Author: Jason Mitchell
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Platypuses Hunt With Their Eyes Closed. The Bill Does the Searching.
Platypuses close their eyes, ears and nostrils while diving, relying on sensory receptors in their bills to locate underwater prey.
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Hummingbirds Can Fly Backward. Their Wings Do More Than Flap.
Hummingbirds can hover, fly sideways and backward by changing their wing movements. That aerial control helps them feed at flowers.
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Giant Deep-Sea Isopods Can Go Remarkably Long Without Eating
A giant deep-sea isopod reportedly survived five years without eating in captivity. Here’s how these armored scavengers cope with life between meals.
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This Lizard Breathes From a Bubble on Its Nose
A Costa Rican water anole rebreathes an air bubble over its nose. An experiment found normal bubble use extended average dive time by about 32%.
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Greenland Sharks May Live 400 Years. Their Eyes Hold the Clue.
Greenland sharks may survive for centuries. Scientists used eye-lens radiocarbon to estimate one shark at 392 years, but the range is surprisingly wide.
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Archerfish Shoot Down Insects With Water. They Can Learn to Hit Moving Targets, Too.
Archerfish fire carefully aimed jets of water at insects above the surface, and experiments show they can learn to hit moving targets.
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Dolphins Sleep With Half Their Brain Awake. One Eye Can Stay Open, Too.
Dolphins take turns resting one brain hemisphere while remaining able to surface and breathe. Sleeping with one eye open is real, but not quite a foolproof…
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Glass Frogs Hide Nearly 90% of Their Red Blood Cells While Sleeping
Glass frogs become more transparent while sleeping by packing most circulating red blood cells into their livers.
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Pistol Shrimp Can Make Bubbles That Flash With Light
A snapping shrimp’s claw creates a cavitation bubble that makes a loud snap—and, in laboratory studies, a brief flash of light.
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Tickled Rats Make Sounds Humans Can’t Hear—and Scientists Call It Laughter
Researchers tickling rats record 50-kHz calls associated with play and positive emotion, but rat laughter is not identical to human laughter.