The biological study of animals
5
votes
1answer
134 views
What evolutionary mechanism caused felines to develop purring?
And why can some felines roar while others meow?
10
votes
1answer
985 views
Fish “coming back to life” after being frozen
I've encountered a clip on Youtube showing a goldfish thrown in liquid nitrogen and immediately after to normal water and swimming normally. In the explanation to the clip it says:
For everyone ...
8
votes
1answer
464 views
Will the “frog in boiling water not jumping out” work on warm blooded animals
There is the famous saying about a frog that is put in water that are slowly boiling will not jump out until it's too late. I realize it happens because of the frog's cold blood that adjusts to the ...
6
votes
1answer
142 views
Effect of spaying on the female cat organism and health
Veterinarians often recommend spaying a female cat if the owner does not want her to have kittens. What does biology know about the effect of spaying on female cats' organism and health (apart from ...
9
votes
3answers
608 views
Species with reproduction barriers that can both reproduce with a third species
To start with, I do not have a sound knowledge in biology or any formal education in the area.
I was told that one of the definition of a species is a reproductive barrier, which means that if two ...
9
votes
1answer
93 views
Why is there a difference in the rotation of the tail fin in fish compared to marine mammals?
I've been thinking about this one, but I can't seem to find what causes this difference.
All fishes that I've seen have their tail fin positioned vertical:
But all the marine mammals I know have ...
7
votes
3answers
115 views
Is the appendix a vestigial structure in all vertebrates?
In humans the Appendix is a vestigial organ. Does it serve no apparent purpose in all the vertebrates that have one?
4
votes
1answer
102 views
Are there any other animals that become attached to a non-living object?
Do any animals become attached to any non-living object that is not useful to the animal for any of its physical needs, like some children do to stuffed animals? Some children are so attached to their ...
7
votes
1answer
162 views
Could an animal with an open circulatory system survive in a near-zero gravity environment?
An animal such as a crayfish relies on gravity to keep its circulatory system running. If it is turned upside down, the gravity works against the system, suffocating the animal. Now if, instead of ...
7
votes
2answers
186 views
What's the name of this bird?
This morning I saw a bird that I have never seen before. Since it was quite big, I'm very interested in knowing its name.
The bird was quite big, at least 2-3 times of a common blackbird. The wings ...
8
votes
3answers
179 views
Why is blood pressure higher the more distal an artery is?
Why is blood pressure generally higher in more distal arteries?
10
votes
2answers
192 views
Why do pandas have a high probability of giving birth to twins?
According to the BBC documentary "Wild About Pandas", about half of panda birth result in twins. Why do they have such a high probability compared to other mammals? What factor(s) control that ...
7
votes
0answers
90 views
Why do animal teeth get darker if exposed?
I was wondering why the teeth of cats (And dogs, as far as I know, plus possibly some other animals or even humans) get darker if they are exposed to air / light?
Example:
(See the lower end of ...
11
votes
2answers
827 views
How do insects breathe?
Do ants even breathe? If they don't, how do they stay alive? On what resources do they depend upon to stay alive? How are they different form mammals?
8
votes
1answer
564 views
How strong is spider silk?
Spider silk is pretty darn strong and all sorts of comparisons are made to steel. I'm more curious about the various moduli of spider silk and how it compares to other materials. What is the Young's ...
5
votes
2answers
485 views
Fetal development, gastrulation and embryonic disc
I completely confused by the images circulating on the internet of human gastrulation.
First, lets see how it happens in deuterostomes. This image depicts the process:
(image is from Wikipedia)
...
4
votes
1answer
172 views
7
votes
2answers
87 views
Is there a term for tool use in animals?
Is there a technical/scientific term that scientists use to refer to tool making abilities found in certain types of animals?
Reference ...
5
votes
2answers
562 views
Why is it that cats can jump so high for their size, compared with humans?
My cat is about 1' high at the shoulder, and I am a little over 6', but my cat can easily jump onto something as high as I am. That is 6x it's height. If a cat can do this, then Why can't I jump up ...
11
votes
4answers
2k views
Do cows produce milk excessively?
Do cows produce more milk than it is required for their calves? It seems like cows are able to provide milk all the time (all year around). Is it so? Or do they, like other mammals, produce milk only ...
11
votes
1answer
198 views
How do porcupines keep from pricking each other while mating?
How do porcupines keep from pricking each other while mating? It seems like they would constantly be scratching each other.
9
votes
1answer
339 views
How many mice are on the Earth?
We are 7 billion human beings on the Earth. But how many mice are there? How would you estimate such a number?
7
votes
1answer
231 views
When do most mammals mate?
Is one part of the day more prevalent then other when it comes to mammal animals mating? Is there an aggregating study that has been done to see if these living beings in nature mate mostly during day ...
8
votes
1answer
148 views
Which organism has the sharpest vision?
Which organism has the sharpest vision in terms of distance and spectrum. Please propose any other useful measure.
7
votes
4answers
576 views
If I put a cup over a spider, and leave it there for a day, will the spider survive?
Will it travel more slowly since it hasn't had food for a day?
What if I left the cup there for longer?
23
votes
2answers
301 views
What are the trajectories of flying insects?
Many flying insects tend to have very jagged trajectories. For moves of a fruit fly looks like a random walk.
Is there any research on the properties of trajectories (e.g. their fractal dimension or ...
11
votes
1answer
197 views
How do members of cryptic species know who to mate with?
According to Wikipedia:
In biology, a cryptic species complex is a group of species which
satisfy the biological definition of species—that is, they are
reproductively isolated from each ...
8
votes
1answer
160 views
Is the squid giant axon the fastest conducting unmyelinated axon known?
The conduction velocity of the squid giant axon can reach 30 m/s. Is there any known example of an even faster conducting unmyelinated axons?
6
votes
3answers
157 views
Where can I find the common names for the zoology taxonomy?
Forgive me if my question does not belong here or if I'm using incorrect terms, but I'm not educated in biology at all. I'm investigating the workings of the biological classification system.
I was ...
10
votes
1answer
146 views
Are there any pre-Holocene venomous animals?
The novel (and subsequently movie) Jurassic Park featured a dinosaur called Dilophosaurus, that was purported to be venomous and had an ability similar to that of the extant spitting cobra. ...
14
votes
1answer
116 views
Are there dextral/sinistral higher animals?
For example, almost every dog I've met in my life (more than 20 subjects) uses their right paw touching one while asking for attention. Can it be used as a criterion for calling them dextral? If not, ...
10
votes
1answer
333 views
Do large animals often evolve into smaller animals?
There are several examples where the largest animals were killed off preferentially due to a major ecological shift:
The KT extinction event
The Holocene extinction, as well as the major megafauna ...
25
votes
2answers
504 views
How do cockroaches resist the effects of ionizing radiation?
Cockroaches are very hardy insects. It is known that, among other things, they are able to withstand bursts of ionizing radiation that would kill a human being.
The explanations of this observed ...
9
votes
1answer
228 views
Examples of animals that co-opt toxins?
It is known that there are animals that acquire toxins through their diet or through their surroundings. The examples I know of include butterflies stocking up on alkaloids/glycosides while in the ...
