Random Biology

Lungless and luckless frogs

2008-04-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

There are several salamaders that are known to be lungless. They rely entirely upon their skin to get their oxygen supply. It is believed that the lunglessness has evolved in their specialized habitat of fast-flowing cold streams. Cold water is able to carry more dissolved oxygen, and also the presence of lungs may put the animal at the risk of being carried away in the current because it would

The Atlas Mountains and the Barbary Lion

2008-04-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

The barbary lions used to be found in the Atlas mountains. See the picture below for the location of the Atlas Mountains in North Africa. All the wild lions that used to roam these mountains have been killed. The last wild Barbary lion was hunted down in early 1920s. Since then, they are only in zoos all over the world.The Atlas Mountains of North AfricaThis image is a WikiCommons image.

Origin of the word Barbary

2008-04-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

We use the word "barbary" like Barbary Ape, Barbary Lion, Barbary States and so on. The word Barbary was used to describe the Northern African states on the mediterranean coast between Egypt and Gibralter, including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. This usage was common in the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. However, the origin of the word is far from clear. It is clear however, that

Barbary Lion / African Lion / Nubian Lion

2008-04-08T07:00:00.001-07:00

This is a subspecies of lion that is now extinct in the wild. There are now less than 100 individuals left and all of them are in zoos all over the world. If you look closely you can see the hair on the belly of the lion as well. This is one of the distinguishing features of barbary lions.Here's another picture of a barbary lion,(Picture credit to http://www.cattales.org/images/Zamba.jpg)

Gestation Times for Selected Animals

2008-02-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

Gestation times for some animals are shown here. Ass, Bactrian Camel, Cat, Chimpanzee, Cow, Dog, Asian and African Elephants, Giraffe, Hippopotamus, Gorilla, Kangaroo, Mouse, Oppossum, Rhino, Sperm Whale

Average Life Spans of some Adult flies

2008-02-09T11:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some average life span ranges of adult flies. The life cycle of flies consists of 4 stages, egg, larva, pupa adult. This data is only for the adult stage.

Average Life Span of Selected Reptiles

2008-02-09T06:39:00.001-08:00

Here are some average life spans of selected reptiles. Giant Tortoise, Box turtle, Snapping Turtle, Alligator, Cobra and Cottonmouth.

Average Life Span of Selected Fishes

2008-02-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some average life spans for some fishes. Catfish, Eel, Carp, and Mosquito Fish.

Average Life Span of Selected Amphibians

2008-02-09T06:36:00.000-08:00

Here are some life spans of selected amphibians. Salamander, Toad, Bullfrog, Mud Puppy. Green Frog and the Newt.

Average Life Span of Selected Birds

2008-02-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

Here are some average life spans of some birds. Turkey Buzzard, Swan, Parrot, Great Horned Owl, Eagle, English sparrow, canary, Hummingbird

Average Life Span of Selected Mammals

2008-02-09T06:32:00.000-08:00

Here are average life spans of some selected mammals. Elephant, horse, hippo, chimpanzee, grizzly bear, bison, lion , tiger, elk, mountain, beaver, wolf , squirrel, chipmunk, cottontail, mouse

Sticky feet inspire unsticky tape

2007-10-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

The feet of tree frogs are sticky enough to hold on to a variety of surfaces. So what? We have our conventional tape for several different surfaces as well. The everyday tape cracks when pulled out. Frog’s feet however do not get pulled off so easily, and happily for the frog, do not lose their stickiness. This is in part due to the microstructure of the foot. Several practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine in China believe that bile extracted from the gall bladder of a bear has important medicinal properties, and is used in treatment of eye, liver and other ailments. A number of Chinese medicines have bear bile as a vital ingredient. The bear species from which the bile is extracted is the Asiatic

The Chocolate Mammal

2006-01-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

( picture :http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/cove.html)The Chocolate MammalDinosaur Cove is a dinosaur bone digging site in southern state of Victoria, Australia. Fossils from this site have provided excellent insight into dinosaur habitats. In the early Cretaceous period, Australia was in a much more southern position than it is now, and was joined to Antarctica. Dinosaur Cove has yielded

New Mammal Species

2005-12-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

New Mammal SpeciesA new mammal, possibly a carnivore, has been sighted in the central forests of Borneo. The local people, on looking at the images said the new animal was unfamiliar to them, and it from the few pictures, researchers have also remarked it does look something new. The forests in South East Asia are under growing pressure from logging and trade in palm-oil. The story is remarkable

