Questions tagged [zoology]
The biological study of animals. Very broad use so be sure to add additional clarifying tags
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Harbor Seal behavior and personality
I'm doing some research on Harbor seal behavior, but I haven't been able to find much on general behavior such as personality, quirks, ect. Does anyone have anyone have any firsthand experience with ...
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What species is this colourful caterpillar?
What species is this colourful caterpillar found on a road in Central Europe?
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Can elephants trumpet when they have water in their trunks?
I am writing a fun story about elephants and want to know if elephants can trumpet or at least, make noises when they have water in their trunks, like when they are drinking water. Thanks for your ...
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Phytophagous worm identification
These worms appear soon after the rain lilies flower and slowly nibble on the leaves growing big and chubby. They are about 5cm long, have many small red legs underneath, have no spines or spikes, and ...
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What is this strange sea creature we found on the beach?
We found this on a beach in North Devon, UK. I've never seen anything like it.
There's a yellowy-ball in the middle with 5 pointed shells attached to it, each of which seems to have a single "leg&...
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Characteristics of Araneus hui (an orb-weaving spider)
What are the characteristics of Araneus hui? Neither thematic literature nor photos was found.
Mentioned in RU Wikipedia, reference wasn't found.
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%81%...
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Can anyone identify this object?
It was found on the shore of the Ohio River in Kentucky. It is very hard, like bone, and feels hollow but does not rattle. It is translucent. I do not think it is skull of a water fowl even though ...
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Please help ID this possible fish skull
Found on the shoreline of a tributary of the upper part of the Chesapeake bay in Maryland:
[![enter image description here][1]][1]
More pictures:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Cg8t4Ttsde4oDDDg7
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What websites biologists use to check what new plant or animal species have been discovered in the world?
What are the databases or websites that biologists use to check what new plants or animals have been found in the world? The service should list the location of the discovery, time of discovery, image ...
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Why don't the female lions in a pride help their male lion to protect their children from other males?
I watched a dozen of videos taping the fights between male lions; none of them involve female lions assisting in the fight. It is also known that the male lion who take-over the pride will kill all ...
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Anyone can identify this moth?
Found on the ceiling of my flat.
Place: London, UK
Date: 9th of August
Size I would say slightly more than inch and inch and half (3-4cm) wingspan
Suspect on the photo:
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How is Elysia chlorotica classified as an animal capable of photosynthesis?
Elysia chlorotica is a kind of sea slug. Technically, it's an animal. However, it undergoes a process called kleptoplasty, which is the absorption of chloroplasts from algal prey cells which are then ...
user60581
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Identification of a red arachnida (?) (picture and video)
I found this in a greenhouse in Norway. It is a few millimeters in size, I could fit 5-6 of them on my thumbnail.
It looks a lot like this one from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
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Bed bug or booklouse? [duplicate]
I found this creature climbing on the lower part of a wall inside apartment. Can you distinguish if it's a bed bug nymph or a booklouse? Sorry the photo quality isn't great, because it's so small (2 ...
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Can elephants smell when they have water in their trunks?
For humans, humans cannot smell when they have water stuck in their noses. However, I am wondering if elephants can smell scents when they have water in their trunks, as they are designed to hold ...
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Identify this black dragonfly with a bright bluish-white band around its body
I took these photos around noon in late July in Hsinchu county Taiwan. This particular stick in this particular pond is visited by many dragonfly species. This one was very high energy and nervous but ...
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Are these springtails and isopods?
G'day!
I'm based in Victoria, Australia.
I'm hoping to culture springtails for my terrariums, so I went out and tried to collect some. I found them underneath a rock, which was sitting on damp ground. ...
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Do Termites and Silverfish metabolize cellulose the same way?
I am fascinated with silverfish and would like to understand more about their metabolism.
I learned that they can survive on a diet of cotton which is nearly pure cellulose. Do they metabolize ...
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Asexual Reproduction Of sponges through endogenous or exogenous budding?
I was studying asexual reproduction in sponges and came across two website
Wikipedia of Gemmule and there is a line....
Only Endogenous Types of Buds develop into New Sponges.
Then as I was reading ...
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Why do dragonflies lose all of their coloration once they die?
At 06:43 in The Secrets of Nature video Sky Hunters, The World of the Dragonfly - The Secrets of Nature the narrator says:
Scientists have been collecting ...
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What is the name of this sea creature?
I found this creature on the beach in San Diego. It is 8cm long and the end to the right is the mouth. The underside is exactly the same as what is visible. What is the name of this species.
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What kind of soil-dwelling flying insect is this?
In the UK. They are roughly 1.5mm long, appear to crawl much more than fly, and seem to live in the soil of indoor potted plants. They are fast and tiny, so apologies for very shallow DOF. The first ...
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Is there alternation of generations in animals other than cnidarians?
Are there other animals besides cnidarians that exhibit alternation of generations (having distinct sexual and asexual life stages)? If so, what are these animals? Further, why do so few animals have ...
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Are intestinal and pancreatic lipases different?
For explaining the action pancreatic lipase, my book wrote this equation:-
$$fat\space particles + lipase\rightarrow fatty\space acid + glycerol + lipase$$
But for intestinal lipase, my book has a ...
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What species is this interestingly colored brown moth
This fella fluttered into a kitchen at night, maybe from the vegetation in the yard, and I got lucky to trap it in a transparent plastic bag for a while (with enough room to move, which it started ...
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How do mothers handle acid from embryo bone mineralization?
