in the world. About who is stronger, we will tell later.e.

giraffes. Another representative of mammals, the African giraffe, is the tallest land animal. Remember! The same giraffe that the ship will notice on the horizon before us. His height reaches 6 m! Giraffe is a herbivore. Do you know that a giraffe has a half-meter tongue? He probably loves to chat!

snakes. The longest snake is the South American anaconda water boa. Its length exceeds 10 m. It represents a class of reptiles, in which there are about 4 thousand species of snakes, turtles and lizards. anaconda lives in tropical forests. And it feeds on animals that it lies in wait on the banks of reservoirs, attacks them, strangles them in its arms, and then swallows them whole. A boa constrictor, like all snakes, is an animal with a pronounced irregularity in nutrition. We now know that the processing of food requires the expenditure of energy - calories. Therefore, the feeling of after-dinner heaviness is familiar to everyone. However, the sensations that we experience cannot be compared with what the boa constrictor “experiences” after its dinner. The fact is that boas' meals are often separated by "unscheduled" fasts, lasting up to 2-3 months! But, if you really happen to eat, a boa constrictor can swallow a “dish” equal to half its own weight! When digesting such a “lunch”, the oxygen consumption of a boa constrictor increases by 17 times! To assimilate food, he mobilizes all the forces of his body and soul and spends so many calories that he can lie motionless for several days! Among poisonous snakes also has its giants. The largest of them - the king cobra-hamadryad - reaches a length of 5.5 meters! Sometimes she even attacks elephants, although without much result. By the way, snakes, like cats and some other animals, have special sense organs - a kind of "thermal locators". With their help, they perceive infrared thermal radiation and see their victims even in complete darkness!

Crocodiles. The world's largest crocodiles live at the mouths of warm tropical Australian rivers or in wetlands. Their length exceeds 10-12 m. They represent an ancient class of amphibians, in which there are about 2 thousand species of newts, frogs and other company. All of them feel equally good both in water and on land. Hence the name. In appearance, the crocodile is inactive. But when it smells prey, it becomes a fast and ferocious predator! By the way, crocodiles are very ancient animals, and their body has a rather complex structure. For example, a crocodile can spend more than an hour under water without breathing!

Birds. There are almost 2 thousand species in the class of birds. And the largest bird is the African ostrich. Its height is 2 m, weight reaches 200 kg, and an ostrich can live, if no one eats it, up to 50, ■ even up to 70 years. An ostrich does not fly, but it runs so fast that it can overtake a galloping horse! An ostrich egg is 20 times bigger than kuri-yugo and holds 1-1.5 liters of water! True, it takes at least half an hour to cook such an egg. The female ostrich brings up to 100 eggs a year. Therefore, people have long paid attention to these birds. For some time now, ostriches have been bred at home.

First they did it on farms in Africa and Australia, and now in Europe and North America. The ostrich has great strength - with a paw blow, it can not only knock down, but also kill a person. Birds study section of biology - ornithology. Ornithos is Greek for bird.

Well, who is the smallest among living organisms?

Let's meet living dwarfs. Each of the Kingdoms has its own dwarfs - single-celled organisms. Their dimensions are hundredths and thousandths of a millimeter! To imagine how small, for example, bacteria, it is enough to say that in 1 cu. cm fits 600 billion bacteria! And among those whom we can see without a microscope, there are also dwarfs. For example, duckweed, which has round leaves, grows on the surface of quiet reservoirs. The size of its leaves does not exceed 2-10 mm. Swamp dwarf frog fits on the nail of the little finger! The smallest bird, the hummingbird, lives in tropical forests. It is no bigger than a bee in size, but weighs like a small coin!