DragonsIn China, it is a creature in myths and legends, and it is said that its "horns are like deer, the head is like a camel, the eyes are like rabbits, the necks are like snakes, the belly is like a mirage, the scales are like fish, the claws are like eagles, the palms are like tigers, and the ears are like cows", so to speakA mythical beast that integrates the characteristics of various animals。In the eyes of the ancients, the dragon was a rui beast that could call the wind and rain, and had a lofty and supreme status. The dragon is the spiritual totem of the country, and Chinese people will claim to be the descendants of the dragon, but no one has ever seen the real body of the dragon.
StillThere is a creature that bears a resemblance to a dragon, some even suspect that this creature is the state of the dragon cub period. This creatureThe number of surviving is very small, lazy but long-lived, it is the cave newt
Cave newts are one of the Earth's oldest aborigines, and they have been on Earth for as long as a long timeMore than 10 million years。The newt is the only burrowing chordate in Europe that lives in the underground water veins of limestone caves in the Dinari Alps. Because the place where the newt lives is too hidden,It was not discovered by scientists until 1768, and because of its scarcity, it was not until the nineteenth century that scholars and experts began to study it. Scientists named it after the name of a sea god with the body of a snake, "Proteus".
The shape of the cave newt resembles the dragon in Chinese mythology, because it also has a snow-white **, a snake-like body and eagle-like claws, except for the lack of antler dragon scales, it is completely like a dragon cub. However, the newt does not have the ability to ride the clouds. Cave newts are amphibiansBreathe with your gills underwater and your lungs on land
The tail of the newt is shorter, and except for three pairs of breathing gills, the gills are red, and the whole body is snow-whiteWhen exposed to sunlight, the newt's ** will turn black, returning to the dark cavern before returning to white. Newts generally grow up to 20 to 40 cm, with small claws on their limbs, 3 fingers on their forelimbs and 2 fingers on their hind limbs.
Cave newts are also called blind newts. Because they have lived in a pitch-black cave for a long time, and over timeThe visual degeneration is severe, and the eyes are also hidden underneath。Although they don't have vision, they doExtremely keen sense of smell and hearingIt is for this reason that they are able to survive.
Most amphibians alternate between land and water, with the exception of the burrow newtExcept for the breeding period, it spends almost all of its life in the water。Therefore, the local inhabitants of Slovenia and Croatia refer to them as "mermaids".
Due to the scarcity of the newt and its peculiar appearance, Slovenia** built a newt exhibition hall to attract tourists for sightseeing. Local** also gave live burrow newts as gifts to public institutionsHowever, in order to prohibit wanton breeding, only male newts are given each time. And Slovenia will also have a pattern of cave newtsPrinted on currencyThis shows the importance of this creature in the local area.
The newt is arguably the most patient animal, because it can be found inStay where you are for 7 years without food。There are ** claims,Cave newts can live up to 100 years
The Journal of Zoology once reported that a scientist tracked the survival records of 19 cave newts, and the records showed that one of the 19 cave newtsIt hasn't been touched for 7 years, even the most active newt, is justMoved 38 meters in more than two hundred days。Most of the other newts move less than 5 metres per year.
Not only does the newt have very low requirements for material life, but the mating instinct that most creatures have is also rare in itNewts usually mate only once every 12 years。They are oviparous or ovoviviparous. Female cave newts lay their eggs underneath stonesThree months after hatching, burrowing newt pups will appearIn addition to being smaller, the cubs are basically not much different from the adult newts.
What do newts eat when they live in burrows? In fact, the seemingly empty cave actually has its ownEcosystemAlthough the ecosystem is not as complex as the grasslands, rainforests or marine environments, it does existA single and fragile food chain。Newts and other insects in generalSurvive on organic matter washed in by rain or bat droppings。But because food is so scarce, they can only beRemains stationary all year round to reduce energy loss
The survival habit of the cave newt is actually forAcclimatize to life in a cave。Snakes, frogs and other creatures we know usually choose to hibernate during the winter when food is scarceSleep through the cold and hunger。But the lifestyle of salamanders is different from that of most creatures, they are generalEndure hunger in a sober state。And they areectothermsBy adjusting its body temperature to adapt to the surrounding environment, such as the surrounding temperature is low, the newt will automatically lower its body temperature to avoid consuming energy for its own heating.
Although it is said that the newt can live for 100 years, we don't know much about this creature, and there is no newt that has actually survived for 100 years for human research, but the scientific community generally believes that this animal is very long-lived. ActuallyThere are many creatures that live long lives than cave newts, such as turtles, lighthouse jellyfish, glass sponges, etc. But there is one animal that belongs to the same phylum Chordates as the newt, but it does400 years of life
The phylum Chordates is the highest phylum of the animal kingdom and the most successfully developed of the phylum. Chordates include caudal chordates, cephalic chordates, and vertebrates.Although the cave newt is a chordate that is known to be long-lived, there is no definite evidence, but this creature can live for more than 400 years, yesOfficially certified as the longest-lived vertebrateAnd it isGreenland sharks
Greenland sharks, also known as "small-headed sleeping sharks", live in the Atlantic Ocean near Greenland and Iceland. Compared to the same ocean-dwelling whales, the Greenland shark is not too large, the adult Greenland shark is only 4 5 meters long, andGrowth is slow, sometimes only 1 cm a year。Since a Greenland shark grows to about 4 meters before it reaches adulthood, a female is about as long as a Linglan shark156 years old is considered an adult。And the longest-lived human beings only lived to be 122 years old at most, which shows how exaggerated the longevity of this creature is.
