#gior22skeleton

The Aye-Aye was considered a sign of death and misfortune to the locals and were feared by and many killed upon sight.The Aye-Aye was thought to be extinct but made a come back in 1957 but it is now an endangered species.

Western long-beaked echidna Zaglossus Bruijnii Facts~ It’s in a species group called “monotreme” which is where the mammal produces milk for their young, but unlike other mammals lays egg instead of live young. Instead of having nipples they have milk glands which is inside a pouch (just like a marsupial e.g. a kangaroo). The young are called “puggle” They are related to platypus. They only have one exit... meaning urination, defecation and reproduction all happen in the same place, it is called the “cloaca”. Monotreme’s have changed little over 100 million years according to fossil evidence. Are thought to be nocturnal but little is known about their activities, they can burrow for days at a time and it is still unknown why they do this. They have no ability to bite or chew and can only suck up their prey which normally includes of earthworms. The beak has electrical receptors and can detect faint movement in electrical fields produced by its prey. They don’t have any tail. They are covered in spikes and curl up just like hedgehogs to protect themselves from predators. They can lift twice their body weight. They are not social and normally roam around alone. The name echidna is from a Greek mythological monster who was half-snake and half-woman, who is also the mother to many other Greek monsters. According to tribal hunters the echidna is the offspring of a python snake. Which could possibly be related to each other. Knuckles from Sonic the hedgehog is a red echidna. Threats~ Human’s hunt down the echidna using trained dogs to sniff out their burrows. They are a tribal favourite meal for 800 different tribes with 7.3 million mouths to feed and most with a craving for echidna, with it as one of their main sources of protein. Habitat loss due to deforestation driven by mining, agriculture and logging.

The hand of the Aye-Aye and It’s sixth digit (pseudo thumb). It’s the small tiny part on the left side of the hand.

Threats to the Dhole~ They are considered vermin. Are considered a threat to livestock. Have a bad name even in stories such as "The Second Jungle Book" which it is personified as a villain. They were bounty hunted until brought under the procreation of the Wildlife Protection Act Have received little scientific attention and conservation action.

An interesting fact about the chameleon is that the bones glow under UV light, but not only do they glow, they glow right through their skin! Scientists use ultraviolet lights to help find and locate chameleons and thier bones where they decay rapidly in the grounds of the forests.

I chose the Bandicoot, even though they are not the highest on the Cites list and are of least concern, I wanted to draw it as it is a very interesting creature and needs more awareness especially with all the bush fires that have been happening in Australia.I had trouble finding References for this drawing I was lucky to be able to talk to JackDAshby (Twitter) who helped me find some more references from the grant museum.

#naturedrawingclub on instagram during lockdown

Cat Skeleton in Red