It is estimated that 97 out of every 100 species on the planet are invertebrates, that is, 97% of all living organisms. Although many of these animals are small organisms, the truth is that they perform more important functions than we think. For example, spiders that feed on insects keep insect populations on the ground in balance or bees that pollinate plants, which is essential for food chains.
In this AgroCorrn article, we have +20 curiosities about invertebrate animals .
Index
Curiosities about invertebrate animals called mollusks
To date there are some 65,000 species of mollusks determined . They are soft-bodied animals and most are protected by a shell, although they do not always have one. Some curiosities of the invertebrate animals called mollusks are:
Snails and slugs
They are a type of gastropod mollusks, that is, they move on their stomach using it standing up to slide thanks to the slime they produce. Thus, another curiosity about them is that they need to be always wet to survive. Therefore, they mainly develop their activity at night or in dark and humid conditions. When the environment is especially dry, many of them remain inactive.
Squid and octopus
They are a type of backward jet-propelled cephalopod mollusk, absorbing and releasing water under pressure through a siphon. Also, they can escape danger by releasing a cloud of ink, like octopuses. Squids, like other cephalopods, are quite intelligent animals. In this other article we will tell you as a curiosity which are the 10 most intelligent animals in the world , among which is the octopus, which is a cephalopod like the squid.
Curiosities about echinoderms, marine invertebrate animals
The group of invertebrate animals known as echinoderms includes starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. These are some interesting curiosities of invertebrate animals called echinoderms :
Sea urchins
They have a body completely covered with spikes or thorns, which serve to move through the seabed. In addition to this, it also serves to protect themselves, to dig or hide. Another curiosity of these invertebrate animals is that some species of sea urchins are poisonous. There are at least 900 species of sea urchins known to date.
Sea stars
Like hedgehogs, they also have spines to move, along their five arms, although they do not always have five arms. These arms regenerate and have a kind of eye at the end, although it simply serves to detect some light and move in the dark. Another fact is that they do not have a vascular system of blood, but of water.
Sea cucumbers
There are some that have thorns all over their body, which are not at all hard and some are even very soft, serving more to move and drive away predators, and there are those that do not have thorns of any kind. Some of the species of sea cucumber, such as the Japanese or the common, are marine animals in danger of extinction .
Curiosities about invertebrate animals called insects
Currently, there are approximately one million species of insects identified, but scientists estimate that there are around thirty million species on the entire planet. These are some curiosities about insects that are really interesting:
Curiosities of bees
These hymenoptera insects must visit about 4,000 flowers to produce a tablespoon of honey, this can be up to 9,000 kilometers. The honey production process begins when the insect returns to its honeycomb with the nectar of the flower, for which the bee removes the nectar through its mouth, the water evaporates and the insect’s saliva causes the honey to form. and, finally, it is stored in wax cells of the honeycomb.
When a bee detects food, it alerts its companions by a dance or series of movements, if it moves its abdomen a lot, it means that there is abundant food.
Both wasps and bees attack with their stinger when they detect danger. However, the stinger of a bee is thick and gets caught in the stinging animal. When the insect tries to move away, it loses the stinger and causes a wound, since it is connected to some of its internal organs, and thus the death of the insect, while the stinger of a wasp is much finer, it is retractable and does not It is connected in the same way as that of bees to their organs, so it can sting with it several times, although they tend to bite rather than sting.
Furthermore, these pollinating insects are currently considered to be endangered. Here we tell you why bees are in danger of extinction .
Curiosities of ants
These are very social insects that are organized in colony, where each individual plays a role, distinguishing one or more queens, males and workers. The goal of the organization is to ensure the survival of the colony. In this way, they work for a common good, which in the end also gives them individual benefit.
Queen ants are larger and have wings only until they establish themselves in an anthill and lose them. They are dedicated to laying eggs and can live up to 20 years. The goal of male ants (which have wings) is to fertilize the female and then die. The worker ants can be small, medium or soldier and are dedicated to cleaning, defending the anthill and protecting the queen and her young.
Furthermore, these invertebrate animals have a vital role in the environment. Discover here The importance of ants .
Butterfly curiosities
They can be day or night, and most are the latter. The nocturnal ones have more muted colors, while the daytime ones have more lively and striking colors. When flying, they must reach a certain temperature. For this reason, the diurnal butterflies spread their wings to the sun before flying, while the nocturnal ones make them vibrate to keep warm. To capture scents, butterflies use their wings and rub them with their front legs.
Also, they undertake migrations of hundreds of kilometers to seek warmer climates, always traveling in groups, and return in winter. An example of this is that of the monarch butterfly.
If you want to know more about this type of living beings, we recommend reading this other article on Invertebrate animals: examples and characteristics .
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