History Main / StockAnimalFacts

* When it was first described, ''Elasmosaurus''''s skull was placed at the end of its tail, starting the famous Bone Wars.

* Some penguins are gay, and gay penguins have been known to [[HasTwoMommies adopt orphaned chicks]].

[[quoteright:180:[[Webcomic/SafelyEndangered https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ants_weight.jpg]]]]

* Koalas are not bears. And they eat eucalyptus leaves to get moisture. Also, they ''only'' eat eucalyptus leaves. If they eat enough eucalyptus they will get stoned and fall out of trees. Their appendixes are twice as long as their bodies. Parodied/subverted in an Olde English sketch, a Nature {{Mockumentary}} called "I Hate Nature". ''"Everyone knows that koalas eat eucalyptus leaves, but few people know why. The reason is that koalas are boring and they suck. No imagination."''

* Rabbits wrecked havoc on the Australian environment because they have no natural predators.

* Non-venomous milk snakes and king snakes mimic venomous coral snakes. Red on yellow kills a fellow, red on black won't hurt Jack. (The part about mimicry is true, the part about the colors isn't. It may be true ''[[WeAllLiveInAmerica for certain regions]]'' with the caveat that you need to know whether you're in one of those regions or not.)

* The Gila monster and beaded lizard are the only venomous lizards. Again, ScienceMarchesOn ([[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John-Mulley-2/publication/282606422_A_Critique_of_the_Toxicoferan_Hypothesis/links/56162ecf08ae4ce3cc65bd69/A-Critique-of-the-Toxicoferan-Hypothesis.pdf maybe]]).

* The Gila monster and beaded lizard are the only venomous lizards. Again, ScienceMarchesOn (maybe).

Whenever certain animals are mentioned, works (especially educational ones) will feel the urge to say a certain fact about them. Oftentimes it's intended to sound like something surprising or fascinating, which in general it would be if you didn't hear it ''every time'' that animal was mentioned in ''every work''. With many SeldomSeenSpecies, their stock facts may be the ''only'' thing anyone (barring specialists) can ever say about them. Can overlap with ArtisticLicenseBiology if it is ''clearly'' false. A victim of ScienceMarchesOn to the point that all of these facts should be taken with a grain of salt rather than believed outright.

* The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard. It has deadly bacteria in its mouth it can use to kill prey. (It is [[ScienceMarchesOn now known]] that it relies more on shock and blood loss. Also, it has actual venom in its saliva, not just bacteria.)
* The Gila monster and beaded lizard are the only venomous lizards. Again, ScienceMarchesOn.

* The cane toad is causing lots of problems in Australia.

* Frogs and toads eat flies with their tongues.

* Non-venomous milk snakes and king snakes mimic venomous coral snakes. Red on yellow kills a fellow, red on black won't hurt Jack. (The part about mimicry is true, the part about the colors isn't. It may be true ''for certain regions'' with the caveat that you need to know whether you're in one of those regions or not.)

* Dinosaurs are reptiles with an erect stance and "couldn't swim or fly". (The latter is clearly false [[ScienceMarchesOn now that we know]] birds are dinosaurs, and even some traditionally non-bird dinosaurs are now known to have been capable of flying or swimming. The swimming thing is particularly ridiculous considering that most land animals can still swim, even if they aren't specialized for it or dislike getting wet.) "Dinosaur" means "terrible lizard" (though the intended meaning was actually "fearfully great" or "awe-inspiring reptile"). They can be divided into two major groups on the basis of their hip structure: saurischians ("lizard hips", including theropods and sauropodomorphs) and ornithischians ("bird hips", including ornithopods, pachycephalosaurs, ceratopsians, stegosaurs and ankylosaurs). [[NonIndicativeName Birds are saurischians, not ornithischians]].

* Sauropods and hadrosaurs were once thought to be aquatic.

* When it was first described, ''Elasmosaurus''' skull was placed at the end of its tail, starting the famous Bone Wars.

* Honeyguides guide honey badgers to honey. [[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/09/19/lies-damned-lies-and-honey-badgers/ Which is not actually true (or at least, has not actually been recorded).]]

* Mesozoic mammals were insignificant compared with dinosaurs. The extinction of (non-bird) dinosaurs paved the way for mammals to "dominate".

* Ichthyosaurs gave live birth, eliminating the need to return to land to lay eggs. Older works will state that this is unusual compared to other marine reptiles, but [[ScienceMarchesOn plesiosaurs & mosasaurs are now interpreted as live-bearers as well]].

* Crocodiles have long narrow snouts, alligators have broader ones.

