You don’t really hear about venomous birds very often. Venomous snakes and spiders, sure, but not birds. That is because there is no species of bird that makes its own poison. However, that has not stopped a few species from highjacking the poisons made by other creatures and using them for their own defense. The…
Scholar Holler: Andy Dosmann, Ph.D.
I love being out in the field. That’s what drew me into being a behavioral ecologist and so I’m glad…
Gadgets That Reveal the Secretive Lives of Animals
Field studies of animals involve observing and documenting their behaviors. However, many animals are a challenge to study because they are secretive or because they live in environments too dangerous or inhospitable for humans. Over the last ten years many scientists have increasingly turned to devices called…
Creature Feature: Megamouth Shark
In 1976, a large shark got entangled in the sea anchor of the US Navy ship AFB-14 off the coast of Hawaii. When it was finally brought to the surface and examined, the 4.6 meter long shark was found to be a completely unknown species. Dark brown above and white below, it had a huge…
Supercool: Surviving Winter in the Arctic
When it’s cold and snowy during the winter, many of us respond by staying inside and hiding underneath a pile of blankets. But how do animals cope with the cold? It turns out that…
Creature Feature: Hagfish
Hagfish, which is a group of organisms that make up the class Myxini which has about 70 extant species, are vertebrates that have a skull, but no jaws. They are strange and illuminating and wonderful organisms. They are strange for a list of reasons so long it would take a book to fully explain them…
Fun Fact Friday: Butterflies Taste with their Feet!
Butterflies and moths have smell receptors all along their antennae, legs, and many other body parts! Their feet also have taste organs that help them to be able to taste the sugars in nectar on flowers.
Why You Should Choose Your Friends Wisely: Collective Animal Behavior
Humans are not the only animals that are able to organize themselves into coordinated groups or societies. Some animals exhibit incredible feats of coordination, but unlike us, they do so without a leader or a global view of the outcome, like a set of blue-prints. We may all be familiar with the hypnotic movement of…
Fun Fact Friday! Venomous Lizards
There are two species of lizard with specialized venom in North America: the Mexican beaded lizard and the Gila monster. These lethal lizards contain venom in their saliva, and administer it into their prey when chewing.
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