Animals constantly surprise the scientists who study them. With each new study, researchers seem to discover a survival strategy, physical superpower, or never-before-seen mental ability that animals possess. From self-medicating chimpanzees to snake clitoris, here are 12 stories from 2022 that deepened our understanding of the animal kingdom and its wonderful weirdness.
1. Chimps treat each other’s wounds
Scientists captured images of chimpanzees applying crushed insects to skin wounds on themselves and others in their community. The team believes the chimpanzees are trying to treat each other’s wounds, although the researchers aren’t sure which insects the animals used. Insects may act as antibiotics, antivirals, pain relievers or reduce inflammation, they theorize.
2. Scientists finally found the snake clitoris
Researchers recently described the structure of the snake’s clitoris for the first time. The bifurcated organ, known as the “hemiclitoris,” can be found in at least nine species of snakes. Although the snake hemipenis had previously been studied, no one had described an equivalent structure in female snakes, leading some scientists to speculate that the hemiclitoris had been reduced to a delayed evolutionary remnant or it didn’t exist at all.
3. Bees may change the weather
A study found that swarming bees can produce as much atmospheric electricity as a thunderstorm. The denser the cloud of bees, the greater the electric field it can generate. See the article : “Aklemt”: Parents slapped for donating their daughter’s books as punishment. Researchers say it’s unlikely that insects are producing lightning storms, but they can still have other effects on the climate.
4. Octopus mom self-destruction
When their eggs are close to hatching, most mother octopuses will abandon their brood and begin tearing apart, even going so far as to eat their own flesh. This may interest you : USDA wants to reinstate organic welfare standards; can be beneficial for food safety. Scientists recently discovered the changes that take place in a mother octopus’s body that seem to send her into this frenzy of self-destruction.
5. Dolphins drink each other’s pee?
Bottlenose dolphins test the pee of their mates in order to differentiate the identity of one dolphin from another, a recent study suggested. This may interest you : High-tech imaging offers a new way to detect signs of early glaucoma. Dolphins also learn to recognize the signature whistles of others, so by using their senses of taste and hearing together, the marine mammals can quickly recognize friends and spot unfamiliar dolphins among themselves.
6. Chernobyl frogs’ rapid evolution
A recent study suggests that eastern tree frogs with high concentrations of the dark pigment melanin in their skin were more likely to survive the Chernobyl nuclear disaster than their yellow counterparts. The frogs’ dark skin may have helped protect them from the harmful effects of radiation. Today, frog populations within the radioactive contamination zone are significantly darker than those outside the zone.
7. Burmese pythons have super stretchy jaws
Burmese pythons can stretch their jaws incredibly wide thanks to a stretchy piece of connective tissue that extends from the snake’s braincase, or skull, to its lower jaw. In a recent study, scientists found that a 130-pound (59-kilogram) python 14 feet (4.3 meters) long could fit an entire 5-gallon bucket in its mouth. They estimate that the largest pythons could fit in their mouths on objects more than three times their diameter.
8. Crows understand recursive patterns
The researchers found that crows can distinguish paired elements buried in larger sequences, a cognitive ability known as recursion. In tests of ability, the trained crows outperformed the monkeys and performed as well as human toddlers. This result indicates that the ability to identify recursive sequences, often considered a defining feature of language, may have initially evolved for other purposes.
9. Spring-loaded spiders
After mating, a male orb-weaving spider will throw his body into the air to escape the female, who would otherwise make a meal of him. A recent study revealed exactly how the spring mechanism in the legs of males works, allowing the spiders to leap upwards at speeds of up to 2.9 feet per second (88 centimeters per second).
10. A trap-jaw ant’s bite should break its head, but doesn’t
A trapjaw ant’s jaws close at speeds thousands of times faster than the blink of an eye, and scientists recently discovered why this incredible force doesn’t break the ant’s exoskeleton. To increase power, ants flex their massive head muscles to pull their jaws apart and “lift” them against the latches. When the jaws disengage, forces act on each end of each jaw so that neither encounters much friction as they go through the air.
11. Hippos spew poop tornadoes
Upon hearing the call of an unfamiliar hippopotamus in the distance, hippos will spray dung into the air in a dramatic, territorial display, scientists recently discovered. Hippos can tell a known hippo from a stranger by listening to their “whistling sounds,” the animals’ signature call.