* Dinosaurs are reptiles with an erect stance and "couldn't swim or fly". (The latter is clearly false [[ScienceMarchesOn now that we know]] birds are dinosaurs, and even some traditionally non-bird dinosaurs are now known to have been capable of flying or swimming. The swimming thing is particularly ridiculous considering that most land animals can still swim, even if they aren't specialized for it or dislike getting wet.) "Dinosaur" means "terrible lizard" (though the intended meaning was actually "fearfully great" or "awe-inspiring lizard"). They can be divided into two major groups on the basis of their hip structure: saurischians ("lizard hips", including theropods and sauropodomorphs) and ornithischians ("bird hips", including ornithopods, pachycephalosaurs, ceratopsians, stegosaurs and ankylosaurs). [[NonIndicativeName Birds are saurischians, not ornithischians]].

Whenever certain animals are mentioned, works (especially educational ones) will feel the urge to say a certain fact about them. Oftentimes it's intended to sound like something surprising or fascinating, which in general it would be if you didn't hear it ''every time'' that animal was mentioned in ''every work''. With many SeldomSeenSpecies, their stock facts may be the ''only'' thing anyone (barring specialists) can ever say about them. See SomewhereThisIndexIsCrying if the stock "fact" about an animal is false. Can overlap with ArtisticLicenseBiology if it is ''clearly'' false. A victim of ScienceMarchesOn to the point that all of these facts should be taken with a grain of salt rather than believed outright.

* The hippo is [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass the most dangerous mammal in Africa.]] It secretes a fluid from its skin that looks like blood.

* Only female mosquitos bite.

* Spiders don't eat their prey but suck its bodily fluids.

* A canary will never find a mate if it cannot sing. Only male canaries sing.

* The polar bear is the largest bear and non-pinniped carnivoran, and is also the most predatory bear. It actually has black skin and transparent fur.

* Bears hiberate during the winter months (although it's debated if this is true hibernation or not).

* Male birds often have brighter plumage than females, the better to attract a mate. The females' drabber coloring allows her to blend in more with her environment, allowing her to better protect her young.

* Parrots and crows are the smartest birds. They can mimic sounds (particularly human speech).

* Koalas are not bears. And they eat eucalyptus leaves to get moisture. Also, they ''only'' eat eucalyptus leaves. If they eat enough eucapyptus they will get stoned and fall out of trees. Their appendixes are twice as long as their bodies. Parodied/subverted in an Olde English sketch, a Nature {{Mockumentary}} called "I Hate Nature". ''"Everyone knows that koalas eat eucalyptus leaves, but few people know why. The reason is that koalas are boring and they suck. No imagination."''

* If you see a cougar, back away slowly and don't try to run. The cougar is known by many names (such as mountain lion and puma).

* Cows have "four stomachs" (actually, they have one stomach with four chambers).

* Pigs aren't actually [[MessyPig dirty animals]][[note]]This depends on what you mean by "dirty"-- they ''do'' go in mud (to keep cool), but they are very clean when it comes to their waste, preferring not to poop where they do other things[[/note]], and are really quite intelligent.

* Some prehistoric dragonflies were the size of hawks.

* Contrary to popular belief, a wild beehive does ''not'' resemble a hornet nest.

* Black widow spiders are so-called because the more venomous female kills the male after mating.

* You're more likely to be killed by lightning/bees/cars/coconuts than to be killed by a shark.

* Tiger sharks can eat ANYTHING.

* You can't take a turtle out of its shell (unless you intend to rip out its ribcage and a big chunk of its backbone).

* Male mammals tend to be more aggressive than female mammals unless her young are threatened.

* A camel's hump is filled with fat, not water. The metabolism of fatty acids produces a large quantity of water, which is what allows a camel to survive for so long without dying from dehydration.

* Pigs aren't actually dirty animals, and are really quite intelligent.

* Hyenas aren't dogs, or pure scavengers. Their jaws can break bone. The females are dominant and have masculinized genitalia (It's actually more complicated than that-- leadership in a hyena pack is passed down through the maternal lineage, but either male or female offspring can inherit their mother's rank).

* Lions are the only social felid. Males kill the cubs when they take over a pride.

!!!Rodents and Rabbits

* If a bit of sand or a stone gets inside an oyster's shell, it'll produce nacre around it and produce a pearl. [[note]]Not entirely true. Pearls are usually stimulated by organic irritants such as parasites. Commercial pearl farmers use inorganic stimulants because it's cheaper and easier.[[/note]]

* If a bit of sand or a stone gets inside an oyster's shell, it'll produce nacre around it and produce a pearl. [[note]]Not entirely true. Pearls are usually stimulated by organic irritants such as parasites.[[/note]]

* ''Cladoselache'' was the first shark (debatable).

* Salmon hatch, swim to the sea, return to their birthplace by leaping up some waterfalls while trying to avoid bears, spawn, then die.

* Male seahorses incubate fertilized eggs in a special pouch and give birth. (They do not care for the young afterwards, however).

* The reticulated python and the anaconda are the longest and largest snake, respectively.

* The marine iguana is the only marine lizard (as long as you don't count snakes).

* Hyenas aren't dogs, or pure scavengers. Their jaws can break bone. The females are dominant and have masculinized genitalia.

* "Dolphins are rapists" is on its way to becoming this.