Similar to the newt, the longevity of the Greenland shark is also related to the environment in which it lives. However, the long-lived newt is due to its low energy consumption and its ability to tolerate hunger. But the Greenland shark is becauseThe living environment temperature is low, so the metabolism is slow, which makes the loss of body functions particularly small。And the Greenland shark is huge, and many animals are not its opponents, that's itAvoided being killed by predators
In various comparisons, the longevity of the newt is mainly due to its own adaptability to the environment, so it is more "advanced" than the natural longevity of the Greenland shark. The newt that can constantly evolve to adapt to the environment is a hardworking creature no matter how you look at it, and it is a bit wronged to call it the laziest animal just because it has little activity in order to save energy consumption, thatIs it the laziest creature on the planet?
When it comes to the laziest animal on the planet, we have to bring out the sloth. Sloths are known to many people for their slow movementsIn the movie "Zootopia", there is a sloth in a suit and tie, and when he presses the button with his finger, it is like pressing 01 times the speed, even when I laughed, I dragged a long tail note, and slowly made a haha sound. However, the plot in the movie is somewhat exaggerated.
In real life, sloths can reach speeds of up to 4 meters per minute in trees, and only half the speed on the ground, which is 2 meters per minute. Although it's the same as the newt,The slow speed reduces the loss of energy in the body, but also gives predators the opportunity to prey on them
Unlike cave newts, which live in dark burrows, sloths live in woods with lush vegetation. They hide in trees all year roundThere is only one food in the recipe: leaves。Because its diet is too simple, soEnergy intake is too low, which has the same habit as the cave newt:To reduce movements, slow down movements to reduce metabolism and energy expenditure.
Cave newts regulate their body temperature to adapt to their environment, while sloths, which live in the tropics all year round, do not have this problem. MoreoverSloths also give up their ability to absorb heat, but it can't go to the colder mountains to live as a result.
Cave newts have lived on Earth for about 10 million yearsSloths have been around for as long as the Ice Age。At that time, sloths were still large herbivores weighing several tons, and then they began to stand up and eat leaves, so in the process of evolution, sloths became smaller and smaller, until now, they have becomeCreatures that live entirely in trees spend the rest of their time in trees, except for defecating under trees
But in the PK contest of the "laziest" animal,The sloth still failed because it needed to go down to the tree to defecate, and the newt became the "laziest" animal on the planet in the public perception
As such a special being, is there no other creature similar to it? Yes, that isChinese giant salamander。They are similar in appearance and some of their features, but they are still very different in terms of habits and size.
Although the newt has not been found in our country for the time being, the Chinese giant salamander, which is not available in other countries, isThe largest amphibian in the worldIt is also called because it makes a sound like the cry of a childBaby fish。After careful observation, it is not difficult to find that there are many similarities and differences between the Chinese giant salamander and the cave newt.
First of all, the Chinese giant salamander and the cave newt are amphibians among the endangered animalsThe surviving numbers are relatively scarce, their eyesight is relatively poor, and they all live in caves, all of which have a gecko-like appearance.
However, the species of Chinese giant salamander and cave newt are different. All animals are distinguished according to the categories of genera and species of the phylum Phylum, although they belong to the same kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordates, subphylum Vertebrates, Amphibians, and Tails, but Cave Newts belong to themCave newt, cave newt, cave newt species, and the Chinese giant salamander belongsCryptogill salamander suborder, cryptogill salamander family, giant salamander genus, Chinese giant salamander species
Secondly, although the two animals are similar in appearance, they are very different in size. The newt can only grow up to 40 centimeters at most and weighs only a few tens of grams, but the Chinese giant salamander can be more than 1 meter long and weigh about 30 kilograms, which is thousands of times the weight of a cave newt.
They also have different habits, and the newt lives in the limestone caves of the Alps all year round, relying on organic matter in the water to survive. However, the Chinese giant salamander lives in low-temperature rivers or natural caves, and mainly eats fish, frogs, earthworms and insects. It is these similar and different organisms that form an important part of the food chain in nature
Ecological balance is a natural law formed over thousands of yearsA variety of different organisms are an important part of the food chainOnce a certain organism becomes extinct, there is a domino effectOther organisms will also become extinct。Endangered animals like the newt are a very valuable asset once the newt becomes extinctThe ecological balance of the cave will be severely hit。Therefore, human beings must cherish and love all kinds of creatures and prevent them from becoming extinctConservation of biological diversity