"Animal Of The Week" 

The Anglerfish

 This is a very angry-looking deep sea fish that could quite possibly be the ugliest animal on the planet! It lives in the very bottom of the sea where it uses bioluminescence to lure in prey because they are carnivores; meaning they eat meat! They live in the deep murky waters of the Atlanitc and Antarctic Oceans. The anglerfish is usually dark grey or dark brown in color and have huge heads, an enormous mouth, and long sharp teeth. Worn by the female anglerfish is a dorsal spine that protrudes from their mouth that looks like a fishing pole. They use this in order to attract prey for food, and with mouths so big they can actually swallow prey up to TWICE their own size! WOW! But, the male doesn't have this feature, instead he is much smaller and when it is time to mate he latches onto the female with his sharp teeth. Overtime they fuse together and he feeds off of her for the rest of his life, while she is provided with sperm to make eggs; pretty cool! These anglerfish are very unique, pretty ugly but are important to the environment. Here I have a picture and video of an anglerfish for you guys to check out, enjoy! :)

~Nicole Schmitt~

                            Bird of Paradise

There are many types of the bird of paradise. They are members of the family Paradisaeidae and are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. Most of them are highly elongated, and have elaborate feathers coming out of their beak, wings, or head. In all there are 40 different species of this type of bird and all come in pretty colors and designs. The name "bird of paradise" actually means without feet, which is kind of strange since they have feet! I really love this bird and think it is absolutely beautiful. If I could own one I would because I think they are just so cool! I have a link to a youtube video you can watch of the bird of paradise and a wonderful picture. Enjoy!!
-By Nicole Schmitt-

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