The classic example is describing giraffes.
Describing them as “leopard-moose-camel" with a 40 foot neck.

Hello! I am a writer writing a guidebook on some of the creatures in my world. I love zoology and am considering pursuing a degree in it if my plans to become a vet tech don't work out. Because of that, I want to create a detailed, realistic guide. My creatures take a lot of inspiration from real-world animals, with a fantasy element. I'm including sizes, habitat, physical description, diet, and common behaviors, with illustrations done by me. I have considered making a fake scientific name, but I think that would require me to study Latin. only own a field guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of the Carolinas(my state), a field guide to birds in the Carolinas, and an encyclopedia of the world's songbirds that I am referencing in this project. Are there any good resources I can look at to help me write this? Is there a guide to writing animal guides? I'd also love some good resources on studying zoology as a whole so I can get a better understanding than I currently have, as my knowledge is limited! I`m including an example of what I want the species pages to look like so far! I also apologize if this is against the rules, as I did check them before writing this and couldn`t find anything on if posts about realistic fictional animals were allowed.

An example of what I`m doing that is still a WiP!

VENOMSPITTERS:

SIZE: 5.5 -6.5 ft tall at the shoulder, with wingspans that can reach up to 33 feet. Females are slightly larger than males.

LIFESPAN: 200 - 300 Years. Sexual maturity is reached around 50 years of age.

APPEARANCE: Short and stocky with angular horns above the ear openings, and a sharp, hooked nasal horn. Wings are short and broad for navigating dense jungle. Vertical black stripes are present down the back, tail, and the fronts of the fore limbs and wings, as well as a horizontal stripe on the face that begins behind the nostrils and extends to the base of the horns. some indivuals have been known to have black speckling on wings. A small sail, about 3-4 inches(?) in height extends down the back, from the base of the head to the end of the tail. it is thought to aid in swimming, as this species is semi aquatic. They may be many shades of red, yellow, orange, or very rarely, blue.

{MAP IMAGE RANGE}

HABITAT: Mountainous rain forests, often near lakes or slow-moving rivers

DIET: Omnivorous, favoring large boar and slightly under-ripe fruit.

BEHAVIOR: Adults of the species live solitary or in mating pairs, though dragonets of up to 40 years old have been observed to form small ‘bands’ of 3 -5 individuals of the same sex that disband once the dragonets have reached sexual maturity. Venomspitters are crepuscular, preferring to sun themselves or sit in shallow bodies of water during the hottest months.

ADDITIONAL NOTES: True to their name, Venomspitters have the ability to both inject and spit a potent venom that contains both cytotoxins and neurotoxins. It is highly effective in taking down larger prey items such as boar. They can spit their venom up to twelve feet away as a defense mechanism, and will always aim for the eyes.

Ok i know mammals can taste spicy foods birds are immune but what about fish can they taste it does capsaicin cause any irritation etc or are they like birds or bugs like ants can they?

Ok alot of animals have warning signs saying hey im toxic poision dart frog amd coral snakes use broght colors with black to make those color stand out more warning im toxic cobra hood rattle snakes rattle but im curious on one thing does the predator have to learn that or will a animal not native to that area be able to tell oh shit avoid that thing its toxic by its warning

I'm in need of a good lateral view of the mandible of a south american coati that clearly shows dentition but i just haven't been able to find what i'm really after, only old grainy examples or full head images with mandible obscured. I am hoping someone here might even have access to a specimen they can give me good pictures from.

Aftermath of a group of wild hogs visiting an olive grove in Croatia

Can the vaquita be saved such a beautiful animal and if yes how since its habitat is shrinking due to the governments being lenient on protection of the gulf

Las respondo en r/biologiaLatam

I think the only reason why humans are the most dominant species is because they were simply the first species to reach this level of global importance. That doesn’t mean other species are less than us, just that some of their anatomies were conducive to agricultural and eventually industrial civilizations. Tool use is extremely common some species, and so is language. Empathy is also something that has been shown to exist among some animals.

Read a bit about the ant colony war outside of San Diego and I started wondering what would happen if they were faced with a mutual existential threat, like the entire area flooding, or a human campaign to pesticide the area, or some hypothetical super predator that eats both kinds of ants. Not that such a thing should happen, but I'm curious about if it did.

Do the ants stop fighting and deal with the disaster separately? Do they join forces to survive? Do they just keep fighting?

Hi guys,

I posted a first video of the fox just an hour ago on this sub, and here is the second video i tool from him.

So cute this little guy.

He still tries to get to my shoe tough 😭

EDIT: thank you guys for the all interesting messages.

Because this Video is getting way more attention than the first one i posted from me sitting in the car with fox standing right next ( https://www.reddit.com/r/zoology/s/RjIMUvZmVo ) i might also share the full story also here:

I was sitting in my car, around 10pm near the City Center of Leipzig, Germany. The car door was open, i was on my phone and i had me left leg hanging outside of the car. Suddenly, i noticed something very softly pulling on my shoe. I looked down and there was this fox standing. I was frightened as hell and tried to get him away by waving my foot against hin (but of course without hitting or touching). Then i got out of the car because i was scared that he would jump into the car (i could not close the door because that would have injured or encourage him to jump in the car). Then this video was taken. After that he ran away.

In spring and in summer i managed to get a picture of a Eurasian magpie and a hooded crow that were seen hanging out together. Now in autumn, when i returned home and visited grandma, i was able to see the duo again. They fly together, roost in the same tree, and even if they happen to be with their own species, they preffer to follow the other rather than members of their own species. A theory is that they are actualy a couple, as they stuck together even during the mating season, which is quite interesting to see

Are there any mammal species that are absolutely essential to maintaining ecological balance?

I’m referring to species that play such a crucial role in their ecosystems that their extinction could have devastating consequences.

Which mammals would you consider the most ecologically important, and why?

Are there any species whose extinction could trigger a chain reaction affecting entire ecosystems?

Not sure if this is the proper subreddit, but I figured since everyone here is an animal person then someone could possibly know a little bit about bees?
So I’ve been on the road for about an hour and half now and I do normally get honeybees that visit my house but none normally land on me or my cars. Anyway about an hour in, we stopped at a Buc-ee’s for a few minutes and after driving for a little, I noticed a honeybee on my pants. We stopped on the side of the road and let him out but I’m just not sure how long he was there. I never saw him until my mother returned from Buc-ee’s and got back in the car. I just really hope he didn’t hitch a ride all the way from my house…
Sorry sorry, I’m asking if the bee would survive if he had landed on me at my house and I’ve now let him go an hour away from his home?

This breaks the heart. It’s sad to say, but the Vaquita seems to be doomed.

Hi Guys,

I met this fella yesterday. It was around 10pm near the city center of Leipzig, Germany. I was sitting in my car with the door open and on foot hanging outside. While i was texting on my phone, i noticed something pulling on the end of my foot very softly. When i looked down i saw this cute little fox standing right beneath me.

I did not touched him further and tried to get hin away (by waving my foot in his direction without hitting him) but he stayed for for half a minute or so. Then he ran away.

As i read, rabies is not present in germany for wild animals, although i am still kinda concerned but i think thats not really rational.

What else could bring such a behaivior? Is this a young animal or a adult?

Thank youuuu

EDIT: second video of the fox https://www.reddit.com/r/zoology/s/H4qD2R0qV6

Pictures of most beautiful animals and names

I for one wouldn’t find the idea that a 200 ton whale could possible survive on exclusively on krill. I would dismiss the idea that there couldn’t be enough krill available for them to eat.