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Tardigrades are among the most resilient animals known, [11] [12] with individual species able to survive extreme conditions – such as exposure to extreme temperatures, extreme pressures (both high and low), air deprivation, radiation, dehydration, and starvation – that would quickly kill most other known forms of life. [13]
Living organisms are known by scientific names. These binomial names can vary greatly in length, and some of them can become very long depending on the meanings they try to convey. This list of longest species names lists the longest scientific binomials . [ 1 ]
Their specialised hands and feet have long, curved claws to allow them to hang upside down from branches without effort, [32] and are used to drag themselves along the ground, since they cannot walk. On three-toed sloths, the arms are 50 percent longer than the legs. [24] Sloths move only when necessary and even then, very slowly.
Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million in total. Animals range in size from 8.5 millionths of a metre to 33.6 metres (110 ft) long and have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs.
A wheeled buffalo figurine—probably a children's toy—from Magna Graecia in archaic Greece [1]. Several organisms are capable of rolling locomotion. However, true wheels and propellers—despite their utility in human vehicles—do not play a significant role in the movement of living things (with the exception of certain flagella, which work like corkscrews).
H. erectus is the first known species to develop control of fire, by about 1.5 Ma. H. erectus later migrates throughout Eurasia, reaching Southeast Asia by 0.7 Ma. It is described in a number of subspecies. [38] Early humans were social and initially scavenged, before becoming active hunters.
In the English language, many animals have different names depending on whether they are male, female, young, domesticated, or in groups. The best-known source of many English words used for collective groupings of animals is The Book of Saint Albans , an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to Juliana Berners . [ 1 ]
A facultative biped is an animal that is capable of walking or running on two legs , as a response to exceptional circumstances (facultative), while normally walking or running on four limbs or more. [1] In contrast, obligate bipedalism is where walking or running on two legs is the primary method of locomotion.