animalculum - Network

Musky marsupial could solve hopping kangaroo mystery https://phys.org/news/2025-03-musky-marsupial-kangaroo-mystery.html paper:...

Musky marsupial could solve hopping kangaroo mystery https://phys.org/news/2025-03-musky-marsupial-kangaroo-mystery.html paper: https://www.publish.csiro.au/AM/AM24050

"As the only living macropodoid that doesn't hop, the musky rat-kangaroo provides a crucial insight into how the iconic hopping form of locomotion evolved in #Australia... the #animals are hopping with their back legs while their front paws remained on the ground. It suggested a kind of mid-point in the evolutionary journey from walking on all fours to hopping on two"

Thriving Antarctic Ecosystems Found in Wake of Recently Detached Iceberg...

Thriving Antarctic Ecosystems Found in Wake of Recently Detached Iceberg https://schmidtocean.org/thriving-antarctic-ecosystems-found-in-wake-of-recently-detached-iceberg/

"team on board #SchmidtOceanInstitute’s R/V Falkor (too) rapidly pivoted their research plans to study an area that was, until last month, covered by ice... they observed the #DeepSea for 8 days and found flourishing ecosystems at depths as great as 1300m. Their observations include large #corals and #sponges supporting an array of animal life, including #icefish, giant #SeaSpiders, and #octopus"

#ThornySkates come in 'snack' and 'party' sizes: After a century of guessing, scientists now know why...

#ThornySkates come in 'snack' and 'party' sizes: After a century of guessing, scientists now know why https://phys.org/news/2025-03-thorny-skates-snack-party-sizes.html paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56126-z

"In the Arctic and European part of their range, the skates come in just one size. It's only along the coast of North America that small and large varieties coexist. No one could understand what the deal was... The big forms are twice the size, and it takes them 11 years to reach adulthood. The small forms are mature by the time they're 6"

Male blue-lined #octopuses inject females with venom during sex to avoid being eaten...

Male blue-lined #octopuses inject females with venom during sex to avoid being eaten https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/11/blue-lined-octopus-sex-venom-tetrodotoxin

Blue-lined #octopus Hapalochlaena fasciata males envenomate females to facilitate copulation https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.027

"Full-sized females are about the size of a golf ball – around two to five times bigger than their male counterparts... Sexual cannibalism is very common in #cephalopods... Males have developed distinct strategies to avoid falling prey to their mates during copulation."

Dark coats may have helped the earliest mammals hide from hungry dinosaurs. The spots and stripes familiar to us today didn't arise...

Dark coats may have helped the earliest mammals hide from hungry dinosaurs. The spots and stripes familiar to us today didn't arise until later in mammalian evolution https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dark-coats-earliest-mammals-dinosaurs

#Mesozoic mammaliaforms illuminate the origins of pelage coloration https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads9734

"Zebra stripes? Leopard print? Neither were in vogue among the earliest #mammals during the Age of #Dinosaurs. Early mammals and their close relatives probably sported dark, drab coats from snout to tail."

Kultarrs are tiny, cryptic creatures that only come out at night. Scientists are finally learning how they live...

Kultarrs are tiny, cryptic creatures that only come out at night. Scientists are finally learning how they live https://theconversation.com/kultarrs-are-tiny-cryptic-creatures-that-only-come-out-at-night-scientists-are-finally-learning-how-they-live-251270

The behaviour of an arid zone dasyurid, the kultarr, in captivity https://www.publish.csiro.au/am/AM24024

"During the daytime, #kultarrs hide in cracks in the soil or burrows made by other #animals... At night they come out in search of food and mates. Kultarrs also use torpor, a reduction in metabolic rate and body temperature (to as low as 11°C), to save energy."

The Secret Sex Lives of Deep, Dark Coralshttps://www.biographic.com/the-secret-sex-lives-of-deep-dark-corals/"A unique fjord in Chilean...