12. Tiny-brained worms make complex decisions
Worms with just 300 brain cells can engage in complex decision-making, surprising scientists. The predatory worm species Pristionchus pacificus is about 1 millimeter long and competes with the similarly sized Caenorhabditis elegans for food, although it resorts to eating C. elegans when that food is scarce. The evidence suggests that worms consider a number of factors when deciding whether to eat C. elegans or simply intimidate the worm with a non-lethal bite.
Nicoletta Lanese is a Live Science staff writer covering health and medicine, along with a variety of biology, animal, environment and climate stories. She holds degrees in neuroscience and dance from the University of Florida and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His work has appeared in The Scientist Magazine, Science News, The San Jose Mercury News, and Mongabay, among other outlets.
What animal has up to 12 eyes?
Although modern arachnids, such as scorpions and spiders, do not possess these particular otherworldly characteristics, there is one remarkable physical feature that some species of modern scorpions have: 12 separate eyes.
Which animal has the most eyes? The fish with the most eyes is the six-eyed ghostfish (Bathylychnops exilis), which lives at depths of 91–910 m (300–3,000 ft) in the northeast Pacific, and was only discovered by science in 1958.
Which animal has 10,000 eyes?
The mantis shrimp’s visual system is unique in the animal kingdom. Mantis shrimp, known scientifically as stomatopods, have compound eyes, somewhat like a bee or fly, made up of 10,000 tiny photoreceptive units.
What animals have 24 eyes?
The box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora) is far from just a blob with tentacles. It is an active and maneuverable predator, and it moves with no less than 24 eyes. Scientists have known this for over a century, but people are still trying to figure out what they do.
What scorpion has 12 eyes?
The Canadian Encyclopedia says that the northern scorpion can have up to 12 eyes, but can only tell darkness from light. They are mainly found under logs, bark or rocks, feeding on insects, spiders and each other. He compares the sting of the scorpion to that of a bee.
Can an animal have 3 eyes?
Some fish, amphibians and reptiles have a third eye, called a parietal eye.
Is there any animal that has several eyes? Box jellyfish have 24 eyes, each with a different function. Some eyes are used to detect light, while others are designed to detect predators or prey. This allows jellyfish to see in a wide range of directions at once, giving them a significant advantage in the water.
Can a cat have 3 eyes?
Although little is documented about kittens with three eyes, there have been reports over the years of kittens born with two heads. These kittens are also believed to be caused by a deformity and end up with three eyes with the middle two often merging into one.
Are there any mammals with 3 eyes?
Although this two-part organ is not found in any mammal, it is quite common in several species of lizards, frogs, bony fish, sharks, and salamanders. However, it does not function in the same way as the primary eyes that provide animals with the power of sight.
What is the smartest animal?
1: Chimpanzee. Chimpanzees can learn sign language to communicate with humans. Topping our list of the smartest animals is another great ape, the chimpanzee. The impressive intellectual abilities of this animal have fascinated humans for a long time.
What are the 20 most intelligent animals? The 20 most intelligent animals
- #8: Dogs …
- #7: Parrots …
- #6: Pops. …
- #5: Orcas. …
- #4: crows …
- #3: Elephants. …
- #2: Bottlenose dolphins. …
- #1: Great apes. When it comes to the great apes, there’s a lot of competition for the top spot, at least when we exclude our own species.
What are the 3 smartest animals?
#3: Chimpanzees Chimpanzees are very intelligent animals and are able to solve many different problems posed to them by human trainers and experimenters. Our closest genetic relative ranks third on this list of the most intelligent animals.
What is the 2 smartest animal in the world?
Dolphins are often cited as the second most intelligent animals on Earth due to their relatively high brain-to-body size ratio, ability to display emotions, and impressive mimicry of the mute apes that study them.
Which animal is not afraid?
The honey badger is not afraid of anything.
What animal is not afraid? The Scoop. The honey badger has been called the most fearless animal in the world because it does not hesitate to attack animals much larger than itself, even lions and crocodiles! Honey badgers are found in grasslands and arid savannas and even in rainforests. They live in burrows on the ground.
Which animal is not afraid of lion?
Honey badgers are small, but they’re not afraid to tackle larger animals. Honey badgers are often called the fiercest animal on the planet. They also hunt poisonous snakes with ease.
What animal has no enemies?
Animals without natural predators are called apex predators, because they sit at the top (or apex) of the food chain. The list is indefinite, but includes lions, grizzly bears, crocodiles, giant constrictor snakes, wolves, sharks, electric eels, giant jellyfish, killer whales, polar bears and, of course, humans.
