Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/21
In Pictures: Sinkholes around the world
In Pictures: What happened to the green revolution in Iran?
In Pictures: Facing the devastation of the Oklahoma tornadoes
In Pictures: Sandy: Chronicle of an unrelenting storm
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/20
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
In Pictures: The Israeli separation barrier: A West Bank wall
In Pictures: Derby Day devotees, Kenyan style
CHINESE GIANT SALAMANDER: This January 2008 photo shows a Chinese giant salamander from the Zoological Society of London. These amphibians can reach nearly 6 feet long and are critically endangered due to habitat loss, poaching, and pollution. The salamander is also considered a Chinese delicacy. Zoological Society of London/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom/FILE
OSTRICH: Ostriches are large, flightless birds that can reach nearly 45 miles per hour running at top speed. They are the largest living species of bird and also lay the largest egg of any bird. Here, ostriches are seen at a farm in Hohenfelde, Germany, in April 2009. Heribert Proepper/AP
GIANT SQUID: A giant squid attacks bait as it's being pulled up by a research team off Ogasawara Islands in Japan in December 2006. Recent estimates suggest that a giant squid could reach 43 feet long for females and 33 feet long for males. Tsunemi Kubodera/National Science Museum of Japan/AP/FILE
BROWN BEAR: The brown bear's subspecies, the Kodiak bear, is the largest of land-based predators, rivaling the polar bear. They can weigh anywhere from 600 to 1,720 pounds. Here, Karamush, a male brown bear, stays cool in a lake at Varna's Zoo near Sofia, Bulgaria, in July 2009. Petar Petrov/AP
GORILLAS: Gorillas are the largest primates, with some male silverbacks reaching nearly 6 feet tall and over 500 pounds. Seen here is King Kong, a supersized gorilla featured in films and at a new 4-D attraction at Universal Studios in Hollywood, Calif. Business Wire
REDWOODS: California redwoods are the tallest trees on earth. They can reach up to 380 feet in height and nearly 30 feet in diameter. Here, a reporter walks through the trunk of a 2,000 year old Sequoia inside the Giant Sequoia National Monument in California in July 2002. Kevork Djansezian/AP
KOMODO DRAGON: Komodo dragons are the largest species of lizard, growing to nearly 10 feet in length and weighing 150 pounds. Here, a komodo dragon walks around her enclosure at the Chester Zoo in Chester, England, in December 2006. Dave Thompson/AP
HIPPOPOTAMUS: Zookeepers hose down a hippo's mouth at the zoo in Medellin, Colombia, in January. This semiaquatic mammal is the third-largest land animal, after the elephant and the white rhinoceros. Hippos can weigh 1 to 3 tons and can still easily outrun a person. Luis Benavides/AP
BLUE WHALE: The bones of a blue whale's chest are seen at the Zoological Museum of the University of Kiel in Germany. Blue whales are the largest animals known to have existed. They can stretch up to 108 feet in length. Heribert Proepper/AP
GIRAFFE: Giraffes are the tallest of all land-living animals. Males can weigh 2,600 pounds and can be 17 feet tall. The tallest male on record was 20 feet. Here, a newborn giraffe calf rests on hay while his mother stands in their enclosure at the Budapest Zoo in Hungary. Bela Szandelszky/AP
ANACONDA: An albino anaconda is seen here in Washington in January 2008. Anacondas, specifically the green anaconda, are known as being the world's largest snakes. They can grow to be over 200 pounds and over 15 feet in length. Carrie Devorah/WENN/Newscom/FILE
CROCODILE: A Nile crocodile is seen here at the Katchikally Sacred Crocodile Pool in Gambia. The largest living reptile is the saltwater crocodile. Adult males can be 15 to 17 feet long and have weighed as much as 3,000 pounds. Newscom
GAUR: A gaur is the largest species of wild cattle, bigger than the African buffalo, and they are usually found in South and Southeast Asia and are among the largest living land animals, after elephants, rhinos, and hippos. Average males can weigh 2,200 to 3,000 pounds. Here, a Gaur is seen in the Nagarhole National Park in India. Newscom
