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In Germany, at a UNESCO World Heritage site in old lake sediments of the Messel Pit, Researchers have discovered a previously unknown skeleton of a fossil fly species. In the tummy of the fossil fly, various plant pollen could be seen which gives exceptional insights into the behavior of their feeding, the duty of the fly as a pollinator, and their ecology.
(Photo : Egor Kamelev)
The Skeleton Pollen
The attention of the researchers was not caught by the fly itself, but its big belly suggesting that the belly was still full with the last food intake of the fly. Shockingly, the stomach content analysis showed that it was full of different plant s pollen. The skeleton pollen from the stomach of the fly was used to regenerate the old environment resided by the fly, the interaction of biotic between fly and plant, and the behavior of the fly during feeding.
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Most animals fake death in order to escape from their predators, while some species of prey choose to remain motionless for a lengthy period of time. Charles Darwin documented a beetle that remained static for 23 minutes. Even so, the University of Bristol has recorded a single antlion larva feigning to be dead for an outstanding 61 minutes.
(Photo : Egor Kamelev)
Beast of Prey
Equally, the number of times that an individual can remain static is unpredictable and not only long. This means that it will be difficult for a predator to predict when a prospective prey item will make a movement, thereby attracting its attention and becoming a meal to feed on.
Mar 03, 2021 11:12 AM EST
Forest scincid lizard on Christmas Island and 12 animals on the list, including the desert bettong, large cheeked jumping mouse, and arena barred wallaby. The government of Australia has formally acknowledged that 13 of the endemic species went into extinction and this includes 12 mammals and the earliest reptile known to have vanished since the colonization by the Europeans.
(Photo : Egor Kamelev)
The increase of the dozen species of mammal species shows the inevitable position of Australia as the capital for the world mammal extinction, raising the entire number of species known to have gone into extinction to 34.
No one out of the 13 seems like a surprise. Almost all of the species extinctions are memorable, with most of them vanishing between the 1850s and 1950s. But the record also comprises two species that got lost, the pair from Christmas Island in the ocean of Indian over the last decade.
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With the use of sea slugs in Australia, researchers can get a better understanding of the change in climate. Since 2013, a citizen science program Sea Slug Census charged by volunteers has recorded along the Australian coast observations of these gastropods.
Southern Cross University in New South Wales was organized by Professor Steve Smith.This observations has taken place for more than 40 censuses. Dr. Smith explained that they had to run different sea slug census creating plans to improve new areas.
(Photo : Pixabay)
Colorful Molluscs
A group of striking and colorful molluscs named Nudibranchs has been remarkably helpful in understanding the effects of global warming. The reason is that these molluscs generally have a life span of less than a year, which suggests they react more rapidly to shifts in their environmental conditions.
Feb 16, 2021 09:54 AM EST
New research shows that spotted wing drosophila, which is a fruit fly originally from South East Asia, prefers to lay her eggs in a virgin territory where no other fruit flies have visited. This research raises questions about how the flies can say whether a place is a virgin territory or not and what it means for pest control.
The fruit fly which is originally from Asia, and over the past 10-15 years has spread across Europe, South America, North America, and Africa. This species commonly known as Drosophila suzukii prefers to lay its egg in a virgin ripe fruit, and this results in problems for fruit growers since no consumer would want to buy infested fruit.