33960_First Childrens Encyclopedia

New growth How plants work
Plants use sugar and starch
as fuel. The fuel is transported Desert plants
to cells where it is burnt to Plants that live in dry
release energy, which is used areas such as deserts have
to grow new cells and repair to save their water. Many
old ones. have leaves that are thick
and covered in wax to stop
Wilting leaves transpiration. Cacti have
On warm, sunny days, plants spines rather than leaves
lose lots of water from their and thick stems in which
leaves. If they lose too much they can store water.
their leaves collapse. This is
called wilting. If plants don’t
get enough water their leaves
will shrivel and die.

Fruit acts as a
store of sugar
and water.

Carrot plants Storing food
store food in Spare food is stored for future
use. Plants such as hyacinths
their roots. store food in the base of their
leaves. This makes the leaves
Bulb swell and form a bulb. The
bulb survives the winter and
in spring it sprouts new leaves.

Hands on

Place a stem of celery in a
glass of water coloured with
a few drops of food colouring.
After two hours, cut across the
stem. You will see tiny dots of

colour showing the tubes
that carry the water.

149
No, many bacteria also make food by photosynthesis.

The living world Bread mould

Fungi

Mushrooms, toadstools, yeasts, and Warm, moist
moulds are all kinds of fungi. Fungi
are neither animals nor plants. They bread
feed on living or dead animals or
plants, and absorb their nutrients. Moulds

Moulds are microscopic fungi

Mushrooms which grow in long strands

Many fungi are hidden in the called “hyphae”. They feed
soil, or inside food sources like
Gills on dead organic matter – like
trees. They only become
visible when they our food – by making it rot.
grow mushrooms.
Stem Mushrooms scatter
spores, which will
The gills release grow into new fungi.
spores into the air.

Picking wild mushrooms Fly agaric Athlete’s foot
Many wild mushrooms are not only edible, but mushroom Athlete’s foot is a disease
delicious. However others are highly poisonous! caused by ringworm fungi
Harmful mushrooms are often called toadstools. growing on human feet. It
They sometimes use bright colours to warn makes the skin between your
animals not to eat them. toes turn red and flaky.

Wood blewit mushroom Jelly antler fungus

Penny bun
mushroom

150 How big is the world’s largest fungus?

Fungi

Penicillin Penicillin on
In 1928, Sir Alexander a petri dish
Fleming made an important
discovery. He realised The bacteria
that the mould Penicillium have retreated
notatum makes a chemical from the
that kills bacteria. That penicillin,
chemical, called penicillin, is leaving a
used today as a medicine to clear ring.
treat many illnesses.

Sir Alexander Fleming (1881–1955) Uses of fungi

Truffles Fungi have many uses in
Truffles are strong- the home and in industry.
smelling fungi that grow
underground. They are a Medicine: Fungi can be
delicacy used in cookery. used to cure many diseases
Truffle hunters use pigs that were once fatal.
and dogs to sniff them out.
Wine: Yeast turns grape
White truffle juice into wine by changing
sugar into alcohol.
Black
perigord Yeast Cheese: Blue cheeses are
truffle Yeast are microscopic, made with a mould called
single-celled fungi. When Penicillium roquefortii.
they feed, they turn sugar
into carbon-dioxide gas Soy sauce: This is made by
and alcohol. Yeast plays adding fungi and yeast to
an important part in soy beans and roasted wheat.
bread-making. As it releases
gas, it makes bread rise. Pesticide: Fungi can be an
environmentally friendly
Shaggy parasol Shaggy cap Common way of killing insects or
mushroom mushroom chantarelle weeds.
mushroom
Chicken of the
woods fungus

A mushroom under the Malheur National Forest, USA, covers 8.9 square kilometres. 151

The living world Petri dish

Micro life Each spot on
this petri dish is
Most living things are a colony made
made up of just one cell, up of thousands
and are too small to see. of bacteria.
To study them we must
use powerful microscopes.

Bacteria Whip-like structures Bacterial colonies
push the bacterium
Bacteria are single-celled along. They spin Model of a bacterium
life forms. They are found round like screws.
in the ocean, in the air, and Thin hairs attach
even in our bodies. They can the bacterium to
reproduce very quickly by a surface.
splitting in two. Some bacteria
can make energy from
sunlight. However, most feed
on dead plants and animals.

Harmful bacteria The cell is full of a The bacterium’s
Some bacteria can cause jelly-like substance DNA code is held
serious illnesses such as that helps it to in the nucleus.
cholera and tetanus. Good work and grow.
sanitation and antibiotic
drugs help fight diseases The cell wall holds
caused by harmful bacteria. the bacterium
together and
protects it.

Good bacteria

Some bacteria are helpful

to humans. Bacteria in
our guts protect us from

Bacteria may be shaped like illnesses. Other bacteria are
rods, spirals, or spheres. used to make foods such as

yoghurt and cheese.

152 How many copies can a single bacterium make of itself in 24 hours?

Protective Micro life
protein coat
Model of a virus

Viruses

Viruses are many times smaller than

bacteria. They are shaped like spheres

or rods. Viruses are not really alive,

because they are not made of cells.

They only become active when they

invade a cell. They copy themselves

by taking over the cell and turning it

into a virus factory.

DNA or Plant viruses
RNA strand Plant viruses can change the way
that plants develop. For example,
Vaccinations one virus affects the pigment in
Vaccinations can help to tulips’ petals. It stops the pigment
protect people from harmful
diseases. A person is injected from working in
with a weakened form of a some places. This
virus or bacterium. This helps makes the petals
the immune system defend look stripey.
itself against the real thing.
A virus has made
light patches
appear on
these leaves.

