Interesting stories about animals

To sum ​​up the year and remember what happened in the world of interesting wildlife. mysterious giant eye: the mysterious discovery on Florida beach

The most unexpected finding in 2012 was a huge eye that was thrown on the coast of Florida in October. The Internet community has become a lively discussion here who also belongs to the mysterious eye. few days, the Commission for the Protection of Wildlife announced that the eye belongs to the sword-fish. smallest frog in the world, the world's smallest frog reaches the size of not more than 7 -8 mm. Representative of the species Paedophryne amauensis set a record - it reaches a length - only 7.7 millimeters.

On the discovery of a new kind of record size, scientists reported in January 2012, although the frog was discovered by researchers in the tropical forests in the south of Papua New Guinea a few years ago.

Scientists believe that the frog is sized to eat tiny invertebrates, such as mites, which are ignored by larger predators. Thus, it took its place in the food chain and in excellent health.

Who has the memory, but not the brain: the most mysterious creature planet slizevikov were probably the muses for the creators of the sci-fi movie "Drop" (The Blob) in 1958, as well as many other Hollywood movies, but researchers have suggested that these simple organisms that do not have the brain actually have a memory.

In experiments with slime mold species Physarum polycephalum scientists from the University of Sydney have noticed that these living organisms avoid returning to the same place where they have already visited. Researchers began to suspect that the movement of these simple use a special form of spatial memory. "slime mold leaves a trail of slime, which then they can detect and thus" learn "the places where they were," - said biologist Chris Reid ( Chris Reid). Scientists have also suggested that Physarum can recognize and respond to the tracks left by other types of slime mold. Reid said that primitive organisms can use their spatial memory to solve the same problems now faced by our brains. This is the beginning of the evolution of memory. Previous studies have shown that slime mold can also wander through the maze and anticipate periodic events.

Mystery cat chimera in August 2012 cat named Venus became a hit of the season, hitting all of its unusual appearance. This three-year cat turtle coloring gained millions of views on YouTube and even the "wound up" a page on Facebook


One half of muzzle cat black, the other - red. Moreover, Venus also different eyes - one yellow, one blue. Scientists do not know why she got a strange look, but there are suggestions that the cat - a chimera. chimera - an organism that gets in the embryonic stage of development, the genes of his brother or sister in the womb. Two embryos are merged into one, as a result, the light appears one animal, but with some genetic traits, such as the strange coloring hair.

White whale: the unusual color of animals in April 2012 off the coast of Russia was spotted strange albino whale, which puzzled scientists. Animal immediately got the nickname - Iceberg. In length it reaches about 7 meters.

Earlier in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska in 2000 and 2008, scientists have seen a white killer whale, but this kind of albinos are so rare that scientists have concluded that if they saw the same animal - Iceberg, only younger. Researchers also believe Iceberg that may not be true albino, since his stomach were seen dark spots. To know for sure you need to see the color of his eyes. If they are pink and have no pigment, then Iceberg actually albino. Among the orcas sometimes there are individuals who suffer from the disease Chediak-Higashi. This rare disease affects the immune and nervous systems and affects the color. However, most of the animals with the disease do not survive to adulthood, and the iceberg, according to the researchers, for about 16 years. 5) The animal with the highest number of legs: centipede champion winner of the greatest number of legs lives in California. This unique arthropod - millipede, which reaches a length of no more than 3 inches. Surprisingly, in this body size it 750 feet!

First millipede species Illacme plenipes scientists discovered in 1928, but they have failed to investigate it thoroughly, as an animal, are thought to have disappeared, and was long thought to be extinct. Such a large number of legs evolved from creatures from living underground. Centipede comfortable to touch and move your feet in the ground and climb the rocks underground. 6) with a unique soft-bodied turtle urinary system in October 2012, scientists reported that they have found a very strange property in the animal's soft-bodied turtle species Pelodiscus sinensis is able to urinate through ... mouth. Scientists already knew that turtles have soft-bodied in the mouth structure, similar to the gills. Researchers initially thought that they help animals breathe under water, but it turned out that it is not.

The researchers also found that the turtles are carriers of special gene that helps produce a special protein that is responsible for the production of urine. This gene is associated with the body, like the mouth, not the kidney. These reptiles are found in brackish water, so adapting to to urinate through the mouth, very handy. If the turtle peed usual way, she needed to drink more water to avoid suffering from dehydration.

Rare lion with a mane: the secret of unusual animal? Female lions are known to not wear a mane, but among them there are very masculine representative. For example, in Africa, were recently spotted strange female lion with a mane like a male.

These unusual lionesses-deceiver noticed in Mombo in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. In this area, the animals may have an unusual genetic feature that allows for such an unusual appearance lionesses, scientists say. As it turned out, with a mane of females can not produce offspring, but it is very well adapted to the wild. Because of the manes are perceived as male, and the appearance of Pride deters some hyenas and aggressive males.

Strange fish on the head with the genitals sex organs, it appears, may be ... on his head. At least one species of fish from Vietnam boasts just this location to vital organs. Phallostethus cuulong fish species reaches a length of about 2.5 inches and has a very clear standard for fish body. It lives in the Mekong in Vietnam. This habitat over the past couple of decades has changed, but the fish have demonstrated tremendous vitality and well adapted to the new conditions.

Fish family Phallostethidae are a group of fishes, the males fertilize the eggs of females are inside their bodies. As you know, most of the female fish spawn, which is then fertilized by the males in the environment. Many male fish family Phallostethidae have physical features that allow them to fertilize the eggs inside the female body, which is why the form has Phallostethus cuulong genitals on the head - for maximum comfort and pairing.

The strangest penis

The strangest penis was seen in male echidnas zoologists who live on the island of Tasmania. These creatures can boast not only the strange penis in the world, but also the unusual method of reproduction. The females lay eggs of vipers, which is quite rare among mammals.

Penis male echidna includes as many as 4 heads instead of one. This is probably due to the fact that such animals are increasing their chances of fertilizing the female.

Female genitalia also have dual channel, so strange penis acts as a "double shotgun", shooting with maximum accuracy in the right direction.