BLACK PANTHER? NO MELANIC LEOPARD

Javan Leopard (Panthera pardus melas, Cuvier 1809), melanic form Black Panther is the common name by which are called the blacks specimens (melanic variants) of some species of felines. Zoologically speaking, the term Panther is synonymous with Leopard. The genus Panthera is a taxonomic category that includes all species of…

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SENSORY ORGANS: VIEW OF OWLS

As many of you know, the sight of owls is particularly developed. The development of their vision system, however, is different from the diurnal birds of prey. In the latter, the view is developed towards a higher definition of images, thanks to a high concentration of cones in their fovea…

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MIMICRY? NO, I’M IN A BAD MOOD

Yemen or Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus, Duméril and Bibron 1851) Some species of chameleons, but not all, can change the colour of their skin. The principal reason to the change of tone is not the camouflage (mimicry) but the manifestation of certain physical or physiological, or emotional states such as…

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A RAINBOW TO DISORIENT

Agalychnis callidryas (Cope, 1862) is a tree frog of the family Hylidae, widespread in Central America. It is known by the common name of the red-eyed tree frog. Many scientists believe that this frog has developed his big red-fire eyes to scare predators and get them to ask some questions…

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DISCOVERED THE FIRST FISH WARM-BLOODED

Just like Mammals and Birds (and, according to some theories, even some species of Dinosaur), the Kingfish or Opah (Lampris guttatus Brunnich, 1788), a sea fish belonging to the family Lampridae and order Lampridiformes, is warm-blooded. The discovery of some American researchers, recently published in Science, is sensational. It is…

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MANIPULATION

Blackbuck  (Antilope cervicapra, Linnaeus 1758)   Generally, animals do not exchange information on abstract concepts or objects not present in the environment: they communicate immediate events related to the issuer or its habitat. The signals can transmit information on body size, age and strength, or information concerning the environment, for…

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GIVE ME FIVE

The hand is an extraordinary appendix, but is not exclusive to human: we share it with all the primates, but also with bats, cats, frogs and even dolphins. Charles Darwin pointed out this strange coincidence in his The Origin of Species. “What’s more unique,” he wrote, “that the hand of…

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LEUCISM O ALBINISM?

White tigers are not true “albino” (it is not albinism) and are characterized by brown or black stripes and blue eyes  with pink nose. In fact, these specimens, are suffering from Leucism. Color variation is considered a mutation caused by a recessive gene that inhibits the yellow pigmentation of the…

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THE TREE OF LIFE

The modern biological science considers the theory of common descent as a fact: all forms of life on Earth are descended from a common ancestor (tree of life). This conclusion is based on the fact that many features of living organisms, such as the genetic code, seemingly arbitrary, are shared…

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TO EACH ONE HIS BEAK!

Among the many stereotypes to debunk there is also the nutrition of the birds, considered frugal and thrifty. “You eat like a bird,” you says, generally, of a person who barely feeds. Birds, however, are great eaters, who eat frequently and abundantly, as they have a very accelerated metabolism that…

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