WEIRD ANIMALS
Artist’s impression of Monkeydactyl, or Kunpengopterus antipollicatus. Chuang Zhao – By Nick Lavars 2021 Apr 12 – It’s a common view that opposable thumbs are a key feature that distinguishes us from most other species, but a flying reptile that clambered through the trees …
Whiteflies have a gene only found in plants that appears to allow the tiny insects to withstand plants’ chemical defenses A tiny, aphid-like whitefly sitting on a leaf. (Jixing Xia and Zhaojiang Guo) – By Alex Fox SmithsonianMag.Com 2021 Mar 30 – A …
The unusually acrobatic sauteur d’Alfort rabbits were first discovered in France in 1935. By the time sauteur d’Alfort rabbits are a few months old, they learn how to walk on their front paws to accommodate their uncoordinated back legs. (Carneiro M et al., …
An artist’s impression of Dromornis stirtoni, an extinct creature that was one of the largest birds to ever walk the Earth. Peter Trusler View 5 Images – By Michael Irving 2021 Mar 23 – Australian scientists have studied the biggest bird-brains in history for …
An insect-friendly wildflower swath at California State University, Fullerton’s arboretum. TDLucas5000/Flickr, CC BY – By Brian Lovett, Postdoctoral Researcher in Mycology, West Virginia University 2021 Mar 22 – As winter phases into spring across the U.S., gardeners are laying in supplies and making …
Periodical cicada in Washington, D.C., 2017 May. Katha Schulz/Flickr, CC BY – By John Cooley, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut and Chris Simon, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut 2021 Mar 12 – A big …
Researchers have measured the smallest gravitational pull yet – equivalent to about the mass of a ladybug. yellow2j/Depositphotos View 4 Images – By Michael Irving 2021 Mar 11 – Of the four fundamental forces, gravity is the one we’re most familiar with in our …
The head and body of a sacoglossan sea slug, one day after they separated. We hear it was an amicable split. Sayaka Mitoh View 2 Images – By Michael Irving 2021 Mar 08 – To the envy of us humans, limb regeneration is common …
Cow cuddling is getting ever more popular, but what’s the science behind using animals for relaxation? Credit: cottonbro from Pexels – By Scotty Hendricks 2021 Feb 27 – An Indian non-profit hopes to help people relax by giving them cuddle sessions with cows. …
A clownfish checks out the programming on the UV-TV. University of Queensland – By Ben Coxworth 2021 Feb 19 – Unlike us, many animals can see ultraviolet light. If you’re using a video screen to study their visual perception, therefore, that screen really ought …
