Night animals lead an active life only with the onset of darkness. This is one of the varieties of behavior that is opposed to the usual day animal. For a comfortable stay in the dark, animals are equipped with developed senses: good hearing, smell and adapted vision. Thanks to these properties, they can avoid predators and effectively hunt. Owls are the most common nocturnal animals. However, in addition to them, many insects and mammals are nocturnal.
Little owl
This amazing little creature is a close relative of the common owl. One of the smallest representatives of the entire owl family. These animals are native to the mountains of Asia. Now it is not uncommon to find a house owl as a pet. It is not difficult to tame it, but it is necessary to provide enough space for flights and real food.
bat
This is a small-sized bat with a body weight of up to 20 grams and a length of up to 6.2 millimeters. Represents the genus of smooth-nosed bats. You can meet it almost everywhere, from Eurasian content to South Africa and Australia. They live most often in deserts and tropical forests. Can live near human settlements.
scolopendra
In total, there are about 8 thousand varieties of these insects. They inhabited almost every corner of the planet. These are the only arthropod insects whose legs are designed not only for movement. They are represented by special appendages that have poisonous claws. It is worth being afraid of meeting with this insect, since their bite can even lead to death.
Centipede
These are extremely unpleasant insects that can live near people. They can move at very high speeds and are endowed with a specific appearance. By themselves, these insects are not poisonous, but a number of varieties may have special glands with poison. With its help, they paralyze the victim in order to calmly feast on it.
Earwig
A common pest that lives on various horticultural and horticultural crops. One earwig can destroy a large number of leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. Most often, you can meet an earwright with a size of only a few millimeters, but sometimes there are representatives from a long body up to 4 centimeters.
Gambian rat
Represents the rodent family as one of the largest representatives. Africa is their home. There they are considered wild animals, and in size they can reach the size of a small dog. They are not pets, but some people managed to tame them. Despite their creepy size, Gambian rats are quite friendly.
eared hedgehog
This representative belongs to insectivorous animals and inhabited the steppes, deserts and semi-deserts. The size of the body of an eared hedgehog does not exceed 20 centimeters with needles up to 2.6 centimeters. The name “eared” was due to its very long, bent forward ears. During the night, an eared hedgehog can walk about 9 kilometers, and during the daytime it rests or sleeps in a shelter.
Salamander
Salamanders actively populated the territories of North and Central America. There is the highest concentration of various species of these amphibians. This is a contented agile and agile animal that climbs trees very well. Hollow trees located at a height of up to 20 meters are preferred as housing. Salamanders have special glands on their heads that produce poison.
malarial mosquito
The malarial mosquito represents the genus Anopheles. Most members of this genus carry a disease such as malaria. Often these mosquitoes choose people as victims. They have spread almost all over the planet, excluding Antarctica. Quite dangerous insects that lead an active life at nightfall.
American badger
The American badger represents the family of affectionate. He is the only badger that inhabited the territory of North America. It has a long body and short legs. It is famous for its feature in a few seconds to dig a deep norm and hide underground. American badgers are quite ferocious in nature, so they should not be touched.
Other nocturnal animals
barn owl
forest cat
steppe dybka
little penguin
Lemur Lori
Nightjar
Splyushka
Butterfly hawk moth
Kiwi
Dead head (butterfly)
Ciliated Viper
Raccoon
Grey Wolf
Red panda
red-eyed tree frog
Sugar glider
Eastern tarsier
Indian flying fox
Conclusion
It is difficult to say which animals were the first. However, there is an interesting hypothesis from the theory of evolutionary biology, which suggests that many millions of years ago, the ancestors of modern mammals developed special features that allow them to survive in darkness. This is justified by the fact that in this way animals can avoid contact with dangerous diurnal predators. Also, the nocturnal lifestyle has the following advantages: avoidance of heat, predation and lack of high competition for resources.