This is a relatively trivial question, but, I have not seen it discussed much. It could be one factor in the "acidosis of pregnancy" (JAMA, 1929). Are the compensatory mechanisms measurable, ...
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Why is it (allegedly) dangerous to feed ducks with breadcrumbs and pieces of bread?
I used to go down to the local lake all the time with leftover bread and throw little pieces of it to the hungry duckies, who very eagerly fetched it and ate it while happily quacking away.
I thought ...
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What is the name of this insect? It is from Punjab, India
What is the name of this insect? It is from Punjab, India.
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Calcium reabsorption from egg shell during embryogenesis, how is carbonate neutralized?
As the embryo reabsorbs calcium from the shell, it also reabsorbs an equal quantity of carbonate. Calcium is in quite high concentrations in the body, the same molarity for carbonate causes a very ...
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What is the primary cause of death for small animals in urban and suburban areas?
Small birds (sparrows, robins, jays, finches) and mammals (squirrels, rats, opossums, raccoons) are a common sight in many urban and suburban communities with green space. However, I observe carcasses ...
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What was the largest flying insectoid pollinator?
Megachile pluto is a large resin bee whose body length may reach 38 mm and a wingspan of 63.5 mm. But that's nothing compared to the prehistoric and extinct Meganisoptera including the Meganeura, ...
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Why do bees fly inside the gaps between the decoration on the exterior wall of a building and the wall?
My house has decorations around the windows on the exterior wall:
There are gaps between those decorations and the bricks of the building:
During the summer, there are always bees looking for those ...
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What coastal creature leaves braid-like trace that has clear landing and take off points?
6/29 around 8 PM EST (within 40 minutes after downpour) the depicted trace was found in swash zone at Jacob Riis Park in NY. For reference the boot size is 12.
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Could anyone kindly identify this bug for me? Is it harmless?
Details:
Found by a wall/window in Brooklyn, NY in a house not too far from the beach
Rooms walls/windows are dusty and spots of mold growing on wall/windows
size of bug: 2 milimeters
Keywords I've ...
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Why is egg white alkaline?
According to Tiefenbacher,
Egg white is naturally alkaline with an initial pH of 7.6–7.9 but in storage the loss of carbon dioxide by diffusion through the shell
increases the pH of the egg white up ...
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What is the minimum atmospheric pressure at which bees can live/thrive?
Bees are amazing little critters. (Gosh, they're cute.) But what if we colonize Mars and start terraforming it? At what point will bees (and other insects) be able to live/thrive in that environment?
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Identification of the bug on the curry leaf- Delhi, India
I found this bug on my curry leaf in early morning. Which bug is this?
Size- 1-2 cm
Habitat- Delhi, India.
The bug was on one of the curry leaf of the curry plant pot in my residential balcony
Time- 7:...
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Identify arthropod with many legs in Mumbai
Can someone please identify this ~5 cm long arthropod? I've been finding one of these every 2-3 days inside my apartment ever since rainy season started here in Mumbai (June).
The bulb portion is its ...
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Do fledglings die if they are not fed constantly?
There is a bird's nest on my balcony in the wall above the door with birds who breed. They have fledglings who already hatched. (I assume this because I sometimes hear quiet sweet chirping.) I sit on ...
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Is there any small animal that can jump over a meter high/long?
By small, let's say less than 5 cm body length. I always thought that grasshoppers were the highest absolute jumpers in this class but the highest jump according to this article is 0.7 m...
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How does a sheep's fleece impact its tolerance for high temperatures?
I am interested in whether a sheep endures more stress when its environment is hot if it has a full fleece or if it is recently shorn. Put another way, at the extremes, is a sheep more likely to die ...
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Is Brain Eye connections reversed in all animals or just Humans?
I know that Brain Eye connections are reversed in Humans,
Left Hemisphere controls the Right eye/Right side of the body
Right Hemisphere Controls the Left eye/Left side of the body
Is it true in ...
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identification request - medium size fly invasion
I have two invasions going on!
the one here: identification request - tiny flies invasion
and this one:
We are in Berlin, Germany. This fly is 2.5mm long vs 1mm wide, and seems to like the dark and ...
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identification request - tiny flies invasion
Since they are tiny, this is the best photo I can do:
We are in Berlin, Germany. It has become very hot outside and the flies have invaded us for the last couple days.
The insect is about 1mm long, 0....
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Are there animals that have evolved a resistance to human activity or encroachment?
There are countless sources, both peer-reviewed and popular, explaining how overuse and misuse of antibiotics is breeding a new generation of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" such as MRSA (Methicillin-...
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If species are reproductively isolated, then how are interspecific hybridisations carried out?
during fertilisation there is compatibility test done so that both sperms and eggs are of same species. the zona pellucida of egg bears sperm specific receptor proteins(ZP3 receptor proteins) which ...
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What species of spider is this? Could anyone help
This image was taken in assam, India. The size was around 1cm. Could anyone help identify?
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Insect with long neck—what is it?
I found this insect in Fish Haven, Idaho (right next to Bear Lake) in June and think it’s absolutely fascinating:
If you can’t tell from the picture, it’s a few centimeters in length—very thin with a ...
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In what ways does the number of legs affect an animal's functioning?
After much research, I've only been able to find specific examples of leg-number's impact on locomotion and dexterity (and/or object manipulation). I feel as though there must be other ways it has a ...
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How do beavers learn how to build dams?
I was wondering whether all beavers, from all around the world, know how to build dams and lodges? Do they need to learn it from their parents? If you release a group of beavers in the wild that haven'...