At first glance, the 5-inch-long wandering salamander doesn’t appear particularly suited for a life of aerial acrobatics. The amphibians, which can spend their entire lives in the crowns of California’s redwood trees, don’t have the membranes or skin flaps seen in gliding lizards, frogs, or mammals. But when disturbed, wandering salamanders will launch themselves into
From Maine to Florida, springtime ocean currents always bring hordes of horseshoe crabs to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, ready to mate. After swimming upside-down, they flip themselves over with their tails and begin the process of finding arthropod love. The male crabs use their pincers to hook a ride to shore on the
Countless movies, TV shows, and even comics depict the age-old tradition of feeding bread products to ducks at the park. But don’t be fooled: this stereotype is actually an unhealthy practice that could lead to malnourishment and other health problems for these epicurean waterfowl. But if you’re an animal lover determined to feed your local
For some octopuses, motherhood almost certainly means a tragic death. After laying its eggs, a female octopus undergoes a dramatic mental shift—from living a normal den life and gently caring for its embryos to no longer eating, dropping muscle tone, and changing color. Worse, it might engage in acts of self harm, like scarring itself
A woolly mammoth that perished above the Arctic Circle spent his life as a vagabond, scientists reported this week in the journal Science. The researchers examined chemicals deposited over time in one of the mammoth’s well-preserved tusks in order to map his movements and geographic range. They discovered that the intrepid animal roamed over most
Kak vam takaya krasavica? Ta #himera, kotoraya segodnya popalasy v #tral. #foto_s_borta_sudna #promisel #Barencevo_more #riba #ulov #zubi pic.twitter.com/gl4WWlCboc— Roman Fedorcov (@rfedortsov) December 11, 2016 You can count on the deep ocean to spawn surreal creatures that, depending on your point of view, look very beautiful or very unnerving. A deep-sea fisherman in Murmansk, Russia, has
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v241TF-cSzU To escape a vicious attack from a predatory bird, this crab snips off its injured claw to make a quick getaway. Only a few humans have ever opted for self-amputation in order to escape from danger, but some animals do it all the time. You probably already know that lizards can shed their tails.
This is the face of an animal who knows she’s polluting the world’s air with her fart (or is she?). Flickr user Chris Marchant Everyone poops, but not everyone farts. Or at least, not everything farts. You probably didn’t know that soft-shell clams do not fart (though they do puke), but that hedgehogs do. Thanks
This is Pepin, a dog on a mission in the Serengeti. Pete Coppolillo It’s hard to pay other species for their labor, though they work endlessly to support human existence. None of the MGM lions ever garnered royalties for their famous roars. Honey bees contribute more than $15 billion to the U.S. economy by pollinating
This polymer sheet mimics the intricate structure found in conch shells. Courtesy of Markus Buehler / MIT The animal kingdom is full of formidable armors. Some creatures don rigid shells or bony plates. Others favor a more flexible coating of scales. All of these shields are specialized to help their wearer withstand whatever nature throws