The Secret Sex Lives of Deep, Dark Corals
https://www.biographic.com/the-secret-sex-lives-of-deep-dark-corals/

"A unique fjord in Chilean #Patagonia gives scientists a chance to unlock the reproductive secrets of cold-water #corals that typically live thousands of meters below the surface... Instead of partnering with #algae within its cells for food, #Desmophyllum catches #plankton with stinging tentacles... cold-water corals live throughout the world’s oceans, providing habitat at least as critical as that of tropical #CoralReefs"

Terrestrial life oasis from end-#Permian mass #extinction period...

Terrestrial life oasis from end-#Permian mass #extinction period discovered
https://phys.org/news/2025-03-terrestrial-life-oasis-permian-mass.html paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads5614

"a region in Turpan-Hami Basin served as a refugium for terrestrial #plants during the end-Permian #MassExtinction... The discovery provides the first conclusive fossil evidence of a terrestrial plant community that remained largely undisturbed throughout the extinction event, allowing for continuous evolution and rapid ecological recovery afterward."

Fossil Research Identifies New 340 million years old #Shark Species at Mammoth Cave National Park...

Fossil Research Identifies New 340 million years old #Shark Species at Mammoth Cave National Park https://home.nps.gov/maca/learn/news/fossil-research-identifies-new-shark-species-at-mammoth-cave-national-park.htm paper: https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2024.40

"Nick-named Chipmunk #sharks for their small size and chisel-like front teeth and crushing back teeth, members of the Obruchevodidae were between 3-4 inches in length. Their small size allowed them to avoid larger predators as they foraged on crustaceans, worms, and small brachiopods found along the sea floor"

Hummingbirds in Andes Mountains found nesting in colonies, defying norms...

Hummingbirds in Andes Mountains found nesting in colonies, defying norms https://phys.org/news/2025-03-hummingbirds-andes-mountains-colonies-defying.html paper: https://academic.oup.com/auk/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ornithology/ukae063/7912599

"#Hummingbirds are often highly aggressive and territorial, but in the tough terrains of the #Andes Mountains, researchers found a species of #hummingbird is living cohesively with its peers... They live in a very harsh environment above the tree line... they may get easier access to mates and food resources by an exchange of information between members of a colony."

Deep-sea fish study reveals evolutionary marvels in Earth's hadal zone...

Deep-sea fish study reveals evolutionary marvels in Earth's hadal zone https://phys.org/news/2025-03-deep-sea-fish-reveals-evolutionary.html

#Evolution and genetic adaptation of fishes to the deep sea https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867425000315

"they confirmed a century-old hypothesis about deep-sea #fish evolution involving two distinct pathways. 'Ancient survivors' colonized the deep sea before the #Cretaceous mass #extinction, while 'new immigrants' account for the majority of modern #DeepSea species that emerged after the #MassExtinction."

Rare fungus discovered on tree at UK reservoir https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04n6x02195o"The willow blister (Cryptomyces maximus)...

Rare fungus discovered on tree at UK reservoir https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04n6x02195o

"The willow blister (Cryptomyces maximus) is a rare #fungus included in a list of the world's most threatened species. It was only the second recording in England since 1876... the #fungi's presence strengthens the case for protected nature reserves... We can tip the scales back into nature's favour, but we need the support and funding to do so."

Greater gliders' spectacular recovery after bushfires...

Greater gliders' spectacular recovery after bushfires https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-04/greater-glider-population-booms-after-blue-mountain-bushfires/105003914

"Endangered #GreaterGliders in part of the southern #BlueMountains have made a spectacular recovery after the black summer #bushfires in 2019-20... the #marsupials' numbers are 45% higher than were before the fires began in 2019... Greater gliders are like #koalas. They feed exclusively on #eucalypt foliage... there's been a lot of new eucalypt foliage for them to feed on"

Australia’s superb #lyrebirds ‘farm’ the forest floor to increase their prey...

