Category: Animals
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Nigeria Leaf-toed Gecko, Hemidactylus muriceu, is one of the several species of lizards in the family Gekkota, distinct from the Common Gecko, which exists in close range by the use of gapping and squeaking as part of its defensive behaviors. The Nigeria leaf-toed Gecko has narrow subcaudal scales. They feed on beetles, spiders, moths, flies,…
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Nigerian shrew, Crocidura nigeriae, belongs to the order of small insect-eating mammals with long flexible snouts. It is a large shrew with a very dark brown dorsal pelage appearing grizzled. Shrews, called Èkúté in Yoruba, are fast-paced animals and they are known to eat very frequently, burrowing into the ground with their pointed snout. Tail…
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Nile Crocodile, Crocodylus niloticusis, is the second largest extant reptile species, about 5m long and weighing some 225 kg, having a lizard-shaped appearance, with a rough and scaled hide. This vicious and widely feared animal is largely restricted to living in tropical and sub-tropical environments such as the Afro-tropics of Central Africa. Lurking almost totally…
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Nile Grass Rat, Arvicanthis niloticus, are medium-sized rats with stoutish bodies, widely distributed in sub Saharan Africa, but traditionally held to extend to the mouth of the Nile River. The genus rattus to which it belongs was introduced to Africa by Arab and European ships in sometimes well-documented progression. It is an important reservoir for…
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Ogilby’s Duiker, also known as the, White-legged Duiker, Cephalophus ogilbyi, is a little known small antelope found in the southeastern end of Nigeria, distinguished among other duikers by its paler coloration and long legs with powerful hindquarters. It weighs up to 20 kg and has a shoulder height of up to 56 cm. Head and…
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The Scimitar-horned Oryx, Oryx dammah, which formerly existed in northern Nigeria and indeed throughout the Sahel, is an antelope species of the Oryx genus, which has long and curved horn. A few physiological peculiarities such as its ability to delay perspiration till it reach a temperature of 46.5 °C or kidney ability to minimize urine…
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Puff Adder, Bitis arietans, of Africa is one of the deadliest snakes in the world. It is a fat snake but relatively short at an average length of 90 to 110 cm. This reptile gets it name from the way it puffs up when threatened. In Nigeria, it occurs everywhere but in the Niger Delta.…
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Pygmy Hippopotamus is a Nigerian species of the family Hippopotamidae, Choeropsis liberiensis. Endemic to West Africa, and mainly found in Liberia, this species is much smaller than the common hippopotamus, with proportionally longer legs, a smaller head, less prominent eyes, which is not at the top of its head and ears more towards the side…
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Pygmy Killer Whale, Feresa attenuata, is in spite of its name not whale-sized at all; rather, it is an average-sized dolphin and part of the Family Delphinidae. They are typically found in deep, warm temperate, sub-tropical and tropical waters all over the globe, and are included as one of the species found within Nigeria’s Exclusive…