Moles are small burrowing mammals. There are more than 40 species, of mole. They can be found in Europe, Asia, and North America. Moles have wide, flat front feet with sharp claws which help them dig through soil.
Their bodies are cylindrical and they generally have short tails. They range in length from about 3 centimeters to almost 22.5 centimeters. An adult male weighs more than 100 g and adult females less than that. The head is flat and the nose is long and piglike. Their fur is very soft. Their eyes reveal only light and dark. Hairs on their noses and tails that are very sensitive. These help to guide them through the darkness.
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Peacocks live in the wild in Southeast Asia and belong to the pheasant family. Two important kinds of peacocks are the green peacock and the blue peacock. The green peacock is found from Myanmar to Java. The blue is found in India and Sri Lanka. They also can be seen in zoos around the world. Peacocks usually live in lowland forests. At night they sleep in trees.
A peacock’s feathers are brilliant shades of bronze, blue, green, and gold. At the tip of each tail feather is a big shiny spot ringed with blue and bronze that looks like an eye. The male’s body is about 90 to 130 centimeters long. Its tail is about 150 centimeters long. Peahens, female peacocks, do not have long tails. They are green and brown in color and almost as big as the males.
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Cacao tree is the source of all cocoa powder and chocolate. These trees grow only in warm areas that get a lot of rain. Their long fruit called “pods” which range in color from bright yellow to deep purple. Inside the pods are cocoa beans. Each is about the size and shape of a big fingernail. After the cocoa beans are taken out of the pods, they are left in a damp place for a few days. The beans turn a rich brown color and begin to smell like chocolate. Then they are dried and cleaned. Then they are roasted and ground into a paste that contains cocoa butter. To make chocolate, you have to add extra cocoa butter to the paste. To make dry cocoa powder, you have to remove all the cocoa butter. The paste is very bitter so a lot of sugar must be added.
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An amoeba is a one-celled creature that is among the simplest of all living organisms. Most amoebas are so small that they can only be seen though a microscope. They look like tiny blobs of colorless jelly. The word amoeba is derived from the Greek word ameibein (to change), which describes the amoeba’s most easily distinguishable feature, the continuous changing of shape by repeated formation of pseudopods (Greek: false feet). Pseudopods serve two important functions—locomotion and food capture.
Amoebas live in fresh and salt water. They also live in the moist body parts of other animals and in moist soil. In human beings are found at least six types of amoeba.
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The piranha is found in the rivers and lakes of South America. It is a meat-eating fish with long, triangular, razor-sharp teeth. It is not very big, but when hungry it can be bold and savage. Some piranhas are silver with orange undersides. Others are almost totally black. All have strong jaws. The name “piranha” comes from the Portuguese words for “fish” and “tooth.”
There are 20 different kinds of piranhas in the Amazon River. The red-bellied piranha is the most famous and has the strongest jaws and the sharpest teeth. These fish hunts in schools of more than 100 fish. Piranhas have excellent hearing.
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A nut is a type of fruit, which develops from the ovary of a mature, fertilized flower. Nuts grow on trees in many parts of the world. Familiar nuts include acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, and beechnuts. The word nut is also used mistakenly to refer to the seeds or fruits of some other plants. Thus, pine nuts and peanuts are really seeds and not nuts. Brazil nuts and coconuts are really a different type of fruit, technically referred to as drupes, and not nuts.
Most nuts have a large concentration of protein, and are an important food source for wildlife and humans. Nuts also keep well and are easy to store. People often roast nuts before eating them. They also use them in baked goods and other dishes. In addition, people use the oils contained in some nuts to make paints, soaps, and other products.
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The hippopotamus is a huge mammal that lives in Africa. It spends most of its time in rivers, lakes, and swamps. The hippopotamus is related to pigs. Its name is a combination of two Greek words that join to mean “river horse.”
Hippos have barrel-shaped bodies, short legs, and four toes on each foot. They are about 3.5 meters long and weigh more than 3,200 kilograms. Their hide is grayish brown and almost hairless.
The hippo has glands beneath its skin that secrete a pink, sweat–like substance. This biological fact has inspired the myth that hippos sweat blood. This pink substance helps to regulate the hippo’s skin temperature.
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