Muscle powers spearing mantis shrimp attacks

Mantis shrimps pack a powerful punch, whether they smash or spear their victims. According to Maya deVries and Sheila Patek from University of California, Berkeley, smasher mantis shrimps power their claws' ballistic blows ...

Soft-shelled turtles urinate through mouth

Chinese soft-shelled turtles are exquisitely adapted to their aquatic lifestyle, sitting contentedly on the bottom of brackish muddy swamps or snorkelling at the surface to breath. According to Y. K. Ip from the National ...

Choreography of submerged whale lunges revealed

Returning briefly to the surface for great lungfuls of air, the underwater lifestyles of whales had been a complete mystery until a small group of pioneers from various global institutions – including Malene Simon, Mark ...

Hummingbirds make flying backward look easy

Animals that move backwards usually require a lot of energy, so Nir Sapir from the University of California Berkeley, USA, was surprised when he realized that hummingbirds execute this maneuver routinely. Wondering how hummingbirds ...

Chocolate makes snails smarter

Chocolate isn't usually on the diet for snails, but when Lee Fruson and Ken Lukowiak from the University of Calgary, became curious about the effects of diet on memory, they decided to try a flavonoid from chocolate, epicatechin ...

How geckos cope with wet feet

Geckos are remarkable little creatures, clinging to almost any dry surface, and Alyssa Stark, from the University of Akron, USA, explains that they appear to be equally happy scampering through tropical rainforest canopies ...

How cheetahs outpace greyhounds

Cheetahs are the high-performance sports cars of the animal kingdom, but how do they outstrip other elite athletes when using the same sprint technique? Penny Hudson, Sandra Corr and Alan Wilson from the Royal Veterinary ...

Vampire jumping spiders identify victims by their antennae

Evarcha culicivora jumping spiders, also known as vampire spiders, are picky eaters by any standards. Explaining that the arachnid's environment is swamped with insects, Ximena Nelson from the University of Canterbury, New ...

Smalleye pigmy sharks' bellies shine

Smalleye pigmy sharks have an eye-catching party trick: Their bellies glow. However, instead of being a giveaway, Julien Claes and Jérôme Mallefet from Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, have shown ...

Manatee hearing good enough to sense approaching motorboats

Every year, manatees are injured in boat collisions. Why don't they just move when they hear a boat approach? A team of scientists led by Joe Gaspard from Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, USA, have found that manatee ...

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