Australia’s superb #lyrebirds ‘farm’ the forest floor to increase their prey https://theconversation.com/australias-superb-lyrebirds-farm-the-forest-floor-to-increase-their-prey-a-behaviour-rarely-seen-in-nature-247908 paper: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2656.70009

"The superb lyrebird scratches through the leaf litter and topsoil, using its powerful claws to search for #invertebrates... This loosens the soil, allowing more air and water to infiltrate, speeding up the decomposition of organic material... this creates an ideal habitat for the invertebrates on which it feeds"

#Birds #Animals

Rare #frog rediscovered after 130 years https://phys.org/news/2025-03-rare-frog-rediscovered-years.htmlLost for more than a century: the...

Rare #frog rediscovered after 130 years https://phys.org/news/2025-03-rare-frog-rediscovered-years.html

Lost for more than a century: the rediscovery of Alsodes vittatus (Anura, Alsodidae), one of the rarest and most elusive #amphibians from #Chile https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/135523/

"This is an important milestone for South American #herpetology... Most of the other Alsodes species are either threatened with #extinction or we don't know enough about them to assess their status"

#Frogs #Animals #Conservation

Red #Fish, Blue Fish https://www.biographic.com/red-fish-blue-fish/"All #MexicanHogfish begin their lives as females, and some later...

Red #Fish, Blue Fish https://www.biographic.com/red-fish-blue-fish/

"All #MexicanHogfish begin their lives as females, and some later become male. Juveniles are bright yellow with lines along their sides, while adult females are reddish-yellow, with a yellow tail and a pair of dotted dark stripes... Adult males, meanwhile, are largely gray with red flecks, a yellow bar, and a bump atop their heads. The very biggest eventually turn blue."

#Whales move nutrients from Alaska to Hawaii in their urine, supporting tropical ecosystems...

#Whales move nutrients from Alaska to Hawaii in their urine, supporting tropical ecosystems https://phys.org/news/2025-03-whales-nutrients-alaska-hawaii-urine.html

Migrating #BaleenWhales transport high-latitude nutrients to tropical and subtropical ecosystems https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56123-2

"in oceans across the globe, great whales—including #RightWhales, #GrayWhales, and #humpbacks—transport about 4,000 tons of nitrogen each year to low-nutrient coastal areas in the tropics and subtropics. They also bring more than 45,000 tons of biomass"

Ancient #amphibians bounced back from Earth's greatest mass #extinction by exploiting #freshwater prey...

Ancient #amphibians bounced back from Earth's greatest mass #extinction by exploiting #freshwater prey https://phys.org/news/2025-03-ancient-amphibians-earth-greatest-mass.html

The ecology and geography of #temnospondyl recovery after the #Permian–#Triassic #MassExtinction https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241200

"the #temnospondyls success lay in their generalist feeding ecology, enabling them to feed on a wide variety of prey... the freshwater habitats they preferred provided them with a relatively stable variety of food resources"

Plants struggled for millions of years after the world's worst climate...

Plants struggled for millions of years after the world's worst climate catastrophe
https://phys.org/news/2025-03-struggled-millions-years-world-worst.html

"#conifers were some of the earliest to colonize the land after the End-#Permian catastrophe. But the recovery of #forests was not smooth sailing... even higher temperatures during the Late Smithian Thermal Maximum caused the collapse of these survivors... they were replaced by tough, shrubby #plants resembling modern #clubmosses. This scorching period lasted for about 700,000 years"

#Squid are some of nature's best camouflagers. Researchers have a new...

#Squid are some of nature's best camouflagers. Researchers have a new explanation
https://phys.org/news/2025-03-squid-nature-camouflagers-explanation.html

Cephalopod chromatophores contain photosensitizing nanostructures that may facilitate light sensing and signaling in the skin https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/tc/d4tc04333b

"Chromatophores are pigmented organs all over the squid's skin... [they] are light sensors that help power squid and their camouflage... It can see whatever light is on the outside and convert it into energy to help distribute camouflage"