Bright yellow in colour with a distinctive striped black and white face, this unusual fish can obtain a length of 23cm. 

Although they usually keep their colour day and night, they can turn a mottle brown colour when they are threatened by predators. 

Their long fox-like snout is used to reach into crevices and obtain food.

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Fun Facts...

This pretty fish can give a painful sting from its dorsal spines!

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Location...

This species lives throughout the western Pacific.

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Habitat...

Coral reefs.

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Diet...
Algae, marine plants and small crustaceans.

The body of the gold saddle rabbitfish is light brown to grey with yellow-gold spots all over it, with a large yellow spot on its posterior. The dorsal spines are venomous and can be raised when under attack. These fish are most active at night and can grow to about 42cm in length.

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Fun Facts... The gold saddle's large yellow spot on their posterior mimics that of an eye in order to confuse predators! 

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Location... Turbid inshore reefs of the Eastern Indian ocean and Western Pacific. 

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Habitat... These fish inhabit brackish, marine waters. They also like to live amongst inshore reefs for cover and shelter. The fry settles in seagrass beds around river mouths and use the tide to leave the rivers when old enough. 

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Diet...
Herbivores. They will mostly eat algae.

The stellate rabbitfish is a yellowish fish with chocolate brown spots covering its body that can reach up to 40cm long. The edges of the dorsal fins, anal fins and caudal fins are paler than the rest of the body and sometimes bright yellow in colour. The spines on this species are venomous.

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Fun Facts... Rabbitfish are so called because their nose looks similar to that of a rabbits nose! 

The juveniles of this species tend to form large schools, where as adults pair up. 

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Location... These rabbitfish can be found in the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and the Andaman Sea. 

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Habitat... This fish is found in coral reefs. Juveniles are normally found in weedy estuaries. 

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Diet...
Benthic seaweeds

Also known as the bicolour rainbowfish, this fish is found in groups of at least five and usually more, in swampy lake waters in Indonesia. Males are much brighter in colour, have an arched back and will often be more territorial. They reach about 11cm and males are blue-gray at the head end, moving into a vibrant orange-red at the tail end. 

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Fun Facts... Once a female is ready to spawn, she can release up to 20 eggs a day!

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Location... Endemic to the Ayamaru Lakes in West Papua, Indonesia. 

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Habitat... Shallow, swampy clear waters with lush aquatic vegetation.

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Diet...
Small crustaceans, insects and some vegetation.

The brown rat is larger and less agile than the black rat. Brown rats average around 25cm in length in addition to their tail being similar in length to the body. They have sharp claws to aid climbing, good sense of smell and long whiskers which are highly sensitive and ensure that the animal does not get stuck. They also have powerful teeth which helps them to consume their varied diet.

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Fun Facts... Rats are highly intelligent and can be trained to carry out a variety of tasks.
They have hearing sensitive to ultrasound and their average heart rate is 300-400 bpm.
Rats are very good swimmers and can produce ultra sonic chirps which have been likened to laughter.

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Location... Thought to have originated from northern China, this rodent has now spread to all continents except Antarctica. It has managed to spead worldwide by climbing aboard boats and other modes of transport. Alberta in Canada, is one of the only places in the world to operate a successful rat-control program, resulting in no rats at all!

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Habitat... In its native range, rats inhabit stream banks, water courses and wetlands, as well as woodland and coastal areas. The brown rat tends to be found in areas that humans inhabit. They prefer out door environments, so will infest an area around a building rather then inside. They can create extensive burrows but will also utilise any man made burrows such as sewers. 

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Diet...
Omnivore-Will eat almost anything dead or alive, including insects, fish, carrion, vegetables, grain, soap and leather.

The thornback ray is also known as the thornback skate and the colour and patterns seen on this ray is often different depending on what part of the world it is found. The thornback ray get its name from the rows of spiky thorns found on their back and tail. Although these could cause injury if stepped on or touched, they are not venomous like the spines of a stingray.

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Fun Facts...

The teeth of male thornback rays are sharper than those of females and juveniles. Thornback rays use coastal waters as nursery grounds, so juveniles are found most often in shallow water.

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Location...

The thornback ray is found throughout the northeast Atlantic, from as far north as Iceland and as far south as Namibia. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Baltic Sea.

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Habitat...

Around Europe, this species is usually found at depths of 10-60m, however the thornback ray is a seasonal migrator and will spend the winter months in deeper water before moving into shallower water in the late spring and summer months to breed. The thornback ray prefers to live in areas with soft sediment, such as mud and sand, but can also be found over gravel and rock beds.

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Diet...
Primarily eats crustaceans, such as shrimp and crabs, and small fish, such as sandeels, dragonets, sprat and anchovies.

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