BELUGA STURGEON: Beluga sturgeon, seen here caught by fishermen on the Ural River in Kazakhstan, are among the largest of the bony fish. This endangered species has at maximum been recorded at 26 feet long and 4,565 pounds. Anatoly Ustinenko/ITAR-TASS/Newscom
ELEPHANT: An African bush elephant is seen at a nature reserve in Africa in November 2008. Elephants are the largest living land animals and at birth it is common for a calf to weigh over 250 pounds. The largest elephant recorded weighed 24,000 pounds and stood nearly 13 feet tall. African elephants are typically larger than their relatives, Asian elephants. Newscom/FILE
OCEAN SUNFISH: The ocean sunfish is the largest living bony fish. They have been recorded as large as 12 feet long, 15 feet high, and weighing about 5,000 pounds. An ocean sunfish is seen here with a diver in the open ocean off California. Newscom
LEATHERBACK TURTLE: The leatherback turtle is the largest of all living sea turtles and is the largest reptile after the crocodile. These critically endangered turtles can be over 6 feet long and weigh over 1,000 pounds. Here, a green turtle swims in an observation pool in Brazil. Matt Boster/Sipa Press/Newscom
GREAT BARRIER REEF: Though made up of many organisms, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is considered by some people to be the world's largest living thing. The reef stretches for about 1,600 miles over an area of 133,000 square miles and can be seen from outer space. It is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority/Reuters
RHINOCEROS: A young black rhino walks beside his mother at the OlChoro Oirogua Conservancy in the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya in January 2008. Black rhinos are smaller than their relatives, white rhinos, and can weigh 4,000 pounds at over 11 feet long. White rhinos, at 7,930 pounds and over 12 feet long are the fourth-largest land animals. Reuters/File
GIANT CATFISH: Two Thai fisherman show off a 646-pound giant catfish they caught from the Mekong River in Thailand in May 2005. Mekong catfish are critically endangered and are the world's largest freshwater fish. Suthep Kristsanavarin/AP
ASPEN TREE: Like the Great Barrier Reef, Aspen trees are multiple organisms. The tree forms large groups of genetically identical trees all connected by a single root system. The largest grove is in Utah, named Pando, and covers over 100 acres. Robert Harbison/The Christian Science Monitor/FILE
KING OF HERRING: In this undated photo released by the House of the Sea Aquarium in Lysekila, Sweden, a fish known as the 'King of Herrings,' was found floating near the shore off Sweden. These fish, which are not actually herring, are also known as giant oarfish, and are rarely seen. The largest on record was over 55 feet. Roger Jansson/House of the Sea Aquarium/AP
WHALE SHARK: A whale shark swims at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Ga., in April 2009. Whale sharks are the largest living fish species. The largest confirmed whale shark was over 40 feet in length, and the heaviest weighed 79,000 pounds. Newscom/FILE
MANTA RAY: The largest species of the rays are manta rays, measuring at its largest 25 feet across and weighing over 5,000 pounds. Here, a diver swims with a Manta ray near the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Newscom
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/21
In Pictures: Sinkholes around the world
In Pictures: What happened to the green revolution in Iran?
In Pictures: Facing the devastation of the Oklahoma tornadoes
In Pictures: Sandy: Chronicle of an unrelenting storm
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/20
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
In Pictures: The Israeli separation barrier: A West Bank wall
In Pictures: Derby Day devotees, Kenyan style
Giant African snail: Discovered in Brisbane, authorities immediately dispatched the Giant African snail. The giant, non-native pest has a voracious appetite for more than 500 types of crops.
Take look at the Giant African snail (Lissachatina fulica), and you can't help but be reminded of a scene from the 1996 movie Crocodile Dundee.
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