Five Scary Devil Animals

The devil animals I am going to list down are not the pets of some furious and ancient monsters we have been hearing about since our childhood. Clearing this out only because I myself thought of them to be some fire breathing and ugly looking wacky creatures until I finally googled to get more closer to reality. Well these animals are not even devilish by nature but their brute appearance counts for their rather unfriendly name sure to get a frowning expression for the first time you hear about them. They are weird no doubt but they are unusual devil animals and hence on my list.

Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus)
An amazing Australian reptile quite evidently owes its name to the thorns on its body. The mini dragon grows up to 20 cm (8 in) in length and can live up to 20 years. It can camouflage according to the desert shades and its thorny scales are a defense against predators. What is more interesting about the creature is that it consumes any droplet that falls on its body. The drop runs down the body of the creature and is channeled to its mouth. The small thorny devil can eat some thousands of ants in one day.

Hickory Horned Devil
The Hickory horned devil is a caterpillar of the Regal Moth, a North American moth in the saturniidae family. It looks dangerous with its horns and thorns but is harmless like any other caterpillars. The spines, though prickly, do not sting. The huge black-tipped red horns are actually borne during their sixth and final development stage and grow upto 15cm long. Just before pupation it changes its color to turquoise and burrow into the dirt to pupate in a well formed chamber.

How Butterfly Wings Could Make Our Bank Notes Almost Impossible To Forge

Scientists at Cambridge University have found a way to mimic the colours on tropical butterfly wings, which could be used to make bank notes and credit cards far harder to forge.The team made structurally identical copies of the scales on wings, which create the same iridescent colour when light bounces off them.

Mathias Kolle, of Cambridge University, said the amazing discovery was like unlocking one of nature’s secrets.’These artificial structures could be used to encrypt information in optical signatures on banknotes or other valuable items to protect them against forgery,’ he said.’We still need to refine our system but in future we could see structures based on butterflies wings shining from a £10 note or even our passports.’

Mr Kolle working with Professor Ullrich Steiner and Professor Jeremy Baumberg, studied the Indonesian Peacock or Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio blumei), whose wing scales are composed of intricate microscopic structures that resemble the inside of an egg carton.Because of their shape and the fact they are made up of alternate layers of cuticle and air, these structures produce intense colours when light bounces off them.

Dolphins And Sea Lions To Protect Submarine Base

The US Navy says dolphins and sea lions will stand guard this year at a submarine base to detect any underwater swimmers who might approach the base on Hood Canal.The US Navy is keeping security details secret, but the environmental impact statement for the project said there would be fewer than 20 animals kept in heated enclosures when not on patrol in Washington state.

Marine mammals have been used as guards for years at another Trident submarine base at King’s Bay, Georgia.Navy spokesman Tom LaPuzza in San Diego told the Kitsap Sun that Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions are ready to go on patrol at Bangor.

The dolphins can find an intruder and release a beacon. Sea lions can attach a cuff to a swimmer’s leg

(source)