Do you know Wombats, platypus and bilbies are biofluorescent?



Wombats, platypus and bilbies are biofluorescent



Do you know what’s common to platypus, wombats, bilbies and eastern barred bandicoots? Correct! They are all Australian animals and are nocturnal creatures. And we now know they are all also bioflourecent, that is, their fur glows under ultraviolet light.



Biofluorescene is the phenomenon whereby a substance, such as fur, absorbs light at one wavelength and emits it at a different wavelength. Common biofluorescent hues include green, red, orange, and blue. In just the last few years, scientists have discovered that several animals, including chameleons, corals, jellyfish, reef fish, sharks, scorpions, butterflies, sea turtles and even flying squirrels are biofluorescent. Though the reasons are unknown, theories include camouflage or communication between individuals of the same species.



The current discovery goes back to 2019, when scientists at Northland College in Ashland Wisconsin, found that flying squirrels emitted a pink glow under UV lights. Out of curiosity, they shone the UV light on platypus and other Australian animals. To their surprise, all of them lit up in different hues. They don’t know exactly why the fur glows.



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Bioluminescence is another naturally occurring phenomenon, where organisms emit light due to a chemical reaction. It is observed in 76% of all marine life such as jellyfish, and a handful of terrestrial creatures such as glow worm.



 



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Ants have self-made biomineral body armour



Researches from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered a whitish granular coating of high-magnesium calcite on the exoskeleton of leaf-cutter ants. Although common among crustaceans such as crabs, calcareous anatomical structure serving as a protective power is previously unknown in the insect world. Leafcutter ants are indeed tough insects. These they chew up the leaves to feed underground fungus farms on which they sustain. Scientists aren’t sure why the ants needed protection enough to evolve their own natural body armour. They theorise that it could serve as an armour. They theorise that it could serve as an armour when encountering predators or to safeguard them from diseases. The researchers found that the ants are not born with the coating, rather develop it rapidly as they mature, and it significantly hardens the exoskeleton.



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Calcite with high levels of magnesium is also found in the teeth of sea urchin, which help them chomp through just about anything. Sea urchins have five teeth, each held by a separate jaw in a circular arrangements at the centre of their spiked, spherical bodies. They use their teeth to crunch on brittle starfish, coral reefs, or even rocks.



 



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Do Ogre-faced spiders hear?



Anyone who looks at an ogre-faced spider would be dazzled by its huge eyes that allow it to see 2,000 times better than humans do at night. Wait, the best part is yet to come. These arachnids have the incredible ability to hear a diverse range of sounds using their legs.



Spiders don’t have ears, in the conventional sense. Though most of them can feel the vibrations of prey when they get caught in their webs, it’s not considered hearing. Now, new evidence has shown that ogre-faced spiders have nerve-based receptors on their legs, which function like ears. Jumping spiders and fishing spiders are other two spider species that can hear with their legs. But what’s so impressive about ogre-faced spiders is how well they can hear. Ogre-faced spiders are unique in the sense that they can detect both the low-frequency sounds (say 150 hz) and high-frequency sounds (10 khz) even from six feet away.



Scientists at the Cornell University have document that ogre-faced spiders, do not always rely on their excellent eyesight to catch their prey. They use metatarsal sensitivity (sensors at the tip of the leg) to detect sound cues of even those insects flying behind them with precision. They have recorded that within a split-second, these long-legged spiders make a ninja-like backflip to cast a net on a airborne insect.



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Ogre-faced spiders are net-casing nocturnal spiders, found mostly in the southeastern United States. They have a unique way of catching their prey. They make a small web in the form of a net held by the front legs that can be stretched out wide. They cast this net on unwary insects passing by then dine on them.



 



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How many species are of gentoo penguins?



Gentoo penguins are four species, not one



The gentoo penguin, the third largest penguin species, populates the Antarctic Peninsula and its many islands. It is also found in Falkland Islands and South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean and Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean. The gentoo penguin was first identified in 1781 and had been divided into two subspecies. But a recent study has shaken up this long-held categorisaton. Scientists at the Milner Center for Evolution at the University of Bath have recommended that gentoo penguins be reclassified as four separate species, as new evidence show the existence of genetic and physical differences between the penguin populations. The ‘four species’ live in quite different latitudes, have statistical differences in the lengths of their bones, and the sizes and shape of their beaks. They also vary in behavior such as breading and diet. The differences are great enough that the researchers think both recognized ‘subspecies’ should be elevated to their own species, while two new species should also be added.



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Gentoo penguins build their nests using a pile of stones arranged in a large circle of diameter up to 25 cm. stones are gifted by the males to the females to woo them. The gifts are jealously guarded and fights over them can become quite nasty.



 



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Can alligators regrow their tails?



Even alligators can regrow their tails



We have long known that reptiles such as lizards and geckos have the ability to regrow their lost tails. A new study has found that even alligators , large semi aquatic reptiles belonging to the crocodilian order, have the ability to regenerate this appendage. A team of scientists from Arizona State University and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries found that juvenile alligators can regrow their tails up to nine inches, or up to 18% of their total body length. What surprise the scientists is the findings that the regrown tail exhibit signs of both regeneration and wound healing within the same structure.



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The salamander, axolotl, starfish and sea cucumber are some of the other animals that can regenerate lost body parts. While axolotl can regrow tails, skin and almost any other part, starfish can regrow arms that detach from their central disc, and regrow even an entire body from a lost arm!



 



Picture Credit : Google