Leopard shark

Identification:

Easily distinguished by bold pattern of large dark saddles extending from the head along the back. Centre of saddles lighter in adults. Saddles are separated by smaller dark spots on a cream to grey/brown background. Overall body shape is elogated and slender. Second dorsal proportionately large. Pectoral fins falcate. Snout broadly rounded with widely spaced nasal flaps that do not reach mouth.

Albino Leopard sharks have rare but have been recorded.



Size:

Maximum recorded size 180cm. Size at birth 20cm.



Habitat:

Prefers shallow sand flats and confined muddy bays. Likes turbid water. Occasionally in or near kelp beds on rocky substrate.



Abundance and distribution:

Confined to the temperate and tropical coastline between Oregon and Southern Baja including the Sea of Cortez. Often seen in large aggregations close to shore. Usually intertidal to 4m but has been recorded as deep as 91m.

Diet:

Hunts over sand in search of burrowing invertebrates such as worms but will feed opportunistically on a wide variety of animals including crustaceans, squid, bony fishes, and small sharks and rays (mainly other smoothhounds, bat rays and guitarfishes).



Behavior:

The Leopard Shark sometimes forms nomadic schools with other species especially the Grey Smoothhound (Mustelus californicus) and Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias). Usually maintains a small home range but can roam up to 150km. A strong swimming shark that can occasionally be seen resting among rocks.







Reaction to divers:

Skittish. Best approached on snorkel but difficult to get close to. Apparently easier to approach at night. Due to their small size Leopard Sharks do not pose a threat to divers or snorkellers. But a Leopard Shark was responsible for an attack on an Aquarium Diver (Dean Fessler of the Shark Research Institute) while he was feeding the sharks in front of a large group of spectators. The way Dean explains it, the offending Leopard Shark accidentally bit his cheek while attempting to take the bait which was floating free in front of Deans face. A large flap of skin was torn away resulting in a huge cloud of blood that terrified the crowd and put an abrupt end to the "most sharks aren't really dangerous" speech that he was conducting.



Diving logistics:
.

 
It is usually possible to find Leopard Sharks throughout the summer and early fall directly in front of the Marine Room Restaurant in La Jolla. Why the sharks like this spot isn't clear but it may simply be that they patrol the entire coastline and this is where the snorkellers enter the water to see them.

A good way to get closer to the sharks is to carry some fish but note that La Jolla is a protected area and feeding or harassing the marine life within the park is illegal.



Other diving locations submitted by readers:

Ron Clough (Organizer of the California Shark and Ray Count) suggests that any places where warmer than normal water flows into the sea (e.g. from power plants) Leopard Sharks are likely to be seen

Lion fish

            This brightly colored and graceful fish is usually found in coral reefs, especially in shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific region, hovering in caves. The lion-fish belongs to the Scorpion fish family and are venomous. They move incredible fast in order to catch its prey. What part of its body delivers the venom? The spines. The colorful lion fish have long fin spines that can produce painful puncture wounds. A person punctured by one of the sharp spines will immediately feel severe pain and swelling. The sting is rarely fatal and wound may take several months to fully heal.

Tiger And Funky Monkey Fight

Thanks for help

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Venomous snake BLACK MAMBA

The Black Mamba snake also known as Dendroaspis polylepis is one of Africa’s most dangerous and feared snakes. The black mamba is the largest venomous snake in Africa and the second largest snake in the world, after the King Cobra. Adult black mambas have an average length of 2.5 meters or 8.2 feet and a maximum length of 4.5 meters or around 14 feet. The Back Mamba is also one of the fastest land snakes in the world. It has the capability to reach speeds in excess of 12 mph or 20km/hr. It mainly uses this speed the escape danger rather than capturing prey.







The Black Mamba gets its name not because the color of its body, but because it has a black inky color mouth. The black mamba has either a dark olive, olive green, grey brown or metal color skin depending on what area on the country the Black Mamba is found. As Black Mamba’s begin to age, their skin starts to become darker.





Black Mambas are elapid snakes, which mean they are venomous snakes found in tropical or subtropical regions around the word including the Indian and Pacific Ocean. Elapid snakes are characterized by having a set of hollow, fixed fangs through which they inject venom. Black Mambas venom contains powerful, fast-acting neurotoxins and cardiotoxins, including calciseptine. Calcoseptine contains 60 amino acids with four disulfide bonds and is one of the main culprits for the Black Mambas prey to stop pumping blood through its veins.

Each bite that the Black Mamba delivers has about 100-120 mg of venom on average and it can deliver up to 400 mg. If the venom reaches a vein, .25 mg/kg is enough to kill a full-size human in half of the cases. The initial symptom of the bite is local pain in the bite area, then the viction experiences a tingling sensation in the mouth and extremities, double vision, tunnel vision, severe confusion, fever, excessive perspiration, foaming of the mouth and nose, and a lack of muscle control.

If the victim does not receive medical attention, symptoms rapidly progress to severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath), and paralysis. Eventually, the victim experiences convulsions, respiratory arrest, coma, and then death. Without antivenom, the mortality rate is nearly 100%, the highest among venomous snakes.