Species of the week:Tasmanian Devil

Species of the week:
Tasmanian Devil(Sarcophilus harrissi)

1. The Tasmanian Devil can only be currently found in the Tasmania although its previous range included Australia.
2. It is a carnivorous marsupial, the size of a cat or a small dog and it is the largest extant marsupial.
3. It is generally a nocturnal, crepuscular hunter.
4. They are not territorial creatures but the females are considered to be territorial around their dens.
5. It feeds mostly on carrion but when it hunts it usually favors wombat. However its diet varies depending on location and prey availability.
6. Although the devils are a solitary animal they spend their time eating socially. They alert other devils in the area with calls to gather and eat together.
7. They are considered fully grown at around 2 years old and can live up to 5 years old.
8. Breeding period is around February to June.
9. Gestation lasts around 21 days and around 20-30 young are born although around only 40% of the pups survive maturity.
10. The biggest threat to the Tasmanian Devil is the facial tumors that are contagious. They spread when the animals bite each other on the face due to social behavior. The tumors are aggressive and will almost always kill the animal. 

Species of the week:Noble false Widow

Species of the week:
Noble False Widow(Steatoda nobilis)

1. Although the Noble False Widow is naitive to the Canary Islands and Madeira, it has spread all over Europe.
2. It has creamy colours and often a shape similar to a skull can be seen on its adbomen. Its size ranges from 7-14mm.
3. The females are the largest with 9-14mm and the males are smaller with 7-11mm.
4. They are opportunistic eaters and will eat any invertebrate.
5. They live around 1-2 years with females living more than males.
6. They produce white, spherical eggs which hatch around 2-4 months with the number of eggs depending on food supply.
7. Their web is particularly interesting in the fact that is spreads from a refuge(usually a hole or a dark spot) and has a particularly strong silk.
8. Although they are venomous, they have mid effects on humans with it's bite effects similar to those of a bee or a wasp.
9. Only adult spiders are capable of biting humans and their bites are purely defensive.
10. The Noble false widow colives with humans and can often been found in gargabe piles, garages, sheds etc.

Species of the week: Common Vampire Bat

Hello everyone,

I hope you had a happy Halloween and a happy Dia de los Muertos. In the theme of the holidays here is the species of the week: The common vampire bat(Desmondus rotundus).

1. It's range is spread across South America and Mexico.
2. It is the most common bat in southeastern Brazil.
3. They prefer warm and humid environments and will share their roosts with other species of bats although they seem to dominate the roosts.
4. They feed primarily on mammalian blood, preferring domesticated stock over wild animals.
5. They will often mark their host with urine and return to it on consecutive nights.
6. They protect their host and will not let other bats feeds off it unless if it's a mother and her offspring.
7. Female bats are larger than male bats.
8. They reproduce all year around although mating seems to peak during raining season.
9. Gestation period lasts 7 months and one offspring is born per pregnancy.
10. Bats in harems form strong social bonds and rely on them to survive as they share food, raise each others offspring and  participate in mutual grooming.