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Okapi

Okapi — The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is a mammal of the Ituri Rainforest in central Africa. Although it bears striped markings reminiscent of the zebra, it is most closely related to the giraffe. Native just to the Ituri forests situated in the north east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it was known only to the local people until …

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Opossum

Opossum — Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. A sister group is Paucituberculata (shrew opossums). They are commonly also called “possums,” though that term is also applied to Australian fauna of the suborder Phalangeriformes. The Virginia Opossum is the …

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Orangutan

Orangutan — The orangutans are two species of great apes known for their intelligence, long arms and reddish-brown hair. Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, they are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, though fossils have been found in Java, Vietnam and China. They are the only surviving species in the genus Pongo and the …

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Olingo

Olingo — Olingos are small procyonids who comprise the genus Bassaricyon, native to the rainforests of Central and South America from Nicaragua to Peru. They are arboreal and nocturnal, and live at elevations from sea level to 2,000 m. Olingos closely resemble the kinkajou in morphology and habits, though they lack prehensile tails and extrudable tongues, have more extended muzzles, …

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Narwhal

Narwhal — The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of cetacean. It is a creature rarely found south of latitude 70°N. It is one of two species of white whale in the Monodontidae family (the other is the Beluga whale). It is possibly also related to the Irrawaddy dolphin. The most conspicuous characteristic of male narwhal is their single …

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Mouse

Mouse — A mouse (plural mice) is a small mammal that belongs to one of numerous species of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). It is found in nearly all countries and, as the laboratory mouse, serves as an important model organism in biology, and is also a popular pet. The American white-footed …

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Moose

Moose — Moose (Alces alces) is the North American name for the largest extant species in the deer family. The same animal is called the Elk in Europe. The name moose is derived from the Algonquian Eastern Abnaki name moz, meaning “he trims, shaves”. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have …

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Mongoose

Mongoose — A mongoose is a member of the family Herpestidae, a family of small cat-like carnivores. The word mongoose is derived from the Marathi word mangus. Mongooses are widely distributed in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and southern Europe. There are more than thirty species, ranging from one to four feet in length. Some species of mongooses will usually lead …

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