Elephant Moods

2005-12-23T03:04:00.000-08:00

A new study has found that older Asian bull elephants produce a complex chemical cocktail which the younger males do not produce. This chemical secretion actually helps them appear more attractive to females than their younger competition. Well, the older bulls do know how to keep their females attracted to them this way…hmmm, don’t think older humans have any of such stuff, but I bet they would

Narwhal Sensor

2005-12-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

Credit: http://www.studentsonice.com/arctic2004/assets/images/narwhale.jpgThe narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is actually a "toothed whale". And only the males have these tusks. But unlike other whales, narwhals have no dorsal fin. What’s a dorsal fin you say? Its that big fin on the back of fishes, like the one on a shark’s back which you can see sticking out of water as it swims just below the

Volcanic Eruption

2005-12-07T06:35:00.000-08:00

Mount Belinda, located on the Montagu island in South Sandwich Islands in the Atlantic is spewing its guts these days. The South Sandwich Islands are situated approximately between the southern tip of South America and mainland Antarctica. What’s so special is that eruptions on ice sheets are exceedingly rare. The island is quite close to the Antarctic land mass, covered completely by ice and

Woman Smart, Man Smarter

2005-12-06T02:38:00.000-08:00

Researchers Dr. Paul Irwing and Prof. Richard Lynn in UK have recently concluded and published a large scale study of gender differences w.r.t intelligence. They gave IQ tests to 80,000 people and a further group of 20,000. Fairly large numbers. They concluded that men were, on an average, 5 points ahead of women on the IQ scale. Moreover, this difference increased with increasing scores. The

Life after 100

2005-12-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

Most people will never live to that age. The average age in the developed world being around 75. However, there a few populations in the world where living up to 100, is actually rather common. Sardinia, (Those who don’t know where it is click here), is a small island in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Italy. The routine line during a toast is..”May you live to be a 100 years!”. According to

Killer gas to Clean fuel

2005-12-05T01:58:00.000-08:00

Carbon monoxide + steaming hot water = hydrogenWhat a nice way to produce wonderful fuel! It may become reality with the sequencing of the genome of a strange microbe (Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans Z-2901) that lives in boiling hot springs of the volcanic Kunashir island in Russia. It possesses upto five different carbon monoxide dehydrogenases, while most other species found so far have only

The Circle of Genomes

2005-12-02T08:09:00.000-08:00

Biology has increasingly become an information science, and the complexity of information is on the rise. Ten years ago, the genome sequence of the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae, sequenced by TIGR, led by Craig Venter, in a then audacious move, cut sequencing costs by half (50 cents a base) and developed technology and drove the project along with computational biologists. It took 13 months

Ghost Footprints

2005-12-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

A foot and an ancient footprint. Photo from the Mexican Footprints media section Currently it is believed that humans entered the Americas only about 11,500 years ago. Much research has gone into the topic. And the book The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey by Spencer Wells, discusses and explains the varied human migrations that have occurred in human history. Now, a foot of contention

Ancient Wings

2005-12-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

Scientists have believed that Archaeopteryx (“Ancient Wing”) had a “perching toe” (just like birds), which helped them to grasp branches of trees. However, a new extremely well preserved fossil of Archaeopteryx from Thermopolis, has been found to have no perching toe at all. This limestone encased fossil also has one of the best-preserved skulls of all specimens ever found. However, it is the

Crazy Chameleons

2005-12-01T06:54:00.000-08:00

They are certainly one of the most captivating creatures to look at. Can change color at will, and become pretty much invisible (without the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter). The transformation is eerie indeed. There’s more, they can move both eyes independently of each other. It has a long sticky tongue,that shoots out within a split second to grab the unsuspecting prey. It hides in the

Largest frogs

2005-12-01T06:10:00.000-08:00

The Goliath Frogby far the largest frog on the planet. Can measure upto 1 foot! that's right, nearly 12 inches... and if you measure the legs as well, the combined length of the entire animal may be upto (or even) more than 2 feet!. A perfect nightmare for frogophobiacs! You might never see one actually in your life time though, unless you decide a trip to coastal Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea

Shark stuff

2005-12-01T05:38:00.000-08:00

Two-thirds of a shark's brain is dedicated to smell, amazing! isn't it ? In addition to the smell stuff, they have these really cool electrical vibration detectors called the "ampullae of Lorenzini", which help the shark detect electrical and magnetic fields generated by the prey, and the ocean floor. Apparently it also helps in navigation.Click here to read about Nicole (Kidman), the great white

Random Biology

2005-11-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

Biology is an exciting study. There is an infinite amount of diversity of life on this planet. One can never run out of surprises. I'll try to share some interesting bits of information on this blog. You may find them interesting. Please feel free to post if you have interesting tidbits that you would like to share.