Creature Feature #330: Hydra

Hydra are tiny freshwater predators of the Phylum Cnidaria. They can be found in unpolluted freshwater in temperate and tropical regions. Hydra appear to be biologically immortal, they do not age. They are also capable of asexual reproduction. If conditions are right, a bud grows in the body wall, developing into a miniature of the adult and eventually breaking away. Sexual reproduction via free-swimming gametes occurs when conditions are less ideal. The Hydra feeds on small aquatic invertebrates. First they extend their body, then the tentacles - which can stretch to 5 times the body length - and wait for prey to swim into their clutches. The prey is then stung, subdued and drawn back to the mouth aperture to be consumed.

Creature Feature #329: Hyrax

The little Hyrax is not a rodent, despite her general appearance, but is in fact more closely related to the elephant and the manatee. She is a relatively primative mammal, with poor internal thermoregulartion and thus keeps warm by basking in the sun and sharing body warmth with her family. She has four toes on her front feet and three on the back, each equipped with hoof-like nails. The pads of her feet are rubbery and equipped with sweat glands to help her scramble over the rocks on which she lives. She follows a herbivorous diet and has a multi-chambered, complex stomach that allows the food to be broken down by symbiotic bacteria - in a similar manner to the ungulates.

Creature Feature #328: Hyena

There are four species of Hyena, all of which will receive their own separate entries, so for this one I will be focuing on the archetypical Hyena - the Spotted Hyena. A pack of Hyena is known as a "clan" and can contain up to 80 individuals. They are one of the few mammal species in which the females are the dominant members of the hierarchy. She is primarily a hunter, but is also an opportunistic scavenger. Her jaws are very powerful, stronger than a leopard's and capable of crushing bone. She is very efficient at disposing of carcasses. Females are promiscuous and generally favour younger males or those more recent to the clan. Cubs are born fully furred with open eyes and equipped with canine teeth. From the moment they are born, they will try to kill their siblings. This adds an additional level of challenge to the mother's job.

 

Creature Feature #327: Hutia

The Hutia are large cavy-like rodents of South America. There have been 20 species identified, of which a full third are extinct and almost all the remaining species are endangered. The exception to this is Demarest's Hutia of Cuba. He is widespread throughout his range, and was once hunted for food and even raised as a stock animal. In some areas he is still abundant enough to be considered a pest and can cause damage to crops. His diet is omnivorous, consisting of bark, leaves and fruit with the occasional small vertebrate. Unlike many reodents he does not burrow, but spends the nights sleeping in tree hollows or rock crevices. You ng are born fully furred and with open eyes.

Creature Feature #326: Humuhumunukanukaapua'a

The "rainbow fish with the pig-nosed snout", also known as the reef triggerfish, the Humuhumunukunukuāpuaa is the state fish of Hawaii. He is distributed across the Indo-Pacific region, where he inhabits tropical reefs. He can wedge himself into quite small crevices, and will lock his spine to make it difficult to dislodge him. His main diet is invertebrates buried in the substrate, and to uncover these he blows jets of water from his mouth. He will also sift sand through his mouth. Aggressive in nature, he leads a relatively solitary existence. When healthy, his colouration is at its most intense, and if frightened or sleeping it fades, allowing him some measure of camouflage.

Creature Feature #325: Hummingbird Hawkmoth

America has the Hummingbird, Eurasia and Africa have the Hummingbird Hawkmoth. Due to his size, proboscis and the humming noise he makes in flight, he does bear quit a resemblance to his namesake. This is an example of convergent evolution - where two unrelated creatures develop similar traits to adapt to their environment. He is a diurnal moth, spending his days foraging on nectar-rich flowers. His visual abilities have been the product of much research and he has the ability to learn and recognise colours - useful when looking for flowering plants. During the summer he is widespread, but as the weather cools he migrates south to warmer climes.

Creature Feature #324: Hummingbird

There are numerous species of Hummingbird, spread throughout America. The smallest, the Bee Hummingbird, is the smallest bird in the world. They are named for the whirring, humming noise made by their wings in flight. Hummingbirds have an exceptionally fast metabolism, faster than and other vertebrate - their heart can beat 1,260 times per minute. This requires a large intake of high energy food to sustain it, and every day a Hummingbird will consume more than his own weight in nectar. At night, or when food is not available, he will slow his metabolism and enter a torpor state.