An international team of paleontologists discovered the fossilized skeleton of a snake that slithered through South America’s rainforests 60 million years ago. Based on the size of the vertebrae, researchers estimated the non-venomous constrictor was 43 feet long and weighed 2,500 pounds, making it the largest snake ever identified. Because snakes are cold blooded, researchers calculated this species of aquatic snake would have needed temperatures between 86 and 93 degrees to survive. This means the South American rainforests were once warmer – which means the thought of global warming could make some people’s skin crawl.
Northern rockhopper penguins – like Lovelace in the animated movie “Happy Feet” - aren’t extinct; but their numbers are declining. At one time there were millions of them; but according to a new study, their numbers have declined 90% in 50 years. Eighty percent of the existing population is on 2 South Atlantic islands – an estimated 72,000 to 115,000 penguins. Historically these birds were threatened by human exploitation and wild animals. Today researchers view the threat as being climate change, shifts in marine ecosystems or overfishing. Because more than half the world’s penguins face varying degrees of extinction, we need more than a bird’s-eye view of the problem.
Mosquitoes have no problem mating. In fact, scientists at Cornell University found that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes adjust the sound produced by their beating wings as potential mates approach. A male mosquito’s buzz is about 600 cycles per second. The female mosquito’s buzz is about 400 cycles per second. He makes the sound of a D note. She makes the sound of a G note. When the male brings his sound into phase with hers, they create a near-perfect duet. They create a fainter, higher tone. Only then will these mosquitoes mate – giving new meaning to “making music together”.
For ants, however, mating is restricted to the queen. She mates once in her life and stores all the sperm she will need for the thousands of eggs she’ll produce. A queen that senses competition from another fertile female will chemically mark that female, causing her to be attacked by lower-ranking females. New studies have also shown that ants capable of reproducing emit a hydrocarbon-based odor, causing them to be attacked by other worker ants. Only when the queen dies is there collective breeding and that stops as soon as a new queen establishes herself. Acting antsy isn’t conducive to romance.
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