Month: August 2010

Tomato

The tomato is a plant which bears edible red fruit. Originally from South America, it was spread around the world due to the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Nowadays, it is one of the world’s most popular ingredients in cooking and there are now many varieties grown, either in backyards or in greenhouses. Tomatoes are

Carpet shark

Around the Indo-Pacific and the Australian ocean region, many may come across a peculiar kind of fish that are known as carpet sharks. They are called carpet sharks for its unique and intricate designs that are similar to the household carpets. You can think of them as a household carpet in the water that moves,

Dachshund

Dachshunds are a type of dog that belong to the hound family that is commonly referred to as a ‘sausage dog’. This is because it is short-legged and long in size. Dachshunds were primarily developed to smell, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals. Miniature dachshunds were developed to hunt smaller sized prey

Jack Russell

Jack Russell terriers are dogs that were originally used for fox hunting. It is a small and broad terrier that is confused with a Parson Russell and a Russell terrier. It is a working dog, which was originally used by Rev. John Russell in the early 19th century. It has lots of energy, and requires

Jackfruit

The jackfruit is native to parts of South-East Asia and South Asia. It is a species that is part of the mulberry family. It is also the national fruit of Bangladesh. Its claim to fame is that it is the jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world as it can reach up 36kg

Rambutan

Rambutans are fruits from a medium-sized tree from the tropics. It is native to Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, The Philippines, and the rest of South-East Asia. It is believed to be a native Malaysian plant, where it spread upwards to Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Its name derives from the

Durian

Revered in South-East Asia as the ‘king of fruits’, the durian is a type of fruit from several tree species belonging to the Durio genus and the Malvaceae family. It is distinctive for its size, smell, and thorn-covered husk. It can grow as large as 30 cm long and 15cm in diameter, and weighs on

Avocado

Native to the Carribean, Mexico, South America, and Central America, the avocado is a perennial fruit from a tree which is usually either spherical or looks like an egg. Technically, it is actually a large berry which has a big seed in it. Avocados are a valuable fruit in the commercial world, and are cultivated

Cucumber

A famous type of gourd that is widely cultivated is the cucumber. It is a creeping vine that roots in the ground and grows up on supporting frames and have thing and spiraling tendrils. It has large leaves which form a kind of canopy over the fruit. A cucumber plant A cucumber is cylindrical in

Port Jackson shark

The Port Jackson shark is a nocturnal type of bullhead shark that is found in the southern coast of Australia, including at Port Jackson from which its name was derived from. Despite this, it was actually believed to have originated from South Africa. It is a migratory shark species, which travels south in the summer

Earthworm

Earthworms are the largest cylindrical segmented worm in the Oligochaeta class. The earthworm’s body looks like a small tube, and has a muscular, slimy, and moist outer body. It is annular, and has a very simple circulatory system. It has 2 main blood vessels throughout the length of their long body, where a ventral blood

Short-beaked Echidna

The short-beaked echidna is also known as the spiny anteater as it likes eating ants and termites. The echidna is famous for having a body that is covered with spines or spikes. It also has a distinctive snout and a special tongue that can catch its prey quickly. A short-beaked echidna in the wild The

White Tiger

White tigers, also known as Panthera Tigris in Latin, are one of the most beautiful animals on earth. They are famous for its white fur/complexion, which is caused by a recessive gene. They are larger both at birth and at full adult size than orange tigers, and are the biggest cat species in the world.

Peppermint Stick Insect

The Peppermint Stick Insect, also known as Megacrania Batesii, is one of the most interesting rare insects in the world. It is a tropical rainforest insect that is bluish green in colour. It can also be found in some beaches in Australia such as in the north coastal region of Queensland. It is also found

Spitting Cobra

There are more than 270 types of cobras in the world, and one of the most famous species is the spitting cobra. Spitting cobras are venomous snake species from the Elapidae family. They are found in tropical landscapes, such as those found in Africa, Australia, and Asia. They have the ability to spray venom from