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  More about symbiosis …

  There are several different kinds of symbiotic relationships. This book describes mutualism, a partnership in which all the animals are helped. There are also relationships in which one animal benefits and another is harmed—a tick and a giraffe, for instance. This is called parasitism. A third kind of relationship helps one animal and doesn’t hurt or help another. When a barnacle attaches to an oyster’s shell, it gets a home, but the oyster isn’t really affected. This kind of symbiosis is called commensualism.

  Sometimes it hard to tell what sort of a symbiotic relationship exists between animals, and scientists don’t always agree. For instance, some biologists describe the relationship of the remora and shark as commensualism (the remora benefits, the shark gets nothing). Others believe it is mutualism (that’s the way it is described in this book).

  Animals don’t form mutualistic relationships out of friendship, or from any desire to help each other. They are completely selfish and remain in these relationships only because the partnership somehow helps them survive.

  Perhaps the most common symbiotic relationships in the world are those between animals and bacteria, such as the one between cows and the microorganisms in their gut that help them digest their food. These relationships are interesting, but difficult to observe and illustrate, so this book focuses on larger organisms.

  On these pages you can learn more about the size, habitat, and diet of the animals in this book.

  zebra

  size: 5 feet (1½ meters) at the shoulder

  habitat: African plains and dry grasslands

  diet: plants and grasses

  wildebeest

  size: 4 feet (1¼ meters) at the shoulder

  habitat: plains and open woodlands of Africa

  diet: short grasses

  ostrich

  size: up to 9 feet tall (2¾ meters)

  habitat: savannahs and dry plains of Africa

  diet: seeds, shrubs, grasses, and insects

  cattle egret

  size: 20 inches (51 centimeters) long

  habitat: warm climates throughout the world

  diet: grasshoppers, other insects, and frogs

  waterbuck

  size: 4 feet (11/ meters) at the shoulder

  habitat: savannah and scrublands of Africa

  diet: shrubs, tree leaves, and grasses

  boxer crab

  size:½ inch (1¼ centimeter) across

  habitat: Indian and Pacific oceans

  diet: plants, dead animals, and

  zooplankton

  hermit crab

  size: up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) long

  habitat: shallow seas worldwide

  diet: plants, worms, and dead animals

  sea sponge

  size: up to 7 feet (2 meters) tall

  habitat: oceans worldwide

  diet: small food particles and plankton

  decorator crab

  size: 5 inches (12½ centimeters) across

  habitat: warm ocean shores worldwide

  diet: algae, sponges, and small crustaceans

  upside-down jellyfish

  size: 12 inches (30 centimeters) across

  habitat: warm shallow seas

  diet: algae and plankton

  prairie dog

  length: 13 inches (33 centimeters)

  habitat: grass prairies and plains of the American West

  diet: grasses and insects

  coyote

  length: 32 inches (81 centimeters)

  habitat: throughout North America

  diet: small mammals, birds, and reptiles

  badger

  length: 22 inches (56 centimeters)

  habitat: Western North America

  diet: rodents and other small animals

  raven

  length: 25 inches (63.5 centimeters)

  habitat: most climates worldwide

  diet: fruit, grain, and live and dead animals

  wolf

  length: up to 6½ feet (2 meters) nose to tail

  habitat: northern North America and Asia

  diet: small mammals and other animals, deer, elk, and moose

  honeyguide

  length: 6 inches (15 centimeters)

  habitat: forests of Africa and southern Asia

  diet: insects, spiders, honeybee larvae, and beeswax

  ratel (honey badger)

  length: 26 inches (66 centimeters)

  habitat: dry grasslands of Africa, India, and Southeast Asia

  diet: small mammals and reptiles, birds, eggs, insects, and honey

  oxpecker

  size: 8 inches (20 centimeters) long

  habitat: savannahs and forests of Africa

  diet: ticks, flies, and blood of host animals

  giraffe

  size: up to 18 feet (5¾ meters) tall

  habitat: African savannah and open

  woodlands south of the Sahara

  diet: leaves, shrubs, and grass

  rhinoceros

  size: up to 6,600 pounds (3,000 kilograms)

  habitat: African plains and woodlands

  diet: leaves, shrubs, and grasses

  red deer

  size: up to 500 pounds (227 kilograms)

  habitat: northern Africa

  diet: leaves, shrubs, and grasses

  African buffalo

  size: up to 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms)

  habitat: African plains

  diet: leaves, shrubs, and grasses

  Egyptian plover

  size: 8 inches (20 centimeters) long

  habitat: lowland tropical rivers of Africa

  diet: insects, worms, and scraps of food in crocodiles’ teeth

  African crocodile

  size: up to 20 feet (6 meters) long

  habitat: African rivers, freshwater marshes, and swamps

  diet: fish; zebras, wildebeests, and other mammals; birds; and other crocodiles

  ocean sunfish (mola mola)

  size: 10 feet (3 meters) long, weighs up to 5,100 pounds (2,300 kilograms)

  habitat: temperate and tropical waters of oceans worldwide

  diet: mainly jellyfish

  seagull

  size: 20 inches (½ meter) long

  habitat: seacoasts worldwide

  diet: fish, shellfish, insects, and worms

  hippopotamus

  size: up to 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms)

