Animals — Page 6

The adult platypus has no teeth.

The adult platypus has no teeth. The young are born with teeth that fall out before reaching adulthood. Instead of…

The osprey can detect fish from hundreds of metres above.

The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) has extremely sharp vision that allows it to detect fish from hundreds of metres above…

Spermaceti from the sperm whale is used for buoyancy.

Spermaceti, a waxy substance found in the sperm whale's head, helps the animal regulate buoyancy by being heated or…

A walrus's tusks can grow up to 1 metre long.

A walrus's tusks are canine teeth that continue to grow throughout life and can reach 1 metre in length. They help…

The binturong has a smell that resembles popcorn.

The binturong, a mammal from Southeast Asia also called the bearcat, has a gland in its tail that releases a chemical…

The salmon returns to the river where it was born using its sense of smell.

The salmon memorises the unique smell of the water of the river where it was born. Years later, when it returns from…

The sand temperature determines the sex of turtle hatchlings.

In many species of sea turtles, the sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the nest sand…

The three-banded armadillo rolls into a perfect ball to defend itself.

The three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) is the only armadillo that rolls into a perfect ball, completely…

The nest temperature determines the sex of crocodiles.

As with turtles, the sex of crocodiles is determined by the nest temperature. In crocodiles, lower temperatures…

The lamprey has no jaw.

The lamprey is a jawless fish that attaches to prey with a circular mouth full of keratinous teeth. It feeds by…

There is a parasite that replaces a fish's tongue.

Cymothoa exigua is a parasitic crustacean that attaches to a fish's tongue, sucks blood until the tongue atrophies…

There are worms that eat whale bones.

Worms of the genus Osedax bore into the bones of dead whales and feed on the bone marrow and collagen. They have no…

The naked mole-rat is one of the few cold-blooded mammals.

The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) cannot regulate its body temperature like most mammals. Its temperature…

Chimpanzees use twigs to fish for termites.

Chimpanzees insert thin twigs into termite mounds and wait for the termites to grab them, then pull them out to eat…

Ants can lift 50 times their own weight.

Ants are capable of lifting up to 50 times their own weight and pulling up to 30 times. This extraordinary strength…

Crows can recognise specific human faces and pass that knowledge on to other crows.

Experiments with masks showed that crows identify specific faces and react differently depending on the person. Crows…

Dolphins develop unique whistles that work like names and use them to call each other.

Each dolphin creates its own signature whistle in the first months of life. When one dolphin wants to call another…

Rüppell s vulture flies at altitudes above 11,000 metres, higher than Mount Everest.

This species of African vulture can fly at extreme altitudes because it has a special haemoglobin that captures…

The praying mantis has five eyes, two large ones and three small ones between them.

In addition to the two large compound eyes, the praying mantis has three simple eyes, called ocelli, located between…

The seahorse is the only species where the male carries the unborn young.

In seahorse reproduction, the female deposits eggs into a special pouch on the male's abdomen. The male then…

A group of flamingos is collectively known as a flamboyance, reflecting their bright pink plumage and striking appearance.

This collective term captures the visually striking nature of these birds when they gather in large numbers in…

Glass frogs, found in the Amazon, have such transparent belly skin that their internal organs can be seen working.

This unusual transparency serves as camouflage, as it allows the frog to blend in with leaves when resting, making it…

The sperm whale has the largest brain of any animal known in Earth's history, weighing about eight kilograms.

Despite being five to six times larger than the human brain, the sperm whale's brain has a less complex structure…

Honey badgers are immune to most snake venoms due to mutated receptors.

These animals possess genetic mutations in their nicotinic receptors that prevent snake neurotoxins from binding…