Harmful viruses The streaked patterns
on this tulip are caused
Viruses can cause by a virus.
different illnesses.
Protists
Chickenpox is easy to Protists are another
catch. The main symptom kind of single-celled
is spots that itch. life form. They are
very varied. Some
Rabies is a fatal virus protists are similar
that is common in animals to fungi, animals, or
such as dogs. plants. Some protists
group together into
Colds are viruses and can colonies.
bring on a sore throat,
runny nose, and cough. 153

It can make 4,000 million million million copies.

The living world Decomposers
At the start and end
Food chains of every food chain
there are decomposers,
Everything in the living world such as earthworms,
needs food to survive. And fungi, and dung
everything must feed on beetles. They help
something else. This is break down dead
called a food chain. animals and plants,
Each species is releasing the nutrients
part of several back into the soil.
different food
chains.

Producers
Plants such
as acacia trees
or grasses get their
energy from the Sun
and nutrients from
the soil. They are
known as producers.

Herbivores
Herbivores such as
impala or zebra eat
the plants. They do
not eat meat.

154 What carnivorous plant can catch and eat mice and rats?

Scavengers Food chains
Dead meat, known as carrion,
is eaten by scavengers such Sea food
as hyenas, vultures, and bald The further you go up the
eagles. These creatures rarely chain, the fewer animals there
kill for food – they find animals are. So in the sea, there are
that have already died and countless plankton, fewer fish,
eat other animals’ leftovers. just a few seals, and even
fewer polar bears.

Carnivores Polar bear
Carnivores only eat Seal
meat. On the African

plains, carnivores
include lions, leopards,

and cheetahs.

Fish

Zooplankton

Phytoplankton

Some species of pitcher plant found in the Philippines. 155

Ecosystems and habitats

Ecosystems

All over the world, living things
exist in distinct kinds of places
called ecosystems. Each has its own
climate, soil, and complex community
of plants and animals. Oceans and
deserts have their own ecosystems.

Natural variety

There are different ecosystems all over the
world, and the animals and plants in each
one are adapted to its conditions.

Forests
Wherever there is enough rain,
forests grow, and they provide
homes for a huge range of plants
and animals.

Homes sweet homes Oceans
One ecosystem contains a More than 70 per cent of the
number of habitats. A habitat is Earth’s surface is covered by
the natural home of a particular ocean, which contains many
plant or animal. A tree, or even different habitats.

a leaf, can be Rivers and lakes
a habitat. Freshwater ecosystems exist in
pools, lakes, rivers, and streams.
They are found over most of the
world’s land surface.

Trees offer shelter for Polar and tundra
animals, and food in The freezing polar lands are at the
the form of leaves far north and south of Earth, in the
and berries. Arctic and Antarctic. At the edges
farthest away from the poles, they
merge into warmer tundra areas.

156 Are there any types of forest ecosystems other than tropical rainforests?

Mountains Ecosystems
Climate conditions change
as you go up a mountain, Curiosity quiz
so different ecosystems can
exist here. Look through the
Ecosystems and habitats
Seashores pages and see if you can
Seashore ecosystems are find the pictures below.
half land and half sea.
They change as the tide
comes in and out.

Grasslands
Humans evolved in grassland
habitats, and today, the
largest and fastest land
animals live here.

Deserts
They can be hot or cold, but
deserts are always dry, with
little rain. Only a few animals
and plants survive here.

Living together Ferns grow and
A group of living things absorb nutrients
in a habitat is called a from the soil.
community. Each one
contains plants, animals,
and other organisms that
all rely on each other.

Snails feed on the
leaves of plants,
and provide food
for other animals.

Frogspawn Rotting leaves Frogs, which Become
hatches into and wood are eat insects, an expert
tadpoles. Some home to fungi live both on
of these are and small land and in 154-155 Food
eaten by other animals, such as the water. chains
water creatures. beetles and slugs.
222-223 All living
things

Yes, deciduous woodlands and cold coniferous forests. 157

Ecosystems and habitats

Polar regions

Polar regions are often dark, blasted by
freezing winds, and they receive little
rain. Only the toughest can survive.

Polar bears have Let’s stay warm
thick blubber Penguins huddle together
to stay warm. The adults
under their skin and chicks on the outside
to help keep of the huddle aren’t so well
the cold out. protected from the
Polar bear cold, so they take
turns standing in
Although their fur is the middle.
white, polar bears have
black skin. Polar giants

Large animals lose heat more slowly than

small ones, so many Arctic animals are big.

A male polar bear can be 2.5 m (8 ft) long

and weigh 800 kg (0.8 ton). To survive blizzards, musk oxen
simply sit down and wait, using
as little energy as possible.

Musk oxen may look A walking coat
like cattle, but they are The musk ox looks like a small, shaggy-haired buffalo.
actually goats! Its coat, said to be eight times warmer than sheep’s
wool, is made of coarse hairs as long as your arm.
158
What is the world’s largest bear?

Polar regions

One big cover up

Many polar animals have thick coats.
The snowy owl has feathers on its
body that grow long enough to cover
its legs and its bill.

Snowy
owl

A fine fur coat
The Arctic fox’s luxurious
fur even covers the soles of
its feet. This fox is dark in
the summer, and white in
the winter. In the summer it
is very busy, collecting and
storing food for the winter.

Cushion growth
It’s not just animals
that need to wrap up
warm – plants do too.
Purple saxifrage has lots
of tiny, overlapping
leaves that completely
cover the short stems.

The snowy owl’s talons Purple saxifrage is one of the first Arctic plants
are perfectly shaped for to flower when the snow melts in June.

gripping a lemming. Become
an expert
Polar regions are dark
mfoarnhyaalfnitmhealysesaurr,vbiuvte. 8-9 The Arctic
56-57 Antarctica

Lemmings cope with the cold by staying in 170-171 Desert
tunnels below the snow, where they hunt for regions

plant roots to nibble. If they emerge, they may

well be caught by a passing snowy owl.

The polar bear. 159

Ecosystems and habitats

Deciduous forests

Deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter.
These trees need weather patterns that are
neither too hot nor too cold, and with seasons.

Layer on layer
Deciduous forests
have two or three
layers: a canopy
(treetops), sometimes
a layer of shrubs,
and then the low-
lying plants such as
mosses, ferns, and

spring flowers.

If conditions are Springing to life
right, mosses
will grow on the A forest appears to sleep
north side of a in winter, but in spring
forest tree. it bursts into life. Buds
open and ferns spread
out to soak up the light.

Land of plenty
A forest floor is littered with dead
leaves and wood, and there are often
plenty of nuts and berries – it’s a
perfect hunting ground for squirrels.

The grey squirrel will
collect and store acorns
and other seeds.

160
Why do squirrels have bushy tails?

Links in a chain Deciduous forests

Food chains connect a Autumn colours
species with what it eats. In the growing season,
deciduous leaves
Leaves act like solar appear green because
panels to gather sunlight of a chemical called
to make food. chlorophyll. In autumn,
the leaves turn yellow,
Caterpillars – and many brown, or red as the
other insects – chew on chlorophyll is destroyed.
leaves. That’s their food.
Woodpeckers have thick skulls to
Birds hunt caterpillars, Maple leaf protect against the shock as they
especially in spring when hammer into wood.
they have chicks to feed.

Foxes prey on birds, A leaf is a tree's food Woodpecker
small mammals, and factory. In autumn, it
other creatures. begins to shut down.

Making an entrance

Woodpeckers use their beaks to dig
out grubs and to make nest holes. They

have amazingly long tongues
to probe and seek out insects.

Trees as homes

Woodpeckers take two to three

When mature, weeks to dig out a nest hole,
a fern bud
unrolls and into which the female lays

the leaflets several eggs. The hole is
open out. usually in a dead tree.

A squirrel’s tail helps it to balance as it leaps from tree to tree.

Ecosystems and habitats Bursting with life

Rainforests Tropical rainforests
cover just 7% of Earth’s
Tropical rainforests are rich land, yet contain over
habitats for a huge variety of half of the world’s species.
Parakeet plants and animals. Enter a hot,
damp, and shady world. Beetles One scientist found
18,000 species of beetles in
Time for the umbrella Queen Alexandra one small area of rainforest.
A rainforest is warm and sticky, with birdwing butterfly
frequent downpours. The trees take up (female) Trees A football pitch-
much of the rain, but water vapour sized patch of rainforest
soon evaporates from their leaves, may contain 300 trees.
filling the air with moisture.
Orchids New orchids
are continually being
discovered in rainforests.

Birds The Amazon alone
contains a third of Earth’s
9,000 known bird species.

Orang-utan

Slipper
orchid

162
Where do most of a rainforest’s animals live?

Emergents are the Rainforest layers Bushbaby Rainforests
high tree tops that
poke out above A rainforest is like Who lives there?
everything else. a block of All sorts of
flats, with animals make
The canopy is different the rainforest
made up from residents at their home.
the majority of different layers.
the tree tops. There are four Bushbabies
It is a forest’s main levels. venture out
leaky roof. at night. Their
The forest floor is a thick huge eyes help them
The understorey carpet of dead leaves, see in the dark.
is made up of ferns, and the buttresses
short trees, of tree roots.
shade-loving
plants, and lianas. These frogs eat poisonous Blue poison
insects, then store the dart frog
Cloud forest poison in their skin.
In mountainous Their colourful patterns
areas, rainforests let other animals
may be so high that know that they are
they’re cloaked in dangerous to eat.
clouds. The heavy
moisture encourages
lush plant growth.

Eastern Yellow-banded
rosella poison dart frog

Moth
orchid

Become Constrictors
an expert don’t have fangs
or poison, so
156-157 Ecosystems they kill prey
160-161 Deciduous by squeezing
it to death.
forest

Boa constrictor

Most of a rainforest’s animals (excluding worms in the leaf litter) live in the canopy. 163

Ecosystems and habitats Grass is
resistant to
A sea of grass being trampled
by hooves.
Most plants grow from the top, but
grass grows from the bottom. This Grass
means it can grow back if it’s eaten, clump
or if it is flattened by being trampled.

Grass The cycle of life
shedding seed Tropical grasslands have wet and dry
seasons. In the dry season, the grass
Grass seed turns straw-coloured and dies. With the
Grass plants use the rainy season, it springs back to life.
wind to spread their
pollen (the fine dust
that passes from
male flowers to
female flowers) and
their seeds.

In summer,
clouds of grass
pollen give some
people hay fever.

Cheetah

164
How old are the baobab trees in Africa?

The grass we eat Texas bluebonnet A sea of grass

Grass doesn’t just provide Grass attack Spring flowers
food for animals, it While tropical
provides food for us. In Walk through grass and grasslands burst
fact, most people’s main you may find seeds into life in the
food comes from grasses. rainy season,
clinging to your clothes. northern grasslands
Sugar is produced from Some seeds cling on burst to life in the
sugar cane, a giant with tiny hooks that spring. The fields
tropical grass. work like Velcro. often contain
colourful flowers.
Maize is used for all Grassland trees often
sorts of food products, have flat bottoms, where Goosegrass seed
including tortillas.
animals have grazed. Giraffe
Wheat is used for flour
to make bread and cakes,
and for pasta.

Rice is a major food in
Asia, and is eaten around
the world.

Rye is mixed with wheat
to make a heavy flour
that is used for bread.

Acacia tree

Baobab trees

In Africa, the baobab
tree survives the blistering
heat of the dry season by
swelling and storing water
in its trunk.

Some of them have been growing there for 3,000 years. 165

Ecosystems and habitats

Weeds and Life in a meadow
wildflowers
In summer, a healthy grass meadow is
Wildflowers are pretty, like a jungle in miniature. It is packed
but some spread so with different plants and animals.
rapidly they can be
troublesome to farmers.

Ragwort is immensely Hidden away
poisonous to horses, ponies, A meadow may be
donkeys, and cattle. inhabited by moles –
almost blind
Thistle fruits have
parachutes. The seeds may creatures that
be carried far and wide. remain below
the ground.
Daisies hug the ground
and do well in short grass. Under the surface European
– such as on a lawn. mole
Moles are capable miners, tunnelling
Cowslip is found in clearings long passages through the soil and
and at the edge of woodland producing tell-tale mounds of earth.
as well as in meadows.
Campion
Musk mallow produces flower
pretty flowers from June
to September.

Lady’s bedstraw Watch out! Crab
produces tiny, star- Crab spiders are spider
shaped flowers. powerful enough
to catch bees and
Field scabious can butterflies. They hide
produce some 2,000 seeds among the flowers,
per plant. pouncing when prey comes close.

Clover is useful to farmers Hands on
as it helps fertilize the soil.
It is part of the pea family. Make yourself
a miniature meadow
Dandelion heads are full inside a jar. Sprinkle a few
of tiny petals, each of seeds onto damp soil. Put the jar
which turns into a seed. on a windowsill, keep it
watered, and watch as
Wood cranesbill is a
woodland flower, but the seeds grow.
grows in hay meadows.
166
Buttercup flowers produce
30 seeds, so a large plant
may have 22,000 seeds.

How long can a slow worm live: one, five, or 50 years?

Dandelion Life in a meadow
seeds
The flower is ready
to be pollinated by From flower to seed
an insect. Dandelions are frequently
seen in meadows, as they have
a way of spreading their seeds
that is incredibly successful.
Each seed has a parachute, to
carry it far away.

A breeze lifts the
parachutes. They
may travel far.

The petals have died Bubble blower
and the parachutes
are forming. Harvest Froghopper nymphs create damp
mouse
Tiny monkeys bubbles of sticky fluid to stop

Harvest mice climb through themselves from drying out.
the stems as ably as
monkeys climb through A harvest mouse The bubble also protects the
trees. They build tennis weighs no more nymphs from being eaten.
ball-sized nests. than a teaspoonful
of sugar.

There are many Slow but steady
different types of The slow worm is not
snails and a meadow actually a worm – it’s a type
is a good place to of lizard, but it has no legs!
find a selection. This one is hunting for a
tasty worm or a snail.

Slow
worm

It can live for more than 50 years.

Ecosystems and habitats

At the water hole

Meet my companion During the dry season in the
Large animals often savanna, the only reliable place to
appear at a water hole find water is at a water hole. It can
with accompanying be a busy place.
oxpeckers. These birds
help the animal keep As well as insect That’s better!
insects at bay, picking control, oxpeckers When a warthog
off ticks and leeches. clean up any takes a bath, it ends
wounds the host up dirtier than ever.
Impala animal may have. The mud helps it to
cool down and may
Red-billed help get rid of fleas
oxpecker and other nasty
insects that infect the
animal’s skin.

Guinea fowl

Why are water holes such busy places?

At the water hole

Water birds

Birds are often seen wading in waterholes,
looking for fish and frogs. There are many
different types, and a few are shown here.

Yellow-billed storks stir Saddle-billed storks are
the water with a foot to the largest storks, with a
disturb fish and frogs. wingspan of 2.7 m (9 ft).

Crowned cranes are Wattled cranes surround Stuck in the mud
the only cranes able their large nests with
to perch in trees. moat-like water channels. Some water holes dry up in
the dry season. The African

lungfish buries itself in a sticky

A never-ending thirst bag of slime and hibernates

Animals visit a water hole frequently, until the rains come back.

especially elephants. Elephants have A water hole is a cool place.
to drink about 200 litres

(53 gallons) a day.

African
elephant

Impala

Become
an expert

154-155 Food
chains

164-165 A sea
of grass

169
In the dry season, a water hole may provide the only water for miles around.

Ecosystems and habitats Sahara Gobi Desert
Desert
Desert regions
Sonoran
Deserts are Earth’s driest places, Desert
with hardly any rainfall. Many
of them are boiling hot – but Atacama Kalahari Great Sandy
deserts can also be very cold Desert Desert Desert
places, such as Antarctica.
Antarctica
Weird weather
During the day, many Deserts of the world
deserts are scorchingly hot. At
night, they can get incredibly A quarter of our world is made
cold. They often have huge up of hot deserts, the biggest
sandstorms – or snow storms. one being the Sahara Desert
in northern Africa.

Grey-banded king snake

Animals survivors
Few plants can survive in the desert

and so many animals are meat eaters.
Many deserts are also so hot that
a large number of animals retreat
underground during the day,
hunting at night.

How tall is the tallest cactus on record?

Desert records Coldest desert: Desert regions
Antarctica is the coldest Animal survivors
Hot and cold deserts (and driest) desert.
are full of extremes, Desert animals have had
so they hold quite a Hottest desert: the to develop ways to keep
few impressive records. Sahara Desert is the cool and watered.
hottest in the world.
Rainfall: a desert must Tiger
have less than 2.5 cm Biggest hot desert: salamander
(10 in) of rain per year. the Sahara Desert covers
one third of Africa.
Driest hot desert:
is the Atacama Desert Some cacti have
in South America. spines instead
of leaves, some
have hairs. Spines Night hunters
protect the cactus During the day,
from being eaten salamanders hide
by animals. in deep underground
burrows. They come
Cactus out at night and feed
on worms, insects, or

other salamanders.

A camel’s hump contains
fat that con be broken
down to releases water.

Camel

Plant survivors Big thirst
It is very difficult A camel can survive
for plants to survive for about three weeks
without much rainfall. without water. When
The cactus is a clever plant it does drink, it
because it collects water when it
rains and stores it for dry periods. can take in a
huge amount.

to 20 m (63 ft) in the Sonoran Desert. One Cardon cactus grew 171

Ecosystems and habitats Become
an expert
Life in thin air
156-157 Ecosystems
Walk up a mountain and you’ll find that 160-161 Deciduous
the habitat begins to change the higher you
go. It also gets harder to breathe. forests
166-167 Life in

a meadow

Mountain zones Alpine zone
In cool parts of the world,
A temperate mountain mountain peaks have a
(a mountain in a cool permanent coating of snow.
part of the world) has Nothing grows at this height.
distinct zones, each
with its own wildlife. Alpine meadows
In the spring, as the snow
A rare sight begins to melt, lush meadows
There are thought to be fewer come alive with flowers. This
than 380 wild mountain zone is above the treeline.
gorillas. Although they look
fearsome, gorillas are peaceful Conifer trees
vegetarians. Conifers are adapted to
surviving extreme cold. Even
Mountain their shape protects against
gorilla the weight of the snow.

Deciduous trees
Below the conifer trees,
where the air gets a
little warmer, grow the
deciduous trees.

Alpine
marmot

Time to wake up!
Mountain meadows

are covered with
snow in winter.

Some animals, like
marmots, survive this
period by hibernating

in burrows.

172
What is the meaning of the word “alpine”?

Rock gardens Gelada baboons Life in thin air
Who needs a tree!
When the snow melts
in spring, the grassy Some monkeys prefer
meadows on high cliffs to trees! Gelada
mountains are ablaze baboons actually sleep
with flowers. on cliffs, perched on the

Mountain daisy These narrowest ledges.
bloom in their thousands
across alpine meadows. Ibex

Rock spiraea Creamy- This is my home
white flowers form dense Ibex are goats. They
mats over rocky areas. can scramble up the
steepest slopes and leap
Thyme Low, thick clumps about without losing
of miniature thyme make their footing.
a colourful appearance.
173
Saxifrage There are
many different colours
of this hardy plant.

Edelweiss In many
places, this plant is now
protected: you can’t pick it.

Alpine snowbell Tiny bell-
shaped flowers push their
way up in early spring.

Alpine
chough

Life in thin air
Mountain air is so thin that
mountaineers need oxygen tanks,
but birds like the chough have no
problem breathing it. A chough
once accompanied a climbing
expedition to the summit

of Mount Everest.

permanent snow. Above the treeline and below

Ecosystems and habitats Stalactite

Cool caves A stalactite
forms from the
A large cave will take thousands of roof down.
years to form. From insects to bats, many
animals find a cave a good place to live.

A dripping start

Caves are often damp, if
not wet. Stalactites form
drip by drip as minerals
are deposited by water
dripping from the roof.

Long-eared
bat

I hear you!
Many bats have poor sight, but
incredibly good hearing. They hunt
by making squeaks and clicks that
bounce off prey, telling the bat the

prey’s location.

Cave Feel the way Webbed skin for fli
spider
Like bats, cave spiders cannot see well.
ght.
To compensate, they have a strongly

developed sense of touch to help them

move around – and catch prey.

What’s the name for a person that lives only in caves?

Cool caves

All in white Drops of
moisture show
Many cave dwellers, such as the bat is
cave crayfish, are white hibernating in a
because they need no cold, damp cave.
protection from the Sun’s rays.

Hunting for a snack Sleep time Natterer’s bat
This south-east Asian snake
will slip into caves because it A cool cave is
knows there are tasty frogs, an ideal place for
bats, and lizards to eat. Its this bat to choose for its
slightly flat belly helps it to winter hibernation.
glide over rocks.
A success story
Red-tailed Cockroaches are among the most
racer successful of all living things,
having inhabited Earth for more than
320 million years. Caves are just one
of the habitats in which
they thrive.

Cockroach

A troglodyte.

Ecosystems and habitats

The flowing current

From foamy white, cascading
torrents to slow but ever-
moving waters, rivers provide
a rich habitat for a wide
variety of wildlife.

Caddisfly larva

The food chain begins

As leaves and dead animals

fall into the waters, bacteria

multiply. This brings food for From small beginnings
aquatic larvae such as the caddisfly.

Many rivers start life as fast-

flowing streams. It is often a

Caddisfly barren beginning, but plants

and animals soon thrive.

Mosses often grow on riverside Stop that water!
rocks and trees and provide
shelter for many tiny bugs that Beavers sometimes build dams to Fallen trees can provide
need damp conditions. create lakes, slowing the flow of pathways for animals
water and so changing their habitat. and insects to cross a
They also create lodges to live in. fast-flowing stream.

Beaver

Which is the world’s longest river?

The Colorado The flowing current
River Changing the landscape

The fish is held Over millions of years, rivers cut channels in
in the bird’s the earth. A notable example of this is the
dagger-like beak. Colorado River and the Grand Canyon.

A brown bear is
drawn to the river
by the presence
of salmon.

Brown bear

Got it! Against the flow
Many birds Swift-flowing water
make a slow- captures oxygen, helping
moving river their fish to breathe. Chinook salmon
hunting ground, swim against the current heading
snatching small fish for their spawning grounds. It’s a
from the water. The dangerous journey.
kingfisher is a colourful
inhabitant of many
European rivers.

The kingfisher
will dive to about
25 cm (10 in) to
grab a fish.

The Nile, in Africa, at 6,695 km (4,160 miles). 177

Ecosystems and habitats

Still waters

A freshwater lake is a large body of

Water

hyacinth standing water. Lakes support a wide
variety of life, especially at their edges.

Just floating around Floating plants such as
Plants that float do well in still water, water lettuce provide shade
but they can take over. Water hyacinth for a lake’s creatures.

looks pretty, but it is a fast-growing
weed and can choke other life
under a thick mat.

Cat in the water Water
lettuce
Catfish are named for their barbels,
cat-like whiskers that allow them to
feel their way in murky water.

Bullhead
catfish

Some species
of catfish can
grow to be
more than
3 m (10 ft)
in length.

Barbels help
the fish to seek
out prey. In the
case of a large
catfish, this
may be a duck.

Medicinal Horse

leech leech

Is it a sucker?

Paddle in a muddy

lake and you may

emerge to find a leech

on your foot. Some, but

178 not all, leeches suck blood.
Which is the world’s largest freshwater lake?

Is it a lake? Still waters

Lakes form in hollows, but not all are Ospreys are large birds of
natural. A reservoir is a man- prey, reaching 1.7 m (5.5 ft)
made lake, formed by a dam. wingtip to wingtip.

A bulrush’s
flowers bloom
on spikes and
attract insects.

Attacks from above
Ospreys are found on all
continents except Antarctica.
They will nest near a lake
or river, and swoop down to
pluck fish from the water.

Pike Life on the edge
Bulrushes and reeds often
The ambush specialist
form a thick bed at a
Pike are adept at ambushing their lake’s edge. Known
prey, lying in wait and nabbing as emergents, they
passing frogs, fish, and insects.
grow up from the lake
floor and out into the air.

Dragonflies are
frequently seen on the
plants at a lake’s edge.

Don’t mess with me!
The fearsome looking alligator
snapping turtle is the world’s
largest freshwater turtle. Some have

weighed in at more than
100 kg (220 lbs).

A slice of history
The common loon’s ancestors lived on
Earth some 65 million years ago. This
red-eyed bird can dive to an incredible

27 m (90 ft) in search of food.

Lake Superior in North America.

Ecosystems and habitats The BIG escape!

A pufferfish sucks If threatened, a pufferfish may
in water to swell blow itself up with water to
its body.
stop it being swallowed by a
predator, but most predators
know to avoid these
highly toxic fish.

Jellyfish protect
themselves with
stinging cells on
their tentacles,
but these don't
stop a turtle!

Pufferfish

Swim for my supper
Sea creatures such as the leatherback turtle
will travel thousands of miles in search of
jellyfish. If the food doesn’t come to you,
you have to go and find it!

The lion's mane Become
jellyfish is one an expert
of the largest of
all jellyfish. 132-133 Water
mammals

144-145 The world
of fish

It's a production line Velvet
crab

Many sea creatures produce
hundreds or even thousands of
eggs to ensure some will survive.
Turtles will lay 100 eggs at once,
while a velvet crab may produce

180,000 eggs!
180

Which of the creatures on this page has the longest history on Earth?

Survival in the sea

Survival in the sea

The ocean can be a dangerous place Blending in
and sea creatures have developed
a number of clever techniques to Many of the ocean’s
increase their chances of staying alive. inhabitants are masters
of disguise.
On guard!
Some sea creatures will sting or attack Stonefish have lumpy,
mottled skin that blends
if threatened. Lionfish spines perfectly with the sea floor.
contain venom that can stop a
fish moving or kill it. Divers are Pipefish swim upright,
making them almost
careful not to touch lionfish. invisible amongst seagrass.

Leopard sharks have a
patterning on their skin
that helps them to hide.

Lost in
the crowd

Many fish swim
together in shoals.
When they all start
moving at the same speed
and in the same direction
to confuse predators, it is
called “schooling”.

Jellyfish are survivors. There were jellyfish in the oceans 650 million years ago. 181

Age of the dinosaurs

Age of the dinosaurs

Earth has an incredibly long history, as
it formed about 4,600 million years ago.
Geologists divided the passage of
time since then into huge
chunks called eras.
The dinosaurs
lived in the
Mesozoic Era.

A question of time
Different dinosaurs lived at different
times, and many of the best-known
dinosaurs never actually met. For
example, no T. rex ever tried to kill a
Stegosaurus because their existence was
separated by about 80 million years.

MESOZOIC ERA

Coelophysis Brachiosaurus

Stegosaurus

Eoraptor Plateosaurus

182 Triassic: 248 to 206 million years ago Jurassic: 206 to 144 million years ago

How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?

Albertosaurus Age of the dinosaurs
was a Cretaceous
dinosaur. Curiosity quiz

Look through the Age
of the dinosaurs pages
to identify each of the
picture clues below.

The Mesozoic Era

This era is divided into
three time spans, or periods:

The Cretaceous period
was ruled by an amazing
variety of dinosaurs.

The Jurassic period saw
the emergence of massive
plant-eating dinosaurs.

The Triassic period, the
oldest, saw the appearance
of Earth’s first dinosaurs.

Geological time is always shown
with the oldest period at the bottom
of the list. It reflects the sequence in
which rocks are laid down.

Giganotosaurus Human beings Become
(homo sapiens) an expert
Velociraptor T. rex didn't appear until
very recently in 184-185 What is
Cretaceous: 144 to 65 million years ago Earth's history. a dinosaur?
208-209 What
Homo sapiens happened?

We know a lot about their size and appearance from fossil evidence. 183

Age of the dinosaurs

What is a dinosaur?

Two legs or four? Long tails
Scientists believe dinosaurs held
Meat-eater or plant- their tails above the ground as
there is no evidence of drag marks
eater? What made a when trackways have
been found.
dinosaur? They all

had four limbs, though

many walked on two.

There were a number

of other features they

had in common. Giganotosaurus

Scaly skin Meat-eating
Impressions of dinosaur dinosaurs were
skin are rare, but known as
palaeontologists (scientists theropods.
who study fossils) have
found enough to know that
dinosaurs had scaly skin,
rather like crocodiles today.

Cold-blooded lizards have
to warm up in sunlight;
they cannot control their
temperature.

