56
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Are there any non-mammalian species known that lactate?
Short answer
Technically, only mammals lactate. To lactate means to produce milk from the mammaries to feed a baby or young animal. Milk, in turn, is defined as the secretions from mammary glands. ...
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36
votes
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Specific mechanism behind lethality of yellow coat color in mice
Really interesting question: The lethal yellow mutation (also abbreviated Ay) affects the agouti signalling protein which plays a major role in pigmentation. Heterozygous expression of it leads to the ...
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28
votes
Are there any non-mammalian species known that lactate?
Producing milk, per se, is a strictly mammalian phenomenon. There are functionally similar processes in non-mammals (e.g., 'crop milk', produced by some birds), but because these processes evolved ...
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26
votes
Why is wombat scat (feces) shaped like cubes?
I'm almost certain that your question is based on the press that Patricia J Yang's research is receiving (e.g., here and here).
Yang and her co-authors examined the structure and mechanics of some ...
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21
votes
Does interspecies breastfeeding occur in the wild?
Yes, interspecies adoptions have been observed. They're rare enough that study is limited to case reports, and the causes are guessed at but not fully understood. However, I think it's clear that ...
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14
votes
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Why do squirrels have twitchy bushy tails?
Tree jumping.
The obvious answer is that having a balancing ballast is incredibly handy for some of the death defying jumps squirrels perform. The tail is needed for that.
A big bushy tail might be a ...
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13
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What is the difference between the evolution of fins in whales and fish?
I agree with you that the question is ambiguous, and also that the most sensible answer would be C. However, one could make a more or less reasonable argument in favor of several other answers, too.
...
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12
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What species of fox is this?
This is a white morph red fox, not an arctic fox.
As noted in the question, this fox has larger, more pointy ears than an arctic fox, and the second picture shows it to have a longer muzzle as well.
...
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11
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What sea animal is this?
It's probably a dugong, based on the location, lack of a dorsal fin, split tail, lack of a blowhole, and narrowing of the snout.
The prominent vertebral column looks unusual, but that might come from ...
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10
votes
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Biggest change in size from birth
@JM97 is correct.
According to National Geographic >>
The gestation period of a Red Kangaroo is 33 days and it's baby at birth weighs a mere 0.03 oz. To put it into a more precise perspective, on ...
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10
votes
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Are Sloth tongues soft or rough?
Sloths have long, thick, sticky tongues covered in a carpet of tiny, rear-ward pointing spikes that they can pull leaves in with.
So the tongues are quite different from human tongues and likely much ...
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9
votes
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Do camels pose an environmental threat to kangaroos?
Feral camels have environmental, economic and cultural impacts in Australia's Northern Territory (Dept of Land Resource Management, Australia).
In central Australia, camels feed on more than 80% of ...
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9
votes
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Are there examples of animals that live in groups, where all have the same role?
Yes, there are many examples. Those species are said to be gregarious. See below for examples.
Level of sociality
When it comes to social behaviour, it is common to categorize species into one of four ...
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9
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Why is wombat scat (feces) shaped like cubes?
On a more serious note than my comment, and as a supplement to theforestecologist's answer, it's worth pointing out that a cube with rounded corners and edges has larger surface area to volume ratio ...
8
votes
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When you lose weight, how does the mass exit your body?
as CO2 and water
in respiration sugar (or fat) is combined with oxygen to produce energy(ATP and heat), water, and CO2.
fats are converted to Acetyl Co-A just like glucose is, the rest of the ...
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8
votes
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Mystery rodent in Winnipeg
That is a Franklin's Ground Squirrel
Winnipeg is part of its range:
Have a look at a gallery of such photos here: https://inaturalist.ca/taxa/179937-Poliocitellus-franklinii/browse_photos
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7
votes
Accepted
Do mammals and birds have a common warm-blooded ancestor?
Welcome to Biology.SE.
Did you say warm-blooded?
The term warm-blood is very unclear. The correct terms are endo-, exo-, poikilo- and homeo- therm. In short&...
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7
votes
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Why can one swim longer underwater by blowing out air?
This is purely a psychological response, and it does not help in decreasing the speed of CO2 level rise. As CO2 level in your blood rises, you instinctively want to breath out the 'bad' air and breath ...
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7
votes
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Are all non-breeding naked mole rats the same sex?
Naked mole rat colonies contain individuals of both sexes, with one breeding female and one to three breeding males, and the rest non-breeding individuals of both sexes.
The other individuals in the ...
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7
votes
How are the first mammary glands thought to have functioned?
the production of liquids to nourish offspring has evolved separately in several lineages, mammals have simply taken it further than any other group. it is pretty easy to see how it could evolve, any ...
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7
votes
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What pigment is responsible for the formation of blue skin color in some animals?
Blue coloration in animals is caused by structural color rather than blue pigments. In the case of vervet monkeys and other mammals studied this is due to collagen fibers in the skin being arranged ...
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7
votes
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Are there any animals that are unable to hear the human voice?
Are there (apart from those with no sense of hearing at all) any
animals that are unable to hear human voices at all?
I don't know of any examples off the top of my head, but let's think about this ...
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7
votes
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Did my wildlife camera take pictures of coyotes?
Short Answer
Yes, these are likely coyotes.
Long Answer
Your options of dog-like carnivores (i.e., Canidae) in BC include the following:
Coyote (Canis latrans)
Grey wolf
British Columbia Wolf (...
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7
votes
What are these animals, and what happened here?
That's likely a raccoon and a dead fish (salmon, perhaps).
For the animal on the left: notice the ringed tail, foot anatomy, and lighter foot color, and variable (light/dark) fur color:
University ...
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7
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Why is the sex ratio of male and female cats close to 50/50 (with males actually being more prevalent)?
Don't forget that while species evolve, it is individuals that are acted on by selection. Individuals that are successful cause more of their genetic material to be present in the next generation.
...
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6
votes
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What are these curious cetaceans?
I am completely shooting in the dark here, but do you mean the ones between 1:06 - 1:13 minutes in the video? (After Hammerhead and before Baby and Mama white Shark :) )
SPECIES IDENTIFIED: Pseudorca ...
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6
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Red fox with blue legs
Original vs. Adjusted
Adobe Camera Raw Temperature Adjustment +30 / Tint Adjustment +3
The fox has black skin and fur. The blue is just a problem with the White Balance of the photograph. See ...
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6
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What effect does a bat's echolocation have on other bats?
Bat echolocation is an incredible and complex process. Bats can emit two kinds of ultrasonic signals. One is a short pulse (less than 5 ms long) that sweeps a wide range of frequencies (100 Hz to 25 ...
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6
votes
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What is the difference between the evolution of fins in whales and fish?
Short answer
d) is definitely correct.
Background
The crucial element is that whales returned from land to the sea and re-evolved fins.
a) is incorrect, as the common ancestor may not have had fins. ...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible