Seeing Spots
If you are seeing spots, you might need to have your eyes checked, or maybe not. Have fun spotting the spotted animals in this link.
Spotted Quoll
This cute little critter is actually a carnivore. They gobble up rats, birds, bugs, and reptiles. Spotted Quolls are also known as Tiger Quolls, and are marsupials, meaning they carry their young in a pouch. They are native to Australia.
Chital
Also referred to as, no surprise, the Spotted Deer, these deer don’t just have spots as fawns. The live in India, and other neighboring countries. They live in large herds, and use their spots to blend into the dappling sunlight though the trees. Assuming most predators see in black, white, and shades of grey, you can understand how an animal like this would use these markings to hide.
Jaguar
Jaguars are often confused with Leopards or Cheetahs. Leopards are smaller than Jaguars, and their spots have different appearances. The jaguar having spots within their spots, the leopard having irregular donut type spots. The cheetah on the other hand has very simple spots, more like polka-dots, see below. Like all cats they are carnivores, at the top of the food chain. Sadly as they are facing habitat destruction they are approaching threatened status.
Cheetah
Cheetahs are best known for their remarkable speed over short distances, and they have incredibly fast acceleration, zero to over one hundred kilometers an hour in less than three seconds. That’s fast! In comparison, people can run about twelve kilometers an hour. A couple of odd facts is that, unlike most cats, Cheetahs’ claws are not fully retractable, and they are not terribly good at climbing trees.
Ladybird Beetle
Also known as Ladybugs, these are good insects to have in your garden, they eat aphids. Most are red, but they can also be orange, or yellow like this one. If you have ever tried picking one up, you might have thought it “peed” on you, actually what it did was extrude a yucky tasting toxin in defense so you wont eat it. Since their main predators are birds, they are usually picked up in beaks, so their reflex is to “bleed” out this substance in effort to not only free themselves, but in combination with their color, to remind the bird not to try eating them, or their family, again. Smart huh?
Dalmatian
Although most people think of Dalmatians as being white with black spots, you will note that they can also have “Liver” colored spots. These dogs are highly energetic and need a lot of good exercise. They are considered intelligent, so combined with their need for activity, these are not often suited for beginners or people with little time to devote to a pet.
Giraffe
One of the biggest animals you might ever spot is the Giraffe. In this picture we see an adult male and a young giraffe, which are called “calves”. At up to 18 feet tall these are impressive animals to say the least. Although it is said that the lion is their main predator, they are also hunted by humans. As with most beautiful animals of this world, they are prized for their fur coats and meat.
Appaloosa
Appaloosas are one of several breeds of spotted horses. They come in many spotted color patterns, this being the “leopard” pattern. The opposite of which is the “snowflake” pattern, where you would see white spots on a colored background. Typically an Appaloosa horse would not have such a long thick tail.
Blue Spotted Stingray
These beautiful creatures live in the oceans where they use their color to camouflage in the sand or along coral reefs. I just love the extreme blue on the body of this fish especially when compared to the almost sickly green-yellow background the spots are on.
Guinea Fowl
PHOTO SOURCE
Guineas are native to Africa but often kept by farmers in other parts of the world. They have a very loud call and are well suited to act as “alarm systems” alerting the farmer to any trespassing foxes, eagles, or coyotes. They are also often consumed by the farmers. They eat plant matter, and insects. Their spots probably help them blend into the scrub of the African plains.
Fire Salamander
Salamanders are amphibians, there are many different species of which the Fire Salamander is one. They grow to about eight inches, and live long lives, reportedly up to fifty years! Being from Europe, they are often kept as pets by people with allergies to the more common types of pets.
All the photographs, which the exception of the Guinea Fowl, are from Wikimedia, and you should check their licensing agreements before using them. The Guinea Fowl is my own picture.
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27 Responses to “Seeing Spots”
On November 1, 2008 at 9:36 am
I’m seeing lots of spots! Loved the article!
On November 1, 2008 at 10:01 am
Giraffes are probably one of the most elegant wild animals, and my favorite on your list. Good work Marky.
On November 1, 2008 at 11:34 am
Thats a great article, with great pictures.
On November 1, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I find it interesting that in a lot of ways the existence of spotted animals is another example of nature stumping itself. Nature creates a certain way animals must perceive things like light, colors, and motion in order to capture prey, so another part of nature creates spots to confuse other aspects of nature that are advantageous for different reasons. These kinds of balances are truly wondrous.
On November 1, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Ladybug’s are our personal favorite. They somehow get in our apartment through the window screen and wind up living on our drapes. We never mind it because we love their company. They the most beautiful bugs in the world, to us at least.
Awesome collection of pictures!
On November 1, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Great pictures.
On November 1, 2008 at 3:50 pm
excellent article x i could also include my face after eating all of my daughters halloween sweets x
On November 1, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Good article. I hope i can unwind the science behind the spots and publish it sometime in Scienceray
On November 1, 2008 at 10:29 pm
This is a very interesting article and I found an animal I never knew about.. the spotted Quoll. He is cute.
On November 1, 2008 at 11:29 pm
The Fire Salamander looks alot like out “Tiger Salamanders” over here on this side of the ‘big pond.’
On November 1, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Beautiful article and pictures. Thank you for sharing!
On November 2, 2008 at 12:00 am
i find the photo of the fire salamader kinda creepy and slimmy, yuk… overall, your article is cool as always! nice post!
On November 2, 2008 at 2:50 am
beautifully done, thanks for that
the stingray really made me see spots
On November 2, 2008 at 3:03 am
Those animals are unique!
On November 2, 2008 at 3:45 am
Love the Dalmations. Very nice pics and some great facts. Thanks
On November 2, 2008 at 5:01 am
A lovely collection of spotty animals!
On November 2, 2008 at 11:05 am
OK, get me a sec. Trying to adjust my eyes, because every time a blink I see more spots. Great information about these beautiful animals and I learned something new, so that is a good thing. Keep up the good writing.
God Bless,
Nelson Doyle
On November 2, 2008 at 11:11 am
Well done…. Keep up the good work. Kimberly
On November 2, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Nicely pu together, Mark
On November 2, 2008 at 2:37 pm
very nice
On November 3, 2008 at 3:44 am
nice job,nice photos too
On November 3, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I didn’t know ladybugs were also ladyBirds. Fun topic.
On November 3, 2008 at 9:33 pm
That stingray looks like the spots are painted on. Cool:)
Did you hear about the fellow who told his friend that he had been seeing spots all week? His friend asked if he had seen a doctor, to which the fellow replied: ‘No. Only spots.”
On November 7, 2008 at 8:41 am
Nicely done. That Blue Spotted Stingray left me blinking, those spots were so vibrant.
On November 10, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Beautiful job. I never thought of Giraffe’s having spots! lol. I loved the stingray – vibrantly beautiful!
On February 21, 2009 at 5:14 pm
love it!
On November 16, 2009 at 6:46 pm
ITs is kool
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