Were dinosaurs warm-blooded? All dinosaurs lived
It’s possible that meat-eating dinosaurs on land. They could
were warm-blooded (like we are), while not fly or swim.
plant-eating sauropods were cold-blooded.
Warm-blooded animals use food as fuel
to stay warm. Sauropods were too large
to have eaten enough plants to do this.

184
Are dinosaurs lizards?

What is a dinosaur?

Giganotosaurus skulls
had huge “windows”.

Skull holes

Dinosaur

skulls had

large holes,

or “windows”. These made them

lighter, which was necessary

as some of the largest skulls Meat-eaters had
were almost as long as a car. sharp claws.

Plant-eaters Clue in the claws
had blunt Meat-eating dinosaurs were
toenails. known as theropods, which
means “beast-footed”, because
they had sharp, hooked claws
on their toes. Plant-eating
dinosaurs tended to have
blunt hooves
or toenails.

Walking tall Dinosaurs walked Egg layers
Dinosaurs on upright, All dinosaurs
walked on pillar-like legs. laid eggs – some
their toes in nests, just as birds do today.
with their legs Crocodiles stand The baby developed in the egg until
directly under with their knees it was ready to hatch. About 40 kinds
their bodies. and elbows of dinosaur eggs have been discovered.
slightly bent.
185
Lizards sprawl,
with their knees
and elbows held
at right angles
to their bodies.

No. They are related, but the two groups are different.

Age of the dinosaurs

A hip question

Dinosaurs can be split into two groups,
according to their hip bones: the saurischians
(the lizard-hipped dinosaurs) and
the ornithischians (or bird-
hipped dinosaurs).

Bird-hipped dinosaurs
had a pair of hip bones
pointing back.

186 Triceratops ever meet?
Did T. rex and

WA hip question t?

Most lizard-hipped eird or wha
dinosaurs had a pair of
hip bones that pointed Strangely enough,
forwards or down. scientists believe that birds
have evolved from lizard-

hipped dinosaurs – not
bird-hipped dinosaurs as

you might expect!

Triceratops T. rex I’m in this group!

Saurischians Saurischians can be
divided into two
All meat-eating main groups:
dinosaurs were lizard-
hipped, but some plant-eaters Theropods, the
were also lizard-hipped. T. meat-eaters, such
rex was lizard-hipped, but so as Dilophosaurus.

was the mighty plant-eating Sauropodomorphs, such
Diplodocus, whom you as Brachiosaurus, with their
will meet on page 50. small heads and long necks.

Ornithischians I'm in that group!

These were all plant- Ornithischians can
eaters. The swept-back be divided into three
bones allowed more main groups:
room for the digestive
organs, and meant Thyreophorans, the four-
their bellies could be footed, armour-plated
carried well back, dinosaurs (e.g. Stegosaurus).
allowing some to walk
or run away from Marginocephalians, who
had heads with bony frills
danger on two legs. or horns (e.g. Triceratops).

Ornithopods, the

two-legged plant-eaters

(e.g. Iguanodon). 187

Yes. There’s evidence that T. rex preyed on Triceratops.

Age of the dinosaurs What did they do?

Find a friend Dinosaurs may have used their
head crests to show off,
Many male animals just like a peacock uses
its colourful tail feathers.
today compete to win
Corythosaurus
a mate. Stags crash their
Peacock
antlers together, while
Bone head
birds display colourful
Pachycephalosaurus’s head was
feathers. Scientists Courtship displays tell 80 cm (2.5 ft) long. The dome
believe dinosaurs females which males
had to compete in are strong and likely to was made of solid
make healthy young. bone as thick as
a bowling ball.
similar ways.
Pachycephalosaurus
Pachycephalosaurus skull

This dinosaur had Fighting fit
bony spikes on its During the breeding season, male
head and snout. Pachycephalosaurus may have butted
each other in fights over females. Their
backbones were adapted to

absorb shock.

188
Where did Pachycephalosaurus live?

Did they talk? Find a friend

Nobody knows if dinosaurs made sounds, Become
but we suspect they did. Parasaurolophus, Crest an expert
a hadrosaur, may have done this
by blowing air through its crest. 194-195
Cretaceous
Parasaurolophus
skull cows

Lambeosaurus Hypacrosaurus
skull skull

Other hadrosaurs had different-shaped crests, Parasaurolophus
suggesting they made different sounds.

Brachylophosaurus

Talk like a frog
Crest Brachylophosaurus had a short, solid crest.

It may have had an inflatable pouch on
the outside of this that could be used to
make noises, a bit like a frog’s
throat pouch.

Throat
pouch

In the forests of North America. 189

Age of the dinosaurs

Eggstraordinary eggs

Scientists have been lucky enough to find lots of
fossilized dinosaur eggs, and even nests. There is a

huge variety of sizes and shapes, from
small, circular eggs that would fit
into the palm of your hand to

The largest? eggs the size of cannonballs.

This massive egg
was found in China
and is thought to
have been laid by a
Therizinosaur. There were
larger eggs – the largest
was laid by a dinosaur
called Macroelongatoolithus.

This dinosaur A muddy home
egg fossil is Some eggs were laid in mud,
from Mongolia. which proved a perfect base for
fossilization. These are Maiasaura
eggs from Montana, USA.

Shaped like an egg?
Some dinosaur eggs
were round, but others
were elongated, rather
like a loaf of bread.

This is a hen’s egg: it Oviraptor nest from
shows just how large the China, showing the
Therizinosaur egg was. eggs laid in a spiral
pattern. Each egg is
approximately 16 cm
(6 in) long.

190

Were dinosaur egg shells soft and leathery like those of snakes?

Fossilized Eggstraordinary eggs
dinosaur egg
I’m making a break for it!
A tiny dinosaur hatchling breaks out of its egg
casing. While some dinosaurs were probably

ready to look after themselves after
hatching, others would have depended on
parental help for food and protection.