  habitat: rivers and lakes in Africa

  diet: grass and water plants

  African helmeted turtle

  size: 6 inches (15 centimeters) long

  habitat: wet areas throughout Africa

  diet: insects, fish, snails, algae, and water plants

  clownfish

  size: 6 inches (15 centimeters) long

  habitat: southern Pacific coral reefs

  diet: algae, plankton, and undigested food from their host anemones

  sea anemone

  size: 3 feet (91 centimeters) in diameter (the anemone associated with the clownfish)

  habitat: shallow Indo-Pacific Ocean waters

  diet: fish, mussels, and zooplankton

  warthog

  size: up to 5 feet (1½ meters) long

  habitat: savannahs, woodlands, and grasslands of Africa

  diet: plants, eggs, small animals, and dead animals (carrion)

  mongoose

  size: 12 inches (30 centimeters) long

  habitat: African grasslands and forests

  diet: insects, lizards, snakes, and eggs

  marine iguana

  size: 4 feet (11/ meters) long

  habitat: rocky shores of the Galápagos Islands

  diet: marine algae

  Sally Lightfoot crab

  size: 3 inches (7V2 centimeters) across

  habitat: warm coasts of the Americas and Africa

  diet: algae, dead fish and birds, and marine iguana parasites and skin

  remora

  size: 2 feet
(60 centimeters) long

  habitat: warm ocean waters worldwide

  diet: parasites and leftover scraps

  tiger shark

  size: 13 feet (4 meters) long

  habitat: warm coastal waters worldwide

  diet: fish, seals, birds, squid, turtles, and dolphins

  cleaner wrasse

  size: 4 inches (10 centimeters) long

  habitat: rocky sea floors and coral reefs

  diet: the parasites of other fish

  tang

  size: up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) long

  habitat: northern Pacific Ocean

  diet: algae and parasites

  green sea turtle

  size: 5 feet (1½ meters) long

  habitat: warm oceans worldwide

  diet: sea plants

  social weaver

  size: 7 inches (18 centimeters) long

  habitat: southern Africa

  diet: insects

  African pygmy falcon

  size: 8 inches (20 centimeters) long

  habitat: eastern and southern Africa

  diet: insects, small reptiles, and mammals

  black tree ants

  size: ⅙ inch (4 millimeters) long

  habitat: trees in the forests of Southeast Asia and Africa

  diet: plant material

  rufous woodpecker

  size: 9 inches (23 centimeters) long

  habitat: India and Southeast Asia

  diet: ants and other insects, fruit, and sap

  tuatara

  size: up to 32 inches (81 centimeters) long

  habitat: small islands of New Zealand

  diet: earthworms, slugs, and insects

  Cook’s petrel

  size: 11 inches (28 centimeters) long

  habitat: sea shores of the Pacific Ocean

  diet: fish and shellfish

  goby

  size: up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) long

  habitat: shallow ocean waters worldwide

  diet: worms and other small invertebrates

  blind shrimp

  size: 2 inches (5 centimeters) long

  habitat: southern Pacific Ocean coral reefs

  diet: plankton and dead animals

  pea crab

  size: ⅜ inch (1 centimeter) across

  habitat: oceans worldwide

  diet: plankton and algae

  giant clam

  size: 4 feet (122 centimeters) across

  habitat: Indo-Pacific ocean

  diet: algae

  meat ant

  size:⅜ inch (9 millimeters) long

  habitat: throughout Australia

  diet: plants and live and dead animals

  leafhopper

  size: nymph, ⅓ inch (8 millimeters) long; adult, ½ inch (13 millimeters) long

  habitat: plants worldwide

  diet: plants and plant sap

  blue butterfly

  size: caterpillar, ½ inch (13 millimeters); butterfly, 2-inch (5-centimeter) wingspan

  habitat: meadows in Europe

  caterpillar diet: flowers, then ant larvae

  butterfly diet: flower nectar

  red ant

  size: 1/5 inch (5 millimeters) long

  habitat: central Europe, Asia, and North America

  diet: insects and honeydew excreted by aphids

  domestic dog

  size: 3 pounds (1,300 grams) to 180 pounds (81 kilograms)

  habitat: human habitations worldwide

  diet: meat and grain, table scraps, and small animals

  For Page, Alec, and Jamie

  Text copyright © 2010 by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

  Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Steve Jenkins

  All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Hough

  ton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.

  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children is an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

  www.hmhbooks.com

  The text of this book is set in Dave Gibbons Lower. The illustrations are collages of cut and torn paper.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file.

  ISBN 978-0-547-24515-7

  Printed in Singapore

  TWP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  4500202843

  To learn more about animal symbiosis:

  Coyote and Badger.

  By Bruce Hiscock. Boyds Mills Press, Inc., 2001

  How Animals Live.

  By Bernard Stonehouse and Esther Bertram.

  Scholastic Reference, 2004.

  Perfect Partners.

  By John Woodward. Heinemann Library, 2004.

  The Usborne World of Animals.

  By Susanna Davidson and Mike Unwin.

  Usborne Books, 2005.

  The Way Nature Works.

  By John D. Beazley.

  Macmiillan Publishing Company, 1992.

  The Wonders of Life on Earth.

  By the editors of Time and Lincoln Barnett. Time Inc., 1960.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Front

  ...

 

 

 


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