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Interesting Facts

A 200 Million Year-old Iconoclast

If a defining trait of mammals is that they give live birth to their young, how do you explain monotremes? Monotremes…
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A Truly Amazing Race…

Many species of birds migrate when the weather changes, but some species take their journeys to extremes. The Arctic tern…
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ABC. It’s easy as Protandry

The largest, most aggressive female anemonefish rules the roost - she is the dominant member of the social group, and…
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An Ample Amphibian

Before reptiles and mammals appeared to challenge amphibian supremacy on the land, amphibians were much larger. But while…
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Asleep at the wheel?

Can you imagine spending nearly all of your life in the air? The common swift doesn’t have to - it just does! From the…
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Bats: The Only True-Flying Mammal

Bats, the only mammal capable of true flight, are not blind - their eyes are just fine, thank you very much. But instead…
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Body horror in the insect kingdom

Learning about animals, you can discover many fascinating, even beautiful facts, but there are also things that can give…
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Caecilians: The Limbless Enigma

Caecilians are amphibians with long, limbless bodies that resemble worms or snakes more than frogs or salamanders. Their…
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Cephalopods: Masterminds of the Ocean.

Octopi, cuttlefish, and squids - all cephalopods - have been observed engaging in amazing feats of intelligence (perhaps…
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Here’s blood in your eye!

Horned lizards utilize a few tried-and-true ways of avoiding predators: like many other animals, they blend in with their…
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Hey, Fishlips!

If you’ve ever worn lipstick (or kissed anybody wearing lipstick), you’ve probably had fish scales on your lips. Of…
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It’s an ant’s world. We’re just living in it.

Do humans truly dominate the world? The Argentine ant may have something to say about that. Many ants are known for their…
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Look out Below!

When we talk about fast animals, the one that immediately comes to mind for most people is the cheetah, who can reach…
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Make sure you retract your eyes 30 times before swallowing!

It has long been known that Frogs retract their eyes and close them while eating, leading scientists to suspect that frogs…
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Only a Mother’s Love…

We are taught that toads leave their fertilized eggs in the water in long strings, which hatch into tadpoles, who live…
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Please stop blaming snakes for everything

From Medusa to the Bible to Harry Potter, snakes have a bad reputation, but the vast majority are quite harmless - in…
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Rub some dirt on it!

Could it be we have been too good at ridding our bodies of parasitic worms? Believe it or not, our efforts at keeping…
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Sugar, Honey Honey…

Too much sugar in the diet leads to obesity for humans: if we drink a can of soda pop (which is mostly high fructose corn…
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Swiss Army Skin

Amphibian skin is not covered in hair, feathers, or scales. It is thin and permeable, which allows them to actually breathe…
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The age-defying Brandt’s bat

In most mammals, larger size correlates with longer lifespan, but that is not the case with the Brandt’s bat, who can…
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The fish that could drown (and other amazing tales)

Fish are masters of aquatic living, though some manage to do pretty well on land, too! Of living species, the mudskipper…
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The not-a-snake

The slow worm has a long body, lacks limbs, and is covered in lustrous scales - so is it a snake? No, it is a lizard!…
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The Oldest Fish in the Sea?

The Greenland Sleeper Shark, the only living species of sub-Arctic shark, is an apex predator only slightly smaller than…
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The Opossum Ain’t Playing

Many people associate playing dead with the opossum - that’s where the term “playing opossum” comes from, after…
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The report of my breath was an exaggeration

For years, the Komodo dragon was accused of having a mouth so filthy that even if you escaped its terrible bite, you were…
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The Tongue-tastic Chameleon

The Chameleon is known for its ability to change colors, but that is not the only amazing feature they possess. Chameleon…
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The world’s first Animals

Invertebrates were the first animals to evolve. While their soft bodies left precious few records behind, there are fossils…
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Undersea Conversations…

While it isn’t obvious, fish have ears, and are able to communicate to one another through sounds. They don’t have…
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Wake me in 9 months…

There may be times when you are so tired you feel as if you could sleep for several days - but of course that is not possible…
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“Bird Brain” should be taken as a compliment.

Calling someone a “bird brain” is an insult, but perhaps it should be reconsidered given how many birds display high…
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