This is a model of a
Parasaurolophus hatchling.

Oviraptor Egg

Egg care?

Did dinosaurs sit on
their eggs, like birds today? Some did; this
Oviraptor died and was fossilized sitting on

her eggs some 80 million years ago.

Become Oviraptor
an expert
Bringing it back to life
206-207 How This model recreates the fossilized scene
was it made? above, showing the Oviraptor shielding her
eggs. Oviraptors had curious-looking beaked
Nest is dug out snouts. They may have raided other nests for
of sand or earth. food for themselves and their young.

191
No. They had hard, brittle shells, like the eggs of birds.

Age of the dinosaurs Around the world

Sauropods Sauropods have
been found all
Sauropods were the heaviest, longest, over the world.
and tallest animals ever to walk on
land. They were herbivores, and Mamenchisaurus grew to
would have had to graze continually. 22 m (72 ft) in length in
Jurassic China.
Diplodocus skull Tiny-brained eating machines
Sauropods had tiny heads compared Camarasaurus reached a
monstrous 23 m (75 ft) in
to their bodies. Peg-shaped Jurassic North America.
teeth were used to pull
up vegetation. Barapasaurus grew to
lengths of 18 m (59 ft) and
roamed Jurassic India.

Peg-shaped Vulcanodon was just 6.5 m
teeth. (21 ft) when it prowled
Jurassic Zimbabwe.

Diplodocus’s neck and Look at the size of it!

tail made Imagine a dinosaur that was
as long as a tennis court – an
adult Diplodocus was!
up
most of its length.

Gizzard

Diplodocus
skeleton

Adult human
skeleton

Stones in the gut Gizzard
Like other sauropods, stones
Diplodocus swallowed
stones to help break
down tough plant fibres.

192
How many neck vertebrae does the Diplodocus have?

Sauropods

It’s like a giraffe!

Brachiosaurus had longer forelimbs than
hind limbs so its back sloped down to
its hindquarters – rather like a giraffe.
But Brachiosaurus could reach two or
three times higher than a giraffe.

Up high
Brachiosaurus nibbled
leaves at the tops of
trees. Its long neck may
have developed so
Brachiosaurus could feed
where other plant-eaters
could not reach.

Sauropods had long
tails that helped to
balance their bodies.

Fifteen. 193

Age of the dinosaurs

All sorts of crests Cretaceous cows

Those striking crests Hadrosaurs were basically the cows
came in all sorts of of the Cretaceous. They would have
different shapes. been a familiar sight in the forests and

Corythosaurus had a swamps of North America.
plate-like crest.

Tsintaosaurus’ crest may Hadrosaurs had stiff Male hadrosaurs
have been covered in tails. It is unlikely these probably had
brightly coloured skin. were swung from side larger crests
to side. than the females.
Lambeosaurus had a
helmet-like crest. Parasaurolophus

What a sight!
Hadrosaurs are
known for having
some of the strangest
heads of all dinosaurs;
many of them had
a crest.

Become
an expert

188-189 Find
a friend

196-197 Horns
and frills

194
Can you think of any crested animals today?

A hadrosaur had Cretaceous cows
more than 1,000 What did they eat?
teeth (though not
all were in use at One hadrosaur fossil contained
the same time!). the remains of its last
meal: bark, pine cones,
Did they conifer needles,
have beaks? and branches.
That duck-like This tough
beak contained plant matter
tightly packed is particularly
rows of teeth to hard to digest.
grind vegetation.
Corythosaurus
Fossilized
hadrosaur teeth

Chew and move on

A hadrosaur such as
Corythosaurus would have
roamed in huge herds,
grazing on leaves, pine
needles, and ferns.

and birds have crests. A number of lizards 195

Age of the dinosaurs

Horns and frills

Built like a rhinoceros, Triceratops is one of
the best-known of all dinosaurs. It belongs

to a group known as the
“horned face” dinosaurs
or ceratopsians.

Thapt’lsanont-eeahteefrt!y

Three-horned face

Triceratops was one of the
largest of all the horned faces,
reaching about 10 m (33 ft) in
length when fully grown.
196

What does the name Triceratops mean?

Other ceratopsians Horns and frills

There were a number of Sheep of the Gobi
different dinosaurs with
horns and frills. Protoceratops roamed
the Gobi Desert in Asia rather as
Protoceratops, which had
a head frill but lacked a sheep roam today. In fact, they
horn. were about the size of sheep.

Styracosaurus, or “spiked
lizard”, had a fancy,
horned frill.

Pentaceratops had an
enormous neck frill and
three long horns.

From baby Protocera tops to fully grown adult.Like all the horn-face

That’s not a fighter dinosaurs, Protoceratops
Protoceratops lacked had a parrot-like beak.
any protection. Its
small size would Fully
have made it the developed
ideal prey for skull
a number of
meat-eaters. One big dinosaur graveyard

Hatchling The Gobi Desert is littered with the
remains of Protoceratops, and they
show all stages of growth.

197
“Three-horned face”.

Age of the dinosaurs

T. rex T. rex’s eyeballs
were the size of
a clenched fist.

The mighty T. rex roamed
North America in the last
couple of million years that
dinosaurs ruled the planet.

Titanic teeth

T. rex had
awesome curved
teeth, each as long
as a human hand.
Altogether it
had 58 of these
pointed weapons.

Hunter or scavenger?

T. rex preyed on
plant-eaters such
as Triceratops.

T. rex walked on
its powerful hind
limbs.

When teeth broke,
new ones grew
to replace them.

Was it a killer?
We don’t really know if T. rex was a hunter
or a scavenger. It may have attacked and
killed, or it may have picked at dead or dying

dinosaurs. It may have done both.

198
T. rex is short for Tyrannosaurus rex. What does it mean?