Animal

Jonathan, A Seychelles Giant Tortoise, Hatched In 1832, At 189 Years Old, Is The World’s Oldest Known Land Animal. Jonathan, Now Blind Due To Old Age, Lives, Since The Late 1880s, On The Remote Island Of St. Helena, In The South Atlantic, And Has His Portrait Printed On The Back Of The Island’s 5 Pence Coin. Cool!

This 189…

Scientists May Have Found The Oldest Known Grizzly Bear In Yellowstone. The Male Bear, Age 34, Was Captured In The Summer Of 2020 And Euthanized After Being Caught Preying On Calves, Probably Due To Its Very Few Teeth–A Sign Of Old Age. Scientists, After Euthanization, Found A “168” Mark On The Lip, Given To The Bear In 1989.

Scienti…

An Extremely Rare Kangaroo, And Probably The Only One Of A Kind In North America, Was Born At The Animal Park In Harpursville, New York. The Kangaroo, Called Cosmo, Is Said To Be Uniquely White Due To A Genetic Condition Called Leucism, Which Causes Loss Of Pigmentation In An Animal Skin Or Fur.

An extremely rare white kangaroo was…

Researchers, Using Satellite Imagery And Algorithm, May Have, For The First Time, Developed A Successful Method For Monitoring Animals In Complex Environments. Heterogenous Environments Make It Harder To Count Animals. This Method Could Enable Animal Conservationists To Better Protect Biodiversity From A Possible Sixth Mass Extinction.

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The Gaboon Viper (Bitis Gabonica) Is The Heaviest Venomous But Placid-Natured African Snake, And The Largest Member Of The Bitis Genus Of Vipers. The Snake Is Said To Hold The World’s Record For Having The Longest Fangs (~5cm), Which Can Inject ~2 Grams Of Venom Per Bite, The Largest Yield Of All Venomous Snakes.

This Chunky Snake…

Researchers, In A Surprising Discovery, While Trying To Protect The The Micronesian Starlings Bird Nest In Guam, Have Discovered A New Type Of Snake Locomotion, In Which The Brown Tree Snake Can Form A Lasso, With Its Body, Around A Smooth Cylindrical Pole, To Get To A Bird’s Nest. This Discovery Could Help To Better Protect Birds In Guam.

Scientists, By “Reverse Aging” A 30 Ft Long 46-Year-Old Megalodon Fossil (MF), Have Deduced That Baby Megalodons Were More Than 6.5 Ft Long, And That The Babies, Like Modern Sharks, May Have Cannibalized Each Other In the Womb To Reach Such A Size. The MF, Which Existed 15 Millon Yrs Ago, Was Tugged From Rocks In Belgium In The 1860s.

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Scientists May Have Discovered The Oldest Python In The World. The Python, Called “Messelopython Freyi,” A New Python Species That Is 47 Myrs Old And About One Meter Long, Was Discovered At UNESCO World Heritage Site “Messel Pit,” In Germany. This Discovery Could Be A Major Leap Forward In Understanding Python’s Evolutionary History.

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The First Complete Platypus Genome Map, Indicating Platypus Is A Blend Of Vertebrate Animals Like Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals, May Explain Platypus Weirdness, As They Are Venomous And Lay Eggs Like Reptiles. But Feed Their Young With Milk And Have Furry Coats Like Mammals. The Map May Improve Our Understanding Of Other Mammals Evolution.

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Researchers Have Discovered A Strange Dinosaur Species, Called Ubijara Jubatus, About The Size Of A Chicken. The Dinosaur, Believed To Have Lived ~110 Myrs Ago In NE Brazil, Has Thick Long Hair That Runs Down Its Back, And Stiff Ribbon-Like Keratin Structures, Projecting 15cm From Its Shoulders, Used For Intimidation Or Attracting Mates.

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Beak Whales, The Least-Known Marine Mammals That Account For A Quarter Of The Known Existing Whale Species, Are Very Rare To Spot And Are Usually Found Dead. But, For The First Time In the World, More New Beak Whales Species Were Spotted Alive In South China Sea And Pacific Ocean. Beak Whales Live And Forage In Deep-Sea Waters.

Whal…

The World’s Largest Freshwater Turtle, Rafetus Swinhoei, Which Is Also The World’s Rarest Turtle Due To Hunting And Medicinal Use Of Its Eggs In China, May Be Saved From Extinction, As A Female Specimen Has Been Found, In Dong Mo Lake In Vietnam In October 2020, For The Supposedly Only Male Species Living At Suzhou Zoo In China.

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Researchers Are Indicating Alligators As The Largest Species That Can Regrow Missing Limbs. But Unlike The Lizards, Alligators Do Not Regrow Skeletal Muscles, But Just “Cartilage, Connective Tissue, And Skin.” This Find Implies That Alligators Are More Regenerative Than Mammals, But Less Than Lizards. Limbs Regrowth Is A Survival Trait.

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Researchers, Based On Methods That Include DNA Analysis And CT Scans, Were Able To Discover A New Snake Species Called “Levitonius Mirus (LM).” LM, Also Known As Waray Dwarf Burrowing Snake, Is Native To An Archipelago In The Philippines That Includes 112 Land Snake Species. LM Are Among The Fewest Number Of Any Snake Species.

Scient…

A New Species Of Prehistoric Crocodile Has Been Discovered. The Reptile, Called “Paludirex Vincenti,” Aka “Swamp king,” Is Said To Have Been A Top Predator In SE Queensland During The Pliocene. The 65 cm Skull Of The Reptile Indicates It Was ~16-Foot Long, And Resembled The Largest Crocodylian Today (Indo-Pacific Crocodile) But On Steriods.

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A New Research Is Indicating That The Eastern Honeybees (Apis Cerana), In Vietnam, Use Animal Dung As A Tool To Protect Themselves From Hornets Attack. But Researchers Are Still Speculating As To How The Poop Works– Could It Be Used To Mask The Hornets’ Marking Pheromone?; Mask Bee Odours?, Or Just Deter Hornet Because Of The Smell?

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A New Study May Have Demonstrated That The Defensive “I See You” Signal That Some Honey Bees Relay To Hornets Is Both Visually Driven And Contagious. The Signal Tells The Hornets That Their Attack Plan Has Been Exposed, And Also Sends An Alarm For Reinforcement. Hornets Attack Can Be Deterred, With More Defending Bees Mimicking The Signal.

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One Of Britain Largest Spiders, The Great Fox-Spider, Thought To Have Gone Extinct, Was Spotted In The Ministry of Defence Training Ground In Surrey. The Spider, A 5cm Wide Arachnid, Was Last Spotted 27 Years Ago On Hankley Common In Surrey. The Great Fox-Spider Is A Night Time Hunter And Is Known For Its Speed, Agility, And 8 Black Eyes.

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The Beetle, Phloeodes Diabolicus, Aka The Diabolical Ironclad Beetle Is Said To Have An Uncrushable Exoskeleton That Stretches To Withstand Extreme Forces, The Equivalent Of A 150-Pound Person Surviving The Weight Of About 25 Blue Whales. The Beetle, Found Primarily On The West Coast Of North America, Could Be A Source Of Animal Inspired Innovation.

A Rare Puppy Dog With Green Fur Was Born, In A Five-Dog Litter, At A Farm On The Mediterranean Island Of Sardinia. The Puppy, Named Pistachio Because Of The Green Fur, Is Believed To Be Green Because It Probably Made Contact With A Green Pigment Called Biliverdin While In The Womb. Unfortunately, The Green Fur Has Began To Fade.

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